“While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached Him privately
and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of Your
coming and of the end of the age? ” (Matthew 24:3 HCSB)
What’s this world coming to?
Have you ever heard that question?
Well, the Bible tells us—the paradise that was lost by the disobedience of the
first Adam will be reclaimed by the obedience of the last Adam, Jesus
Christ. Because the first man of the
earth—Adam—sinned, death came into the world and because the second Man from
heaven—Christ—died and rose again, God’s eternal kingdom is coming!
But the birth of that eternal
kingdom is like that of a woman in labor—whose birth pains intensify until the
child is born. So it is, that this world
has experienced these pains and now as we are approaching the end, we are
beginning to see them become more frequent and more agonizing.
In fact, the last of it will be
seven years of tribulation.
Following the rapture of the
church, when Christ catches away His Bride, a time of wrath will come upon a
world that rejected the Gospel. Remember,
that as we work our way through Matthew 24, the setting is Jewish—the context
having to do with Israel,
and not the church. When Christ spoke
these words to the disciples, the church had yet to be founded on Christ’s
death and resurrection. Pentecost had
not come and the building of the church during this age had not begun—all the
time the Bride being prepared for the Bridegroom, Christ then coming to catch
her up in the clouds and away from the condemnation of a wicked world. When the church is caught up, judgment is
poured out during a seven year span of tribulation.
THE SORROWS COMMENCE (Matthew
24:1-14)
“All these events
are the beginning of birth pains.” (v.8)
We will fail to get the meaning of
Christ’s teaching unless we grasp the setting of His teaching.
“As Jesus left
and was going out of the temple complex, His disciples came up and called His
attention to the temple buildings. Then He
replied to them, ‘Don’t you see all these things? I assure you: Not one stone
will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!’” (v.1-2)
These words bring us near
the mid-point of the final week of Christ’s ministry. The shadow of the cross is brooding over
Him. His death is only days away. The hate of the religious leaders has
inflamed them to find someway to silence Him.
Matthew tells us what Jesus said and did before these words we are
studying were uttered:
“’Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you
escape being condemned to hell? This is why I am sending you prophets, sages,
and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will
flog in your synagogues and hound from town to town. So all the righteous
blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous
Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the
sanctuary and the altar. I assure you:
All these things will come on this generation!
Jerusalem,
Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those
who are sent to her. How often I wanted
to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
yet you were not willing! See, your
house is left to you desolate. For I
tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, “He who comes in the name
of the Lord is the blessed One”!’” (Matt.23:33-39)
Mark those chilling words,
“I wanted to…you were not willing!” This
is Israel’s
sinful stubbornness exhibited throughout their history.
Consider THE SERIOUS OF
ISRAEL’S STUBBORNNESS.
It speaks to The Emptiness of Religion.
“As Jesus left
and was going out of the temple complex, His disciples came up and called His
attention to the temple buildings.” (v.1)
How impressed the
disciples were with the grandeur, splendor and architecture of the temple! Outwardly it was beautiful, but spiritually
it was barren. It was a mausoleum—shiny
outside and stinking inside!
That is the emptiness of
religion. It is devoid of spiritual
life. It was the best their hands could
produce, but could never be good enough to make them acceptable to God! They gloried in what man could build, and
many do today. Yet, Scripture is clear, “For
you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is
God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph.2:8-9).
Jesus addresses then The Effect of Rejection.
“Then He replied to them, ‘Don’t you
see all these things? I assure you: Not one stone will be left here on another
that will not be thrown down!’” (v.2)
You could have knocked
them over with a feather! Jesus shocked
them when He declared not one stone would be left standing atop another.
There is nothing of this
material world that will last forever.
There is nothing that God cannot obliterate in a matter of minutes—by
tsunami and tornado, fire and flood. Contemporary
catastrophes remind us regularly.
There are those who wish
to take what Jesus goes on to describe as having already been fulfilled in
history. While we cannot limit these
words to antiquity, there is a past illustration of the tribulation
period yet to be.
