Dale Partridge - Part 5： An Introduction to Partial Preterism #3

00:00:00.000 Praise the Lord that we get to continue this conversation on eschatology.

00:00:08.040 Now, I know eschatology can feel extremely exciting for some people,

00:00:12.760 and it can feel like it's the heart of the kingdom to one person,

00:00:16.860 and can feel like totally absent of the gospel to the next person.

00:00:20.920 So it just depends on where you're coming from.

00:00:23.120 But I want to remind you on why we're studying eschatology.

00:00:27.940 what we believe about the end shapes the present it really does what we believe about the end

00:00:35.360 shapes the present for example if we believe the church is destined to lose it's just going

00:00:42.340 to get harder and your kids and their kids generations are going to be more and more

00:00:48.620 difficult we might become discouraged or complacent in our ministry efforts but if we

00:00:56.000 believe through the power of Christ that the church will triumph through the proclamation

00:01:00.460 of the gospel, through the body of Christ, the church. We're going to be more motivated

00:01:06.200 to get married and to have kids and to find great churches and plant great churches and

00:01:12.600 build Christian businesses and buy land and disciple government leaders and engage with

00:01:18.300 the culture. And we're going to care about this city. We're going to care about the place

00:01:25.020 that we live, not just for our generation, but for the generations to come. For you young people,

00:01:30.900 you know, in your teen years, you're going to care about how this city operates

00:01:35.920 when you're 20 and when you're 30 and when you're 40 and when you're 50.

00:01:43.340 I think 2 Corinthians 2.14 is an underappreciated passage of scripture. It says,

00:01:50.040 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us, through the church, through us, spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.

00:02:07.440 Love that passage of Scripture.

00:02:09.680 Now, today is my fifth sermon in this series, and I want to just give you a little bit of a reminder of what we've gone through.

00:02:18.880 So part one was an introduction to eschatology.

00:02:21.120 We went over the three orthodox views, historic premillennialism, amillennialism, postmillennialism.

00:02:26.260 Part two, I asked the question, is Christ's kingdom now or is it just a future reality?

00:02:36.160 And I attempted to disprove the premillennial position by showing how the scriptures assume and speak of a current king and a current kingdom.

00:02:51.120 And through the proclamation of the church, of the gospel, the kingdom is expanding in time.

00:02:59.340 Now, part three and four were an introduction to the doctrine of partial preterism.

00:03:06.160 And this is, again, the word means partial pastism, that the prophecies in the scriptures, part of them, are in the disciples' future, but in our past.

00:03:25.500 And we learn that partial preterism is an interpretive framework.

00:03:29.860 It's got a power to an explanatory power of prophecy.

00:03:35.320 And it helps us understand that texts like Matthew 24, which we're going through now, verses 1-35, or Revelation 1-20, are speaking of events that happened in the past, not events that are speaking to the end of the world.

00:03:57.860 now today is my last sermon on partial preterism and then i'm going to do one sermon on post

00:04:05.820 millennialism from the old testament and then one sermon on post millennialism from the new

00:04:10.160 testament and i want to remind you just as we kind of dive back into matthew chapter 24 just

00:04:18.040 some context so that we can remember where we were and i really want you to know this is a very

00:04:25.200 very helpful series. I expect that you will maybe even return to this series in the future

00:04:31.520 to be reminded because it does give great hope, which we will see here today. Now, Matthew chapter

00:04:37.840 24, we first covered 24, 1 through 8. That was the first sermon that we offered on partial

00:04:42.740 preterism. And Jesus claimed that the temple would be destroyed. He says, not one stone here will be

00:04:51.280 left upon another, which will not be torn down. And the disciples asked, as we would expect,

00:04:58.660 tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the

00:05:06.720 age? And Jesus answered by prophesying about three general categories, which we remember,

00:05:12.900 false messiahs, which would be political figures, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines.

00:05:20.420 And then I showed how all of these signs were fulfilled in those years between 30 and 40,

00:05:25.660 or sorry, 30 and 70 A.D.

00:05:28.760 Last week, we covered Matthew chapter 24, 9 through 20,

00:05:32.920 which Jesus continues to predict the fall of Jerusalem and the temple,

00:05:38.840 the signs of the coming of the ends of the old covenant age.

