Subject: '... end of the world'
and 'the new heavens and new earth'
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:00:28
+0700
Brethren,
Please help me
Mt 24:1-3 read, "And Jesus
went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to
show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all
these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone
upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of
Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of
the world?
The Lord Jesus made a momentous statement concerning the complete destruction of the temple. That statement caused Peter to ask among other things, about the end of the world.
Is there a direct connection between Christ's statement of the destruction of the temple and Peter's question on 'the end of the world'? Which world did Peter had in mind - is it the end of the Jewish world, or the end of the world at the end of time?
Peter asked about the coming of Jesus - is this about Christ's second coming, or the coming of the risen Lord to execute His judgment which resulted in the obliteration of the temple and the cessation of the theocratic Jewish nation? Is this coming of Jesus the same as 'the day of judgment and perdition' and 'the day of the Lord' spoken of in 2Pet 3:7,10.
Are Peter's word of exhortation to the fellow Jews in his second epistle (3:10-13) related to the answer he received from Christ in Mt 24?
sing
xinglau@myjaring.net
Brother Sing,
In answer to your question, I
submit the following:
In a post written by Elder Bernie, he quotes from Hassell's History as follows:"In reference to the highly important discourse of Christ in Matthew 24; and 25, it is to be observed that Christ is answering three distinct questions of His Apostles: 1st, When the temple and city of Jerusalem were to be destroyed; 2nd, What were to be the signs of His coming; and 3rd, What was to be the time or the sign of the end of the world (Matt. 24:3). The questions, perhaps, amounted to but one in the minds of the disciples at that time, because they probably supposed that these three events were to be simultaneous. It is in accordance with the entire analogy of Scripture prophecy to understand that these predictions had a primary and lower fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem, but will have a final and higher fulfillment in the destruction of this sin-polluted world. So the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah were intended to foretell, not only the deliverance of national Israel from Babylonian captivity, but also the far more important redemption of spiritual Israel from the bondage of sin and Satan." (Hassell’s History, Page 261)
God bless,
Allenne
Dear Brother Sing,
You have asked some very
interesting questions. Please tell us
what you think and believe about this passage.
Desiring to learn from you, Ed
Dear Brother Sing,
It is not my intention to enter into a full
discussion of the difficult points of the questions being raised relative to
Matthew, chapter 24.
I would merely mention that the
phrase "end of the world"
which appears in Matthew 24:3 is the same as the phrase that appears in Hebrews
9:26.
Since I have been away to the Philippines, it is entirely possible that this thought has already been offered but I have not had time to read every post since my return. However, I am trying to catch up and do want to eventually read every email to FGF while I have been gone.
This is, indeed, an interesting subject and I will continue to read all reponses on this subject.
Your little brother,
Gene
Dear Gene,
I am so pleased that you took
the rigorous trip to the Tagalogland so well. I had wanted to ask you to extend
your trip and hop over to visit us here. but wifey said that would be a 'cruel'
and unkind thing to do.
Thanks for bringing the Heb
9:26 passage to attention. The same passage was also upon my mind... as
expressed in a separate post...
I look forward to the thought
of my teachers on this list.
sing
Brother Allen,
Thanks for the pre-packed nugget.
I like something fresh... like
raw fish with fresh garlic <grin>.
Perhaps we need to put
ourselves into the shoes of the Jewish disciples and think AFRESH to momentous
statements of Christ and its effects
upon them.
I am just thinking... and would
like something fresh to think about. My poor and weak stomach does not take
pre-packed food well.
Thanks. sing
Brother Ed,
I learn by asking and listening
to the thoughts of my teachers.|
I don't know yet what I ought
to think of the passage... you give your thoughts to my questions
and I would be pleased to learn from you.
eager to learn,
sing
