Matthew Chapter 24 Part 3

The importance is that Jesus gives the disciples and us a very distinct linear process of when these events will take place, the abomination of desolation, Satan and his army flooding the world with lies, immediately followed by the tribulation period, which was shortened for the elects sake, because he would be so deceiving that even THEY would be deceived,

Something I forgot to point out last Sunday, and James sort of hit on this about the pre-tribulation rapture, another note to look at is that Jesus clearly states the the tribulation was shortened for the elects sake, if the elect are gathered together and taken away BEFORE the tribulation than God wouldn’t have shortened the period for their sake?

But none the less, James has said this before, at the end of the day whether we believe in pre or post tribulation rapture it isn’t the unpardonable sin, Let the word of God speak for itself, and study it for yourself, don’t fall into mans doctrine,

The statement Jesus continuously brings up over and over all throughout this chapter is what?

Beware of false prophets, false idols, those who say they are the Messiah,

The only way to not be deceived throughout the end times is through spiritual and biblical discernment,

We went over last lesson how the bible tells us that the word of God is our sword, Sharpen it, train with it, by studying for yourself,

We wouldn’t need a weapon for war if we were going to be taken before deployment,

As a follower of Christ we better be ready, but not just for our sake, but for our families and peers sake,

But anyway, Matthew Chapter 24 Part 3

The Parable of the Fig tree Matthew 24:32-35 (Mark 13:28-31, Luke 21:29-33)

We know Jesus likes teaching in parables, and in Matthew we see Him teaching around 20 parables to the disciples, and like we talked about before, the disciples were to go out and multiply,

So these parables are taught to us as well,

But this particular parable has a significant importance, I want us to pay attention to the way He starts the teaching of this parable,

I also want us to make note, that this parable is going to be what explains why we are the “fig tree generation”

This parable is only 4 verses here, but it has been building throughout Jesus’s teachings,

Matthew 24:32 KJV 1900

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

So first things first, Jesus starts this parable with a commandment,

Learn this parable of the fig tree,

This shows how important it is as a follower of Jesus to understand it, He specifically makes note for us to learn it,

So what is this verse saying here?

I want to start with a comparison we use here in south Georgia,

How do we know that summer is here,

what is one of the tell tell signs that spring is over and summer is upon us?

(let everyone guess)

When the pecan trees bloom,

That’s something that my ancestors have been looking at for ever,

Now compare that to this verse here,

It says that when a fig tree starts putting forth leaves, you know that summer is here,

Fig trees are winter dormant plants, middle to late spring, new shoots grow up, that is what Christ is saying when he says “the branch is yet tender”

and the fig tree begins to put forth leaves, letting your know that summer is here,

What Jesus is teaching here, is that you don’t need someone to tell you that the season is upon us, there will be undeniable signs that the season is here just like when the fig tree puts forth leaves,

Matthew 24:33 KJV 1900

So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

So when we see all these things, the season is upon us, even right at the door,

What things is He speaking of here?

He clearly is telling the disciples that when we see ALL THESE THINGS, not some, but ALL

We have just went through a very distinct chronological series of events that MUST come to pass before the day of the Lords return.

1st, We see Jesus warning of deception of how MANY will come in His name claiming to be of Him,

We will hear of wars and rumors of wars, we will see nations will rise against nations,

next He says there will be pestilences, earthquakes,

and persecution of believers,

many believers will be offended and betrayed,

False prophets will rise and deceive many,

inequity increases and love weakens,

What are we commanded as His believers to do? ENDURE to the end,

The Gospel of the kingdom of heaven will be preached all around the world,

The abomination of desolation will then come to pass, which is Satan setting up in Jerusalem portraying himself as the Christ

which is then followed by the great tribulation,

What Jesus is saying here in verse 33, is that seeing these come to pass, is the same as seeing the fig tree bare leaves letting us know the summer season is here,

The season of the end times will be near once we see these things come to pass,

But look at verse 34,

Matthew 24:34 KJV 1900

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

I wanna take “this generation” back to the Strongs concordinance.

