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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24, as we continue our 
Lord's Olivet Discourse. I want to begin reading in chapter 
24 at 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. 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? 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. 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 a 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 branches 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. Well, let us 
pray. Father, we thank you for the 
written Word. We praise you for the incarnate Word, even our 
Lord Jesus, who sits enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty 
on high. We praise you for that current 
session, and we praise you for the reality that Christ will 
come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And 
our heart's desire and earnest plea is that everyone here this 
morning would be ready to meet Him on that day, that each of 
us by grace would be looking in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
that each of us would know the blessing of being found in Him, 
not having our own righteousness which is from the law, but that 
righteousness which is from you through faith in Jesus Christ 
our Lord. God, open hearts and ears to 
hear the truth, and may that truth move sinners to repentance 
and faith. And may you be glorified, and 
may you exercise that power that Pastor Porter read of this morning. We know that with you all things 
are possible. So bless sinners here, bless 
sinners throughout this city, and throughout this world. We 
pray that the gospel would run swiftly and be glorified. We 
ask now that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit, guide 
us in our understanding, grant us the forgiveness of sins and 
those things that do cloud our minds and our understanding. 
And I pray, Father, that you would be glorified in this hour. 
And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, we are 
continuing our Lord's, all of that discourse, and as I've mentioned 
several times, there are three main ways to view this particular 
passage. There is the futurist view, and 
the futurist believes that the things written here are in our 
future, not the future of the disciples, but in the future 
of those in the 21st century. There is probably the most popular 
version, as far as Reformed people go, or non-dispensational people 
go, is the two-event view, and that means that what Jesus is 
speaking about is the destruction of Jerusalem, but as well, His 
second physical coming at the end of the world, when He ushers 
in the eternal state. And then there is the third, 
probably minority, report called Preterism, and simply Preterism 
means, or Preterite means past tense. So the Preterist sees 
this particular passage as a fulfillment of the destruction of Jerusalem 
or rather fulfilled in that event in AD 70. Now we ought to agree 
with reference to those things most surely believed among us 
that it's not this that ultimately enters us into heaven, it's not 
our understanding of the Olivet Discourse, it's not if we're 
preterists, or if we're futurists, or if we're two-events persons, 
but rather we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And I'm keenly aware that this 
is a hot topic among God's people. There are many differences and 
disagreements concerning the interpretation of this chapter. 
As I have said before, I have to go with the way that I understand 
it. We simply do not have the time, and I don't have the competency 
to go through each of the three positions, present all of the 
strengths and weaknesses, and then ultimately just let everybody 
decide. I've got to preach it the way 
I understand it. Again, if you disagree with me, I love you 
and I don't think that you have to agree with me. I think the 
scriptures are compelling in this regard, but as well I ask 
that you don't brand me a heretic, tar me and feather me and have 
me sent into the slew at the end of Korbal. But let's look 
specifically this morning at chapter 24, verses 21 and 22. We're taking a small bite this 
morning because this is a passage, again, that there is much controversy 
concerning, and I want to set forth what I believe is a preteristic 
interpretation of verses 21 and 22. Remember our context, verses 
15 to 22. The Lord Jesus speaks about the 
abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing 
in the holy place. We looked at that passage last 
week. We noted specifically the parallel 
passage in Luke's Gospel, Luke's record of the Olivet Discourse. 
He defines it, describes it, says, when you see Jerusalem 
surrounded by armies, Luke is writing to a predominantly Gentile 
audience. Matthew is writing to a predominantly 
Jewish audience. They would have resonated with 
the concept of the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel 
the prophet. Luke seems to give more of the 
interpretation of that event with reference to his Gentile 
audience and just says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded 
by armies, then know that its desolation is near. So Jesus 
says, when you, disciples, first century disciples, see this abomination 
of desolation, and then he gives specific instructions to flee. 
Verses 16 to 20. And these instructions to flee 
imply that it's possible to flee. If this was the worldwide consummation 
of everything, there would be no ability to flee. In other 
words, what we have here is localized references. Those who are in 
Judea, let them flee to the mountains. Those who are on housetops, do 
not first go downstairs, gather your belongings, and then flee. 
As well, those who are field workers, don't go to the edge 
of the field, grab your outer garment and flee. No, he says 
leave. Haste is necessary. When you 
see the Roman armies, don't stop to ponder, don't stop to collect 
things, don't try to get your most important trinkets off the 
shelves at home, but rather flee, run, hide. He notes particular 
difficulties associated with this flight. When he says, woe 
to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing, he doesn't 
mean it's wrong or sinful to be pregnant. He doesn't mean 
it's wrong or sinful to breastfeed. He says it's going to be troublesome 
and difficult and hard for you to flee a city that is under 
the siege of the Roman armies. He says specifically, pray that 
your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. If it's the 
end of all things, if verse 14 is to be interpreted as the end 
of all things, what difference does it make if it is in winter? What difference does it make 
if it is on the Sabbath? But if it is a local flight from 
a local problem, then this idea of winter would present great 
hardship. So pray that your flight will 
not be in wintertime. Pray that it will not be on the 
Sabbath. And then he comes to this particular 
section, and he describes this particular section, or these 
particular days, as first, a time of great tribulation, and then 
secondly, as a time limited by the sovereign God. Notice, verse 
21, a reference to the great tribulation. For then there will 
be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning 
of the world until this time, nor ever shall be. So we'll take 
this up under the consideration of a Time of Great Tribulation. And then secondly, a time limited 
by the Sovereign God. That is referenced in verse 22, 
and we'll note that in order this morning. But with reference 
to this verse, verse 21, and this comment concerning the Great 
Tribulation, I believe it is applicable to A.D. 70. Notice 
there's no textual indicators whatsoever that we're dealing 
with new concepts. It's one of the strengths, I 
think, of the Preterist argument. There's no textual indicators 
that this is about this and this is about that. The text flows 
as one particular whole. The words, those days, and then 
in verse 21, and then we're supposed to understand, they see the abomination 
of desolation standing in the holy place, We're supposed to 
understand that those who have understood not only Daniel's 
prophecy, but Matthew's written gospel, if they are in Judea, 
they flee. If they are on the rooftop, they 
don't run down to the house to get their stuff. If they're in 
the field, they don't go get their clothes, but rather, they 
flee. Then, he describes this consistently or continuously. 
