5.4 Coming Judgment
Jesus' condemnation of the governmental and religious leaders was by no means discreet. Matthew 21:33-41 provides a poignant description of tenants representing the religious leaders whom God would severely punish. God is the owner of a vineyard who gave the tenants their last chance to get it right by sending his son:
9 Matthew 21:33-41
33 "Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country.
34 When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit.
35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them the same way.
37 But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
38 But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and seize his inheritance.'
39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, then killed him.
40 When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?"
41 They told him, "He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruit in its season."
Even then, Jesus foretold his death, but even more obvious is the judgment that would come for not honoring the household master's Son. Jesus delivered a scathing denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, beginning with the first verse of Matthew 23. In Matthew 23:29-36, Jesus concluded the denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. He prophesied their coming judgment and said they would be responsible for all the innocent blood on the earth since Abel's death up to their time. He also emphasized that the judgments would take place during that generation, not centuries ahead:
8 Matthew 23:29-36
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous,
30 and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn't have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'
31 Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?
34 Therefore behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city;
35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
36 Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
How compassionately Jesus cried over Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37-38. He would have saved them from their mess, but they rejected Him. As a result, He rejected them, saying that their house was desolate. No longer would God visit them in the temple. No longer would there be sacrifices and sin offerings on its altar:
2 Matthew 23:37-38
37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!
38 Behold, your house is left to you desolate.
Jumping right into Matthew 24:1-2, Jesus indicated what would happen to the temple:
2 Matthew 24:1-2
1 Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.
2 But he answered them, "You see all of these things, don't you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down."
One hotly debated theological issue is the dating of the Book of Revelation. The early date is between AD 68 to 70 as described by JB Phillips at https://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CN610CHRONO.htm: "The BOOK OF REVELATION may have been written at this time, following the persecutions of Nero, but before the fall of Jerusalem. Otherwise, Revelation was written towards the end of the first century."
This dating is also the premise for Kenneth Gentry, Jr's book, Before Jerusalem Fell, in which Gentry makes his case for a Preterist view of Revelation. One of the justifications for the early date of its writing was revealed in Revelation 1:10 above:
1 Revelation 1:10
10 He said to me, "Don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
This echoes the immediacy of the timing described in Revelation 1:1-3:
3 Revelation 1:1-3
1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,
2 who testified to God's word and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.
Revelation 22:12 and 20 also use the terms "Behold, I come quickly" and "Yes, I come quickly" to describe the immediacy of the prophetic events mentioned in Revelation, especially if the Book of Revelation was written three years before the fall of Jerusalem. Anyone in Israel understood the implications of the Jewish war with the Romans from AD 66-69 when Vespasian, who led the Roman response to the Jewish sedition, returned to Rome to become emperor. As a result, Titus took over command of the Roman forces in Judea. In AD 70, he captured Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.
Historical accounts indicate that while the Romans were burning the temple, they brought idols into it and offered sacrifices. This qualified for the fulfillment of the Abomination of Desolation in AD 70. The temple's destruction in AD 70 also marked the end of temple worship and sacrifices, which made sense because Jesus, as the Passover Lamb, completed what temple sacrifices could never accomplish.
The words of Matthew 25:31-46 describe judgment based on acceptable service to God including the treatment of others:
16 Matthew 25:31-46
31 "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.
36 I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?
38 When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?'
40 "The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you didn't give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;
43 I was a stranger, and you didn't take me in; naked, and you didn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'
44 "Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn't help you?'
45 "Then he will answer them, saying, 'Most certainly I tell you, because you didn't do it to one of the least of these, you didn't do it to me.'
46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
We learn that judgment and reward apply to lifestyle regardless of when and how Jesus returns. At the same time, a more significant judgment was about to take place, the judgment that marked the end of the Old Covenant. In Mark 10:32-34, Jesus revealed to his disciples what was going to happen:
3 Mark 10:32-34
32 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him.
33 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles.
34 They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again."
The next scene in Mark 10:35-37 seems surreal. It is as if James and John had not heard Him or that they were amazingly insensitive, looking for what they could get out of it:
3 Mark 10:35-37
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask."
