Gospel of Matthew Chapter 24 Part 1 -- John Karmelich
1.
Chapter
23 was a warning for the non-believer.
Chapter 24 is for the believer.
a)
Chapter
23 was a warning to those who refuse to believe in Jesus.
b)
Chapter
24 is a set of promises and predictions for the believer.
c)
Chapter
24 focuses on the events of Jesus second coming.
i)
This
is a future event that has not happened yet, but is promised in the bible.
2.
The
next two chapters deal with the issue of bible prophecy.
a)
In
this context prophecy simply means predictions about the future.
b)
About
the a third of the entire bible is predictions.
c)
Prophecy
mainly to validate the bible, and the bible writers as God-inspired.
3.
The
Gospel of Matthew is all about explaining how Jesus is the Promised Messiah.
a)
The
Messiah, which means, “king”, is not only a promised king to Israel, he is the
“high priest” who intercedes between man and God (Hebrews 3:1); he is also a prophet.
b)
In
Chapter 24, Jesus made predictions that literally came true.
c)
It
is also full of other predictions that will, I believe literally come true as
it is written.
4.
Let’s
start Chapter 24 by giving what I believe are the 2 most important lessons in
this chapter:
a)
The
first is: “Nobody but God-the Father
knows the day nor the hour of Jesus return”.
i)
This
is a paraphrase of Verse 36.
ii)
Jesus
may now know that day and hour, but when not when he stated it.
iii)
The
main point is we don’t know, nor can we calculate that day or hour.
iv)
Don’t
let any “nut-case” tell you he or she can predict when it is going to happen.
b)
The
second is “watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
i)
This
is a command by Jesus given in Verse 42.
ii)
We
are to watch for his return.
c)
So
if we don’t know the “day nor hour”, why are to we to watch for his return?
i)
Let
me answer that with an illustration:
Suppose you work in a large office building in your own little
cubicle. At any time, the boss is going
to come by and give you a large bonus.
The amount of the bonus, if any, is determined by how you are working at
the moment the boss comes by. How is
that for a financial incentive to be working hard all the time?
ii)
That is the attitude Jesus wants for
us as Christians.
iii)
“Watching”
for Jesus’ second coming does not mean to stand around, stare at the sky all
day and look for his return.
iv)
It
means to stay busy doing the things God called us to do. That includes the fundamentals of praying,
studying God’s Word and spending time with other Christians. It further means that God has given us
individual talents and passions to do things “for God’s glory”. That is how we “keep busy” until God
comes.
d)
The
whole concept of “we don’t know when Jesus’ comes back” and “watch for his
return” is to keep doing what God calls us to do.
i)
Let’s
face it. We don’t know when we are
going to die.
ii)
Our
life on earth is going to end either when we die or when Jesus comes back for
his church. Those are the only two
options for everybody in the world.
iii)
Since
we don’t know “the day nor hour” of our death or Jesus’ return, Jesus command
for us is to “watch” for his return.
iv)
This
is mainly to keep busy doing the things God wants us to do.
v)
With
that said, unfortunately, it is not that simple. J
vi)
Jesus
goes on to talk about specific “signs” to look for prior to his return.
a)
That
is what the bulk of Chapter 24 is all about.
b)
Jesus
wants us to keep an eye out for these specific signs.
5.
Chapter
24 is commonly called “The Olivet Discourse”.
a)
It
is a fancy name given to this two-chapter speech by Jesus over Chapters 24-25.
b)
It
is called “The Olivet Discourse” because Jesus gives it from the Mount
of Olives.
c)
Remember
that Jesus is days away from the crucifixion.
d)
There
is no more public debates, nor public speeches.
e)
Jesus
is going away, and the followers of Jesus, including you and I need to know
when is the general time of Jesus return (not the “day or hour”).
6.
It
is important to understand that parts of Chapter 24 are vague and full of
controversies.
a)
Many
good take-your-bible-literally scholars debate over the meaning of certain
passages.
b)
I’m
going to try to give alternative views, but know I have my own views on these
topics.
c)
I’ll
give you some of the different views, and try to explain why the predictions
are vague.
i)
One
view is that Jesus is describing all the events that happened around the time
of the crucifixion and soon after. This
view (called the “preterist” view) is that Jesus is only talking about
the events that happened soon-after this speech.
ii)
Another
view is that this is only talking about the “end time events”.
a)
The
bible teaches there will be a 7-year end time period that is worse than any
other period in human history. This is
what most of Revelation is all about.
This is the time of an Antichrist who will be a world leader.
b)
This
view is that all (or most) of these events only happen around this
literal seven-year period.
iii)
A
third view is that there is no literal 7-year period. This view, called the “amillennial” view is popular in the Roman
Catholic Church. They believe the
events of Revelation are “symbolic” and cover the entire church history.
d)
I
believe the predictions given by Jesus are vague for a number of reasons:
i)
First
of all, when I say “vague”, I mean that it speaks in generalities that can be
interpreted a number of different ways.