There's not a statement to refer to some other time. If verses 
15 to 20 refer to the first century, to take 21 as referring to anything 
other than the first century, at least in terms of the grammar 
employed, seems to be an exegetical leap or an exegetical stretch. This is the reason why people 
are to flee. It is a time of great tribulation. It's not a time to try and have 
tea with the Roman armies. It's not a time to try and negotiate 
with the Roman armies. It's not a time for you to do 
anything else but to flee. Now, last week I mentioned, get 
out of Dodge. That's perhaps an American idiom. 
It's based on an old television show I remember seeing as a little 
child, I think it was Gunsmoke, and Dodge was the city that the 
bad guys would come to, and they were told to get out of Dodge. 
So if I confused you by referring to getting out of Dodge last 
week, it is, as I've said, an American idiom, at least it was 
for me. Getting out of Dodge means leaving, fleeing, flying, 
running, going. Note what Jesus says, verse 21, 
for then there will be great tribulation. When are we supposed 
to understand the for then? If verses 15 to 20 refer to events 
that did happen in the first century, and I hope that we've 
shown that. Again, you may agree or you may 
disagree. We ought to agree to disagree if we differ on that. 
But I think there's enough to substantiate from the arguments 
presented cumulatively beginning back in chapter 21 that verses 
15 to 20 can be seen to have happened in the first century 
when Jesus says, for then, the idea that he is shifting to our 
future seems to be absolutely contrary and foreign to the flow 
of the text. 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." So I said, no 
indicator, no textual sort of, hey, I'm going to change up. 
Hey, I'm going to shift direction. Hey, I'm going to present something 
that's going to happen in the future that you disciples have 
no concern with whatsoever in terms of things that affect you. 
Now, I want to look at this specific reference in verse 21 and consider 
five things in terms of its application to A.D. 70. I've already mentioned 
the first, the reason for the flight commanded in verses 15 
to 20, and the utter absence of any textual indicator saying 
that we have now left that theme of the destruction of Jerusalem 
and we're now entering into a new theme. In fact, I think this 
is one of the strengths of the futurist position over even the 
two-event position. The futurist is at least consistent 
in terms of seeing it as one completed whole. The preterist 
sees it as a completed whole. The two events, and again, I 
know you're out there, and I don't mean to be mean, and I don't 
mean to be vicious or unkind, but it seems to me that one of 
the difficulties with that is rightly determining what's 80-70 
and what's the future. C.H. Spurgeon holds this particular 
position. A man, I'm not fit to untie his 
shoelaces. I am not fit to groom his beard. I mean, he's head and shoulders 
above me. But he's a to-event guy. And there seems to be, in 
verses 27 and 28, that he sees this as 80-70. He makes the demarcation 
into the second coming in verses 29 and following. Again, that's 
fine. Other two-events persons do not see 27 and 28 as 80-70, 
but they put that in the future. Again, it just becomes a difficulty 
with the two-event to know what's 80-70 and what's the future. So Preterism and Futurism see 
them as a sort of a holistic approach. And this is what I 
think is happening here. The reason for the flight, commanded 
in verses 15 to 20, is given to us in verse 21. For then there 
will be great tribulation. In other words, why if we're 
in Judea should we flee to the mountains? Why, if I'm on my 
rooftop, should I not go downstairs and get my stuff? Why, if I'm 
in the field, should I not run to the edge of the field and 
pick up my suit cloak or my outer garment? If I am pregnant or 
if I am giving sock in those days, why should all this affect 
me? Because it's a time of great 
tribulation. It's a time of great difficulty, 
a time of great hardship, a time when there will be tremendous 
a tremendous trial for the people in Israel. Secondly, we ought 
to observe, with reference to verse 21, that Jesus is using 
common language. By common, I don't mean he's 
speaking to people in Aramaic, or he's speaking to people in 
Greek, or he's speaking to people in Hebrew. He's using common 
biblical language. Verse 21 is idiomatic. Verse 
21 appears throughout Scripture. Verse 21 is not isolated to this 
particular situation. Consider Exodus 11 and verse 
6 with reference to that last plague when the firstborn would 
be struck dead by the angel of Yahweh. It says, then there shall 
be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was 
not like it before, nor shall be like it again. You hear the 
same sort of idiomatic speech. It underscores great tragedy. 
