Sunday Morning slides 05/24/2015

1. Jesus is coming soon?
Heritage Addition church of Christ
By Jim Bradshaw
Sunday Morning, May 24, 2015
Lesson Text:
Matthew 24:1-22

2. Jesus is coming soon?
When is soon?
Will there be signs?
How many times will he return?

5. Revelation 22:20 ESV He who
testifies to these things says,
"Surely I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

6. Jesus is coming soon!
• His own disciples asked similar questions.
• Matthew 24:1-2 sets the context.
• The disciples will ask three separate questions.
Matthew 24:3 NKJV Now as He sat on the
Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him
privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things
be? And what will be the sign of Your coming,
and of the end of the age?”

7. When Will These Things Be?
1. Exactly what are these things?
Matthew 24:1-2 NKJV Then Jesus went out and
departed from the temple, and His disciples
came up to show Him the buildings of the
temple. (2) And Jesus said to them, "Do you
not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you,
not one stone shall be left here upon another,
that shall not be thrown down.”

8. When Will These Things Be?
1. Exactly what are these things?
– We are talking about the destruction of the
temple.
– By implication we are also talking about the
destruction of Jerusalem.
– It does not matter what may have been on the
disciples minds.
– The Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed in AD
70 by the Romans under the command of Titus.

9. Some stones were 70’ long x 12’ high x 18’ deep

10. Was the prophecy accurate?

11. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 NKJV And Jesus answered
and said to them: "Take heed that no one
deceives you. (5) For many will come in My
name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will
deceive many. (6) And you will hear of wars
and rumors of wars. See that you are not
troubled; for all these things must come to
pass, but the end is not yet. (7) For nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. And there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
(8) All these are the beginning of sorrows.

12. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 continued (9) "Then they will
deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and
you will be hated by all nations for My name's
sake. (10) And then many will be offended,
will betray one another, and will hate one
another. (11) Then many false prophets will
rise up and deceive many. (12) And because
lawlessness will abound, the love of many will
grow cold. (13) But he who endures to the
end shall be saved. (14) And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in all the world as a
witness to all the nations, and then the end will
come.

13. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 continued (15) "Therefore
when you see the 'ABOMINATION OF
DESOLATION,' spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever
reads, let him understand), (16) "then let
those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
(17) Let him who is on the housetop not go
down to take anything out of his house. (18)
And let him who is in the field not go back to
get his clothes. (19) But woe to those who are
pregnant and to those who are nursing babies
in those days!

14. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 continued (20) And pray that
your flight may not be in winter or on the
Sabbath. (21) For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the
beginning of the world until this time, no, nor
ever shall be. (22) And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the
elect's sake those days will be shortened.

15. The Destruction of Jerusalem
2. Remember we are talking about the
prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in
70 AD.
Matthew 24:34 NKJV Assuredly, I say to you,
this generation will by no means pass away till
all these things take place.

16. Joseph Henry Thayer defines the
Greek word for “generation” as the
whole multitude of men living at
the same time: Mt. xxiv. 34; Mk. xiii.
30; Lk. i. 48 xxi. 32 OR an age (i.e.
the time ordinarily occupied by
each successive generation), the
space of from 30 to 33 years"
(Greek-English Lexicon Of The New
Testament).
What is a generation?

17. W. E. Vine says the word is "connected
with ginomai, to become, primarily
signifies a begetting, or birth; or the
whole multitude of men living at the
same time, Matt. 24:34; Mark 13:30;
Luke 1:48; 21:32 Transferred from
people to the time in which they lived,
the word came to mean an age, i.e., a
period ordinarily occupied by each
successive generations, say, of thirty or
forty years" (Vine's Expository Dictionary
Of Biblical Words).
What is a generation?

18. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 23:36-38 NKJV Assuredly, I
say to you, all these things will come
upon this generation. (37) "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills
the prophets and stones those who are
sent to her! How often I wanted to
gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but
you were not willing! (38) See! Your
house is left to you desolate;

19. The Destruction of Jerusalem
2. Remember we are talking about the
prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in
70 AD.
a) Matthew 24:34
b) A generation means that the event would
happen within the disciples normal lifetime
expectancy.

20. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines & pestilences,
earthquakes, and was the Gospel preached to all
nations?
a) False Christ’s and false prophets
1) Josephus claimed that, "there was an Egyptian
false prophet that did the Jews more mischief than
the former; for he was a cheat, and pretended to
be a prophet also, and got together thirty
thousand men that were deluded by him; these he
led round from the wilderness to the mount which
was called the Mount of Olives, and was ready to
break into Jerusalem by force from that place."
(The Wars Of The Jews, 2:3:5).

21. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines & pestilences,
earthquakes, and was the Gospel preached to all nations?
a) False Christ’s and false prophets
Josephus also wrote: "Now it came to pass, while
Fadus was procurator of Judea, that a certain
magician, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a
great part of the people to take their efforts with
them, and follow him to the river Jordan; for he told
them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his
own command, divide the river, and afford them an
easy passage over it; and many were deluded by his
words." (The Antiquities Of The Jews, 20:5:1).

22. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines & pestilences,
earthquakes, and was the Gospel preached to all
nations?
b) Wars and Rumor of Wars
1) Tacitus, a Roman historian, said of this period:
"The history on which I am entering is that of a
period rich in disasters, terrible with battles, torn
by civil struggles, horrible even in peace. Four
emperors fell by the sword; there were three civil
wars, more foreign wars, and often both at the
same time." (The Histories, 1:2).

23. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines &
pestilences, earthquakes, and was the Gospel
preached to all nations?
c) Famines & Pestilences –
Acts 11:28 NKJV Then one of them, named Agabus,
stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was
going to be a great famine throughout all the world,
which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.

24. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines & pestilences,
earthquakes, and was the Gospel preached to all nations?
d) Earthquakes
1) J. Marcellus Kik said, "And as to earthquakes, many
are mentioned by writers during a period just
previous to 70 A.D. There were earthquakes in Crete,
Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Laodicea, Hierapolis,
Colosse, Campania, Rome, and Judea. It is interesting
to note that the city of Pompeii was much damaged
by an earthquake occurring on February 5, 63 A.D."
(An Eschatology Of Victory, p. 93).

25. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines & pestilences,
earthquakes, and was the Gospel preached to all
nations?
e) Was the Gospel of the kingdom preached throughout
the whole world?
1) Colossians 1:23 NKJV if indeed you continue in the
faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved
away from the hope of the gospel which you heard,
which was preached to every creature under
heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

26. God’s Word is True
4. An Unlikely Prophecy
a) The prophecy of Christ reinforces a previous
prophecy of Daniel (Abomination of Desolation);
Daniel 9:27, 12:11
b) No Roman ever gave the order to destroy Jerusalem
or the temple
c) Why overturn all the stones?
d) Was it really the greatest tribulations ever faced?
Matthew 24:21

27. Gates to city were closed on the Sabbath; Neh. 13:19
Although 1.1 million Jews died in the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 AD, NOT A SINGLE CHRISTIAN
PERISHED DURING THAT HORRIBLE SEIGE.

28. What does this mean to us?
5. We can rely on God’s Word
a) 2 Timothy 3:16
b) Jesus will return one day
1) Matthew 24:36 NKJV "But of that
day and hour no one knows, not
even the angels of heaven, but My
Father only.
c) What kind of life should we live?

29. Jesus is Coming Soon
2 Peter 3:10-12 NKJV (10) But the day of
the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great
noise, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat; both the earth and the works that are in
it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all
these things will be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the
coming of the day of God, because of which the
heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat?

30. Jesus is Coming Soon
2 Peter 3:14 NKJV Therefore, beloved,
looking forward to these things, be
diligent to be found by Him in peace,
without spot and blameless;