Matthew 24 (2)

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:18-25

Introduction

We’re about to Look at One of the Most…

Twisted/Abused/Misinterpreted Chapters in the Bible

So Many Different Beliefs/Doctrines Concerning the End of Time…

Have Come from a Combination of this Chapter & Revelation:

Dispensational Premillennialism

The Rapture

The 1,000 Year Reign

The 7 Year Tribulation

The Chapter We’re Going to Look at is:

Matthew 24

In Order to Correctly Interpret this Chapter…

We Absolutely Must Keep it in its Context

In Chapter 23, Jesus was Telling His Disciples & the Crowds…

That God’s Judgment was Coming Upon Jerusalem…

In This Generation

What Jesus is Talking about in Matthew 24…

Is the Coming Judgment…

That would Affect the Israelites of His Day

It’s All about the Day of the Lord (Judgment) Coming Upon Jerusalem in 70 AD

But it Also Points Forward to the Final Day of the Lord…

When Jesus will Return to Bring Final Judgment Upon the Wicked…

And Rescue His People for All Eternity

But, It’s a Longer Chapter, So Let’s Get to it

Matthew 24:1–2 (NASB95)

1 Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

Luke 21:5 Tells Us the Disciples Were Admiring the Temple’s Beauty…

When Jesus Tells Them…

That All Those Beautiful Stones Will Be Torn Down

Later, on the Mount of Olives (Over-Looking the Temple)

His Disciples Ask Him 2 Questions about What He’d Just Said

If We Misunderstand These 2 Questions…

Then We’ll Misunderstand Jesus’ Answer

Matthew 24:3 (NASB95)

3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

If We’re Not Careful, We’ll Read this Question as:

1.) “When Will This Happen?”

2.) “And What Will be the Signs of Your Second Coming and the End of Time?”

But That’s Not What They were Asking

They weren’t Asking about the End of Time…

Or Jesus’ Second Coming

They Didn’t Even Understand that Jesus was Going Anywhere…

Much Less Coming Back!

Mark & Luke’s Accounts Make Their Questions More Clear:

Mark 13:4 (NASB95)

4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”

Luke 21:7 (NASB95)

7 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

They Weren’t Asking About Jesus’ Second Coming

They couldn’t Even Conceive of Such a Question Yet

They Still Didn’t Understand that Jesus was Going to Die…

Much Less that He was Going to Resurrect, Ascend to Heaven, & Return

They Weren’t Asking About the End of Time

They Asked About When the Temple Would Be Destroyed

Their 2 Questions were:

1.) “When Will the Temple Be Destroyed?”

2.) “What is the Sign that it’s about to Be Destroyed?”

Jesus Answers Their 2nd Question 1st

Matthew 24:4–14 (NASB95)

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6 “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

As for What Signs will Precede the Destruction of the Temple…

Jesus Begins By Telling His Disciples that:

There will Be False Messiahs Who will Claim to Rescue Israel from Rome

“Don’t Believe/Follow Them”

There will Be Wars, Rumors of Wars, Insurrections…

Famines, Earthquakes, Persecutions, & False Teachers

“These are Not Going to Be the Destruction of the Temple”

They are the Birth Pains that Must Precede it

The Destruction of the Temple will Only Come…

After the Gospel of the Kingdom has Been Preached to the Whole World

By 70 AD, the Gospel had Reached All of the Known World

Matthew 24:15–16 (NASB95)

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

“Therefore” Connects What Jesus Just Said to What He’s Now Saying

When He Mentions the Abomination of Desolation Spoken of By Daniel…

He’s Still Referring to the Signs that will Precede the Destruction of the Temple

But What is the Abomination of Desolation?

Luke’s Account is More Clear

Luke 21:20 (NASB95)

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.

The Abomination of Desolation is When the Roman Armies…

Are Surrounding the City of Jerusalem

Jesus Tells His Disciples that Whenever They See this Sign…

They Need to Flee to the Mountains

That’s Exactly What the Christians in Jerusalem Did

They Fled Across the Jordan River…

To the Town of Pella in the Mountains

Matthew 24:17–28 (NASB95)

17 “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.

22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 “Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Jesus is Warning His Disciples Beforehand:

“Don’t Let Anything Stop You or Slow You Down!”

“You Run for the Mountains & Don’t Look Back!”

