CHAPTER 13

(A.D. 33)

DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE FORETOLD

¹And as He went out of the Temple (He went out spiritually as well as physically, which guaranteed its doom), one of His Disciples said unto Him (concerns a conversation no doubt held on the Mount of Olives, as Jesus and the Disciples overlooked the Temple and surrounding area), Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! (Josephus said that this building was one of the wonders of the world.)

²And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? (This included the entire Temple enclosure, pertaining to several buildings.) there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down (this was fulfilled in exact totality, in 70 A.D., by the Roman General Titus).

SIGNS OF THE ENDTIME

³And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives over against the Temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately (it was extremely dangerous to speak of the destruction of the Temple, or anything that resembled such, for fear of the Scribes and Pharisees; so they would ask Him privately),

⁴Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? (They were speaking more than likely of the near future. His answer would incorporate the future of Israel, in essence, forever.)

⁵And Jesus answering them began to say (there is a possibility that one or more of them was taking notes), Take heed lest any man deceive you (Jesus begins His discourse with a warning of deception; this is Satans greatest weapon):

⁶For many shall come in My Name (after the Ascension of Christ, a number of Jews appeared on the scene, claiming to be the Messiah, who would lead Israel out from under the dominion of the Romans; those false Messiahs led Israel to her destruction in A.D. 70), saying, I am Christ (carries the meaning as well, of saying I am of Christ); and shall deceive many.

⁷And when you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled (has to do with the mission at hand of Evangelizing the world; our Lord exhorts the Disciples and all who would follow, not to permit political and national upheavals to distract them from their work of Evangelism): for such things must needs be (due to Israel rejecting Christ, the world was and is subjected to all of these problems); but the end shall not be yet (means that the end will not be brought about until the Second Coming).

⁸For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (two thousand years of education, culture, and experience have not ameliorated the problem): and there shall be earthquakes in divers places (proclaims disturbance at the very foundation of the Earth [Rom. 8:22]), and there shall be famines and troubles (the natural product of the course taken by the human family and their rejection of Jesus Christ; and this problem will not be made right until Israel accepts Christ, which she will at the Second Coming): these are the beginnings of sorrows (not short-lived, but of duration; as well, it speaks of the greatest sorrow of all, the coming Great Tribulation).

⁹But take heed to yourselves (leaves the national scope, and addresses all Believers on a personal basis): for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the Synagogues you shall be beaten (the Early Church records this): and you shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake (such has happened all over the world, from then until now), for a testimony against them (should have been translated, For a testimony to them).

¹⁰And the Gospel must first be published among all nations (it didnt say every person, but it did say all nations; to a great degree this has been done, and is being done, but yet there is so much more to be done).

¹¹But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up (refers to persecution), take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither do you premeditate (the Lord does not mean that we are not to premeditate a prudent and wise answer, seeking His Face for guidance, but that we are not to be anxious about it; He is speaking of fear, and that it is not to beset us): but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, you speak that: for it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit (this concerns His constant leading, guidance, companionship, and counsel).

¹²Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death (beginning with Verse 11, even though the admonition holds true for other times, it mostly speaks of the coming Great Tribulation; during that time, some Jews will come to Christ, and many of them will lose their lives, betrayed by even their close loved ones).

¹³And you shall be hated of all men for My Names sake (while Israel has been hated for so very long, that hatred will intensify in the coming Great Tribulation; all because of Christ; it is ironic, Israel proper hates the Name of Jesus, and they are hated for His Names sake!): but he who shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (concerns the Jews during the coming Great Tribulation who accept Christ, which some few shall, and that they must be faithful unto death; if so, the Lord has said, I will give you a Crown of Life [Rev. 2:10]).

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

¹⁴But when you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Pro phet (speaks of the Antichrist taking over Jerusalem and the Temple, actually declaring war on Israel [Dan. 9:27]), standing where it ought not (refers to this abomination, the image of the Antichrist, being set up in the Holy of Holies in the Temple), (let him who reads understand,) (means there is no reason to misunderstand, because Daniel has plainly foretold this happening) then let them who be in Judaea flee to the mountains (as stated, this refers to the time that the Antichrist will show his true colors, and invade Israel, in which she will be defeated for the first time since becoming a nation again in 1948):

¹⁵And let him who is on the housetop (in Israel, the tops of the houses are flat; during the summer time, people sleep, at times, in these areas) not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house (make haste):

¹⁶And let him who is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

¹⁷But woe to them who are with child (pregnant women), and to them who give suck in those days! (Who have little babes in arms.)

