*Matthew 22:3-14 / *Mt. 22:3 -
This does not require that those who rejected the invitation were able to accept it. Instead, they could have been unwilling to accept it because they were not elect/chosen by God (Matthew 22:14), and so were unable to accept it (John 6:65, John 8:42-47, John 10:26, Matthew 13:38-42).
(See Romans 9:11 below)
~
(Re: Why did the king get angry if they had no ability to accept it?)
See John 3:18b below.
--
*Matthew 22:11-13 / *Mt. 22:11 -
Here the wedding garment represents the righteousness of Christians (Revelation 19:8), which is conditional not only on their continued faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22), but also on their continued doing of righteous deeds (1 John 3:7, James 2:24). Some Christians will end up suffering the fate of Matthew 22:13 because of unrepentant laziness (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8); or because of unrepentant sinfulness (Luke 12:45-46, Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27), or apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:12b).
(See Ephesians 2:8 below)
--
*Matthew 22:14 / *Mt. 22:14 -
This means that while everyone is called to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, insofar as it is preached to everyone (Mark 16:15), not everyone is elected (chosen) by God to be given the miraculous gift of faith in the Gospel (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65), and to be given the gift of repentance (2 Timothy 2:25). Nonelect people cannot ever believe the Gospel (John 8:47, John 10:26).
The Bible does not say why God has chosen to save only a relatively few people (Matthew 22:14, Matthew 7:14) compared with all of humanity. But it is probably to make a point about how horribly corrupt mankind is (Romans 3:9-12); just as God destroyed all of mankind in Noah's Flood except for only eight people (1 Peter 3:20), because of how horribly corrupt mankind had become (Genesis 6:5-8).
(See also Romans 9:11 below)
--
*Matthew 22:30 / *Mt. 22:30 -
(Re: *Like angels)
Matthew 22:30 can mean that resurrected Christians will not marry, just as angels do not marry. It does not contradict that Christians will be resurrected (if dead) or changed (if alive) into immortal flesh bodies at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming; just as Jesus Himself was resurrected into an immortal flesh body on the third day after His death (Luke 24:39,46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4,21-23,51-53, Philippians 3:21, Romans 8:23-25).
(See also Luke 24:39 below)
--
*Matthew 23:2-3 / *Mt. 23:2 -
Note that Jesus said to do what they said, not to reject what they said. But this applied only to the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which Jesus Christ abolished on the Cross (Ephesians 2:15).
(See the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 below)
--
*Matthew 23:4 / *Mt. 23:4 -
This cannot apply to the New Covenant/New Testament law of Jesus Christ, for it is not grievous (1 John 5:3).
--
*Matthew 23:34 / *Mt. 23:34 -
This is referring to non-Christian, religious Jews persecuting and killing Christians. While some non-Christian Jews fulfilled Matthew 23:34 in the past (e.g. Acts 7:59), some non-Christian Jews will not be alone in fulfilling the killing of Christians (as in Revelation 6:11b) during the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24. For Matthew 24:9 shows that during the future Tribulation, Biblical Christians will be hated and killed by people of every nation.
--
*Matthew 23:35-37 / *Mt. 23:35 -
Regarding the symbolic "Babylon" of Revelation chapters 17-18, what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 23:35-37 could mean that at the first century AD time that He spoke Matthew 23:35, in God's eyes Jerusalem was, as it were, the "crowning city" (cf. Isaiah 23:8) of mankind's corrupt religions, one leg of the corrupt world-system represented by Revelation's "Babylon" (Revelation 18:24). Today, in God's eyes, Jerusalem may again be the "crowning city" of mankind's corrupt religions, as it is held sacred by three different religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), two of which are the largest in the world (Christianity and Islam).
But Revelation's symbolic "Babylon", in its entirety, represents...
(See Revelation chapters 17-18 below)
~
(Zacharias)
In Matthew 23:35 the Zacharias slain between the temple and the altar is the one in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, who was slain hundreds of years before the temporal generation alive at Jesus Christ's first coming in the first century AD. Yet Jesus says to them: "ye" slew Zacharias (Matthew 23:35). So the generation that He is talking about in Matthew 23:36 cannot be a temporal generation, but must be a figurative generation of the wicked of all times (Proverbs 30:11-14).
