The End of the World According to Jesus of Nazareth

by Jeff Kinley

What Jesus’ Own Teachings Reveal About the Last Days
Why talk about future end-times doomsday subjects? Because Jesus Christ talked about them, and in great detail. For that reason alone, we should pay attention. As we rapidly approach the last days, his message is more relevant to us than ever.

The End of the World According to Jesus of Nazareth takes you to the definitive authority on the end times—Jesus himself—for a clear understanding of what will take place, when it will happen, and how God desires for us to be prepared. Centering on the Olivet Discourse in Matthew’s Gospel, author Jeff Kinley examines Jesus’ words in their scriptural context, providing clear and engaging overviews of the tribulation, the antichrist, the second coming, the judgments, and Jesus' invitations to believers and unbelievers.

In this inspiring and approachable guide, Jeff provides you with clear, biblical answers about what is to come. Jesus revealed the future not only for his followers, but for all of humanity—that we may turn to him for salvation, live in hope, and be ready for his glorious return.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian

272 pages, Paperback

Published July 9, 2024

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loaded with misguided views, misapplies/misinterprets, is overblown, and has misidentified locations

I like the title of the book. It’s striking, lofty, dramatic, and intriguing. However, Jeff Kinley’s book basically just promotes a standard, popular misunderstanding of Matthew 24 and many other passages in the Bible, resulting in a modern prophetic mania. Entire chapters are dedicated to misexplaining sections of Matthew 24; for instance, page 69 reads for the mania, “.. prophecies found in Matthew 24 … Our world is indeed ‘pregnant’ with developing prophecies, and perhaps soon, earth’s inhabitants will witness the fulfillment of Jesus’ words.” But, was Matthew 24 directed to believers millennia later? Notice, in the text it was said to people Jesus was looking at to inform others at the time, they were to experience these things. Several times the term “you” is found. Matthew 24:4 reads, “And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Take heed that no one deceives you ..’ ” ; verses 6 and 15 read “.. you will hear of … when you see the …” Yet, Kinley attempts to push it into the distant future (modern) as is common today, claiming that Jesus was referring to a future, distant “tribulation generation” (page 162) instead of the people Jesus was speaking to with Him. He also writes: “.. the ‘generation’ in Jesus’ story [24:32-5] is the generation alive at that time (the time of the tribulation)… They will ‘see all these things’ (Matthew 24:33). What things? The things he had just prophesied about in verses 4-31 … the tribulation – false christs, wars, famine, and the abomination of desolation” (pages 161-2). And, “Put another way, the generation that witnesses the signs described in Matthew 24:4-31 will also witness the return of the Lord” (page 162).

Thus, Kinley has the signs/predictions in Matthew 24 as yet to be fulfilled and they are for the return of Jesus (“second coming”). So, did the people Jesus was speaking to/looking at experience these predictions or was it meant for a distant future/modern generation? Notice the signs culminate for verse 30, in which Jesus says “all the tribes of the earth .. will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” What coming will they see, the “second coming” of Jesus? Actually, Jesus appears to be quoting from and referring to a fulfillment of enthronement found in Daniel 7:13-14, which reads, “.. behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away ..” The prophetic Daniel is specifically mentioned at Mat 24:15 for one of the signs. So, did that “clouds” fulfillment at 24:30 happen? Kinley does refer to this “clouds” prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14 on page 138, but he curiously does not point out there that Daniel includes the “clouds” for that coming of the Son of Man, and that coming was not to earth; he writes – “ ‘Son of Man’ is also a prophetic title recorded in Daniel’s vision of the future Messiah King who will rule forever (Daniel 7:13-15 … Jesus also describes his return to earth as the ‘coming of the Son of Man’ (Matthew 24:27).” The “coming on the clouds” wording is also used elsewhere before Matthew 24 with people Jesus was looking at who would experience it.