That is why there is a debate over this.
ii)
Remember
that we are discussing future events.
When bible predictions do come true, it is usually in a very literal
way. Jesus may be describing events
future-to-us and therefore it seems “fuzzy” to describe in 1st
Century terminology.
iii)
Most
importantly, I believe these predictions are designed on purpose to “keep us on
our toes”. Every generation of
Christians wants Jesus to return.
Therefore, we look at Jesus predictions about the end times and think,
“Well, Jesus could be talking about this or that current event in history. Maybe what Jesus says in this passage ties
in to what is happening right now in the world”.
a)
I
believe the passages are designed to be that way on purpose. For example, there is a passage about wars
between “kingdoms”. Many thought Jesus
was going to come back right after W.W. I. or W.W. II. The point is, he didn’t. People can take any time in human history
and tie that to “Maybe this is it, these are the signs of Jesus’ return.”
b)
Again,
it is purposely keep vague to keep us on our toes for Jesus’ return.
iv)
My
personal view is the details are vague so Satan himself does not know the day
nor hour. The bible clearly teaches
that at the end of the 7-year period Satan is “bound for a 1,000 years”
(Revelation 20) and soon afterwards he is cast into hell.
a)
Therefore,
Satan wants to delay as long as possible Jesus' return.
b)
If
the details of Jesus return were clearer, Satan could work to delay or prevent
that function.
c)
In
the same way, the predictions of the Messiah suffering for your sins, dying for
your sins and rising again are vague in the Old Testament. I believe a reason it is vague was to
prevent Satan from preventing that plan.
7.
With
that said, I’m going to do Chapter 24 over two lessons.
a)
I
noticed that all my favorite commentators have at least two lessons on this
chapter or have written thicker volumes of work on this chapter. They are indirectly warning me it is too
much to cover in a single lesson and I’m taking their advice accordingly. J
8.
Chapter
24 has 51 verses describing future predictions.
a)
With
each verse or set of verses, I want to describe how these predictions could fit
into the past times (when Jesus gave it), the present time (today) and the
future.
b)
Since
Jesus teaches us to watch for his coming, I think it is important to
teach how the verses could apply to current historical events.
i)
If
I’m wrong, and Jesus second coming doesn’t happen for a long time, I can take
comfort in the fact that that I’m “doing what I’m suppose to do” by watching
for his second coming and analyzing the “signs” of his coming.
ii)
The
most unique thing about our time, as opposed to the last 2,000 years is that
Israel is a nation again. For
centuries, bible scholars have debated over whether or not the Jewish people
need to be “back in the land” again for Jesus second coming.
iii)
You
have to remember that Israel was destroyed as a country in 70AD and was not a
country again until 1948. The City of
Jerusalem was not part of modern Israel until it was captured and conquered in
1967.
c)
With
that extra long introduction, J let’s go to Verse 1:
9.
Chapter
24, Verse 1: Jesus left the temple and
was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its
buildings.
a)
Let’s
start with the first phrase “Jesus left the temple and was walking away”.
i)
This
ties to the last chapter of the “Question and Answer” section with the
Pharisees and the Sadducees. Jesus
silenced his critics.
b)
The
next phrase is the disciples showing him the different parts of the temple.
i)
This
temple was destroyed in 70 AD.
ii)
This
temple was originally built hundreds of years earlier when the Jews returned
from being in captivity to Babylon.
iii)
Prior
to the time of Jesus’ birth, King Herod, in order to make the Jews happy,
started a great remodeling job and add-on job to the temple.
iv)
It
was lined with gold. Historians wrote
that it was blinding in the sunlight.
The top was so pure-white people thought it had snow on top. The stones were fit so tight together that
no mortar was needed. (Source:
Josephus)
c)
It
is funny to think about giving Jesus, who created all things, a guided
tour of the temple.
d)
One
has to wonder the motivations of the disciples for giving this tour:
i)
Maybe
they were hoping Jesus was going to overthrow Rome now and wanted to
“show him” the details of temple where Jesus “could set up shop”.
ii)
In
the last chapter, Jesus just put down the two main religious sects of that
time. Maybe the disciples wanted to
“say something nice” about Judaism by this tour.
10.