00:05:41.320 He warned them about tribulations that would be present, a betrayal,

00:05:46.040 the cooling of Christian love. And he spoke of this kind of political unrest because of these

00:05:54.460 false messiahs, which we saw fulfilled under Emperor Nero, if you remember our discussions

00:06:00.260 around Nero. And we also discussed how the gospel was preached to the Oikumene, which is not the 0.60

00:06:08.160 entire earth, but the whole known world, the Roman world. And we did a word study there.

00:06:14.060 Additionally, we looked at the geographic anchoring that we saw last week that it says,

00:06:18.840 if these things were to happen, or when these things happen, you are to run to the mountains of Judea.

00:06:23.960 So it was anchoring the text in the local context of Judea.

00:06:30.560 I even showed the historical records that many Christians survived the fall of Jerusalem

00:06:35.780 by fleeing to a city called Pella on the other side of the Jordan River.

00:06:41.040 And they fled because of this specific prophecy in Matthew chapter 24 and Revelations 1 through 20.

00:06:50.960 So today, we're going to be covering verses 21 through 35, which is a massive passage of Scripture,

00:07:00.220 but I'm actually going to breeze through it pretty quick.

00:07:02.520 if you remember in verse 15 jesus transitioned from uh the preceding signs to the destruction

00:07:13.660 of the temple to these imminent signs signs that are coming right when this destruction occurs

00:07:20.440 and from verses 21 through 28 we're going to hear more of these imminent signs and then in verses

00:07:28.060 29-31, we're going to see the meaning of some apocalyptic language. And verses 32-35, we're

00:07:35.900 going to see Jesus affirm the disciples' ability to anticipate rightfully these events. So read

00:07:43.380 along with me, verses 21-22. It says,

00:07:50.100 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world

00:07:59.560 until now. No, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short,

00:08:07.880 no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

00:08:14.960 now it could seem like this verse is speaking to some sort of event that's massive and beyond 70

00:08:23.220 ad however we have to remember three things one the context because we're smart bible interpreters

00:08:29.860 two hebrew culture and three apocalyptic language okay first remember that just in just a few verses

00:08:40.200 24-34, Jesus is going to anchor all of these signs in the disciples' future by saying,

00:08:48.460 truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

00:08:57.220 Okay, just remember that.

00:08:59.300 So this great tribulation that Jesus is talking about must occur between the era of 30 and 70 AD. 0.98

00:09:09.680 That's a 40-year generation, and all of these signs must occur,

00:09:15.680 will not pass, or this generation will not pass until all these things take place.

00:09:21.920 Second, I want you to remember that this is a Jewish context.

00:09:27.160 This is a Jewish audience.

00:09:29.280 Jesus is talking to his disciples.

00:09:31.700 This isn't a text written to you and to me.

00:09:34.620 See, this is Jesus answering questions that his disciples had just asked regarding the destruction of the temple and the judgment on Jerusalem for the rejection of the Messiah.

00:09:51.480 And Matthew is also writing to a Jewish audience of readers.

00:09:55.840 and so when he says for there will be great tribulation such as has not been from the

00:10:03.620 beginning of the world until now no and never will be he's speaking about a tribulation for

00:10:11.600 the jews okay that's the context that's the audience this isn't all of a sudden now i'm

00:10:21.060 talking to everybody in the world here. No, keep it in context. Keep your focus on what's

00:10:28.500 been said here. He's speaking about a tribulation for the Jews, not a global tribulation for

00:10:34.940 mankind. Josephus, who is an eyewitness to the fall of Jerusalem, he records at the start of

00:10:45.060 the Roman war, which was three years of small battles, five months of an actual destruction,

00:10:51.260 and about 60 days of absolute slaughtering. He says, quote, the vast majority of Jews fled

00:10:59.260 into the city to hide behind its walls for protection. Okay, that is the exact opposite

00:11:06.580 instruction that Jesus offered to the disciples. Where did he say for them to go? Well, to the

00:11:13.340 mountains. But what's the natural thing you're going to do if you don't know or believe this

00:11:17.540 prophecy? I'm going to run to the city gates and I'm going to be behind those walls. As a result,

00:11:26.120 75% of the Jews were slaughtered. There's not a specific number. Some accounts range from

00:11:34.900 200,000 to a million. It just depends on who you're talking to and what numbers you're

00:11:42.600 receiving there. But the vast majority of Jews were slaughtered in that 60-day period. In fact,

00:11:53.640 that event marked the highest death toll of Jews ever recorded up to that point in history.

