Colossians 1:1-6Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
Matthew 24:1-13At that time, Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Jesus leaves the temple, signifying His departure from the old order of things. The disciples, not understanding, point to the beauty of the temple but He diverts their minds away from the earthly things and towards the heavenly, away from the type towards the reality. He prophesies concerning the desctruction of the temple, which took place some four decades later in 70A.D when the Romans tore it down. To this day the temple lies in ruins, with the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque standing in its place. This is significant because it marked the end of Jewish temple worship and the priestly and sacrificial system, which is now fulfilled in the Christian priesthood and the bloodless sacrifice of the Eucharist. The 'word of the truth' is no longer only the possession of the Jews, but, as St. Paul tells us, 'in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing.' "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28).
Under the Law of Moses, "whatever the prophet might speak in the name of the Lod but the thing does not take place and does not happen, this is the word that the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken it in impiety; you shall not spare him" (Deut. 18:22). Christ therefore makes this great prophecy which would later come true during the lifetime of the Apostles in order to prove to all that He was not a false prophet, warning them that many such false prophets and false christs would come to lead many astray. Indeed, St. Paul explains that when the antichrist comes, he will deceive the people by means of the temple in Jerusalem: "Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God" (2 Thess. 3-4). St. Cyril of Jerusalem clarifies: "What temple then? He means, the Temple of the Jews which has been destroyed. For God forbid that it should be the one in which we are! Why say we this? That we may not be supposed to favour ourselves. For if he comes to the Jews as Christ, and desires to be worshipped by the Jews, he will make great account of the Temple, that he may more completely beguile them; making it supposed that he is the man of the race of David, who shall build up the Temple which was erected by Solomon. And Antichrist will come at the time when there shall not be left one stone upon another in the Temple of the Jews, according to the doom pronounced by our Saviour" (Catechetical Lectures 15:15). It should be noted that only a decade after St. Cyril spoke these words, Emperor Julian the Apostate tried to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in the year 363, but was prevented by earthquake and fire; undoubtedly a divine judgment! All these warnings against falsehood and deception is why we see St. Paul in today's Epistle praising the Colossians for having heard the "the word of the truth, the Gospel," and for "having understood the grace of God in truth." Remembering yesterday's Gospel reading, we must be wise as serpents, lest we be led astray. St. Paul also praises them for "the love you have for all the saints" (i.e. the believers), which the Lord warns us shall grow cold in the last days. "But the one who endures to the end will be saved", "because of the hope laid up for you in heaven." How do we endure? Through steadfast love of God and our neighbour - the two great commandments (Matt. 22:36-40) - through which we gain authority over all evil and falsehood, and by which no trial or temptation will be able to overcome us. If we have love, we need not be alarmed, as the Lord says, even when we encounter war and natural disasters, for these are just birthpangs, out of which shall come the new creation, which St. John describes so beautifully in his Apocalypse:
Under the Law of Moses, "whatever the prophet might speak in the name of the Lod but the thing does not take place and does not happen, this is the word that the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken it in impiety; you shall not spare him" (Deut. 18:22). Christ therefore makes this great prophecy which would later come true during the lifetime of the Apostles in order to prove to all that He was not a false prophet, warning them that many such false prophets and false christs would come to lead many astray. Indeed, St. Paul explains that when the antichrist comes, he will deceive the people by means of the temple in Jerusalem: "Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God" (2 Thess. 3-4). St. Cyril of Jerusalem clarifies: "What temple then? He means, the Temple of the Jews which has been destroyed. For God forbid that it should be the one in which we are! Why say we this? That we may not be supposed to favour ourselves. For if he comes to the Jews as Christ, and desires to be worshipped by the Jews, he will make great account of the Temple, that he may more completely beguile them; making it supposed that he is the man of the race of David, who shall build up the Temple which was erected by Solomon. And Antichrist will come at the time when there shall not be left one stone upon another in the Temple of the Jews, according to the doom pronounced by our Saviour" (Catechetical Lectures 15:15). It should be noted that only a decade after St. Cyril spoke these words, Emperor Julian the Apostate tried to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in the year 363, but was prevented by earthquake and fire; undoubtedly a divine judgment! All these warnings against falsehood and deception is why we see St. Paul in today's Epistle praising the Colossians for having heard the "the word of the truth, the Gospel," and for "having understood the grace of God in truth." Remembering yesterday's Gospel reading, we must be wise as serpents, lest we be led astray. St. Paul also praises them for "the love you have for all the saints" (i.e. the believers), which the Lord warns us shall grow cold in the last days. "But the one who endures to the end will be saved", "because of the hope laid up for you in heaven." How do we endure? Through steadfast love of God and our neighbour - the two great commandments (Matt. 22:36-40) - through which we gain authority over all evil and falsehood, and by which no trial or temptation will be able to overcome us. If we have love, we need not be alarmed, as the Lord says, even when we encounter war and natural disasters, for these are just birthpangs, out of which shall come the new creation, which St. John describes so beautifully in his Apocalypse:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”...And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev. 21:1-5, 22-27).
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