Truth Magazine

By Marvin Taylor

What faith! What courage! Even the mention of Stephen’s name elicits our admiration of this first martyr (excluding Jesus himself) for the cause of Christianity. The conflict started in the heated anger of public debate and continued in a scene of mob violence. Stephen’s clear presentation of truth evoked the worst actions from hearts too hard to receive God’s message (Acts 6:9-10). Stephen had refused to be controlled by public sentiment or manipulated by unjustified human anger. He preached hard against the sins that plagued his opponents at that time. Lis-ten to his concluding statements to the historic sermon which had traced Israel’s history of rebel-lion against God: “Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of Whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it” (Acts 7:51-53). Stephen’s words cost him his life. He died a painful death by stoning at the hands of evil men whom he had loved enough to teach the truths they needed to hear the most.

Young Saul of Tarsus was a consenting bystander (Acts 8:1). As a Jew from Cilicia, he was probably at the initial debate scene at the synagogue for Cilicians (Acts 6:9). His education at the feet of Gamaliel and his patriotic zeal funneled through the eyes of the Pharisee sect, pointed him to opposition of this new sect of disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. He must have heard the testimony of the bribed false witnesses before the Council because he came to a decision to consent to the stoning of Stephen. This was demonstrated by his holding the coats of those who actually threw the stones that battered and bruised Stephen to death (Acts 7:58).

Saul moved from spectator to participant in the persecution movement against the disciples of Christ. If you had been a disciple of Christ in Jerusalem at that time, you would have feared that Saul and his men would come to your house and drag you to jail (Acts 8:3). His zealous efficiency as a persecutor led him to seek authorization to follow fleeing believers to Damascus, arrest them, and extradite them to Jerusalem. However, when he arrived at Damascus, he was not the same man. Yes, it was the same physical form, except that Saul was now blind, but he no longer had any taste for punishing followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Quite to the contrary, he now fasted and prayed, and when he was commanded by Ananias to “arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16), that is exactly what he did (Acts 9:18). His spirit had been fully transformed. He had gone from Saul of Tarsus, expert antagonist of Jesus’ followers, to Paul the most industrious apostle of Jesus Christ.

What had happened on the road to Damascus? Persons like Saul would not make such a drastic change in their lives without good reason. In Luke’s commentary (Acts 9), as well as Paul’s teaching to Felix (Acts 22) and Agrippa (Acts 26), the appearance of the resurrected Jesus and his words are the historic keys that unlock the mystery of the unexpected change. Indeed, Saul’s metamorphosis becomes one of the strongest evidences to counter the doubts of skeptics of Jesus’ resurrection of all subsequent ages.

Notice how the newness of life of the apostle Paul merges with the lifestyle that Stephen had adopted (and probably would have continued had his life been spared). Stephen had preached Jesus as the Son of God in the synagogue in Jerusalem. In Damascus, Saul (Paul) “preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). Stephen’s opponents in debate were not able to resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke (Acts 6:10). The Jewish rivals of Saul in Damascus were confounded (Acts 9:22). Stephen was stoned to death by an angry mob. The converted Saul made an enemy of the governor of Damascus but escaped by being lowered down the city wall in a basket (2 Cor. 11:32-33).

When Paul returned to Jerusalem three years after his conversion, the parallels to Stephen’s life become even more striking. Imagine Paul coming to identify with the congregation in Jerusalem. They knew him as an angry, young man who had wreaked havoc upon the church there. Some may have been imprisoned by him. Some may have had family or friends imprisoned or executed through his efforts. Barnabas must have mustered all his powers of persuasion to convince them of the true conversion of Saul. What faith it took for them to glorify God for Paul and the work he was doing (Gal.1:22-24). When Paul got settled, he disputed with the “Grecians” (Acts 9:29). These “Grecians” would be like the “Grecians” in the church at Jerusalem who had murmured against the “Hebrews” in the case of the Hellenistic widows being neglected (Acts 6:1). These were Jews who spoke the Greek language and adopted more of the Greek culture. This would be descriptive of those who would frequent the synagogue of the Libertines, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians where Stephen had his debate. The result was quite similar, the “Grecians” “. . . went about to slay him” (Acts 9:29). His former enemies who had become his adopted spiritual family, now intervened and escorted him to safety in Caesarea from where he took a ship home to Tarsus (Acts 9:30).

