Fast Fridays: 30 Minutes for God: Difference between revisions
→Friday, Nov 22: Good News? The Destruction of the Temple & the Tribulations
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== Friday, Nov 22: Good News? The Destruction of the Temple & the Tribulations == | == Friday, Nov 22: Good News? The Destruction of the Temple & the Tribulations == | ||
[[File:Bible_manual._Introductory_course_on_the_Bible,_for_teachers_training_classes_and_Bible_classes_(1922)_(14749899816).jpg|thumb|Model of the First Temple, included in a Bible manual for teachers (1922) (Wikipedia)]] | |||
[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13 Mark 13] is more than a bit of a downer: See that great building over there, not a stone will be left upon another! Oh, and famine and war is coming, and that’s just the beginnings of the labor pains you’re gonna suffer! You’re gonna be beaten, betrayed, hated, and lied to, and after all that fun, the sun and moon will be blotted out, the stars will fall, and then some dude called the Son of Man will come surfing down to earth on winds and clouds and to gather his friends, leaving the rest to suffer eternally. | [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13 Mark 13] is more than a bit of a downer: See that great building over there, not a stone will be left upon another! Oh, and famine and war is coming, and that’s just the beginnings of the labor pains you’re gonna suffer! You’re gonna be beaten, betrayed, hated, and lied to, and after all that fun, the sun and moon will be blotted out, the stars will fall, and then some dude called the Son of Man will come surfing down to earth on winds and clouds and to gather his friends, leaving the rest to suffer eternally. | ||
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What's so cool about the Bible is that there is not a word in it that God didn't want in it, and there's not a single word not in it that God did want in it. We're told, for example, that the "Eschatological Discourse" (end of times talk), or "Olivet Discourse," takes place just outside of Jerusalem in the Mount of Olives, where to, after spanking the Pharisees in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/12 Chapter 12], Jesus and the Apostles head. | What's so cool about the Bible is that there is not a word in it that God didn't want in it, and there's not a single word not in it that God did want in it. We're told, for example, that the "Eschatological Discourse" (end of times talk), or "Olivet Discourse," takes place just outside of Jerusalem in the Mount of Olives, where to, after spanking the Pharisees in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/12 Chapter 12], Jesus and the Apostles head. | ||
Mark 13 starts there, on the way out of the city, as one of his disciples looks up in amazement at the Temple: <blockquote>As he was making his way out of the temple area one of his disciples said to him, “Look, teacher, what stones and what buildings!” Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down.”<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?1 Mk 13:1-2]</ref> </blockquote>The last thing they any of them expected to hear was that the building is going to be torn down. We don't know how the others respond, but the inner crew of Apostles are shocked enough not to sputter out anything in public, and instead wait until they're alone with Jesus: <blockquote>As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple area, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?”<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?3 Mk 3:3-4]</ref></blockquote>Jesus then launches into a series of warnings about the Tribulations and the Coming of the Son of Man, which | Mark 13 starts there, on the way out of the city, as one of his disciples looks up in amazement at the Temple: <blockquote>As he was making his way out of the temple area one of his disciples said to him, “Look, teacher, what stones and what buildings!” Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down.”<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?1 Mk 13:1-2]</ref> </blockquote>The last thing they any of them expected to hear was that the building is going to be torn down. We don't know how the others respond, but the inner crew of Apostles are shocked enough not to sputter out anything in public, and instead wait until they're alone with Jesus: <blockquote>As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple area, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?”<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?3 Mk 3:3-4]</ref></blockquote>Jesus then launches into a series of warnings about the Tribulations and the Coming of the Son of Man, which early English monk and scholar, The Venerable Bede<ref>He's a saint, but is commonly referred to as "The Venerable Bede. Although he is a canonized Doctor of the Church (1899 by Leo XII), thus Saint Bede, I think "The Venerable Bede" sounds cooler!</ref>, points to an important detail here: Jesus gave his talk on the end times on the Mount of Olives. <blockquote> | ||
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.</blockquote>Here we get a couple clues as to what's going on. | Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.</blockquote>Here we get a couple clues as to what's going on. | ||
