ROK-09a
Short Clip
As the disciples listened to Christ’s explanation of things to come for their city Jerusalem, and their people the Jews: they must have been stunned. Jesus described a long, tortuous history for Jerusalem and the Jews. Filled with wars, conquests, persecutions, and globally felt disasters.
Note it was ongoing. Not “a war” but wars. Not “a rumor” but rumors. Jesus painted the picture of a long period of time. Then in v. 8, He said this is only the beginning. Basically, Jesus was a pessimist. He did not see things getting better and better. In other words, Jesus was not a post-millennialist. Jesus did not tell us things were going to get better and better, rather He said worse and worse.
Jesus was a Pessimist About the Future
Jesus says that the world to come after His death, burial and resurrection faced a barrage of false christs, false teachers, false messiahs, false prophets, interspersed with wars, rumors of wars, ethnic strife, and persecutions of God’s people. That is history from Christ’s perspective.
By the way, just what He said came true. The Temple was destroyed in AD 70 just as He said. History since AD 70 has been just what He said it would be. That is the introduction to Rev. 6-19. All the disasters mankind has ever faced roll on until the period when each type of disaster is magnified to the point everyone on earth feels the horror, not just a localized disaster as in the past.
History as taught by Jesus can be summarized as the period between His first and second coming will be nothing but relentless troubles, that will eventually reach the point of never before seen disasters globally. Plus a background of religious deception that will also get more and more powerful until all but the elect are deceived. Note that theme repeated four times: v. 4, 5, 11, 24.
Jesus Gives the Only True Map of the Future