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As I've mentioned several times, 
there are a few, one of a few different ways to take this particular 
passage of scripture. One of the popular ways today 
is what's called the futurist interpretation. It works alongside 
of a dispensational eschatology, and essentially the bulk of the 
prophecy is in our future, not in Jesus' future or in the disciples 
here in the first century. Another popular approach is the 
two-event theory, that what we have in Matthew 24 specifically 
is Christ dealing with the destruction of the temple in AD 70, and as 
well dealing with his second physical coming at the end of 
the world. And then there is what's called 
the preterist interpretation. That is the position I hold to. 
I realize it's a minority position, but the text does drive my understanding. And because of time, we can't 
look at all three, and I am constrained to do what I believe the Spirit 
has intended in Scripture. Now, when I say that, I don't 
mean that if you disagree, you're somehow a heretic, or you're 
wrong, or you're going to be tarred and feathered. but rather 
I do believe that this is what is in this passage. So, I want 
to read the discourse specifically verses 1 to 35, and then we're 
going to focus on verses 15 to 20 this morning. But Matthew 
24, beginning in verse 1, Then Jesus went out and departed from 
the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings 
of the temple. 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. And 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? And Jesus answered and 
said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you. For many 
will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive 
many. 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. For nation will rise against 
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, 
and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of 
sorrows. Then they will deliver you up 
to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all 
nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, 
will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many 
false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness 
will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures 
to the end shall be saved. 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. Therefore, when you see the abomination 
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the 
holy place, whoever reads, let him understand. Then let those 
who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on 
the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And 
let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But 
woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing 
babies in those days. And pray that your flight may 
not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 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. And unless 
those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for 
the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. Then if anyone 
says to you, look, here is the Christ, or there, do not believe 
it. For false Christs and false prophets 
will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, 
even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. 
Therefore, if they say to you, look, he is in the desert, do 
not go out. Or, look, he is in the inner 
rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from 
the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the 
Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, 
there the eagles will be gathered together. Immediately after the 
tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the 
moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven 
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And the sign 
of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. And then all the tribes 
of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man 
coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And 
He will send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, 
and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, 
from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn this parable 
from the fig tree. When its branch has already become 
tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 
So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is 
near at the doors. Assuredly, I say to you, this 
generation will by no means pass away till all these things take 
place. Heaven and earth will pass away, 
but my words will by no means pass away. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you 
for the written word, and we pray now for the ministry of 
the Holy Spirit. We know, God, that Scripture 
did not originate with man, but it's given by inspiration of 
the Lord God Most High. We acknowledge that it's profitable 
to us for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction 
in righteousness. And I pray that you would thoroughly 
furnish us unto every good work. Help us to think clearly concerning 
matters of prophecy. Help us to think clearly concerning 
what is written in the Word of God itself. May you guide us 
and may you direct us and may you help us to understand this 
portion of Scripture. We ask that you would forgive 
us for our sins and our transgressions. Do cleanse us in the blood of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. For certainly God, no matter 
how we interpret the Olivet Discourse, we must interpret properly the 
life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We must, by 
grace, look to Him and live. And I pray that any that have 
come here this morning that are outside of Christ would hear 
the Gospel, and by your Spirit they would believe the Gospel, 
and they would be saved by your grace. For you are a great God, 
a sovereign God, a God who is able to do those things that 
are impossible with man, namely the salvation of sinners. Bless 
your Word as it goes forth. May it go forth conquering and 
to conquer. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, C.H. Spurgeon says concerning this 
particular section of the Olivet Discourse, he says, I want to 
give you just a bit of a historical background or a sketch concerning this particular time 
frame. In 66, or AD 66, the Jews revolted 
against the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the empire. They were the world power at 
that time. They had subjugated the Jews, but the Jews then revolted. 
And so in 67 and 68, the Roman commander Vespasian conquered 
most of Palestine. Civil war broke out in Rome itself 
in 68 and 69, so they suspended military operations in the east. At about that time, Jerusalem 
was subject to its own civil turmoil. There were various sects 
and various groups that were seeking to occupy the temple 
and seeking to be the authority in the city itself. So that demoralized 
the nation, it demoralized and weakened them, so that when the 
Roman civil wars were finished, Vespasian was promoted to emperor, 
and then Vespasian's son Titus went in and sieged the city specifically. It was about a five-month period 
where the city of Jerusalem was surrounded. Reading Josephus 
this past week, one of the main killers was famine. The persons 
didn't have food. Marauders were going about stealing 
food from anyone that had it, and there was all sorts of activities 
like that. So this five-month siege culminated 
in the destruction of the city and of its temple in the fall 
of AD 70. So I propose that that is what 
our Lord is speaking to. When we look at the passage, 
specifically in verses 4 to 14, we see that all of those things 
have a first century fulfillment. All of those things were accomplished 
prior to verse 15. If verse 14 speaks of the end 
of all things, everything following is superfluous. It is unnecessary 
for our Lord to command His disciples to flee the city if verse 14 
is the end of the world. There will be no place to flee 
to when Christ comes again in glory to judge the living and 
the dead. There are no mountains to find 
refuge in. There is no safety that the natural 
phenomena will afford to you. When Christ comes in glory to 
consummate the age, to offer up the kingdom to the Father, 
then the righteous will go into everlasting life and bliss, and 
the unrighteous will be cast into hell. So if you read this 
particular passage and you somehow conclude that when Jesus returns, 
I'll either A. have a second chance or B. have a place to flee to and hide, 
you are absolutely mistaken. You are willfully wrong. You 
must flee now to the Lord Jesus Christ to be protected on that 
day when He comes again in glory. You must believe on Him. You 
must look and live. You must trust the One who is 
altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. That One who lived 
in obedience to His Father's law. That One who went to the 
cross as a substitute and a sacrifice. that one raised on the third 
day. As Paul the Apostle says, Christ 
was delivered up because of our offenses, and He was raised up 
for our justification. So do not conclude from this 
portion of the Olivet Discourse that you will actually be able 
to escape when the Lord Jesus comes to judge the living and 
the dead. You cannot, you will not, nor 
will you ever be able to. You must Flee now. You must run now. You must heed 
the words of Solomon. The Lord, the name of the Lord 
is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are 
safe. Run to Christ, believe on Christ, 
look to Christ, listen to the Word of Christ, and flee for 
your safety now, because there's not going to be a time when He 
comes in glory to run and hide in the mountains of Judea. Let's 
look at what Christ instructs His disciples in verses 15 to 
20. He speaks first of a time to 
flee, and then secondly concerning the command to flee. Remember 
the broader context. This is the Tuesday evening of 
the Passion Week. The Tuesday day the Lord Christ 
spent in the temple complex. The Lord Christ spent in confrontation 
with the religious leaders. He condemned them and the nation 
three times via parable. There were four interchanges 
of direct confrontation, three times where the religious leaders 
come to press Him and ask Him questions, and then the last 
concerning the identity of Messiah, He presents to them. So this 
is the broad context, and in that particular section, He mentions 
the destruction of their city. We'll see that in a few moments. 
