Jesus left the Temple, which the Jews considered as the center of the world, and the unique dwelling of God. This old, holy house was first founded in 968 BC in seven years of the reign of King Solomon, who chose the threshing floor on the summit of a hill on which Jerusalem was built to establish the Temple, which rose as a crown above Jerusalem.
In 587 BC the soldiers of Nebuchadnezzar burnt the first Temple. Yet, when the people came back from the Babylonian captivity, they rebuilt it in 520-516 BC in a simple manner by sanction of Zerubbabel and Joshua. In the following times fierce battles broke out around the center of the Jewish culture, and the attacking soldiers looted all the Temple instruments, vessels, and precious treasures, until King Herod doubled the area of the holy place at the last half of the century BC and rebuilt the Temple in a new pompous manner that Augustus Caesar in Rome dedicated sacred vessels to the Temple.
This third Temple was plainly stretched and seen before Jesus and his disciples, when they sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Holy City whose center included the great Temple. Jesus said to his disciples: "Now you see beautiful stones covered and inlaid with gold. You think of the holiness of the place and its power radiating to the world. But I see in this wide courtyard the unclean hearts of men, who are wicked and dead in sins. They are like walking dead bodies. The judgment of God will shortly attack them, and their temple will certainly fall to destruction, for God does not dwell in a house that is made with hands, but centers in the hearts of those who love Christ.
This revelation meant to the disciples the end of the world, taking away of sacrifices, and no reconciliation with God in the Old Testament way. They had great expectation that Jesus would remain with them a divine king forever, and set up the kingdom of God in Jerusalem that all the nations of the world might race to it. But Jesus foretold them about the complete destruction of this shining house, knowing that the old things should be removed in order to pave the way for the new spiritual temple which is composed of all the saints in all times and places, which will not pass away for it is founded on Christ, and made a dwelling for the living God.
When the disciples heard these fearful words, their hearts trembled, and they asked Christ frightfully when and how this end of the world would come. They wanted to secure and provide themselves that they might be saved and not destroyed by the sword coming from God to devour their people. Christ, in fact, was not afraid for them because of death, but because of the possible temptation and falling into deception and sins. He did not answer them first when and how their world would pass away, but inoculated his followers against the temptation of the appearance of professing spirits, and bad examples that they might not become ripe for the just judgment of God. Jesus testified beforehand that he would die, and that after and before his next coming many deceivers would come and give the world bright lies and false hopes about their ability to save and redeem the world. Christ warns you before anything else and with divine severity against commitment to any philosopher, dream, thought, religion, or party. Do not trust their extraordinary powers, even if spirits rose from the dead saying: "I am the crucified Christ" and appeared to worshippers crystallized with shining rays as hung on the cross. Do not believe the false prophet, for the Lord Jesus Christ is not crucified today, but he sits at the left hand of God in glory. This is the certain truth. The true Christ will come with great glory, plainly and obviously to our hearts, and we cannot doubt, or misidentify him.
But before him, the devil will come, and open the well of hell, and then haughty spirits will explode, creating hatred, murder, envy, and revolutions that nation will rise against nation, and every man will accuse the other and attack him to consume him. In this small statement Jesus described the spirit and the history of our world rightfully. Thus the storm of hell will cast men in droves into destruction, and the machines of hell will sweep millions to the dunghill of Satan. Deadly world wars will be inescapable, for the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
Earthquakes are a token of the uncertainty and infirmness of our globe in its innermost being about the coming of the Son of God. Today we can see how the devil is casting more and more poverty and epidemics on earth that men may forget God or curse the Creator. The wicked one will consume ungrateful multitudes by undermining them, and wickedness will fall into deep fear and blasphemy against God. Furthermore, the enemy of the Holy One will make wonderful miracles, and marvelous signs as if coming from heaven. He will transform himself into an angel of light before those who are amazed, will inspire those who believe in him with inventions with horrible results, and will prepare the creatures for the appearance of the superman in whom shines the revolution of the mortals against the living God.
All these fears, distresses, and wonders must come before the late, second coming of Christ, for men left God and were not satisfied with the Holy Gospel; so God gave them up to the devils to play with them as footballs. The nations decline because the Lord gave up the superficial to the lusts of their hearts that they might destroy themselves by themselves. The history of unfaithful men is like a motion-picture film about the wrath of God, in which we see Satan sifting the peoples and instigating them to general destruction, while he is standing smiling and mocking at them.