00:12:01.640 The only reason the death toll was not 100% is explained in Matthew 24, 22. It says,

00:12:09.780 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved.

00:12:14.060 But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

00:12:18.420 Now, Josephus says a few more quotes. 0.94

00:12:22.180 He says, The war which the Jews made with the Romans has been the greatest of all wars,

00:12:27.120 not only that have been in our times, but in a manner of those that ever were heard of, end quote. 0.87

00:12:34.900 He also says, The misfortunes of all men from the beginning of the world

00:12:39.120 if they be compared to those of the Jews, are not comparable.

00:12:44.000 He says, quote, 0.99

00:12:45.180 Neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries from the beginning of the world, end quote.

00:12:52.760 Okay, so when you consider the loss of the temple,

00:12:58.240 the temple has stood for over a thousand years at this time.

00:13:02.720 Our country is like a couple hundred years old.

00:13:06.360 I'm talking a temple that has stood for a thousand years.

00:13:12.020 And it's the designated place of worship for God's people.

00:13:17.640 It's the only approved means for the sacrificial system. 0.92

00:13:22.260 It was now destroyed, making it impossible for Jews to follow the old covenant.

00:13:32.200 They couldn't offer sacrifices as they were required, according to the Old Testament.

00:13:38.940 It's fair to say that for the Jews, there was no greater tribulation,

00:13:44.660 such as has been from the beginning of the world until now, nor will ever be. 1.00

00:13:52.200 There's a reason that the Wailing Wall is there. 1.00

00:13:55.340 jews to this day go and stand at that wall and it's the it's the only remnant that's left 1.00

00:14:04.800 2 000 years later the lord has still not ever allowed them to ever rebuild

00:14:10.380 anything else in fact on that temple mount stands an islamic temple 1.00

00:14:19.740 now that wailing wall jews come from all around the world which we're going to see later in this 1.00

00:14:24.040 text, to wail and mourn at the loss of their ability to worship God according to the old 1.00

00:14:32.800 covenant. This truly is, in my opinion, a greater tragedy than the Holocaust was. Because 0.88

00:14:42.600 it wasn't just the loss of life, it was the loss of their entire way of religion. Now

00:14:50.920 let me speak to the apocalyptic language here. Prophetic language is often hyperbolic.

00:15:00.860 It's designed to be dramatic and poetic. A lot of Americans don't know this because we don't

00:15:07.000 study the Old Testament in America for some reason. We see this throughout the Old Testament,

00:15:13.560 though, but this phrase, such as has not been from the beginning of the world or until now,

00:15:19.680 nor will ever be. It's actually, that kind of language is used all throughout the Old Testament.

00:15:26.940 I'm going to give you an example, just a couple. There's more, but there's just two that I'll give

00:15:32.560 here. Exodus 11, 6. God says, then there shall be a great cry throughout all of the land of Egypt,

00:15:41.080 such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again.

00:15:47.060 Okay, this is, has there ever been not a great cry in Egypt since then?

00:15:57.560 I mean, how many people were in Egypt at that time?

00:16:01.220 The populations are greater. The wars have been intense.

00:16:04.120 World War II ran through parts of Egypt.

00:16:07.240 um ezekiel 5 9 says the prophet says and i will do among you what i have never done and the like 0.92

00:16:16.780 of which i will never do again because of your abomination so this kind of language 0.53

00:16:22.260 is actually common in prophetic uh prophecies these are what you would call prophetic threats

00:16:31.340 or warnings or intimidation language. 0.87

00:16:36.300 Furthermore, we shouldn't be shocked that Jesus is claiming to destroy the Jews 0.81

00:16:43.800 for the rejection of the Messiah. 0.98

00:16:46.380 He actually spoke about it.

00:16:48.020 If you want to turn to it, it's Matthew 21, 37 through 41.

00:16:52.500 He's giving the parable of the vine dresser.

00:16:56.320 If you guys remember this parable, he says,

00:16:58.640 Then last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son.

00:17:06.180 But when the vine dressers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir. 0.99

00:17:14.880 Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. 0.96

00:17:18.160 And they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

00:17:23.000 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine dressers? 0.88

00:17:28.640 They said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers, Gentiles, who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. 0.95

00:17:42.100 Jesus is talking about the destruction of the Jews several times in the New Testament. 0.99

00:17:49.900 Now, one final argument that I want to make on this passage is that if you interpret verse 21, look down at verse 21, as referring to the end of the world.

