Covid-19 has exposed that we live in a paper palace and that our economic strength hangs by a thread. Leaders are feeling the pressure and nothing is going well. Like Nebuchadnezzar, our government is in search of a unifying power to unite the people under an image. If the story of Daniel offers us any insight into our present moment, then what we should see is that attempts to reclaim the glory of a nation is a thoroughly religious activity. In moments of panic, nations have the potential to attempt to unify their people under a new form of religious devotion, a religious system that attempts to assert itself against the Lord and against his anointed (Ps. 2).

While many Christians appear to spend their time expressing outrage over mask and vaccine mandates, a larger mandate has already come upon us that has inaugurated a revolution that few seem to appreciate. It’s not the kind of historical revolution with which we are more familiar. This is a far different kind of revolution. And until Christians are more spiritually minded to appreciate exactly what is happening, the battle will be fought over the wrong issues, kind of like a soldier who argues over the uniform he is required to wear rather than actually stepping onto the battlefield.
What in the world is going on? Everything seems to be unraveling at the seams. Something very demonic is at work before us in our present moment. Dr. W. Robert Godfrey teaches the adult Sunday school class the Escondido United Reformed Church and he has started a new series titled, “What is Going On: Sex, Race, Politics and Power.” In the class, Godfrey has made the assertion that Christendom has come to an end in America.
This is not suggesting, of course, that Christianity has come to an end. Christianity is the faith of those who follow Christ according to his Word. Throughout history, Christianity has survived under the most brutal of all regimes. Christendom is a far different concept with which to evaluate our current moment. Christendom is the enshrinement of Christianity to be the favored religion in the governments of the world established in cultural dominance and law. That we have enjoyed the complete freedom to practice our faith due to a Constitution that enshrines the free exercise of religion is without question a most remarkable blessing.
Godfrey makes the case that for seventeen-hundred years in the West, Christianity has been the favored religion protected under law and cultural dominance. But something specific, says Godfrey, has happened in America that brought Christendom to an end. I will return to this point, but it’s important to say that until we appreciate Godfrey’s basic proposition, confusion will remain as to exactly what is happening and how Christians are to handle themselves.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image
Let’s begin with a biblical story to demonstrate that we are up against is not a new phenomenon. Imagine with me for a moment that China invaded the United States and hauled us all over by boat to live under their oppressive regime. Without any opportunity for dissent or rebellion, imagine being taken from our country and assimilated into nation that had no tolerance of our faith. This is exactly what happened to Judah in 597 B.C. when king Nebuchadnezzar, a wicked and abusive tyrant, destroyed Jerusalem and took captive Judah by uprooting them from their beloved land with the goal of assimilating them into the kingdom of Babylon.
When Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams were interpreted by Daniel, a surprising prophecy was made that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom would soon fall, and “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.” Daniel was speaking of “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:11).”
In response to this dream, Nebuchadnezzar set up a ninety-foot golden image in the plane of Dura, the very place where the Tower of Babel once stood. It was a direct act of defiance to Daniel’s projection of the future. When the music played, all the kingdoms of the earth were commanded to bow down and worship the golden image.
This must have been a devastating moment for Israel. Up to this point, they were free in Babylon to practice their faith without threat. With one lawless decree, Nebuchadnezzar makes the power-grab of all power-grabs as Israel was now threatened with fire if they refused to bow down to this newly fashioned golden image. We can only imagine the fear and the sense of helplessness on the part of Israel as Nebuchadnezzar’s new law required their obedience at the pain of death for defiance. Nebuchadnezzar had resurrected an image that stood in direct defiance of God, through the idolization of power, by demanding Israel’s worship of the Babylonian image.
This story from Daniel should help Christians to appreciate what is happening in our current moment. When a kingdom or nation begins to crumble and its leaders feel the pressure to retain their nation’s impending loss of power, they respond with desperate attempts to save their kingdom from imminent fall. The trajectory of Babylon is “Fallen! Fallen! (Rev. 17).” Falling kingdoms desperately attempt to assert their power over their citizens in a unifying manner.
This is no less true of the United States which is, at present, the greatest expression of Babylon on earth. The response of Nebuchadnezzar to his kingdom’s imminent fall is similar to what we have begun to experience in the United States. The rulers of America are sensing that their kingdom is being broken into pieces, just as Daniel said would happen to Babylon. In response, as Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden image to save his kingdom, so too, America is desperately grabbing for a unifying power to unite the people and revive the strength of the nation. Every totalitarian nation throughout history has done this, using its sources of law and cultural influence to reestablish their nation’s greatness in times of decline.
