Sermon Tone Analysis

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Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 24.

We are looking at “The Olivet Discourse”… Matthew 24-25.

These chapters are some of the most hotly debated chapters in the bible because they address things to come… Biblical prophecy.

Some recap, this is Tuesday of Jesus’ final week of ministry.

Jesus would be crucified on Friday… just 3 days later in the same week… Passover week.

Tuesday morning Jesus enters the temple and is teaching when He is interrupted and questioned by the religious leaders whom Jesus silenced and then pronounced woes upon.

Matt 24 opens with Jesus departing the Temple and four of His disciples point out the magnificence of Herod’s Temple… the massive stones, buildings and adornments.

Let’s re-read Matt 24:1-8.

First, VSS 1-3... “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things?

Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now 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?”

Two questions… when and what?

With the what question having two parts, but the essence is essentially the same because when Jesus comes again it will be the end of the age.

These questions are prompted by the contrast between the disciples being amazed by Herod’s Temple… a temple which should have stood for ages, and Jesus saying the temple would be destroyed.

The disciples must be thinking the end of the world is neigh and Jesus will set up His Kingdom… thus their questions.

Jesus responds... first describing the initial 3.5 years of the seven year Tribulation… a time carved out for the Jews…as we talked in detail about last week.

If you are confused that the Tribulation is for the Jews, you can listen to the sermon last week to see my reasoning why, and I’ll explain some of those points again today which comes from the context.

After VSS 1-3, Jesus describes the beginning of the Tribulation… VSS4-8 “And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Last week we also looked at how Rev 6… the “Seal Judgments” align with Matt 24:4-8.

The full seven year Tribulation is also called “Daniel’s Seventieth Week” (Dan 9:20-27) or “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer 30:7, Dan 12:1).... both of which further supports that the Tribulation is a time for the Jews… to fulfill this final week spoken of by Daniel.

Before we jump in today… let’s get oriented and look at a general Outline of Matthew 24:1-31:

Verses 1-2: The Setting

Verse 3: The Disciples Questions

Verses 4-8: The Beginning of Sorrows / The first 3.5 years of the 7 year Tribulation

Verses 9-20: Mid-Point of the Tribulation… which is broken down by...

Verses 9-14: Predicted Persecutions by Jesus

Verses 15-20: The Abomination of Desolation

Starting next week, we will look at… Verses 21-28: The Great Tribulation (Final 3.5 Years)… and most likely…

Verses 29-31: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

But today, we are going to hone in on the Mid-Point looking at Matt 24:9-20.

I’m going to share a Calvary Chapel view on eschatology, which is my view as well (how convenient), and give you biblical reasons to support this view.

You may agree or disagree, and either is ok, but please… if you do not have a view on end-times…

I encourage you, as Paul encouraged Timothy, 2 Tim 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Be diligent to study God’s word.

The Title of today’s message is “The Olivet Discourse: Mid-Point of the Tribulation.”

Let’s pray.

Matt 24:9-14 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Last week we looked at the beginning of sorrows… which I believe is the first 3.5 years of the Tribulation.

Matt 24:4-8, Rev 6.

In V9, Jesus begins with the word “then.”

Then is after the first 3.5 years of the tribulation… so from V9-20 we see a description of events at the mid-point of the Seven Year Tribulation (we’ll come back to the “then” in a moment).

But, also observe, Jesus states in V9... “they will deliver you up to tribulation...”

So, who’s the “you?”

It can’t be the four disciples Jesus is talking to… they were not hated by ALL nations.

Jesus mentions this group… the “you” in several other upcoming verses, and it’s evident who this group is...

V15 “… when you see the abomination of desolation… in the holy place… ” Speaking about anti-christ in the temple in Jerusalem.

V16 “… let those who are in Judea...” Judea in Israel.

V17 “Let him who is on the housetop…” Those aren’t roofers.

V20 “And pray that your flight may not be… on Sabbath…”

These are clearly Jews.

A temptation many people experience here is to read the church into V9 because Jesus is talking to four of the disciples (Peter, James, John, and Andrew… according to Mark 13:3)… certainly a unique group because they are Apostles of the church…

But, we must remember these men are also Jews… and coming from Jerusalem… from the Temple… at Passover… talking about Messianic fulfillments of prophecy.

I’ve been driving a lot lately, and I’ve listened to a number of sermons on Matt 24, and it amazes me how many Pastors that I deeply respect, even within Calvary Chapel, view this passage differently… just listen to 5 Pastors you respect on Matt 24… you’ll hear various views as well...

Of all the Pastors I listened to, I would say I align best with Pastor Joe Focht at Calvary Chapel Philly, so for a similar take on this passage, check out the CC Philly app or website.

I think I aligned with Skip Heitzig, Calvary Albuquerque, as well.

But, in listening to these teachings… I heard some Pastor apply Matthew 24 to the times we live now… or flip flop between the church and the Jews in this passage... and there’s other views as well, but the correct view (my view of course) is this passage primarily focuses on Jews during the tribulation...

I want to re-emphasize a point that I made last week... it’s ok to see eschatology differently.

Many God loving… Jesus following scholars… authentic Christians… see end times differently… don’t divide over these things.

Regardless of your view, we likely can agree that this discourse of Jesus is intended to prepare His audience.

Jesus’ first words of this discourse, in V4, are “Take heed that no one deceives you.”

“Take heed...”, “Watch out”… these are warning words to prepare minds.

So, be prepared.

Have an eschatology… a view on end times.

Learn from the mistake of the Religious Leaders as Jesus rebuked them in Matt 16:1-3 where we read, “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’

Hypocrites!

You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”

The dawn of the Kingdom was upon them… Messiah had been revealed and they did not recognize Him.

Don’t repeat their mistake.

Have a view on end times.

So, here’s what’s tricky.

You read Matthew 24, and you may see applications to the past -or- to our present day… and it’s easy to do because there are “types” that foreshadow the Tribulation.

Some scholars see Matthew 24 as completely fulfilled in the past.... specifically 70 A.D. After all, that was still future when Jesus spoke those words around 32 A.D… and the passage in many ways seems to fit.

It applies to the Jews... Rome destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem and hung their ensigns… and some speculate Titus sacrificed a pig in the temple… I guess while it burned… the abomination of desolation (I certainly did not read that in Josephus’ account)…

2 Thes 2:8 states, “And then the lawless one [the Anti Christ] will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

That didn’t happen in 70 A.D. Titus wasn’t the lawless one… he became emperor in 79 A.D… he wasn’t destroyed with the brightness of Jesus’ coming… he died of fever.

And, Jesus didn’t return in 70 A.D.... nor since (no matter what the JW’s say).

Further, 70 A.D. is not in agreement with Jesus’ words in V21 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

As bad as 70 A.D. was…the world has seen greater atrocities.

World War II is at the top of the list.

50-80 million soldiers and civilians killed.

Nazi death camps… the holocaust… 5-6 million Jews killed… ethnic cleansing… Roma gypsies… the handicapped… POWs… war crimes.