Copan notes: “The passage quoted here [in Mat 24:30] is Daniel 7:13-4, where the ‘Son of Man’ comes on the clouds to the ‘Ancient of Days’ (i.e., God the Father) to receive authority from God as the confirmed king … The verse Jesus quoted (Dan. 7:13) refers to the Son of Man coming to God – not to earth – on clouds; he receives the authority of a ruling king … In Matthew 16:28, Jesus speaks of a ‘coming’ of the ‘Son of Man’ in the near future: ‘there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’ It would happen within a generation; some of Jesus’ disciples would live to see that day. Likewise, Jesus told the Jewish leaders .. that ‘you [plural] shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven’ (Mark 14:62/Matt. 26:64; Luke 22:69). Most scholars agree that this isn’t the parousia (‘second coming’) but something Jesus’ own generation would see … they would soon see that he has become Lord and King. The same can be said for our passage (Matt. 24:30/Mark 13:26) … referring to Jesus’ enthronement not his parousia … His first-century Jewish audience naturally would have understood Jesus’ claims in light of Daniel 7:13-14 – the Son of Man who ‘comes on the clouds’ to the Father (‘Ancient of Days’) for exaltation, vindication, and heavenly enthronement, taking his co-regency and authority over the nations … [they] would see this vindication in at least three ways: Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the spread of the church throughout the entire (civilized) world (Matt. 24:14), and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple … He comes on clouds, which often symbolize power in judgment (see, e.g., Pss. 18:12-14; 97:2-3; 104:3; Isa. 19:1; Nah. 1:3). A new king is coming to replace the failed kingdoms of the past. This is what Jesus, at his trial, tells the high priest he will see – ‘.. you will see the Son of Man .. coming on the clouds of heaven’ (Matt. 26:64 ..” ( - When God Goes to Starbucks, 2008, pages 170-1, 182; by Paul Copan, Ph.D.).

So, the signs in Matthew 24 were referring to the enthronement of Jesus that occurred in that generation of Jesus’ time, and not the “second coming” as is frequently overblown today. It was described with the “clouds” (etc.) of Daniel 7:13-14, a figurative symbol of authority or power. Hebrews 2:9 says Jesus is now “crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death;” after His Resurrection, Jesus says “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mat 28:18). And, the Temple destruction in AD 70 would further mark a system change – the chief shrine of Judaism is removed. Ryken notes about Daniel, “.. in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream a stone cut miraculously (‘without hands’) from a mountain destroys the statue in human form that represents human kingdoms; and the stone is then transformed into a mountain, representing God’s kingdom superseding human-ruled kingdoms (Dan. 2:25, 44) … Daniel’s dream reveals the ruler of this kingdom of God to be ‘one like the Son of man’ (Dan. 7:13-14) .. a human form is divinely empowered to rule by the ‘Ancient of days’ (Dan. 7:13-14) … it is a kingdom of which one becomes a citizen not by natural birth but by new birth ..” ( - Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 1998, pages 190, 480; co-editor Leland Ryken).

Copan clarifies, “His disciples then asked, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen?’ (That is, when will the temple be destroyed?) But they go on to ask, ‘and what will be the sign of Your coming [parousia], and of the end of the age?’ (24:3 … we can see that Jesus was speaking of Jerusalem’s destruction – an event that would take place during the disciples’ lifetime (AD 70). A close look at Matthew 24 shows that Jesus was answering two questions … Jesus knew the answer to the first: ‘this generation will not pass away until all these things take place (v. 34 .. But he didn’t know the answer to the second: ‘But of that day and hour [of Jesus’ Parousia or second coming] no one knows, not even the angels of heaven ..’ (v. 36). The first part of Matthew 24 (vv. 4-35) addresses the events of the near future. The second part of Matthew 24 (vv. 36-51) speaks of a more-distant future event – Jesus’ ultimate return” ( - When God Goes to Starbucks, 2008, pages 167-8; by Paul Copan, Ph.D.).

