Wednesday Evening Bible Study

April 17, 2002

Introduction

Jesus is in the last week of His life. He has made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The people were calling Him a king as they shouted “Hosanna”, or, “Save us now”. When He entered town, the first thing He did was to clear out the moneychangers from the temple. He said that God’s House was to be a House of Prayer, but they had made it a “den of thieves”.

Then Jesus began to teach the people every day in the temple. The crowds were gathering to hear this preacher from Galilee. It’s some time between Palm Sunday and Thursday night, when Jesus would hold the “Last Supper” and celebrate Passover.

When Jesus talked about how the stones of the great Temple would one day be torn apart, someone asked Jesus, “When will this occur?”  We’re in the middle of Jesus answering this question.  He is going to be talking about two different things – the coming destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, and His own Second Coming.

:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

compassed – kukloo – to go around, lead around; to surround, encircle, encompass; of persons standing around; of besiegers. Present participle

armies – stratopedon (“army” + “plain”) – a military camp; soldiers in camp, an army

know – ginosko – to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel. Aorist imperative – a command – you are commanded to know this.

is nigh – eggizo – to bring near, to join one thing to another; to draw or come near to, to approach. Perfect tense – it has become near and continues to be so.

desolation – eremosis – a making desolate, desolation; from eremos – solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited; a desert, wilderness

We’re looking at a prophetic section that has two fulfillments.

There will be a first fulfillment in AD 70 when Titus surrounds Jerusalem and captures it.

There will be a second fulfillment at the end of the Great Tribulation, just before Jesus comes back.

(Zec 14:2-5 KJV)  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. {3} Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. {4} And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. {5} And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

:21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

flee – pheugo – to flee away, seek safety by flight; to be saved by flight, to escape safely out of danger

the mountains – oros – a mountain

in the midst – mesos – middle; the midst; in the midst of, amongst

depart out – ekchoreo – to depart from; to remove from in the sense of fleeing from; from choreo – to leave space (which may be filled or occupied by another), to make room, give place, yield; to go forward, advance, proceed, succeed; to have space or room for receiving or holding something; always emphasises the idea of separation, change of place, this word is ultimately from chora – the space lying between two places or limits; a region or country … see next word below.

the countries – chora – the space lying between two places or limits; a region or country i.e. a tract of land; the (rural) region surrounding a city or village, the country; the region with towns and villages which surround a metropolis; land which is ploughed or cultivated, ground

This is the root word of ekchoreo above.

enter – eiserchomai – to go out or come in: to enter

First fulfillment

This is what the Jews did when Rome laid siege to Jerusalem in AD 70. Rome killed 1,100,000 Jews and took 97,000 captives.  There was a small group of 900 that fled to the mountain fortress of Masada, where they held out for three years against the Romans. Eventually, all except seven people committed suicide rather than be captured by the Romans.

Desolation.

Second fulfillment

This is what the Jews will do in the Tribulation.

(Mat 24:15-16 KJV) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) {16} Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

:22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

vengeance – ekdikesis – a revenging, vengeance, punishment

The word also has the sense of acquittal and carries the sense of vindication. (Vincent III, p. 329)

Both vengeance for the rejection of God’s Son as well as the time of God’s wrath, the Great Tribulation.

may be fulfilled – pleroo – to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full; to render full, i.e. to complete; to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, fill to the brim; to carry into effect, bring to realisation, realise; of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, accomplish; to fulfil, i.e. to cause God’s will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment

:23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

woe – ouai – alas, woe

child – gaster – the belly; the womb; the stomach

are with – echo – to have, i.e. to hold; to have i.e. own, possess

that give suck – thelazo – to give the breast, give suck, to suckle; to suck

distress – anagke – necessity, imposed either by the circumstances, or by law of duty regarding to one’s advantage, custom, argument; calamity, distress, straits

the land – ge – arable land; the ground, the earth as a standing place; the main land as opposed to the sea or water; the earth as a whole; a country, land enclosed within fixed boundaries, a tract of land, territory, region

wrath – orge – anger, the natural disposition, temper, character; anger, wrath, indignation; anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself

This applies both to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, as well as the Second Coming of Jesus.

:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

the edge – stoma – the mouth, as part of the body: of man, of animals, of fish, etc.; the edge of a sword

sword – machaira – a large knife, used for killing animals and cutting up flesh; a small sword, as distinguished from a large sword

shall be led away captive – aichmalotizo (“spear” + “captive”) – to lead away captive; metaph. to capture ones mind, captivate; literally to be led away at the point of a spear.