And then chapter 23, verses 1 to 12, He cautions His disciples 
in the multitudes from listening to, or following rather, or obeying 
the religious leaders of His day. In verses 13 to 36, He condemns 
them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites! In verses 34 to 36 specifically, 
He tells them, on you, the righteous judgment of God is going to come. You are culpable, you have filled 
up the measure of your father's guilt. And then in verses 37 
to 39, He laments over Jerusalem. Why? Because as their house is 
left to them desolate, it will be destroyed by the Roman armies. 
And in verse 1 of chapter 24, he departs from the temple. This parallels Yahweh's departure 
from the temple. In Ezekiel the prophet, chapters 
8 to 11, the disciples say, well, look at the beauty of the temple. 
They've understood what he meant when he says, your house is left 
to you desolate. They know what He's talking about. So they say, but look at the 
beauty of the temple. And Jesus makes this declaration 
in verse 2. I say to you, not one stone shall 
be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down. And 
they ask the question on the Mount of Olives, tell us, when 
will these things be? And what will be the sign of 
your coming and of the end of the age? The most straightforward 
reading of the Discourse sees Christ answering their questions. not trying to confuse them or 
confound them any further, not trying to wrap riddles in riddles, 
but simply addressing the questions that they present. He takes up 
their second question first, this whole idea of what will 
be the sign of your coming, the end of the age. That occupies 
verses 4 to 35. And we have seen verses 4 to 
14 and their first century fulfillment. And that brings us to consider 
this time to flee the city. Note verse 15. He says, therefore, 
when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel 
the prophet standing in the holy place. Now, I'm going to ask 
you, as your teachers used to do when you were little children, 
not suggesting that you're little children. I know I say these 
things. I feel like I have to qualify them. Sending an email 
saying, you call us little children. I'm not trying to do that. But 
put your thinking caps on. We need to pay attention to what 
the text is actually saying. I think one of the faults that 
we do, and I think this is particularly true with reference to what's 
called dispensationalism and their futuristic approach, is 
they bring a system of theology and they read it into the passage. 
I mean, take one of the most famous tenets of dispensational 
theology today. It's called the pre-trib rapture. You've probably all heard that. 
Prior to the tribulation, the church will be raptured. There 
is absolutely nothing about that in verses 15 to 22. This is the 
Great Tribulation. It happened in the first century. 
Jesus identifies it as such in verse 21. There's no pre-trib 
rapture. He's speaking to His disciples 
and telling them they need to flee from the city. If the pre-trip 
rapture was a reality, he wouldn't have to educate them at all, 
because they would be caught up in the air, their clothes 
would be left in a pile, their cars would be left unmanned. 
You've seen those bumper stickers. In case of rapture, this car 
will be unmanned. That is absolutely foreign to 
our passage of Scripture. A text that actually teaches 
the Great Tribulation, and yet there's no pre-Great Tribulation 
rapture? I suggest that persons bring 
it to the passage and see it in there. It's not brought out 
of the passage through faithful and responsible exegesis. Now 
note what Christ says, when you see. He's not talking to us. All of the Bible is written for 
us, but not all of the Bible is written to us. He is talking 
to first century disciples, and he says, when you see the abomination 
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the 
holy place. The specific terms employed come 
from, get this, Daniel the prophet. The word abomination means an 
abomination, a detestable thing, that which is repulsive. It was 
used in the Septuagint of idols and cultic objects or of a sacrilegious 
object or rite, causing the desecration of a sacred place. This word 
desolation, I've been a little bit more keen to it as I'm working 
through all of that discourse in my Old Testament readings. 
It comes up all the time. God renders, or God will render, 
Israel desolate for her violation of the covenant. All throughout 
the Old Testament, pagan nations that rise up against Yahweh and 
against His people, they will be left desolate. It's a term 
of judgment. It's a term of condemnation. 
It's a term that is absolutely in this particular section of 
Scripture. Now, in terms of the prophetic 
background, you can turn to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. dealing with the abomination 
of desolation. What does he mean? When you see 
the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 
standing in the holy place. The holy place is the temple. It's the place where God was 
worshipped, where sacrifices were offered. Well, this whole 
idea of abomination of desolation appears three times in Daniel's 
prophecy. Notice specifically in verses 
26 and 27 of Daniel 9. And after the 62 weeks, this 
is the 70th week. The after the 62 weeks follows 
the 7 weeks already mentioned. 7 plus 62 is 69, so that brings 
us to the 70th week. We're not to posit a huge gap 
between the 69th and the 70th. This is the 70th week. After 
the 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off. What is that referred 
to? His crucifixion. His death at 
Calvary. The fact that He would shed His 
blood. The fact that He would usher in all the benefits that 
are given to us in verse 24. This is what Christ accomplishes 
when He's cut off. Notice in verse 24. He finishes 
transgression. He makes an end of sins. He makes 
reconciliation for iniquity. He brings in everlasting righteousness. 
He seals up vision and prophecy. And He anoints the Most Holy. 
So after the 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for 
Himself. And the people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy 
the city and the sanctuary. So not a reference to some future 
Antichrist, this was a reference in Daniel's future to the time 
of Christ and His first coming. when the Roman Empire would be 
the authority, and they would come and they would destroy the 
city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a 
flood, and till the end of the war, desolations are determined. 
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many." Again, not the Antichrist. Christ initiates, institutes, 
and inaugurates the new covenant in His blood in Matthew 26. He 
shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the 
middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. 
How does Jesus bring an end to sacrifice and offering? By the 
once for all sacrifice of Himself, such that anything that continues 
beyond that is itself an abomination. Notice, and on the wing of abominations 
shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, 
which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. Now, this 
abomination of desolation appears again in 12.11. And from the 
time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination 
of desolation is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. I take both of these as a reference 
to A.D. 70. There's one other use in 
chapter 11. Note specifically in verse 31. 
