The DOOM of Jerusalem

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INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone, welcome back to the PRODCAST. We are in our brand new series on the book of Revelation! And if you remember from last week, we said that the cheat code to the book of Revelation, the answer key in the back of the advanced eschatology textbook, is Matthew 24. I also mentioned that if we are going to understand what is going on in the book of Revelation, we must first go to Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, and figure out what is going on there. Because both of these great sections of Scripture say the exact same things. Both are talking about the end of the Jewish age, both are talking about the end of the Old Covenant systems of temples, priesthoods, sacrifices, and feasts. And neither of them is talking about a cataclysmic end to human history at some point in our future, but, instead, an already completed event in the first-century past, namely, the downfall of Jerusalem. This means every single element in Matthew 24 and Revelation 1-22 is about things that have already occurred, and over the course of this series, I am going to prove that point to you. 

Now, to prove that all of Revelation has already happened, I need to first prove that all of Matthew 24 has already happened since it covers the same events. And before I can do that, I need to show you the context of that chapter, which is the entire book of Matthew, and show you how all of it is pointing to events that have already occurred. Thus, my goal today will be to open up the Gospel of Matthew and to give you a 100,000-foot flyover view, showing you how all of it is pointing to a near-term disaster that was going to happen to the Jews within forty years of Jesus' crucifixion if they chose to remain in unrepentance. 

So, with that introduction, I want us to look at several themes within the book of Matthew so that we can see how the entire book is preparing us for the coming disaster that would soon overtake the Jews of Judah. And, as we close, we will show you how these are the exact same themes that show up in the book of Revelation. 

The first theme we will look at is the coming of the King. 

PART 1: THE KING'S COMING 

The Gospel of Matthew is not just about salvation (although it does speak about these things). Instead, it is the story of how the true King returned and found His realm infiltrated with enemies. So bad was the sorry state in which He found it; a purging would need to occur first, where all the rebels would be cast out before He could welcome the men, women, and children He had called to be His citizens. 

From the opening genealogy to the final judgment, Matthew tells His Gospel through the lens of war. War between the Old Covenant rebels and the New Covenant King. You see, in Matthew, a new King has arrived on the shores of Earth, and this long-prophesied arrival will be met with two responses. To those who are thrilled at His arrival and welcome Him through faith, the King will bring them home into His Kingdom. But for those who oppose Him, reject Him, and hate His newly wedded bride (the Church), He will utterly decimate. This is what the Gospel of Matthew is about, and we should consider a few examples now.

1 The King's Royal Lineage

Matthew's Gospel opens with a genealogy, which is more than a bland assortment of names or a missed opportunity at an introduction. It is, however, a royal declaration of Jesus' kingship. You see, by tracing His lineage back to both Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1-17), Matthew establishes Him as the long-awaited King, the rightful heir to Israel's throne, and the fulfillment of God's covenant to David (2 Samuel 7:12-16) and Abraham (Genesis 12:1-2). Unlike the kings of Judah, who squandered their rule and lost their throne, Jesus was the eternal King who had come to bring the entire world under His dominion, beginning with apostate Judah. 

In Jesus' day, the Jewish aristocracy believed the Messiah would reinforce their authority and validate their traditions. They assumed that being descendants of Abraham guaranteed them a place in His Kingdom, which they saw as an ethnocentric paradise (a place where Gentiles and Samaritans were ever unwelcome and only purebreds could get in). But they were blind to the reality that, for centuries, their pride, evil, idolatry, and hatred of all others caused them to break the covenants they so proudly boasted in. In fact, by the time Jesus arrived, God's mercy was nearly gone, and for those Jews who refused to repent, His coming would mean judgment, not blessing. While He came as the rightful King, He did not come to place crowns on the heads of the religious elite—He came to crush them under His feet.

Thus, from the very beginning of the Gospel, Matthew sets up Jesus as the true King, whose coming would mean the end of the corrupt Kingdom of the Jews.

2 The King's Arrival

Matthew's Gospel not only opens with a royal genealogy but also a royal conflict. As soon as news of Jesus' birth reaches King Herod—a false king presiding over a crumbling remnant of the Jewish Kingdom—a violent clash of kingdoms begins. "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" the wise men ask (Matthew 2:2). This question sends shockwaves through Herod's palace. Herod's terror is not just political fear—it is the dread of a pretender being exposed, for Herod is not the true King of the Jews; Jesus is.

Herod's massacre of the infant boys in Bethlehem is the first example of how the fledgling old Kingdom was trying to snuff out the coming of the true King, that is before He could grow up and evict them. 

In a twisted parody of Pharaoh's slaughter of the Hebrew children, Herod orders the murder of every male child in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16), hoping to eradicate the promised Messiah and ensure the longevity of His defunct dynasty. But just as Moses escaped Pharaoh's grasp and returned to deliver God's people, so Jesus escaped for a time until he was to return and set His people free. 

This early conflict between Herod and Christ was a microcosm of the larger war to come. The old order, threatened by the new, was lashing out in violence, seeking to destroy what it could not control. But every attempt to destroy Jesus by the Jews only hastened their own demise. As we read in Matthew, Herod died in obscurity, his power crumbled, and Jesus lives on with a Kingdom that will never end. 

This conflict at the beginning of Matthew foreshadows the eventual downfall of the entire Jewish establishment that would resist the true King.

