The Lord Jesus' first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, began with his sitting on a mountain (Matthew 5:1), so did his last sermon (Matthew 24:3).
What prompted this sermon was his disciples' threefold question: "When will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3)
For them, the end of the Temple would be the end of the world as they knew it.
While God cannot be contained in an earthly house, the Tabernacle/Temple was a kind of embassy of heaven.
"Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27)
"Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. May you answer your servant's prayer for this place." (1 Kings 8:29)
Over this very Mount of Olives, the glory of the Lord had passed when he abandoned Solomon's Temple (Ezekiel 10:18-19; 11:22-23).
It was not unlike the time the Philistines had captured God's throne, the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4:21), and the glory had departed from the Tabernacle, Ichabod.
Matthew 24:3-8 describes events that have happened throughout history, and Matthew 24:9-14 foretells the suffering believers will suffer before the end.
The end in view is the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans at the climax of the Jewish war against Rome in A.D. 66-70. When one compares Matthew 24:15-28 with Luke 21:20-24, it becomes clear that Rome's armies are in view because believers could take action; whereas, the only action we can take with regard to his second coming is repentance and faith.
The Glory of the Lord is present with believers (Matthew 18:20).
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
