The Impending Turmoil of Jerusalem: Luke 21v20-33

It looks as if this is my 110th post, which reminds me of a favorite psalm of mine and the single most quoted psalm of the New Testament. We are also heading into the Jewish High Holy Days, a time of celebration and solemn reflection culminating with Yom Kippur...the Day of Atonement. It is a very exciting time for any Christian who is interested in understanding, with ever increasing clarity, the ongoing faithfulness of our Father and His Word. To look over the grand narrative and stand before God in awe and reverence, not out of fear of hell nor the hope of heaven, but simply and purely for who He is and what He has done in and through His Messiah, Jesus, as well as what He continues to do in our midst by the power of His Word.

I'm going to go at this area a little different, slowly, line by line, a lot of bad theology has been attached to this section over the years...people tend to do that when what they expect God to do because He said He would, doesn't look like they think it ought to when He does it...this obviously has all sorts of negative results...'You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.'

‘But,’ continued Jesus, ‘when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that her time of desolation has arrived. Then the people in Judea should run off to the hills, people in Jerusalem itself should get out as fast as they can, and people in the countryside shouldn’t go back into the city.

This piece is a continuation of the previous apocalyptic prophecy aimed at turning Jerusalem to repentance and accepting the Way Jesus is offering as the only Way. It's understood that if an oracle comes true it has worked, but if what a biblical prophet speaks comes to fruition, it has failed as it is intended to bring about repentance. This is explored in detail by Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in a recent article on testing prophecy click here

Those will be the days of severe judgment, which will fulfill all the biblical warnings. Woe betide pregnant women, and nursing mothers, in those days! There is going to be a huge distress on the earth, and divine anger against this people. The hungry sword will eat them up; they will be taken off as prisoners to every nation; and Jerusalem will be trampled by the pagans, until the times of the pagans are done.

It is a biblical fact that when God brings judgment on His people for failing in their calling and walking in the good works He has prepared them to walk in, for which they were saved, He does so through other peoples...typically 'those people'. This demonstrates both God's justice, mercy and faithfulness, working all things together according to the council of HIS PURPOSE and it is also a swift and unmistakable reminder of His sovereignty not just over one people, but over all peoples. Christian's would do well to come to terms with this...individually, yes, but certainly corporately...this is a season for inner reflection and repentance...

‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars. On earth the nations will be in distress and confusion because of the roaring and swelling of the sea and its waves. People will faint from fear, and from imagining all that’s going to happen to the world. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see “the son of man coming on a cloud” with power and great majesty. When all these things start to happen, stand up and lift your heads up, because the time has come for you to be redeemed.’

In the ancient world, astrology was viewed with great importance, a shooting star, an eclipse...these things meant something...most often a shift in political leadership, coming wars, a new king (Matthew 2v1-2), etc. So there may have been many things coming in the sky, but certainly there was great turmoil on its way. The 'roaring and swelling of the sea' is prophetic language directly tied to the fear and weakness of faith in the masses of people and their imaginations, 'the sea' is a mythological term for chaos (this finds its root in the creation poems of Gen. 1 and 2)for more on 'meaning and myth' in the scriptures click here. Now, the suicide of Emperor Nero sent these very 'waves' through out the whole world, exacerbated by the quick rise and fall of four new emperors, each leading armies. This kind of shaking in the high places of authority in the world are certainly tied directly to a shaking in the 'heavens' that stand behind them, we literally see this from 66-73, the temple falling in 70ad. This would not be a time for panic amongst Christian's though, it is a time for them to be encouraged and strengthened, steadfast in love and faith, it implies that the vindication of their faith is on it's way. Make no mistake, there would be great need for the endurance of the Saints, the one who endures to the end will be saved though. Jesus here quotes directly from Daniel 7, indicating that the judgment that falls on those who have persecuted and terrorized God's elect is the same judgment that will settle once and for all who the worlds true Lord is and times of refreshing will come, God's anointed is enthroned...do not confuse this with the parousia, the coming of Christ, Daniel 7 (read it) is about the ascension of the Son to the right hand of the Father, psalm 110. That is what Jesus has in mind here and that's what we should have in mind as we read it.

