Matthew 24:3 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Desolation, Oppression and the Parousia – The Apostles’ Question

Matthew 24:3 – The Apostles’ Question

|| Mark 13:3, 4; Luke 21:7

MT24:3 But, while sitting on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him in a private spot, asking: “Tell us, when will this occur?[1] {MK13:4 and the sign when all this will be fulfilled?[2]} And, what will be the sign[3] of your Arrival[4] [Daniel 7:22; 12:2] and the complete end[5] of the Age?”[6] [Daniel 9:26, 27] {LK21:7 “When will this all occur?”[7]}

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[1] When will this occur: These questions are a compound from all three of the Gospels. When only the Book of Matthew is relied upon some have drawn a different conclusion. We feel it more accurate to include elements from all three witnesses. Do these Jewish disciples of the Nazarene have in mind the Temple? Perhaps they assume the shocking prediction of the Temple’s destruction means the Return of the Messiah in his foretold royal Presence? Their question cannot come from a clear understanding when they did not comprehend much simpler matters regarding the Messiah. If one argues their question in Matthew 24:3 was inspired then it needs to be explained why Mark and Luke omit this part. Just before the ascension of Christ these same men asked: ‘Are you restoring the Kingdom of Israel now?’ (Acts 1:6) Godly men have asked the question “When?” for thousands of years (Psalm 90:13; Habakkuk 1:2).

[2] Fulfilled: In Mark’s Gospel the Greek word SYNTELEISTHAI is used which means “fulfilled” and is similar to Matthew’s SYNTELEIAS (with + end) which means “ending together” or “conclusion.” When we say this we understand that Matthew originally wrote in Hebrew and later translated it into Greek, thus the Nazarene or his disciples never uttered the actual Greek word SYNTELEIAS. It is likely Matthew translates the Hebrew (or, Aramaic) kalah; (see Strong’s #3617) which means “completion, completely destroyed.” The word chosen by Matthew for this Hebrew was SYNTELEIAS.

[3] Sign: This is the Greek SEMEION which occurs again at Matthew 24:30. Note it also occurs in the Jewish Greek Septuagint (LXX) of the Second or Third Century BCE at Daniel 9:27 (SYNTELEIAS).

[4] Arrival: This is the Greek PAROUSIA and means “arrival” or a royal visit (See Thayer’s or Vine’s). Strong’s #3952, “advent, return, coming, presence.” It is only used in one of the Gospels, Matthew. Paul uses it with reference to the return of Christ at 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 9. Jesus had never been recorded using this word by Matthew as the Greek translator. It is believed the Nazarene spoke Hebrew (with certain Aramaic loan words) and so it is possible he used a word like athah; (Strong’s #857, #858, meaning “arrive”) from Daniel 7:13, 22. In the other two Gospels dealing with this subject “the end” of Jerusalem’s Temple, other synonyms are used instead of PAROUSIA: Mark 13:26 ERCHOMENON; Mark 13:35 ERCHETAI (= coming), and, Mark 13:36 ELTHON (= arrive). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines PAROUSIA (Strong’s #3952) as “the coming, arrival, advent… the future, visible return from heaven of Jesus.” The Dictionary of New Testament Theology (DNTT), volume 2, page 898, explains: “Technically the noun is used for the arrival of a ruler or king… The idea of parousia now becomes bound up with the church’s expectations of Christ’s appearing.”

[5] Complete end: Here the Greek is a heightened form of TELOS (= end), SYNTELEIAS (= with + end). The disciples likely assumed that the destruction of the Temple meant the Return (Presence) or Arrival of Christ and therefore “the end of the world” as they knew it. The Greek translator of Matthew (likely Matthew himself) puts the word SYNTELEIAS in the disciples’ mouth. This is a word that only occurred once before in the Nazarene’s parable of wheat and tares at Matthew 13:40. However, note this word occurs in the Jewish Greek Bible (LXX) at Daniel 9:27 in the context of Jerusalem’s foretold ‘desolation.’ Compare also Hebrews 9:26 where SYNTELEIA is used with regard to the First Coming of Christ in the “last days” of the Jewish Age (Hebrews 1:1; Acts 2:17; Jude 18; 1 Corinthians 10:11). Judging from Jesus’ admission that he does not ‘know the day and hour’ (Matthew 24:36) there is no way the Nazarene could tell his disciples about the date of “the complete end” or SYNTELEIAS.

