"The End of the Age" Matthew 24a Mar 02 2025

Intro & Scripture

Good morning

We have come to Matt 24

If we go all the way back to Matt 21, we looked at the Triumphal Entry, where Jesus came into Jerusalem

And ever since then, in these previous three chapters, it’s mostly been about Jesus in the Temple

Today, Jesus leaves the Temple

We will see where his disciples point out the architecture of the Temple

And then Jesus literally sits down on the Mount of Olives and begins speaking

This is known as the Olivet Discourse Matt 24-25

Again, most of the words today are directly from Jesus

In fact, starting in Matt 24:4 all the way to the end of Chapter 25 is only the words of Jesus

Today, I’ll be covering the first 14 verses of Chapter 24

Let’s read this together

Matthew 24:1–2 ESV

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Verse 3 -

Matthew 24:3–8 ESV

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?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Verse 9 -

Matthew 24:9–14 ESV

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

(Pray...)

The Bible in Context

As we look at this section, I want to remind you that all of these events in Matthew and in the other Gospels took place in the context, and in the age of the Jewish Old Covenant

Also, keep in mind that out of all four Gospels, Matthew was written for a Jewish audience

We need to be careful to not automatically apply everything found in the Gospels to ourselves

This includes what Jesus did and said

For instance, in Luke 17 when Jesus healed the ten lepers - he told them to show themselves to the priest

We don’t take that to mean that when God heals us, we need to go out and find a Jewish priest

That’s why I don’t like it when people say they hold a perfectly literal interpretation of the Bible

As if a literal interpretation is always the best

Reading the Bible completely literally will give you some weird results

The best way to read the Bible is in proper context

Having a clear context will tell us when things are literal and when things are metaphorical

And some things can be literal and metaphorical, like we’ll see today

Also, reading the Bible in proper context tells us when things are descriptive and when they are prescriptive

Jesus telling the lepers to show themselves to the priest is a descriptive passage -

It’s not a prescriptive verse, commanding all of us to go show ourselves to a priest

Descriptive passages are not commandments for us

The other thing to keep in mind is that God has always revealed himself over vast periods of time

This is called Progressive Revelation

When Adam and Eve sinned - Jesus didn’t just immediately show up and say, “I’m your Savior. Go cut a tree down and make it into a cross, then crucify me - I’m trying to save you.”

We find an oblique prophesy of Christ all the way back in Gen 3:15, but after Adam & Eve, it was thousands of years before Jesus was born

Adam and Eve couldn’t possibly have understood what that prophesy was all about

And it’s been a couple of thousand years since Jesus walked on the Earth

God reveals himself over vast periods of time

Olivet Discourse Outline

Matthew - Olivet Discourse

Christ on Mt of Olives (Matt 24) - Old Covenant

Christ Dies

Resurrection

Ascension

New Covenant - Age of the Church (Matt 24:4-8)

Day of Pentecost (Acts 2)

Coming of the Holy Spirit

Christ’s Church is Established - Includes Gentiles

End of the Age (Matt 24:9-26)

Christ Comes for the Church (Rapture)

The Great Tribulation

2nd Coming of Christ

Signs of Christ’s 2nd Coming (Matt 24:27-51)

Millennium Reign of Christ on Earth

The Destruction of the Temple

[First slide - verse 1]

Chapter 24 starts off with Jesus leaving the Temple

And his disciples point out the architecture of the Temple

The Temple would have been probably the most beautiful building in the Middle East at the time

There is a human tendency for us to admire physical beauty

Man always tends to look on the outside -

A beautiful church building

The architecture of a church building

Even the size of a congregation

It was almost as if they were saying, “Look, Jesus at our beautiful religion - we have so much going for us”

But Jesus, in just the last chapter, had previously condemned the Pharisees -

For putting more value in the temple gold, rather than the purpose of the temple

And for their hypocritical teachings and twisted doctrines

And the Pharisees were the stewards of the Temple

Also, back in Chapter 21, we read that Jesus drove out all who sold and bought in the temple - and overturned the tables of the money-changers

Because they were desecrating the Temple itself

And now, the disciples are admiring the various buildings of the Temple

Jesus said, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

It’s almost like Jesus is saying, “Do you really see these??”

Or another way, “In your blindness, do you see what I’m seeing?”

We can apply what Jesus said as, “Don’t get comfortable and complacent - look carefully at the world around you”

As a pastor once said, “That’s a good question Jesus asked - do we really see the world for what it is?”

I call it “exegete a neighborhood” - or, “properly interpret your surroundings” - see the world in which you live, as it really is

Bill & Connie: I’m sure during your missionary days, you always had to understand the area in which you did your mission work...

I could go on and on - but the world needs to hear the Gospel - the world needs Jesus - and we need to preach the Gospel

As many of you know, we live right around the corner

A few years ago, I took a church planting class through Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

One of our assignments was to exegete and evaluate our neighborhood, within five miles

What are the needs of this community?

Is there vast homelessness, here in Hermitage? Not really

Is there a lot of poverty? No - this is a nice area

High crime? Not really

What I determined is that there is a spiritual poverty

Right next door is one of the largest Hindu temples in Nashville area

And I know of several false churches - not all are false - but a handful of false churches within 5 miles

I don’t say that to make you feel guilty - but we can all be praying for this neighborhood

Now, why did Jesus say, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down?”

There are a lot of interpretations to this and to the Olivet Discourse

It’s okay if you disagree with me - but I’m attempting to bring out the plain teaching of the Bible - as best I know how

I believe this specific prophesy of Jesus was both literal and metaphorical

In 70 A.D., the temple was destroyed by Rome

So, its literal destruction already came about

It’s also a metaphorical prophesy - as an end of the Old Covenant

Among all of the things Jesus did during his human life on Earth, Jesus also ushered in the Age of the Church

His death on the cross was once for all

Hebrews 10:10–14 ESV

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God...For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Under the Old Covenant, Jews were sanctified by multiple sacrifices over and over

We are sanctified, and perfected, and forgiven by Christ’s single sacrifice

Have you ever noticed that in modern Judaism, they don’t make sacrifices anymore?

