Matthew 24 Israel at War

Matthew 24

In light of recent events, I would like to take a bit of a break from Ecclesiastes and address what’s been going on in Israel. As you know, most of here today have friends in Israel right now. The accounting of the events that happened on October 7 in the early morning hours are barbaric and heartbreaking. It has driven me to prayer, reflection, but also to anger, as I add up a series of unfortunate events that seem to all put me in a position that makes me want to chase conspiracy theories and draw my own conclusions. Ecclesiastes 1 lines out the vanity of our life. Solomon starts reminding us : Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 “2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3 What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?”

Then we read this in verses 9-11 Ecclesiastes 1:9–11 “9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.” Solomon sought in his heart to learn all he could learn, and he found, at the end of his life, that it’s meaningless under the sun. If we live day-to-day, thinking when we die that we return to the earth and become a part of the earth again, or we’re going to become a banana, or that we cease to be, then yes, our lives are meaningless. Our kids, maybe our grandkids will remember things we did, but that doesn’t build a lasting legacy.

What we see, though, and Solomon noticed it, was that Ecclesiastes 1:9 “9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.” This means the devil doesn’t have any new tricks…why do we keep falling for them? History repeats itself so we learn our lessons, so we can become the change our world needs to see. What is new under the sun? US. Never before have we been so connected, never before have we been so hateful. Never before have we had so much access to knowledge, never before have we been so foolish. Never before do we have so much to see, never before have we been so blind.

Today, I want to let your eyes be opened, not me opening them. I’m going to take you to Matthew 24, I’m going to connect a few dots, but I want to mainly read it, and throw in a little commentary, but I want you to see what Jesus says as he starts his last teaching on the Mount of Olives. We’ll be in Matthew 24, but the teaching goes thru Matthew 25 as well, but I’m not going to go there today. You can connect your Gospel messages with this one in Mark 13, and Luke 21 if you want the more complete picture. I’ll let you get there before I open us in prayer this morning, and I’d like you to follow along, and as we read, make your own notes. What is this passage saying to you right now? What do YOU see in the world, in our community, let the Word dig out of you some of your blind spots.

Matthew 24:1–3 NKJV

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

You see, this is getting toward the end of passion week. The triumphal entry has occured, and he’s on the Mount of Olives with his closest companions and if you’ve ever been there, it’s a beautiful place to behold the temple complex, and the City of David. The disciples are marveling at the way it looks, and Jesus tells them this temple will not stand, and in Mark we hear it’s Peter, James and John that came to him and asked him the “End Times” question: How will we know when you will return? Let’s hear what Jesus says:

Matthew 24:4–8 NKJV

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the 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, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Are we seeing these things now? We hear of wars and rumors of wars…Iran says to America...”Don’t.” America says to…whoever is watching “Don’t.” Nation vs Nation, Kingdom vs Kingdom. Famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Are we seeing these things? We are. Not exactly, but we’re seeing many of them. We can go conspiracy theory and go down each of these rabbit holes and make this scripture line up directly with what we’re seeing if we want to twist facts. Let me give you a nudge and reel you back in…Due to inflation, we are experiencing a famine in America. The word famine means food is scarce. Is food scarce? Nope, the funds to purchase that food is scarce. Do you see what I mean?

What does verse 8 say though? All these are the BEGINNING of sorrows. The word is birth pains. Are we seeing prophecy fulfilled? I don’t think so. Jesus says in Matthew 16:3 “3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” We need to be mindful of the things that are going on, why? Because prophecy is being set up. We’re being told to wake up church because there will come a time when people are going to get left. If we believe heaven and hell are real places, we need to get serious, because we’re at the beginning of the pains. Let’s continue:

Matthew 24:9–14 NKJV

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Who is they? The people following the orders of the enemy. Have we seen this enemy before? We did just a few years ago in ISIS. John 10:10 “10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.... This is why Israel was attacked, because they are God’s chosen people. But what did Jesus say to finish John 10:10? ...I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus destroys the bondage of the devil. He came and died so we can live! So we can show the world how to live. Back to verse 10-13. We live in a world of the offended. Nobody can take a joke anymore because EVERYONE IS OFFENSIVE. I can’t believe one of the deodorant companies hasn’t used that as a slogan yet. Does everything offend you? If it does, you need to change your heart. Grow some skin. The world isn’t out to get you, the prince of this world is. What kind of people do you want to be around? Critical people? People who have a problem with everything? Happy people draw others in. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self Control. Those are the qualities that draw people in. Learn to take a joke

I’m not saying be offensive and let people deal with your mouth. Matthew 12:33–37 “33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”” How did Jesus defeat evil? With love. Do our words belong in the litter box? If that’s what comes out of your mouth, that’s what is inside. It’s not me, it’s Jesus saying it. Every idle word. Jesus and I will be having a long meeting about my mouth when I stand before him. He knows, though, he’s healed me of that, and I know that too. There’s no going back, but I’ve got the duty to let people know not to walk that way, because, well, you’ll have to spray down your shoes.