Verse
2: "Do you see all these
things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be
left on another; every one will be thrown down."
a)
Well,
so much for the guided tour. J
b)
Jesus
is saying this temple, with all of its beauty, will be completely destroyed.
c)
This
literally came true in 70AD. About 40
years after this event.
d)
The
Romans were tired of the Jews rebelling against Rome. They sent a large army to destroy Israel. Millions were killed. The Romans set the temple on fire. In order to preserve the gold, they
literally took it apart brick-by-brick.
e)
The
Romans destroyed it so well we are not sure to this day the exact spot of the
temple.
f)
Today,
Jews visit the “wailing wall”. This is
a foundational support wall, and is not part of the walls of the original
temple.
g)
The
point to notice about Jesus’ prediction is how literally true it came.
i)
Because
this prediction came literally true, I take the view that the rest of the predictions
in this chapter will also literally come true.
ii)
It
also helps to support the fact that Matthew was written prior to 70AD. I’m sure if it was written after that date,
Matthew would have commented on that fact.
h)
When
you study bible prophecy, it often has short-term and long-term fulfillment.
i)
The
short-term fulfillment helps to validate the writer as speaking from God.
ii)
The
long-term fulfillment is often the more important issue or doctrine.
i)
Let’s
get back to the disciples guided tour of Verse 1:
i)
They
were probably bragging about all the architectural details.
ii)
They
were hoping Jesus would rule as king from this temple.
iii)
Jesus
destroys their hopes by saying in effect, “This thing will be a goner in your
lifetime”.
iv)
Remember
as Christians, we can’t take credit for anything. God gets all the glory.
a)
This
even includes the temple itself. God
can’t look at our temple and say, “Hey, pretty good, I’ll think I’ll move into
that one”. J
b)
Grant
it, Jesus had acknowledged this temple as “His Father’s house” when he
overturned the tables of the moneychangers.
c)
My
point is that you can’t build a house for God and say, “OK, God, here’s your
new home, lets get this show on the road and start your second coming.” God works on his timing, not ours.
11.
Verse
3: As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the
disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when
will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of
the age?"
a)
As
I stated in the introduction, we now have a 2-chapter speech called the “Olivet
discourse” as it takes place on the Mount of Olives.
b)
To
a religious Jew of that day, the destruction of the temple meant the end of
civilization.
i)
When
Jesus just told them the temple would be destroyed, in their minds that meant,
“that is it, a wrap up of civilization as we know it.”
c)
Therefore,
they asked Jesus a 3-part question:
i)
“When
will this happen?”
ii)
“What
will be the sign of your coming?”
iii)
And
finally, “(When) is the end of this age?”
iv)
To
the disciples, all three were one in the same event.
d)
The
rest of the chapter is Jesus answering these questions.
i)
The
debate now begins over which verses are past, present and future to us.
ii)
There
is a phrase in Verse 15 that says, “let the reader understand”.
a)
Either
Matthew added that phrase or Jesus said it himself.
b)
The
point is that this text is not only for the disciples themselves but also for
all who read the Gospel of Matthew with the intent of following Jesus.
iii)
We
are going to get into the classical debate of, “Does this refer to the 2,000
year-and-still-counting era of Christian history or just the 7-year end-time
tribulation?”
12.
Verse
4: Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives
you. 5 For many will come in my
name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many.
a)
Before
we analyze Verse 4, let us look at Verse 8.
i)
It
says, “All these are the beginning of birth pains”.
ii)
Everything
from Verse 4 to Verse 8 is the “early contractions” of labor pains.
iii)
When
we read the events of Verse 4-8, we can’t read them and say, “This is it, Jesus
is coming back.” These events are the beginning
of the “birth pains”.
iv)
The
first word of Verse 9 is “then”. Verse
9 begins the next phase.
b)
Here
are some comments on the “historical view” of Verses 4-5.
i)
Throughout
history, there have been many people claiming to be “The Christ”.
ii)
There
are historical records of Jews (post-Jesus) who claimed they were the Messiah
and lead an uprising against Rome, only to be killed.
iii)
Even
in our modern times, part of the “New Age” movement teaches, “to release the
Christ that is within you”. They teach
how we are all “gods” and we can be like Jesus and release his power within
us. Like all false teachings, there are
some grain-of truths in there, but the rest is non-biblical and pure nonsense.
c)
Here
is some comments on the “future view” of these verses:
i)
During
the “great tribulation” many people will embrace the Antichrist as a great
world leader. My personal view
is that this guy lets the Jews rebuild their temple and they accept him as
their promised Messiah.
ii)
Many
scholars read this verse and think that the “false-Christs” refers to those who
come in the last 7-year period claiming to be the Messiah.
a)
We
will discuss this further later in this lesson.
d)
If
a cultist comes knocking on your door and they say, “We believe in Jesus”, I
like to respond with, “Really, you believe in Jesus? Which one? Which one do
you believe in?
i)
My
point is that Jesus said there would be many false-Christ’s coming in
his name.
ii)
When
you study for example, what the Mormons believe about Jesus or what the Jehovah
Witnesses believe about Jesus, you learn that their view of Jesus is different
from those of devout conservative Catholics, Protestant and Orthodox churches.