What Jesus is pointing to
in the destruction of the temple occurred in AD 70 as Titus and his Roman
legions invaded Jerusalem. The Jews’ rejection of Christ would bring
judgment. When they demanded Jesus be crucified, the Sanhedrin
assured Pilate, that even as the Roman governor washed his hands of an innocent
Man’s blood, that His blood would be upon their hands and their descendants’ heads. But, by no means can the teaching of Matthew
24 be seen to have been fulfilled in the past.
Another erroneous way of
interpreting this passage is to see it in terms of an ongoing description in
symbolic—apocalyptic—language characterizing all the age leading up to Christ’s
return. As in most wrong interpretations
of Scripture, there are some strands of truth which have been woven together
into faulty assumptions. The reality is
there are present implications of the tribulation period still to come.
“While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached Him privately
and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of Your
coming and of the end of the age? ”
The
disciples thought that such a cataclysm as the destruction of the temple must
mean that the end of the age was coming and the Messianic kingdom would be set
up. What else could be the explanation?
So, they link these things together. Then
they ask, when will these things happen?
What sign will we see?
Someone
always wants to know the date and the hour when Christ will establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. But, here’s what Jesus said, “Now
concerning that day and hour no one knows — neither the angels in heaven, nor
the Son — except the Father only.” (v.36)
The “last days” began when Christ was rejected. Several times, the Bible uses this expression
to speak of the entire time period from the first century down to the
twenty-first century. What we read here
has to some degree been characteristic of every generation since Pentecost. Jesus says, these are the beginning of
sorrows (v.8) describing these events in terms of a woman giving birth. So, as labor begins, it intensifies until the
baby arrives amid the peak of contractions and pain. That is the course of the age. In the end, the agony will be the worst, but
the good news is that pain will birth paradise.
Which brings me to the prophetic indication of
the Tribulation Period that will be.
What Jesus goes on to describe in Matthew 24 is the
seven year Tribulation Period, from its beginning three and one half years, to
the events that bring a crisis at the midpoint and usher in the last three and
one half years of the Great Tribulation, all culminating with the Lord’s return
with heaven’s armies—the church and the holy angels—to establish His kingdom on
earth.
The best
commentary on Scripture is Scripture. John described these events in vivid detail in the first part of
Revelation. He saw them as the opening
of a scroll, and as each seal is opened by Christ, the Lamb of God, judgments
come upon the earth. With the opening of
the seventh seal, we find that underneath there are seven trumpet judgments and
with each sounding of a trumpet it signals another judgment and the last
trumpet to sound brings seven bowls of wrath poured out on the earth.
Every generation of believers has looked for the signs
of the times and thought Jesus was coming in their lifetime. Only 40 days after the resurrection—just
before the Ascension, we hear the apostles ask Jesus, “will you at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?” The Lord let them know there was work to do yet—the
time had not come. 2000 years later, it still
has not—but could happen any minute.
Signs of the times are everywhere!
The disciples were right in noting that Israel would be restored. Israel is the key.
Beyond the seriousness of Israel’s stubbornness, there is THE
SEVERITY OF ISRAEL’S SENTENCE.
“Then
Jesus replied to them: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the
Messiah,” and they will deceive many. You
are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed,
because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various
places. All these events are the
beginning of birth pains.”’ (v.4-8)
They wanted to know the
signs of the times—and that is what Jesus gives them. Now, here is an important reminder—this is
about Israel’s
retribution for sin and eventual restoration to salvation. The church is not in view in these
verses. There is nothing here about the
rapture. This is about Israel!
Essentially, what happened
is that when Israel rejected
Christ, God hit the stop-watch in His dealings with Israel—save for a remnant being
saved in the church age and along with Gentile believers are becoming part of
the Bride. When the church age is complete,
the countdown resumes and God directly deals with the nation of Israel.
During the first three and
one-half years of the Tribulation Period, we have the opening of:
The First Seal: The Rider on the White Horse.
“Then
Jesus replied to them: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the
Messiah,” and they will deceive many. You
are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed,
because these things must take place, but the end is not yet.’” (v.4-6)
Compare
this with Revelation 6:1-2:
“Then I
saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living
creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there was a white horse. The horseman on it had a bow; a crown was
given to him, and he went out as a victor to conquer.”