3 The Kingdom's Manifesto

After going through all the towns of Israel announcing that this new "Kingdom was at hand" (Matthew 4:17), Jesus performed the role of a new Moses, giving the new law for this new Kingdom at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). This wasn't just a call to personal morality; it was a declaration that God's Kingdom was breaking into the world through Him. Jesus was bringing heaven to Earth and even called His disciples to pray for that reality: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). By announcing that only those who embraced this new Kingdom ethic would enter, He was signaling that the old order of Israel, with its hypocritical leaders and corrupted temple system, was being replaced. Judgment was coming for all who clung to the old, unrepentant Jewish system—a judgment thatwould culminate in the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, making way for Christ's Kingdom to be established on Earth.

4 The King's Authority:

After a new law was codified on that mountain vista, King Jesus revealed the authority of His Kingdom through a series of mighty miracles in Matthew 8-12. He healed the sick (Matthew 8:1-17), cast out demons (Matthew 8:28-34), and raised the dead (Matthew 9:18-26), showing that His Kingdom even had the power over life and death. Each miracle was a royal decree—a sign that the Kingdom of God was breaking into the world and overthrowing the power of darkness. The Jewish leaders perceived correctly that Jesus' Kingdom threatened to overthrow their own. Yet, rather than acknowledging Him as the true King, they responded with open hostility, accusing Him of working by the power of Beelzebul (Matthew 12:24). In doing so, the Jews aligned themselves with the Kingdom of darkness and committed the ultimate act of treason against their God.

Matthew's account of Jesus' miracles further cements that this new Kingdom's power would lead to the destruction of the existing Jewish state.

5 The Final Judgment: 

The conflict between these two systems comes to a head in Matthew 21-23. As Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph, the Jewish leaders see their authority being challenged by the true King, and they respond by trying to trap Him publicly. They question His authority (Matthew 21:23), hoping to discredit Him, but Jesus turns the tables by exposing their hypocrisy through parables and by posing questions that leave them speechless (Matthew 21:24-27). He tells the parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32), the parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46), and the parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14), all of which vividly depict Israel's rejection of God and the impending judgment. The leaders grow increasingly desperate, sending Pharisees, Sadducees, and even a lawyer to ask Him trick questions about taxes, the resurrection, and the greatest commandment, but each time, Jesus brilliantly answers and embarrasses them (Matthew 22:15-46).

Their attempts to trap Him reveal their blindness and hard-heartedness, and by the end of this public confrontation, "no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question" (Matthew 22:46). The tension reached a boiling point as Jesus delivered a scathing series of woes leveled against the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23), exposing their hypocrisy and declaring that all the righteous bloodshed, from Abel to Zechariah, will fall on this generation (Matthew 23:35-36). He then laments over Jerusalem's hard-heartedness and predicts the utter destruction of the temple, signaling that the end of the old order has come.

All of this confrontation and conflict—every parable, question, and condemnation—builds to a crescendo in Matthew 24, where Jesus gives His final prophetic discourse on the future of Jerusalem. Everything up to this point has been setting the stage for what Jesus will reveal in this climactic chapter. Matthew has meticulously recorded Jesus' condemnations against the leaders, His declarations of judgment against the Jewish nation, and His repeated warnings that their time of grace is nearly over. Now, in Matthew 24, Jesus brings it all to a head, laying out in detail what will happen to the temple, the city, and the people who have rejected Him.

This context from Matthew 1-23 is crucial because it guarantees that Matthew 24 is not talking about some distant, world-ending catastrophe, but rather the imminent destruction of old covenant Judah. After building a case against the Jewish nation's corruption and hard-heartedness, Jesus now pronounces the final sentence on this generation and gives a detailed prophecy of how this judgment will unfold. When He declares that "not one stone here will be left upon another" (Matthew 24:2), He is speaking of the literal destruction of the temple, which occurred in AD 70. When He tells His disciples that "this generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Matthew 24:34), He is speaking of the immediate, historical events that they themselves would witness within their lifetime.

The evidence is overwhelming. In Matthew 24:3, the disciples link the destruction of the temple to the "end of the age," which, in context, is not the end of the world but the end of the Jewish age—the collapse of the entire old covenant system, including the priesthood, sacrifices, and temple worship. Every sign Jesus describes—the false messiahs, wars, famines, persecutions, and even the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15)—points directly to the events leading up to the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. When the Romans destroyed the temple, it was not merely a political event but a divine act of judgment, confirming everything that Jesus had prophesied in Matthew 24.

Thus, Matthew 24 is not a departure from the themes of the previous chapters—it is the climactic fulfillment of them. It is the grand finale of Jesus' case against Israel, the final judgment against a nation that rejected its King, and the decisive end of the old covenant age. With the temple destroyed, the sacrifices ended, and Jerusalem left desolate, the old order was brought to a cataclysmic close, and a new era—the era of Christ's Kingdom—was inaugurated. All who opposed Him have been judged, and His Kingdom, which began as a mustard seed, is now advancing and filling the Earth.

This is why Matthew 24 must be understood as the conclusion of Jesus' condemnation against the old covenant, Judah, not a prophecy about the end of the world. Everything up to this point has been preparing us for this climactic declaration, and everything that follows in the Gospel of Matthew will point to the triumph of Christ's Kingdom over the ruins of the old.

That was our first theme. Our second theme concerns the final prophet, John the Baptist, and His warning of repentance. 