More than one million Jews were killed by the army of Titus, and the remaining Jews were dispersed among the Gentile nations.

nations – ethnos – a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together; a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus; a tribe, nation, people group; in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles

trodden down – pateo – to tread; to trample, crush with the feet; to advance by setting foot upon, tread upon: to encounter successfully the greatest perils from the machinations and persecutions with which Satan would fain thwart the preaching of the gospel; to tread under foot, trample on, i.e. to treat with insult and contempt: to desecrate the holy city by devastation and outrage

the Gentiles – ethnos – a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together; a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus; a tribe, nation, people group; in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles

be fulfilled – pleroo – to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full; to render full, i.e. to complete; to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, fill to the brim; to carry into effect, bring to realisation, realise; of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, accomplish; to fulfil, i.e. to cause God’s will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment

the times – kairos – due measure; a measure of time, a larger or smaller portion of time, hence:; a fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis, the decisive epoch waited for; opportune or seasonable time; the right time

Jesus is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem which would usher in a period known as the “times of the Gentiles”.  Yet these “Times of the Gentiles” will be what ushers in His Second Coming.

This is a key element in prophecy – the “times of the Gentiles”.

I believe this is talking about God’s timeclock with the nation of Israel.

Daniel describes a period of time in God’s economy that we refer to as the “Seventy weeks” of Daniel.  It is a period of seventy times seven years (490). 

(Dan 9:24-27 KJV)  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

This is a special time on God’s calendar meant for the Jewish people, “thy people”.

{25} Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. {26} And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

If you keep track of the “sevens”, 69 of them are finished when the Messiah is “cut off”.  I believe that this is when God stopped His timeclock for Israel, and the “times of the Gentiles” began.

It is not until the “times of the Gentiles” is finished, that God will once again start His timeclock and finish the “seventy weeks”.

Paul talked about the “fulness” of the Gentiles:

(Rom 11:25-26 KJV) For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. {26} And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

When God’s timeclock restarts, the last seven year period known as the Tribulation will begin:

{27} And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This is talking about the antichrist forming a treaty with Israel, the temple being rebuilt, and the antichrist causing the sacrifices to stop and declaring himself to be God.  This is when Jesus said that the Jews were to head for the hills.

Has this occurred?

In 1967 the Jews took Jerusalem from the Gentiles again. But the city remained divided.  Some have suggested that the “Times of the Gentiles” is over.  Could be.

It was only recently that Israel expelled Arafat from his east Jerusalem office. Yet the Muslims still control the Temple Mount.

I wonder if perhaps the Temple Mount needs to be in Jewish hands.  Could it be that with the current tension in Israel, we’re seeing the events that will bring this about?

:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

signs – semeion – a sign, mark, token; that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known; a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature; of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen; of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s

There will be things happening in the sky.

the sun – helios – the sun; the rays of the sun; the light of day

the moon – selene – the moon

the stars – astron – a group of stars, a constellation; a star

the earth – ge – arable land; the ground, the earth as a standing place; the main land as opposed to the sea or water; the earth as a whole; the earth as opposed to the heavens; the inhabited earth, the abode of men and animals; a country, land enclosed within fixed boundaries, a tract of land, territory, region

distress – sunoche – a holding together, a narrowing; the contracting part of a way; metaph. straits, distress, anguish

nations – ethnos – a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together; a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus; a tribe, nation, people group; in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles

perplexity – aporia – the state of one who is in perplexity from aporeo – to be without resources, to be in straits, to be left wanting, to be embarrassed, to be in doubt, not to know which way to turn; to be at a loss with one’s self, be in doubt; not to know how to decide or what to do, to be perplexed

“no way out”

I think that some of what our world has experienced since 9/11 could fall into this category, what do you think?