Verse 31, and forces shall be mustered by him, this northern 
king, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress. Then they 
shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination 
of desolation. Now most interpreters, most commentators 
recognize that this refers to a man by the name of Antiochus 
Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes was a Seleucid 
king in the Hellenistic Syrian kingdom, from about 175 to 164. And this man took over 
Jerusalem. This man erected an idol to Zeus, 
the pagan god, in the temple in Jerusalem. And they initiated 
their own sacrifices. You want to guess what they sacrificed 
in there? They sacrificed pigs. Nothing 
could be more loathsome to Jews than a pagan standing in their 
holy place, offering up sacrifice to a pagan god, and doing so 
via pigs, which were an unclean animal. This was the abomination 
of desolation in the 2nd century BC. Now, this came to an end 
because of a man by the name of Judas Maccabeus. And in 164, 
they defeated the Seleucid king, they took the temple back, and 
they purified it and restored it. You've heard of the word 
Hanukkah. that feast day for the Jews that occurs around Christmas 
time. It means dedication and it refers to that time in 164 
when Judas Maccabeus took the temple back and they rebuffed 
this particular abomination. So this is the backdrop of the 
language. This is how Jesus is using it 
in Matthew 24, 15. And again, I think it's Daniel 
9 and 12 that speaks specifically to this particular issue. But 
there are several sort of discussions on what verse 15 means. What 
does he mean, the abomination of desolation? Some suggest it 
was Emperor Gaius, who in the 40s wanted to put a statue of 
himself in the temple. Thankfully, I don't know if that's 
the right word to say, but a year later he died, he exited this 
world, so they never did put a statue of Gaius in the temple 
compound at that particular time. Others suggest the abomination 
of desolation was when the Zealots, that was a Jewish revolutionary 
sect, seized control of the temple. And they were marauders, and 
they were vicious, and they shed a lot of blood. But I think what 
Jesus is speaking to with reference to the abomination of desolation 
is explained to us in the parallel passage in Luke's Gospel. You 
can turn there, Luke 21. Luke 21, Luke's version of the 
Olivet Discourse. And when I say version, I don't 
mean different. I mean that each author in the 
Gospel narrative has a theological emphasis. Each author in the 
Gospel record gives us a shade, or a side, or a meaning, or a 
facet, or a glimpse of something that perhaps the others don't. 
It's a very helpful tool to weave the picture for us of who Jesus 
Christ is. But note Luke's specific statement 
in Luke 21-20. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded 
by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Luke's audience 
was primarily Gentile. For him to use the language of 
Daniel the prophet in terms of the abomination of desolation, 
his mostly Gentile audience, it would have been lost on them. 
Matthew's audience is specifically Jewish. For him to say the abomination 
of desolation invoking the prophet Daniel, it makes absolute sense 
in that particular context. We have this Antiochus-like figure 
invading our holy place, setting up sacrilegious objects, worshipping, 
desecrating it, and destroying it. But note what Luke goes on 
to say, 21-20, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know 
that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea 
flee to the mountains. You see, we're dealing with the 
same subject matter. Some say, well, of course Luke 
is talking about the AD 70 event, but Matthew's not. How do you 
ever end up with that exegetically? Some of it's just mind-blowing. 
Here's how I think it goes. Well, Matthew doesn't support 
what we believe, so we can't maintain that he's dealing with 
AD 70. That's irresponsible. Really trying not to have an 
axe to grind against these sort of other interpretations, but 
that is irresponsible exegesis to put Matthew 24 and Luke 21 
right next to each other and say, well, Luke's dealing with 
AD 70, but Matthew's dealing with the future as we know it. He's dealing with some future 
antichrist and a future revived Roman Empire and a future temple. 
That is a system of theology driving our understanding of 
the text. It's not the text driving our 
understanding of theology. And we all need to be careful 
of this. Don't let our theology run roughshod over the Bible. 
We let the Bible inform our theology. And I know everybody says that. 
I'm joining the ranks today of every other person that ever 
says that. We talked to some Jehovah's Witnesses 
yesterday. Guess what they say? We need 
to let the Bible inform our theology. But brethren, the proof is in 
the pudding. When we compare Scripture with Scripture and 
we see the identical subject matter in Matthew and Luke, we 
cannot conclude or assume that Matthew's not dealing with AD 
70. Notice what he says, then let those who are in Judea flee 
to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, 
and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these 
are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written 
may be fulfilled." I took pains several weeks ago to show you 
that same concept in Leviticus 26. These are the days of vengeance 
that all things written should be fulfilled. The things written 
in Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26, in terms of the covenant 
curse for the violators of God's holy law. This is what they reaped 
having broken covenant with Yahweh. These are the days of vengeance 
that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Notice, but 
woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing 
babies in those days, for there will be great distress in the 
land and wrath upon this people. and they will fall by the edge 
of the sword and be led away captive into all nations, and 
Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the time of the 
Gentiles are fulfilled." It is a futuristic eschatology that 
drives us to consider that this is in our future. It was in the 
future for the disciples that Jesus was speaking to. It was 
on the horizon in terms of the judgment. It applied to the then 
standing temple that they all set their gaze upon and said, 
wow, look at this beautiful temple. They would have never thought, 
never in a million years, that he's not really talking about 
this. He's talking about something that lay in the future for the 
21st century. Now we're just stretching it 
to complete incredulity. Why in the world would Jesus 
try and comfort his disciples with an answer that isn't applicable 
or relevant until our future. You take the parallel. I think 
it's a parallel in 2 Thessalonians 2. I don't believe that Paul 
there is pointing to our future either. I think he's giving us 
a snapshot of the Olivet Discourse. He is able to tell the Thessalonians 
concerning the man of sin that you know what is restraining 
him. How would the Thessalonians ever 
have known what was restraining the man of sin if the man of 
sin was in our future? See brethren, it is bringing 
a system to bear rather than listening to the text of Scripture. 