It underscores great calamity. It underscores great hardship. It's very similar in nature to 
that which Jesus says. Such as has not been since the 
beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall 
be. Exodus 11, verse 6, "...then there shall be a great cry throughout 
all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall 
be like it again." Notice in Ezekiel 5, in fact you can turn 
to Ezekiel 5, we're going to spend a few minutes there. Ezekiel 
chapter 5. Just looking at this use of words, 
or this use of language by our Lord, to observe that it's not 
the first time it's used in the Bible. To observe that it's something 
that became sort of descriptive of judgments that would come 
upon people. Notice in Ezekiel chapter 5, 
beginning in verse, or specifically in verse 9. And I will do among 
you. This is the sword against Jerusalem, 
by the way. It's a very similar context. 
This is God's judgment prophesied or proclaimed by Ezekiel to the 
southern tribes of Judah vis-à-vis the destruction of their city 
and their temple by Babylon in 587-586. That's when it transpired. That's when it took place. And 
the prophet Ezekiel was in the midst or the thick of things. 
Notice in 5.9, and I will do among you what I have never done. and the like of which I will 
never do again, because of all your abominations." You see the 
overlap in terms of the language involved. Some have described 
it as apocalyptic language. It's very charged language. It 
certainly underscores and highlights the severity of the judgment 
and the punishment that is going to come to pass in terms of the 
specific historical context. Note Ezekiel 7. Ezekiel 7. I just want to read Ezekiel 7. 
I know that seems a bit odd, but I just want to read the chapter 
and ask you to think about Matthew 24, because my contention is, 
or my proposal is, is that what Christ is doing is executing 
the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26, consistent 
with what had already transpired in Israel's history. God told 
them to be a faithful people in the land that He was giving 
to them to live and dwell in. He told them how to live, how 
to function, how to conduct themselves. He gave them His covenant, and 
He appended to it promises of blessings for obedience and promises 
of curses for disobedience. Again, the historical record 
shows us the northern tribes sinned against God, they broke 
the covenant, and according to 2 Kings 17, they were invaded 
by Assyria and exiled to Assyria, the end of the northern kingdom. 
You'd think Judah would take the hint and say, well, we better 
clean up our act and do what God says. No, they continue to 
sin against God. About 200 years later, they know 
the destruction of their city and their temple via Babylon 
in 586. This is recorded for us in 2 
Kings chapter 24 and 25. So this is something that had 
happened. This is something that had been conducted. This is something 
that our Lord was obviously conversant with, being the sovereign of 
history, being the author of Scripture. So when He stands 
on Olivet, or He sits rather at Olivet, and He gives this 
declaration as God's prophet, He sounds very similar to what 
we find here in Ezekiel 7. Listen to some of the similar 
language and some of the same themes. Notice in 7.1, Moreover 
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, And you, son of man, 
thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel. And in the end 
has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end has 
come upon you, and I will send my anger against you. I will 
judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all 
your abominations. Now, in our context, in Matthew 
24, we've argued that in verse 14 of chapter 24, when he says, 
the end is come, he doesn't mean the end of all things. He means 
the end of the Jewish state. He means the end of Old Covenant 
Israel. He means the end of that theocratic 
status. So, just here, you ought to see 
that that's not an outlandish interpretation of 24.14. If end 
in Ezekiel 7 means the end of the Jews in the 6th century BC, 
it ought not to be outlandish to consider that end in chapter 
24 of Matthew's Gospel may mean the same thing. You see, end 
doesn't always mean the same in every given context. It is 
context that gives meaning to biblical words. Notice verse 
4, My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will 
repay your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst. Then you 
shall know that I am Yahweh. Thus says the Lord God. A singular 
disaster, behold it has come, an end has come, the end has 
come, it has dawned for you. Behold it has come, doom has 
come to you, you who dwell in the land. I'll argue, when Jesus 
says, all the tribes of the earth will see Him, in that coming 
language in 29, it isn't the tribes of the cosmos, it's the 
tribes of the land. What do tribes of land describe? It's not every nation under heaven, 
it's Israel, just like it's used in this particular context. He 
says, Doom has come to you, you who dwell in the land. The time 
has come, a day of trouble is near, and not of rejoicing in 
the mountains. Now upon you I will soon pour out my fury, and spend 
my anger upon you. I will judge you according to 
your ways, and I will repay you for all your abominations. You 
see, again, if we apply Matthew 24 to the first century, we ought 
not to think that, wow, this is just strange. It's just crazy 
that the covenant God would prosecute the curses of the covenant and 
destroy these old covenant people of God. He did it already. Twice. Via Assyria, then via Babylon, 
and in the first century, via Rome. Notice in verse 9, My eye 
will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will repay you according 
to your abominations, and your abominations will be in your 
midst. Then you shall know that I am the Lord who strikes. Did 
the Lord strike physically? Did the Lord's hand come out 
of heaven and pound the nation? It was through Babylon. God calls 
Nebuchadnezzar in the prophet Jeremiah, my servant. Would any of us call Nebuchadnezzar 
my servant? He was the servant of Yahweh 
to execute the covenant curses upon these violators of God's 
law. It's the Lord who strikes through 
historical means. Notice in verse 10, Behold the 
day, behold it is come, doom has gone out, the rod has blossomed, 
pride has budded, violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness. 