Also, there is no proof that Barachias (Matthew 23:35) could not have been another name for Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20-21).
(See also the next entry)
--
*Matthew 23:36 / *Mt. 23:36 -
If this refers to 70 AD, then it cannot refer to the same, temporal generation as Matthew 24:34.
(See Matthew 24:34 below)
--
*Matthew 23:37b / *Mt. 23:37b -
This and Luke 13:34b refer back to God's desire for Jerusalem during Old Testament times (e.g. Jeremiah 17:24-26). So Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 are addressing the city of Jerusalem in general, not the specific, nonelect Jews alive there at the time of Jesus Christ's first coming, who as nonelect people could never believe in Jesus (John 8:42-47), because God wanted it that way (John 12:37-41). Matthew 23:39 and Luke 13:35b refer to the non-Christian elect Jews who will still be alive in Jerusalem at Jesus' future, Second Coming (Zechariah 12:10-14, Romans 11:26-29).
(See Romans 11:25 and Romans 9:11 below)
--
*Matthew 23:38-39 / *Mt. 23:38 -
Matthew 23:38 refers to the spiritual desolation of Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37) insofar as it rejects Jesus Christ (1 John 5:12b, cf. Galatians 4:25), while Matthew 23:39 refers to the future salvation of the non-Christian elect Jews who will still be alive in Jerusalem at Jesus' future, Second Coming, when they will see Him in person and believe in Him (Zechariah 12:10-14, Romans 11:26-29).
Also, Matthew 23:38, like Matthew 27:51, did not mean that the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem had become spiritually desolate. For it remained holy even after Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. That is why the Church continued to worship God there (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17).
(See also Matthew 27:51 below)
~
(Re: Amillennialism: Does not this passage mean that God is not obligated to fulfill a covenant broken by Israel?)
The future Millennium will be under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant. Both covenants were made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
(See the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 below. Also, see the "Tribes" section of Romans 11:17 below)
--
*Matthew 24 / *Mt. 24 (Generally) -
(Re: Not fulfilled)
Just as the highly detailed Tribulation events of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 have never been fulfilled, so the Tribulation events of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 have never been fulfilled. For example, Luke 21:24 refers to the same, future treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles as Revelation 11:2b, during the future Antichrist's literal, 42-month worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-18), the details of which time period are shown from four different angles in Revelation chapters 11 to 14 (Revelation 11:2b-3, Revelation 12:6,14, Revelation 13:5,7, Revelation 14:9-13). The myriad details of these chapters have never been fulfilled. Similarly, Jesus Christ's Second Coming and the Church's gathering together (rapture) in Matthew 24:30-31 (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) have never been fulfilled, but must occur "immediately after" the future Tribulation of Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and Revelation chapters 6 to 18 (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:2 to 20:6).
(See the "Partial preterism?" section of 2 Thessalonians 2:1 below. Also, see Matthew 24:2 and Matthew 24:15 below. And see Revelation 13:5 below regarding the 42 months)
~
(Re: But Jesus said "you" will see...)
While Jesus Christ was originally speaking with His apostles in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, in His mind all Christians of all times are one (John 17:20-21, Ephesians 4:4-5). So the "ye" in Matthew 24 does not require that Matthew 24 was fulfilled in the lifetime of the apostles. The "ye" will see "all these things" (Matthew 24:33-34), including Jesus' never-fulfilled Second Coming (Matthew 24:30-34). The "ye" must watch (stay awake, spiritually) for the Second Coming (Matthew 24:42,44).
(See also the "relevant" section of Revelation chapters 6 to 22 (Overview) below. And see section 2 of Ephesians 4:4 below)
~
(Re: Was Jesus talking to different audiences throughout the chapter?)
No, He is addressing only the Church throughout Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, just as He was originally addressing only His disciples privately (Matthew 24:3).
~
(Re: *Tribulation saints? / *Trib saints?)
Jesus Christ spoke specifically of His "church" (Matthew 16:18, Matthew 18:17) before He spoke Matthew 24. And Matthew 24 refers to the future Tribulation, by which time the Church will have existed for some 2,000 years. The saints who will be in the Tribulation will be the Church, for they will be believers in Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:9-13, Revelation 7:9,14, Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6), and there are no believers in Jesus Christ outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-6). Those in the Church who will be in the Tribulation could include most of the Christians alive today, whether Jews or Gentiles, for there will be no pre-tribulation rapture (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 24:29-31).