That alone disqualifies the prophetic mania we find today for Matthew 24; Jesus was simply quoting from and pointing to the fulfillment of Daniel 7:13-14 in Matthew 24. But, what about the signs for the “coming on the clouds” fulfillment of Daniel in Matthew 24 – did they experience that around Jesus’ time? For Matthew 24:5-7, 11, 14, 23-4 we find: “The only sign would come in light of the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 (v. 30). This is when the Son of Man would come to God’s throne to receive authority and vindication. This heavenly act was evidenced on earth by two things: the fall of Jerusalem and the gathering of the people of God from the nations … A closer look reveals that the events mentioned by Jesus leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction are the same kind mentioned by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus … False messiahs and would-be saviours were plentiful in the first century, and Josephus lists only some of them, implying that these were just the tip of the iceberg … The Jewish war with Rome (AD 66-70) was preceded by rumors of war incited by anti-Roman zealots. Those living in Palestine would have heard about Rome’s border clashes and wars in Parthia (AD 36) .. In AD 68-69, Rome experienced its own civil war during the ‘year of the four emperors’ … Famines and earthquakes (v. 7) were not at all unusual in the first century. Acts 11:28 mentions a famine during the reign of Claudius .. Under Nero’s rule, there was rioting in Rome because of food shortages. Regarding earthquakes, Josephus mentioned one that took place around AD 45-47 .. An earthquake occurred in Philippi (Acts 16:26). In AD 67 Jerusalem experienced an earthquake as well. Such initial birth pangs (v. 8) involving deceivers, wars, famines, and earthquakes use the language of the Old Testament; there they refer to national crises and suffering: Babylon (Isa. 13:8), Judah/Jerusalem (Jer. 6:24) .. But it is these birth pangs that precede the return of God’s people from exile (Micah 5:3-4) – the ingathering of Jews and Gentiles as God’s new community in Christ … the phrase in Matthew 24:14, ‘the whole world ..’ is the same one used for the extent of the famine in Acts 19:27. So by the mid-50s Paul could rightly declare that he had ‘fully preached the gospel’ in Asia and Europe (Rom. 15:19) and that the gospel had gone out ‘into all the earth’ and ‘to all nations’ (Rom. 10:18; 16:26) .. (Col. 1:23, 6)” ( - When God Goes to Starbucks, 2008, pages 168, 175-8; by Paul Copan, Ph.D.).

What about “when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel … then there will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” in Matthew 24:15-21 – did that happen around Jesus’ time? We find that, “The reference to the abomination of desolation .. is originally mentioned in Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 [8:13] .. it is a reference to some coming sacrilege – namely, the ‘Maccabaean crisis’ of 167 BC … Antiochus Epiphanes, the ‘king of the north,’ set up a statue of Zeus in Jerusalem’s temple and killed a swine on the altar, thus desolating temple worship … Jesus is reminding his disciples to look out for the same kind of sacrilege as in 167 BC … The temple’s desecration took place when murderous Jewish zealots established a fake high priest (in the winter of AD 67-68) and angered Jewish crowds, which led to fighting in the temple itself (Wars 4.388) … The Roman army (in AD 70) brought its military standards, with .. the emperor’s bust, and even offered sacrifices before them … The point of sacrilege or ‘devastating pollution’ is probably more general – an ‘ever-present threat once the Roman invasion had been provoked.’ Notice the details of the crisis (vv. 16-21), which aren’t worldwide, but are confined to the culture and geography of Judea (e.g., praying that the flight might not be on the Sabbath or during the rainy winter season, fleeing into the hills, etc). There is no reason to think this scenario goes beyond Palestine or AD 70 … It is the time of the ‘end [telos]’ for Jerusalem (24:6), though not the ‘end [senteleias] of the age’ (24:3). This is the only mention of Parousia when Jesus answers the first question. He is trying to dissociate it from the events leading up to the temple’s destruction … The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple signaled the demise of the old order .. National Israel as the people of God was forever finished, and a Jewish-Gentile church emerged as the new Israel (see, e.g., Rom. 2:28-9; Gal. 6:16; 1 Peter 2:5, 9-10) … Jesus is speaking hyperbolically [“great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world”] – in keeping with apocalyptic language (e.g., Dan. 12:1; Joel 2:2; Rev. 16:18) – to depict horrible suffering and tragedy .. though not literally true, you get the point. We read the same sort of (hyperbolic) claims in the Old Testament: King Hezekiah trusted in the Lord ‘so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him’ (2 Kings 18:5); but a few chapters later, we read of king Josiah that ‘before him there was no king like him .. nor did any like him arise after him’ (23:25)” ( - When God Goes to Starbucks, 2008, pages 178-80; by Paul Copan, Ph.D.).

