JESUS FORETELLS
THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
ON Tuesday, the third day of the week, as Jesus entered the temple in the morning, and began to teach, the chief priests and scribes questioned him saying, "By what authority doest thou these things? Jesus, after confounding them by a single question, went on to give them a series of parables in which he set forth in the strongest light the hypocrisy and depravity of the Jewish leaders. After this he answered the questions of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the lawyer, in such a way that no one dared ask him any more. He also warned the people against the wicked practices of the scribes and Pharisees, and gave an instructive lesson based on what he observed in watching the people as they cast their offerings into the treasury. Before night some of the Greeks desired to see him; he spoke of his approaching death; and a voice from Heaven gave unmistakable evidence that he was the Son of God.
At the close of the day, as he was leaving the temple, the disciples called his attention to the buildings of the temple; the costly stones which composed them, and the exquisite workmanship displayed in their construction and ornamentation. But Jesus told them that the time would come when there would not be left there one stone upon another that would not be thrown down. Then they left the city and made their way over the Mount of Olives to Bethany. As they drew near the brow of the hill, they sat down and looked back upon the city and the temple. From this point they could look down upon Mount Moriah, and have a full view of the temple and all its courts.
Then some of the disciples, remembering what Jesus had lately said about the destruction of the temple, came to him privately, and said, "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"
Then Jesus said, "Take heed that no man deceive you; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass; but the end is not yet.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Thus Jesus gave his disciples a brief outline of the history of the church from that time down to his second coming. Then, going back, he speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem; saying, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand), then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains; let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house'; and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak." He also exhorted them to pray that their flight might be under favorable circumstances.
Then, referring to the 1260 years of papal persecution, he says, "Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should' be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but, for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then, if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."