00:17:58.640 rather than the destruction of the temple and the old covenant age,

00:18:05.060 then you must argue that this future event described here

00:18:10.760 is a greater tribulation than Noah's flood.

00:18:15.440 If it's a future event, it has to be a greater tribulation than Noah's flood,

00:18:22.320 which left only eight survivors.

00:18:24.880 okay so if you apply this verse to say uh this is talking about a future global armageddon

00:18:33.520 then are you suggesting that it will kill more people than the flood and leave fewer survivors

00:18:42.760 clearly that that doesn't make any sense even to a pre-millennial or dispensational view

00:18:50.580 which again leads us to

00:18:53.220 localize this

00:18:55.040 text and so again it's going to be clear

00:18:57.180 I'm going to read this passage real quick

00:18:58.540 for there will be great tribulation

00:19:03.160 such as not been from the beginning

00:19:04.540 of the world until now and

00:19:07.060 nor will ever be

00:19:09.100 again if this passage of scripture

00:19:11.080 is speaking about some sort of

00:19:13.280 future event nor will ever

00:19:15.300 be it's the greatest thing

00:19:16.480 well then it's going to have to exceed

00:19:19.240 exceed the intensity of the flood and leave only eight people so you go oh no well no okay he can't

00:19:29.040 mean that then again what does it do what forces you to keep this text in context that jesus is

00:19:35.380 specifically talking about a local tragedy for the jews okay then in verse 23 through 27 jesus

00:19:44.160 makes a parenthetical statement so this is kind of like a this is kind of a side comment that

00:19:49.900 jesus is making if you study the text he's going he's making a statement and he kind of steps over

00:19:56.160 makes a little clarifying statement and then he's going to step back

00:19:59.860 and he's doing this because he's anticipating people wanting more information about

00:20:10.980 these signs and this coming tragedy.

00:20:16.320 Verse 23-27

00:20:17.760 It says,

00:20:19.180 If anyone says to you, look, here's the Christ, or there he is,

00:20:22.480 do not believe it. For false

00:20:25.340 Christ and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders 0.61

00:20:28.400 so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 0.95

00:20:33.000 See, I have told you beforehand.

00:20:35.740 So if they say to you, look, he's in the wilderness,

00:20:39.420 do not go out. If they say, look, he's in the inner rooms, do not believe it.

00:20:43.980 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the

00:20:47.520 west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

00:20:50.900 Okay. After hearing, 0.68

00:20:55.200 imagine you're sitting on the Mount of Olives, and you hear Jesus say all these things.

00:21:02.520 You're hearing a dramatic

00:21:03.580 prophecy. You're a Jew. You understand prophetic language. 1.00

00:21:07.500 you're capturing what he's saying it's aligning with some of the old testament stuff

00:21:11.340 your desire is going to be to seek more information you're going to go man i want

00:21:18.000 more than what jesus is telling me that's just a human tendency we want more i want more clarity

00:21:24.280 we see this all over social media in the prepper world right uh we we have warnings of a financial

00:21:33.000 collapse. The great reset is coming. Civil unrest, be prepared. World War III. And we're all looking

00:21:41.700 for the newest information and the kind of prophets of the culture to tell us what we should

00:21:47.180 expect. When? How? What will be the signs? Jesus essentially says, do not believe the false prophets,

00:21:57.600 even those who do great signs.

00:22:00.100 He's saying, basically, follow what I'm saying.

00:22:02.440 This is enough.

00:22:05.440 Then to curb against those who would say that Jesus had returned,

00:22:10.800 you know, maybe to say, you know,

00:22:13.700 Jesus has returned to give more information.

00:22:16.300 Jesus says in verse 27, he says,

00:22:18.340 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west,

00:22:22.120 so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

00:22:24.140 Basically, when Jesus returns, it's going to be unmistakable.

00:22:28.560 He's not going to be hiding in the wilderness.

00:22:31.080 He's not going to be hiding in the inner rooms.

00:22:33.300 When Jesus returns, it's going to be known.

00:22:36.900 It's not going to be private.

00:22:38.700 It's going to be very public.

00:22:41.340 Then in verse 28, Jesus returns to this discourse.