All 3 of those groups agree on the fundamentals of who is Jesus.
iii)
When
talking with a cult member, it is best to keep your focus upon Jesus and
spending time in God’s word defining just who is and who is not Jesus.
iv)
This
is a part of what Jesus said in Verse 5: “Many will come in my name”.
13.
Verse
6: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to
it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to
come. 7 Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in
various places. 8
All these are the beginning of birth pains.
a)
Notice
the last phrase of Verse 6: The end is
still to come.
b)
When
a big-national trauma comes like a world war or an earthquake or a famine,
people think, “This Is It. This is the
end of the world. It is so bad, that it
has to end now. Jesus must be coming
back soon.”
i)
Jesus
point is, “No it isn’t the end of the world when these things happened.”
c)
All
through the last 2,000 years, we have been through wars, “world-wide” wars,
major earthquakes, major famines and some think, “This is it, the “beginning of
birth pains””.
i)
The
Jehovah Witnesses are famous for making the prediction during W.W. I that “this
has to be it” because they saw World War I as “kingdom against kingdom”. They were right in that the original Greek
of that term implies a group of nations attacking another group”. They were wrong in that this was the sign of
Jesus immediate coming soon after.
They even predicted the exact year in some of their writings of that time.
d)
Now
that we have been through two world wars, is that the “beginning of birth
pains?”
i)
The
correct answer is “could be”.
ii)
Remember
that Jesus described all of these events as the beginning of labor pains. Maybe they will get progressively more
common in the future.
e)
In
summary, when you hear news reports about wars, or earthquakes and somebody
writes a book saying “Look at the statistics, Jesus has to come back
next week based on all of this”.
Remember God works on His timing and not ours. Nobody knows the day nor the hour, especially those who are
writing those books!
f)
Let’s
get back to the view that that all of this prophecy are end-time events.
i)
This
view is that the “wars and rumors of wars” is speaking of specific wars that
happen during the 7-year tribulation period.
ii)
This
last 7-year tribulation again is described in detail through most of
Revelation.
iii)
If
you want to get technical, the first 3½ years is fairly peaceful and the last
3½ years is full of wars. This may be
the “wars” as described in this verse.
iv)
If
the “7-year tribulation” is new to you, I encourage you pick up a good study on
Daniel and/or Revelation to learn more about this.
a)
We’ll
also talk about it a little more later in this lesson.
14.
Verse
9: "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted
and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
a)
To
me, the key word of Verse 9 is “then”.
It implies that after the earthquakes, wars, etc. “then”
Christians will be persecuted and put to death.
b)
The
problem is the word “you”. Jesus says
“you” will be persecuted, etc.”
i)
Jesus
was speaking to the disciples. This is
why many bible scholars take the view that Jesus is talking about the immediate
times and not the end times.
ii)
The
next 200-300 years saw 10 Roman Empires put death sentences on Christians.
iii)
The
Christian church was never united until the Roman Empire Constantine (306 - 337
A.D) became a Christian himself and declared Christianity the official religion
of the empire. Prior to that, it was an
illegal religion.
c)
Throughout
Christian history persecution was common.
i)
Millions
of Christians died under the Roman Empire.
ii)
Through
the middle ages, anybody who wanted to worship Jesus outside of the authority
of the Catholic popes were killed. Some
historians believe more Christians were killed by the Roman Catholic Church
than the Roman Empire.
iii)
It
is estimated that more Christians were killed in the 20th century
than any previous century due to persecutions, especially in Communist
countries.
iv)
Christians
through the centuries have read these verses about Christian persecution and
said, “This verse is about our present time”.
They thought that this is the “beginning of birth pains” as Jesus was
writing about their persecution.
d)
This
leads back to my introduction about how this speech has its vagueness on
purpose.
i)
I
believe Jesus intentionally designed these predictions so that every generation
would read them and think, “This is got to be talking about me”.
ii)
The
whole idea was for us to “watch” for Jesus second coming and these signs would
happen prior to his second coming.
The vagueness keeps us “on our toes”.
e)
Now
lets look at the “this is all end-times” view of this section:
i)
You
get the impression when you study the events of the end times that Christians
and religious Jews will be the scapegoats for the wars going on.
ii)
That
would make sense from a satanic point of view.
Once that 7-year period starts, Satan knows he has a limited time. The only thing Satan could do to prevent his
own destruction is to prevent believers of that era not pray for Jesus
return. How does he do that? He kills them!
iii)
That
is why Revelation is full of comments about martyrs during that period.
a)
In
a matter of verses we are going to get into the “rapture” debate. This is a classical Christian debate over
whether or not the church is around during this period. Those of us who do believe the rapture takes
place prior to this seven year period also believe many get saved during
this period and it is “not too late” if you missed the rapture.
15.