So what we have in 2415, when you see the abomination of desolation, 
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, we 
have the city of Jerusalem surrounded by Roman armies. We have their 
encroachment upon the holy place itself. We have their seizure 
of the temple and their ultimate destruction of the temple. Now 
remember, Roman soldiers carried something that was very offensive 
to the Jews. They carried ensigns. And on 
these ensigns, they were basically flags that had eagles. Do you 
know that they would actually worship these ensigns? There's 
an account in Josephus where men actually offered sacrifice 
to the image on the incense. This is the abomination of desolation. This is the desecration and the 
sacrilege committed in the holy place. This is what Jesus says 
you will see in your lifetime, in this generation, according 
to 23-34. All these things will take place 
in this generation. And He says to them, when you 
see this, run. Hide. Leave. Flee! Get out of dodge! Don't try to fight for the integrity 
of the temple. Don't try to ransack the Roman 
armies. Don't try to resist them, but 
use the better part of wisdom and run. Spurgeon says specifically, 
as soon as Christ's disciples saw the abomination of desolation, 
that is, the Roman ensigns with their idolatrous emblems, Now, 
listen to this comment from Josephus. I told you at the very beginning, 
we're not going to get heavy on Josephus. But it is interesting 
that Riles says Josephus is the best commentator on the Olivet 
Discourse. He speaks in vivid detail of 
everything that our Lord says. And when you consider that Josephus 
was not a Christian, He had no dog in the Christian fight. He 
didn't try and prop Jesus up and say, well, this was fulfilled 
then, and this was fulfilled then. No, Josephus rejected the 
Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks of Him in certain places 
in his history. But he was a senator and a historian 
in the first century. So he was not on the side of 
the Christians. But when you read Josephus' account, 
you will hear the allusions. You will hear the specific descriptions 
by our Lord. But this is Josephus commenting 
on Daniel's prophecy. He says, and indeed it so came 
to pass that our nation suffered these things under Antiochus 
Epiphanes, according to Daniel's vision, and what he wrote many 
years before they came to pass. In the very same manner, Daniel 
also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country 
should be made desolate by them. It's pretty amazing that an unconverted 
Jew in the first century understood the Olivet Discourse better than 
a whole lot of people that make their living at understanding 
the Olivet Discourse. He knew that this is what was 
spoken by Daniel the prophet. He knew that in the days of these 
kings, the Lord God would raise up his kingdom. That's the Roman 
Empire, brethren. They came, they saw, they conquered, 
to use a popularism. That is precisely what Christ 
is dealing with in this section. Now before we get to the specific 
command to flee the city, note the statement at the end of verse 
16. This is where the red letter, 
black letter thing is a bit difficult. Those of you who have a red letter 
edition of the New Testament realize that's an interpretive 
call. Was that the words of Jesus? 
The ESV? Or is that the words of Matthew, 
the new King James? I don't know. It's a tough one. If it's the words of Christ, 
whoever reads, let him understand. It is an encouragement to the 
disciples to understand Daniel's prophecy, vis-à-vis Daniel 9, 
chapter 12, concerning the abomination of desolation. If it's black 
letters, if it's the evangelist's comment, he could certainly be 
referring, whoever reads, let him understand Daniel's prophecy, 
or it could be an indicator of a pre-AD 70 composition. In other words, Matthew wrote 
in the early 40s. And Matthew gives this editorial 
aside to all of those who will read prior to the destruction 
in AD 70. And he's urging his readers, 
and he's encouraging his hearers, whoever reads, let him understand. Because if you mess up on this, 
if you join the ranks of dispensationalism, if you see this as future in 
the 21st century, you are going to die in the siege upon Jerusalem. So I'm not sure whether it's 
red or black, if it's the comment of Jesus or the comment of Matthew. But let's move to the command 
to flee the city. I want to look at four things 
here. First, the command stated. Secondly, the location specified. Thirdly, the urgency highlighted. And fourthly, the specific difficulties 
identified. The command stated, verse 16, 
then let those who are in Judea flee. To command, it means to 
Flee. You've been dazzled today with 
Greek exegesis. Again, brethren, do you see the 
superfluousness of this in verse 14, is the end of all things? 
Why would Jesus tell us to flee? How could we possibly flee? How 
could there be a safe space when Christ comes again to judge the 
living and the dead? The very argument in verse 16 
assumes, presumes, presupposes that what we have here is a judgment 
that persons can flee from. It is specific to this particular 
judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70. We ought to recognize the 
wisdom and the prudence of times to flee. Turn back to chapter 
10, which is a very similar passage. Chapter 10 are the instructions 
given to the disciples for the Jewish mission. And notice specifically 
in verse 22, chapter 10, verse 22, and you'll be hated by all 
for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. 
We see that in verse 13 in the Olivet Discourse. When they persecute 
you in this city, flee to another, we see that in the Olivet Discourse. 
For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through 
the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. It's the same 
coming that is in the Olivet Discourse. It is the reality 
that Christ enthroned at the right hand of the majesty of 
God on high must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. 
He comes in judgment in the first century. He comes by historical 
means and providence. vis-à-vis the Roman armies, the 
way Yahweh used Egyptians against Egyptians, the way that Yahweh 
orchestrated the movements of the nations to promote His glory 
and His honor and His praise. It's the same coming in chapter 
10 that we'll see in chapter 24. But note the prudence of 
verse 23. When they persecute you in this 
city, flee to another. Now brethren, it's good to die 
for the cause of the gospel. But there's a time, a season, 
a place for prudence and wisdom. If they persecute you in one 
city, and you can flee to another city, Jesus doesn't condemn that. Now, that doesn't mean you lie 
about being a believer, you pretend to be a Muslim, you wear the 
outfit so they don't know. That's not what He's talking 
about. But if you can flee to extend the kingdom of God, then 
by all means, flee. There's prudence in that, and 
that's specifically what Jesus is telling the disciples back 
in Matthew 24. When you see the abomination 
of desolation, or as Luke says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded 
by armies, what are you supposed to do? You're supposed to run. You're supposed to flee. You're 
supposed to get away. You're supposed to put distance 
between you and that city. Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical 
History, notes that the people of the church in Jerusalem had 
been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approve men there 
before the war to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town 
of Perea in Pella. I'm sorry, it's Pella in Perea. 