He told them this parable. ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they are well into leaf, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is upon you. I’m telling you the truth; this generation won’t be gone before all of this happens. Heaven and earth may disappear, but these words of mine won’t disappear.’

Finally, Jesus clarifies that they are not to be mistaken, their hope and faith is not misplaced regardless of what is about to happen to him up at jerusalem, this generation will see His vindication (which is also theirs), and prophecy isn't so much about about seeing the future, it is often simply looking through the present with honest eyes and an a humble heart and allowing God to show you the thing behind the thing, and the wisdom to deal with it. It is as true today as it was then that ideologies, spirits and the embodiments of them may come and go, but the Word of the Lord always remains. There is great comfort in that for those who love God and are called according to His purpose in Messiah.

Grace and peace

The End of the Temple and Its Systems: Luke 21v5-19

Some people were talking about the Temple, saying how wonderfully it was decorated, with its beautiful stones and dedicated gifts.

‘Yes,’ said Jesus; ‘But the days will come when everything you see will be torn down. Not one stone will be left standing on another.’

‘Teacher,’ they asked him, ‘When will these things happen? What will be the sign that it’s all about to take place?’

‘Watch out that nobody deceives you,’ said Jesus. ‘Yes: lots of people will come using my name, saying “I’m the one!” and “The time has come!” Don’t go following them. When you hear about wars and rebellions, don’t be alarmed. These things have to happen first, but the end won’t come at once.

‘One nation will rise against another,’ he went on, ‘and one kingdom against another. There will be huge earthquakes, famines and plagues, terrifying omens, and great signs from heaven.

Before all this happens they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons. They will drag you before kings and governors because of my name. That will become an opportunity for you to tell your story. So settle it in your hearts not to work out beforehand what tale to tell; I’ll give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.

‘You will be betrayed by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will kill some of you. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But no hair of your head will be lost. The way to keep your lives is to be patient.’

Josephus, a Jewish historian contemporary to Jesus’ time, once confronted a rebel zealot during the war that eventually led to the destruction of the Temple in 70ad. He was trying to convince this guy to stop his ridiculous attempts to attack the Roman Empire and seek another way to gain the results he so passionately longed for. Josephus had seen the pure carnage that the Roman empire was capable of, and they didn’t even have a Death Star or drone planes! He says to this young man ‘metanoesein kai pistos emoi genesesthai’ which translates “Repent and believe in me”. It is obvious that Josephus was trying to save this lad from self-destruction as well as bringing this destruction down on those around him. When Jesus uses the same phrase he certainly means the same thing, certainly more, but at least that. Come and see, there are four levels of ‘understanding’ (Ephesians 3v7-19):

P'shat - literal, simple - BREADTH
Remez - parable, allegory - LENGTH
Derasha - anagogical - DEPTH
Sod - inner, mystical - HEIGHT

‘And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.’

and again...

'Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.'

Now then, let's look...here some fourty years earlier than Josephus spoke those words, Jesus has been calling and sending out his messengers… gathering people into ‘another way’, the way of peace, the only Way to the Father. Most rejected Him though, Jerusalem herself would reject him. The Temple that was once the place ‘where God was’ with his people had itself become and idol. The very symbol of God’s faithfulness had become corrupted, the people were willing to kill and die over a symbol, to sacrifice the true temple where God intended to dwell by the Spirit for the sake of the shadow. The time had come though, as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman ‘an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.’ A time was now here when God would be with His people and would comfort them, heal them and transform them. The destruction of their idols and those holding on to them would come swiftly, like a thief in the night, the darkness would be overtaken by the Light, but it won’t happen all at once. So do not be deceived by these people who think they are something when they are nothing. It is precisely these who will be the catalyst for their own destruction and the destruction of anyone not wise enough to see it. Young men fighting old men’s wars, when God is doing a new thing…it’s a recipe for disaster or new birth. Isn’t it true that no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins. Only when we repent and turn to the Father in the Name (character, nature and Spirit of Jesus), only when we are still enough, humble enough, contrite enough to hear that still small voice so that we can proceed boldly with the only wisdom that is wisdom, that which comes down from above, that hold all things together, sustains all things, makes all things new, that which is our peace…the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, The Word was close beside God, and the Word was god. In the beginning, he was close beside God. All things came into existence through him; nothing that exists came into existence without him. Life was in him, and this life was the Light of the human race. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness didn’t overcome it…the true Light, which gives Light to every human being…and the Word became flesh and tabernacled in our midst…