1. “This generation” — genea (Strong's G1074)

The Greek word translated “generation” is genea. It can refer to a generation of people, but it can also refer to people characterized by a particular condition or period.

So looking at the context that “generations” is being used here,

All the signs we have just mentioned up to the return of the Son of Man and the gathering of His people,

Are the things that will be fulfilled before this 2nd world age we are living in is pass,

and tieing this all back to the fig tree,

The illustration Jesus gives us is that when the fig tree puts forth leaves, summer is near,

The He applies, when we shall see these things , know that the end is near,

The point of what Jesus is teaching here, is that when these signs of the prophecy begin being fulfilled, as followers of Him, we need and should be able to recognize that His return is coming soon,

Matthew 24:35 KJV 1900

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Jesus is giving definite certainty of prophecy that will be fulfilled that He has just explained,

the end and passing of this generation will come, but there will be a transformation into the 3rd world age that is guaranteed, His word SHALL NOT pass away,

Be Ready at Any Hour Matthew 24:36-51 (Genesis 6:1-7, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 12:35-48)

This is technically starting the next section here in Matthew 24, but don’t separate it with the parable of the fig tree, Christs is furthering the same teachings to the disciples here,

Matthew 24:36 KJV 1900

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

What day is he speaking of?

The day of the Lord, Christ’s 2nd coming that marks the end of this generation,

No man, or angel knows exactly what day or hour this will come to pass,

Christ says only the Father knows when,

That word Father is Greek word 3962 in the Strong's literally meaning parent,

Real quick let’s take a look at ACTS chapter 1 verse 7

Acts 1:7 KJV 1900

And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

This is Jesus speaking to the disciples during the same period but from a different point of view, it clarifies here that only the Father knows the times and seasons because He alone has power of when this will take place,

A study on it’s own, but this is a great example to help better understand how the holy Trinity are all made up of the almighty, but there are clearly distinct roles, it doesn’t note that Christ is unaware of the “when” but all in all He clearly withholds this information,

I don’t want to go to deep into that right now, but for this context, ONLY the Father God knows when this will happen,

So to quickly recap,

Jesus has given us the signs to look for,

He then gives us the proper sequence these event’s will take place, and keep in mind, like we talked about at the end of last Sunday’s lesson,

It helps easier understand and not be deceived because Jesus clearly gives us a particular sequence of order these events will happen,

But notice here, He clearly does NOT give us a date or time this will come to pass,

Why is this important?

We have to understand that these signs weren’t given to us to try and pin point and set a date for the end of this generation,

These signs were given to us as followers of Jesus to help us remain watchful and not be deceived,

These signs give us the knowledge to recognize divine prophecy being fulfilled,

But because we don’t know the exact date or hour of “when” it makes us continually remain prepared,

I really tried to find a great analogy of how to show how smart Christ is for teaching it this way by not giving a time, and we are going to see the “why” here in just a second,

But lets say I call James and say “hey man, we are all coming to have church at y'all's how, were going to need some chairs setup and lets go ahead and have some 2 liters and couple of pizzas ready” and then hang up,

I never told him when, or how many people,

We typically have church on Sunday’s but there is no geruntee so he really can’t base the “when” off of that,

All James and Amber know is they need to have chairs, drinks, and pizza’s ready, and to expect our arrival,

I used James here because I know him well enough to know that because I didn’t tell him when we were coming to have church at their house, he would immediately get everything ready and have it on standby so that it didn’t matter “when” we all got there because he would have it all ready,

But now if I would have said, “hey man we are all getting together Saturday morning at 9 am for church at y'all's house,”

He wouldn’t have immediately went and had everything ready,

He probably would have waited until Friday after work to go get the stuff because he knew he wouldn’t have to have it ready until by Saturday at 9

And that is why I feel like it is so important that Jesus withheld that information from mankind and angels,

Because of free will,

The reason He didn’t give us the “when” was the fact that because we don’t know, it causes us to continually be prepared, and remain watchful,

If we knew when this generation would pass, we would wait until last minute for our preparedness,

Our preparedness is made up of spiritual discernment through Faith and Good works right?