[6] Age: This is the Greek AIONOS which is corrupted into English by aeon or eon. Though in certain contexts the old English word “world” might be correctly understood, it is often misleading for it gives the idea the earth and all life on it is to end. However, the word “Age” conveys a certain period of time during which certain contemporaries live, such as the Age of the Dinosaurs or the Atomic Age. The King James translators did use AION (Strong’s #165 1074) as “ages” in Ephesians 2:7 and Colossians 1:26 so they were fully aware of its real meaning. The implication of “world” might be misleading.

[7] When will this all occur: Can anyone argue that the disciples did not have in mind the Temple and its destruction?

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Preceding

Matthew 13:47-50 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Parable of the Dragnet

Matthew 24 about temples or Houses of God and the end of the age

Matthew 24:1-2 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Desolation, Oppression and the Parousia – The Setting

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Related articles

1. The disciples confusion at olivet (1)
2. The disciples confusion at olivet (2)
3. The disciples confusion at olivet (4)

Matthew 24 about temples or Houses of God and the end of the age

Today we start with a chapter where Jesus, after he has been discoursing all day in the courts of the temple, went out from the temple, going on his way to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples coming to him to show him the buildings of the temple. (Matthew 21:23; 24:3)

The apostle Mark let us know that the disciples particularly pointed out the stones of the temple, as well as the buildings.

“In that temple,”

says Josephus, the Jewish historian,

“were several stones which were forty-five cubits in length, five in height, and sixth in breadth”;

that is, more than seventy feet long, ten wide, and eight high. These stones, of such enormous size, were principally used in building the high wall on the east side, from the base to the top of the mountain. They were also, it is said, beautifully painted with variegated colours.

The Temple was renowned for its beauty and was considered to be one of the wonders of the world. It is written in the Talmud,

‘Whoever has not seen Herod’s Temple has never yet seen a beautiful building.’ (SB I,944).

We find the disciples on the Mount of Olives where they question the Nazarene in particular about his own future coming, the time of the desolation of God’s temple and its destruction and the sign of its advent and the end of the world (verses 1-3). They do not understand Jesus his predictions and cannot believe that the temple should be destroyed in their time. – The one by Herod I in 20 BCE. The new construction of the temple that was started was only really completed seven years before it was destroyed.

We are coming closer to the imprisonment of Christ. The writing here can well be talking about the last private school before their final gathering at the upper room. Jesus comes to talk once more about a future time, namely of the last things, and extends to the end of the world, modelled on the impending end of the Jewish Republic. But this private school is still somewhat linked to the previous lesson. – Jesus went out, as he said, and away from the temple,
in which he made the previous speech, of which the last words were that their house should be left deserted to them. Thus, these words refer back to chapter 23:38, where is mentioned that the House shall be left abandoned.

We shall find a discourse that foretells in the outset the destruction of Jerusalem (e. g., v. 15-21, v. 34); and in the conclusion certainly foretells the final coming of the son of man, with the gathering of all nations, the general judgment of mankind and the resulting permanent state of the good and the bad, (Matthew 25:31-46) in a way substantially equivalent to the predictive descriptions afterwards given by the apostles.

The question of the disciples in verse 3 was obviously misguided, because it attracts the response from Jesus

“Take heed that no man deceive you”.

which echoes the words of God to Zedekiah (Jeremiah 37:9) where he was anticipating a deliverance from the Chaldeans. – When the Romans were surrounding Jerusalem there would have been Jews who encouraged the people, falsely, saying that the Romans would not over throw the city.

Did the disciples think that the coming of Jesus, and the end of the world was to be very soon? Jesus goes to great lengths to let them in gently on the fact that the “time of the gentiles” was to come in the intervening period. (v. 6, 8, 14).

Today still many may wonder what an unfolding end with beginnings of birth pains and those rumors of wars may imply. They should remember it shall only be when the Good News of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

In this last of the five major sermons, Jesus focuses on prophetic and apocalyptic themes of judgment and the end times. The disciples have been listening to the prophetic judgment Jesus has issued on the religious leaders. They have images of collapsing temple buildings, of prophets pursued from town to town, of floggings, and of blood-soaked garments. They can imagine themselves blood-soaked. They wonder when this all will happen, and what it means.