PART 2: JOHN THE BAPTIST AND THE DAY OF THE LORD

John the Baptist's ministry was not merely the heralding of a new era; it was the final trumpet blast before the storm of judgment crashed down on Old Covenant Israel. Malachi had prophesied that before the "great and terrible day of the Lord" arrived, Elijah would come to prepare the way (Malachi 4:5). This "Day of the Lord" was not a vague future event at the end of world history, but a specific day of reckoning for a rebellious nation—a day that would unfold in terrifying detail against the city of Jerusalem. The prophets had repeatedly warned that this day would be one of devastation and doom, marking the end of Old Covenant Judah and the dawn of a new kingdom. For the Jews who had long rejected God's prophets, this day would be nothing less than the moment of their final judgment.

Malachi vividly describes this day, saying, "The day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze" (Malachi 4:1). The prophet Joel warned that it would be "a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness" (Joel 2:1-2). Zephaniah echoed this theme, declaring that the day would be one of "wrath… a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation" (Zephaniah 1:14-15). This cataclysmic "Day of the Lord" was not about the end of the physical universe but the fiery judgment of God against the covenant-breaking nation of Israel. It pointed forward to a single climactic event—the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70—when God's fury would fall upon those who rejected His Son and persecuted His people. John's ministry, therefore, was framed as the last call to repentance before this fateful day arrived.

Zechariah, John's Father, prophesied at his birth that John would "go before the Lord to prepare His ways" (Luke 1:76), signaling both salvation and judgment. John's fiery message in the wilderness was not a soft, individual call for personal change but a national summons for Israel to turn back to God before it was too late. With the axe already laid at the root of the tree (Matthew 3:10), the time for Israel's repentance was running out. His baptism in the Jordan symbolized more than a ritual cleansing; it was a call for the entire nation to be washed and renewed, just as their ancestors had crossed the Jordan to enter the Promised Land (Joshua 3). This time, however, it was not about entering a land of milk and honey; it was about escaping the coming wrath that would decimate their land and shatter their covenantal identity.

John's warnings were not just directed at the ordinary people but at the religious leaders—the Pharisees and Sadducees—who came to observe his ministry. His words to them were biting and scathing: "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7). Calling them a brood of vipers was more than an insult; it was a covenantal accusation linking them directly to Satan, the ancient serpent of Genesis 3:15. Though they prided themselves on being the offspring of Abraham, John exposed them as the spiritual bastard kids of the devil, destined for judgment if they did not repent. This was not mere hyperbole. By rejecting John's call to repentance, they were sealing their own fate, setting the stage for their ultimate rejection of the Messiah Himself.

Jesus confirmed John's role when He declared that John was indeed the Elijah who was to come (Matthew 11:14)—the forerunner of the "great and terrible day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5). Yet, despite the clear signs and warnings, the leaders hardened their hearts, refusing John's baptism and thus rejecting God's last call to repentance (Matthew 21:25). This rejection was not just the dismissal of a fiery preacher in the wilderness; it was the refusal of their final opportunity for mercy before the covenantal hammer of God's judgment fell. John stood as the last of the Old Covenant prophets, the final voice crying out in the wilderness, not just announcing the Messiah's arrival but declaring that the end of their nation was at hand. His role was not merely to prepare people for Christ's coming but to serve as the final plea to rebellious people. His urgent call to repentance was the countdown to the end.

The "Day of the Lord" John warned of was the same day prophesied by Isaiah, Joel, Malachi, and Zephaniah—a day of fire, darkness, and destruction. But what was this day precisely? It was the day that Jesus would come in judgment against Jerusalem. All the language of judgment—"the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky" (Isaiah 13:10; Joel 2:31)—is employed by Jesus in Matthew 24:29-34 to describe the fall of Jerusalem. The cosmic disturbances represent the end of the Jewish age and the collapse of the Old Covenant system. The destruction of the temple and the annihilation of Jerusalem's leaders were God's final response to a people who had repeatedly broken His covenant, rejected His prophets, and ultimately crucified His Son.

When Jesus said, "This generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Matthew 24:34), He was referring to the very people standing before Him. His warning was not about a far-off future event but an impending catastrophe within their lifetime—the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. The Jewish historian Josephus recorded in harrowing detail how the city was ravaged by famine, infighting, and brutal slaughter, culminating in the burning of the temple and the collapse of the Jewish state. This was the "Day of the Lord" that the prophets had warned about, the day that John the Baptist had prophesied, and the day Jesus Himself had foretold.

The apostles echoed this urgency. Peter, quoting Joel 2, announced that the events of Pentecost marked the beginning of the "great and glorious day of the Lord" (Acts 2:16-21). James warned that "the Judge is standing right at the door" (James 5:9), and the author of Hebrews declared that the Old Covenant system was "ready to disappear" (Hebrews 8:13). They were all pointing to the same event—the imminent judgment upon Jerusalem.

In AD 70, that judgment came. The temple was destroyed, the city was set ablaze, and over a million Jews were killed. The Old Covenant era was brought to a violent end, and the New Covenant Kingdom of Christ was fully established. The "Day of the Lord" prophesied by Malachi, Joel, Zephaniah, and the others had come upon the covenant-breaking nation. It was not the end of the physical world but the end of the Jewish world—the end of the Old Covenant and the dawn of Christ's Kingdom.