We are saved by grace through faith, but works are that fruit and evidence of genuine faith, you can’t have one without the other,

But also, is our preparedness is made up of being watchful and observant to fulfillment of divine prophecy,

Because Christ withheld the “when” it requires us to remain watchful and observant which then gives us spiritual discernment of the events to come, and helps prevent us from being deceived by wickedness

Matthew 24:37 KJV 1900

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

So we just saw how Jesus does not give us and the disciples the “when”

And now is using Noah’s generation as an illustration for what society will be like in relation to His 2nd coming,

It’s been a while, but we studied the story of Noah back in Genesis,

Let’s take a look at how the days of Noah are described by Jesus first, then we will go back to Genesis,

Matthew 24:38 KJV 1900

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

If we remember, Noah had divine knowledge about the coming of the flood, and he was to prepare for it, and Many didn’t take him serious, they were just carrying on with their everyday lives.

And that is exactly the way Jesus is describing it here,

Matthew 24:39 KJV 1900

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This is exactly the same way our generation will be when it comes to Christ’s 2nd coming,

People won’t take it seriously and live their everyday lives so on and so on until one day it will be too late, and again, this ties back to what we were just going over as to why Jesus doesn’t explain WHEN these events will take place,

It is so we are made to be observant and take it seriously,

But I want us to look at Genesis real quick for a 2nd witness and to further what Christ is saying here,

Genesis 6:5 KJV 1900

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:11 KJV 1900

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

The world during the days of Noah were filled with man’s wickedness and evil intentions and corruption, and God saw that.

That was the reason for the flood, was for a cleansing,

While we are here, there is something I want to touch on,

Remember, God promises to never flood the world again right?

Genesis 9:11 KJV 1900

And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

We just talked about how there will be a second flood,

Is the bible contradicting itself?

Pay attention to what that verse is saying by explaining that covenant,

There won’t be a flood of WATERS that will cut off all flesh any more,

What will the flood be during the abomination of desolation? LIES

Who will be causing the flood then? SATAN not God,

Then there is another posing question to ask?

Isn’t God allowing this flood to take place?

YES HE IS, but He also has SHORTENED the days of the tribulation period for the elects sake, and His only begotten Son is clearly giving us instruction at what and how to go about this generation, the only thing he doesn’t tell us is the “when” which like we went over earlier was for our better good,

But ONE major point to look at as to why that question can’t be asked,

Let’s go back to the events in our last lesson,

Matthew 24:29 KJV 1900

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Matthew 24:30 KJV 1900

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:31 KJV 1900

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The transformation and ending of this Earth generation happens (and I quote from verse 29) IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation,

the flood of lies isn’t what destroys the Earth, Christ’s second coming is and we will be transformed not destroyed,

I just wanted us to look at that, because I've seen this exact example be used before at trying to say the Bible is contradicting itself or either God isn’t holding up His promise and we can clearly prove the opposite through scripture,

So to recap, Christ is explaining how the generation of the world during the end times is compared to the generation of Noah’s time, full of mans wickedness and care free living,

Matthew 24:40 KJV 1900

Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

So, something I want to note here,

This is a verse that alot of pre-tribulation rapture followers like to point at,

Reading this verse alone it reads that 2 people, performing the same ordinary activity but yet when this “event” takes place, one is left and one is taken away,

You can’t read just one verse alone,

Christ is teaching a scenario here to the disciples, this verse here is a continence of verse 39,