Their master teacher Jeshua answers them to be careful that no one leads them astray, which we should take at heart also! We too must be be aware of it for many will come in Jesus name, doing as if they are the Messiah or the one who can bring people to salvation. Jesus warns for all those people, preachers and so called prophets who, by their talking and frigtening people will lead many astray. (Matthew 24:4-5,11)

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but should not directly be alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end. In Scriptures many signs of times to come are notated. In the Book of books is written that nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are only the beginning of birth pains, it is to say the start of a generation which shall come to see more. (Matthew 24:4-8)

In Scriptures is told that God provides time for man to listen to His Words, and as such, first all over the world, shall the Good News being preached, before the worst battle commences. And we should know that those who preach the Good News and worship the Only One True God, Who is One (and not two or three), shall be mocked and laughed at, and even worse being hand over to persecution and being killed. They that pronounce the Name of the Only One True God  and the true name of the Messiah, Christ (Jeshua the Messiah) will be hated by all the nations because of Jesus and his Father’s name’s sake. (Matthew 24:9-14)

We shall have to face it that many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one other. All that leading astray might happen because of people prefering to listen to false prophets and human dogma‘s instead of listening to the the Word of God and the believe in the Biblical dogma‘s. It shall all happen also because lawlessness will multiply and the love of many will grow cold, by their selfishness.
Though we might have hope, because those who endures to the end will be saved. They that take time to listen to this Good News of the kingdom which shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, shall recognise the signs when there will be great trouble such as has not happened since the beginning of the world, the end will come. We must hear and listen to the words of Jesus Christ, know and believe that for the sake of the chosen, those days will be cut short.(Matthew 24:10-14, 21-22)

Even when false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and show great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen, we should be alert and keep tot he writings of Scripture and the call of God and His master teacher, because that last one told us beforehand. (Matthew 24:24-25)

We should know that it shall be with the coming of the Son of Man, being as lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, that we should come to see the signs clearly. Because immediately after the trouble of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
That is when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. (Matthew 24:26-28, 29-30)
At that time all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out his angels with a great shofar, and those heavenly messengers will gather his beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)

This 24th chapter concludes with a parable of a fig tree. We too should learn from that parable from the fig tree. (Matthew 24:32-33)
Jesus tells them that story because he wants to warn that generation which will not pass away until all these things happen. Though it will pass away, Jeshua’s words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:34-35) But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, except the Father alone, because only Jehovah God is the Only God above all gods Who knows everything. (Matthew 24:36)

Afterwards Jesus also reminds his disciples of those days before the flood, when people enjoyed all the best things of life and were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. We may not forget that at that time they did not understand until the flood came and swept them all away, but then it was too late. So shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37-39) Then many shal be at work as well, but also find some one taken and the other one left. (Matthew 24:40-41) Therefore we all have to stay alert; for like Jesus and his disciples did not know the time of the end, we do not know what day our Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42) But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:43-44)

The chapter ends by talking about the “Faithful Servant“, a subject that can also confuse or despair many, or use some to present their leaders as that only reliable servant.
Jesus questions

“ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” (Mt 24:45 NIV)

and then continues with telling that the faithful and wise servant, has to be some one who takes good care of that household to give them the necessary things at the proper time (Matthew 24:45-46)

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Preceding

Matthew 11:20-24 Encouragement for John and Reproach for cities 5 Reproached Cities a Lesson for Judgment Day

Matthew 12:33-37 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Judgment Day

Matthew 13:36-43 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Parable of the Zizania in the Field Explained

Matthew 13:47-50 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Parable of the Dragnet

Matthew 16 Calvin’s view

Matthew 16 Asking for signs from heaven

Matthew 16:1-4 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Signs of the Times

Signs of the last days when difficult times will come

Matthew 23:37-39 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Jerusalem, Jerusalem – Your House Is Abandoned!

Next:

Matthew 24:1-2 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Desolation, Oppression and the Parousia – The Setting

Photo from the blog of Aaron Richert, pastor of The Church at North Pole in North Pole, Alaska. From the article: Is Matthew 24 about the Rapture?