Covid-19 has exposed that we live in a paper palace and that our economic strength hangs by a thread. Leaders are feeling the pressure and nothing is going well. Like Nebuchadnezzar, our government is in search of a unifying power to unite the people under an image. If the story of Daniel offers us any insight into our present moment, then what we should see is that attempts to reclaim the glory of a nation is a thoroughly religious activity. In moments of panic, nations have the potential to attempt to unify their people under a new form of religious devotion, a religious system that attempts to assert itself against the Lord and against his anointed (Ps. 2).
This is what the book of Revelation is describing when kingdoms go beastly. What Christians are not appreciating is that an image has already been set up and that the power grabs on the periphery are only serving to strengthen the devotion to this golden image that has already risen tall before us. While Christians remain on the periphery and assume that the battle lies in the political fight of the right and the left, a giant image stands before us that has already been codified into law and cultural influence.
Godfrey says the specific event that brought an end to Christendom in America is the 2015 Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage. But it wasn’t simply the decision that marked the end of Christendom, it was the fact that by and large, the masses bowed to it without dissent—collectively. This is a remarkable moment. This mandate, codified into law, has entered all facets of life and demands our submission. Our nation has made a desperate attempt to regain control and power to make us bow before this image. The fundamental difference with this image is that it is an ideological one, overtaking law and cultural dominance as a requirement for adherence from every citizen.
What Christians have to appreciate is that what is before us is a thoroughly religious revolution taking shape, an ideological image under a call to religious devotion. It should be no surprise, historically speaking, that Babylon would erect images for its citizens to worship. First century citizens of Rome were soon faced with emperor worship and were called upon to bow to Caesar as Lord. But it’s a far different thing when a nation requires God’s people to bow and accept a new religion, with all of its subservient tenants, that stands directly opposed to the “faith once delivered for all the saints (Jd. 1).”
If Christians do not appreciate that what has been inaugurated in 2015 into law is a new religion being imposed upon us, we will not appreciate what we are up against. Obviously there are many tenants to this new religion. Original sin appears to be questioning that one can follow the desires of his heart. Sinners are those those who say that homosexuality is wrong. Saints are those who embrace the new sexual norm. Heretics are those who question the new orthodoxy. Penance is found in finding sympathy with those who practice what the Bible calls evil desire and tolerating the new sexual norm of the culture. And everyone is commanded to bow and celebrate what has now been enshrined into law. Obviously there are other theories at work that land in the same trajectory.
Until we appreciate that a religious system is being imposed upon us, we will be like a soldier fighting over his mandated uniform rather than engaging the true battle that enables all of these others power grabs. How many Christians are fighting Covid-19 mandates and yet have done little to help their people engage with the newly religious sexual revolution?
We Worship No Other God
A great encouragement is given to us in Daniel 3. The confidence of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is meant to inspire us. Indeed, they would not bow to the image and were immediately thrown into the fire. When Nebuchadnezzar looked in the furnace, he saw four men freely unbound and walking around freely. Believers in Christ are the truly free ones, even when governments attempt to bind us. Christ was with them, and the fire could not touch them. “The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.” The story is meant to encourage us to stand strong in our faith. We have a promise, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isa. 43:2).”
At present, we have not yet reached the point of being threatened with fire for refusing to bow to the new sexuality. That day may certainly come. But there still is a lot to celebrate, we have the freedom to come every Sabbath and worship at the feet of the true king of kings. Are we worshipping at the feet of Christ every week?
The battle is fought with the truth and God commands us to speak this truth without fear. We are being bombarded every day with sexual perversion, pornography, and the destruction of creation norms. Denominations find within their ranks those who are deceptively justifying the new cultural norm. With all this comes the pressure on our people to take on new identity’s contrary to our identity in Christ. Our children are crying out for help. Are we doing this in our homes with our children, in our churches, and to our neighbors? Or, are we still on the periphery fighting over masks and other symptoms of the political right and left, parroting that divide, while missing the much greater responsibility to stand on the truth of the gospel?
When we speak God’s truth, there we will find the Spirit accomplishing his work of convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Scriptures tell us that the greatest victory that overcomes the world is our faith (1 John 5:4). Yes, our faith in Christ is the victory that beats down the entire world! This is why we were left on the earth, with the expressed mission to be Christ’s witnesses to his truth.
There are many distractions at the moment to the more important issues, and we are in desperate need for wisdom from God, received through prayer, to distinguish what are truly spiritual issues and what are merely symptoms and power grabs of a kingdom that is fading away as Christ brings in his eternal kingdom that shall reign forever. This wisdom should guide us in how we are to conduct ourselves in our time on this earth with godly fear. The eternal kingdom of Christ is breaking in, and all other nations are crumbling before the feet of our king. We need boldness in our day, more than ever, to speak the truth as those who are truly free.
Chris Gordon is Preaching Pastor at the Escondido United Reformed Church in Escondido, Calif.  This article is used with permission.