They lack a Temple

Most scholars agree that the continual sacrifices ended with the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.

The temple was literally destroyed back then

Jesus died on a cross -and rose from the grave -and ascended to heaven

Then there was the Day of Pentecost - and the Holy Spirit came upon all who believed

This was the end of the Old Covenant - and the Age of the Church was ushered in

We live in this Age - the Age of Grace, the Age of the Church

Signs of the End of the Age

[Second slide - verse 3]

Verse 3 begins with Jesus sitting down on the Mount of Olives - and the disciples asking him questions

“When will these things be?”

“What will be the sign of your coming?”

“...and the sign of the end of the age?”

That term, “end of the age,” is in the NT six times - five are in Matthew alone

And it refers to the final judgment and consummation of all things

The disciples couldn’t completely understand that Jesus was talking about the Age of the Church and all

But we have a clearer understanding

Jesus is giving a warning -

Not to follow false christs who claim to be Jesus

Wars and rumors of wars

Nation against nation - earthquakes & famines

Remember, in verses 4-8, Jesus is not talking about the Tribulation

In verse 6, he even says, “but the end is not yet,” - and in verse 8, he says, “All these things are but the beginning of the birth pains”

When 9-11 took place, there were many people claimed it was the end of the world

Same thing during the 1960’s Vietnam War

Same thing during both world wars

Same thing during the US Civil War

[Third slide - verse 9]

I believe verses 9-14 turn the corner

Jesus is now talking about the tribulation

And if you look at biblical prophesy closely, the church is not mentioned during the tribulation

Verses 4-8 are general in nature - they talk, in general terms, our messed up world

But in verse 9 it gets personal

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations...”

Who is “you?”

Obviously, he is not talking about the Church, but the nation of Israel

This tribulation will take place after the Church is raptured by Jesus

Most scholars: tribulation will be 7 years

I believe this purging time will happen for Israel to repent and come to the Lord

The Church keeps anti-Semitism to a minimum in a sense

But after the Church is raptured, there will be anti-Semitism like never before

It will be a time of confusion and horrible living

Here’s what else Jesus says will happen in those days:

Many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another

False prophets will lead many astray

Lawlessness will increase - love will decrease

But the one who endures to the end will be saved

This “gospel of the kingdom” will be proclaimed throughout the whole world - and then the end will come

So, what is this “gospel of the kingdom?”

JTB and Jesus preached the same thing - “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

We are called to preach the Gospel of Grace

Are they different? No, they both point to the cross of Christ

The only distinction is that JTB and Jesus preached the “gospel of the kingdom,” as it indicated the coming end of the Old Covenant

And it will be once again preached during the tribulation to indicate that Jesus is coming again

Both point to Christ

The whole Bible points to Christ - specifically, the cross of Christ

But we are currently in the Age of the Church - we are under grace, not the Law

We are privileged right now

We have a better understanding of the Scriptures

We have a Bible that’s complete and sufficient

We have the full OT and NT, including the epistles that explain things to us

But there is still a mystery

I wish, for example, that at the beginning of verse 9, Jesus would have said something like, “And now, I’m going to talk about the great tribulation”

I also wish that somewhere in the Bible it explicitly says that the six days of creation were literally 24-hour periods

Or, the six days merely represent vast periods of time

Christians love to debate about such things

I believe with all my heart that the Bible is sufficient - and God didn’t leave anything out

It’s okay to talk about these things - but let’s not get into heated debates -

Especially in the public’s eye!

It’s okay to be a Christian and not know everything

It’s even okay for the pastor to not know everything

There are difficult passages of Scripture - but as Alistair Begg has pointed out, “God has made sure that the main things are plain things”

Let’s hold on to the main things - and trust that God has secondary things under his control

I think the Church forgets that we are in a wonderful position in history

We take things for granted - we think we have all the time in the world

Look at the world around you - the world needs Jesus

We don’t have all the time in the world - if you need to get right with the Lord, get right with him

If you need prayer, or you have questions about where you stand with the Lord - pull me aside and talk to me

And pray for others

Every one of you in this room can have a ministry of prayer

All of us can be praying for one another

Closing

I want to close with sober caution

I like what one scholar said:

The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Not Yet the End (24:4–14)

Jesus does not simply seek to stir disciples to short-term end-times enthusiasm, like some popular modern teachers of prophecy

I’ve heard all sorts of theories from Christians

I’ve heard Christians get all worked up because they think earthquakes, for instance, are happening more and more these days

And they will ring the end-time bells

As it turns out, we have greater seismic technology with more sensitive equipment

The truth is, we’re not experiencing more earthquakes lately - we’re able to detect more earthquakes

The world is watching us and Christians need to be very careful we don’t come up with weird ideas

There is a sensational aspect to the study of end-times

Including many who hold a, “I’m right - you’re wrong” attitude

J. Vernon McGee spoke about Christians who are into end-times: “Don’t look up, look around...”

We have been given the wonderful privilege of living in this Age of the Church

And a wonderful privilege to walk in grace

We have a better understanding of God’s Bible - more than most people in the Bible

Let’s take advantage of this privilege to love the Lord - and love others as ourselves

Let’s take advantage of this privilege to walk humbly in the grace God has given us

I pray that all of us will look around - so we can do the work of the Lord

Serve him, by loving others

(Pray...)

Communion

(Pick one…)

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.