Like we stated in the previous
series the disciples were accustomed to hearing Jesus speak of His coming in
His kingdom, coming in His glory and power within their lifetime.
Understanding the meaning of the
word “Parousia” is key to understanding the content on the Olivet discourse.
Joseph Rotherham consistently renders the word “presence,”
and to this agrees the definition in Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. “Parousia, literally, a presence, para, with, and ousia, being
… in a papyrus letter a lady speaks of the necessity of her parousia in a place in order to attend to
matters relating to her property there. Paul speaks of his parousia in Philippi, Philippians 2:12 (in
contrast to hisapousia, absence). Other words denote the arrival.
The terms Parousa is a technical term,
used in the ancient world to speak of a king or royal dignitary that was making
a visit to a given city. As the king got closer to the city for his coming (his
Parousa) the citizens of that city, being watchful for him, would, when
his entourage was sighted, leave their city and go out to meet him. They would
then escort him back to their city. The city was the destination of the
dignitary. It was the location of his Parousa. He was not coming to remove the
city. He was coming to visit them.
Jesus gave a hint of this when he
gave a parable before this entry to Jerusalem in Luke 19 when he told them of a
noble man who went to a far away country to receive a kingdom for himself. This
man would later return to meet his servants he had given money to trade with.
There were certain things the disciples were not initially
clear about.
- They didn't
understand his death:
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples
that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him,
saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matthew 16:21-22)
31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are
written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For
He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit
upon. 33 They will scourge Him and
kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” 34 But
they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and
they did not know the things which were spoken. (Luke
18:31-34)
- They didn't
understand the second coming:
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”
Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow
Me afterward.”
37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay
down my life for Your sake.”
38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to
you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
“Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions;[a] if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.[b] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you to Myself; that where I am, there you
may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and
how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.
(John 13:36-14:6;)
- They thought
kingdom was physical:
36 Jesus answered, “My
kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants
would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom
is not from here.” (John 18:36)
20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the
kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of
God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they
say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’[d] For indeed, the
kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
They didn't know he was leaving them
through death but they looked for a time when he would appear in full glory and
power bringing in the Kingdom and rewarding every man. They believed the
Messiah would rule and reign in Jerusalem.
"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His
Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28
"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste
death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
(Matthew 16:27-28)
As Jesus began to explain they
knew that His parousia would be in their life time, and they looked for, and
expected it. It wasn’t something that they expected to be fulfilled 2,000 years
after but in their own lifetime. After His resurrection, they still asked Jesus
when he would restore the kingdom.
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked
Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to
Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or
seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. (Acts 1:6-7)
At the early days they didn't
understand that Christ would sit upon his throne by means of His resurrection
and ascension. This was beyond their comprehension. All they knew was what they
were taught by the Jewish scribes who had already missed out on the arrival of
the Messiah. The Holy Spirit led them into the truth which Peter preached on
the day of Pentecost.
"Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to
this day. 30 "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn
with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He
would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 "he, foreseeing this, spoke
concerning the resurrection of the Christ,
that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32
"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33
"Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received
from the Father the promise
of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. (Acts
2:29-33)
With Christ was now reigning on
the Father's right hand, the manifestation of that kingdom would come, when
Christ would come in judgement on Jerusalem.
"For David did not ascend into the heavens, but
he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, 35 Till
I make Your enemies Your footstool." (Acts 2:34-35)
The early church began to
understand the dynamics for the manifestation of the kingdom of God. Their time
with Jesus in his earthly ministry was to wean them from their former mindset
and theology.
At the Olivet discourse the
disciples saw the connection. The disciples connected the destruction of the
temple with Christ's parousia" Their knowledge and understanding of Old
testament scriptures led them into seeing that the destruction of Jerusalem
would usher in Messiah's kingdom.
Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be
divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle
against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the
women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of
the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth
And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in
that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on
the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west,
Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain
valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you
fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus
the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You. (Zechariah
14:1-5)
In the day of the Lord, Jerusalem
is destroyed and the Lord comes with his saints.
They were also familiar with the
prophecy of Daniel which Jesus also referenced in the Olivet discourse.
"And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but
not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and
the sanctuary. The end of it shall
be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:26)
The disciples believed that the
coming of Messiah would be simultaneous with the destruction of the city and
the temple.
They also associated the
destruction of the temple with the end of age. Why? The destruction of the
temple would be end of the Jewish age which was foundation upon where
everything was done and lived for them. Unfortunately the old King James uses
the word “world” instead of “age”. The New King James puts it right.
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew
24:3)
The Greek word used here is aeon which
means, "age." It is not the Greek word "kosmos" or
"oikoumene," which mean the world and its
inhabitants. It is not talking about the end of the physical world; the word aeon means
age, era, or a period of time. The expression "end of the age"
refers to "the end of the Jewish age."
The disciples knew that the fall
of the temple and the destruction of the city meant the end of the Old Covenant
age and the inauguration of a new age. But in between the two ages there will
come the Day of the Lord, which will be a time of terrible and fearful
upheaval, like the birth-pangs of a new age." It is referenced Zechariah
14 that the "Day of the Lord" and the destruction of Jerusalem were
connected. The book of Malachi 4 also provides insight into that day of the Lord.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to
the children,
And the hearts of the children
to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the
earth with a curse.”
Jesus had already confirmed to them that John was
the Elijah to come.
"and if ye are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who was
about to come;" (Matthew 11:14 YLT)
"And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah,
the one the prophets said would come." (Matthew 11:14 NLT)
So what was the disciples really
asking? Based on what we have covered from chapter 21 this is what we see they
were asking.
“When will these things happen and
what will be the sign of your presence or arrival in judgment over this nation?”
(To be continued in the next series)