Also, Matthew 24 was addressed privately only to Christians (Matthew 24:3-4,9), and in Jesus Christ's mind all Christians of all times are one (John 17:20-21, Ephesians 4:4-6). The entire book of Revelation was likewise addressed only to Christians (Revelation 1:1-4, Revelation 22:16). Just as the mistaken pre-tribulation-rapture view admits, for example, that John 14, Matthew 24's parallel chapter of Luke 21, and Matthew 28 can apply to the Church today (e.g. Luke 21:36, John 14:3, Matthew 28:18-19), so the pre-tribulation-rapture view should be able to admit that Matthew 24 and Revelation chapters 6 to 18 can apply to the Church today.
(See also Matthew 24:9, Matthew 24:16, and Matthew 24:20 below)
~
(Re: Does Matthew 24 concern only Jewish things, like their temple, and when their king would return and bring in their kingdom?)
The Church went to the temple (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17). And Jesus Christ is the King of all Christians (1 Timothy 6:15), not just Jewish Christians. Also, Matthew 24:30-31 refers to the same future, Second Coming of Jesus and gathering together (rapture) of the Church as 2 Thessalonians 2:1, which refers to the same Second Coming of Jesus and catching up together (rapture) of the Church as 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. And the physically resurrected Church will rule on the earth with the returned Jesus during the future, Millennial aspect of His Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). For the Church is Israel (Romans 11:1,17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29, Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10).
(See also the "Tribes" section of Romans 11:17 below)
~
(Re: Was the Tribulation fulfilled by *World War II, which lasted 3.5 years?) / (*WW II)
No, for the highly detailed Tribulation events of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 did not happen during World War II. Also, Jesus Christ did not return immediately after World War II, but He will return immediately after the future Tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6). Also, the never-fulfilled 3.5 years in Revelation which are shown in detail from four different angles in Revelation chapters 11 to 14 (Revelation 11:2b-3, Revelation 12:6,14, Revelation 13:5,7, Revelation 14:9-13) will be during only the second half of the Tribulation.
Also, World War II lasted longer than 3.5 years. For it lasted from 1939 to 1945. It is sometimes claimed that it did not become a World War until December 7, 1941, when the U.S. entered the war. But World War II was a World War even prior to December 7, 1941, because, for example, the U.S. had already been materially supporting Britain in its war effort. Also, it is sometimes claimed that from the attack on Pearl Harbor until the end of the war was 3.5 years. But from the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 until the end of the war on September 22, 1945 was longer than 3.5 years. And even if someone were to mistakenly claim that World War II ended with the surrender of Germany (but not Japan) on May 8, 1945, then from the attack on Pearl Harbor until the surrender of Germany was less than 3.5 years.
--
*Matthew 24:1 / *Mt. 24:1 -
(Re: Did the second Jewish temple exclude the Wailing Wall?)
No, for in Matthew 24:1-2, Mark 13:1-3, and Luke 21:5-6, the original Greek word (hieron: G2411) translated as "temple", as it is also used in Matthew 12:6, Luke 22:52, Acts 3:2,10, Acts 4:1, and Acts 5:24, can include "the entire precincts" of the second Jewish temple (Strong's Greek Dictionary), which would include its Wailing Wall.
(See also Revelation 11:1 below)
~
(Re: Did the *buildings exclude the Wailing Wall?)
No, for in Matthew 24:1-2 the original Greek word (oikodome: G3619) translated as "buildings" includes "structures" in general (Strong's Greek Dictionary), which would include the second Jewish temple-complex's Wailing Wall, and not just structures which English speakers would consider to be "buildings".
~
(Re: But is the most common use still "building"?)
In the New Testament, the most common use of the original Greek word "oikodome" (G3619), translated as "buildings" in Matthew 24:1, is not to refer only to "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word. In fact, nothing requires that the word is ever used in that limited way in the New Testament. For Matthew 24:1, Mark 13:1, and Mark 13:2 can be using the word in the sense of any literal "edifice" (part of studylight.org's definition of oikodome). And the Wailing Wall can be referred to even in English as an "edifice". For in English an "edifice" can be any "large or massive structure" (Webster's English Dictionary), just as Strong's Greek Dictionary says that oikodome (G3619) can refer to any "structure", not just to "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word.