Verse
10: At that time many will turn away
from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11 and many false prophets
will appear and deceive many people.
a)
Let’s
start with the phrase “at that time”.
i)
The
verses prior to this can be interpreted as being “signs through the entire
2,000 year history of Christianity” and/or specific “end-time-last-call” signs.
ii)
I
think things change from Verse 10 onward.
iii)
Now Jesus is saying “at that
time”. We will discuss in detail in a
page or so what exactly is this “end time” seven-year period. For now, take my word on it. J
b)
At
this time, many false prophets arise.
Why is that?
i)
Well,
Satan knows his time is almost up.
ii)
This
time will also be marked by lots of wars and tragedies. During such times, many people get “more
spiritual” as to look for answers and explanations.
iii)
Therefore,
Satan is going to offer lots of substitutes to fill that demand.
iv)
When
you read Revelation, you discover there is “not just” an Antichrist, but there
are actually two people. One is a man
who is a world leader, and another is a spiritual leader who gets people to
worship the world-leader. Jesus
discussion of false prophets may refer to these two guys and others who follow
them.
c)
These
two verses also predict many will turn away from the faith and betray each other.
i)
Let’s
face it, during times of persecution, you find out who really believes
in Jesus and who is faking it.
ii)
Imagine
a time with say, a “$5,000 reward for anyone who turns in a Christian to the
authorities.” You can see people
betraying family members for such a cause.
iii)
During
the time of the Roman Empire, to be a Christian was a death sentence. You were a “friend” of Rome if you helped
catch and turn in such people.
iv)
My
point is this type of betrayal has existed in the past and will exist again.
v)
One
of the things you learn quickly as a Christian is that God tests you.
a)
God
wants us to grow in our faith as believers and he tests us.
b)
Often,
and in many places, God allows Christians to go through major persecutions in
order to build our faith in him.
vi)
Unfortunately,
Jesus predicted the Christian life does cause betrayal.
a)
Being
a good witness for Jesus often causes guilt and resentment by siblings and
other family members.
b)
Jesus
said, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but
division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each
other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father
against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter
against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law
against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51-53,
NIV)
16.
Verse
12: Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of
most will grow cold,
a)
This
final period will be one of persecution and wicked people in power. These false prophets will influence many
away from worshiping God. Many
God-fearing people will go into hiding.
b)
The
principal taught in Verse 12 is also taught elsewhere in the bible:
i)
“When
the righteous triumph, there is great elation;
but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding.” (Proverbs 28:12, NIV)
c)
Remember
the biblical concept of love is to give of oneself. It is the idea of putting other’s needs in front of your
own. Christians during this era will
have to meet in secret and can’t be of public service to others. With non-believers “flourishing”, there will
be less Christian love during this era.
d)
Those
of us who believe in the “rapture” believe the Christian church won’t be around
during this time era. Jesus may be
hinting at this with the idea of “increased wickedness”.
e)
Further,
this verse is teaching that when wickedness “abounds”, things go “downhill” for
those who choose to follow the God of the Bible:
i)
“When
the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.”
(Proverbs 29:2, NIV)
17.
Verse
13: but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
a)
This
verse is a great “splitter” between those who believe the rapture happens prior
to the seven-year tribulation and those who believe all Christians
living at that time don’t get called into heaven until the end of the
tribulation.
i)
To
understand the concept of the “rapture”, first you have to understand that life
as-it-is now, does not go on forever.
ii)
There
is a day Jesus comes back and “wraps it up” for believers.
iii)
Revelation
Chapter 20 speaks of a 1,000 year period where the Messiah will rule and reign
from Jerusalem over the whole world.
Believers get to rule with Jesus. I’m not exactly sure what that means; maybe we’re all mayors and
governors. J More likely it just means we rule, “along side him” in some fashion.
iv)
Prior
to this 1,000 year period is a 7-year period where “all hell breaks loose”.
a)
That
is when most of the events of Revelation take place.
b)
Some
Christians believe “the church” won’t be around during that seven- year period. They believe Jesus takes the church up to
heaven before this period begins. That
event is called “the rapture” of the church.
c)
Those
who believe the rapture happens prior to the 7-year period are nick-named
“pre-tribulationists” or “pre-trib’s” for short as we are “out of here” prior
to this tribulation.
d)
Others
believe the church goes through this 7-year tribulation. They are nicknamed “post-trib’s” as the
rapture happens after the tribulation.
e)
Let’s
face it, if the bible were real clear on this issue, there wouldn’t be a
debate among people who study the bible and take it seriously.
b)
Let’s
start with the “post-tribulation” view.
i)
They
read Verse 13 and say, “You see, those who are “saved” don’t get saved until after
all the events of the seven-year tribulation”.
This verse says that those who hang in there “till the end” get
saved. We are all here until that
period is over.
ii)
Further,
post tribulations will argue, “there is no where in the New Testament where
Jesus specifically says he is coming back twice”.
a)
My
“ pre-trib” response to that statement is “Where in the Old Testament does it
say the Messiah is coming two times?”