Concerning Matthew 24:29 – “ ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,’ is taken from several Old Testament references, and all of them are figurative and refer to historical political upheavals. None of them refers to a natural disaster or cosmic upheaval, but to national or political calamities – to the upheaval of kingdoms or empires … Note these Old Testament passages where such ‘cosmic signs’ are metaphorical. Isaiah 13:10 (Babylon’s doom predicted): ‘For the stars .. will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light’ [cf. Isaiah 34:4-6, Jeremiah 4:23, Ezek 32:7, Joel 2:10; 3:15-6, Amos 5:18; 8:9] … These passages clearly use symbolic language to speak of social and political .. catastrophes … This apocalyptic language used by the prophets fits very well with the collapse of Jerusalem and the end of national Israel as God’s chosen people … The centrality of the temple and of Jerusalem (Israel) is being replaced – a decisive, catastrophic event – and a new community (the new Israel) is being formed. The old order is done; a new one has begun, focused on the Son of Man as king and a new community as his subjects” ( - When God Goes to Starbucks, 2008, pages 181-2; by Paul Copan, Ph.D.).

Recommend books on: A Case for Amillennialism by Kim Riddlebarger; and Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative by Sam Storms; and The Last Days Identified by Don K. Preston.

There’s a lot of head-shaking errors made in the book that you may not notice if you’re not familiar with the subjects. On page 98 Kinley explains Jesus’ words on the cross (“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – Mat 27:46) as “why would Jesus say that? Because God actually forsook him.” However, Jesus seems to be quoting Psalm 22:1 there as an expression of anguish, which wasn’t meant to be taken literally. Psalms is known for its poetry, and Psalm 22 is a lament psalm; verses 1 and 2 read, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? … I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” Then, verse 24 of this Psalm seems to reverse course, or the writer/speaker regains his senses – “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but was heard, when he cried to him.” The Psalms will overstate a subject for an emotional expression, and then reverse course to the actual.

Another example is the Temple location. Kinley writes he visited Jerusalem for research for this book – “On New Year’s Eve 2022, I boarded a flight to Israel for the purpose of doing extensive research on this book. My goal was to explore the very sites described in Matthew 24. To .. fully absorb Jesus’ view from the Mount of Olives … I meticulously walked the entire eastern wall of the Temple Mount” (page 47). Kinley (and many others) seems to agree the Temple Mount is the location for Solomon’s/Herod’s Temple: “.. the Temple Mount. The temple area stands as a silent testimony to 4,000 years of history. For a Christian, standing at this site makes for an unforgettable holy moment. Afterward, we walked down the narrow street leading to the Garden of Gethsemane” (page 48). And, “.. Jesus’ Temple Mount prophecy came to pass just as predicted … you can visit the Temple Mount’s Western Wall and see the huge building stones along the bottom of the wall … they had been pushed over the edge of the Temple Mount platform 2,000 years ago” (page 50; cf. 194). But, the information in the Scripture is not consulted about this, which is common, unfortunately – beware of tour misguides and travel misguides, as well! So, does the Biblical description support this location for the Jewish Temple? If you think about it, wouldn’t the Holy Temple be in the Holy City? It’s the Holy City! At the Temple dedication, 1 Kings 8:1 says the City of David is the Holy City or political and religious capital (Zion) (also 2 Sam 5:7; 2 Chron. 5:2), which is the original walled Jerusalem before Jerusalem expanded to the later size (2 Samuel 5:9; 1 Chron. 11:4, 5, 7, 8); the City of David is in the southeast corner of modern Jerusalem. The problem is that the misnamed Temple Mount is not in the Holy City, it’s about 600 feet away from the City of David (this would also mean the popular location for Mount Moriah is misidentified).