That's the region. They did actually flee to that 
particular region when the Jewish war broke out. Doesn't this reflect 
God's instructions to Lot as well? What was Lot supposed to 
do when judgment came upon Sodom? Was he supposed to try and reform 
it? Was he supposed to be salt and light there? Was he supposed 
to, you know, start a Bible study with the perverts in Sodom? Brethren, 
there's a sense in a time where certainly we ought to reach people 
for the Gospel. But what was Lot told? Lot was 
told to flee, to get out of dodge, don't look back, run to safety. It is very intriguing that in 
Luke 17, which in many respects is parallel to what we have in 
the Olivet Discourse, Luke 17, specifically in verse 28, Likewise, 
as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they 
bought, they sold, they planted, they built, But on the day that 
Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven 
and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day 
when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the 
housetop and his goods are in the house, let him not come down 
to take them away. And likewise, the one who is 
in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. This ought to condition their 
flight out of Judea. Remember Lot's wife. Don't turn 
back. You're not going to fix the Roman 
armies. You're not going to win them 
to the Savior. You need to get out of town. So go back to Matthew 
24. That's the command stated. Note, 
secondly, the location specified. Verse 16 says, Let those who 
are in Judea flee to the mountains. Again, this makes no sense if 
verse 14 is the end of the world. Do you feel that pressure? Does 
it ever bother you that if you've assumed that verse 14 means the 
end of all things, that one, we're actually told to flee, 
two, we're not, but the disciples in the first century are actually 
told to flee, and thirdly, it's those in Judea The very underscoring 
of Judea highlights the fact that it's a localized judgment. 
It was Judea that was attacked by the Romans in the mid to late 
60s. It was Judea that was attacked 
ultimately and had their city and their temple fall to the 
Romans in 80-70. You see, it is localized, it 
is particularized, it is specific. Then let those who are in Judea 
flee to the mountains. Now note the urgency highlighted 
that he indicates in verses 17 and 18. What's the obvious emphasis 
in 17 and 18? Run. Go. Just go. Look at what he says in verses 
17 and 18. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take 
anything out of his house. Why? Because if you go down from 
your rooftop to take something out of your house, you're going 
to get slaughtered. You may get captured. You may 
be treated roughly. You may be abused. You may suffer 
hardship. Don't go back for the cat. Don't go back for the photo album. 
Don't go back for the china. Don't go back for the heirlooms. 
Don't go back for the jewelry. Don't even go back for the gold. 
Just get out of town. You see, the emphasis here in 
verses 17 and 18 is on making haste. Notice in verse 18, "...let 
him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes." Why? Because when you go back to get 
your clothes, the Roman soldiers are going to pick you up. When 
you go back to get your clothes, you're going to be seized upon. 
When you go back to get your clothes, you are going to be 
executed. There's a whole host of reasons 
why. But the bottom line in 17 and 18 is simple. You need to 
make haste. When you see the abomination 
of desolation, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, run. Don't 
go down from your house, go into your house and get your belongings. 
Don't, if you're in the field, go get your coat and then run 
and hide. And I think these two things, 
in terms of their major emphasis, show us the necessity of making 
haste. But they're very particular to 
Jewish life, aren't they? Think about what he says here. 
This is not peculiar to the 21st century, but it's very peculiar 
to the 1st century. The Jews had flattened roofs, 
didn't they? Josephus says of another time 
there was an invasion, persons ran from roof to roof to roof 
in order to escape. This whole idea of flat roofs 
is addressed in the Law of Deuteronomy. If you had a flat roof, you had 
to put a parapet, you had to put a fence around it so that 
persons wouldn't fall off and break their head open and die. 
The language architecturally confirms that we're dealing with 
a localized judgment. Now, it could just be the language 
of the day that we need to apply to our particular time, but that 
doesn't stop some from doing all sorts of outlandish things 
with language used in the day and making it say things that 
we want it to say. He's talking about Jerusalem 
in the first century. This whole idea of an outer cloak. 
This is very important in Jewish life, to keep you alive. You 
needed your cloak when it was cold. So a man would go out to 
work the field, in the heat of the day, he'd take the cloak 
off, he'd lay it on the other side of the field. What's Jesus' instruction? Jesus says, don't go back and 
get it, and don't run down your roof into your house and get 
your stuff so that you can go then. It is the urgency necessary 
in escaping, but again, both of these things are absolutely 
useless or unnecessary if verse 14 means the end of the world. 
What difference does it make if Jesus comes again in glory 
to judge the living and the dead and to usher in the eternal state? Does it matter if you go down 
from your roof or you stay on your roof? Does it matter if 
you fetch your cloak? Does it matter if you do any 
of it? No, it doesn't matter because that's the end. End here 
is obviously meaning the Jewish age, the old covenant dispensation, 
to use their word for a moment. It means the end of the temple, 
the end of the covenant, the end of the special status of 
God's covenantal people in the Old Testament. I realize this 
is offensive to some. They say, well, this sounds anti-Semitic. 
Brethren, anti-Semitism is to tell us that this is in the future, 
and that two-thirds of the Jews are going to be slaughtered in 
our future. I don't want to entertain that 
thought. I'd rather see that what we have here is the historical 
fulfillment of God's covenant people breaking covenant, reaping 
upon themselves the judgments or the curses associated with 
that covenant, and then the Jewish people as a whole enter the rank 
and file of every other nation. We don't hold them any more culpable 
for what they did or, you know, that language, well, they killed 
Jesus. No, this generation did. And 
Jesus said, upon that generation, all of the blood from Abel to 
Zechariah would be requited at their hands. It's not anti-Semitic 
to interpret the Bible the way that God I know this always sounds 
so self-serving, the way that God calls us to interpret the 
Bible. They're going to say, oh yeah, 
you proud, arrogant wretch. Again, I think that this, is 
any of this like, no way, I can't see this? Isn't it obvious? We look at Luke 21, Jerusalem 
surrounded by armies, and then we have language that is specifically 
inappropriate to a people living in the first century in Israel, 
in Jerusalem. Run, hide, go. But notice, Jesus doesn't stop 
there. He addresses specific difficulties. Verses 19 and 20. Woe to those who are pregnant 
and to those who are nursing babies in those days. This isn't 
a woe of condemnation. I mean, we just left 23, where 
Jesus says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. And 
that's a note of condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites. But this woe used here by our 
Lord demonstrates His compassion. It's a woe of sympathy. It's 
a woe of pity. It's a woe of kindness. It's 
a woe expressing that benevolent heart that characterizes our 
Savior. Now, what's the challenge in 
view in verse 20? Jesus isn't saying, I feel sorry 
for you that you're pregnant. I feel sorry for you that you're 
giving sock to your infant. That's not the problem. It's 
a problem when the Roman armies have invaded. It's a problem 
when you are told to flee to the mountains. It's a problem 
when you have to get out of Dodge because Rome is coming to destroy 
the city. It's not pregnancy. It's not 
nursing that brings out the sorrow and the pity and the compassion 
of our Savior. It's the reality that at the 
siege, there will be some that are pregnant. There will be some 
that are nursing. And there will be those who have 
heeded the words of the Lord Jesus, must pick up those babies, 
must clutch them close to their breasts, and they must flee before 
the invading armies get them. This is the woe. And again, if 
this is the end of the world, what difference does it make 
if you're pregnant? What difference does it make 
if you're giving suck to your infant? What possible usefulness 
would this have if this was the end of all things? But if it's 
the end of the Jewish dispensation via the abomination of desolation 
vis-à-vis the Roman army surrounding Jerusalem to sack it and its 
temple, then the language makes perfect sense. Consider the realities 
of the horrors of war. I mean, there are several instances 
in the Old Testament. 2 Kings 8-12, 2 Kings 15-16, 
Isaiah 13, Hosea 10, Amos 1, Nahum 3, where pregnant women, 
in times of war, had their bellies ripped open and the babies taken 
from them. There are instances in the book 
of Lamentations and as well in the prophet Zechariah of women 
in wartime being raped. So Jesus is saying, woe to those 
who are pregnant. Woe to those who are nursing 
at that particular time. It's going to be a struggle. 