Mount Olivet is just outside the Temple, and at its base is the Garden of Gethsemane. It is the object of several important Old Testament references, including to be called "the Mount of Corruption" in 1 Kings ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/11:7 1 Kgs 11:7-8]), where Solomon "did what was evil in the sight of the LORD" (oops), and built temples to the pagan gods of some of his wives:<blockquote>Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the L<small>ORD</small>, and he did not follow the L<small>ORD</small> unreservedly as David his father had done. Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, and to Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain opposite Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.</blockquote>Hmm, something about the wrong temple, perhaps? | Mount Olivet is just outside the Temple, and at its base is the Garden of Gethsemane. It is the object of several important Old Testament references, including to be called "the Mount of Corruption" in 1 Kings ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/11:7 1 Kgs 11:7-8]), where Solomon "did what was evil in the sight of the LORD" (oops), and built temples to the pagan gods of some of his wives:<blockquote>Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the L<small>ORD</small>, and he did not follow the L<small>ORD</small> unreservedly as David his father had done. Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, and to Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain opposite Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.</blockquote>Hmm, something about the wrong temple, perhaps, oh, say, maybe you guys shouldn't be using it any more? | ||
The Venerable Bede doesn't go that far, but he does suggest it's about the proximity to the temple that Jesus chooses this location. From Aquinas' ''Catena Aurea''<blockquote>'''BEDE'''. | The Venerable Bede doesn't go that far, but he does suggest it's about the proximity to the temple that Jesus chooses this location. From [[Catena Aurea on Mark Chapter 13|Aquinas']] ''[https://www.ecatholic2000.com/catena/untitled-53.shtml Catena Aurea on Mark Chapter 13],''<blockquote>'''BEDE'''. ... The Lord sits upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, when He discourses upon the ruin and destruction of the temple, so that even His bodily position may be in accordance with the words which He speaks, pointing out mystically that, abiding in peace with the saints, He hates the madness of the proud. For the mount of Olives marks the fruitful sublimity of the Holy Church.</blockquote> | ||
The destruction of the Temple is at the heart of much criticism of the authenticity of the New Testament, with critics pointing to it as a reverse-engineered prophesy: i.e., Jesus didn't actually predict it, his authors wrote that he did after Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in 70 AD. | The key to Bede's analysis is "He hates the madness of the proud," which is why he finds meaning in the Lord's "bodily position" -- in apposition to the pride of the Temple. The destruction of the Temple is at the heart of much criticism of the authenticity of the New Testament, with critics pointing to it as a reverse-engineered prophesy: i.e., Jesus didn't actually predict it, his authors wrote that he did after Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in 70 AD. | ||
These critics miss entirely Jesus' point: '''''he''''' is the new temple, '''''he''''' is the sacrificial lamb, and '''''he''''' is the bridegroom of the new Church. Whether Jerusalem gets torn down or not doesn't matter to his point. But it does, and it makes him cry -- 40 years in advance. [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/19:40 Lk 19:40-44] presents the destruction of the temple as part of "The Lament for Jerusalem" (not Luke's title),<blockquote> | These critics miss entirely Jesus' point: '''''he''''' is the new temple, '''''he''''' is the sacrificial lamb, and '''''he''''' is the bridegroom of the new Church. Whether Jerusalem gets torn down or not doesn't matter to his point. But it does, and it makes him cry -- 40 years in advance. [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/19:40 Lk 19:40-44] presents the destruction of the temple as part of "The Lament for Jerusalem" (not Luke's title),<blockquote> | ||
As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”</blockquote>Jesus weeps not for the temple, but for what makes the Temple irrelevant following the Cross -- "what makes for peace" is him, not the Temple. | As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”</blockquote>Jesus weeps not for the temple, but for what makes the Temple irrelevant following the Cross -- "what makes for peace" is him, not the Temple. Additionally, we see that [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/19?45 Lk 19:45], which follows immediately, "The Cleansing of the Temple," which summarizes everything Jesus was telling the Pharisees and about them,<blockquote>but you have made it a den of thieves.</blockquote> | ||
Additionally, we see that [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/19?45 Lk 19:45], which follows immediately, "The Cleansing of the Temple," which summarizes everything Jesus was telling the Pharisees and about them,<blockquote>but you have made it a den of thieves.</blockquote> | |||