This was the ultimate fulfillment of the "Day of the Lord." It proved that John's warnings were true, that Jesus' prophecies were accurate, and that the "great and terrible day" had indeed come upon a nation that rejected its King. This is what the Gospel of Matthew is beckoning us to stop and take notice of. 

PART 3: JESUS AND THE NEW ISRAEL

From the beginning, Matthew's Gospel shows that Jesus is not merely a prophet, priest, and King—He is the true and faithful Israel, the One through whom a New Israel would emerge. Consider the striking parallels between Jesus and the nation: like Israel, He was persecuted by an evil king (Matthew 2:13-16), called God's firstborn Son (Matthew 3:17), brought up out of Egypt to fulfill Hosea's prophecy, "Out of Egypt I called My Son" (Matthew 2:15; Hosea 11:1); and He passed through the waters of the Jordan, just as the Israelites passed through the Red Sea (Matthew 3:13-17). When God spoke over Jesus at His baptism, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased" (Matthew 3:17), it echoed the declaration of His love and faithfulness to Israel after their own deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 15:13).

Where Israel grumbled and fell into idolatry during forty years of wilderness wandering, Jesus was tested for forty days and emerged victorious over Satan through perfect obedience and unwavering trust in God's Word (Matthew 4:1-11). He then ascended a mountain and delivered His authoritative teaching, echoing Moses' reception of the law on Sinai (Matthew 5:1-2). Each of these parallels demonstrates that Jesus is not merely repeating Israel's history but redeeming it—succeeding where Israel failed and embodying their true covenantal calling.

Because Jesus is faithful Israel, belonging to God's people is no longer defined by ancestry, Torah memorization, or observing Jewish feasts—it's about being united to Christ by faith. Those who reject Him, even natural-born Judeans, forfeit their place in the Kingdom of God, while those who embrace Him—whether Jew or Gentile—are grafted into the true people of God. This is not about a replacement of Israel but a fulfillment through judgment and renewal. Jesus' coming brought condemnation upon the rebellious nation, but for those who received Him, He brought them into the true Israel, uniting them with all who have loved God across both Testaments.

The True Covenant Keeper

While the majority within Israel repeatedly broke the covenant and incurred God's judgment, Jesus perfectly upheld every term through His life, death, and resurrection. Where Israel's disobedience brought curses upon the land (Deuteronomy 28), Jesus' obedience secures eternal blessings for His people and the whole Earth. As the true and faithful head of God's covenant community, Jesus creates a people no longer marked by ethnic boundaries but by spiritual allegiance unto Him. This is why Paul calls Him the "last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45)—the head of a new humanity who restores what the first Adam and national Israel lost. The Church is, therefore, not a secondary people of God but the true heirs of His promises and grafted into the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). To be God's people is no longer tied to genetics but to a spiritual union with the faithful One, Jesus Christ. This shift is a radical redefinition of what it means to belong to God's people and has profound implications for the Church today.

The New Covenant Community

The climax of Jesus' ministry was not merely the judgment of Israel but the creation of a new covenant people—the Church. In this new community, membership is determined by faith, not by physical birth. This is why Jesus declared that the Kingdom would be taken from the unfaithful leaders and given to a people producing its fruit (Matthew 21:43). The Church is not an afterthought; it is the fulfillment of God's plan to bless all nations through the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:29). As the true heirs of the covenant promises, we are called to proclaim His excellencies and shine as a light to the world (1 Peter 2:9). The Church, therefore, is not just a temporary entity but the permanent, eschatological people of God. This new covenant community—marked not by geography, ancestry, or temple sacrifices—is the vehicle through which God's Kingdom advances on Earth.

Relevance for the Modern Church

Understanding this shift from the old covenant Israel to the new covenant church is more than a theological exercise—it shapes our identity and mission. The blessings promised to Israel are now ours in Christ, and the responsibilities given to Israel—to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9)—are now given to us. As the central focus of God's redemptive work, we are called to reflect His glory in the world, guard against compromise, and heed the warnings of Scripture lest we repeat Israel's patterns of unbelief. We are the covenant people of God, marked not by outward signs but by inward faith, bearing witness to Christ and extending His Kingdom to the ends of the Earth.

PART 4: THE PARABLES OF DOOM

The next theme is the parables in Matthew's Gospel, which serve as a series of escalating judgment oracles against Israel and prove that one of the central premises of the book of Matthew is the downfall and destruction of Judah. Again, far from pointing to things that will occur long into the future, the vast majority of the book is pointing to things that are soon to take place within a Biblical generation against the most ferocious enemies of God, the first-century Jews. 

This is certainly true in the parables Jesus taught, which make it abundantly clear what our Lord was getting at. For instance, in chapters 21-22, we see a series of stories that not only prove Judah's rebellion but also show the inevitability of God's near-term coming judgment against her. Here are a few examples. 

1 The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

In the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43), Jesus vividly illustrates a future separation between true and false believers at what He calls the "end of the age." While I will delve more deeply into the meaning of this phrase later, it is crucial to clarify that "the end of the age" in this context does not refer to the end of the physical world or the conclusion of human history. Instead, it specifically refers to the end of the Old Covenant "Jewish age"—a period that culminated in the destruction of the temple in AD 70 and the collapse of the entire Old Covenant system.