Repent and believe! The Kingdom of God is here, the New Heavens and New Earth has been inaugurated… this is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining! Jesus is Lord and that is Good News! Please people…keep yourselves from idols.

Come Unto Me, All You Who Labor: Luke 20v41-21v4

Jesus said to them, ‘How can the Messiah be the son of David? David himself says, in the book of Psalms,

“The Lord says to the Lord of mine
Sit here at my right hand;
Until I place those foes of thine
Right underneath thy feet.”

‘David, you see, calls him “Lord”; so how can he be his son?’
As all the people listened to him, he said to the disciples, ‘Watch out for the scribes who go about in long robes, and enjoy being greeted in the market-place, sitting in the best seats in the synagogues, and taking the top tables at dinners. They gobble up widows’ houses, and make long prayers without meaning them. Their judgment will be all the more severe.’

He looked up and saw rich people putting their contributions in the Temple treasury. He also saw an impoverished widow putting in two tiny copper coins.
‘I’m telling you the truth,’ he said. ‘This poor widow has put in more than all of them. They contributed into the collection out of their plenty, but she contributed out of her poverty, and gave her whole livelihood.’

We love to categorize things, to figure things out…to put them in nice neat little boxes and then to build nice neat little stacks of boxes and if we are diligent enough and arrogant enough we may just try and build ourselves a little tower up to heaven and make a name for ourselves. Well the God that reveals Himself as the Name, YHVH …that is, ‘I Will Be Who I Will Be’ will simply have none of that. The very pronunciation of that Name ought to put its hearers on their knees in fear and wonder and awe.

That is what we learn here…our boxes…our thoughts are not His thoughts; His ways are far above our ways. First, the question of whose son the Messiah is. In this time and still today, many Jews see the Messiah as an earthly king. Jesus’ question blows apart the box which many have constructed in their minds as what ‘Messiah’ actually means. Here, through the scriptures, Jesus shows them that God had always intended David’s Lord to humble himself and become David’s son and to become the one who, in YHVH, would share the throne that is above all thrones, carrying a Name that is above all other Name’s, save the One who named Him. Being even His own right arm as it’s written…

‘And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.’

I would argue that we need, even today…especially amongst Christians, a bigger view of what ‘Messiah’ means, and of what the return of Messiah means and looks like…we need a Pauline vision, even if it means getting knocked off our horse and carried up to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of the body, who knows? God knows!
Thinking God’s thoughts after Him goes farther than just ‘thinking outside the box’…you may just have to, prayerfully, as my good friend Dan says, ‘tear the whole box apart and make shelves’…do something useful with it that will display God’s glory rather than hide it away.

How do we go about it when everything is counter intuitive? It is not through external show and popularity in the marketplaces, the best seats and the place of honor at supper who rule and rein in God’s eyes, it’s the poor in spirit! They are the blessed ones, ,the ones through whom His Kingdom comes…the ones who turn our hearts to compassion and love, the ones the world is not worthy of!

It is not the ones who give the most money, but the ones who, in need themselves, still go on giving…these are the pure in heart, the ones who see God’s face, the ones who send us to our knees, beating our chests and crying out ‘My God, my God… I’m a sinner, forgive me Lord, have mercy! Blessed are they in His eyes. Truly as we do to these…the least, we have done it unto Him and the reward there is never lost, but His recompense is with Him when He comes. Amen