STAND FIRM: The End Times is Just a Regional War (Part 2) - What the Disciples Already Knew
Don’t tell my wife I said this, but we’re getting older — and we’re noticing it. We’re often surprised when we work alongside someone who doesn’t know what we believe all Americans should understand. The other day, I was shocked when a younger guy I was working with had never heard of “Napoleon Dynamite” or “Nacho Libre.” My movie quotes totally fell flat. My wife was just as stunned when a co-worker had no clue about the O.J. Simpson chase and hadn’t seen her favorite Adam Sandler movie.
Pop culture references evolve over generations. However, there are certain moments—historic speeches, iconic movie lines, memorable sports highlights—so deeply embedded in the American psyche that they transcend generations. Most Americans readily recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream…” and JFK’s “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” They’re equally familiar with “I’ll be back,” from The Terminator, “May the Force be with you,” from Star Wars and “Life is like a box of chocolates,” from Forrest Gump. It’s an unconscious inheritance, absorbed simply by living in this culture.
That’s exactly how first-century Jews absorbed Scripture. The disciples weren’t just casual listeners when they sat at Jesus’ feet on the Mount of Olives. Movies or pop songs didn’t shape their culture — it was shaped by the Hebrew Scriptures, which had been memorized since childhood. They didn’t learn the prophetic texts; they lived them. When they asked Jesus about the signs of His coming, they weren’t seeking sensational global catastrophes or futuristic mysteries. They weren’t clueless. They were asking a very specific question — When will the vivid, regional scenario we already know about happen?
Take Isaiah, for example. His words made Jerusalem the focal point of prophetic transformation. Isaiah 2:2-4 describes all nations streaming to the city, the Lord’s teaching radiating from it. The disciples knew this prophecy by heart. The end times were tied to Jerusalem’s fate. Isaiah didn’t speak in vague metaphors — he was clear. Jerusalem would face devastating judgment and ultimate restoration. As Jesus spoke, His words weren’t introducing anything new but pulling Isaiah’s words to the forefront.
Ezekiel sharpened this regional narrative further. His prophecies weren’t abstract; they were mapped. Ezekiel 38-39 describes Gog's coalition — nations circling Israel in a precise geographic lineup — modern-day Turkey, Iran, Libya and Sudan. The disciples had no doubt. When the prophetic storm erupted, it would first break within Israel’s neighborhood. So, when Jesus warned of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, the disciples immediately connected the dots to Ezekiel’s clear-cut geopolitical warning.
Then there was Daniel. His prophecies were detailed and urgent. In Daniel 9, he pinpointed Jerusalem as the epicenter of prophetic events. He saw the abomination of desolation, the desecration of the temple. This wasn’t a distant or symbolic idea for the disciples — it was immediate. When Jesus referenced Daniel (Matt. 24:15), they didn’t need further explanation. They already knew — When the temple is desecrated, we’re in the thick of it. Daniel’s visions left no doubt — Jerusalem wasn’t just significant; it was the center of it all.
Zechariah made it even clearer. His words placed Jesus’ audience at the very heart of prophecy’s unfolding drama. Zechariah 14 states that when the nations come against Jerusalem, the Messiah will set His feet on the Mount of Olives. Jesus was speaking from the exact spot Zechariah had identified. The disciples didn’t need interpretation. They felt the weight of it — prophecy wasn’t some distant mystery; it was playing out in real-time, right where they stood.
The disciples already knew the script. They weren’t asking Jesus for new revelations — they were seeking confirmation. Their prophetic framework was already intact, shaped by Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah. They understood the what and where — they just wanted to nail down the when.
Jesus didn’t rewrite prophecy. He reinforced it. He quoted Scripture they had memorized, threading together the same prophetic script they already knew. “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel…” (Matt. 24:15 ESV). Straight to Daniel 9. No new information. Just clarity.
Then came the cosmic signs: “The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven…” (Matt. 24:29). The disciples didn’t wonder what He meant. They had heard Isaiah say the same thing: “For the stars of the heavens… will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light” (Isa. 13:10). Jesus was reaffirming the narrative they already carried in their bones.
Finally, He spoke of the gathering: “He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect” (Matt. 24:31). The disciples didn’t scratch their heads. They knew Isaiah had already prophesied this moment: “In that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost… will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain…” (Isa. 27:13). Even His warning of “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (Luke 21:20) was a direct echo of Zech. 12:3: “All the nations of the earth will gather against it.”
Jesus wasn’t revealing a new end-time roadmap. He was reminding them of what they already knew. The prophetic timeline hadn’t changed — it was simply unfolding before their eyes.
If we want to understand biblical prophecy today, we must reclaim the clarity the disciples already had. The prophets weren’t vague. They laid out a precise geographical and political landscape. Jerusalem and the surrounding nations are the stage, just as the disciples understood. It’s time we return to that same prophetic clarity — seeing Scripture as they saw it, not through modern speculation, but through the lens they already knew intimately. And they knew it to be a regional conflict.
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Jake McCandless
Jake McCandless authors a weekly column titled, Stand Firm and Live Epic, through which he seeks to encourage the modern church to not just survive, but thrive in current times. He also addresses many end-times topics.
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