Matthew 24:15-31

Introduction

We continue through out study of the Lord’s sermon in Matthew 24. As a reminder, the sermon focuses both on the “near term” or the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD, as well as the “long term” or the end of the age and the return of Jesus.

In the previous section, Jesus warned the disciples and us to be on the lookout for a variety of signs, both human and natural, that would be “symptoms” of the end. However his main message was, “Don’t be alarmed.”

The next part of the message is going to go into greater detail about the horrors that would be faced during the destruction of the city, and during the Christian period as a whole. Again, the lines between “now” and “then” tend to blur with apocalyptic language.

15-28: It’s getting bad out there

The Lord begins by referencing the “abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place”

This is an allusion to Daniel 11:31 “Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.”

Most Israelites believed that this prophecy and vision that Daniel saw was fulfilled by the tyrant Antiochus Ephiphanes during the “intertestamental period”. Antiochus had also destroyed Jerusalem and desecrated the Temple by slaughtering a pig on the altar - that was supposedly the “abomination of desolation”.

This, and other cruel things, is ultimately what led to the Maccabean revolution that briefly brought back independent Jewish rule before the Romans conquered them again.

But now Jesus refers to it again saying, “When you see...” implying that what Daniel saw was still to come in some way. This would have been a terrifying thought for the disciples (and the Jews at large) because the days of Antiochus were regarded as so terrible themselves.

So what is Jesus referring to here? In 70 AD when the Romans attacked the city, the Roman Emperor Hadrian had a statue of himself erected inside the Temple. Even before that though, Pontius Pilate had a statue of Zeus put up as well. Both statues were considered highly idolatrous and offensive.

“Abomination of Desolation” can also be translated “that causes desolation” and so this act is being described as something that made the Temple desolate and unusable. Not surprising since God (Jesus) had already departed it.

Matthew adds a cryptic parenthetical of (let the reader understand). It’s not clear why he added this. Perhaps it was a note to the original readers of his Gospel to discuss this more? Or if the Gospel fell into the hands of the Romans it would help dissuade them from making any connections to themselves.

When this terrible event happens, Jesus gives a series of warnings to different groups of people.

Those in Judea flee to the mountains.

The one who is on the housetop not take what’s in the house.

The one in the field not turn back to get his cloak.

Pregnant and nursing mothers.

All of these are various ways to warn the people, “When this happens, you need to leave immediately!”

He adds that they ought to pray that those days not happen in the winter or on the Sabbath - winter made travel difficult in Israel, and of course the Jews wouldn’t travel on the Sabbath for fear of breaking the Law.

If all these things are interpreted as referring to “the end”, then Jesus is warning us to always be ready, and also not to be found in a period of unfruitfulness (winter) or a period of rest (Sabbath).

Why all of this warning? Because that event would be so severe for the inhabitants of Jerusalem that it will be worse than anything they had ever experienced.

The Jewish historian Josephus testifies that this was in fact the case. When the Romans destroyed the city and the temple in 70 AD, it was one of the worst times in Jewish history.

Jesus adds that they will be so bad that, if they hadn’t been cut short, nobody would survive. But why were they cut short? “For the sake of the elect.” And so we see that as terrible as the war and destruction of Jerusalem was, it was actually cut short because of Christians.

This is really theologically important. Christians, as the children of God, actually do have an impact on saving other people, even non-believers, from the judgement of God.

One ancient church writer speculated that if it had not been for the presence of Christians which “cut this period short”, the entire Jewish race might have been wiped out.

St. Augustine points out something similar when he says that as Rome was being attacked, as much as the pagans hated the Christians, they would flee and hide inside the Churches - and miraculously the barbarians destroyed everything except the churches.

Now the language is going to apparently shift from the “near” to apparently the “far”. The nature of apocalyptic language means that it suits both. “The great tribulation” that has been discussed so far can refer both to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but also to the entire Christian period!

For 2,000 years, Christians have faced “great tribulation” regularly, particularly through persecution. In this sense, this level of “tribulation” hasn’t ever been seen since the beginning of the world, nor it will ever be again once the end finally comes.