roaring – echeo – to sound; used of the roaring of the sea

the sea – thalassa – the sea; used of the sea in general; used specifically of the Mediterranean Sea or the Red Sea

the waves – salos – the tossing or swell of the sea

These do not sound like things that happened before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. These are signs that will precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

hearts failing – apopsucho (“from” + “breathe”) – to breathe out life, expire; to faint or swoon away

men’s – anthropos – a human being, whether male or female

for looking after – prosdokia (“toward” + “watch”) – expectation (whether good or evil)

things which are coming on – eperchomai – to come to arrive; to come upon, overtake, one

the earth – oikoumene – the inhabited earth; the portion of the earth inhabited by the Greeks, in distinction from the lands of the barbarians; the Roman empire, all the subjects of the empire; the whole inhabited earth, the world; the inhabitants of the earth, men; the universe, the world

the powers – dunamis – strength, power, ability

heaven – ouranos – the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it; the universe, the world; the aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced; the sidereal or starry heavens; the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings

shall be shaken – saleuo – a motion produced by winds, storms, waves, etc; to agitate or shake; to cause to totter; to shake thoroughly, of a measure filled by shaking its contents together; to shake down, overthrow; to cast down from one’s (secure and happy) state; to move, agitate the mind, to disturb one

When you think of the things that are described in the book of Revelation, it’s easy to see why people’s hearts will fail them in the last days.

I wonder about how our nation has been affected this last year.  I know this is a stretch, but how about how air travel has been affected?  And by fear.  I wonder.

Lesson

Fear can ruin your day

Frankly, I don’t even have to be thinking about the things that are coming on the earth to have my heart fail me because of fear.

Illustration

Former Hearse Driver

An American is in London for the first time. He’s in a taxi on his way to an appointment for which he is afraid he may be late, given the slow speed at which the driver is proceeding. In order to ask the driver about their progress, he leans forward and taps the older gentleman on the shoulder. The driver simultaneously emits a blood curdling scream and jumps straight up in the air, yanking the wheel to one side. The cab veers sharply, jumps the curb, demolishing a beautiful old cast iron lamppost and comes to a stop mere inches from a shop window. The startled but uninjured passenger asks, “Are you all right? I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just wanted to ask a question.” “Not your fault, guv’nor,” said the driver in a Cockney lilt, “I’m bright new to this taxi drivin’ I yam, an’ I’m not used to ‘avin’ comp’ny owin’ to my previous trade.” “I see,” said the passenger. “And what did you do previously?” The driver said, “Why for the past 25 years I was the best hearse driver in London, sir.”

We can do silly things when we’re paralyzed with fear.

It was funny that today something happened that began to plant some fear in me.  As the afternoon progressed, I became more and more afraid of this thing.  After talking to my wife on the phone, I got back to studying, and the next verse was this one!

:27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Though some of this has been talking about the fall of Jerusalem, ultimately it is pointing towards the Second Coming of Jesus.

power – dunamis – strength, power, ability

glory – doxa – opinion; in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory; splendour, brightness; a most glorious condition, most exalted state

:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

begin – archomai – to be the first to do (anything), to begin; to begin, make a beginning

to come to pass – ginomai – to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being; to become, i.e. to come to pass, happen; to arise, appear in history, come upon the stage

look up – anakupto (“up” + “bow the head”) – to raise or lift one’s self up; from kupto – to stoop down, bend forward, to bow the head

lift up – epairo – to lift up, raise up, raise on high

draweth nigh – eggizo – to bring near, to join one thing to another; to draw or come near to, to approach

redemption – apolutrosis – a releasing effected by payment of ransom; redemption, deliverance; liberation procured by the payment of a ransom

Lesson

Jesus is coming

Look up. Jesus is coming back soon.

Illustration

Pastor Chuck:

Now, last October in one of the shopping malls, towards the end of October, I saw them putting them up Christmas decorations. And I said, “Well, Thanksgiving must be getting close.” Why? Because I know that Thanksgiving comes before Christmas. And if they’re putting up Christmas decorations and Thanksgiving hasn’t come yet, then Thanksgiving must be getting close. Because it’s got to come before Christmas. Now Jesus is giving you signs of His return. Signs that will happen before His second coming. But if the rapture of the church is to precede the second coming by seven years, then when we will see the signs of the coming of the Lord, we have to say, “Hey, the rapture must be getting close. I see the signs of the Lord’s return.” That makes the rapture that much closer. So, when you see these things beginning to come to pass, then you look up and lift up your head, for your redemption is drawing nigh.

Lesson

Trust and don’t be afraid

When things seem scary, look up.

When life doesn’t make sense, look up.

(Psa 56 KJV) To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath. Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. {2} Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. {3} What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. {4} In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. {5} Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. {6} They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. {7} Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. {8} Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? {9} When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. {10} In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. {11} In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. {12} Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. {13} For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Don’t fear.  Look up and trust.