¹⁸And pray you that your flight be not in the winter (bad weather).

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

¹⁹For in those days (the last three and one half years of the Great Tribulation) shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be (the last half of the Great Tribulation will be worse than the Earth has ever seen, and so bad in fact, that such will never be seen again).

²⁰And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved (meaning that every Jew would be killed, and that could apply to the majority of the world): but for the elects sake (Israels sake, not the Church, for the Church is now with the Lord), whom He has chosen (the Lord chose these people, actually raising them up from the loins of Abraham and the womb of Sarah), He hath shortened the days (by how much, we arent told).

²¹And then if any man shall say to you (the word then refers to the last half of the Great Tribulation, a time period of some three and one half years), Lo, here is Christ (Messiah); or, lo, He is there; believe him not (the Lord is actually speaking here of the Antichrist who will make great claims):

²²For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect (the word elect refers to the Jews, but as it is used here, to those who have accepted Christ).

²³But take ye heed (repeated four times in this Chapter [Verses 5, 9, 23, 33]; ye is emphatic, specifically meaning that each individual must take heed): behold, I have foretold you all things (this leaves no one with an excuse).

THE SECOND COMING

²⁴But in those days (the Second Coming), after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light (pertains to the fifth time the planets will be affected in part, or in whole, during Daniels 70th week),

²⁵And the stars of Heaven shall fall (pertains to meteorites, but as well, can definitely pertain to spirit beings of the spirit world of darkness), and the powers that are in Heaven shall be shaken (refers to the Satanic hosts that now rule the air [Eph. 2:1-3; 6:12]).

²⁶And then shall they see (it is quite possible that Television will portray the Second Coming and do so to the whole world) the Son of Man coming (the Second Coming) in the clouds (doesnt speak of clouds as we think of such, but rather, a great multitude of people who will be with Him, namely all the Saints who have ever lived) with great power and glory (in other words, when Christ truly comes back, no one will have to ask the question, is this really Him?; it will be overly obvious that it is).

²⁷And then shall He send His Angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of Heaven (all the Jews then alive on Earth, will be brought to the land of Israel; they will gladly come, even helped by Angels, simply because, they have finally accepted their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom they rejected so long ago).

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

²⁸Now learn a Parable of the fig tree (symbolic of Israel and the Second Coming); When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves (refers to the rebirth of Israel as it began in 1948; for about nineteen hundred years this fig tree produced nothing, now this tree, taking life from the roots, is beginning to put forth leaves), you know that summer is near (Israel is Gods prophetic time clock; looking at Israel, we now know that summer is near, i.e., the Endtime Prophecies are about to be fulfilled):

²⁹So you in like manner, when you shall see these things come to pass (the beginning of these things predicted by Christ, has already begun), know that it is near, even at the doors (should have been translated, He is near, because it refers to Christ).

³⁰Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass (concerns the generation in existence at the time of these happenings, which will be the time of the Great Tribulation), till all these things be done (speaks of the events proclaimed in Rev., Chpts. 6-19).

³¹Heaven and Earth shall pass away (better translated, Heaven and Earth shall pass from one condition to another): but My Words shall not pass away (what Christ is saying will come to pass, and without fail!).

THE DAY OF CHRISTS COMING UNKNOWN

³²But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the Angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father (the Son of Man under the self-imposed limitations of the Incarnation, says that even He Himself did not at that time know the hour of the Second Advent, and of the time of the fulfillment of these other things grouped around that event; without a doubt, He now knows, and Im sure the Angels now know as well; but then they didnt!).

³³Take ye heed, watch and pray (the idea is a state of watchfulness, which is seasoned by prayer): for you know not when the time is (the time itself is not that important, but watchfulness is!).

³⁴For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey (Christ is speaking of Himself, when He would go back to Heaven, which He did), Who left His house (refers to the Work He established on Earth, constituted as the Church [Mat. 16:18]), and gave authority to his servants (pertains to every Believer), and to every man his work (every Believer is called by God for a particular task, no exceptions), and commanded the porter to watch (conveys the idea of wakefulness).

³⁵Watch ye therefore: for you know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning (Christ is not speaking here of the Rapture of the Church, but specifically to Israel; but yet, the admonition can definitely apply to modern Believers, and should apply as it regards the Rapture):

³⁶Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping (regrettably most of the modern Church is spiritually asleep; most little know and realize the lateness of the hour).

³⁷And what I say unto you (the Disciples and Israel) I say unto all (includes the Church), Watch (the last Word of Christ respecting this dissertation; we should take it very seriously).