None of them shall remain, none of their multitude, none of them, 
nor shall there be wailing for them. The time has come, the 
day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor 
the seller mourn, for wrath is on their whole multitude. For 
the seller shall not return to what has been sold, though he 
may still be alive. For the vision concerns the whole 
multitude, and it shall not turn back. No one will strengthen 
himself who lives in iniquity. They have blown the trumpet and 
made everyone ready, but no one goes to battle, for my wrath 
is on all their multitude. The sword is outside, and the 
pestilence, and the famine within. Whoever is in the field will 
die by the sword, and whoever is in the city, famine and pestilence 
will devour him." Again, you may totally be at odds with me 
and my understanding of Matthew 24, but one of the things you 
cannot be at odds with is to say, well, that didn't happen. 
It would never happen to God's special people. It most certainly 
did. God would cease to be God if 
He didn't faithfully execute not only salvation to the elect, 
but damnation and judgment to the reprobate. It is the faithfulness 
of God by which we are to understand these historical comings via 
Assyria and Babylon and Rome. God is faithful to His Word. And this is a very practical 
observation. He's faithful to His Word to 
everyone who, by His grace, comes to Jesus. He says as much in 
John 6, verse 37, All that the Father gives Me will come to 
Me, and the one who comes to Me, guess what? I will certainly 
not cast out. But conversely, God is sure and 
faithful to His Word of judgment. If you continue to resist, if 
you continue to neglect, if you continue to fall asleep, or don't 
pay attention, or think that the Gospel really isn't what 
it says to be, or that there are multitudes of ways to get 
one into heaven, or you just say, I'm young, or I'm this, 
or I'm that, and I just don't have the time for all of that. 
You continue in your impenitence And you continue in your unbelief, 
and the God who is absolutely faithful will execute upon you 
judgment, and punishment, and vengeance. And you can't say, 
well, that means He's unkind. No, He is faithful. That's what these displays are. 
God's faithful. He enters into covenant with 
this nation who swears in Exodus 24, all that Yahweh has said, 
we will do. Well, when they don't, they are 
visited with wrath from on high. Notice, verse 16, those who survive 
will escape and be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all 
of them mourning, each for his iniquity. Every hand will be 
feeble, and every knee will be as weak as water. They will also 
be girded with sackcloth. Horror will cover them. Shame 
will be on every face, baldness on all their heads. They will 
throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like refuse. 
Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in 
the day of the wrath of the Lord. They will not satisfy their souls 
nor fill their stomachs because it became their stumbling block 
of iniquity. As for the beauty of his ornaments, 
he set it in majesty. They made from it the images 
of their abominations, their detestable things." You see, 
as I've worked through this particular material, I've thought to myself 
over and over again, I've said to myself over and over again, 
you know, with reference to Assyria, 2 Kings 17, they were idolaters. with reference to Judah, 2 Kings 
24 and 25, they were idolaters. We get to the first century. 
They were idolaters. It wasn't Baal, it wasn't Asherah, 
it wasn't Molech, but to reject Christ is to reject Yahweh. Our confession rightly identifies 
the popish mass as gross idolatry. What was it after the once for 
all sacrifice of Messiah for a high priest to enter into a 
Levitical court, to enter into the temple that was still standing 
and offer sacrifice? If that isn't gross idolatry, 
if that isn't blasphemy, if the rejection of Christ doesn't mean 
the rejection of Yahweh, you need to go back and study Theology 
101. There's this wicked idea today 
that as long as you're monotheistic, everything's okay. Such that 
the Muslim and the Jew and the Christian are all united. They 
may call God different names, they may say different things 
in terms of their theology, there may be different emphases and 
whatnot, but they're monotheistic. And as long as you subscribe 
to the reality of one God, that one God knows your heart, He 
knows your particular distinctions in terms of your sacks, but that's 
all that's required. That's a lie from the pit. If 
you don't have the Trinity, you don't have God. If you don't 
have Christ, you don't have God. These men rejected the One that 
was sent to them. He was sent to His own, and His 
own received Him not. We beheld Him. We saw Him. There was nothing in His appearance 
that would draw us to Him. No form, no calmliness. There 
was nothing that would draw the first century Jew to this one, 
because the Jews request signs and the Greeks seek after wisdom. 
But Paul says, we preach Christ and Him crucified. To the Jews, 
a scandal, a stumbling block. And to the Greeks, just plain 
foolishness. They were guilty of idolatry. 
They had opposed Yahweh of Israel. This is the thrust in Matthew 
21. This whole parable of the vineyard, 
the vineyard owner. He sends his servants, the prophets. 
And what do Israelites do? They reject them. They beat them. 
They stone them. They kill them. Then the parable 
says that the vineyard owner says, I know what I'll do. I'll 
send my son. Because they'll certainly respect 
him. They'll certainly receive him. They'll certainly bow to 
him. Do they do that? No. They take 
him, they seize him, and they crucify him. To crucify the son 
of the vineyard owner is to reject the vineyard owner. It's idolatry. Funny how those Pharisees understood 
what Jesus was talking about. Funny how they knew that he spoke 
that parable against them or about them. Funny how Jesus says, 
because of this reality, the fact that you cut off the Son 
of God, the fact that you reject the Messiah sent by the vineyard 
owner, because of that, I say to you, the Kingdom of God is 
being taken from you, and it's given to a nation that will bear 
the fruits consistent with it. That nation is the Church. You 
can read 1 Peter. He applies Old Testament language 
from Exodus to the Church of Christ itself. See, this is not 
an outlandish opinion. You may differ, and that's fine, 
and that's great, but this whole trajectory of biblical theology 
indicates that God is bringing judgment to bear. Verse 21, I 
will give it as plunder into the hands of strangers, into 
the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they shall defile it. I will 
turn my face from them, and they will defile my secret place. 