There are clues in the Bible that the Temple was in the City of David. As the Holy City, the City of David seems to be the place for holy buildings (-notice the holy correlation). The Ark of the Covenant was put into a Tabernacle in the City of David before Temple construction (1 Chron. 15:1, 25, 29; 16:1; 1 Kings 8:4), and then placed into the Temple when it was completed (1 Kings 8:6, 21) – the context for this event is the City of David in 1 Kings 8. Under Solomon (after the Temple, 2 Chron 7:11) the house for Solomon’s wife could be built in general Jerusalem since the ark did not reside there, but her house was not allowed in the City of David as that part was considered holy due to the ark’s presence (2 Chron 8:6, 11) – that’s where the ark was, in the Temple (1 Kings 8:20, 21). Outside the City of David her house could be built as the ark did not reside outside the City of David; the ark was in the City of David making the city holy – she was gentile. At that time the ark was in the Temple.

Zion could be referred to as Jerusalem in general (Psalm 52:1) after the Temple, but specifically it was the City of David part of Jerusalem.

Shortened review due to space limit.

[Gayle Fairless · Rating 5 out of 5]

summary of Biblical end times

Jeff Kinley covers the pre-, mid-, and end- tribulation views of the rapture. He separates the rapture as an impending event which can happen at any time versus the physical return at the end of the tribulation or the time of Jacob's trouble.

[Bev Kinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I start this review I will reveal that the author is my husband; with that fact in mind I still think this is an unbiased review.

This book is a deep dive into the Olivet Discourse by Jesus as found in Matthew 24. Jesus was speaking to his disciples on the Mount of Olives and reveals to them much about the future of Israel.

I learned a lot from this book! Many times, in my ignorance, I have misapplied scripture to myself as a twenty first century westernized gentile. While there are secondary applications to my personal life, understanding the primary meaning first makes the secondary application all-the-more exciting.

There are three parables in the discourse which Kinley explained in an eye-opening way to me: The Ten Virgins, The Talents, and "Left Behind" parable. I won't be a spoiler, but I will admit, though having been a believer for 46 years, I had not understood these truths in the correct way at all!

This book, in my opinion, is best read as a daily devotional. I read a chapter a day. A reader could spent much more time, however, studying the extra verses relating to the subject manner. This book is solid spiritual food which could feed a reader for a very long time.

[LAMONT D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I got use to Jeff Kinley's style of writing and how he notated his points of view, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it looks to the end of time or the last days and the seven years of tribulation. I think it is a good strategy to focus in on the Olivet Discourse from Matthew 24-25 and use that as a launching pad for many other references throughout the Bible. I took several notes once I got into what he was saying. It helps that since I am a pre-tribulation guy that is his interpretation as well as it pertains to the rapture of the church and the subsequent tribulation period. Several parts that I bookmarked included: the poem authored by C.T. Studd in Chapter 17, Chapter 19 and the following quote: "He loves you because He is good, not because you are. He loves you because He is love, not because you are lovely or lovable." Also, his discussion regarding the themes of the second coming versus the tribulation and what the differences are found in Chapter 20. Since this is the first book I have read from this author and one of his most recent releases, I will be on the outlook for more of his writings and will explore his website at jeffkinley.com.

[Johan Feldtmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great explanation for what is to come and how to be prepared

The author started out, not to authenticate the message of the end times but, to authenticate the original Author of this message. By explaining why we should take Jesus's message as truth, the rest was easily authenticated. At the end he applied the "so what" principle. How should we apply this Message, delivered 2 000 years ago to our lives in this day and age. Without spoiling the end, the author ended off this book with the story of the Shackleton expedition that sounds eerily similar to Jesus's Promise to return. A highly recommend read.

[Lisa Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent. Explanations are clear, connections to scripture are plentiful, and Kinley is a respected, knowledgeable source of prophecy, the Rapture, and the Great Tribulation. I am certain this will continue to serve as a reference book for me.

[Wendy Dietrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the BEST I’ve read.

So well written and cohesive. He explains Matthew 24 and 25 so precisely and ties the often misunderstood ends together. I may have to read it again to really take hold of this message. Excellent!

[Francis Szarejko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing more than a rehash of Dispensational eschatology. Don't waste your money or your time on this book.

[John F. Finch III · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Could Be There

This book was very good and brought up some thoughts that I had not considered. I recommend reading it…I give it a thumbs UP !

[Alice Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does one rate an awesome, knowledgeable book such as this? Read it, believe it, live it!