Similarly, Romans 14:19, Romans 15:2, 1 Corinthians 14:3,5,12,26, 2 Corinthians 10:8, 2 Corinthians 12:19, 2 Corinthians 13:10, and Ephesians 4:12,16,29 use the same original Greek word oikodome (G3619) to refer not to any "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word, but to how Christians should spiritually "edify" one another.
And 1 Corinthians 3:9 and Ephesians 2:21 refer only to a figurative building made up of all Christians. And 2 Corinthians 5:1 refers only to a figurative building related to the individual body of each Christian.
So not once in the New Testament do we find that the original Greek word oikodome (G3619) must be referring only to "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word.
~
(Re: But were not the disciples pointing out the beautifully decorated second temple buildings, and not the unremarkable Wailing Wall?)
See Luke 21:5 below.
--
*Matthew 24:2 / *Mt. 24:2 -
(Re: *Wailing Wall)
(See Matthew 24:1 above)
The end of the second Jewish temple building (also called Herod's temple building) in Jerusalem in 70 AD did not fulfill Matthew 24:2. For the stones of the second temple's Wailing Wall (also called the Western Wall) still stand today one on top of the other, just as they did when Jesus Christ spoke that prophecy. Matthew 24:2 included the Wailing Wall, for Matthew 24:2 was referring not only to the single, second temple building which stood in the center of the Temple Mount, and which contained the holy place and the most holy place, but was referring to "all these things", all the plural "buildings"/structures/oikodome (G3619) of the entire second temple complex (Matthew 24:1).
Indeed, Matthew 24:2 could even have been spoken just to the north and west of the Wailing Wall. For it was spoken right after Jesus Christ had departed from the temple complex (Matthew 24:1). And one of the main temple-complex exits (called Wilson's Arch and bridge by archaeologists) was just to the north of the Wailing Wall, and at the same level as the top of the Temple Mount (see the temple-complex map-insert in the December, 2008 issue of National Geographic magazine).
Also, in Matthew 24:2 the "here" can include not just the entire second temple complex, but every structure throughout Jerusalem. For the similar statement in Luke 19:44 applied to the whole city (Luke 19:41-44). Matthew 24:2 and Luke 19:44 could be fulfilled at the very end of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, right before and at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Zechariah 14:2-21, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
(See paragraph 4 of Revelation 11:1 below)
~
(Re: Why pay any attention to Herod's, not God's, Wailing Wall? Why do Jews and Christians worship it like some idol?)
While God may have not specifically authorized Herod's building of the Wailing Wall to support an expanded Temple Mount, God accepted it. For He kept His presence in the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem even after the wall had been built (Matthew 23:21, John 2:16). That is why the temple was able to sanctify the gold of the temple (Matthew 23:17), and the altar of the temple was able to sanctify the gifts on the altar (Matthew 23:19).
When non-Christian Jews worship at the Wailing Wall, they do not worship the wall itself, but are trying to get as close as possible to the second-temple experience of God's presence. The problem is that in rejecting Jesus Christ, they unwittingly reject God (John 1:1,14, John 10:30, John 20:28; 1 John 2:22-23). And their forbears' rejection of Jesus/God at His first coming resulted in the whole of Jerusalem being left spiritually desolate of God's special presence until Jesus' future, Second Coming (Matthew 23:38-39).
That is why when Christians go to Jerusalem today and pray at the Wailing Wall, or even walk inside the Dome of the Rock built over the site of the Holy of holies of the second Jewish temple, if Christians are honest with themselves they will have to admit that there is no special spiritual presence of God in these places. Yet they can go back to their hotel room and open their Bible and begin reading and immediately feel that special presence.
Also, when Christians go to Jerusalem today and pray at the Wailing Wall, this is not idolatry, because they are not praying to the wall or worshipping it, but are acknowledging that it was part of God's second temple complex in which He dwelt at the time of Jesus Christ's first coming (Matthew 23:21, John 2:16). And the wall is located at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where Jesus will build a fourth temple building at His future, Second Coming (Zechariah 14:20-21, Zechariah 6:12-13).