Paul couldn’t undo his past sins but what a cleansing effect it must have had for him to pick up the banner from Stephen and carry on the battle, especially in returning to Jerusalem and showing them the change in his life and teaching. How Stephen must have smiled from the spiritual realm, in seeing his work being furthered and Christ’s cause being advanced from this once unlikely source!

If we had been disciples of Christ in Jerusalem and had known Stephen, would we have wondered why God would allow such a terrific worker for the Lord to be put to death? With our hindsight, the Lord’s plan comes into focus. Stephen’s martyrdom led to followers of Christ boldly step-ping forth to be the pallbearers at Stephen’s funeral (Acts 8:2). As other disciples in Jerusalem were forced to flee, they took the gospel as a valued part of their baggage (Acts8:3-4). As the soldiers in the war with Mexico used the battle cry, “Remember the Alamo,” so these soldiers of Christ could have used the motto, “Remember Stephen.” And then there was the lifestyle, dedication, and courage of Stephen that became an abiding encouragement and model for the apostle Paul.

This whole philosophy of trying to kill the cause of Christ by murder was a total failure. It failed in the crucifixion of Jesus. It failed in the slaying of Stephen. Indeed it completely backfired, because it just gave the Lord’s followers that much more determination to never let die the cause for which Christ and Stephen sacrificed their lives.

The closing scene of Stephen’s earthly life pictures the heavens opening and his seeing Jesus sitting at the right hand of God and Stephen saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). As Paul ultimately faces his execution at the hands of the Romans, he reflects without regret on the past and looks with a “Stephen-like” optimism to the future. He writes, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Hence-forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Do we remember Stephen and use his life as an encouragement to be faithful soldiers of Christ in the 20th century? Have we developed the spirit of martyrdom which is vital to having the moral courage (virtue  2 Pet. 1:5) it takes to be a true disciple of Christ? (Luke 14:26). Although we may not actually give our lives for “the cause,” by having a willingness to do so, we are prepared to face the lesser trials and tribulations that this life may present to tempt us to stop standing for what is right and to turn to religious worldliness. Let us each live that we may face death and judgment with the same faith and courage as did both Stephen and Paul.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 5 p. 10-11
March 6, 1997

By Chad R. Wadlington

“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:21, KJV).

There are times in our reading of the Bible we come upon a verse or phrase that gives us some difficulty. A first glance at the verse above has given some quite a jolt when they suppose Paul to say that preaching is foolishness. I imagine their confusion would be compounded when considering four verses earlier Paul said, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach” (v. 17). Taking both together one might conclude that Christ sent Paul out bent on foolishness. It seems at least there were some in Corinth that thought so.

The church at Corinth was fighting a culture dominated by intellectualism. The society around them had denounced the preaching of Paul as complete foolishness and their influence was permeating the Christian’s evaluation of the manner and message of gospel preaching. In the 1 Corinthian letter, Paul shows the true folly of those who think themselves wise enough to evaluate God’s ways.

He begins his admonition against the division paralyzing the church. As with the Greek philosophers and their disciples, the Christians were dividing among themselves according to their chosen teacher (1 Con 1:12). The pagan world was persuaded more by a teacher’s manner or style than by his message, but this was not to be the Christian’s standard of evaluation. To them he wrote, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect” (1 Cor. 1:17). The Corinthians were to be impressed with the teaching rather than the teacher. The one of whom they were taught and baptized into was important. That is why Paul did not come to them with persuasive words of human wisdom lest their faith would be in wisdom and not the power of God (1 Cor. 1:17; 2:1-5). He later stressed that those who baptize or preach are nothing (1 Cor. 3:7). The division of the Corinthian church was simply a result of evaluating the manner of preaching as the pagans did, “For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1 Cor. 3:3).

The trouble with carnal behavior was that the natural man rejects the teachings of God, thinking them to be foolishness (1 Cor. 2:14). And that was the next step for the Corinthian church if they were trying to keep pace with culture. The intellectuals had already judged the message of preaching to be foolishness. Certainly the Christians did not want to follow that “wisdom” and jeopardize their salvation! So in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Paul borrows the pagan accusation of “foolishness” to demonstrate that God in his “foolishness” is still wiser than the wisest of men. “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Cor. 1:20).

It is as if Paul is calling court, demanding testimony from the intellectuals who think themselves wise enough to evaluate God’s ways. And anytime God is-sues a challenge to man it is serious. Jesus challenged his enemies, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46). God challenged Job, “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man, I will question you and you will answer Me” (Job 38:2-3).