The answer is, “it doesn’t”. It
is only by studying the passages of a “suffering Messiah” and a “ruling
Messiah” that one has to come to the conclusion that either 1) there is two
Messiah’s (wrong) or that the Messiah comes two times (Jesus!)
b)
This
means that just because an idea is not explicitly stated (such as Jesus coming
back twice) in the bible, does not mean that the idea doesn’t exist.
c)
The
“pre-tribulation” view is based on inductive reasoning.
i)
You
will not find clear passages that say Jesus’ comes for the church prior to the
tribulation. What you do find is a lot
of “contradictions” that can only be explained by the concept of the
church not going through the tribulation.
ii)
This
method of making a conclusion based on resolving contradicting information in
the arguments is called “inductive reasoning”.
iii)
As
to this passage in Matthew, “pre-trib’s” believe there are two groups of saved
people: There is the “Christian church”
who gets raptured (taken up) into heaven prior to this seven-year period. There is also a new, special set of
believers who get saved during this period. I can make an argument that the reward of the second group is a
little different from the first group in Revelation.
18.
Verse
14: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
a)
There
is a Christian outreach group called the “Gideon Society”.
i)
We
mostly know them as “the guys who leave the bibles in the motel rooms”.
ii)
Their
ministry is actually much larger than that.
iii)
They
take Verse 14 as a “spiritual calling” to them.
iv)
Their
ministry is to try to translate the gospel into every known language so that
the gospel “is preached to the whole world”, and print bibles in those
languages.
b)
As
much as I respect the Gideon Society, I don’t think this verse is about them or
those Christian missionary groups trying to do so. Let me show you a Revelation verse.
i)
“Then
I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting
gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe,
tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him,
for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and
earth, the sea and springs of water.”
(Revelation 14:6-7, NIV)
a)
Personally,
I think God himself gets the credit for preaching the gospel into the whole
world during the end times, and not man.
This is another way in which God gets the glory.
ii)
This
is not a putdown of the Gideon’s and missionaries. They are doing what God called them to
do. (See Matthew 28:19). I simply believe the “effort” to preach the
gospel into every nation and language can only be accomplished by God
himself.
iii)
During
the tribulation, there is a great spiritual battle going on for salvation.
a)
Satan
and his army are sending out lots of false prophets.
b)
God
has angels flying around so that nobody in that era has the excuse of “I didn’t
know any better”.
19.
Verse
15: "So when you see standing in
the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the
prophet Daniel--let the reader understand—
a)
OK,
now we get more Jewish. J
i)
From
this verse through at least Verse 25, I believe the specific focus is on
Israel.
ii)
The
past verses are mostly about how the end-times will affect the whole world.
iii)
We
talked of “wars and rumors of wars” and “kingdoms fighting kingdoms” and
earthquakes in various (world-wide) places.”
iv)
Now
the focus is more on Israel. How do I
know this?
a)
Well,
for starters, we are taking about some event called “the abomination that
causes desolation” as spoken of by Daniel.
That is pretty Jewish. J
b)
In
Verse 20, Jesus says, “Pray that your flight (from danger) doesn’t happen on
the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a Jewish
day of rest in Israel. All the buses,
airports, etc. shut down on Saturday’s (Sabbath’s). Why would this verse be significant to any non-Jew or anyone not in
Israel? Again, my point here is that
this next paragraph (Verse 15-25) focuses on Israel.
b)
Verse
15 ends with the phrase “Let the reader understand”.
i)
That
means this verse is for the reader, i.e., you and I.
ii)
This
verse says let the reader understand.
That is a command for us.
iii)
Therefore,
Jesus wants us to understand what “the abomination that causes desolation” is
all about. I need at least a page to
explain this one. J
c)
There
are three mentions of “the abomination that causes desolation” in Daniel:
i)
The
first is in Chapter 9: “He will confirm
a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put
an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an
abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured
out on him.” (Daniel 9:27 NIV)
a)
In
my Daniel studies, I spent about 3-4 pages on this verse, so it’s going to be
tough to summarize it. J
b)
The
word “seven” this comes from a Hebrew word that can mean 7 days or 7 weeks or 7
years. It happens to mean 7-years here
(trust me on this J).
c)
The
word “He” refers to the last noun in Verse 26. That is as follows:
“The…ruler who will come will destroy the city and the
sanctuary”. Obviously, that is not
Jesus. It refers to an/the “Antichrist”
who will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
Jesus does not nor will not do that.
d)
Daniel
9:27 says this Antichrist will make a covenant (contract) with the Jewish
people. It will have something to do
with allowing the Jews to build and have their temple and have animal
sacrifices.
e)
Notice
in 9:27 that this Antichrist puts an end to the sacrifice in the middle
of the 7 years. The last part of the
verse says the Antichrist will set up “an abomination that causes
desolation.” We’ll discuss that more in
a second.
ii)
The
next mention of this phrase is in Daniel 11:
““His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and
will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that
causes desolation.” (Daniel 11:31,
NIV)
a)
Most
commentators say this was a historic event, future to Daniel, and past tense to
us. About 200-300 years prior to Jesus,
there was a Greek ruler over Israel (Antiochus IV). He couldn’t stand the fact that Israel was worshipping God and
not him. Therefore, he set up a statue
of himself in the temple, and slaughtered a pig (non-kosher) on the altar.