(See also Revelation 11:1 below)
-
Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Dec 1, 2018
This does not require that those who rejected the invitation were able to accept it. Instead, they could have been unwilling to accept it because they were not elect/chosen by God (Matthew 22:14), and so were unable to accept it (John 6:65, John 8:42-47, John 10:26, Matthew 13:38-42).
(See Romans 9:11 below)
~
(Re: Why did the king get angry if they had no ability to accept it?)
See John 3:18b below.
--
*Matthew 22:11-13 / *Mt. 22:11 -
Here the wedding garment represents the righteousness of Christians (Revelation 19:8), which is conditional not only on their continued faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22), but also on their continued doing of righteous deeds (1 John 3:7, James 2:24). Some Christians will end up suffering the fate of Matthew 22:13 because of unrepentant laziness (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8); or because of unrepentant sinfulness (Luke 12:45-46, Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27), or apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:12b).
(See Ephesians 2:8 below)
--
*Matthew 22:14 / *Mt. 22:14 -
This means that while everyone is called to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, insofar as it is preached to everyone (Mark 16:15), not everyone is elected (chosen) by God to be given the miraculous gift of faith in the Gospel (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65), and to be given the gift of repentance (2 Timothy 2:25). Nonelect people cannot ever believe the Gospel (John 8:47, John 10:26).
The Bible does not say why God has chosen to save only a relatively few people (Matthew 22:14, Matthew 7:14) compared with all of humanity. But it is probably to make a point about how horribly corrupt mankind is (Romans 3:9-12); just as God destroyed all of mankind in Noah's Flood except for only eight people (1 Peter 3:20), because of how horribly corrupt mankind had become (Genesis 6:5-8).
(See also Romans 9:11 below)
--
*Matthew 22:30 / *Mt. 22:30 -
(Re: *Like angels)
Matthew 22:30 can mean that resurrected Christians will not marry, just as angels do not marry. It does not contradict that Christians will be resurrected (if dead) or changed (if alive) into immortal flesh bodies at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming; just as Jesus Himself was resurrected into an immortal flesh body on the third day after His death (Luke 24:39,46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4,21-23,51-53, Philippians 3:21, Romans 8:23-25).
(See also Luke 24:39 below)
--
*Matthew 23:2-3 / *Mt. 23:2 -
Note that Jesus said to do what they said, not to reject what they said. But this applied only to the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which Jesus Christ abolished on the Cross (Ephesians 2:15).
(See the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 below)
--
*Matthew 23:4 / *Mt. 23:4 -
This cannot apply to the New Covenant/New Testament law of Jesus Christ, for it is not grievous (1 John 5:3).
--
*Matthew 23:34 / *Mt. 23:34 -
This is referring to non-Christian, religious Jews persecuting and killing Christians. While some non-Christian Jews fulfilled Matthew 23:34 in the past (e.g. Acts 7:59), some non-Christian Jews will not be alone in fulfilling the killing of Christians (as in Revelation 6:11b) during the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24. For Matthew 24:9 shows that during the future Tribulation, Biblical Christians will be hated and killed by people of every nation.
--
*Matthew 23:35-37 / *Mt. 23:35 -
Regarding the symbolic "Babylon" of Revelation chapters 17-18, what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 23:35-37 could mean that at the first century AD time that He spoke Matthew 23:35, in God's eyes Jerusalem was, as it were, the "crowning city" (cf. Isaiah 23:8) of mankind's corrupt religions, one leg of the corrupt world-system represented by Revelation's "Babylon" (Revelation 18:24). Today, in God's eyes, Jerusalem may again be the "crowning city" of mankind's corrupt religions, as it is held sacred by three different religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), two of which are the largest in the world (Christianity and Islam).
But Revelation's symbolic "Babylon", in its entirety, represents...
(See Revelation chapters 17-18 below)
~
(Zacharias)
In Matthew 23:35 the Zacharias slain between the temple and the altar is the one in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, who was slain hundreds of years before the temporal generation alive at Jesus Christ's first coming in the first century AD. Yet Jesus says to them: "ye" slew Zacharias (Matthew 23:35). So the generation that He is talking about in Matthew 23:36 cannot be a temporal generation, but must be a figurative generation of the wicked of all times (Proverbs 30:11-14).