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Additional reading

1. Looking into the Future
2. Prophecies over coming days
3. Signs of the Last Days
4. Sign of the Times and the Last Days #1 The Son of man revealing
5. Sign of the Times and the Last Days #2 Wars, natural disasters, famine and false Messiahs
6. Signs of the times – “An object of scorn and ridicule”
7. The Rapture Wars
8. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go
9. Memorizing wonderfully 35 When the son returns it shall be As it came to pass in the days of Noah
10. Be not afraid of those trials which God may see fit to send upon thee
11. From pain to purpose

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The ice in the photo above reminded Tekoa Manning of judgment that often is described using hail. Mexico’s second-largest city, Guadalajara, has an Arabic name meaning ‘valley of stones and also, a valley of streams.’ – Photo from Obadiah’s Cave article Comfortably Numb

Related

1. Give Your Precious Time To God
2. The Events of 70 AD do not Fulfill End Times Prophecies Jesus prophesied that the Great Tribulation will be the most severe time in world history. It will surpass all other times of crisis. Some seek to minimize this prophecy by reducing it to symbolism or by seeing it as being totally fulfilled in 70 AD.
   The Great Tribulation will be so severe that God shortens it to three and a half years to keep the entire human race from being physically killed (Matthew 24:21-22). One million people died in 70 AD and in World War II, 50 million died.
3. This is Not the Way It’s Supposed To Be
4. Abundant Fruit (Matthew 24: 6, 11)
5. Famine
6. Storm Clouds
7. Stars Falling From the Sky: Figurative Language
8. Day 159: There will be wars
9. A Rising Called For!
10. Fear Not!
11. Be alert
12. Comfortably Numb
13. Trouble Such as Never Was before
14. “This Generation” Shall Not Pass Away “Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”
15. What Did Jesus Mean When He Said “This Generation Won’t Pass Away”?
16. The darker it gets
17. The Olivet Discourse: For Israelis Only?
18. The Olivet Discourse: 02 – The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
19. The Last Days Acceleration of Time
20. Study Guide for Matthew 24: (Matthew 24:1-2) Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple. (Mat 24:3) Jesus’ prediction brings up two questions. (Matthew 24:4-8) Jesus describes general world conditions during the period between His Ascension and the time immediately preceding His second coming. (Matthew 24:9-14) Jesus describes what His disciples must expect during the time between His Ascension and Second Coming. (Matthew 24:15) The sign: the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel.
21. 71. Yet when we understand the importance and what is said about this event – the abomination of desolation – we must give priority to this event, even more than the easiest interpretation of Matthew 24:34.

• • • It is the critical sign mentioned in Matthew 24.
    • It is the warning to flee mentioned in Matthew 24.
    • It is the sign of the consummation of all things in Daniel 9:27.
    • It is the sign foreshadowed by Antiochus Epiphanies in Daniel 11:31.
    • It is the precise marker of days to the end in Daniel 12:11.
    • It is the revelation of the man of sinin 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
      • It is the image of the beast in Revelation 13:14-15.

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1. Explaining Matthew 24
2. Matthew 24:1 // Reboot – The end of times
3. Matthew 24:3 And Olivet’s Structure
4. AND when you SEE these THINGS BEGIN
5. Apocalypse Talks: Temporary Temples – Matthew 24:1-8
6. Apocalypse Talks: The Fall Is Approaching – Matthew 24:9-14
7. Apocalypse Talks: Mitigating Disaster – Matthew 24:15-22
8. Apocalypse Talks: The Bigger Picture
9. Apocalypse Talks: The Mean Time
10. Armageddon, Part 3: Are there ‘signs’ that the end is coming?
11. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part I
12. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part II
13. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part III
14. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part IV
15. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part V
16. Matthew 24:12,13
17. Matthew 24:14
18. Matthew 24:23,24
19. Matthew 24:36-44 Sunday School Lessons and Activities
20. Matthew 24 and the Fig Tree Matthew 24:32-33
21. Three things that must happen before Jesus returns – Matthew 23:37-39; Matthew 24:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
22. End Times Q&A
23. Christ’s Coming Again to Judge
24. Timing of Christ’s second coming
25. Don’t Be Deceived (about the Coming of Christ)
26. The Parable of the Fig Tree
27. Mark 11 – Fig Tree
28. The Fig Tree Growing in a Vineyard
29. Being a good servant – talk-notes for 27th Oct 2019
30. Called or Chosen?
31. Paul Explains the Second Coming
32. Hope in the Second-Coming
33. We MUST Let our Light Shine!
34. Faith That Is Fruitful For God

Matthew 23:37-39 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Jerusalem, Jerusalem – Your House Is Abandoned!