(1)
That
event was called the “abomination that causes desolation”.
b)
The
problem is Jesus says, “When you see” this event.
(1)
Jesus
is speaking of some event that will happen in the future.
c)
Therefore,
Jesus is saying this will happen again as the Greek ruler who did this
was past tense.
iii)
The
last mention is in Daniel 12: “From the
time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes
desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. (Daniel 12:11, NIV)
a)
Translation: From the day this event happens in the
future (whenever that is) until the time Jesus stops this (his second coming)
is 1,290 days.
b)
The
Hebrew “year” has 360 days; 1,290 days is 3½ years + 30 days.
c)
Here’s
another argument in favor of the “pre-trib.” view. Once we know the exact day this “abomination” takes place, we
know it will be exactly 1,290 days until Jesus returns. Yet Jesus says, “no one know the day or
hour” of Jesus second coming (Matthew 24:36).
(1)
That
sounds like a contradiction unless you believe there is two “groups” of
saints, one of which is raptured prior to this event and another more “naïve”
group that doesn’t know their bibles!”
iv)
When
Jesus is saying to watch for the “abomination that causes desolation” I
believer is warning about the Antichrist making this “contract” with
Israel.
I suspect many Jews will hail this guy as their Messiah. In the middle of the 7-year period, he does
a “double cross”. I suspect he will
demand to be worshipped as God and stop the temple sacrifices.
d)
Let’s
get back to Matthew. Jesus said, “When you
see standing in the holy place…”
i)
For
centuries, bible critics have scoffed at this verse. They said, “How can the world, or Jews for that matter “see” this
event when only the High Priest can go into the inner most parts of temple?”
ii)
Now
that we live in era of “CNN” and satellite TV, this is no longer an issue!
20.
Verse
16: then let those who are in Judea flee to the
mountains.
a)
Translation:
“When this happens, make a run for it!”
All hell is going to break loose.
b)
There
are those who take this whole paragraph as being a past event.
c)
Remember
that the temple was destroyed in 70AD and millions were killed.
d)
The
problem with that view is that it does “not exactly fit” the way Jesus
described it. There was no “abomination
of desolation” performed on the temple, other than its destruction. To the Jewish reader of Matthew, a future
event would be similar to the one of the Greek-king who slaughtered the pig in
the temple. Besides that destruction
didn’t fit in with any “seven year” period.
That is why I believe this is all future to us.
21.
Verse
17: Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take
anything out of the house. 18
Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.
a)
Jesus
point: Run! Don’t delay, run!
b)
The
question is then, where do they run to?
i)
Daniel
11:41 describes an area that will not fall into the hands of the
Antichrist. That area today is called
Jordan. Daniel 11:41 uses the “old
biblical names” for that territory.
This territory borders Israel.
22.
Verse
19: How dreadful it will be in those
days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
a)
Jesus
point is that whenever this happens, people will still be having babies. In a sense, “life will go on” during this
time.” It will be extra difficult for
these women at this time.
23.
Verse
20: Pray that your flight will not take
place in winter or on the Sabbath.
a)
In
Israel, life “shuts down” on the Sabbath.
Therefore, this is why Jesus is saying to pray it doesn’t happen on that
day of the week. This is why it is so
significant that the Jews are back in the nation of Israel. This prophecy can’t be true unless the Jews
are in the land.
b)
Further,
Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains.
Have you ever tried to travel through mountain passes in the middle of a
winter? Not everybody has 4-wheel drive
and snow chains! J At that time, to travel in and
out of Jerusalem in winter is close to impossible.
c)
This
verse has some tremendous implications.
It says pray that these events don’t happen in wintertime or on
the Sabbath.
i)
In
Verse 34, Jesus states that only God-the-Father knows the day and hour when all
of this is going to take place.
ii)
Yet
somehow, God is getting us involved in the process. Jesus is specifically telling us to pray that this event doesn’t
happen on that day or season.
iii)
This
means, that somehow, we have the power to control when this event occurs, or at
least, make it less miserable for those who suffer during this time.
24.
Verse
21: For then there will be great
distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be
equaled again.
a)
This
verse is frightening. This verse is
saying, “This time will be worse than any other in history”. Remember the focus is now on Israel.
i)
In
70 AD millions of Jews were killed.
This will be worse.
ii)
Six
million Jews died in the Holocaust.