The Tribulation that Took Place in Jerusalem Was Horrendous

Hundreds of Jews were Crucified

There was In-Fighting Over Food & Resources

Mothers were Cannibalizing Their Own Children

Jesus Described it as the Greatest Tribulation…

The World Had Ever Seen and Would Ever See

Matthew 24:29–31 (NASB95)

29 “But 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 the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

This Passage Causes Many to Think…

That Jesus is Talking About His Return at the End of Time

But that’s Not at All What’s Going on Here

This Same Figurative Language of the Lights in the Heavens Going Out…

Is Used By Numerous OT Prophets to Refer…

To God Turning Out the Lights on a Nation

It’s Apocalyptic Language to Describe the Downfall of a Nation

The Son of Man “Coming on the Clouds” is a Prophecy from Daniel…

Of the Messiah Coming Up to God to Sit on His Heavenly Throne…

Not of the Messiah Coming Down from Heaven to Earth

Jesus isn’t Prophesying of His Return

He’s Prophesying of His Vindication as King Over All Things

He’s Prophetically Describing the Downfall of Israel

Because of Their Rejection & Murder of the Messiah…

God will Bring Their Doom Upon Them

Now God’s People will Consist of All People

From One End of the Sky to the Other

Matthew 24:32–35 (NASB95)

32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Jesus Uses a Fig Tree as an Illustration:

“You Know Summer is Near By Looking at the Signs of a Fig Tree”

“You’ll Know the Destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple is Near…”

“When You See the Signs I’ve Just Given You”

“It Won’t Be Long”

“It’ll Happen in this Generation”

(Within the Next 40 Years)

They can Rest Assured on the Truth of His Prophecy

Matthew 24:36 (NASB95)

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

I’ve Always Heard that this is a “Transition Text”

The Traditional COC View is:

That Jesus is Transitioning from Talking About the Destruction of Jerusalem…

To Talking about His Second Coming on the Day of Judgement

Maybe

But that Doesn’t Seem to Match the Context at All

This is a Transition Text…

But Not Because Jesus is Transitioning…

From Talking about the Destruction of Jerusalem…

To Talking about the End of Time

He’s Transitioning from Answering Their 2nd Question…

To Answering Their 1st

The Destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple was Coming in Their Generation…

But as for the Exact Day & Hour, Only the Father Knew

Matthew 24:37–41 (NASB95)

37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

The Judgement of God Upon Jerusalem…

Would Be Like the Judgement of God Upon the Entire World in Noah’s Day

People Will Be Going About Their Normal Lives…

Then the End Destruction will Come

Some will Be Taken By the Romans to Be Dispersed or Killed…

And the Others Will Be Left

Matthew 24:42–51 (NASB95)

42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus Tells His Disciples to Be on the Alert

They Were to Watch for the Signs He Warned Them About…

Because They Didn’t Know When Jerusalem’s Destruction would Come

Then He Gives 2 Illustrations…

As to Why it’s Important to Always Be on the Alert:

Because the Judgement will Come at a Time They Didn’t Know or Expect

Matthew 24 isn’t Talking about the End of Time

So Many Unscriptural Ideas have Come…

From Misunderstanding What Jesus is Actually Talking about:

The Destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple in 70 AD

Application

There have Been Many “Days of the Lord” (Judgment Days)

Times Where God has Brought Destruction Upon a Wicked People

And Every Single One of Them…

Has Been Foreshadowing & Leading Up…

To a Final Day of the Lord that’s Yet to Come

Jesus Gave His 1st Century Disciples Signs to Recognize…

So They could Escape the Judgment that was Coming

But He hasn’t Give Us Any Signs Concerning His Return

We Still Live in a World Plagued By:

Wars

Rumors of Wars

Insurrections

Famines

Earthquakes

Persecutions

False Teachers

These Things aren’t Signs Telling Us When Jesus is Coming in Judgment

They’re Reminders that We Live in a Broken/Fallen World

Like Jesus in this Chapter…

Paul Describes These Things as the Pains of Childbirth

In Romans 8, Paul Said All of Creation is Groaning & Suffering…

In the Pains of Childbirth

But When Jesus Returns…

All of Creation will Be Set Free…

From Corruption, Pain, and Suffering

And His Faithful People, Alongside All of Creation…

Will Be Set Free & Redeemed

We’re in the Midst of the Pains of Childbirth Now…

But Soon the Baby will Be Born…

And the Joy will Never End

Our King will Return to Save Us from the Pain & Suffering

We Don’t Know the Day or the Hour…

But We Know He’s Coming & We Need to Be Ready