It's going to be a hardship. It's going to be a difficulty. 
Woe to them. Because when the Romans come, 
they're not kind to pregnant women. They're not going to carry 
you out of the city to Pella. They're not going to just say, 
well, you know, you're pregnant, we're going to let you. That's 
not what happened in the siege. That's absolutely not what happened 
in the siege. Note something of a parallel 
in Luke 23. Luke 23. Boy, our time goes quickly 
on these Sunday mornings. Luke 23, specifically in verse 
27, And a great multitude of the people followed him, and 
women, who also mourned and lamented him. But Jesus, turning to them, 
said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep 
for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming, 
in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, wombs that never 
bore, and breasts which never nursed. Have you ever read that 
and thought that Jesus is against big families? He's not. He's talking about the destruction 
of Jerusalem in 1870. Blessed are the barren in those 
days when the abomination of desolation is in the holy place. 
Blessed are the wombs that never borne, breasts which never nursed. 
Why? Because when you have to hightail 
it out of the city to spare your life, it's going to be a great 
difficulty and a challenge if you are pregnant or if you have 
little ones in tow. Then they will begin to say to 
the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if 
they do these things in the greenwood, what will be done in the day? 
You know what one of the other atrocities was during the siege 
in Jerusalem? Again, if we had more time. Actually, 
we got time. We're going to do this because 
I want you to see that what Jesus is saying here is nothing new. 
If you've attentively read your Bible through the Old Testament, 
when you get to the Olivet Discourse, you're not going to put it into 
our future. That's my thought. If your theology of, you know, 
a dispensational theology is not driving your interpretation, 
you just read the Old Testament, you're going to see the same 
themes coming out in all of it. Do you know what one of the other 
abuses was during the time of the siege? Cannibalism. Pastor Porter asked me how the 
studies were going, I think, something to that effect. I had 
mentioned I had been reading some Josephus. And again, it 
wasn't, hey, Cam, I read Josephus. I actually texted him and called 
him Brosephus and said, I've been reading Josephus, and that's 
the reason for the reference. And he said, how is it? And I 
said, it makes me want to go buy beans and rice and oats and 
stuff and put it in my garage because famine. Famine was a 
killer in those days, but cannibalism, Josephus gives a couple paragraphs 
on a particular woman named Mary that took her little child. I 
don't mean to be offensive. I don't mean to be unkind. You 
Google Josephus and you'll find it. She killed her baby, roasted 
her baby, ate half of the baby, and when people came to find 
out if she had food, she offered them the remaining half, and 
they were repulsed, and they wouldn't even take it. She said, 
Butler, that just seems so outlandish. Do you realize it was a curse 
of the covenant in Deuteronomy 28? You can turn to Deuteronomy 
28. I think if we see anything in this 
passage, and I think it does function typically for us, what 
God does at AD 70 ought to terrify us. It ought to terrify us. God does not shrink back from 
executing the vengeance of the covenant. Note Deuteronomy 28, 
beginning in verse 52. This whole context speaks of 
exile. Israel breaks covenant, they 
will be exiled. This happened historically through 
the Assyrian Empire in 722. It happened historically through 
the Babylonian Empire in 587-86 BC. Verse 52, They shall besiege 
you at your gates, until your high and fortified walls, in 
which you trust, come down throughout all your land. And they shall 
besiege you at all your gates, throughout all your land, which 
the Lord your God has given you. You shall eat the fruit of your 
own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, whom the 
Lord your God has given you, in the siege, in desperate straits, 
in which your enemies shall distress you. The sensitive and very refined 
man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the 
wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom 
he leaves behind, so that he will not give any of them the 
flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing 
left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall 
distress you at all your gates. the tender and delicate woman 
among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on 
the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse 
to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, 
her placenta which comes out from between her feet, and her 
children whom she bears. For she will eat them secretly 
for lack of everything in the siege, and desperate straits 
in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. Now, if 
you say, well, I can't believe this actually happened in AD 
70. It happened even in the Assyrian siege and as well in Babylon. 
Look at Lamentations, written by Jeremiah concerning the fall 
of Jerusalem. Lamentations, specifically chapter 
2, verse 20. I'm not trying to disgust anybody 
or horrify anybody or give anybody bad dreams, but we ought to understand 
what Jesus is talking about was no new thing. This was a curse 
of the covenant. You violate God, they're going 
to tear down your walls, they're going to siege your city, you're 
going to get so hungry, you're going to turn to cannibalism. 
Instead of treasuring those beautiful little children, you're going 
to eat them because you're starving to death. Notice in 2.10 of the 
Book of Lamentations, or I'm sorry, 2.20. Notice in 4.10. Lamentations 4.10, the hands 
of the compassionate women have cooked their own children. They 
became food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 
Isn't it intriguing that Jesus laments over Jerusalem at the 
end of chapter 23? You see a pattern? He's Jeremiah 
the prophet. He's weeping over the city that 
is going to reap the curses of the covenant. The same things 
are taking place to the same people who violated the same 
covenant, which found its pinnacle in the rejection of the Son of 
God, sent to save His people from their sins. He came to His 
own, and His own received Him not, and so they reap all the 
curses of the covenant. So going back quickly to Matthew 
24, Notice the other two difficulties that are indicated by our Lord. 