00:22:45.220 He kind of gets out of his parenthetical.

00:22:47.460 And he talks about this extreme nature of Jerusalem falling.

00:22:51.740 And he says, wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

00:22:56.080 which is again prophetic language

00:22:58.620 which we're going to talk about here in a second

00:23:00.060 it's talking to the devastation to come

00:23:02.260 actually just a couple days ago

00:23:06.260 I was watching vultures

00:23:08.460 fly in a circle

00:23:10.280 over a section behind my house

00:23:12.840 and I thought oh it's probably

00:23:14.440 a mountain lion kill up there

00:23:16.340 and these vultures are waiting

00:23:18.080 to go and swoop down

00:23:20.200 and it's a sign of the tragedy below

00:23:23.380 he continues saying in verse 29

00:23:28.220 see look how fast we're going guys this is great okay verse 29

00:23:32.080 says immediately after the tribulation of those days

00:23:35.500 the sun will be darkened and the moon

00:23:40.060 will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven

00:23:43.500 and the powers of heaven will be shaken 1.00

00:23:45.860 now when Christians don't understand apocalyptic language

00:23:50.520 or have a familiarity with the Old Testament.

00:23:56.220 They think that this passage is some sort of gotcha moment.

00:23:59.680 See? Look!

00:24:01.720 That's clearly talking about the end of the world.

00:24:05.080 The sun going away, the moon not showing its light,

00:24:07.740 stars falling from heaven.

00:24:09.300 This is Armageddon.

00:24:13.240 However, a quick survey of prophetic passages

00:24:16.820 shows that this is the type of language

00:24:18.560 that was very common among the prophets.

00:24:22.660 Now, scholars refer to this language as called decreation language.

00:24:28.440 Decreation language.

00:24:30.620 It's used to convey an extreme nature of judgment.

00:24:38.420 It basically emphasizes that judgment is so intense

00:24:42.920 that your very nature is going to unravel.

00:24:48.560 and you're going to be eliminated.

00:24:52.660 Your lights are going to go out.

00:24:55.600 Your existence will no longer be here.

00:24:59.680 For example, I'm going to give you a handful of passages here.

00:25:05.660 In speaking of God's judgment to Israel,

00:25:08.900 God says in Amos 8, 9, 0.76

00:25:11.840 that I will make the sun go down at noon

00:25:14.840 and I will darken the earth in broad daylight. 0.98

00:25:19.300 And speaking to God's judgment on the pagan nations, God says in Joel 3.15, 0.98

00:25:24.160 The sun and the moon will grow dark and the stars will diminish their brightness. 0.63

00:25:30.220 Speaking to God's judgment on Babylon, God says in Isaiah 13.10,

00:25:35.680 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light.

00:25:39.920 The sun will be darkened when it rises and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

00:25:46.240 And speaking to the judgment of the world system,

00:25:48.560 Isaiah 24, 23 says,

00:25:51.700 And speaking to a future judgment on Israel, likely 70 A.D.,

00:26:04.540 Joel 2, 30-31 says,

00:26:06.120 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

00:26:12.040 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming, the great coming of the day of the Lord.

00:26:21.480 And speaking of the judgment of Egypt, God says in Ezekiel 32, 7 through 8,

00:26:27.300 When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark.

00:26:32.420 I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

00:26:37.100 All their bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,

00:26:40.840 and bring darkness upon your land, says the Lord.

00:26:45.720 Again, the prophets are basically saying,

00:26:48.080 God is going to uncreate you.

00:26:52.540 Any light in your culture is gone.

00:26:56.380 Your world is about to go away.

00:26:59.340 That's the kind of threatening judgment language that's being used here.

00:27:04.920 I'm going to give you one last example, Isaiah 34, 3-5, which is a judgment on Edom.

00:27:10.940 E-D-O-M, Edom, not Eden. 0.96

00:27:14.180 It says, their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpse shall rise. 0.98

00:27:22.180 The mountains shall flow with blood.

00:27:24.300 all of the hosts of heaven shall rot away

00:27:27.560 and their skies roll up like a scroll

00:27:30.500 all their hosts shall fall

00:27:34.220 it's talking about stars

00:27:35.760 it says all their hosts shall fall as leaves fall from the vine

00:27:39.940 like leaves falling from a fig tree

00:27:42.620 for my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens

00:27:46.660 behold its descendants from judgment of Edom

00:27:50.340 upon the people I have destroyed and have devoted to destruction, end quote. 0.92

00:27:57.560 That's prophetic language.