Written by Thomas D. Hawkes |
Monday, May 16, 2022
Slander is a powerful evil. We should avoid slander, either speaking or hearing it. Our calling, far from slander, is rather to speak the truth in love. “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Eph. 4:15). To lead us away from slander we need only to follow Christ’s love and forgiveness for us, to let us love and forgive one another, with true tenderness.

Read Part 1 and Part 2
First, how should we respond when we are tempted to hear slander?

Check your heart. Remember that our desire to hear slander often arises from the desire to justify ourselves by seeing others as less than we are, therefore, we should be cautious when hearing any criticism of another.
Beware of “victims.” Recognize that playing the victim is a powerful tool that the slanderer may use to court our sympathy. A person may speak of how they have been hurt. We may sincerely want to be helpful, so we listen to what a slanderer describes as the pain the object of their slander has, in their mind, caused them. It is good to recall the warning. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Prov. 18:17). Too often we are ready to assume a slander is true when the slanderer plays the victim.
Recall the biblical warnings against slander. “Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy” (Ps. 101:5). Instead of hearing slander, we should recall the prohibitions against slander and proceed with caution. Ask yourself: “Is this slander that I am hearing? Does it hurt the person’s reputation? Do I know or suspect it to be untrue?” Too often today under the guise of caring for others, we listen to slander when we should be sending the slanderer packing. We have absolutely no duty to hear slander. No duty to sympathize with slander. No duty to repeat slander.
Ask this single question. Indeed, we should develop a particularly Christian reflex when someone is bringing us a bad report. We should ask the question: “Have you spoken to them about your issues with them?” Wait for the reply and if the answer is no, or some self-justification happens, then caution the person against slandering others. Think of the pain and conflicts in churches that could be stopped if we all were unwilling to receive slander!

Second, how should we proceed when we are tempted to slander another?

Examine your own heart. Again, we do well to examine our own hearts. “Where does my bitterness spring from? Does my grudge against them truly arise from a biblical sin they have committed, or just something I do not prefer?” Continue the self-examination. “Is there unforgiveness in my heart? A grudge I want to settle? Is it true what I want to say? Is it helpful? Does it build up or tear down?” Reread the prohibitions against slander and take your heart to God repenting of the desire to tear another down. Perhaps you are bitter just because the person you want to slander is your better?
Remember the danger of being a slanderer. Let us remember the destructive power of slander to the slanderer. While slander may cost the target in the eyes of the world, we are warned that it will defile the soul of those who slander (Matt. 15:19–20). It is no sin to be slandered. It is a sin, destructive to our own lives, to slander.
Recall the evil of slandering others. Would you become an accuser of the brethren with Satan (Rev. 12:10)? Then slander. Would you commit murder (1 John 3:15)? Then slander. Would you curse the one whom God has blessed (Jam. 3:9)? Then slander.
Do not slander! Whatever the source of your desire to slander, do not proceed with your desire. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:31–32). Instead of your intended slander, be kind and forgiving. “Bless and do not curse” (Rom. 12:14).