Matthew 23:37-39 – Jerusalem, Jerusalem – Your House Is Abandoned!

|| Luke 13:34, 35

MT23:37 “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Killer of prophets, stoner of those sent [by God] to her. How often I wished to gather your children together just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings – but you did not wish it. MT23:38 Look! Your House is deserted [to desolation].[1] MT23:39 For I tell you: You will not see me again until indeed you say, ‘Blessed is the one coming in the Name of YHWH.’”[2] [Psalm 118:26]

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[1] Your House is deserted [to desolation]: If “house” (OIKOS) is the same as Luke 11:51 then the Temple is meant here. This is exactly what Jesus goes on to discuss in the next chapter. Or, NEB: look! there is your temple, forsaken by God.

[2] Blessed is the one coming in the Name of YHWH: This is a quotation of Psalm 118:26,

“Blessed be the One coming in the name of Jehovah.” See notes elsewhere under YHWH whether the Nazarene actually used the Divine Name in his quote.

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Preceding

Matthew 17:10-13 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Elijah Has Already Come

Matthew 21:6-9 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Blessed the One Coming in God’s Name!

Matthew 23:1-12 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Prominence and Humility

Matthew 23:13-14 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Shutting Up the Kingdom

Matthew 23:15 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Woe 2: Evangelists of Gehenna

Matthew 23:16-22 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Woe 3: Blind Guides and Gold

Matthew 23:23-24 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Woe 4: A Disregard for Justice and Mercy

Matthew 23:25-26 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Woe 5: Greed and Uncleanness

Matthew 23:27-28 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Woe 6: Whitewashed Graves

Matthew 23:29-32 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Woe 7: The Only Good Prophet Is a Dead Prophet!

Matthew 23:33-36 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Treatment of Future Prophets

Nazarene Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2 v14-20 Pentecostal Sermon

God’s Face shining on His servant

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Related

Daily Devotional Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Matthew 17:10-13 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Elijah Has Already Come

Matthew 17:10-13 – Elijah Has Already Come

|| Mark 9:9-13

MT17:10 Now the disciples inquired of Jesus, asking, “Why do the Scribes[1] say it is necessary for Elijah[2] to come first?” [Malachi 4:5] MT17:11 Jesus answered them, saying: “Indeed, Elijah is coming[3] and will restore everything.[4] MT17:12 But, I tell you: Elijah has already arrived[5] and they did not acknowledge him;[6] rather, they treated him as they wished.[7] And just so the Son of Humankind is about to suffer because of them.”[8] MT17:13 Finally the disciples understood that Jesus spoke to them about John the Baptist.

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[1] Scribes: Search the word scribe for notes elsewhere. Or, NEB: teachers.

[2] Elijah: Likely this prophet is raised as a result of the vision. We may suppose only the three disciples were asking the question. On Elijah research the name for other notes.

[3] Elijah is coming: Judging from Jesus’ words may we suppose there are two “Elijahs”? One to appear before the desolation of Jerusalem (Malachi 4:5). And, still another before the Parousia of Christ (Revelation 11:4, 5). The Nazarene does not mean the literal prophet but something like him.

[4] Restore everything: Or, NEB: set everything right; GDSP: reform everything; RIEU: reestablish everything. Compare Acts 3:21. Malachi 4:6 foretold the result of Elijah’s coming:

“He must turn the heart of fathers back toward sons, and the heart of sons back toward fathers.”

If this be the ‘restoration’ it deals strongly with family relationships and involves love. If we were to also apply Isaiah 40:5 to the coming of Elijah then this also would be involved: “The glory of Jehovah will certainly be revealed, and all flesh must see it together.” Additionally, consider Malachi 3:1-4: “And suddenly there will come to His temple the [true] Lord, whom you people are seeking, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you are delighting. Look! He will certainly come,” Jehovah of armies has said. “But who will be putting up with the day of his coming, and who will be the one standing when he appears? For he will be like the fire of a refiner and like the lye of laundrymen. And he must sit as a refiner and cleanser of silver and must cleanse the sons of Le’vi; and he must clarify them like gold and like silver, and they will certainly become to Jehovah people presenting a gift offering in righteousness. And the gift offering of Judah and of Jerusalem will actually be gratifying to Jehovah, as in the days of long ago and as in the years of antiquity.” (NWT) The ‘restoration’ not only involves family relationships but also the true Temple and the cleansing of the People of God. Compare Revelation 11:1-12; 11:19.