That is why that word “then” like we talked about last lesson,

At the beginning of this verse connects these two verses,

and verse 41 he just explains this same scenario in different ways,

Matthew 24:41 KJV 1900

Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Christ isn’t explaining pre-tribulation rapture here, He just got through speaking about how the generations of the end times will be just like the generations of Noah,

and verse 38 and 39 tells us how the generations of Noah were living until the flood, Noah then enters the ark, then the flood takes the ones that are left away,

and the reason He says, “one shall be taken and the other left,”

is NOT because it explains pre- tribulation rapture,

But rather that 2 people in the same field are experiencing this event differently, remember this is a direct comparison to the day of the Lord, Jesus’s second coming,

these examples are Him explaining the distinction between those who are prepared for His coming, and those who aren’t,

Remember we don’t know the “when” this will happen, but we know how to prepare ourselves for it,

These examples are compared to Judgement that takes place AFTER the tribulation ,not pre-rapture

These verses here, 40 and 41 are highly used to try and prove Pre-tribulation rapture

The reason being the “taken” ones here are the righteous taken to Christ while the wicked are left behind,

But there is one major issue with that right off hand,

What event is Jesus comparing the day of the Lord to?

The flood of Noah right?

Who was taken by the flood? the ones that were left, the wicked ones while the righteous remain,

Guess what is going to happen during judgement, which given Jesus’s teachings happens AFTER tribulation?

the wicked will be taken away in judgement and the Righteous remain, JUST LIKE NOAH’S FLOOD

The only reason I like to clarify that is because these 2 verses are commonly used to help “support” pre-tribulation rapture theory and it CLEARLY can’t be used for that event, there are way to many contradicting points given context and comparison from Jesus to use them for that support.

This is comparison to judgement not rapture here,

The key takeaways from these 2 verses tho are that Christ’s coming is going to bring a separation to those who appear to be living ordinary lives together,

They don’t specifically say the “taken” person is being raptured into heaven,

We HAVE to consider the context of Noah’s generation of those who were taken away were taken in judgement,

Let’s keep reading,

Matthew 24:42 KJV 1900

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Jesus is giving them and us application of the separation He has just described,

Whether one wants to believe it as pre-tribulation rapture, or taken by judgement, Jesus’s commandment here is still the exact same no matter how you look at it,

WATCH,

Be observant, because the time the Lord is coming is completely unknown,

that word “watch” literally translates to “be vigilant”

The commandment stays the same no matter what,

We went over it before, but why does Jesus keep telling us to be observant and be vigilant when talking about the end time?

look at verse 43,

the first statement there, “but know this” is Him tieing in this illustration to the command He just gave the disciples,

Matthew 24:43 KJV 1900

But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

If a the head of the house would have been prepared for the thief to come, then he would have been observant and watchful and prepared for the thief coming,

Going back again to it isn’t about “WHEN” it occurs but rather being prepared for His arrival, but His illustration continues,

Matthew 24:44 KJV 1900

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

In other words, Be Ready because as soon as you think He wouldn’t come, BOOM here He comes,

1 Thessalonians 5:2 KJV 1900

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

2 Peter 3:10 KJV 1900

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

I have a wall mounted quick access lock box beside my headboard that hold a 9mm with 17 rounds in it at all times,

If a thief breaks into my home in the middle of the night I'll be prepared, it doesn’t matter what night because I'm prepared,

Whats funny about that is the reason I know for a fact that there is a 9 mm with exactly 17 round in a lock box mounted beside my headboard, is because I've had that lockbox for a while,

a few months ago, literally in the dead middle of the night we had big plastic picture frame fall off the wall in the kitchen and woke us up,

I thought someone had just busted in the back glass,

I opened up my lock box and it was empty, luckily my gun cabinet is in our bedroom closet, but we had just gotten back from grocery shopping and I forgot to put it back in my bedside lockbox, it was still in my lockbox in Jasmins center console,

If that were someone trying to break in to my home, what should have taken me 2-3 seconds to get my weapon of defense ended up taking me 20-30 seconds, those of you who know self defense know that every second counts,

I learned that night, that from here on out that specific handgun stays with these exact number of bullets in this exact spot no matter what,

What Jesus is teaching us and the disciples here I fell like is that exact same thing,

It doesn’t matter what day or what time or what year,

You should always have your weapon of defense (the word of God)

in your lockbox, (your mind)

and you should be safely and properly trained with it, meaning to STUDY it,

that way all you have to do is be observant and be watchful,

it shouldn’t matter when, it matters are you prepared,

Matthew 24:45 KJV 1900

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

What we are seeing here is Jesus tieing EVERYTHING Jesus has just taught to this exact statement.