So the location is specified, Judea. The urgency is highlighted. 
Go, run. Don't go down from your house 
to get stuff out of your house, but rather flee. And also, don't 
get your coat if it's on the side of the field. Run. It's 
going to be a difficult time for those ladies who are pregnant. But as well, notice the difficulty 
of escaping during the winter. What does that matter if it's 
the end of the world? And isn't it intriguing that he says, pray 
that your flight be not on the winter, or in the winter on the 
Sabbath. Aren't we accustomed as Christian people to pray, 
even so come Lord Jesus. Do we look out? I check my weather. This is cheating, right? I look 
at my iPhone to see what the weather is like to know if I'm 
going to need a coat when I step outside. I mean, I guess I could 
open my door and put my arm out, but I like to look at that to 
tell me what my day is supposed to be like. Do we put our arms 
out? Do we look at our iPhone and 
say, wow, it's the low 40s Fahrenheit. Could you delay your second comment? It makes no sense. But if it's 
the flight from a city under siege, wherein heavy rains or 
cold conditions would make that flight difficult, it makes perfect 
sense to pray that that flight be not in winter. Have you ever 
thought, Lord, I want you to come back in July, because it's 
really beautiful out. You don't do that. You pray, 
even so, come Lord Jesus. You don't care if it's winter. 
In fact, for most of us, by November or December, we're really praying, 
come Lord Jesus. This cold and this rain is too 
much. Deliver us from it. We're not 
told to pray that He delays His coming to a specific condition 
or climate that is more suitable to us. But we're told to pray 
that if our flight from Judea to the mountains, during the 
abomination of desolation, when the Roman armies have surrounded 
Jerusalem, if our flight occurs in the winter, it will be especially 
difficult, so we can pray to the sovereign God and say, may 
it happen in the springtime, may it happen in the fall, and 
pray that it won't be on the Sabbath. Why? After the Maccabean 
Revolt in 164 BC, they concluded that it was okay to break the 
Sabbath, it really wasn't breaking the Sabbath, but it was okay 
to engage in combat on the Sabbath day. But the question was still 
debated in Jesus' times. In other words, if we're being 
invaded on the Sabbath day, can we take up arms to resist? It's 
kind of an odd way to approach the Sabbath, isn't it? I would 
conclude with, my Lord, that's a work of necessity and do all 
necessary to protect the city at that particular point. But 
remember, the Pharisees had gained a stronghold over people. You 
couldn't walk more than half a mile on the Sabbath day. There 
were still fastidious ones, even among the Christian Jews. And as well, on a real practical 
level, if your flight was on the Sabbath day, you couldn't 
pick up a bag of oats. You couldn't pick up a bag of 
rice. You couldn't get the necessary supplies when you are fleeing 
the city. Because the Jewish Jews are fastidious, 
and they're certainly not going to open their shop to serve the 
Christians, so they can get their needs met while they flee the 
city. You see, these are all very particular. very specific, with absolutely 
no application, if in view is the second coming of Jesus. Who 
cares if it's on the Sabbath? Who cares if it's in the winter? 
Who cares if one's pregnant or giving suck to infants? Who cares 
if you're in Judea or wherever you are? When Jesus comes in 
glory, you are not able to run and hide. You cannot flee. You cannot escape. He will find 
you. He will judge you. He will cast 
you into the lake of fire if you are a rebel rejecter of His 
mercies and His grace. But those who are in Christ will 
enter in to the joy of their rest. All of this stuff, verses 
15 to 20, would be absolutely irrelevant if verse 14 dealt 
with the end of the world. Well, brethren, I think that's 
probably enough at this particular point. I just want to underscore 
some things concerning fulfillment. The broader context, chapters 
21 to 23, with its recurring emphasis on the destruction of 
the city in 21, 18, and 19, what does Jesus do? He curses the 
fig tree and says that no fruit will ever grow on them again. 
What's he saying? Something terrible is going to 
happen to Israel. The fig tree. Jesus isn't an 
enviro-Nazi. He's not against fig trees. He 
doesn't get up in the morning with this desire to curse the 
nature around him. The fig tree is representative 
of Israel. And when he curses the fig tree 
and says that no fruit will ever grow on it again, guess what 
he means? As well, 21, 41 to 44, after 
the parable of the servants working in the vineyard. The Pharisees 
got that one. What will the vineyard owner 
do to those servants? He will destroy their city and 
take away their stuff. And then Jesus says, yes, I am 
taking from you the kingdom of heaven and I'm going to give 
it to a nation that bears the fruits of it. And then in 22.7, 
the parable of the wedding feast. What does the king do when the 
proffers of grace concerning the wedding feast of his son 
have been rejected? He sends his armies and destroys 
the city of those who reject. And then in 23. Again, we couldn't 
see it more clearly. 23.34. Therefore, indeed, I send 
you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and 
crucify. Some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and 
persecute from city to city. Then on you, What does on you 
mean? It means on them. Again, that 
doesn't mean that we're not going to get judged for our sin, there's 
not any tribulation in our future, there's no hardship. That's not 
the argument. The argument is, there is a specific 
judgment pronounced upon these people that on you may come all 
the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous 
Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered 
between the temple and the altar. Now notice the time reference. 
Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this 
generation. Notice 2434. Assuredly, I say 
to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all 
these things take place. My argument is that he was absolutely 
correct. All those things took place in 
that generation. Or else we have Jesus suggesting 
something concerning his second coming that didn't take place. 
Remember, this is what caused Bertrand Russell to mock Christianity, 
to question the wisdom of the Savior. He read the Gospels and 
he concluded, Jesus thought he was coming back in the lifetime 
of the generation that was living when he spoke. He didn't come 
back, ergo, Christianity is wrong. No, he came back, Bertrand Russell, 
he came back enthroned at the right hand of the majesty on 
high, where he's lowering his foot on his enemies. And it was 
via the Roman armies destroying the city. That is the coming 
envisaged by Jesus in Matthew 24. That's the argument. All these things did take place 
and we will see when we get to that passage that it's not unique. Yahweh rides a cloud into Egypt 
to bring judgment. That doesn't mean everybody saw 
this apparition or emblem of Yahweh on a cloud. It is the 
language suggestive of coming in judgment. That's what Jesus 
employs in this passage. The immediate context. He departs 
the temple. They ask about the temple. He 
tells them about the temple. It will be destroyed. What possible 
reason would they ever have to conclude? He must not mean this 
temple. He must mean a temple in the 
future for those living in the 21st century. As well, the fact 
that verses 4 to 14 did in fact have a first century fulfillment. 