[5] Elijah has already arrived: See notes on Matthew 11:14 and Matthew 16:14 and the name Elijah elsewhere.

[6] They did not acknowledge him: “They” includes the Scribes. Or, KJV: knew him not; RHM: they recognized him not.

[7] They treated him as they wished: Or, KJV: have done unto him whatsoever they listed; RHM: did with him whatsoever they pleased; MOF: they have worked their will on him; KNX: misused him at their pleasure. “They” imprisoned and then beheaded John the Baptist.

[8] Suffer because of them: This is the second of two times Jesus mentions his foretold ‘suffering.’ (see notes at Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 17:25) That the Messiah would “suffer” is foretold by Psalm 22:1+ and Isaiah 53:1+. Compare also Isaiah 50:6 and Daniel 9:26.

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Preceding

Matthew 17:1-9 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Transfiguration Vision

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Related

1. Will Elijah Come Again? No, Elijah has already come.
2. Saturday of the Second Week of Advent
3. Jesus talks about Elijah

Nazarene Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2 v14-20 Pentecostal Sermon

Acts 2:14-21 – Peter Begins his Pentecostal Sermon

AC2:14 Now Peter rose with the eleven[1] and raised his voice, declaring to them: “Men, Jews,[2] and all those dwelling in Jerusalem, all of you know this, listen to my words! AC2:15 For these men are not drunk[3] as you suppose, for it is only nine in the morning!

AC2:16 This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel[4] AC2:17 and what will occur in the Last Days:[5] ‘The God says, “I will pour out my Pneuma on all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy.[6] Also, your young men will see visions,[7] and your elders will dream dreams.[8]

AC2:18 And in those days I will pour my Pneuma upon my male slaves and female slaves, and they will prophesy. AC2:19 And I will give wonders in the heavens above, and on signs on the earth below[9] – blood and fire and columns of smoke.[10]
AC2:20 The sun will be transformed into darkness and the moon into blood[11] – before the arrival of the Day of the great and glorious Supreme Being.[12] AC2:21 Then everyone whoever calls upon the Name of YHWH will be saved.”’”[13] [Joel 2:28-32 LXX]

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Continuation of: Nazarene Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2 v1-13 Working Spirit

Continued with: Nazarene Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2 v23-26 The Choice of Matthias

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[1] Now Peter rose with the eleven: Likely indicating only these twelve were present.

[2] Men, Jews: Here the Greek is ANDRES IOUDIOI [males, Jews] because the crowd has already been identified as “pious Jewish men” from all over the world. Peter is talking to Jewish men. Compare also Acts 2:22.

[3] These men are not drunk: The Greek is masculine suggesting Peter speaks of the eleven male apostles who have been accused of drunkenness.

[4] Spoken by the prophet Joel: Peter now quotes from Joel 2:28-32. Most think he draws upon the LXX, though it is also clear Peter is doing this from memory and so there are slight paraphrases here or there.

[5] What will occur in the Last Days: Most versions place the quotes before “last days” but this does not occur in Joel. The solution may be that “last days” are Peter’s own words. Only about a month and a half before Peter and three other apostles asked Jesus about “the end.” [Matthew 24:3] Jesus continues to outline what will happen at the “desolation of Jerusalem.” In the Christian Bible the term “last days” is always used of the end of the Jewish Temple period. The phrase only occurs at 2 Timothy 3:1, Hebrews 1:1, James 5:3, and 2 Peter 3:3. Compare also Hebrews 9:26 and Jude 18. For more details on last days see Nazarene Commentary 2000© on Revelation.

[6] Your sons and daughters will prophesy: That is, Jewish children. The words “prophet” and “prophesy” have a wide range of meaning but generally refer to speaking before others. For details see notes on 1 Corinthians 12:28. Both men and women may “prophesy” but see Paul’s restrictions in 1 Corinthians 11, 14, and 1 Timothy 2. See notes on Acts 21:9. On Christian prophets in Acts see Acts 11:27; 13:1; 15:32; 21:10.