Finally, how should we respond when we are slandered?

Expect to be slandered. If our Lord and Master Jesus Christ was slandered, then we who would walk in his ways should expect to be slandered as well. Those who lead God’s people are particularly subject to attack. Korah slandered Moses, falsely accusing him of pride (Num. 16:3). Absalom slandered his own father, David, slyly accusing him of being unjust (2 Sam. 15:4). Paul was constantly subject to slander, even from the very churches he founded: “Through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true” (2 Cor. 6:8). Every Christian can expect that they will be attacked (2 Tim. 3:12).
Endure slander, do not return it. We are tempted to fire back at those who slander us. “Oh, yeah, well you’re a….” But we look to Jesus both as our model and our strength. “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return” (1 Pet. 2:23). Rather than cursing those who curse us we are to bless them, as Paul had learned. “When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat” (1 Cor. 4:12–13).
Rejoice knowing that the Lord will reward you for any abuse you suffer in this life. One of the highest levels of reward Jesus promised to his people was to those who were persecuted for obeying him. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11–12). Being slandered is a form of persecution. Count yourself blessed to be persecuted, the day comes when Jesus will reward you for your pains.
Trust the Lord to eventually vindicate you. His vindication may not come quickly, it may take years, it may not come until heaven, but look to him to vindicate by his own might, rather than desperately trying to vindicate yourself. “For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants” (Ps. 135:14). While the Larger Catechism (Question 144) asserts our duty to preserve the “good name” of our neighbor and ourselves, our primary effort to preserve our name should be crying out to our Father. “Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me!” (Ps. 35:24). When sinned against we work to respond without sin, keeping our consciences clear, looking to the Lord for help. “Having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Pet. 3:16).
Trust God to use the slander against you to bless you. God will use the slander to grow you and to lead you to the future he desires for you. While extremely painful, it does not actually harm your soul to be slandered. Indeed, God may well use it to form and humble us, convincing us to turn to him and depend on him more deeply. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jam. 1:2–4). The trial of slander, intended to destroy you, will instead perfect you! The assault your persecutors launch upon you cannot prevent, but rather, will contribute to, God’s fulling his purposes in your life. “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me” (Ps. 138:8). Their lies do not determine your future, God’s truth does. Their hatred does not control your destiny, God’s love does.

Remember Joseph who faithfully avoided the amorous advances of Potiphar’s wife, and was slandered by her into prison, for years. Yet precisely from there, the Lord fulfilled his purpose for Joseph’s life . . . perfectly. Joseph, looking back at all the evil done to him, realized this foundational truth: The evil done to us, will be used by God for us, to bless us. This he proclaimed to his brothers who had sold him into slavery many years earlier. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20).
Slander is a powerful evil. We should avoid slander, either speaking or hearing it. Our calling, far from slander, is rather to speak the truth in love. “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Eph. 4:15). To lead us away from slander we need only to follow Christ’s love and forgiveness for us, to let us love and forgive one another, with true tenderness. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:31-32).
Dr. Thomas D. Hawkes is a Minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and serves a Director of Church Planting for the ARP Florida Presbytery, and as Lead Pastor of Christ ARP Mission in Fernandina Beach, Fla.
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My only hope is that you see the time frame references the New Testament is speaking about, and realize that much of what we consider “end of history events” are actually “end-time events” that have already occured in the past. I also hope that when you see a phrase like “last days” in Hebrews, that you will understand where we are in redemptive history. We are not waiting on the last days, we are living in them.