This interpretation means that Jesus is limiting the scope of the parable to the time leading up to AD 70, a forty-year transitional period when the New Covenant era coexisted alongside the waning Jewish age. During these four decades, Christianity and Judaism coexisted—Christians continued to live, worship, and interact in a society still largely governedby Old Covenant institutions. The temple still stood, the priesthood still functioned, and Jewish festivals continued to be observed. It was a time of overlap between the Old and New Covenants, where both systems operated simultaneously until the final separation came with the temple's destruction.

In this parable, the wheat symbolizes true believers—those who have embraced Christ as the promised Messiah—while the tares represent the unfaithful and unrepentant Jews, along with false believers. The "harvest" at the end of the Jewish age signifies the decisive moment of separation when Jesus would judge apostate Israel, preserving the faithful remnant (the wheat) and casting the rest (the tares) into a fiery furnace of judgment, which historically manifested in the fiery destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans in AD 70.

The "end of the age" was not the end of the world but the definitive end of the Old Covenant era. This marked the termination of the Jewish nation's unique covenantal status and the complete removal of the Old Covenant structures—temple, priesthood, and sacrificial system—ushering in the unchallenged reality of Christ's New Covenant Kingdom. Thus, just as tares and wheat grow together until the harvest, Jesus warns that the righteous and the wicked would coexist until this climactic judgment, when the faithful would be gathered and preserved, and the unrepentant would face fiery destruction.

2 The Parable of the Two Sons

The Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32) begins a trilogy of judgment parables in chapters 21-22. Jesus tells of a father who asks his two sons to work in his vineyard. The first son initially refuses but later repents and obeys. The second son agrees but never follows through. The story is a direct indictment of the religious leaders who claimed to obey God but rejected John the Baptist and, by extension, Christ Himself.

The first son, who repented and obeyed, symbolizes tax collectors and sinners who heeded John's message. The second son, who professed obedience but did nothing, represents the Jewish leaders who outwardly appeared faithful but inwardly disobeyed. Jesus ends with a striking reversal: repentant sinners will enter the Kingdom of God ahead of these leaders, exposing their hardened hearts and foreshadowing their exclusion from God's covenant blessings.

This parable captures Israel's stubborn rejection of God's faithful messengers and previews their imminent loss of the Kingdom's inheritance.

3 The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

In the second triad of parables (the Parable of the Wicked Tenants - Matthew 21:33-46), Jesus escalates the intensity. He tells of a landowner (God) who rents out a vineyard (Israel) to tenants (the Jewish leaders). When the landowner sends his servants (the prophets) to collect the harvest, the tenants beat, stone, and kill them, which is precisely what the Jews did to all of the prophets God had sent them. Finally, the landowner sends his own son (Jesus), reasoning that they will respect him. But instead, the tenants seize the Son, kill Him, and attempt to take the inheritance for themselves.

This parable is a stark portrayal of Israel's history of rejecting God, which culminated in the most horrific rejection of all when they killed the Father's Son. Ironically, when Jesus asks the Pharisees what the landowner will do to these wicked tenants, the religious leaders unknowingly pronounce their own judgment: "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and rent out the vineyard to other tenants" (Matthew 21:41). Jesus confirms the truth in their words, declaring that "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit" (Matthew 21:43).

The meaning is unmistakable: the Jewish leaders are the wicked tenants, and their rejection of Christ will result in the loss of their privileged status and the destruction of the temple and city. This parable anticipates the coming judgment in AD 70 when the vineyard of Israel would be handed over to the Church—the new covenant people of God.

4 The Parable of the Wedding Feast

The third parable in this triad, and one of the clearest Scriptures that help set the context for the Olivet Discourse, is the parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14). In the story, a king (God) invites a group of guests (Israel) to a wedding feast for his son (Christ). But the invited guests show contempt for the invitation—one goes to his farm, another to his business, and others mistreat and kill the King's messengers (the prophets and apostles). Enraged by this, the King sends his armies to destroy those murderers and burn their city (Matthew 22:7). Then, the King extends the invitation to others, representing Gentiles and repentant sinners who will come in and fill the banquet hall of God.

This parable is not merely a story of rejection; it is a vivid prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction. The King's burning of the city clearly alludes to the Roman armies that God would send to lay waste to and burn the city of Jerusalem in AD 70 until there was nothing left. The Jewish leaders' rejection of Christ and persecution of His messengers would bring about the ruin of their city and the end of their covenantal privileges. 

Each of these parables in Matthew builds upon the last, creating a crescendo of judgment against the Jewish leaders and the nation as a whole. They serve as prophetic warnings that Israel's rejection of Jesus would lead to catastrophic judgment and the end of their covenantal privileges. The parables are not just moral lessons; they are divine pronouncements of judgment, spelling out the inevitable downfall of the unrepentant Jewish nation and the establishment of a new covenant people.

PART 5: THE WOES AND THE CURSES 

As Jesus approached His own death, His confrontations with the Jewish leaders escalated into fierce denunciations, culminating in a series of pronouncements that echoed the ancient covenantal curses found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Under the Mosaic Covenant, Israel was warned that persistent rebellion, idolatry, and the rejection of God's messengers would result in devastating consequences: their land would be ravaged, their people slaughtered, and their cities left desolate. Now, as Israel's true Prophet, Jesus invokes these curses as a final indictment against the religious leaders, making it clear that the time for repentance has run out. Each curse and woe He pronounces signals that the ultimate consequence of covenantal unfaithfulness—the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish nation as a covenantal entity—was imminent. Their rejection of Him, the culmination of centuries of infidelity, would bring the total weight of God's wrath upon them.