For robbers shall enter it and defile it. Make a chain, for 
the land is filled with crimes of blood, and the city is full 
of violence. Isn't that Christ's words to them in Matthew 23? 
Isn't that exactly what Jesus says? that upon you may come 
all the righteous bloodshed from Abel to Zechariah." It's a city 
of bloodshed. Luke 13, Jesus says, I have to 
go to Jerusalem, for it's not possible that a prophet die outside 
of Jerusalem. It doesn't mean everyone that 
walks into Jerusalem gets a heart attack and dies of natural causes. He is telling us the reality 
that Jerusalem stones the prophets. Jerusalem spits at the prophets. Jerusalem mocks the prophets. and it will culminate in the 
mocking, the spitting upon, the scourging, and the ultimate crucifixion 
of the great prophet of God. Remember, that's how he enters 
into Jerusalem in Matthew 21. Who is this? And the Galilean 
says, this is the prophet. Christ is speaking as a prophet, 
consistent with the prophets. This was a land, this was a city 
filled with violence. It was filled with bloodshed. 
God doesn't take that lightly. There's another lesson there. 
If you mistreat the people of God, you better watch out. Isn't 
that what verse 22 says? But for the sake of the elect, 
those days were shortened. Interesting how the elect actually 
exercise a preserving function in society. Isn't that amazing? The Lord cut short those days. Again, we're not talking about 
the end of all things. How do you cut short the end 
of all things? There's no cutting short the 
end of all things. There's no flesh being spared at the end 
of all things. Interesting use of the language, 
too. Flesh spared. Not soul spared, but flesh. Certainly 
flesh will be resurrected on the great day of judgment, but 
the language of flesh being spared in 22 better suits a context 
of temporal judgment rather than this whole thing before our God 
and His Christ. Notice. Verse 24, Therefore I 
will bring the worst of the Gentiles, and they will possess their houses. 
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy 
places shall be defiled. When you see Jerusalem surrounded 
by armies, know that its desolation is near. Matthew 22, 15, when 
you see the abomination of desolation doing what? Standing in the holy 
places. God says, at least with reference 
to the 6th century B.C., that this means of judgment, Gentiles, 
will cause the holy places to be defiled. Destruction comes, 
they will seek peace, but there shall be none. Disaster will 
come upon disaster, and rumor will be upon rumor. Then they 
will seek a vision from a prophet, but the law will perish from 
the priest and counsel from the elders. The king will mourn, 
the prince will be clothed with desolation, and the hands of 
the common people will tremble. I will do to them according to 
their way, and according to what they deserve I will judge them." 
Don't miss that. When Jesus describes it as a 
time of great tribulation, and when I have the gall to connect 
it to the wrath and fury and judgment of God, it is consistent 
with what we find in Ezekiel 7, in terms of the southern kingdom. 
It is consistent with what we find in 2 Kings 17, with reference 
to the fall of the northern kingdom. The problem's not God. The problem's 
not His unkindness. If you end up in hell, the charge 
isn't going to be, you're not fair. You're not kind. You're not good. You're not merciful. You will never be able to present 
that to the Holy One of Israel. The problem with reference to 
judgment is never that God judges. It's that sinners bring it upon 
themselves. You see, that's your problem 
this morning if you're not in Christ. There's a lot of reasons 
why people don't come to Jesus. There's not enough evidence to 
believe. There is inconsistencies in the Bible. There's a brother 
in your church that totally disagrees with what you're saying here, 
but that brother in our church, or whatever brothers in our church 
disagree, we all agree on this reality, that apart from Christ, 
you are going to hell. And if you do not flee, if you 
do not run, if you do not hide, if you do not find safety in 
the Savior himself by faith, It's not going to be because 
God's mean, God's unrighteous, God's a nasty character. It's 
because of your sin. Just be honest about it. Just 
accept the reality and realize that, yeah, I am a sinner, but 
if what Butler is saying is true, not maybe about this all of that 
discourse, but about the reality that Christ receives sinners 
and eats with them, then I should run, I should flee, I should 
hide, because I have angered, I have provoked the God of heaven 
and earth. The king will mourn, the prince 
will be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the common people 
will tremble. I will do to them according to their way and according 
to what they deserve. I will judge them that they shall 
know that I am the Lord." Intriguingly, that's one of the functions involved 
or one of the purposes involved in the AD 70 event is that you 
will know that Christ is enthroned at the right hand of the majesty 
of God on high. that you may know that he is 
that Danielic son of man who comes to the ancient of days, 
who there receives the kingdom and rules and reigns over it 
until all of his enemies are made his footstool." It's one 
of the indicators, one of the purposes behind this whole discourse 
is to underscore, to demonstrate, and to highlight that Jesus is 
who he says to be. You see the use of this language 
in Daniel 9.12. Again, with reference to the Babylonian invasion. He 
has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against 
our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster, 
for under the whole heavens such has never been done as what has 
been done to Jerusalem. Again, it's an idiom. It's a 
type of speech. It's a language applicable in 
contexts of judgment, and Jesus employs it in Matthew 24, 21. A third thing, and this was pointed 
out by D.A. Carson, I really don't think 
this is that strong of a point, but I'll just throw it out there. 