Back at Olivette, Jesus goes on to explain to the inner crew, Peter, John, James and Andrew, "The Coming Persecution" of famine, earthquakes and war, and "the beginnings of the labor pains" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?7 Mk 13:7-8]) and his warning to get out of Dodge in order not to be caught up in "The Tribulation" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?14 Mk 13:14-23]). He then says that more will follow, "after that tribulation" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?24 Mk 13:24]), with the sun and the moon darkened and<blockquote> | Back at Olivette, Jesus goes on to explain to the inner crew, Peter, John, James and Andrew, "The Coming Persecution" of famine, earthquakes and war, and "the beginnings of the labor pains" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?7 Mk 13:7-8]) and his warning to get out of Dodge in order not to be caught up in "The Tribulation" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?14 Mk 13:14-23]). He then says that more will follow, "after that tribulation" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?24 Mk 13:24]), with the sun and the moon darkened and<blockquote> | ||
And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather [his] elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?3 Mk 13:26-27]</ref></blockquote> | And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather [his] elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?3 Mk 13:26-27]</ref></blockquote> | ||
Matthew distinguishes the events more clearly than does Mark, who, perhaps, expected the second coming along with the ruin of the temple. | [[File:Second_Temple.jpg|thumb|Herod's Temple as imagined in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. It is currently situated adjacent to the Shrine of the Book exhibit at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. (Wikipedia)]] | ||
Matthew distinguishes the events more clearly than does Mark, who, perhaps, expected the second coming along with the ruin of the temple. But Jesus is speaking of separate events, three, in fact. | |||
The first is the "beginnings of the labor pains,"<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13 Mk 13:8]</ref> and the "Coming Persecution" (verses 9-13), which is what the Apostles will face. The next is the Great Tribulation (verses 14-23), which is about the destruction of the Temple. The Third is the "Coming of the Son of Man," which event, Jesus tells them,<blockquote>Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13?30 Mk 13:30]</ref></blockquote>will be during their lifetimes. And only John would survive through the destruction of the Temple. So how is it during "this generation"? | |||
Well, here we can harmonize the Coming of the Son of Man and the darkening of the sun and the moon and the falling of the stars, as well as the earthquakes. Indeed, all that happened in less than a week from this moment. Matthew chronicles it in Chapter 27:45-52, The Death of Jesus:<blockquote>From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “''Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?''”* which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” | |||
Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” | |||
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.</blockquote>The Temple housed the Sanctuary which [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/78?69 Psalms 78:69] describes for us,<blockquote>He built his shrine like the heavens, | |||
Getting back to the passage itself, [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13:32 Verse 32] is at first glance confusing:<blockquote>“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.</blockquote>Why does the Father but not the son know? (Soon we'll discuss harmonizing contradictions in the Scripture) | like the earth which he founded forever.</blockquote>Jesus is describing the end of the Old Testament worship, as the sanctuary was a replica of the God's creation the universe, and the sanctuary and Temple worship were to be eclipsed at his death upon the Cross. | ||
----Getting back to the passage itself, [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/13:32 Verse 32] is at first glance confusing:<blockquote>“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.</blockquote>Why does the Father but not the son know? (Soon we'll discuss harmonizing contradictions in the Scripture) | |||
First of all, God is not going to tell us when the Second Coming is -- as that would violate free will, so he cannot tell us. Imagine that God announces the world will end next Thursday -- there'd be a Fat Week celebration through Tuesday, then impossibly long confessional lines through Wednesday night. No, our faith must be in the now, which is why Jesus teaches over and over not to wait. If you ever wondered, or felt a little uncomfortable about [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?57 Luke 9:57] and the "The Would-be Followers of Jesus" who would love to find the kingdom of God... but not right now, that's what the Lord is talking about. Parables of the lurking thief, the return of the boss, and so on, are all about this same point, which he makes quite literally. | First of all, God is not going to tell us when the Second Coming is -- as that would violate free will, so he cannot tell us. Imagine that God announces the world will end next Thursday -- there'd be a Fat Week celebration through Tuesday, then impossibly long confessional lines through Wednesday night. No, our faith must be in the now, which is why Jesus teaches over and over not to wait. If you ever wondered, or felt a little uncomfortable about [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?57 Luke 9:57] and the "The Would-be Followers of Jesus" who would love to find the kingdom of God... but not right now, that's what the Lord is talking about. Parables of the lurking thief, the return of the boss, and so on, are all about this same point, which he makes quite literally. | ||