Matthew 24:2 Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.
The temple was one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and had been under construction for decades. Many of the stones were massive, and some weighed almost a million pounds. But within forty years, the Romans captured Jerusalem, and set fire to the temple. The gold leaf on the roof melted between the stones, and the Romans pried them apart to recover it. No two stones were left together, just as Jesus foretold.
Biblical prophecy proves the Bible is God’s word, and that Jesus is God’s Messiah. Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), would be descended from David (Jeremiah 23:5), would perform miracles (Isaiah 34:5-6), would ride a donkey into Jerusalem while receiving praise (Zechariah 9:9), would be rejected (Isaiah 53:3), would die for our sins (Isaiah 53:5), and would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10). These seven prophecies should be enough to convince reasonable people.
Imagine a meeting between a spy and a government employee, in which the spy was to identify himself by seven pre-arranged signs. First, he was to write a letter to the government employee saying he was in town. Second, he was to wait until a certain date. Third, he was to go to a certain statue. Fourth, he was to wear red socks. Fifth, he was to stand with his middle finger in a book. Sixth, when approached, he was to comment on the statue. Seventh, he was to say that he was from Oklahoma. The prearranged signs would guarantee that he was the proper contact, and the prophecies Jesus fulfilled guarantee that he is God’s Messiah (source unknown).
Matthew 24:10 [M]any will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.
Instead of the world becoming increasingly Christian, we can expect much of the world to become post-Christian. There was a time when most of Europe was at least culturally Christian, but today church attendance there is extremely low. Many can remember a time when the United States was at least culturally Christian, but today it has become post-Christian as well.
I know I’m getting old, but I can still remember when chastity was a virtue, and premarital sex was sin. Living together apart from marriage was called living in sin, and homosexuality was an abomination. Today the highest civic virtue is tolerance, and we tolerate everything except calling sin by name. We live in an age of national apostasy.
But apostasy is personal before it’s national, and often comes with a sense of impending doom. A college professor was raised in a Christian home and studied for the ministry. But over time he rejected Christianity and now has frightening thoughts.
When I fell away from my faith—not just in the Bible as God’s inspired word, but in Christ as the only way of salvation, and eventually from the view that Christ was himself divine, and beyond that from the view that there is an all-powerful God in charge of this world—I still wondered, deep down inside: could I have been right after all? What if I was right then but wrong now? Will I burn in hell forever? The fear of death gripped me for years, and there are still moments when I wake up at night in a cold sweat (Bart D. Ehrman, God’s Problem).
Whenever we’re tempted to walk away from Christ we ought to reconsider. The Christian life isn’t easy, but it’s not as hard as eternal misery. And if you know someone who’s fallen away from Christ, don’t forget about them. Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins (James 5:20), wrote James.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
In spite of a great apostasy, Jesus also predicted a great advance of his kingdom. This must have seemed optimistic in light of how small the movement was at the time of Jesus’ death. The core group was just a hundred twenty people (Acts 1:15). But it expanded greatly on the day of Pentecost and, today, Christianity is the largest religion in the world.
And with the help of technology, Bible translation is happening faster than ever. Some estimates say that by the year 2025 every known people-group will have part of the Bible in their own language. This may signal the end of the age since Jesus said, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world . . . and then the end will come.
It’s remarkable that Jesus predicted the globalization of Christianity, and a great apostasy, since they seem to be contradictory. Globalization suggests progress, and apostasy suggests regress. One speaks of gaining ground, the other of losing ground. But over the course of history that’s precisely what we find. Christianity is always growing somewhere, and dying somewhere else. This would be difficult to predict apart from the mind of God.
Reflection and Review
How does biblical prophecy prove that Jesus is the Messiah?
Are you ever tempted to turn away from Christ?
Do you think Christ will return before you die?
The temple was one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and had been under construction for decades. Many of the stones were massive, and some weighed almost a million pounds. But within forty years, the Romans captured Jerusalem, and set fire to the temple. The gold leaf on the roof melted between the stones, and the Romans pried them apart to recover it. No two stones were left together, just as Jesus foretold.
Biblical prophecy proves the Bible is God’s word, and that Jesus is God’s Messiah. Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), would be descended from David (Jeremiah 23:5), would perform miracles (Isaiah 34:5-6), would ride a donkey into Jerusalem while receiving praise (Zechariah 9:9), would be rejected (Isaiah 53:3), would die for our sins (Isaiah 53:5), and would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10). These seven prophecies should be enough to convince reasonable people.
Imagine a meeting between a spy and a government employee, in which the spy was to identify himself by seven pre-arranged signs. First, he was to write a letter to the government employee saying he was in town. Second, he was to wait until a certain date. Third, he was to go to a certain statue. Fourth, he was to wear red socks. Fifth, he was to stand with his middle finger in a book. Sixth, when approached, he was to comment on the statue. Seventh, he was to say that he was from Oklahoma. The prearranged signs would guarantee that he was the proper contact, and the prophecies Jesus fulfilled guarantee that he is God’s Messiah (source unknown).
Matthew 24:10 [M]any will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.
Instead of the world becoming increasingly Christian, we can expect much of the world to become post-Christian. There was a time when most of Europe was at least culturally Christian, but today church attendance there is extremely low. Many can remember a time when the United States was at least culturally Christian, but today it has become post-Christian as well.
I know I’m getting old, but I can still remember when chastity was a virtue, and premarital sex was sin. Living together apart from marriage was called living in sin, and homosexuality was an abomination. Today the highest civic virtue is tolerance, and we tolerate everything except calling sin by name. We live in an age of national apostasy.
But apostasy is personal before it’s national, and often comes with a sense of impending doom. A college professor was raised in a Christian home and studied for the ministry. But over time he rejected Christianity and now has frightening thoughts.
When I fell away from my faith—not just in the Bible as God’s inspired word, but in Christ as the only way of salvation, and eventually from the view that Christ was himself divine, and beyond that from the view that there is an all-powerful God in charge of this world—I still wondered, deep down inside: could I have been right after all? What if I was right then but wrong now? Will I burn in hell forever? The fear of death gripped me for years, and there are still moments when I wake up at night in a cold sweat (Bart D. Ehrman, God’s Problem).
Whenever we’re tempted to walk away from Christ we ought to reconsider. The Christian life isn’t easy, but it’s not as hard as eternal misery. And if you know someone who’s fallen away from Christ, don’t forget about them. Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins (James 5:20), wrote James.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
In spite of a great apostasy, Jesus also predicted a great advance of his kingdom. This must have seemed optimistic in light of how small the movement was at the time of Jesus’ death. The core group was just a hundred twenty people (Acts 1:15). But it expanded greatly on the day of Pentecost and, today, Christianity is the largest religion in the world.
And with the help of technology, Bible translation is happening faster than ever. Some estimates say that by the year 2025 every known people-group will have part of the Bible in their own language. This may signal the end of the age since Jesus said, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world . . . and then the end will come.
It’s remarkable that Jesus predicted the globalization of Christianity, and a great apostasy, since they seem to be contradictory. Globalization suggests progress, and apostasy suggests regress. One speaks of gaining ground, the other of losing ground. But over the course of history that’s precisely what we find. Christianity is always growing somewhere, and dying somewhere else. This would be difficult to predict apart from the mind of God.
Reflection and Review
How does biblical prophecy prove that Jesus is the Messiah?
Are you ever tempted to turn away from Christ?
Do you think Christ will return before you die?