This is the Antichrist—the
Beast. Israel rejected the One who came in
the name of the Lord and Jesus said that when another came in His own name, they
would receive Him. This man is a
judgment of God. He may be alive today!
The Second Seal: The Rider on the
Red Horse.
“You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that
you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not
yet. For nation will rise up against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” (v.6,7a)
Overlay this from Revelation 6:3-4:
“When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living
creature say, ‘Come!’ Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its
horseman was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that people would
slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.”
The world has seen two global conflicts and we are headed for
a third. Parallels of the current
political climate and those of pre-WWII are clear.
The Third Seal: The Rider on the
Black Horse.
“There will
be famines and earthquakes in various places.” (v.7b)
Look at this
through the grid of Revelation 6:5-6:
“When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living
creature say, ‘Come!’ And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman
on it had a set of scales in his hand. Then
I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, A quart of
wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius-but do not harm
the olive oil and the wine."
Famine follows in the wake of war. There will be a global financial
collapse. Our present food situation is
becoming more precarious by the day and an economic meltdown seems to be
imminent.
The Fourth Seal: The Rider on the
Pale Horse.
Plagues inevitably accompany war, famine and natural
disaster. In fact, Matthew 24:7 has
“pestilences” mentioned in some Greek manuscripts.
Irrespective of that, this is found in Rev.6:7-8:
“When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the
fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ And
I looked, and there was a pale green horse. The horseman on it was named Death,
and Hades was following after him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of
the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals
of the earth.”
Pestilence and plagues—disease and death—all that will sweep
the planet. Viruses are becoming more
virulent—increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
Superbugs are mutating and, according to experts, a pandemic is only a
matter of time. These are the “beginnings
of sorrows” during the first three and one half years of the Tribulation
Period—and that leaves worse to come in the Great Tribulation to follow!
So, the Tribulation Period will come because of the
seriousness of Israel’s
stubbornness, and will bring the severity of Israel sentence. That will lead to THE SALVATION IN ISRAEL’S
SUFFERING.
"Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they
will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name. Then many will take offense, betray one
another and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive
many. Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of
many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be
delivered. This good news of the kingdom will be
proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end
will come.” (v.9-14)
These verses are best seen in the lens of the fifth and sixth
seals in Rev.6:9-17.
“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
people slaughtered because of God's word and the testimony they had. They cried out with a loud voice: ‘Lord, the
One who is holy and true, how long until You judge and avenge our blood from
those who live on the earth?’ So a white
robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while
longer until [the number] would be completed [of] their fellow slaves and their
brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been.
Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake
occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire
moon became like blood; the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree
drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; the sky separated like a
scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military
commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the
caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
And they said to the mountains
and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on
the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of Their wrath
has come! And who is able to stand?’"
God never fails to provide a
witness. Even in wrath, he remembers
mercy! So, in that future day, there is The Persecution of the Gospel Witnesses.
"Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they
will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name. Then many will take offense, betray one
another and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive
many.” (v.9-11)
The word witness comes from a Greek word from which we get
our term, “martyr.” Often the evangelist
has sealed his or her testimony with their own blood. This will be true of many who take a stand
for Christ against the Antichrist.
But, there is also The
Perseverance of the Gospel Witnesses.
“Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will
grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be
delivered.” (v.12-13)
Not all will be martyred.
There will be 144,000 Jewish evangelists that are marked out by God and
cannot be killed.
Despite of the heresies that are spread by the False Prophet
and the hatred that is shown by the Antichrist, there is promised The Proclamation of the Gospel Witness.
“This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the
world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.” (v.14)
Before Christ returns every nation will have the opportunity
to hear the Gospel with the effect of a great blood-washed throng being saved
out of every color, culture and country.
Further insight is given in Revelation Chapter Seven.
The labor pains that will birth a new world order—with the Kingdom of Heaven come to earth start—the sorrows
commence in Matthew 24:1-14.