1 The Cursing of the Fig Tree: 

On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus enacts a dramatic sign of judgment. He sees a fig tree covered in leaves but bearing no fruit and curses it, saying, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" Immediately, the tree withers (Matthew 21:19). This symbolic act is not a display of arbitrary anger but a powerful "lived-out parable" drawn from Israel's prophetic imagery. In the Old Testament, the fig tree symbolized the nation of Israel—its health and fruitfulness represented God's blessing, while its barrenness signified spiritual decay and impending judgment (cf. Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1). The leaves of this fig tree promised fruit, just as the religious leaders projected an outward semblance of piety, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing but emptiness.

Jesus' curse is not a random malediction; it invokes the covenantal language of desolation and barrenness found in Leviticus 26. There, God warns Israel that if they persist in disobedience, "I will make your land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled" (Leviticus 26:32). The fig tree, with its outward appearance of life but inward barrenness, represents the state of Jerusalem and its temple, which had become a den of thieves rather than a house of prayer. Jesus' curse signals that, just as the fig tree withered under His word, so too the temple and the entire Jewish nation would be left desolate and cut off from God's blessings.

This prophetic act symbolically announces the coming judgment on Jerusalem and the end of the covenantal blessings for a nation that bore no fruit.

2 Woes Against the Scribes and Pharisees: 

The climax of Jesus' confrontations comes in Matthew 23, where He delivers a blistering series of seven woes against the scribes and Pharisees. This chapter reads like a judicial indictment, echoing the structure and severity of the covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28, where blessings and curses are laid out for obedience and disobedience. The language Jesus uses—"woe," "blind guides," "serpents," and "brood of vipers"—is more than invective. It is covenantal language, invoking the dire warnings of Moses that were designed to keep Israel from apostasy.

Deuteronomy 28 warned that if Israel rejected God, "the LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and rebuke in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds" (Deuteronomy 28:20). Jesus pronounces these very curses upon the scribes and Pharisees, who embody the nation's rebellion. He accuses them of blocking the way to the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 23:13) and obsessing over trivial matters while neglecting the weightier provisions of the Law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). This neglect mirrors the covenantal violations described in Deuteronomy 28, where Israel's disregard for God's Law brought about divine retribution.

Finally, Jesus declares, "All these things will come upon this generation" (Matthew 23:36), drawing a direct line to the covenantal curses promised for apostasy. Deuteronomy 28:49-52 foretells a siege upon Israel, where foreign nations would surround their cities and tear down their high walls. "Your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, will come down throughout your land" (Deuteronomy 28:52). Jesus is warning that these curses, held back for centuries by God's mercy, are about to fall in full measure upon the generation that rejected the Messiah.

The woes against the scribes and Pharisees serve as a covenantal pronouncement of doom, signaling that Israel's time of grace is over, and the curses of Deuteronomy 28 will fall upon them in judgment.

3 The Bloodguilt of the Generations: 

Jesus' indictment reaches its apex when He declares that the blood of all the righteous, from Abel to Zechariah, will be charged against this generation (Matthew 23:35). This declaration is not arbitrary; it is rooted in the covenantal concept of corporate guilt. Leviticus 26:39 warns that if Israel persists in sin, "Those of you who are left will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them." This principle of cumulative guilt means that each subsequent generation inherits the sins of their forefathers unless they repent.

By rejecting Jesus, the Jewish leaders have become the ultimate heirs of this blood guilt. They are not just repeating the sins of their ancestors; they are surpassing them, for they are rejecting the very Son of God, the final and fullest revelation of the Father. Thus, the guilt of all the spilled blood of the prophets will be poured out upon them, and they will bear the consequences outlined in the covenant curses—siege, destruction, and exile.

This pronouncement of blood guilt signifies that Israel's rejection of Christ is the climax of their generational sin, making the covenantal curses inevitable.

4 The Lament Over Jerusalem: 

After delivering the woes, Jesus' tone shifts to one of mourning. He laments over the city of Jerusalem, crying, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together... but you were unwilling" (Matthew 23:37). His lament is not just for the city but for the entire covenantal system centered around the temple, the priesthood, and the Law. "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!" (Matthew 23:38). The "house" is the temple—the visible sign of God's presence with His people. To declare it "desolate" is to pronounce that God's glory has departed, just as Ezekiel saw the glory of God depart from the temple before the Babylonian exile (Ezekiel 10).

This desolation is the final curse of Leviticus 26: "I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate" (Leviticus 26:31). The sacrifices, the priesthood, and the temple itself would be rendered void, cut off from God's favor. Jesus' words are the final warning that Jerusalem's fate is sealed, its destruction inevitable, and its covenantal privileges revoked. This desolation would be realized when the Romans razed the city in AD 70, tearing down the temple and leaving the city in ruins—an undeniable fulfillment of the covenant curses.

The lament over Jerusalem underscores the finality of the judgment—Jerusalem's destruction is certain, and its covenantal identity is lost.