Also, there is no proof that Barachias (Matthew 23:35) could not have been another name for Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20-21).
(See also the next entry)
--
*Matthew 23:36 / *Mt. 23:36 -
If this refers to 70 AD, then it cannot refer to the same, temporal generation as Matthew 24:34.
(See Matthew 24:34 below)
--
*Matthew 23:37b / *Mt. 23:37b -
This and Luke 13:34b refer back to God's desire for Jerusalem during Old Testament times (e.g. Jeremiah 17:24-26). So Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 are addressing the city of Jerusalem in general, not the specific, nonelect Jews alive there at the time of Jesus Christ's first coming, who as nonelect people could never believe in Jesus (John 8:42-47), because God wanted it that way (John 12:37-41). Matthew 23:39 and Luke 13:35b refer to the non-Christian elect Jews who will still be alive in Jerusalem at Jesus' future, Second Coming (Zechariah 12:10-14, Romans 11:26-29).
(See Romans 11:25 and Romans 9:11 below)
--
*Matthew 23:38-39 / *Mt. 23:38 -
Matthew 23:38 refers to the spiritual desolation of Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37) insofar as it rejects Jesus Christ (1 John 5:12b, cf. Galatians 4:25), while Matthew 23:39 refers to the future salvation of the non-Christian elect Jews who will still be alive in Jerusalem at Jesus' future, Second Coming, when they will see Him in person and believe in Him (Zechariah 12:10-14, Romans 11:26-29).
Also, Matthew 23:38, like Matthew 27:51, did not mean that the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem had become spiritually desolate. For it remained holy even after Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. That is why the Church continued to worship God there (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17).
(See also Matthew 27:51 below)
~
(Re: Amillennialism: Does not this passage mean that God is not obligated to fulfill a covenant broken by Israel?)
The future Millennium will be under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant. Both covenants were made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
(See the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 below. Also, see the "Tribes" section of Romans 11:17 below)
--
*Matthew 24 / *Mt. 24 (Generally) -
(Re: Not fulfilled)
Just as the highly detailed Tribulation events of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 have never been fulfilled, so the Tribulation events of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 have never been fulfilled. For example, Luke 21:24 refers to the same, future treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles as Revelation 11:2b, during the future Antichrist's literal, 42-month worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-18), the details of which time period are shown from four different angles in Revelation chapters 11 to 14 (Revelation 11:2b-3, Revelation 12:6,14, Revelation 13:5,7, Revelation 14:9-13). The myriad details of these chapters have never been fulfilled. Similarly, Jesus Christ's Second Coming and the Church's gathering together (rapture) in Matthew 24:30-31 (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) have never been fulfilled, but must occur "immediately after" the future Tribulation of Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and Revelation chapters 6 to 18 (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:2 to 20:6).
(See the "Partial preterism?" section of 2 Thessalonians 2:1 below. Also, see Matthew 24:2 and Matthew 24:15 below. And see Revelation 13:5 below regarding the 42 months)
~
(Re: But Jesus said "you" will see...)
While Jesus Christ was originally speaking with His apostles in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, in His mind all Christians of all times are one (John 17:20-21, Ephesians 4:4-5). So the "ye" in Matthew 24 does not require that Matthew 24 was fulfilled in the lifetime of the apostles. The "ye" will see "all these things" (Matthew 24:33-34), including Jesus' never-fulfilled Second Coming (Matthew 24:30-34). The "ye" must watch (stay awake, spiritually) for the Second Coming (Matthew 24:42,44).
(See also the "relevant" section of Revelation chapters 6 to 22 (Overview) below. And see section 2 of Ephesians 4:4 below)
~
(Re: Was Jesus talking to different audiences throughout the chapter?)
No, He is addressing only the Church throughout Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, just as He was originally addressing only His disciples privately (Matthew 24:3).
~
(Re: *Tribulation saints? / *Trib saints?)
Jesus Christ spoke specifically of His "church" (Matthew 16:18, Matthew 18:17) before He spoke Matthew 24. And Matthew 24 refers to the future Tribulation, by which time the Church will have existed for some 2,000 years. The saints who will be in the Tribulation will be the Church, for they will be believers in Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:9-13, Revelation 7:9,14, Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6), and there are no believers in Jesus Christ outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-6). Those in the Church who will be in the Tribulation could include most of the Christians alive today, whether Jews or Gentiles, for there will be no pre-tribulation rapture (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 24:29-31).