36 He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"
37 They said to him, "Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory."
Jesus responded with a question in Mark 10:38:
1 Mark 10:38
38 But Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
To what baptism is Jesus referring? One writer puts it this way:
"We understand the cup which Jesus would drink and the baptism with which He was baptized. The cup is a cup of suffering and pain, which Jesus will drink to its dregs. The baptism of Jesus here is full immersion in humiliation, degradation, pain, and suffering on an unimaginable scale through His betrayal, trial, scourging, and execution."
1 Peter 2:24 puts it this way:
1 1 Peter 2:24
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. You were healed by his wounds.
Peter equates living to righteousness as being healed by His wounds. Perhaps the scripture in Isaiah 53:5 is used too glibly to refer to physical healing:
1 Isaiah 53:5
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
We learn that Jesus bore the penalty or judgment for our sins so that we might be declared as the righteousness of God (in Christ Jesus) as explained in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21:
5 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
18 But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
While there is an understanding and desire for Jesus to return to right all of society's wrongs, nothing is more powerful than the healing that believers experience by the salvation of their souls.
In his commentary on Matthew 24:1-14 in Matthew for Everyone Part 2, NT Wright explains that the Greek word parousia can refer to a state visit, an appearance, or the presence of a dignitary, or even a healing. Matthew 24:14 records Jesus' words to his disciples about the coming of the end:
1 Matthew 24:14
14 This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Wright points out that the end referred to in this verse is the temple's destruction in AD 70 and that the disciples will have work to do (as described in the book of Acts) until then. One example of Parousia is the judgment against Jerusalem in AD 70. Wright also hopes for a second coming for the whole world. Nonetheless, the church has been enamored with the idea that preaching the gospel to all nations will force "the end" to come. With a question mark as to what end Jesus refers to, the emphasis should be on preaching the gospel to all the nations to save souls and not trying to force any other response.
Even so, for all the suffering experienced by saints to share the gospel, especially in hostile environments for the last 2000 years or so, and with more people being born at any point in history, why would Jesus snap his fingers and say, "No more?"
I believe that Jesus will come back through the church and not just to the church in response to bring the world into further alignment with His purposes. Besides, empirical evidence indicates that it has been that way for centuries. The Welsh Revival can be used as an example of a special Parousia, a visit of God that resulted in national conviction and repentance. All the drinking establishments closed, the jails were empty, and the police did not have anything to do.
Maybe there is something to the New Everlasting Covenant of Peace and its persistent work of grace that has been ignored and underestimated. As the latter part of James 2:13 says:
1 James 2:13
13 Mercy triumphs over judgment.
John the Baptist heralded the news from Isaiah 40:4-5 about a day in which the Lord will right all wrongs:
2 Isaiah 40:4-5
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.
5 Yahweh's glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it."
Daniel 2:44 spoke of this coming kingdom:
1 Daniel 2:44
44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.
King Nebuchadnezzar understood it when he said in Daniel 4:3:
1 Daniel 4:3
3 How great are his signs! How mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His dominion is from generation to generation.
Even then, an earthly king understood God's kingdom and dominion were everlasting. The coming of Jesus' dominion over all things was announced in Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14:
4 Daniel 7:9-10,13-14
9 "I watched until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came out from before him. Thousands of thousands ministered to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set. The books were opened.
13 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed.
The spread of the gospel of Jesus' kingdom and dominion has been like a supernatural avalanche breaking up stones that break up other stones. It reminds me of the words in Zechariah 4:6-7:
2 Zechariah 4:6-7
6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, "This is Yahweh's word to Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says Yahweh of Armies.
7 Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace, to it!'"
Jesus quoted the Old Testament when he said of himself in Matthew 21:42-44:
3 Matthew 21:42-44
42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes?'
43 "Therefore I tell you, God's Kingdom will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing its fruit.
44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust."
In the New Covenant, anyone "in Christ" (saved by grace and faithful and obedient) is a resident of the Kingdom of God.