Gordian Knot Eschatology
As we begin this study on the end times, I would like to address you from the junkyard of eschatological insanity that we find ourselves in today. To my left lies a cardboard cutout of the late Harold Camping, a stack of books titled “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Occur In 1988”, and a few posters of various blood moons, pale horses, and tracks about being left behind. To my right, an ever-growing pile of Antichrist candidates and mark of the beast hopefuls heaped on top of one another and most are now well rusted.
All around us is the odious stench of eschatological failure. From end times views assuming future failure, to failed past and present predictions, to wild speculations about Gog, Magog, and Vladamir Putin. Is it any wonder that the church is confused, frustrated, and lacking the joy and hope that a Biblical view will bring?
In this series on the end times, my hope is to bring the joy, clarity, and hope back into eschatology. And to do that, we need to flush everything we have heard about the end times, clean down the eschatological toilet, and wave goodbye as it goes back to where it belongs. I say this so strongly because the Bible was never meant to be a Gordian knot to confuse, frustrate, and paralyze you. It was always meant to be a clear revelation to encourage, strengthen you, and give you a living hope as you face the days ahead. When we return to what the Bible says and examine it in Biblical ways, I believe eschatology can be one of the most encouraging topics you will ever study.
So, in the weeks ahead, I want us to look at what the Bible says about the end times, and today I want to focus on the consideration of time. When do the end times begin? Are they getting ready to happen in the 21st century? Are they still long into the future? Or did they begin sometime in the past? Let us look at a few passages in Scripture to gain a Biblical perspective.
End Time Incarnation
By far, one of the clearest passages in all of Scripture, that teaches us when the end times will begin, is Hebrews 1:1-2, which says:

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.- Hebrews 1:1-2

The author of Hebrews is appealing to two very different sets of times in the history of redemption. There is the old covenant era of temples, feasts, priests, and sacrifices, where God once spoke to His people through the fathers and the prophets. This era is known as the Old Testament. But, now we are told a new era of human history has dawned (in fact it is the final era of human history), that began when Christ came as the incarnate Son of God.
What Hebrews is saying, is that when Jesus came He not only secured salvation for His people, but He also fulfilled all of the Old Covenant expectations, types, shadows, and norms, in Himself. For instance, He is our true King (Hebrews 1:8), that serves as true priest (Hebrews 2:17), making Himself to be our true and perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27), offering Himself in God’s true heavenly temple (Hebrews 9:11), to secure a perfect unvarnished redemption. The point this book is making is that when Jesus uttered “It is finished”, He perfectly drew all of the Old Covenant types and shadows to a glorious end, fulfilling every jot and tittle of the Law, leaving no temple stone unturned, so that He could become the cornerstone of a new end time era. In Him, the old has been finished, and the new has come.
The importance of this cannot be understated. Jesus Christ put an end to the old era of redemption and began a new redemptive era called “these last days” at His coming nearly 2000 years ago. That is why the author of Hebrews says that God has spoken to us during the ends of time because he assumes we would understand that these end times began in Jesus’ first glorious coming! And since that much is true, it is clear to say that you and I have been living in the end times our entire lives. It is also clear to say that the Church has existed entirely during the period called the “last days”. That fact has been true for two successive millennia and will continue until the Royal Son returns a final time!
Unlike what many have wrongly said, the Church is not an asterisk period, the Gentile Church was not plan B, and we are sandwiched awkwardly between the Old Testament and a future millennial kingdom. The Church was, is, and will continue to be God’s plan A, for these last days. We are His end-time bride on His end-time mission until the final sands in God’s end-time glass have fallen.
Whatever thoughts we may have about this topic, at a minimum needed to be ground by the firm exegetical understanding that the “last days” have already come and that we are currently living in them. To that end we continue we a few more proofs.
End Time Dissolution
As mentioned above, one of the reasons we can be so confident that the end times have already begun is that Jesus so carefully and methodically brought an end to all the old-timey stuff. He brought a new priesthood, new temple, new mountain, new sacrifice, a new bride, and is bringing about a new covenant city. In the weeks ahead we will examine some of these things in greater detail, but for now, how about a summary? And how about we begin with the old and new bride?
In the Old Testament, there is very specific wedding language that must be understood before we will have any hope of understanding the eschataological bride that is given to Christ in the New Testament. Take for example, Israel. In the Old Testament, Israel was called to be God’s faithful and covenantal bride (Ezekiel 16:8-18). She is the one He lovingly drew out of the land of Egypt, clothed in His love, and brought to a mountain marriage ceremony at Sinai (Jeremiah 31:32; Ezekiel 16:59-60).
If this were not clear enough, God explicitly calls Himself the husband of Israel in Isaiah 54:5 and identifies their relationship as a marriage betrothal in Jeremiah 2:2. It was these people that God set His affections upon (Deuteronomy 7:6-9) and it was this nation who provoked His holy husbanding jealousy (Exodus 20:5; Ezekiel 16:38). It is to this matrimonial status that God appeals to Israel to repent (Jeremiah 3:14), when she burned in belligerent and raunchy affections, playing the whore with the other pagan nations and pagan gods (Ezekial 16:27-48).
Instead of purity and fidelity to her covenant Husband Lord, she acted shamefully in debauched spiritual adulteries (Hosea 2:3-7) until she provoked the righteous fury of her God. For a time, God graciously pursued His faithless bride, beckoning her to leave her lurid pleasures behind and to be reconciled to Him (Hosea 2:7; Joel 1:8). But, alas, it was to no avail and they exhausted His mercy.
In the end, God’s first bride became so polluted in her perversions, that God, Himself, issued those ten faithless tribes a formal certificate of divorce (Hosea 2:2; Isaiah 50:1) and wrote them out of the annals of history through a devastating Assyrian invasion. Along with that, God also warned the southern nation of Judah, that if she continued to play the harlot, like Israel, her fate would be the same as her twin harlot sister (Jeremiah 3:6-10). That imagery is the operative backdrop that is in play, as soon as we turn the page over and into the New Testament.
When we arrive in Matthew we must remember two important truths. 1) God is still married to Judah (although barely). And 2) God is not a polygamist.
That second point is especially poignant because when we see God taking for Himself a new bride (The Church), we ought to remember that the only way this could be possible, is if Judah is also issued a formal divorce from God. And while we will explore this topic more fully in the weeks ahead, that is one of the major themes of the book of Revelation, how the whore of Babylon, who I take to be the unrepentant, paganized, and Rome-loving Judah, will be put away (Revelation 17:1-18) so that God can claim for Himself a new and spotless, blood-bought, bride (Revelation 21:2).
Without getting into the weeds, we can rightly assume that if God marries the Church, then He must put away the harlot Judah. We know that this divorce from God must be executed in lawful ways because He is righteous and is never the unfaithful party in His marriage. Knowing that the New Testament records how the Jews piled their adulteries up to the heavens, even making Israel blush in shame. It was Judah who got in bed with Rome and turned their back on God. It was Judah who became so blinded in her defilements that she killed God’s one and only Son. And it was feckless Judah, that God brought down the full fury of His righteous, just, and divorcing wrath.
We can know that we are living in the end times, not just because the author of Hebrews has said so, but also because God has put away His old unfaithful brides (both Israel and Judah) and has taken for His Son, a new end time wife (The Church). A bride that was blood-bought on a better mountain called Calvary, married to Him in His resurrection from the dead and is waiting for the final consummation when He returns and calls her into His arms forever. That is the mystery of the Gospel (Ephesians 5:32) and a sure clue that we, the church, His bride, is already living in the end times.
Again, we will revisit this theme when we get to the book of Revelation, but for now, let us proceed along.
End Time Demolition
Along with putting away His old wives, part of Jesus’ work to usher in the new end time Kingdom was to put away the old faithless city of Jerusalem. As you are aware, Jerusalem was the old covenant city of God where He would meet with His people. It was in that city He promised to dwell within the temple, live within their midst, to be their God, and for them to be His unique chosen people. It was in this city that the epicenter of Old Covenant religion and eschatological hope collided, with every song, every feast, and every sacrifice. Yet, in the end, this city was put away just as decisively as the faithless prostitute of old.
In some of the final moments of Jesus’ life, the city of Jerusalem collectively turned against the Son of God, and sided with Caesar as their one and only king (John 19:15). Since God alone was supposed to be King of Israel, the irony, idolatry, and infidelity were palpable. Is it any wonder that Jesus pronounced covenantal curses on this city, for all of her longstanding rebellion against God, in Matthew 23:34-36? The text says:

34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous bloodshed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. – Matthew 23:34-36

Jesus is making a straightforward claim here. Jerusalem was entirely at fault as the covenant breaker! She had systematically cut down God’s prophets of old, killing them every time God sent them. It was this Babylonesque, city of sin, that would also slaughter the disciples of Christ in cold-blooded murder, after turning on God’s beloved Son, like a rabid dog, slaying Him and crucifying Him.
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