Also, Matthew 24 was addressed privately only to Christians (Matthew 24:3-4,9), and in Jesus Christ's mind all Christians of all times are one (John 17:20-21, Ephesians 4:4-6). The entire book of Revelation was likewise addressed only to Christians (Revelation 1:1-4, Revelation 22:16). Just as the mistaken pre-tribulation-rapture view admits, for example, that John 14, Matthew 24's parallel chapter of Luke 21, and Matthew 28 can apply to the Church today (e.g. Luke 21:36, John 14:3, Matthew 28:18-19), so the pre-tribulation-rapture view should be able to admit that Matthew 24 and Revelation chapters 6 to 18 can apply to the Church today.
(See also Matthew 24:9, Matthew 24:16, and Matthew 24:20 below)
~
(Re: Does Matthew 24 concern only Jewish things, like their temple, and when their king would return and bring in their kingdom?)
The Church went to the temple (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17). And Jesus Christ is the King of all Christians (1 Timothy 6:15), not just Jewish Christians. Also, Matthew 24:30-31 refers to the same future, Second Coming of Jesus and gathering together (rapture) of the Church as 2 Thessalonians 2:1, which refers to the same Second Coming of Jesus and catching up together (rapture) of the Church as 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. And the physically resurrected Church will rule on the earth with the returned Jesus during the future, Millennial aspect of His Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). For the Church is Israel (Romans 11:1,17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29, Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10).
(See also the "Tribes" section of Romans 11:17 below)
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(Re: Was the Tribulation fulfilled by *World War II, which lasted 3.5 years?) / (*WW II)
No, for the highly detailed Tribulation events of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 did not happen during World War II. Also, Jesus Christ did not return immediately after World War II, but He will return immediately after the future Tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6). Also, the never-fulfilled 3.5 years in Revelation which are shown in detail from four different angles in Revelation chapters 11 to 14 (Revelation 11:2b-3, Revelation 12:6,14, Revelation 13:5,7, Revelation 14:9-13) will be during only the second half of the Tribulation.
Also, World War II lasted longer than 3.5 years. For it lasted from 1939 to 1945. It is sometimes claimed that it did not become a World War until December 7, 1941, when the U.S. entered the war. But World War II was a World War even prior to December 7, 1941, because, for example, the U.S. had already been materially supporting Britain in its war effort. Also, it is sometimes claimed that from the attack on Pearl Harbor until the end of the war was 3.5 years. But from the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 until the end of the war on September 22, 1945 was longer than 3.5 years. And even if someone were to mistakenly claim that World War II ended with the surrender of Germany (but not Japan) on May 8, 1945, then from the attack on Pearl Harbor until the surrender of Germany was less than 3.5 years.
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*Matthew 24:1 / *Mt. 24:1 -
(Re: Did the second Jewish temple exclude the Wailing Wall?)
No, for in Matthew 24:1-2, Mark 13:1-3, and Luke 21:5-6, the original Greek word (hieron: G2411) translated as "temple", as it is also used in Matthew 12:6, Luke 22:52, Acts 3:2,10, Acts 4:1, and Acts 5:24, can include "the entire precincts" of the second Jewish temple (Strong's Greek Dictionary), which would include its Wailing Wall.
(See also Revelation 11:1 below)
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(Re: Did the *buildings exclude the Wailing Wall?)
No, for in Matthew 24:1-2 the original Greek word (oikodome: G3619) translated as "buildings" includes "structures" in general (Strong's Greek Dictionary), which would include the second Jewish temple-complex's Wailing Wall, and not just structures which English speakers would consider to be "buildings".
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(Re: But is the most common use still "building"?)
In the New Testament, the most common use of the original Greek word "oikodome" (G3619), translated as "buildings" in Matthew 24:1, is not to refer only to "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word. In fact, nothing requires that the word is ever used in that limited way in the New Testament. For Matthew 24:1, Mark 13:1, and Mark 13:2 can be using the word in the sense of any literal "edifice" (part of studylight.org's definition of oikodome). And the Wailing Wall can be referred to even in English as an "edifice". For in English an "edifice" can be any "large or massive structure" (Webster's English Dictionary), just as Strong's Greek Dictionary says that oikodome (G3619) can refer to any "structure", not just to "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word.
