We have two more Reflections to do on Matthew 24. Today, we look at verses 15-22.
So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
What is Jesus on about?! I said earlier that Jesus’ disciples asked two questions. One concerned the destruction of the temple – which happened in 70 A.D. – and the other concerned ‘End Times’. Which question is Jesus answering here? We’d certainly be happy if he isn’t talking about ‘End Times’. The tribulation Jesus describes sounds truly awful: ‘such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.’
I think we can breathe a sigh of relief. This warning relates to the destruction of Jerusalem, not to ‘End Times’. This is evident for at least two reasons. Jesus gives instruction to ‘those who are in Judea’. That is applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem, not to ‘End Times’. Also, Jesus describes ‘tribulation, such as has not been … and never will be’. If Jesus was talking about ‘End Times’ then it would be superfluous to say ‘and never will be’.
What is ‘the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel’? Back in the 18th century, William Whiston, translating Josephus’ account of the siege of Jerusalem, imagined that it was the moment when the Roman armies, with the images of their idols in their ensigns, occupied the temple area, ready to lay Jerusalem desolate. But many possibilities have been suggested, and sadly, it isn’t entirely clear!
Is it imaginable that the destruction of Jerusalem was a time of ‘tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be’? I mentioned Josephus’ account of the siege of Jerusalem. This is a detailed account of the war and actually, the only detailed account we have. You can find it online (search for ‘Jewish wars Gutenberg’). Based on Josephus’ description, it looks very much as though Jesus’ description was justified. In his commentary D.A. Carson wrote:
There have been greater numbers of deaths—six million in the Nazi death camps, mostly Jews, and an estimated twenty million under Stalin—but never so high a percentage of a great city’s population so thoroughly and painfully exterminated and enslaved as during the fall of Jerusalem.
So, is that all there is to be said? Can we conclude that the fall of Jerusalem is not relevant to our enquiry about ‘End Times’ and breathe a sigh of relief that ‘End Times’, bad as they may be, will not be that bad? Maybe. But maybe we shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to move on.
Commentators note, perfectly reasonably, that Jesus’ answer to his disciples’ question links the destruction of Jerusalem with ‘End Times’. The themes seem to be intertwined. Is that a mistake which simply confuses us? Or could it be intentional? Could it be that one is a picture of the other? Could it be that ‘the near event, the destruction of Jerusalem, serves as a symbol for the far event’ – as Carson puts it? If that is the case, then the destruction of Jerusalem is not at all irrelevant to our question about ‘End Times’. On the contrary, it serves notice that God will act in judgement.
Have a good rest of the day!
Simon
