"THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION"

Are you ready for Christ to come back? why or why not?

Proposition - This morning we going learn about three things that will happen in the first 3 and half years of the tribulation. 1) the increased persecution, 2) the fleeing b/c of persecution, and 3) the pleading b/c of persecution.

Interrogative question - How do you know that you are ready for Christ coming?

1. The Increased Persecution - vs. 15-16

Matthew 24:15–16 NASB95

15 “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), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

Do you think that the “church” (that is believers) will be on earth during the tribulation?

What is the abomination of desolation?

Mt 24:15 the abomination that causes desolation: A quotation from Daniel 9:27 and 12:11. Most interpreters believe this prophecy was fulfilled in 168 BC., when the Syrian ruler Antiochus sacrificed a pig on the altar in the Jerusalem temple. Jesus was probably referring to a second such abomination that He predicted would occur. Some interpreters think this was the appearance of Roman soldiers in the temple in AD 70. Lemke, S. W. (2007). The Academic Use of Gospel Harmonies. In Holman Christian Standard Bible: Harmony of the Gospels (p. 173). Holman Bible Publishers.

He has shown that many disturbances will occur and that a lengthy period of gospel proclamation is going to intervene before the day of his coming arrives. As to the first part of the question, considered all by itself, “When shall this—destruction of Jerusalem and its temple—be?” Jesus answers it now, but in such a way that the answer suits more than one event in history. To begin with, it was appropriate for the days immediately referred to by Daniel; see especially Dan. 11:31; 12:11. In accordance with that prophet’s prediction Antiochus Epiphanes (175–164 B.C.), unaware that he was indeed fulfilling prophecy, and being thoroughly responsible for his own wicked deed, erected a pagan altar over the altar of burnt-offering, thus polluting the house of God. This had happened long ago. Nevertheless, Jesus says, “Now when you see ‘the desolating sacrilege,’ ” showing that he is telling the disciples that a divine oracle may apply to more than one historical situation: the sacrilege that results in the desolation of city and temple takes place more than once in history. Let the man who reads Daniel’s prophecy understand this! Just as in the past the holy places of the Lord had been desecrated, so it will happen again. And it did indeed take place when the Roman armies, with the image of the emperor upon their standards, an image and an emperor worshipped by them793 laid siege to the city of Jerusalem (Luke 21:20). But just as the pagan altar and the swine offered upon it in the very temple of Jehovah in the second century B.C. pointed forward to the idolatrous legions of Rome, so these in turn foreshadowed the great and final violation by the antichrist of all that is sacred. It is for this reason that in verses 29–31 Jesus is able to say, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.… And then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in the sky … and then they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (Vol. 9, pp. 857–858). Baker Book House.

Why does Jesus tell the people who are in Judea to flee?

The disciples had reacted with the question, “Tell us, when shall this happen, and what (shall be) the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age?” (24:3). As to the erroneous implication of that question, as if the fall of Jerusalem and its temple would be immediately followed by the end of the age, Jesus has set the disciples straight on that. He has shown that many disturbances will occur and that a lengthy period of gospel proclamation is going to intervene before the day of his coming arrives. As to the first part of the question, considered all by itself, “When shall this—destruction of Jerusalem and its temple—be?” Jesus answers it now, but in such a way that the answer suits more than one event in history. Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (Vol. 9, p. 857). Baker Book House.

2. The Fleeing because of Persecution - vs. 17-19

Matthew 24:17–19 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!

Who is fleeing? Who is the book of Matthew written too?

Why does Jesus mention women?

The sympathetic heart of our Lord, revealed on so many previous occasions as recorded in this Gospel (8:17; 9:13, 36; 11:25–30; 12:7, 30; 15:32; 19:13–15; 23:23, 37), is deeply affected by two additional considerations: a. the plight of women, and b. travel difficulties during the winter and on sabbaths: 19. But woe to those who are pregnant796 and to those who nurse babies797 in those days! Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (Vol. 9, p. 859). Baker Book House.

In this connection it should be borne in mind that this tender concern for women with babies was revealed by Christ in days when women were often looked down upon. The words uttered came from the lips of the same Son of man who showed special kindness to widows (Mark 12:42, 43; Luke 7:11–17; 18:1–8; 20:47; 21:2, 3); to women who were, or had been, living in sin (Luke 7:36–50; John 4:1–30); and, at the time of his own crowning agony, to his own mother (John 19:26, 27). It is to him that also the women of today should turn for help and comfort! Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (Vol. 9, p. 859). Baker Book House.

3. The Pleading because of Persecution - vs. 20-22

Matthew 24:20–22 NASB95

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.

From what immediately follows it is evident once again that for Jesus the transition from the second to the third application of Daniel’s prediction was as easy as that from the first (the tribulation experienced by God’s people during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes) to the second (the distress in connection with the fall of Jerusalem): 21, 22.… for then there shall be great tribulation, such as there has never been since the beginning of the world until now, and as there shall never be again. And if those days were not cut short no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short. As to the “great tribulation” to which Jesus here refers, care should be exercised. Rev. 7:14 also speaks about a “great tribulation.” Are these two the same? The answer is: they are not. As the context in Rev. 7 indicates, the word is used there in a far more general sense. Because of his faith every genuine child of God experiences tribulation during his life on earth. See John 16:33; cf. Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17; 2 Tim. 3:12. But Jesus is here speaking about a tribulation that will characterize “those days,” a tribulation such as has never been and never again shall be, a very brief period of dire distress that shall occur immediately before his return (see verses 29–31). It is the period mentioned also in Rev. 11:7–9; 20:3b, 7–9a. For the sake of God’s chosen ones—see N.T.C. on Eph. 1:4—in order that not all might have to die a violent death, the days of this final tribulation shall be cut short.799 Herein, too, the love of God is made manifest. It should hardly be necessary to add that justice is not done to the concept of this tribulation, which immediately precedes “the end” of the world’s history and which surpasses any other distress in its intensity, if it is referred solely to the sorrows experienced during the fall of Jerusalem. Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (Vol. 9, pp. 859–860). Baker Book House.

SO WHAT??

How do you know that you are ready for Christ coming?