False prophets, look, be careful who you allow to teach you. Some of these YouTube preachers are celebrities. They make content for the clicks. Some of them make REALLY SOLID content, but be careful.

Endure to the end and preach the Gospel. We talked a few weeks ago about being a preacher. We think of what I’m doing right now. A that word means to proclaim, which in our language means to announce officially, to declare, to make plain. Who better to make plain what scripture means than you or me? How better to do that than in love? Jesus said John 13:35 “35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”” Don’t let your love grow cold. Don’t let anger drive a wedge. Matthew 5:23–24 “23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” In love, build your half of the bridge. You can’t build someone elses. There’s healing in that, knowing you’ve done all you can.

Matthew 24:15–22 NKJV

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

We haven’t seen this, it’s coming. What must happen first though? The temple must be rebuilt on Temple Mount. Eyes on that, but the preparations for that temple are already in place for the construction and consecration of another temple. I want to draw your eyes to verse 21-22 though. We believe that before this great tribulation that comes, according to this portion of scripture, and a few others, that the Rapture will come before the tribulation period. And there is debate of this “elect” word, these are the people who are believers in Christ. It’s not a hand-selected few, it’s those who have chosen Christ, those are who he chooses. This is why I know that love is a choice. I choose to go home to my wife and not someone else. Is it human nature to satisfy your sin? Yep. I love my wife, I have chosen her, she has chosen me. Just like Christ, he chooses those who chose him, and he will not abuse His Bride. We can take comfort in that.

Ultimately, the rapture will happen when God wants it to happen, it’s not a salvation issue, so I won’t divide over someone else’s views, but be clear, the Great Tribulation is not for the church, it’s not for believers, it’s for Israel. I was installing a water heater this week and was challenged to sharpen my sword on this issue. End-times study and prophecy are not something I understand freely, but I appreciate a good challenge to tear into scripture and sort out my theology. I thank other brothers and sisters that give me that challenge!

Matthew 24:23–35 NKJV

23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

This is regarding the tribulation period and it’s aftermath. If you want more information on that, you can read the book of revelation. Often people get the events mixed up, and that’s OK. Eschatology isn’t something I’m really good at, it just doesn’t stick in my brain…BUT, I can search it out and help teach it! We have already discussed knowing the signs of the times. God’s word is true, it’s faithful, it’s never been proven wrong, in fact, every new discovery proves it’s right. When Heaven and earth pass away, Jesus’ words will remain true even then!

Matthew 24:36–44 NKJV

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For 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, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Lord will not destroy the earth with water ever again, next time it will be with fire. There is so much symbolism in water baptism and the flood washing away the sin of the world. But, I want to take you back to Genesis 6. What do we read about in Genesis 6, as you’re turning there, someone shout it out. The flood of Noah’s time. People struggle with it…Jonah being swallowed by the fish? Jesus confirmed it, so it happened. The flood happened? Jesus said it did, that settles it for me. If the Bible says it, I will believe it. As we’ve discussed today, Ecclesiastes says everything is on a cycle. All that happened before, will happen again. Let’s read together, I’m reading out of the New King James version.

Genesis 6:9–13 “9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

Genesis 6:11 says the Earth was filled with Violence. Does anyone know what the Hebrew word used here for Violence? It’s the word hamas. In Arabic the word means zeal which means enthusiastic devotion to a cause or goal. Hamas also stands for, in english, “The Islamic Resistance Movement.” Fitting name they chose for themselves, clearly besetting their mission, as well as their methods.

The earth was filled with hamas. It’s a word used almost 60 times in the old testament, so jews are familiar with it. What we saw last Saturday was more proof of the condition of this world. The spiritual battle with evil in the flesh. Is the world again being filled with hamas? Remember earlier this week, the protests in New York of people defending these barbarians. In countries all over the world there were angry protests, some violent. Do you know what the operation was called for the Saturday morning attack? “al-Aqsa Flood” al-Aqsa is the mosque on Temple Mount, and they’re worried Israel is going desecrate Temple Mount by building the temple on-site. Interesting, hamas fills the earth, and then comes a flood. Jews are persecuted again, and again, and again thruout scripture. Pharaoh tried to wipe them out killing the Hebrew babies. Amalek, Assyria, Haman, Rome, Hitler, Hamas. The devil wants so bad to destroy what God loves the most, and we saw pure evil last weekend, we got a taste of hell on a chain. If you think this was bad, the tribulation will be worse. Read about it.