00:28:00.160 Okay, when you read enough Old Testament, you go, oh.

00:28:05.260 And so this was not an astronomical, meaning, you know, like in the sky,

00:28:11.180 an astronomical phenomenon.

00:28:13.760 Yes, there might have been smoke from the destruction,

00:28:16.140 And there might have been, through the fire and the smoke, you actually see the moon looking red.

00:28:24.720 We've seen that at wildfire season.

00:28:27.480 The moon will look red.

00:28:31.540 But it's talking about the destruction itself.

00:28:35.640 You know, in this passage in Isaiah, are all the physical stars falling as leaves fall from the vine?

00:28:42.040 No.

00:28:42.640 Again, it's talking about your creation, your lights are going out where the smoke might cover so much that it'll feel like complete darkness that you are no longer existing. 0.67

00:28:59.120 So when Jesus spoke in this manner to Jews, when Matthew writes in this manner to Jews,

00:29:12.640 They're not believing that cosmically the sun is going to stop shining light.

00:29:18.560 Like the fire on the sun is going to go out.

00:29:24.280 That the moon was just going to stop reflecting the light of the sun.

00:29:29.960 Or that the actual stars or comets would become crashing down.

00:29:34.500 And they didn't believe that.

00:29:37.020 No, they understood this to be extreme judgment language.

00:29:40.960 Prophetic language.

00:29:42.640 that was in accordance with prophetic discourse.

00:29:47.000 So Jesus continues in this prophetic tone in verses 30.

00:29:51.200 He says,

00:29:51.880 Then will appear in heaven, which is the Greek word for sky or above,

00:29:56.680 the sign of the Son of Man.

00:30:00.220 Not Jesus himself.

00:30:02.360 Jesus isn't coming down in the sky.

00:30:04.800 He says,

00:30:06.400 Then will appear in the heaven the sign of the Son of Man.

00:30:09.760 And then all the tribes of the earth, again, that's the Greek word for Matthew often uses for the land of Israel.

00:30:16.280 All the tribes will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

00:30:26.700 So a few things here.

00:30:29.520 Jesus is answering his disciples' question from verse 23, or sorry, from verse 3 that asks,

00:30:35.360 What will be the sign of your coming?

00:30:39.760 Well, Jesus says there will be in heaven appear a sign, the sign of the Son of Man.

00:30:47.140 So what is the sign?

00:30:49.220 Well, Jesus says, essentially, it's this prophecy being fulfilled.

00:30:54.940 The sign is the absolute collapse of the temple in Jerusalem, one stone not being upon another.

00:31:01.700 when what Jesus predicts comes to pass 0.86

00:31:09.160 before this generation falls away.

00:31:12.900 You know that that verse 0.99

00:31:14.460 is used by atheists

00:31:18.740 to discredit Jesus all the time. 1.00

00:31:22.780 It's one of the most important verses they use.

00:31:26.400 When you think that Jesus is talking about some future event,

00:31:30.240 and then they go, well, if it's about a future event,

00:31:37.460 Jesus said that those things were going to happen

00:31:39.160 before that generation came to pass.

00:31:41.300 And it never happened. 0.98

00:31:42.780 So Jesus is a liar. 0.62

00:31:44.720 His prophecy didn't come to pass. 0.72

00:31:47.240 So it puts you in a conundrum.

00:31:50.500 That's why what you have to do as a believer

00:31:52.980 is realize that this is speaking of an event

00:31:57.060 that did come to pass.

00:32:00.240 But, Jesus says, when you see that destruction, it'll confirm that Jesus is the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God.

00:32:17.620 And as a result, all the tribes of Israel, scattered across the earth, will mourn.

00:32:25.600 And again, I talked about the wailing wall earlier. 0.54

00:32:29.460 They still come from all over the world to wail over the destruction of the temple.

00:32:36.660 And then Jesus closes with the same words he said to the Pharisees of the Sanhedrin at his trial before his crucifixion.

00:32:43.800 Matthew 26, 63 through 64, he says,

00:32:47.040 But Jesus remained silent.

00:32:49.920 And the high priest said to him,

00:32:51.340 I command you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.

00:32:56.260 Jesus said to him, you have said so.