In our Corinthian text, Paul quotes God, who challenged Israel’s wisdom in attempting to save herself through alliances, rather than trust his power (Isa. 29:14). Now Paul challenges the intellectuals in Corinth, “Where have your philosophical pursuits ever led?” The answer was nowhere, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God” (1 Cor. 1:21).

Try as they might their pursuits were a dead end. Through their wisdom they were no closer to God, salvation was still out of their grasp, and they were doomed to perish. In their “wisdom” they rejected the only thing that would save, the message of the gospel. They judged that message to be foolish. The Jew had his idea of the Messiah, a physical reign on the throne of David and Jesus did not fulfill their expectations. The Greek had his idea of a Savior and it was not a Savior who could not save himself. However, it was not the Jewish or Greek idea that mattered. God’s ways are not subject to the ideas of men (Jer. 10:23; Isa. 55:8-9). God in his wisdom chose the cross and it was that “foolish” message that saved those who believed.

In all their scrutiny the intellectuals had overlooked the only reason they deemed the cross to be foolish  be-cause they would not have chosen it. Man became the end of his own reasoning and how enlightened is that? “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise … that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:27-29). Here Paul has come full circle exposing the core of the problem, evaluating the manner and message of gospel preaching by worldly standards. The end of human wisdom is human and anytime man elevates himself he replaces God as supreme authority. “But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). All glory, honor, and worship are God’s and can be shared with no one (1 Cor. 1:31). “To God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for-ever, Amen” (Rom. 16:27).

The problem at Corinth stands as a warning to those today who criticize the manner and method of gospel preaching. The denominational “intellectuals” claim the gospel’s power has lost its effectiveness in the hands of incapable men whose style is archaic and whose content is unenlightened. Sadly that attitude has permeated the thinking of some Christians, who have tried to replace the edification of preaching with entertainment and the message of sin with psychology.

Christ did not send us out bent on foolishness. The gospel message is the same today as in the first century, pure and unadulterated by the wisdom of men. In it we should stand, steadfast and unashamed, knowing it is foolishness to the perishing, but salvation to us who believe (1 Cor. 15:58; Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18). Let us glory in being “fools for Christ’s sake” (1 Cor. 4:10)!

Guardian of Truth XLI: 4 p. 23-24
February 20, 1997

By Johnie Edwards

There is lot of religious confusion because people do not understand the phrase, “Before And After Faith Came.” The passage containing the phrase says, “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should after-wards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Gal. 3:23-25).

How The Word “Faith” Is Used

Sometimes the word “faith” simply means “to believe in.” An example of this use is found in the book of Hebrews, as the apostle said, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). Another use of the word “faith” is in reference to the gospel of Christ. It was said of the apostle Paul, “And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed” (Gal. 1:22-23). Just what did Paul preach when he preached the faith? First Corinthians 15:1 contains the answer. “More-over, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.” It is said in Acts 6:7, “And the word of God in-creased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priest were obedient to the faith.” What do people obey when they obey the faith? They obey the gospel as Paul used the phrase “obeyed the gospel” in Romans 10:16. There is just “one faith” (Eph. 4:5). That is, there is only one gospel system by which God justifies man today. So, the phrase “before faith came,” and “after faith is come” has reference to the time before the gospel of Christ was revealed and after the gospel was made known.

Some Things Binding

Before Faith Came

1. Before faith came, the Law of Moses was in force. That’s what the text of Galatians 3:23-25 says. “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed” (Gal. 3:23). The Law of Moses was given to the Jews of the Old Testament to restrain the Jewish people from sinning so much until Christ should come. “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator” (Gal. 3:19). The seed referred to in this passage is Christ (Gal. 3:16).

2. Fleshly circumcision was binding before faith came. Circumcision was actually in force before the law of Moses began. God enjoined it upon Abraham and his male descendants as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham (Gen. 17:10-14). To bind fleshly circumcision today is but to cause one to become “a debtor to do the whole law,” “make Christ of no effect,” and to fall “from grace” (Gal. 5:3-4).

3. Jerusalem was the place of worship before faith came. God chose the place of Jerusalem as the place of worship before faith came. “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place where he shall choose: in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty” (Deut. 16: 16).