[7] Young men will see visions: While both men and women “prophesy”, it is young men who are foretold to see “visions.” The application of Joel’s words to this crowd of Jewish men must have moved their hearts toward their sons and daughters who they could see so blest. Indeed, just that is what happened when thousands of them returned home – now disciples of Jesus Christ. See “vision” in Acts 9:10, 12; 10:3, 17, 19; 11:5; 12:9; 16:9, 10; 18:9. A vision is generally understood to be a daytime trance experience, while dreams occur during sleep.

[8] Your elders will dream dreams: Or, older men. There is no case of such a “dream” mentioned in the Christian Bible. The word “dream(s)” occurs 126 times in the Bible, first at Genesis 20:3 and most often in the two books Genesis and Daniel. Of particular interest are Job 7:14 and Job 33:15, 16. In the Christian Bible dreams occur at Matthew 1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 22; 27:19.

[9] Wonders in the heavens above, and on signs on the earth below: Peter, in quoting Joel to these Jewish men, has mentioned the good news. Now he proceeds to the bad news – the coming doom on Jerusalem. These heavenly wonders and earthly signs will be described in the following phrases. Compare the Nazarene’s own warning in notes on Matthew 24:15 and Luke 21:24. Josephus records similar phenomena upon Jerusalem in 70 AD.

[10] Blood and fire and columns of smoke: Whether the “blood” refers to Jewish blood shed at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, or to the color of the moon when veiled in smoke is a matter for interpretation. In the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in 70 AD one million people died, so indeed, blood ran in the streets, and great columns of smoke blocked out moon and sun.

[11] The sun will be transformed into darkness and the moon into blood: Compare similar language from the Nazarene at Matthew 24:29 where similar images apply to both the desolation of Jerusalem and to signs appearing before the Return of Christ. [Mark 13:24]

[12] Day of the great and glorious Supreme Being: The phrase “Day of the Master,” or, “Day of Jehovah” is used for a number of periods, including the “Day of Wrath” in Revelation. [Revelation 6:17] The Hebrew Text of Joel – and likely original LXX translations – has YHWH, but the Greek here does not precisely call for it. On the designation “Day of Yehowah” see Isaiah 13:6-10 and Amos 5:18, 20. Joel the prophet mentions it several times. [Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11; 3:14] As does Zephaniah 1:7, 8, 14, 18; 2:2, 3. The Jews were very familiar with Malachi 4:5.

[13] Calls upon the Name of YHWH will be saved: The Tetragram is present in Joel and it is possible the Greek would suggest the original had YHWH here. For details on this phrase see Paul’s quotation of it at Romans 10:13.

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Preceding articles:

Nazarene Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2 v1-13 Working Spirit

Meaning of “speaking in tongues”

Compare:

Hebraic Roots Bible Book of The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2

The Acts Of The Sent Ones Chapter 2

The day of the festival of Pentecost

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Also of interest:

1. Speaking in tongues
2. Tongues a sign of authenticity or divine backing
3. God has visited His people
4. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
5. Prophets making excuses