00:32:59.960 But I tell you, from now on, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power

00:33:05.880 and coming on the clouds of heaven. 0.99

00:33:10.280 That was the reason he rips his clothes and says, blasphemy, let's kill this man. 0.99

00:33:16.760 The priest understood what he meant by that. 0.99

00:33:19.080 because the priest had read the Old Testament.

00:33:24.560 Jesus meant, next time you see me, it'll be in the divine judgment.

00:33:30.360 And that's why he's like, blasphemy.

00:33:33.320 You're saying that you're the son of God.

00:33:39.900 Then in verse 31, Jesus shifts to a more positive tone of himself,

00:33:44.000 less on judgment.

00:33:46.500 Verse 31, he says, and he will send out his angels.

00:33:50.080 That is that God will send out his angels.

00:33:53.340 The loud trumpet call after the fall of Jerusalem.

00:33:58.140 And they will gather his elect from the four winds.

00:34:02.000 From one end of heaven to the other.

00:34:04.840 So this is still speaking of the sign.

00:34:07.960 It's part of the sign.

00:34:09.860 God will send his angels to declare the official end of the old covenant era.

00:34:15.160 because Jerusalem and the temple are no longer capable of fulfilling the worship of God.

00:34:21.680 It's no longer the place of worship.

00:34:23.860 What does Jesus say?

00:34:25.340 There will be a time that we don't worship on this mountain or on that mountain,

00:34:30.700 but that men will worship everywhere in spirit and in truth.

00:34:38.780 And there will be a time that the gospel will then go forth to the four corners of the world

00:34:43.700 grabbing the elect from every tribe, nation, and tongue. 0.52

00:34:50.260 Then Jesus begins his conclusion. 0.76

00:34:52.000 This is 32 through 35. 0.89

00:34:57.680 All these things are going to occur before the eyes of that current generation.

00:35:01.600 And he opens up with an illustration essentially saying,

00:35:03.960 Know the time. Know the time.

00:35:06.220 Follow with me on here. Verse 32, it says,

00:35:08.380 From the fig tree learn its lesson.

00:35:11.460 As soon as the branch becomes tender,

00:35:13.700 and puts out its leaves, you will know that summer is near, right?

00:35:17.540 You're an agrarian culture.

00:35:19.380 You can go look and go, ah, looks like summer's about a month away.

00:35:24.760 I can see by the look of that branch.

00:35:28.680 Verse 33, so also when you see all these things that Jesus just spoke about,

00:35:35.260 you know that he is near at the very gates.

00:35:42.920 The gates of what?

00:35:46.000 Well, the gates of Jerusalem. 0.78

00:35:48.880 The fall of the city. 0.99

00:35:51.660 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

00:35:58.300 Well, we'll see, Jesus.

00:36:01.620 Because if this does come true, then you really are the Son of Man.

00:36:05.880 But if it doesn't, as the atheist thinks, then we've got something to say.

00:36:10.220 35 heaven and earth will pass away

00:36:14.600 but my words will not pass away

00:36:16.580 now this is an extremely

00:36:18.560 vital section of scripture

00:36:19.760 I considered offering an entire

00:36:22.660 sermon on it but I had to just move on

00:36:24.340 verses 35

00:36:26.760 to 36

00:36:28.080 marks a transition

00:36:30.760 a very

00:36:32.900 important transition 0.66

00:36:34.020 Jesus is done

00:36:35.800 speaking of the local judgment of

00:36:38.720 Jerusalem in the temple

00:36:39.660 and begins speaking about or at least alluding to a global judgment

00:36:46.720 and his final return in his second and final coming to earth.

00:36:52.600 Okay, so this is, you have to catch it right here.

00:36:56.160 And it's almost as if there's like an undocumented question between verses 35 to 36

00:37:01.500 because it says in verse 36,

00:37:04.540 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, my Father only.

00:37:09.660 now this statement is like a it's like a sharp contrast to the previous verses he just told you

00:37:17.720 you're gonna know you're gonna know when by looking at the fig tree all these signs are

00:37:26.860 gonna tell you're gonna know and then it's kind of a cut and then it's like but of that day an hour

00:37:34.640 nobody knows. And it's this transition to speaking about the day of his actual return,

00:37:43.660 Jesus's actual physical return, as lightning from the east is from the west.

00:37:51.340 But in verse 36, there's this shift to ambiguity, and it goes on and on.