Verse 21, 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. It's superfluous if we took, 
for instance, the futurist view, because what follows the great 
tribulation? What follows the great tribulation is the millennial 
kingdom. What follows the millennial kingdom is the new heavens and 
the new earth. Why say, nor ever shall be? No 
place for a great tribulation or tribulation of any sort in 
that sort of a particular scheme. A fourth thing. Just before we 
move there, because I had a point I wanted to mention. Some will 
suggest that if the preterist position is accurate, and verse 
21 means that the great tribulation took place in the first century, 
are you, as a preterist, saying there's never going to be tribulation 
again? No. Not at all. There will be tribulation. We have tribulation now. I mean, 
just look at the current political system, brethren. We may not 
be Asia Bibi, but we may not be a whole lot further from it 
than we often think. We're a growing secular state 
encroaching upon our liberties as believers. We are being told 
that our young boys or our young girls ought not to be offended 
when they go into a public restroom and they find somebody from the 
opposite sex. We're being told that what we believe, in many 
respects, is antiquated. I heard a sermon recently by 
Dale Ralph Davis, and he mentioned a particular judgment that came 
down in Britain. I think this was a recent sermon, 
so I don't think it was too long ago, but a particular area, I 
kind of want to say it was Manchester. The law stipulates you can preach 
Jesus, you just can't preach morality. Now think about that 
for a moment. You can preach Jesus, but you 
can't preach morality. Usually they say you can preach 
morality, but you can't preach Jesus. You can talk about Jesus 
all you want, but don't tell a homosexual that they're wrong. 
Don't get into morals. Don't get into ethics. You can 
talk about Jesus as if you could talk about Jesus apart from ethics. 
I just don't get it, but... Look around, brethren. There's 
tribulation. Tribulation presently. I mentioned 
Asia Bibi, October 13th. She's going to hear whether she's 
acquitted or whether she dies. Consider all the beloved brethren 
that are in the various parts of the world that are in opposition 
in those various parts, not our beloved brethren, to the Lord 
and to His Christ. They suffer tribulation. They 
suffer hardship. A preterist never says that the 
days are going to be rosy from, you know, AD 71 on. We're going 
to just skip and sing and zippity-doo-dah our way right into hell. No. 
No. A man who disagrees with preterism, 
nevertheless, underscores what I think is the accurate description. 
He says, this tribulation would not be the last in human history. What I just said? I don't think 
so. It's not going to be the last in human history. But for 
Israel, it would be the worst. That's the point. The great tribulation 
of Matthew 24, 21 does not mean there will never be tribulation. 
But for Israel, there wouldn't be one greater. A fourth observation. We ought to remember that devastation 
really did occur. Again, we're not pulling rabbits 
out of a hat. Just type in 8070 on your Google 
browser, or whatever a browser is, and you will find loads of 
material to describe it. you will find loads of material 
that underscores that I've not made this up any more than I've 
made up what happened in Babylon in the 6th century B.C. or with 
reference to Assyria in the 8th century B.C. Listen to the testimony 
of an eyewitness. Again, I've tried not to use 
Josephus a whole lot, but where he is necessary, I will cite 
him. And again, I think he serves as a very excellent witness because 
he doesn't have a dog in the fight of Christianity. He doesn't 
have, you know, a desire to promote the truth of Jesus. He was not 
a disciple of Jesus. You get that? He's the kind of 
witness that does, at least to some degree, to speak, not that 
there is an actual neutrality, but he's not pro-Jesus. He didn't 
write his history saying, you know, I remember what the Lord 
said in Matthew 24, so I'm going to write my history to substantiate 
everything he says. That wasn't his point. His point 
was to record. What happened when the Roman 
army sacked Jerusalem? He starts in his preface to the 
wars, the wars of Josephus. Whereas the war which the Jews 
made with the Romans hath been the greatest of all those, not 
only that have been in our times, but in a manner of those that 
ever were heard of, both of those wherein cities have fought against 
cities, or nations against nations. The greatest of all those, not 
only that have been in our times, but in a manner of those that 
ever were heard of. Gil comments here. He says, whoever 
reads Josephus' account will be fully convinced of this and 
readily join with him who was an eyewitness of it when he says 
that never did any city suffer such things, nor was there ever 
any generation that more abounded in malice or wickedness. That's 
Josephus. He's quoting Josephus, they abounded 
in malice and wickedness. Now Gil, and indeed all this 
came upon them for their impenitence and infidelity, and for their 
rejection and murdering of the Son of God, for as never any 
before or since committed the sin they did or ever will, so 
there never did or will the same calamity befall a nation as did 
them. This is why this view does not 
promote anti-Semitism. If you take a futurist, I don't 
want to even know, I don't want to say that. But if we say, you 
know, this is anti... No, it's not. We don't hate the 
Jews today because they killed Jesus. That's not what Jesus 
says. Jesus says it was the first century 
Jews. And Jesus says the wrath of God 
has come upon them. Paul says it comes upon them 
in 1 Thessalonians 2, to the uttermost. So we don't go to 
the modern-day Jew and hate him or be anti-Semitic and say, you 
killed Jesus. Do you like that? When somebody 
says, you were a slave owner. I didn't have slaves. I don't 
even know if any of my ancestors had slaves. Why would you blame 
me for slavery? How do you think the modern Jew 
feels who hears that he's guilty for killing Jesus? This does 
not promote anti-Semitism, but it sees that God dealt faithfully 
vis-a-vis His Word to bring the judgment to bear upon the guilty 
generation that Christ identifies in Matthew 23, 36, and Matthew 
24, 34. This generation. To say that simply means the 
Jews leads to absurdity. It leads to absurdity. It was 
the generation to whom Jesus was speaking when he spoke. Listen 
to the comment by Spurgeon. Read the record written by Josephus 
of the destruction of Jerusalem and see how truly our Lord's 
words were fulfilled. The Jews impiously said concerning 
the death of Christ, His blood be on us and on our children. 
