Matthew 24

This Chapter is One of the Most Twisted Chapters in the Bible

So Many Doctrines Related to the End of Time, Premillennialism, the Rapture, the 1,000 Year Reign After Christ’s Return, and the Tribulation

It’s a Longer Chapter, So Let’s Dive Right in

Matthew 24:1–3 (NASB)

Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Luke (21:5) Tells Us that They Were Admiring the Beauty of the Temple

But Then Jesus Tells Them that All of the Beautiful Stones Will Be Torn Down

Later, His Disciples Ask Him a Question

If We Misunderstand This Question, We Will Misunderstand Jesus’ Answer

It’s Easy for Us to Read This Question as:

“When Will This Happen and What Will be the Signs of Your Second Coming and the End of Time”

But That’s Not the Question They Asked

Mark and Luke’s Accounts Make the Question a Little More Clear to Us

Mark 13:4 (NASB95)

“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”

Luke 21:7 (NASB95)

They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

They Weren’t Asking About Jesus’ Second Coming

Because They Didn’t Yet Understand That There Would Be a Second Coming of Jesus

They Didn’t Understand Whenever Jesus Spoke About His Death and Resurrection

And They Weren’t Asking About the End of Time

They Asked About the End of the Age, But That is Very Different Than the End of Time

When the Temple Would Be Destroyed, it Definitely Would Be the End of an Age

They Knew This Much

Their Question Was Simply:

“When Will the Temple Be Destroyed?”

And “What is the Sign that These Things Will Be Fulfilled?”

Jesus is Going to Begin His Answer With the Signs

Matthew 24:4–14 (NASB95)

And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.

“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

“But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

“At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.

“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.

“Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.

“But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

He Begins His Answer By Telling Them that Many are Going to Rise Up Claiming to Be the Messiah

They Will Claim to Be the Ones Who Can Rescue Israel and Overthrow Rome

Jesus Tells His Disciples Not to Believe Them

There Will Also Be Wars, Rumors of Wars, Insurrections, Famines, Earthquakes, Persecutions Against Christians, False Teachers Before the Destruction of the Temple

We Read in the NT and Secular History About All These Things Happening From 30 to 70 AD

The Destruction of the Temple Will Only Come After the Gospel of the Kingdom Has Been Preached to the Whole World

Paul Claimed in His Letter to the Colossians (1:23) that the Gospel Had Been Proclaimed to All Creation

This was Before 70 AD

Matthew 24:15–16 (NASB95)

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

“Therefore” Connects What Jesus Has Just Said to What He is Now Saying

When He Mentions the Abomination of Desolation Spoken of By Daniel…

He is Still Speaking About the Signs of Destruction of the Temple

But What is the Abomination of Desolation?

Luke’s Account is a Little More Clear

Luke 21:20 (NASB95)

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.

The Abomination of Desolation is When the Roman Armies Surround the Holy Place of Jerusalem

Jesus Tells His Disciples That Whenever They See This Sign…

They Need to Run to the Mountains

Matthew 24:17–28 NASB95

“Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. “Behold, I have told you in advance. “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

His Disciples Were Being Warned Beforehand

When They Saw the Signs, They Were to Run and Not Look Back

The Tribulation that Took Place in Jerusalem Was Horrendous

Jesus Described it as the Greatest Tribulation the World Had Ever and Would Ever See

Matthew 24:29–31 NASB95

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

This Part Confuses Many of Us and Makes Us Think That Maybe Jesus Was Talking About the End of Time

But Understanding this Prophetic Language Takes that Confusion Away

This Same Figurative Language of the Lights in the Heavens Going Out is Used By Several Prophets in the OT…

To Describe the End of a Nation

Here, Jesus Uses that Same Language to Describe the End of the Nation of Israel

No Longer Would Israel Be Considered God’s Chosen People

But Covenental Relationship and Salvation Would Be Offered to Everyone From One End of the Sky to the Other

Matthew 24:32–35 NASB95

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Jesus Uses a Fig Tree as an Illustration of What He is Trying to Tell His Disciples

Just Like You Can Tell that Summer is Near By Looking at the Signs of a Fig Tree…

They Could Know that the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple Was Near…

By Watching for the Signs He Has Given Them

And it Wouldn’t Be Long Until it Would Happen

Within the Lifespan of that Generation…

Jerusalem and the Temple Would Be Destroyed

Jesus Assured Them With the Words:

“Heaven and Earth Will Pass Away, But My Words Will Not Pass Away.”

Heaven and Earth Would No Longer Exist Before His Words On This Matter Ever Proved False

They Could Rest in Absolute Assurity that He was Telling Them the Truth

Matthew 24:36 (NASB95)

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

I’ve Heard Most of My Life that This is a Transition Text

Jesus is Transitioning From Talking About the Destruction of Jerusalem…

To Talking About His Second Coming On the Day of Judgement

That’s Okay if You Believe that Interpretation

But I Believe From Looking at the Evidence of the Text…

That Jesus is Still Talking About the Judgement Day, Being the Destruction of Jerusalem

Jesus Was Telling Them that it Would Be in Their Lifetime…

But of the Exact Day and Hour, Only the Father Knew

Matthew 24:37–41 NASB95

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

The Judgement of God Upon Israel in the Destruction of Jerusalem…

Would Be Just Like the Judgement of God Upon the Entire World in Noah’s Day

People Will Be Going About Their Normal Lives

One Will Be Taken By the Romans to Be Dispersed or Killed

And the Other One Who Listens to Jesus’ Advice Will Be Left

Matthew 24:42–51 NASB95

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus Tells His Disciples to Be On the Alert

They Were to Watch For the Signs that Jesus Told Them About

Because They Didn’t Know When the Abomination of Desolation Would Happen

Then He Gives 2 Illustrations as to Why it is Important to Always Be On the Alert

The Judgement Would Come at a Time They Didn’t Expect or Know

Jesus Ends His Answer to Their Question About the Destruction of Jerusalem…

With Imagery of Eternal Punishment

As With All Days of Judgement Throughout Biblical History…

This Day of Judgement On Israel Was a Foreshadowing of the Final Day of Judgement

When Jesus Will Return at an Hour That We Don’t Expect or Know

To Punish the Wicked and Rescue the His Righteous

Matthew 24 Twisted

Is About the End of Time

When Jesus Returns

When the Rapture Will Happen

When the 1,000 Year Reign Will Happen

When the Tribulation Will Begin

And Whatever Other Beliefs People May Have About the End of Time

Matthew 24 UnTwisted

Is About the Destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem By the Romans

I Believe This Text Isn’t Talking About the End of Time at All

It’s Talking About the End of the Nation of Israel

Though it Isn’t Talking About the End of Time…

It is a Day of Judgement that Foreshadows the Final Day of Judgement When Jesus Does Return

And Just as Jesus Warned His Disciples to Be Vigilant for the Day of the Lord that Would Happen in Their Lifetimes…

We Must Be Faithful Until the Final Day of the Lord

When We Will Be Glorified With Our King and Have Life that Never Ends