00:37:55.820 Again, I was forced to not do several sermons on it, which again, it shows that Christ is

00:38:03.660 speaking to something else, if you move through the rest of 24 through 25, it becomes more and

00:38:10.780 more clear. Of that timing, of Jesus' return to the earth, Jesus describes it as unknowable,

00:38:19.140 even to the angels, emphasizing that it will come unexpectedly, unlike Jerusalem's fall.

00:38:25.420 So Jerusalem's fall is predictable. The signs of the fall are coming. But the final judgment, 0.94

00:38:31.160 That's going to come without warning.

00:38:33.300 That's going to come in a very different way.

00:38:35.560 Of that day and hour, nobody knows.

00:38:38.960 And interestingly, this kind of follows the structure of Revelation.

00:38:42.480 If you read Revelation chapters 1 through 20,

00:38:45.260 it's all speaking to the local context of the fall of Jerusalem leading up.

00:38:50.940 But then you shift in the middle of chapter 20 on,

00:38:54.000 and it's talking about the end of the world,

00:38:56.740 and the coming of Christ, and the renewing of all things.

00:39:00.100 So again, as I said before, Matthew 24 is like the cliff notes to Revelation.

00:39:06.080 And when you see that, you realize, oh, okay, this is just the miniature version of that book.

00:39:12.920 And one judgment kind of patterns or mirrors the next one.

00:39:17.220 One is kind of a typological or a mirror of the greater one.

00:39:25.780 So what does this mean?

00:39:27.440 Why is this important?

00:39:32.140 Partial preterism is just a doctrine.

00:39:35.940 It gives us an interpretive framework.

00:39:38.520 It helps us understand the text of Scripture with its prophecies.

00:39:45.160 It offers us clarity that leads to hope.

00:39:49.260 It places those intimidating passages of tribulation and judgment 1.00

00:39:55.380 on the Christ-rejecting Jews,

00:40:00.340 not on the Christ-loving church. 0.86

00:40:07.160 And not just the Christ-rejecting Jews of all time, 0.98

00:40:09.800 but the Christ-rejecting Jews of the first century, 0.95

00:40:12.360 not the Christ-loving church of the present. 0.74

00:40:16.100 And as a result, it allows us as Christians

00:40:19.920 to look at those things in the past,

00:40:22.500 frees us up from the worry of tragedy to come.

00:40:27.480 And it gives us an opportunity to focus on victory and triumph.

00:40:33.340 It allows us to not anticipate failure.

00:40:38.180 And it gives the church a sense of power instead of paralysis,

00:40:43.760 where we sit and wait for the return of Jesus.

00:40:47.660 and now we can push forward

00:40:50.640 with the proclamation of the gospel

00:40:52.640 knowing

00:40:53.640 that the gates of hell

00:40:56.640 will not prevail against the church

00:40:58.080 because all authority has been given to Christ

00:41:00.740 in heaven and on earth

00:41:02.980 and the kingdom of God

00:41:04.680 will continue to grow like that mustard seed

00:41:06.600 and become the biggest kingdom

00:41:08.160 of the kingdoms

00:41:09.280 and that we will be like leaven

00:41:12.700 small as we are

00:41:14.220 that leavens the entire lump of the culture

00:41:17.060 and that the knowledge of God will cover the earth

00:41:20.920 as the waters cover the seas.

00:41:24.820 This is the promise and the hope

00:41:29.040 that we can look forward to for our generations to come.

00:41:33.440 Amen? Amen. Let's pray.

00:41:36.040 Father, we thank you, Lord, for your word.

00:41:42.780 And Lord, we ask that we would be careful with it.

00:41:45.980 Lord, that you would help us to have a systematic and coherent theology.

00:41:52.380 And Lord, where we err, we ask, Lord, that you would fix it.

00:41:58.680 That you would bring us clarity.

00:42:02.080 Lord, that your church would become more and more clear as the centuries go on.

00:42:08.920 That there would be more unity.

00:42:12.220 And that we would have more hope.

00:42:15.860 Lord, we thank you for this truth

00:42:17.520 and that we have confidence

00:42:21.220 in the victory of the gospel in the world.

00:42:24.040 In Jesus' name, amen.

00:42:26.120 Amen.

Dale Partridge - April 29, 2025

Part 5： An Introduction to Partial Preterism #3

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