One of the most misunderstood parts of the Bible is the chapter of Matthew 24. Most people think that this chapter has something to do with our wars, but that is not the case. "Matthew 24 is knocking at your door," Billy Graham used to say. When trying to figure out what the Bible means, you have to be careful about how you use the message. You will get in trouble if you try to make everything in the Bible fit into today's world. In this article, we'll talk about the first part of the chapter, which is about the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD, which was a few years before the United States became a country. Matthew wrote it about what would happen to the apostles in the future. You might find it easier to understand the article if you read the first part of Matthew 24.
Christ's work in the world was in full swing. Some Jews believed in Jesus and started to follow him, but most didn't. Even those who thought it was possible that Jesus was the Messiah they were waiting for still fought against him. Christ told the apostles and everyone else there that when they saw the "abomination of desolation," as the prophet Daniel had said, it was time to leave. See Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. The terrible thing that makes things worse. (cf. Lk 21:20.). The Emperor's order to put statues of themselves in temples so they could be worshipped would be an abomination. Since there won't be any more worship there, the temple will be empty. The Jewish state would be destroyed.
A good place to hide would be in the mountains, but if there was a nuclear attack in the United States, it wouldn't matter where you were. Back then, the rooftops were flat, so people often walked on them to get away. You couldn't come down from the roof to get your things. Some people also slept on the roofs back then, which made it easier to get up and run away. Don't go back to get your things. Get away from there. It would be even harder to leave if there were mothers with children. It would be better if the war didn't happen in the winter, when the rivers are frozen and can't be crossed. We can get anywhere in the winter with modern transportation, so what would it matter if the attack happened in the winter? So, it makes no sense if you try to use it in the 21st century. If the Romans attacked on the Sabbath, the city gates of Jerusalem would have been closed, as they always are on the Sabbath. Neh. 13:19. When the moon is dark and the stars are falling, it means that a country has fallen or that there has been a big political change. This figure of speech is also used to talk about the fall of other countries. Is. 13:10; 34:4-6; 51:5-6 Jeremiah 4:1–6; 23–28; Ezekiel 32:7–8; Joel 3:15–16; Nahum 1:1–5; and Amos 8:1-2, 9 all say that Jerusalem will be destroyed. Micah 3:12; Zech. 14:4. A big change in the law was coming, and it would change their lives and the lives of all Jews forever. Why fight?
First, we can't forget how powerful God is. The Jews had been going against God for a long time. They stopped listening to God, and many Jews killed people, hurt others, and worshipped idols. If a country forgets about God, it will fall apart. Prov. 14:34; Ps 9:17. The war happened just like the prophets said it would because the Jews didn't listen to them and didn't accept their own Messiah. Is. 53:3.
Because the Jews hated the Roman Empire, they started the war. From what they knew, they were not thinking about God's hand. The Jews wanted freedom of speech and religion. Rome wanted to be in charge of all things. Rome wanted to keep an eye on what the Jews did every day. The Romans would break into the temple and steal things from it. They would also steal from the procurators, who were in charge of collecting taxes for the whole empire. When they collected the tax, they would keep any extra money they got on top of what was owed. Both political tensions and religious hopes increased. In the end, the revolt against Jerusalem was led by Titus in the year 70 AD. He later became emperor. Some people were fighting to kill themselves because they thought it would be better to die than to be captured and sold into slavery. What did the Christians do wrong?
In his book Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius said that the Christians ran away to Pella. Pella is in the modern country of Jordan. It is about 2.5 miles east of the Jordan River. He also said that they left because they got a message from God. This would be the warning that is written about in Matthew 24 and in the other gospels. Jesus did say that some people would be killed (Luke 21:16), but he said that this would happen before Jerusalem was besieged. It's possible that not as many people died because they remembered and paid attention to the Lord's warnings.