He just taught us and the disciples,

We don’t know the hour, the when,

We need to be watchful and observant,

and we need to be prepared,

So what does a faithful and wise servant look like,

So what does it mean to be faithful,

it means to be trustworthy and dependable,

This is Paul speaking to the church about Christian leadership

1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV 1900

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Being faithful here means the steward can be trusted to do what they have been assigned to do even without the master being visibly present.

What does wise mean?

it means to be prudent and sensible,

Like the example James used,

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit,

Wisdom is knowing you don't put tomato's in fruit salad,

Be sensible.

What Jesus is trying to teach the disciples and us here, is that a true prepared Christian is demonstrated by faithful service, a wise servant doesn’t slack because the day of Christ’s return is taking forever to get here,

A faithful and wise servant continues everyday by carrying out their masters work until their master returns.

It doesn’t matter when Christ will return, what matters is that we are living day after day carrying out His teachings and commandments to ALL.

It doesn't matter “oh I don’t have to worry about tribulation because I'm gonna be raptured out during that time”

My question to that is always “are your sure?”

Even if that’s what you want to believe, are your living everyday up until then as a faithful and wise servant,

Matthew 24:46 KJV 1900

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Blessed is the servants who is carrying out the work of His Lord until His Lord returns.

Matthew 24:47 KJV 1900

Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

Christ clearly says we will be blessed for it,

Matthew 24:48 KJV 1900

But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

Matthew 24:49 KJV 1900

And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

Matthew 24:50 KJV 1900

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

Matthew 24:51 KJV 1900

And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Don’t be the servant that becomes inpatient, ENDURE TO THE END,

we have seen that since the beginning of Matthew 24, ENDURE as a faithful and wise servant of the Lord until His return, it does not matter when that will be, what matters is are you following what He has called you to do,

SERVE OTHERS THE WORD OF GOD UNTIL THE END.

Conclusion,

We have really gotten into the “meat” of Jesus teachings and I fell like just in this chapter there is so much we haven't gone over, but this is where we start seeing the word of God tie together from MANY different “in depth” chapters of the Bible,

Divine prophecy being fulfilled and spoken of constantly

But as far as this part 3 goes in Matthew 24,

Jesus gives us a clear parable and commands us to learn it, the parable of the fig tree, these things MUST come to pass that we went over last lesson, and they are described in a specific order to pass,

We have been given signs and warnings to look for but fear not,

because it doesn’t matter how many sorrows or wickedness comes in this generation, what is to come greater out ways the hardships we face now,

but I think if said this before,

The most important thing to remember, is NOT to focus on when the end times are,

What instructed to do by Jesus himself is to just follow Him and His teachings until those times, and to focus on biblical and spiritual discernment so that we don’t have to worry about the end times because we will be PREPARED for them,

Why would we have to be prepared if we wouldn’t be here through those final days?

I do want to make sure I clarify, the reason I say that and the reason Ive brought up pre-tribulation rapture throughout this lesson,

Is because that theory is a common belief in this area, and it is a topic that we will face often around here,

Verses 40 and 41 in Matthew 24 is commonly used by those believers to help prove that theory correct, but reading the word of God and letting it interpret itself,

Matthew 24 is one of the biggest contradicting chapters towards pre-tribulation rapture theory,

But something to remember, Whether you believe in pre tribulation rapture, or POST tribulation rapture, that does NOT change the commandment from Christ by being a faithful and wise servant, enduring until the very end,

and that is what we should take away from this lesson.

Matthew Chapter 24 Part 3 (Be Prepared)

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