Jesus is saying this will be worse.
b)
There
is a prediction by the prophet Zechariah which may tie here:
i)
“In
the whole land,” declares the LORD, “two-thirds will be struck down and
perish; yet one-third will
be left in it.” (Zechariah 13:7, NIV)
ii)
Unfortunately,
many religious Jews believe this verse is about the Holocaust,
as close to 2/3 of all Jews in Europe died.
iii)
When
Zechariah talks about the “whole land”, I believe he is referring to the land
of Israel. That is why I believe this
prediction by Zechariah refers to the horrible future event that will take
place in Israel.
iv)
There
are Jewish critics who claim evangelical Christians are anti-Jewish because of
this prediction and somehow “we want this to happen to prove the bible is
true”. This is nonsense! God is stating this fact as a warning for
those to flee!
25.
Verse
22: If those days had not been cut short, no one would
survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
a)
Jesus
point is this tribulation will not go on forever. This horror period goes on for exactly 3½ years (Plus, there is
that extra 30 days. Commentators
believe this is the “clean-up” operation by Jesus in that last 30 days.
b)
When
horrible events happen, people think, “When will this ever end? It just seems to go on forever”. Jesus point is that there will be an end to
this. It is not an eternal trauma.
26.
Verse
23: At that time if anyone says to you,
`Look, here is the Christ!' or, `There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false
prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the
elect--if that were possible.
a)
During
this time, false Christs
will appear as well
as false-prophets. The difference is
“Christ’s” are kings and prophets are well, prophets. J
b)
Notice
in Verse 24 they will perform “great signs”.
i)
I
believer whoever these guys are will have great technology available to do “con
jobs” and do signs and miracles.
Possibly, God may grant Satan powers to do all sorts of signs that are
beyond human explanation.
ii)
Remember
what Paul says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a
gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally
condemned!” (Galatians 1:8, NIV).
a)
My
point here is that even if someone is “an angel” we should listen to the
message rather than the “signs and wonders” that angel performs.
b)
Joseph
Smith, who founded the Mormon movement claimed to have seen angels. Personally, I believe that is true. The real question is not whether or not he
saw angels, but whether or not the message he received agrees with the
fundamental principals of Christianity.
The reason Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians reject
Mormonism is because they deny that Jesus is God. (Every other issue is secondary!)
c)
Notice
Jesus says, “to deceive even the elect--if that were possible”
i)
The
“elect” are those who are saved during that time period.”
a)
Those
who hold the “post-trib.” view believe “the elect” is the church.
b)
Those
who hold the “pre-trib.” view believe “the elect” are those saved during this
time era.
ii)
This
verse tells me that these “signs” are so powerful, it would convince anyone.
iii)
God
preserves his “elect”. It is not
possible to deceive someone on a permanent basis who spends eternity in
heaven. There are times when we go
astray from God, but God calls the “elect” back toward him.
iv)
I
think Jesus is giving us this statement as for Christians not to fear.
a)
If
you are putting your trust in Jesus, you are preserved. Those “fantastic signs” will not be enough
to deceive you. You may be impressed,
but if you are grounded in the bible, you’ll remember, “Hey, Jesus said this is
going to happen, so I’m aware of it.”
27.
Verse
25: See, I have told you ahead of time.
a)
Remember
in Verses 1-2 of this chapter Jesus described how the temple would be torn down
stone by stone. That literally
came true. Since that part is literal,
I take the rest of this section to be equally as literal.
b)
We
don’t know the future, so some of this is “fuzzy” to us as to how it will
happen.
c)
Ever
watch a television drama and think, “How is our hero going to get out of this
one?”
i)
You
know they will, because there is another episode next week.
ii)
Jesus
is telling us in advance that a lot of horrible things will happen. Like the TV show, you know “the good guys will
win in the end”. Read the end of the
bible: “We win”. That should give us comfort during the
“tribulations” of our life.
d)
We
ourselves may or may not see this event.
If I happen to be wrong in my “pre-trib.” views, so be it, I’ll take
comfort in the fact that the tribulation will not be forever.
i)
I
don’t believe I am wrong, but that’s a different story. J
e)
Jesus
is telling this to Christians all through history to be on the watch for these
events.
i)
A
reason is to keep us motivated and on our toes.
ii)
We
warn others of this event as a motivator to accept Jesus free gift of
salvation.
iii)
Further,
it is a reminder to us that “Jesus the Prophet” knows all things and warns of
all things in advance. Tribulation is
less painful if we know there is an end.
f)
Next,
week, the last 26 verses of this chapter, we will get into more “signs” of when
this will happen.
28.
Heavenly
Father, help us to “stay on our toes” and watch for your coming. Help us to keep our focus on the eternal
perspective and to be persistent in the things you have called us to do as
believers. We wait and watch for your
coming. We ask this in Jesus name,
amen.