The rest of the section will primarily be seen with eyes towards the Church.

The Lord then reminds us to be on the lookout against false Christs and prophets.

During the war of 70 AD, there were in fact many men that claimed to be the Messiah. As we discussed last week, this still happens.

Jesus notes that they will perform great signs and miracles to try and lead many Christians astray. This is a reminder that no matter what “incredible” things someone performs, they are not the Christ! (He even says, “see I have told you beforehand”)

In addition to this, he warns against those will claim the Messiah is “out in the wilderness (desert)” or “in the inner rooms”.

The desert wilderness was a popular place for rebels and troublemakers to go out and start movements. We see an example of this in Acts 21:38 “Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?””

The “inner rooms” is probably a reference to cultic groups who talk about “hidden Messiahs” and invite people to join them to discover the mystery.

The real Messiah, Jesus Christ, does not/will not need to be “in the wilderness” - he spent his entire life and ministry surrounded by people! It doesn’t make sense for him to withdraw from people in the end.

And by the same token, Jesus was never secret about anything. Everything he did was extremely public. He even brings this up when he gets arrested. Why would he need to “hide” himself later? He doesn’t!

So how will we know that the Lord really has returned? Well…it’ll be obvious!

Jesus uses two illustrations. The first is lightning, which can be seen in all directions when it strikes. The other is that of vultures, which gather wherever a corpse is.

We don’t need to be worried about anyone telling us when and where Jesus will return. We won’t miss it when it happens.

29-31: This is the end

I mentioned that the “great tribulation” refers to the entire Christian period (which has been going on for about 2,000 years now). It will continue until the Lord returns - tomorrow, 10 years, 500 years, 1,000 years, or perhaps 10,000 years from now!

Jesus says that whenever it does happen, it will occur “immediately after the tribulation of those days”, there will be no intermediate period or waiting.

He then uses apocalyptic language to describe how cataclysmic this event will be.

The sun will be darkened

The moon will not give its light

The stars will fall from heaven

The power of the heavens will be shaken

I want to caution us against taking these things literally. Apocalyptic language isn’t meant to be taken literally.

In sum, Jesus is saying that his return will be universe altering. Both heaven and earth will be radically changed - renewed even.

I also want to point out a theme - darkness is defeated!

The sun being “darkened” implies that an even greater light will appear to eclipse it.

The moon will not give it’s light - because there will no longer be any “night”.

The stars will fall from heaven - similar to the moon, there won’t be a need for stars because there will be no night.

We don’t have to take these things literally to see that when Christ Jesus returns, all darkness will be defeated.

Revelation 21:23 “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

Jesus then says the “sign of the Son of Man” will appear in the sky. It’s not clear what this sign will be, but it will apparently be obvious.

Many early Christians thought this sign would be a cross.

Whatever the sign, once it is seen it will cause “all the tribes of the earth” to mourn. The Jews who killed him and didn’t believe will realize He is alive, and the Gentiles who thought a crucified God was foolish will realize they were wrong - and all will mourn at their realization.

This will all happen when the whole world sees “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”. This is a regular description of the Lord’s second coming. It will be glorious and incredible (for us who believe anyway!).

While the world mourns, He will send out his angels to gather all Christians (the elect) from all over the world and heaven.

The fact that the Son of Man is commanding God’s angels tells us that He is himself God.

Paul gives similar descriptions of this event in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” and 1 Corinthians 15:52 “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

This final idea of “gathering” is meant to instill hope in us. Remember, the world will mourn at the return of our King for they have not believed in Him. But we will celebrate!

Conclusion

The end of the world will be terrible, just as the end of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD was terrible. Well, it will be terrible for those who don’t put their faith in the Lord Jesus that is. For the rest of us that do, the end will actually be a time of celebration. We will have come through that long and great tribulation that has lasted thousands of years so far, and at long last spend eternity with our Great God and Savior.

Revelation 21:2–4 “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””