Similarly, Romans 14:19, Romans 15:2, 1 Corinthians 14:3,5,12,26, 2 Corinthians 10:8, 2 Corinthians 12:19, 2 Corinthians 13:10, and Ephesians 4:12,16,29 use the same original Greek word oikodome (G3619) to refer not to any "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word, but to how Christians should spiritually "edify" one another.
And 1 Corinthians 3:9 and Ephesians 2:21 refer only to a figurative building made up of all Christians. And 2 Corinthians 5:1 refers only to a figurative building related to the individual body of each Christian.
So not once in the New Testament do we find that the original Greek word oikodome (G3619) must be referring only to "buildings" in the literal English sense of that word.
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(Re: But were not the disciples pointing out the beautifully decorated second temple buildings, and not the unremarkable Wailing Wall?)
See Luke 21:5 below.
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*Matthew 24:2 / *Mt. 24:2 -
(Re: *Wailing Wall)
(See Matthew 24:1 above)
The end of the second Jewish temple building (also called Herod's temple building) in Jerusalem in 70 AD did not fulfill Matthew 24:2. For the stones of the second temple's Wailing Wall (also called the Western Wall) still stand today one on top of the other, just as they did when Jesus Christ spoke that prophecy. Matthew 24:2 included the Wailing Wall, for Matthew 24:2 was referring not only to the single, second temple building which stood in the center of the Temple Mount, and which contained the holy place and the most holy place, but was referring to "all these things", all the plural "buildings"/structures/oikodome (G3619) of the entire second temple complex (Matthew 24:1).
Indeed, Matthew 24:2 could even have been spoken just to the north and west of the Wailing Wall. For it was spoken right after Jesus Christ had departed from the temple complex (Matthew 24:1). And one of the main temple-complex exits (called Wilson's Arch and bridge by archaeologists) was just to the north of the Wailing Wall, and at the same level as the top of the Temple Mount (see the temple-complex map-insert in the December, 2008 issue of National Geographic magazine).
Also, in Matthew 24:2 the "here" can include not just the entire second temple complex, but every structure throughout Jerusalem. For the similar statement in Luke 19:44 applied to the whole city (Luke 19:41-44). Matthew 24:2 and Luke 19:44 could be fulfilled at the very end of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, right before and at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Zechariah 14:2-21, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
(See paragraph 4 of Revelation 11:1 below)
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(Re: Why pay any attention to Herod's, not God's, Wailing Wall? Why do Jews and Christians worship it like some idol?)
While God may have not specifically authorized Herod's building of the Wailing Wall to support an expanded Temple Mount, God accepted it. For He kept His presence in the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem even after the wall had been built (Matthew 23:21, John 2:16). That is why the temple was able to sanctify the gold of the temple (Matthew 23:17), and the altar of the temple was able to sanctify the gifts on the altar (Matthew 23:19).
When non-Christian Jews worship at the Wailing Wall, they do not worship the wall itself, but are trying to get as close as possible to the second-temple experience of God's presence. The problem is that in rejecting Jesus Christ, they unwittingly reject God (John 1:1,14, John 10:30, John 20:28; 1 John 2:22-23). And their forbears' rejection of Jesus/God at His first coming resulted in the whole of Jerusalem being left spiritually desolate of God's special presence until Jesus' future, Second Coming (Matthew 23:38-39).
That is why when Christians go to Jerusalem today and pray at the Wailing Wall, or even walk inside the Dome of the Rock built over the site of the Holy of holies of the second Jewish temple, if Christians are honest with themselves they will have to admit that there is no special spiritual presence of God in these places. Yet they can go back to their hotel room and open their Bible and begin reading and immediately feel that special presence.
Also, when Christians go to Jerusalem today and pray at the Wailing Wall, this is not idolatry, because they are not praying to the wall or worshipping it, but are acknowledging that it was part of God's second temple complex in which He dwelt at the time of Jesus Christ's first coming (Matthew 23:21, John 2:16). And the wall is located at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where Jesus will build a fourth temple building at His future, Second Coming (Zechariah 14:20-21, Zechariah 6:12-13).
(See also Revelation 11:1 below)
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