Remember they said that. They really said that. Matthew 
27, 25. As we continue, one day we'll 
be out of the Olivet Discourse, I guarantee you. The end is not 
yet, but the end will come. And we'll eventually be in Matthew 
27, and we will see them engage in a self-maledictory oath. May 
His blood be on us and our children. That's what Spurgeon's referring 
to. So listen. Read the record by Josephus of 
the destruction of Jerusalem and see how truly our Lord's 
words were fulfilled. The Jews impiously said concerning 
the death of Christ, His blood be on us and on our children. Never did any other people invoke 
such an awful curse upon themselves, and upon no other nation did 
such a judgment ever fall. And then Royal says a full account 
of it, the siege of Jerusalem, is to be found in the writings 
of the historian Josephus. Those writings are the best comment 
on our Lord's words. Do you hear what this Christian 
commentator says? Those writings of Josephus are 
the best commentary on our Lord's words. Just Google it, download 
it, you can buy it cheap. The works of Josephus, the edition 
by Whiston, is 20 bucks, 30 bucks at Ballygospel Mission. Pocket change. Don't have a Tim 
Hortons for the next week. And you can buy the works of 
Josephus. And when you start reading those works of Josephus, 
you're going to say, wow, it sounds like what our Lord described. Well, that's what Ryle suggests. 
Those writings are the best comment on our Lord's words. They are 
a striking proof of the accuracy of every tiddle of his predictions. The horrors and miseries which 
the Jews endured throughout the siege of their city exceed anything 
on record. Now, in the fifth place, we ought 
to appreciate what's in view here. Because undoubtedly, we 
present a view that 21 does refer to the first century, and someone's 
going to suggest, well, there were greater body counts later. In other words, more Jews died 
under the regime of Nazi Germany. If you just count numbers, if 
you just count bodies, then it cannot be the case that verse 
21 was fulfilled in the first century. I've never argued that 
the significance of the event was in body count. Though the 
body count was high, though the people number dead was high, 
what have I consistently presented as the problem or as the significance? It was the covenantal transformation. That's the key. That's the significance. That's why it was a great tribulation, 
because the kingdom is taken from them and it's given to someone 
else. That's why it's a great tribulation, 
because they no longer are my people! No longer Lo-emi! No longer what the prophet said 
to describe the people of Israel! They were cut off as a body politic, 
as a particular ethnicity. Again, they enter the ranks of 
every nation. They are free to come to the 
Savior. We preach the Gospel to Jew and Gentile. We proclaim 
the way of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus to everyone 
out there. But it's not the case that they 
are the people of God anymore. And in Hebrews 8.13, We see the statement by the apostle 
with reference to this. Hebrews 8.13, highlighting the 
superiority of the new covenant. I'm going to read this in an 
amplified way. There are commentaries you can 
consult to see that this is not an outlandish interpretation. I have argued for it, I think, 
several weeks ago, so I'll just read it with the amplification. 
In that he says, a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. 
He made the first obsolete at His death. It is the death of 
Christ that renders obsolete the first covenant. It is the 
death of Christ when He dies and the veil is rent and it's 
split and it's torn from top to bottom. The first covenant 
is obsolete. To offer up a bullock, to offer 
up a ram, to offer up a dove, to offer up anything post once-for-all 
sacrifice of Christ is an abomination. It is to reject the Messiah sent 
by God, the servant of Yahweh sent to save His people from 
their sins. So He renders the first obsolete 
by His death. The apostle then says, now what 
is becoming obsolete and growing old? Why would he say that? If 
the first covenant was obsolete at the death of Jesus Christ, 
how can he say what is becoming obsolete and growing old? Because 
the temple was still standing, persons were still going to sacrifice, 
there was a high priest in Jerusalem, And the apostle is saying it 
was rendered obsolete at the death of Christ, but the visible 
carcass is still there. It's still in practice, it's 
still in play. But he does describe it as that 
becoming obsolete and that growing old, and then notice, it is ready 
to vanish away. When is it ready to vanish away? 