This context, which we have just shared, provides the critical backdrop for understanding the Olivet Discourse. As we just noted, Jesus left the temple mount in Matthew 23, having cursed the Jewish leaders, cursed the temple, and promised that all of these things would fall on them within a single generation (Matthew 23:36). Thus, when we come to Matthew 24, and the disciples are sorely confused about these words, we dare not punt the meaning of this passage into a dispensational future. As students of the Word, we recognize that everything in Matthew's Gospel, and the immediate context of Matthew 23, is pointing to the coming catastrophe that will befall Jerusalem. That is what the disciples were confused about, and this is what Jesus doubles down on.

Now, before ending our time today, I would like to look at 2 more proofs and 2 phrases that all but guarantee we are reading all of these things correctly. The first will be the phrase "The End of the Age," and the second will be the phrase "This Generation." 

PART 6: THE END OF THE JEWISH AGE

Matthew's Gospel is not just a collection of parables or moral teachings; it is a theological narrative that builds toward a climactic and covenantal transition—the end of the Jewish age and the dawn of the New Covenant era. This is not speculation but the intentional design of the text. The term "age" (Greek: aión) appears repeatedly throughout Matthew with an eschatological focus—not referring to the end of the physical world, but to the termination of the Old Covenant order. This period, defined by temple worship, the Mosaic Law, and national identity rooted in Jerusalem, would come to a dramatic end in AD 70 when the temple was destroyed, marking the close of the old era and the establishment of Christ's Messianic Kingdom.

1 The Eschatological Use of "Age"

Matthew uses the word aión seventeen times, each pointing toward a decisive covenantal shift. Rather than indicating the end of world history, the term signals the termination of a specific epoch—the era of the Old Covenant regulated by Mosaic Law and centered on the temple in Jerusalem. This "age" would be brought to a conclusive close as a direct consequence of Israel's rejection of Christ, culminating in judgment and the full transition to the New Covenant.

2 "This Age" and "The Age to Come"

In Matthew 12:32, Jesus contrasts "this age" with "the age to come," signaling two distinct eras in redemptive history. "This age" refers to the Jewish age under the Old Covenant, while "the age to come" refers to the Messianic era inaugurated by Christ, characterized by the presence and work of the Holy Spirit and a new people defined not by ethnicity but by faith in Christ. Thus, the destruction of the temple and the collapse of the Old Covenant system would signify the end of "this age" and the dawn of "the age to come."

3 The "End of the Age" in the Parables

Several parables in Matthew build toward this eschatological transition. In the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:39-40), Jesus speaks of a separation at the "end of the age." This is not pointing to a distant future judgment at the end of world history but to a decisive, imminent judgment upon the Old Covenant people. The separation would occur within the generation of Jesus' hearers, when the faithful remnant would be preserved, and the unrepentant Jewish nation would face fiery judgment in AD 70. Similarly, in the Parable of the Dragnet (Matthew 13:47-50), Jesus describes the final sorting of fish, representing the separation of the righteous and the wicked at the "end of the age," foreshadowing the judgment and sifting that would culminate in the destruction of Jerusalem.

4 The Disciples' Question in Matthew 24

The disciples' question in Matthew 24:3 is key to understanding the eschatological framework of Matthew's Gospel: "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" They did not associate the destruction of the temple with the end of world history but understood it as marking the end of the Jewish age. Jesus' response describes the signs that will lead up to this end—false messiahs, wars, famines, persecutions, and the abomination of desolation—all culminating in the temple's destruction. When He says, "This generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Matthew 24:34), He confirms that the "end of the age" would occur within their lifetime, marking the conclusion of the Jewish era.

5 The Final Act: The Destruction of Jerusalem

All of Matthew's parables and prophecies build toward a singular climax—the destruction of Jerusalem. The separation of wheat and tares, the parable of the wedding feast, and the warnings to the unfaithful tenants all point to a final event that would remove the Old Covenant nation and establish the New Covenant people of God. The destruction of the temple was not just a political event but a theological statement: the old system of sacrifices, priesthood, and temple worship had been rendered obsolete. The "end of the age" Jesus prophesied was the definitive end of the Jewish age, marking the fullinauguration of His Messianic Kingdom.

By understanding the "end of the age" in this way, we see that the events of AD 70 were not a mere local judgment but the climax of redemptive history—the final judgment on Old Covenant Israel and the inauguration of the New Covenant Kingdom. That is the first phrase we needed to look at. The second is "This Generation."

PART 7: DOOM ON "THIS GENERATION"

As we trace Jesus' use of the phrase "this generation" throughout the Gospel of Matthew, a consistent and sobering pattern emerges. It's as if Matthew is steadily tightening a cord around the people of Israel, pulling tighter with each use of the word until it finally snaps in a pivotal and devastating judgment. Every reference to "this generation" serves as another knot in this cord, emphasizing that something unprecedented is on the horizon—something both terrifying and just.

From the early chapters of Matthew, Jesus singles out the generation standing right in front of Him, repeatedly describing them in terms that leave no ambiguity about His meaning. He's not making a vague reference to a group of people far off in the future. He's looking His audience straight in the eyes and calling them out. The tension builds, one instance after another, as the narrative drums toward a tragic, unavoidable end.

1 The Early Warnings

In Matthew 11, Jesus compares "This generation," the people right in front of Him, to spoiled children who refuse to play any game that doesn't fit their whims. John the Baptist comes, preaching repentance with a stern demeanor, and they accuse him of being possessed by a demon. Jesus arrives, proclaiming grace and joy, and they label Him a glutton and a drunkard. But the problem, Jesus explains, is not with the messengers—it's with this generation. Like petulant children, they have become impossible to please, unwilling to hear either the law or the Gospel.

