Self-appointed “experts” on Bible prophesy
love to quote Matthew 24. They love to claim that they have some
insight that
no one else has and eagerly twist its words to convince people that it
supports
what they are teaching. At the same time, the wisdom of those who do
not
profess to be wise or claim to know far more than they can possibly
know is
ignored. People who want answers are drawn to those who claim to have
the
answers, even if those claims amount to nothing more than hot air. For
that
reason I want you to join me in taking an honest look at what the
twenty-fourth
chapter of Matthew actually says.
Because the Bible says, “We are not writing
any other things to you than what you read,” (2 Corinthians 1:13) a
true
disciple of Christ will not make up a bunch of explanations, but will
look at
what the Bible explicitly says, beginning with those truths that are so
clearly
stated that they need no explanation (John 8:31). That being the case
let us begin
with the first three verses of Matthew 24.
1 ¶
And Jesus went out, and left the
temple: and his disciples came up to him pointing out the temple
buildings to
him.
2 And Jesus said to them, Do you see all these
things? I
tell you truly, Not one stone here will be
left upon
another, that will not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat on the mount
of Olives, the disciples came to him privately,
saying, Tell us, when will these things take place? and
what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?
In the third verse, Jesus is asked three
questions. However, He does
not clearly separate the answers to those questions. Therefore, one of
the
problems we have is in knowing which of His statements are dealing with
the
destruction of the temple, and which are not.
Now, many of those who profess to be wise
just assume that everything
He says about the destruction of the temple has to do with the time of
the end.
They then come up with elaborate scenarios and private interpretations,
in
order to reconcile that assumption with what the Bible says elsewhere.
However,
all such speculation is the word of man, not the Word of God. And, all
who
regard it as the Word of God are adding to His Word (Proverbs 30:6).
4 ¶ And answering Jesus said to them, be careful that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, I am
Christ; and
will deceive many.
6 And you
will hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you are not
troubled: for all these things must come to
pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there will be famines, and epidemics, and earthquakes, in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then they will hand you over to
persecution, and kill you: and you will be hated by all nations
for my name’s sake.
10 And then many will be turn away from the faith,
and
will betray each other, and will hate each other.
11 And many false prophets will rise up, and
deceive many.
12 And because iniquity will abound, the love of
many will
grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end, will be saved.
14 And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached
in all
the world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.
The word “you” (in the preceding
verses) is addressed specifically to the apostles. Therefore, Jesus is
telling
them that these are things that would take place during their lifetime.
In
saying this, I am not denying that similar things have taken place
throughout
history. In fact, the words “All these are the beginning of sorrows”
imply
that. However, Jesus clearly does not want us to regard these events as
signs
of the end, or to assume that the world is ending every time something
like
this takes place. On the contrary, He makes it perfectly clear that the
gospel
will be preached in “all the world” before
the end
comes. [See Isaiah 2:2.]
15 Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (let he who reads understand:)
16 Then let those who are in
17 Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house:
18 Nor let him who is in the field go back to get
his
cloak.
19 But woe to those who are with child, and to
those who
nurse babies in those days!
20 Pray that your flight will not be in the winter,
or on the sabbath day:
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such
as has
not been from the beginning of the world to this time, and never will
be again.
22 And unless those days are cut short, no
flesh
would be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 Then if any man says to you, Look, Christ is
here, or he is there; do not believe it.
24 For false Christs, and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders; so as to deceive, if possible, the very elect.
25 Behold, I am warning you beforehand.
26 Therefore if they say to you, Look, he is in
the desert;
do not go out: look, he is in the inner chamber; do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so will the coming of the Son of man be.
28 Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will be
gathered together.
All of these verses can be
understood as a description of the events surrounding the destruction
of
“The word of Jesus about the
‘great tribulation,’… that will then ensue, the like of which has not
been
witnessed since the world’s beginning and will never again occur, is
literally
true — read the detailed account of Josephus in his Wars.
No nation had ever piled up a guilt
such as that of the Jews who were chosen of God, infinitely blessed,
and yet
crucified God’s Son and trampled upon all his further grace. No
judgement had
ever and can ever be so severe. In the history of the world no
judgement can be
compared with this that wiped out the Jews as a nation. (Commentary on
Matthew,
page 940.)
Now, verse twenty-one tells
us that there will never again be such tribulation. However, the fact
that
Jesus did not return immediately after the events described by Josephus
(see verse
29), and plainly said (in verse eight) that the things the apostles
would
witness were only the “beginning of sorrows,” suggests that such
tribulation
may be taking place Just prior to Christ’s return. If that is the case,
then
the tribulation that preceded the destruction of the
29 Immediately after the tribulation of
those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its
light, and
the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be
shaken:
30 And then the sign of the Son of man will appear
in
heaven: and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will
see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with the sound of a
great
trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds,
from one
end of heaven to the other. [See Matthew
Concerning these verses, Dr. Lenski says, “When the last day arrives, when the tribulation of all the preceding days is concluded, ‘immediately’ all that is now stated shall occur. No intervals shall lengthen this time. All shall happen at once.” (Commentary on Matthew, page 947.)
32 ¶ Now learn a lesson from the fig tree; When its branch is still tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near:
33 So likewise, when you
see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 I tell you truly, This generation will not
pass away,
until all these things have been fulfilled.
Christ’s
prophesy ends with verse 31. Verse 32 is the start of a new paragraph,
in which
He admonishes His disciples to be prepared, while providing some
illustrations.
However, in reading verse 34 it is important to understand that Jesus
is not
talking about His own generation. Among the Jews the word “generation”
was
sometimes used in reference to a type or “breed” of people. We have an
example
of that in Psalm 12:7 “You will preserve them from this generation forever.”
(See Lenski’s
commentary, volume
one, page 952.) Therefore, the thought is that the kind of
people who
persecute Christ and His followers will not cease to exist until all
these
things have been fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will
not pass away.
36 But no one knows the day and hour, no, not even
the
angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of man.
38 For just as in the days before the flood they
were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noah
entered the ark,
39 And did not know until the flood came, and took
them
all away; so also will the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be
taken, and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will
be
taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: because you do not know when your
Lord will come.
43 But realize this, if the owner of a house knew
when a
thief would come, he would watch, and would not allow his house to be
broken
into.
44 Therefore you should be ready also:
for the Son of man will come at a time when you do not expect him.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom
his lord
has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the right time?
46 Blessed is the servant, whom his lord finds doing
just that when he comes.
47 I tell you truly, That he will make him ruler
over
all his goods.
48 But if that servant is wicked and says to
himself, My
lord delays his coming;
49 And begins to beat his fellow servants, and to
eat and
drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant will come in a day when
he is
not looking for him, and at a time he is not aware of,
51
And
will cut him to pieces,
and assign him a place with the hypocrites: where there will be weeping
and
gnashing of teeth.
As I mentioned earlier,
Christ’s prophecy ended with verse 31. There we are told that when
Christ
returns in glory the stars will fall from heaven (verse 29-30), the
trumpet
will sound, and the angels will gather the elect from one end of heaven
to the
other (verse 31). In the verses that follow that description of the end
(32-51)
Christ admonishes His disciples to be ready. In those verses He
compares His
return to the sudden destruction that came upon the entire world at the
time of
Noah (verse 39). In the book of Luke, He compares it to the destruction
that
came upon
The final
judgement will
take place immediately after the world is destroyed! [Compare John
12:48,
Revelation 20:9&11, Matthew 24:29-31 and Matthew 25:31-32, Luke
17:29-30.]