Welcome to the first of a several part dissertation under this title. While my thoughts and conclusions are my own, I can take credit for none of them. First, credit goes to the Lord Jesus Christ who birthed in me a hunger for His Word, accompanied by an ability to know and understand it. (Both of these are works in progress). Secondly, credit goes to the Bible scholars whose published works have been tools in the hands of the Holy Spirit to bring nurture to these processes. Among these are Marv Rosenthal, author of The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church and Ryan Habbena, author of The Parable of the Fig Tree. Both of these gentlemen have graciously granted me permission to reference their works.
In Luke 24:27, We read that Jesus expounded to the two Emmaus Road travelers everything from the writings of Moses and the prophets concerning Himself. Jesus is the pre-eminent and central figure of all of Scripture. With that in mind, when it comes to a prophetic description of what the end-times or last days will look like, I believe that we should, first of all, hear and understand to words of Jesus. From there, we can go to other parts of Scripture and discover how they build foundational truths upon the chief cornerstone.
Matthew 24 and 25 are labeled by many scholars as the Olivet discourse, because this is where Jesus was sitting when he delivered this significant teaching. In red-letter editions of the Bible, Matthew 24:4b - 25:46 are all red-letter, meaning that these are the recorded words of Jesus Himself. This is truly the "Word of the Lord."
In this discourse, Jesus speaks three rather lengthy, and important parables, which take up the entirety of Matthew 25. (We will refer to them in detail in later postings.) In this first edition, I want to bring your attention to two parabolic statements Jesus makes in Matthew 24. In verse 8, after listing some signs of the end of the age, Jesus says, "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs." In verses 32-33, After Jesus has described that which will take place in the middle of Daniel's 70th week and following - leading right up to a description of His glorious second coming, Jesus says: "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and put forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; even so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door."
Jesus is speaking clearly of signs that shall be visible on the earth. He speaks of signs in nature and signs of persecution, betrayal, false prophets, false Christs, great deception and apostasy (falling away from genuine faith). The parables tell us that these signs will proceed in two ways. First, they will be like birth pangs. A woman's pregnancy could be compared to Jesus words, which when spoken are a surety of things to come. Eventually there comes a time of birth pangs, which increase in both frequency and intensity, followed by hard labor, and ultimately the promised delivery. Second, they will be like the fig tree, indicating a relentless progression from tender shoot, to leaves, and ultimately the promised fruit.
In the next installments we will examine some of those signs in detail, and we will discover how Jesus' Olivet Discourse, truly is the chief cornerstone of the apostles' foundational teaching concerning end-times (eschatology). We will discover that His teaching is definitely for the church, and how our understanding of this is necessary to prepare us to, as Peter said in 2 Peter 3:14 - "Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless."
Until then, be encouraged by Christ.
Les Young is available for teaching/speaking engagements ranging from sermons to day-long seminars. For details and contact information, check www.endtimesencouragement.com
No comments:
Post a Comment