By the time we reach Matthew 12, the rejection intensifies. Some Pharisees and scribes, unmoved by Jesus' miracles, demand yet another sign. Jesus' response is chilling: "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah" (Matthew 12:39). He compares them to Nineveh, a pagan city that repented at Jonah's brief, unadorned preaching. Yet this generation, in the presence of One far greater than Jonah, remains unrepentant. He goes further: in the final judgment, the men of Nineveh and even the Queen of Sheba, who traveled far to hear Solomon's wisdom, will rise up and condemn this generation (Matthew 12:41-42). Jesus paints the picture of a courtroom scene where Gentile nations stand up as witnesses, pointing fingers of guilt at Israel.

But Jesus doesn't stop there. He tells a parable of a demon that is cast out of a man, only to return later with seven other spirits more wicked than itself, leaving the man worse off than before (Matthew 12:43-45). "That is the way it will also be with this evil generation," Jesus declares. His warning is unmistakable: Israel had experienced a brief revival under John and Jesus, a sweeping clean-up of the house, but now, rejecting Christ, they are filling their empty hearts with something even darker.

The tension only increases as we move forward. In Matthew 16, when the Pharisees and Sadducees again ask Jesus for a sign, He reiterates His earlier rebuke: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah" (Matthew 16:4). His words carry the weight of judgment, suggesting that the window for repentance is closing. Yet, they remain blind to the times they live in, unable to discern the ominous signs of the coming storm.

Even His own disciples are not spared from His rebuke. In Matthew 17, when they struggle to cast out a demon, Jesus laments, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?"(Matthew 17:17). It's not just the leadership or the Pharisees, but the entire nation—His own disciples included—that is implicated in this indictment. No one is exempt.

2 A Climax of Judgment

All of this builds toward a devastating climax in Matthew 23, where Jesus pronounces a series of woes against the scribes and Pharisees. As we said before, the chapter reads like a legal indictment, condemning them as hypocrites and blind guides. But it is in verse 36 that Jesus brings down the hammer: "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation." But Matthew does not stop there. He also uses a powerful literary technique known as an inclusio to link Matthew 23 and 24 together, forming a complete unit of judgment. He begins quoting Jesus in Matthew 23:36 with the statement that "all these things will come upon this generation," and then, in Matthew 24:34, He bookends it by saying, "This generation will not pass away until all these things take place."

The repetition of "this generation" in these two verses serves as a bracket, binding the chapters into a single cohesive unit. What do I mean? When premillennials and dispensationals tell you that the word "generation" in this passage means a people far off into the distant future from Christ, you can smile and point to this very inclusio, saying: "No way, Jose." 

It's as if Matthew is shouting to the reader: "Don't miss this! Everything Jesus is saying in Matthew 24 must be understood in light of what He just said in Matthew 23." The woes, the lament, and the declaration of desolation set the stage for the Olivet Discourse that immediately followed. The destruction of Jerusalem, the fall of the temple, and the signs of the end are not about some distant future—they are all about what this generation will experience within their lifetime.

CONCLUSION

Today, we've traced the overarching narrative of Matthew's Gospel to show how every chapter, every parable, and every confrontation builds toward a singular, climactic event—the end of the Jewish age. We've seen how Matthew's themes of Christ's Kingship, Israel's rebellion, and the coming judgment all converge in a prophecy of imminent destruction for that generation—a destruction that took place in AD 70 with the fall of Jerusalem. This was not merely a historical event but a decisive end to the Old Covenant order and the beginning of a New Covenant Kingdom.

With this foundation laid, we now have a clear context for understanding Matthew 24. Everything Jesus says in the Olivet Discourse aligns perfectly with what He has been warning throughout the Gospel—the collapse of the temple, the judgment on Jerusalem, and the removal of Israel's covenantal privileges. This means that Matthew 24 is not predicting the end of the physical world but the end of the Jewish world, the end of the age of temple worship and sacrifices, making way for the global reign of Christ.

And here's where it gets fascinating: this context is the key to unlocking the entire book of Revelation. Matthew 24 and Revelation speak about the exact same events—the judgment on apostate Israel and the end of the Old Covenant era. While Matthew 24 describes it through Jesus' teaching, Revelation unfolds it through vivid prophetic imagery—the beast, the harlot, the destruction of the city, and the establishment of Christ's Kingdom. Once we grasp what's happening in Matthew 24, the veil lifts on Revelation, revealing that it's not a book about distant future events but a dramatic portrayal of the same first-century judgment.

So, what does this mean for us? It means we're about to dive into the most controversial chapter in Matthew's Gospel and decode how every sign, every prophecy, and every warning in Matthew 24 points to an event that changed the course of redemptive history forever. Next week, we'll tackle the Olivet Discourse head-on and uncover the hidden details that show how Jesus' prophecy came to pass in terrifying detail.

But here's the big question you need to wrestle with before then: if Matthew 24 and Revelation are really talking about the same thing, and if everything Jesus said would happen did happen in the first century, then what does that do to our view of Revelation? Could it be that most of what we've been taught about the "end times" is wrong?

Don't miss next week's episode—because what we're about to uncover might just change the way you read Revelation forever.