Verse 15, the abomination of desolation, if it puzzles us 
how it works in with Daniel's prophecy, Luke cuts right to 
the chase. He says the abomination of desolation 
is when you see Jerusalem surrounded by enemies. As well, the specific 
command to flee in verse 16, the specific urgency highlighted, 
the reference to Judea, the agricultural reference, the architectural 
reference, and the fact that there would be problematic difficulties 
for pregnant women if it was a flight in the winter. All of 
this underscores that what we're dealing with is a particular 
judgment, and it's the judgment in AD 70. And don't forget, brethren, 
that it actually happened. Some say that Jesus' words are 
so precise that it was written after the fact. I argue for an 
early date for Matthew. I mentioned that earlier. I actually 
think the black letters are Matthew's editorial comment telling first-century 
readers to pay attention. You better listen, you better 
understand, because if not, you're going to be standing there when 
the Roman armies surround the city. But I argue that it's an 
early date. Jesus prophesied. Matthew records 
the prophecy. This is 42, AD 42. The destruction comes in AD 70. 
Some say that the words are so specific that there's no way 
it was written prior to AD 70. Do you all get that? There's 
people out there that say Daniel's prophecy was so specific that 
it couldn't have been composed prior to the events. Listen to 
that. That's what people think. Well, 
it's so spot-on. Antiochus Epiphanes completely 
fulfills what we find there in Daniel 11. So Daniel couldn't 
have been prophetic. It couldn't have been before 
the event. It must have been ex-eventu. It must have been 
written after the event. That's what people do with all 
of that discourse, because it really happened. in A.D. 70, and if you want some reading 
that will cause you some degree of distress, read Josephus. If, as Ryle says, he's the best 
commentator on the Olivet Discourse, it might behoove you to read 
some of it for yourself, just to see I'm not pulling rabbits 
out of hats. It is very heavy judgment that 
came upon these people in this first-century context. We get 
to verse 21, and Jesus describes this as the Great Tribulation. 
We say, well, no, it wasn't that. It must be something in our future. 
You don't understand what happened. The argument isn't that there 
will never be tribulation again, but on the Jewish people, this 
was the great tribulation, not in terms of body count, but in 
terms of covenantal significance. Their temple was destroyed, their 
status is stripped, the kingdom of God is removed from them. 
That was tribulation for a first century Jew, So before we start 
pontificating and say, well, that couldn't have happened then, 
we ought to understand the gravity, the enormity of the situation 
and to see, and I hope that you'll do this, see it in the context 
of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. This completes, I think the 
book of Revelation completes the story of Old Covenant Israel. God dealt with them. He judged 
them. They broke covenant. He came 
against them. So, in conclusion, I want to 
underscore two things. First, as I mentioned earlier, this is typical. This really 
happened, 80-70, not arguing against that, but it's nevertheless 
typical of what will come in the future. The argument of preterism 
isn't that, you know, it's going to be easy sailing and we're 
going to skip our way. There's been great persecution 
in the church. I've heard it said that more 
martyrs in the 20th century than in all the other 19th centuries 
put together. Preterism doesn't teach that 
everything can be happy, we're going to sing zippity-doo-dah 
and skip our way. There's persecution, there's turmoil, there's hardship, 
there's difficulty. The language of the Apostle in 
Acts 14 is applicable throughout the Church Age. Through many 
tribulations, we must enter the Kingdom of God. That's not the 
argument. But if what we find here is a 
picture of God's judgment and wrath, we have to see how far 
it will be exceeded in that time when Christ comes to judge the 
living and the dead. There will be no command before 
that time. There can be no command before 
that time to flee. Let those who are in Chilliwack 
shimmy up Mount Sham. Too bad if you happen to be proud. 
It's useless. Y'all need to be ready, young 
and old. The gospel isn't this interpretation 
of the Olivet Discourse. The gospel is that Jesus lived, 
Jesus died, and Jesus rose again. Because in our lives, we've made 
a mess of things, and we need one who keeps the law. Jesus 
died because in our lives we've made a mess of things, and we 
need to be cleansed in that precious fount that is open for sin and 
uncleanness. And Jesus was raised the third 
day. Jesus sits enthroned at the right 
hand of the Majesty on high. And Jesus says, all that the 
Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to 
me I will certainly not cast out. Listen to those words. The 
one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. Do you know what 
he's saying? That right now, on this side 
of the judgment to come, is when we take what he said in this 
localized condition and we heed it. We flee. We run. We hide. We seek refuge. not in the mountains of Judea, 
but in the Lord Jesus Christ. We come by God's grace to that 
One who is able to save us to the uttermost. Let this picture 
of a localized judgment strike terror in your heart, that what 
happens when He comes in glory to judge the living and the dead 
will exceed it. It will be more harsh, it will 
be more difficult. Because ultimately, if someone 
didn't make it out of the city, but they happened to be a believer, 
when they were dead at the hands of the Romans, they entered into 
the presence of God Most High and the Lamb who sits upon the 
throne. If you perish apart from faith in Jesus Christ, all that 
they suffered in Jerusalem, all that they suffer on this side 
of that is just a foretaste, it's just a shadow, it's just 
a type of eternal hell. That's in the future. And the 
way of escape is made clear now. It is through the gospel of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Believe, and you will be saved. 
Flee, and you will be welcomed. Run, and you can hide. Christ is a gracious Savior for 
sinners. Well, let us pray. Our God in 
heaven, we thank you for your Word, and we pray that you would 
help us to see these things and help us to be affected by them. 
Specifically, Lord, if we are not right with God through Jesus 
Christ, I pray the Holy Spirit would open eyes and hearts and 
ears to the truth that sinners would look and live. Everybody 
here forgets anything about the interpretation presented, but 
they are found in Christ. We will bless and praise and 
glorify your most holy name forever and ever. For God, you are worthy 
of praise, and we know that you are powerful to save, and we 
ask that you would exercise that sovereignty even here in our 
midst, and do what is impossible with men, and open hearts to 
receive the truth as it is in Jesus. Go with us now, bring 
us together again that we may worship you in spirit and truth, 
and we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.