The woman of Samaria knew that Jerusalem was the place of worship under the law. She said, “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship” (John 4:20). The eunuch, not realizing that faith had come, was keeping the law of Moses, and “had come to Jerusalem for to worship” (Acts 8:27).

4. Animal sacrifices were required before faith came. “.. . Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law” (Heb. 10:8). The book of Leviticus is filled with all kinds of sacrifices and offerings for those who then lived under the law of Moses.

5. Sins were remembered annually before faith came. The apostle to the Hebrews said, “But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Heb. 10:3-4).

6. Tithing was binding before faith came. The word “tithe” means ten per-cent. The Lord said under the law, before faith came: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, If I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10). Actually, the Jews, before faith came, gave far more than ten percent. Leaving the corners of their fields for the poor, the animal sacrifices, burnt offerings, and dozens of other things required of a Jew, added up to far more than ten percent!

7. Before faith came, the keeping of the Sabbath day was required. The law of Moses stated, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exod. 20:8). The Sabbath came on Saturday and was the seventh day of the week. It was a day of rest and no work was to be done. “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Exod. 20:10). The Sabbath day was given to remind Israel that they had been in bondage while in the land of Egypt. “And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5: 15).

God never intended for the law of Moses to be lasting but was given to restrain Israel from so much sin, “till Christ should come” (Gal. 3:23).

After That Faith Is Come

We now take a look at some conditions “after that faith is come.” You can easily see the great contrast:

1. We are under the law of Christ, since faith has come and not under the law of Moses. We read, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Gal. 3:24-25). The faith, which is that body of truth, the gospel, replaced the law of Moses and we are now to be subject to the “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). John wrote, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

2. After faith has come, the gospel is for all. The law was given only to the Jews and even the limited commission was for “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5-6). Now that faith has come, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). So, we can sing, “The Gospel Is For All.”

3. Jerusalem is no longer the place of worship, but worship is to be in spirit and truth. At one time, the place, Jerusalem was the place of worship, but now that faith has come, Jerusalem, as the place has been loosed. Jesus said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). Then Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The Lord’s people worship God as members of the New Testament church today.

4. Animal sacrifice gave way to Christians presenting their “…bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom. 12:1). After all, “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure” (Heb. 10:6). Since faith has come, “. . .we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). Aren’t you glad this is so? “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Heb. 10:4).

5. Since faith has come, sins, forgiven, are remembered no more. The Hebrew writer penned, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Heb. 10:17-18). Under the new covenant, when God forgives a sin, it will never be brought up again!

6 Since faith has come, the method of giving has been changed. Today, the Lord’s people are required to give as stated in the New Testament. The per-cent is no longer stated, but Christians are to give as they have been “prospered” (1 Cor. 16:2) upon the first day of the week.

7. The first day of the week is now the day set aside for certain acts of worship to be performed. The Lord’s supper and the “laying by in store” are first day of the week acts of worship (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2). Sabbath keeping is no longer binding since faith has come and the feasts of the Old Testament were done away with the cross of Christ.

8. Now that faith has come, the church of Christ is in existence. Acts 2 tells us of the establishment of the Lord’s church, as a result of gospel preaching being heard, believed, and obeyed. Believing Jews were told to “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). “Then they that gladly received the word were baptized” (Acts 2:41). Now notice what took place: “. . .And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). For the first time, the church for which Jesus died is in existence. Since faith has come we can be members of that blood-bought body of Christ when we obey his word.

Conclusion

We have looked at the conditions before and after faith has come, and I trust that each of us will make the proper application of these thoughts.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 4 p. 16-18
February 20, 1997

By Raymond E. Warfel, Sr.

Several parts of the Bible are misunderstood, misused, and abused but none more so than Matthew 24 and 25. We have those today who claim these things are yet to be fulfilled in the future or soon to be fulfilled in our time. They come to these chapters and declare that the wars and natural disasters that are happening today are the very things Jesus was talking about. They tell us that the “signs of the times” show that Jesus is about to return. Men of the past have made the same claims about the times in which they lived.

As long as the Lord allows time to continue, there will be men arise that pervert the things written in Matthew 24 and 25. To guard ourselves from this deception we first must read and study the Bible for ourselves. God said of his people “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Most of those who are deceived have very little knowledge of God’s word and are there-fore the more easily deceived. Second, read all that God’s word has to say on the subject.