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Related articles

• Pentecost, What’s That? (thelifechurchofdesplaines.wordpress.com)
  Pentecost in the Old Testament was not a religion. It was a feast, a celebration. Israelites were told to remember their bondage in Egypt and their freedom from slavery.
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  It was a shadow of what was going to happen, is happening today! Pentecost didn’t end in Acts 2. It is happening today! People prophecy and are filled with God’s Spirit today.
• Unstoppable Faith (thursdaythoughts4ct.wordpress.com)
  In the beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus goes back up into Heaven and the apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. This is their incredible experience that truly sets them on fire. They go out and start preaching and spreading the word and performing these incredible miracles in Jesus’s name.However, as is almost always the case, the apostles were almost immediately met with opposition from people who wanted to stop them.
• “It’s only nine in the morning!” (rootstothestream.net)
  Peter is certainly one of the Bible’s most colorful characters. He is rash and passionate, human and sometimes almost divine (see walking on water). However, through it all Peter is given a double edged sword with his words. Here after pentecost some who were watching thought the apostles might be drunk. Another man might have quoted scripture about the perils of too much wine, but not Peter. His simple response is that it’s just too early in the day. What a great line! However, Peter is not just about wit; he is about to deliver one of the most effective sermons since one that occurred on a mound.
• For many it seems not easy to understand that it was God who brought insight in Jesus his pupils. In the article The Holy Spirit-Empowered Apostles (on yourgodmoments.wordpress.com) the writer rightly remembers the promise of the Nazarene Jesus (Jeshua) to his followers. But he misunderstands that Jesus, who is the son of God and the Messiah, would become the mediator between men and God and that it was he (Jeshua or Jesus Christ) who had demanded his Father (Jehovah, the Only One God) to send a “Comforter”. The writer of the article says “It is here that Jesus completes His gospels through the Holy Spirit by filling His disciples hearts with the remainder of the knowledge that He wants all of God’s children to know in order to pursue a path of righteousness and a life filled with God moments…” But it is not Christ Jesus who fills the hearts and minds of the apostles. That is the work of the Holy Spirit: the Power of God. it was God and not Christ who enlightened the apostles and gave them the power to go out in the world to preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God.
• Acts of the Apostles (fellowshipofthebelievers.com)
  Special attention is given to the Promise of the Father regarding the apostles being baptized by the Holy Spirit, who would empower them as witnesses for Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even to the end of the earth (1-8).
• Links to OT prophecies in Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 (creationconcept.wordpress.com)
  At Post Tenebras Lux Andrew G discussed Acts 2:17, where the apostle Peter, while addressing the Jews at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, quoted from a prophecy of Joel, beginning his quotation using the words of Isaiah rather than those of Joel.
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  Luke probably included this subtle link to Isaiah 2:2 in his account of Peter’s message on Pentecost to suggest that Isaiah 2:1-3 was fulfilled, when Jesus ascended to heaven, where he was exalted and “made Christ” by God. [Acts 2:36] Being “made Christ” implied that Jesus was given a perpetual throne, in Jerusalem, reigning over all Israel, like David, and that Jerusalem and mount Zion were raised up, and “established in the top of the mountains, above the hills,” (in heaven, and in a spiritual sense) according to Isaiah’s prophecy. After Pentecost, the Jerusalem to which OT prophecy applies is the heavenly city. This is confirmed in other New Testament scriptures. [Galatians 4:26, Hebrews 12:22] Paul taught that believers are “raised up together” and “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” [Ephesians 2:6]
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  Isaiah 2, Joel 2, Acts 2, and the Eschatological Temple of the Church
  Concerning this substitution of the phrase “in the last days” and to prophecy to which it alludes, G.K. Beale writes, “Thus, Peter appears to interpret the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost upon the Christian community in fulfillment of Joel also to be the beginning fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the end-time temple, under the influence of which the nations would come.”[3] The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost therefore is seen to be the official inauguration of the end-times temple-building project.
• The Books of the New Testament (chbt.wordpress.com)
  The Acts was written by Luke the Evangelist; it is a narration of the Apostles’ work, which he wrote to tell how the Church spread rapidly throughout the world.
• Acts of the Apostles…chapter Nine…part Three (whatshotn.wordpress.com)
  The accounts in the epistles add some details to Acts and omit others. The accounts are complementary and not contradictory. Luke’s work is historically accurate an independent account, not simply copied from Galatians or 2 Corinthians. The different purposes of Luke and Paul affect the selection and shaping of the facts of the Damascus-Arabia episode. In Galatians, Paul’s primary concern is to establish the fact of his apostolic authority as coming directly from Christ…Galatians 1:11-12…The details of his Damascus and Arabian missionary activities are irrelevant, though he mentions them in passing…
• Acts of the Apostles…chapter Nine…part Four (whatshotn.wordpress.com)
  Later, when Barnabas needs assistance in building the church in the Antioch area, he goes to Tarsus to find Paul, and brings him to Antioch..Acts 11:25-26.. From then on, Paul becomes the central focus of Acts…
• Intro to the Book of Acts and the choosing of Judas’ replacement (sundayschoolbiblestudy.wordpress.com)
  The disciples are in obedience, they are in fellowship, and they are in prayer.”
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  Peter feels called to stand up and make the case that they now should allow God to choose a successor to Judas Iscariot. Notice that this is the first time in the Bible that we see Peter quote Scripture. He is now relying on the Word of God to steer him through ministry just like Jesus had demonstrated through His earthly ministry and had taught them to do.