Matthew 24:1-

Compare Jesus’ day to Today and future…

In Matthew 23 we see Jesus at the Temple standing before the crowds and his disciples as He makes very bold accusations.

In verse 3, He highlights the fact that the Pharisees occupied “Moses’ Seat” or the “Seat of Moses” which was an actual chair in local synagogues [known as churches today] that represented the teaching authority of Moses’ successors as interpreters of God’s Word.

The Seat of Moses very much so correlates to our pulpit in the church of today!

So as Jesus is drawing attention to the Seat of Moses and the Pharisees who are suppose to be teaching the unadulterated Word of God from it… He then tells the crowds not to be like the Pharisees - because they quote “preach… but do not practice!”

The greek literally reads “They speak…but do not do!”

However…Jesus says that what the Pharisees do enjoy are badges and opportunities to be praised! They enjoy being the center of attention at church and love to be greeted with titles [such as Rabbi] that underline their status or prestige.

If the Pharisees ever had a theme song it would go something like this….

I want to talk about me, want to talk about I

Wanted to talk about number one, oh my me my

What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see…

I like talking about You…You…You…You… Usually

But occasionally [not really]…I want to talk about me!

Which most of you know are the words of the “late, great, I pray He was saved “Toby Keith”…

In verse 37, we read Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem and His people! He has just stood before them. Told the truth. Begged for them to repent. But he looks out and sees his chosen people elevating these Pharisees as their leaders as they reject and even kill God’s true representatives.

In Matt. 24: 1-2: As Jesus and the disciples are leaving the Temple at Jerusalem that day and the disciples were looking and gawking over the temple property and facilities - Jesus kills their mood when He tells them that there would be a day when the Temple would be no more. That there would come a day when “not one stone is stacked upon another” the text tells us…

That day came about 40 years after Jesus’ crucifixion in AD 70 when Titus [who would become the Emperor of Rome] was given the authority and responsibility of raising Jerusalem to the ground in response to Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire.

Later that day, as he [Jesus] 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?”

Jesus begins his answer to them with a warning:

“See that no one leads you astray” v. 4

Because there will be false teachers who arise and claim to be me, there will be wars and rumors of wars, in fact, Nation will arise against Nation and there will be famine and natural disasters…these signs are the beginning of the end. They are the birth pains! v. 8

You will be delivered up to tribulation and put to death…you will be hated by all nations because of me…there will be many who fall away from the faith, those in the church who will betray one another and hate each other…false prophets will arise and lead many astray…lawlessness will increase and the love of many will grow cold.

Folks Jesus is describing the last days which Peter explains began in Acts 2:16-21 with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost!

And the states in Matthew 24:13 - That the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Jesus’ followers must take care not to be misled by occurrences that will simply be commonplace events of life in the Christian era (v. 4).

Those who endure to the end - are opposite of those whose love grows cold in the previous verse!

This doesn’t mean that we have the ability to remain saved through our own means or efforts. It means that those who have been saved by the grace of Christ…have been given the faith to endure for Christ despite the urge, pressure or persecution to do otherwise!

1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV) - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

From the birth of the church in Acts 2 to present day the church - millions of Christians have been persecuted and put to death. Islam and Atheism continues to replace the Judeo-Christian values once held by nations around the world. Governments are going secular…striking any avenue that would allow God to work in its governmental or public life…

We believe in the perseverance of the saints, but many are not saints, and therefore do not persevere. Nominal saints exhibit no final perseverance.

Charles Spurgeon -

Ex - Chiefs and 49ers…the fans are wearing the jersey but not in the game

When others around you stray from the Lord…persevere to the end!

Many claim to be Christians…but they exist in name only…

2. When you are the recipient of ridicule and hate…persevere to the end!

Many claim to be Christians…but they exist in name only…

3. When you need to come alongside others to stand against false teaching and deception…persevere to the end!

Many claim to be Christians…but they exist in name only…

4. When you must stand firm in the midst of an ever growing sinful culture…persevere to the end!

Many claim to be Christians…but they exist in name only…

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

v 9 Christian Martyrdom - disciples to christians today

10 judas, demetrius to church today

vs 11 False Teachers - Pharisees to Joel osteen and kenneth copeland

vs 12 lawlessness

vs 15 abom of desolation -

Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), the king of Syria, captured Jerusalem in 167 BC and desecrated the Temple by offering the sacrifice of a pig on an altar to Zeus (the Abomination of Desolation).

AD 70 - titus

to Anchrist - the temple would have to be rebuilt

In the Olivet Discourse, when Jesus spoke about “the end of the age,” I am convinced that He wasn’t talking about the end of the world, but about the end of the Jewish age. When Jerusalem fell, the age of the Jews, which spanned from Abraham to AD 70, ended. It marked the beginning of the times of the Gentiles.

R. C. Sproul