When is the public visible demonstration that the old covenant is gone, 
the new covenant is here? Yes, it's rendered judicially 
and legally and sacrificially in the death of Jesus, but because 
of the nature of redemptive history and the fact that the temple 
was still standing, when that temple falls, that is the display 
that it's vanished away. No more old covenant. I was intrigued 
to find that Owen made this comment. John Owen, prince of Puritan 
preachers, said, all this glory, commenting on 8.13, saith the 
apostle, shall shortly disappear, shall vanish out of your sight 
according to the prediction of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 
24. So you see, brethren, the significance 
of the A.D. 70 event wasn't simply on the 
death toll. It wasn't simply on the body 
count. It was on the reality expressed by our Savior in 2143. The kingdom is taken from you 
and given to another nation. So, 2421, according to Preterism, 
at least my view of Preterism. I'm sure there's Preterists out 
there that would disagree. It's the funny thing about eschatology 
and prophetic literature. You find five people, you're 
going to have five different opinions. That brings me to conclude this 
morning. I don't want to keep you long. You're like the patient 
in the dentist chair. I was sitting in a dentist chair 
on Monday and was quite relieved when she let me close my mouth 
from time to time. So I'll let you close your mouth, go home, 
and just think through some of this stuff. And again, if we 
agree or if we disagree, I hope we can remain brethren. I hope 
we can remain beloved friends. And I hope, above all hopes, 
that we all agree that the thing most needful is faith in Jesus 
Christ. It's intriguing, the 9.30 to 
10.30 hour. We recently sent out an email, 
we're hoping to start a children's Sunday school. Many of you may 
not know that there's an adult Sunday school of sorts from 9.30 
to 10.30. It's been going on for as long 
as I've been here, so 19 and a half years. And in that study, 
we go through the confession of faith, alternating. We do 
one Sunday morning and the confession of faith, and one Sunday morning 
we use that time for prayer. We like to pray for the voice 
of the martyrs, we like to pray for missionaries, we certainly 
pray for all the brethren here that are downcast or troubled 
or having physical trials or difficulties and whatnot. This 
morning we considered canonicity. How do I know that my Bible is 
what God would have me to have as my Bible? the canon of scriptures, 
the rule, the standard. And somebody asked a very good 
question at the end. Why is there so many differences 
in the way we view things? This brother pointed out, you 
know, you preach Preterism, other people believe Futurism. We're 
Baptists and there's others that are Paedo-Baptists. How do we 
explain that? We explain that simply by saying 
those things aren't necessary for salvation. A Baptist, a Paedo-Baptist, 
a Futurist, and a Preterist. Almost sounds like a joke. They 
can all sit together, and while they differ on a myriad of things, 
they all agree on one specific thing. It is that which binds 
us together as brethren. And that unity, that peace that 
we have together as a church is valuable, and it's precious. My intention is not to alienate 
any non-preterist. My intention would never be to 
do that. If it meant that I would alienate 
persons who disagreed, I would do the noble thing and jump from 
24 to 26, because I value the unity and the peace that we have. I praise God for it. We've gone 
through some seasons in our church where it wasn't like this. And 
what we have now is worth fighting for. So I'm not trying to alienate. 
I'm not trying to be prejudiced or to be unkind or untoward. 
You all know me. I get fired up. I get a bee in 
my bonnet. I think this is right. I'm going to preach it like it's 
right. But in the final analysis, the Futurist, the Preterist, 
the Baptist, the Paedo-Baptist, Do you know what we agree on? 
We agree on the One who came down for us men and for our salvation. We agree on Him who is altogether 
lovely and chief among 10,000. We agree on Him who shed His 
blood for us. We agree on Him who takes away 
our sins. And if you leave this morning 
a futurist, a preterist, a Baptist, or a Paedo-Baptist, and you're 
not a Christian, that's the most, most terrible thing. Believe 
the gospel. Believe on Him who is the One, 
alone, who takes away sin. All that the Father gives me, 
He says, will come to me. And the one who comes to me, 
I will certainly not cast out. If I was a sinner, an unbeliever, 
I am a sinner, a redeemed sinner by the grace of God. If I was 
an unbelieving sinner, I would take that text to my Savior. 
I would say, you said, if I came to you, you wouldn't cast me 
out. You said, if I come in faith, you will not shun me. You said 
right here. Note what He says in 1 John 2.23. 
It's absolutely incredible. For an unbelieving sinner this 
morning, this is the warrant of faith. I'm sorry, 1 John 3.23. And this is His commandment that 
we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and 
love one another as He gave us commandment. If I were you, I 
would take this text, I would grip it in my hand, I would bring 
it to the Father, and I would say, I'm believing in your Son. Your Bible gives me warrant to 
believe in your Son. Your Bible tells me it's your 
commandment that I believe in your Son. Your Word says it right 
here, Lord. And if I'm believing in your 
Son, I have confidence, I have hope, I have faith, I have trust 
that your Son will save me. That's most important. That is 
most crucial. Do not end this day by putting 
your head on the pillow without knowing that you are in Him, 
safe and secure. That's my encouragement to all 
of us. Let us pray. God in heaven, we 
thank You for Your Word, we thank You for Your glory, we thank 
You for the consistency of Holy Scripture, and I pray, God, that 
You would cause us to see things as you would have us to do. And 
I know that sounds terrible, it sounds proud, it sounds like 
I think I'm the only one that's right. God, if I'm wrong and 
I know that that potential is there, lead me into all truth. 
For certainly the truth of God is far more important than a 
particular position of men, and I pray that you would all give 
us the mind of Christ when it comes to these matters. But specifically, 
God, may we never waver, may we never go wrong, may we never 
go astray concerning salvation by grace alone through faith 
alone in Christ Jesus alone. And may you open the ears and 
the hearts and the minds of sinners here today and cause them to 
come. to come to the One who says He 
will in no wise cast them out. God, may this be a powerful invitation, 
may this be a powerful move in their hearts to come to the One 
alone who can save to the uttermost. We ask that You would go with 
us now, help us to sanctify this day, help us to think Your thoughts 
after You, help us to glorify and honor You. And we pray through 
Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.