Next we note THE
SUFFERINGS CLIMAX in Matthew 24:15-28.
“For at that time there will be great tribulation, the kind
that hasn't taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never
will again!” (Matt.24:21)
The last half of that seven year period will be so horrific
that is described as the Great Tribulation. With the opening of the seventh seal
in Revelation 8, we find that underneath there are seven trumpet judgments
(Rev.8:1-11:19) and with each sounding of a trumpet it signals another judgment
and the last trumpet to sound brings seven bowls of wrath poured out on the
earth (Rev.15:1-16:21). These last
judgments begin at the mid-point of the tribulation—the last three and a half
years—what Scripture calls the Great Tribulation—and as bad as the first half
was, these last years are the worst ever known on planet earth.
It is a time of DESTRUCTION.
“So when you see the abomination that causes desolation,
spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader
understand), then those in Judea must flee to
the mountains! A man on the housetop must not come down to
get things out of his house. And a man in the field must not go back to get
his clothes. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in
those days! Pray that your escape may not be in winter or
on a Sabbath. For at that time there will be great
tribulation, the kind that hasn't taken place from the beginning of the world
until now and never will again! Unless
those days were limited, no one would survive. But those days will be limited
because of the elect.” (Matt.24:15-22)
This is the time when the Antichrist will break his covenant
with Israel
and enter the rebuilt temple and declare he is god. Earlier we said that the first judgment of
God during the tribulation period will be centered in a person—a rider on a
white horse, looking much like Christ.
The world will think their Savior has come. Most in Israel will believe their Messiah
has finally arrived.
He will rise in a time of chaos—of war, economic collapse and
natural disaster. He will be charismatic
and the world will be spellbound. But
beneath his charming exterior this is Satan’s handpicked dictator—the Beast, as
he is called in Revelation. The Man of Sin,
Paul calls him. John says he is the
Antichrist in his first epistle. Jesus
uses Daniel’s terminology to call him the Abomination of Desolation.
He has come to power promising peace in the Middle
East. He will allow the
Jews to rebuild the temple—which by the way they have made preparations for
already! But the old Dragon hates the
Jews still and will inspire his puppet king to initiate a holocaust, even more
horrifying than that which Hitler led.
If a Jew is to survive—he or she must flee Jerusalem immediately. The Antichrist will hold the reins of world
power—military might and economic control. You can read more in Revelation
12-13:10.
This Great Tribulation is not only a time of destruction, but
a time of DECEPTION.
"If anyone tells you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!'
or, 'Over here!' do not believe it! False messiahs and false prophets will
arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the
elect. Take note: I have told you in
advance. So if they tell you, 'Look, He's in the wilderness!'
don't go out; 'Look, He's in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.” (Matt.24:23-26)
Revelation describes a second beast—the False Prophet who
will lead the one world religious system and demand that the Beast be
worshipped. Miracles will be part of the
convincing show to beguile the masses. You can find him spoken of in Rev.13:11-18. A
one world government and religion are being organized today with breathtaking
speed. The economic and ecclesiastical
power called Babylon
will be destroyed in judgment (Rev.17-18).
As any mother can attest, labor pains are no fun, but the end
result is joy! Likewise, the birth of a
new world order is described in Matthew 24—the Olivet Discourse—where we see
the sorrows commence, the sufferings climax and then THE SON’S COMING in verses 27-51.
“Immediately
after the tribulation of those days:
The sun
will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the
stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial
powers will be shaken.
Then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the
earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory.” (v.29-30)
Christ’s second coming demonstrates POWER.
“For as
the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be
the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever
the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
Immediately
after the tribulation of those days:
The sun
will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the
stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial
powers will be shaken.
Then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the
earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. He
will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect
from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (v.27-31)
God’s power will be seen in the shaking of
the universe. We have heard it said that
the darkest hour is just before the dawn—and it will be true before the dawn of
earth’s new age and the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ as he comes back to
earth in power and glory. That is how it
is portrayed here.