The spirit of God’s chosen people is astonishing. Most of us, probably all of us are gentiles, not jews, but according to Romans 11 we were grafted into the vine. It is a great evil that these cycles continue to happen to God’s people, but do you know what happens when tragedy strikes, especially people who don’t believe in Christ? They come to you, don’t they? They know you wield a powerful weapon, and that’s no sword, it’s not a big gun, it’s the power that lies in the heart of a prayer warrior. In their minds, they know that there is a power in Christ that is different than any power on this earth. People are drawn to it, because God wrote it on our hearts. The Lord is calling to his people to see Him.

Matthew 24:45–51 NKJV

45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant? Who among us? Don’t answer my question out-loud, ask yourself that question, am I a faithful and wise servant? Are we doing what the Lord has called us to do? Are we His hands and feet? Do we light the way? Would people follow us if we started to walk? Would people come to you knowing you pray? Do they see the power of the Spirit in your life? These are questions we need to settle in our hearts.

Is what is happening in Israel prophetic? It doesn’t line up with what Ezekiel 38 and 39 tell us, but ultimately that wasn’t the point of today’s message. Today’s message was to remind you that the stage is being set, and it’s time we get our house in order. It’s time we become the faithful and wise servants we’re called to be. How will you react when you’re faced with evil? It’s a real question we all need to ask ourselves. When hamas comes to our door, how will we respond?

In the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says this: Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 “13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.” King Saul in 1 Samuel 15 left the Amalekite king Agag alive and brought him back with the choicest sheep, oxen, all that was still good to make himself look better in the eyes of the people. Ultimately, in 2 Samuel 1 we hear of a young man who brings King David Saul’s crown and bracelets. He said he killed King Saul, 1 Samuel 31 says he killed himself…regardless, what was this man’s nationality? He was an Amalekite. King Saul didn’t finish the job that the Lord called him to do, and ultimately, because he was ambitious, left some alive, his sin found him.

Israel needs to not make the same mistake Saul did. There needs to be no more Hamas left. In war, there is collateral damage. Look where these villains strongholds are. In schools, apartment buildings, the hospital, the places where the most innocent and vulnerable are, that’s where they fortify. Is anyone in this room seeing where I am going here?

Hamas is symbolic of the sin in our life. It embeds itself in the places we run when things are hard, when we’re hurting, when we’re resting, when we’re distracted. It’s in there deep, isn’t it. You know, to attack that stronghold, there will be collateral damage. It’s going to be a long, hard battle. You’ll need soldiers to take it over. Warriors who won’t quit until the job is done. That means you can’t quit until the job is done. Today, I’m talking to that hidden sin that we all harbor. The walls are strong and hardened, are you ready for war? Israel wasn’t, and if Israel can be surprised and overwhelmed by the enemy, so can we.

Pray for Israel and keep your eyes up. This is not the time, but it’s coming and there’s no need to be afraid. The battle for our souls isn’t more real than it is right not. This week, we’ve been given a glimpse of that spiritual battle of good verses evil, and how even when we are taking action against the evil in our lives, the enemy will cry out to us to relent because he knows what he’s losing. We’re his if we do nothing, and the devil knows it.

I want to end today reading the words of a song by Matty Mullins. Please forgive me if I get emotional reading it, I can’t hardly stand to listen to the song without tears rolling down my face.

Where was the army of angels When the crowd yelled out crucify And how could a last breath be taken By the one who’s breath becomes life All my guilt All my shame The nails that pierced you bore my name The fathers face Turned away Nothing made sense that day

But now I see It was your love for me Holding you on that tree It wasn't the nails

You chose the death of a sinner To give me the life of a saint And you left the heights of the heavens To show me the depths of your grace

You took my guilt, you took my shame Now resurrection bears my name By your blood I've been saved Nothing could stand in your way

Now I see It was your love for me Holding you on that tree It wasn't the nails (oh oh oh oh)

'Cause with one word You could've stopped the hurt But it was your love, your grace, your mercy Holding you there It wasn't the nails (Oh-oh-oh) it wasn't the nails

No one could take what you chose to give You gave your life to save my soul Freely you died so I could live Jesus you wanted me to know

It wasn't the nails (holding you on that tree)

Oh, now I see It was your love for me Holding you on that tree It wasn't the nails

'Cause with one word You could've stopped the hurt But it was your love, your grace, your mercy Holding you there It was always your love, your grace, your mercy Nothing compares It wasn't the nails (Oh-oh-oh) it wasn't the nails, no! No! It wasn't the nails