Most of those who are confused and misled concerning this topic and others usually fail to read and study every thing that God has said about that topic. In studying about “the abomination of desolation” we will need to read at the very least Daniel 9 and 12, Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Third, we need to keep in mind that in the discourse of Matthew 24 and 25 Jesus and his disciples had just been in the temple. On coming out of the temple they talked about its buildings and Jesus told them that all they saw would be torn down to the point that not one stone would be left upon another. Jesus and his disciples proceeded to the Mount of Olives from which they had a good view of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. As they are looking upon these things the disciples ask Jesus, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matt. 24:3). And so it is that Jesus answers their questions in this discourse.

Jesus answers these questions in order and so he first answers the question “when shall these things be?” (i.e., when shall the temple be destroyed?). He tells them several things that are to happen before the destruction of the temple would take place. First, false Christ would come. Second, they would hear of wars and rumors of wars, but they were not to be troubled by this because this was not the end. In fact there would not only be wars, but there would be natural disasters as well and these were just the “beginning of sorrows.” Third, some of them would be persecuted and killed for his name’s sake. Fourth, many would stumble and would betray one another. Fifth, false prophets would come deceiving many. Sixth, iniquity would abound and love would wax cold. Then with all this gloom and doom he has these words of encouragement, “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Seventh, the gospel would have been preached in all the world.

Did the things Jesus talked about come to pass or are they yet to be fulfilled? Well consider this: Josephus, the Jewish historian tells of many false Christ and false prophets that came along before the destruction of Jerusalem. This clearly shows the apostasy Jesus spoke of came to pass. This was also a time of war and natural disasters as well. Many of the small nations went to war with Rome. Remember that Daniel had prophesied that the Roman empire would be one that was “iron mixed with clay,” a kingdom that was composed of many smaller kingdoms which continued to try to free themselves from Rome and fought among themselves as well. The rulers of Rome also seemed to be in constant turmoil. Remember that in the space of about two years there were four men (Nero, Otho, Galba, Vitellius) who seized rule in Rome. History tell us that there was a famine during the time of Claudius Caesar. In fact in Acts 11:27-30 we find a prophecy of a coming world famine such as came in Claudius’ time. There were also numerous earthquakes during this time  remember that this area of the world is filled with fault lines.

The Bible in the book of Acts tells of Christ’s disciples being “delivered up.” In chapters 4 and 5 the apostles were arrested and commanded not to preach in the name of Jesus. Steven was martyred in chapter 7. The church was “scattered abroad” because of the persecution at Jerusalem in chapter 8. In chapter 9 Peter and James were imprisoned by Herod, and James was beheaded. Then Paul tell us in Colossians 1:5-6, 23 that the gospel had gone unto all the world.

Jesus was not describing tragedies which would not come until the twentieth or twenty-first century, but in fact those things which occurred during the first century that proceeded the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. This has to be the case because in verse 34 Jesus said, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” As we’ve seen these things did take place in the first century and Jesus said after they took place then the end would come. The end that is not yet and the end that would come, is not the end of the world as some have misconstrued, but rather the end of the temple (i.e., it being torn down so that one stone was not left upon another) for that is the question Jesus is answering. The horrible end is seen in that fact that not one stone was left upon another in the temple building. This was brought about by the temple burning and the precious metals seeping into the joints of the stones. To retrieve the gold and silver the Romans literally took the temple apart stone by stone, and it was left totally desolate.

Having told the disciples what would precede the destruction of the temple, he then tells them the last thing to look for, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place” (Matt. 24:15). Let’s also consider the record of Luke, it will help us in getting a better understanding of what the abomination of desolation is. Luke writes, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh” (Luke 21:20).

Though it is hard to say exactly what the abomination of desolation is, it seems clear to me that it has reference to the Roman army and what they would do. When these pagans entered the temple it would be an abomination and when they left, the city would be desolate. So Jesus tells the disciples that when they see the Romans surrounding Jerusalem it is time to get out of the city, and they were to make haste in doing that. Another thing that causes me to think that the abomination of desolation has to do with the Roman army surrounding the city is that this was the last thing to happen before Jerusalem was destroyed, and once the city was surrounded there would be no time to escape. This was just the last of a whole list of things by which God let his people (Christians) know what was about to happen to save them from great suffering. It is generally thought that no Christians died in the siege of Jerusalem. If they had no better understanding of this than those of our day, they most certainly would have perished.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 4 p. 18-19
February 20, 1997