God’s power will be seen in the sending of
His Son. When all the armies of the
world gather for one last great military campaign at Armageddon—the Russians
and their allies from the North, the European Union led by the Antichrist from
the West, the Islamic powers from the South and the millions and millions from
China and other oriental lands from the East—and it seems that all the Jews
that will be caught in the crossfire will be destroyed—then Christ returns to
save Israel and gather them from around the globe. You can study more about this in Rev.19.
Christ’s second coming declares PROMISE.
“Now learn this
parable from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts
leaves, you know that summer is near. In
the same way, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near — at the
door! I assure you: This generation will
certainly not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words
will never pass away.” (v.32-35)
What a promise! The faithfulness of God is seen in the fruitfulness
of the fig tree.
We are told to be observant. In the spring, we may not know the date of
the last frost, but we can tell as the earth warms that spring is
approaching. When the fruit trees bloom,
we may not know the exact day the fruit will emerge and how long before it
ripens, but we know it is closer. No man
knows the day or hour when Christ will return, but we should be able to discern
the season!
Look beyond the symbolic parable, to the
specific promise now. “I assure you: This generation will certainly not pass away until
all these things take place. Heaven and
earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
There are several interpretations. I think
only two are plausible.
One: generation in the Greek is “genea”
which can mean “race.” If that is so,
then Jesus is saying this “genea” this race of Jews will not pass away—they
will not be exterminated despite the Antichrist’s persecution for Christ will
come to save them—faithful to His covenant with the Patriarchs and David.
Two: and I think this the most likely
interpretation—it means that the generation that sees all these signs come to
pass will be the last generation—and it could be the current generation!
We can trust the promise of Christ to the
church in John 14. We can trust the
promise to the Jews in the Old Covenant.
If God would break His promise to the Jew, He will to you! But, you might as well expect heaven and
earth to pass away, as for His promise to fail!
Christ’s second coming demands PREPARATION.
“Now
concerning that day and hour no one knows — neither the angels in heaven, nor
the Son— except the Father only. As the
days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah
boarded the ark. They didn’t know until
the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the
Son of Man will be: Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and
one left. Two women will be grinding at
the mill: one will be taken and one left. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what
day your Lord is coming. But know this:
If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed
alert and not let his house be broken into. This is why you also must be ready, because
the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Who then
is a faithful and sensible slave, whom his master has put in charge of his
household, to give them food at the proper time? That slave whose master finds him working when
he comes will be rewarded. I assure you:
He will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says in his heart,
‘My master is delayed,’ and starts to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and
drinks with drunkards, that slave’s master will come on a day he does not
expect and at an hour he does not know. He
will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that
place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (v.36-51)
The
key thing about Christ’s return isn’t whether we get all the details right, but
whether we are right with God. Prophecy
isn’t given to satisfy our curiosity but to move us to get ready! Jesus didn’t tell us these things for
information or even inspiration but for preparation.
The
message over and over is, “Prepare to meet God!” That’s what Jesus drives home in the final
summation of the Olivet discourse.
Harold
Camping is the latest in a long line of those who tried to predict when Christ
would return. It is why we have a sect
called Seventh Day Adventists. I’ve got
a book “88 Reasons Christ Will Return in 1988” and it was followed by the
sequel “89 Reasons Christ Will Return in 1989. “ This only gave the enemies of Christ opportunity
to blaspheme and mock something they don’t believe in any way. It undermines the message and makes those who
preach the Blessed Hope a laughingstock.
The plain words of Jesus are given—no one knows the day! What part of no don’t you understand?
From
heaven’s side, the date is fixed, but from man’s side the time is flexible. Jonah came preaching, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be
destroyed!” When the people
repented, mercy was granted. It was a
reprieve because conditions changed.
When the Ninevites returned to their old sinful ways, they were consumed
as God had said.
I
do not see how our world can go on much longer as it is. The good news is that it doesn’t have to stay
as it is! There can be a reprieve if
there is repentance.
God
intended to leave a certain uncertainty about the timing so no one would
presume on His grace. Believers, from
the 1st century until now, have been looking and that is the way God
meant it to be. What difference would it
make if you knew the next 24 hours on earth would be your last?
They
may be!
