Key Sign of the End
SYNOPSIS - Jesus declared that the “end” will not come until “this gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed to all nations” – Matthew 24:14.
After his final
departure from the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus predicted its complete destruction
of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. Because Israel had rejected her
Messiah, “All these things shall come upon this generation.
Behold, your house is left to you desolate…Truly I declare to you, there shall
not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down” - (Matthew
23:34-39, 24:1-2).
His prediction prompted
the disciples to ask two questions. First, when would the
destruction of the Temple occur? Second, what would be the “sign” of the
“coming of the Son of Man and the conclusion of the age”?
His immediate
response was a dire warning - Beware of false messiahs and false
prophets that will deceive many. The disciples would hear
of wars, earthquakes, international conflicts, and famines; however, such
events were not indicators of the “end.” Indeed, such disasters would occur
but the “end is not yet.” But deceivers would point to
these very things to raise false expectations about the
nearness of the end - (Matthew 24:4-8, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).
Human and natural
catastrophes occur regularly - Earthquakes, wars, famines, and plagues - Therefore,
the disciple of Jesus must "not be alarmed" when they do transpire.
Such events are NOT chronological markers by which one can calculate the “end.”
At most, they constitute a “beginning of birth-pains,” harbingers of the
inevitable “end.”
To the first
question, he answered - Within “this generation.” That
is, the generation that was contemporary with him.
This occurred when a Roman army destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem in A.D. 70,
exactly as predicted by Jesus – (Matthew 3:7, 11:16, 12:34-45, 16:4, 17:17,
23:33-36, 24:34).
To the second query,
he responded – “No man knows the day or hour of his coming, except God
alone.” Therefore, his disciple must always be ready for its unexpected
and sudden arrival. Knowledge of the “times and seasons” belongs
to the Father alone. Those who claim such knowledge arrogate to themselves the
knowledge that even the Son of Man does not possess - (Matthew
24:36, Mark 13:32-24, Acts 1:7-9).
As to the requested “sign,”
he gave one explicit goal that must be achieved before his arrival. This would
be the “proclamation of this gospel of the kingdom in the entire world
for a testimony to all nations.” Only “then will the end come.”
The message of the kingdom is good news to all who hear and obey it. But it
must be proclaimed to all nations before Jesus arrives in judgment - (Matthew
24:14).
This is the task assigned
to the Church by him. His disciples must “go and teach all nations to
observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; behold, I am with you even unto
the end of the age.” The Church must complete this mission before the
end will arrive - (Matthew 28:18-20).
Prior to his
ascension, the disciples asked him when he would restore the kingdom to Israel.
Jesus responded:
- (Acts 1:6-8) - “It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has put in his own authority.” Instead, the disciples were to tarry in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit, then they would become “my witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, and Samaria, even unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”
The present age must
continue, “Until the full number of the Gentiles comes in; in this manner,
all Israel will be saved” - (Luke 21:24, 24:46-49, Romans 11:25-26).
And how does one know when the task is done? According to Jesus - When the end arrives!
That the “end”
has not arrived is irrefutable proof the task remains unfinished. No one can
ascertain the progress of this mission. God alone knows that and only He will
determine when the full complement of the elect has been gathered. Christ’s
“logic” is circular but deliberately so.
His declaration is as
much an exhortation as it is a prophecy, an admonishment to the church to engage
tirelessly in gospel proclamation until he arrives in glory. The completion of
the mission is the “sign” of the end but one that cannot be used to
calculate its nearness.
The words of Jesus are
clear - Only his Father knows the timing of the “end” and his arrival in glory.
Not even the “Son of Man” has this information. In the interim, the Church must
remain busy completing the task he assigned to it.
It
is high time for believers to accept the clear teachings of Jesus on this
matter, to get over the fact that we do not and cannot calculate the date of
the end, and to get on with the task at hand. What matters is to be found busy
about his business on the day that Jesus arrives in power and glory.
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