Matthew 24:1-14 Part II
Last week we began looking at Jesus’ last sermon…the Olivet Discourse which was given as a response to the disciples’ question concerning the destruction of the Temple.
As they were leaving the temple the disciples call Jesus’ attention [24:1] to the magnificent buildings on the temple mount…Jesus’ reply was a little unsettling:
Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another: every one will be thrown down
There were few things more magnificent than the Temple…so Jesus’ prophecy of doom got the disciples curious, and probably more than a little concerned…when they were alone with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, they asked Him:
Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? [3]
So…Jesus begins in Matthew 24 to give them more than they ask for…He begins talking about the events that will precede His second coming…nothing to do with the rapture…the mystery of the rapture was not revealed until years later by Paul.
I’m going to just go over a portion of last week’s sermon…so stay with me…in answering the disciples Jesus mentions a bunch—deep theological word—of things—deep theological term—that are going to happen before He physically visibly returns to earth.
Things that even today cause people to make misleading statements every time something happens in the world…they ignorantly—not knowing—attempt to immediately tie it to Matt. 24.
Any attempt to tie the first 14 verses in Matthew 24 to the rapture or even His return to earth is premature… look what Jesus Himself says about this… that is not yet the end [24:6]. You cannot make sense of Matthew 24 unless you understand that.
Jesus makes it clear that the fulfillment of what occurs in Matt 24 & 25 is in the future…a time the disciples would never experience…a time we or any other Christian will ever experience.
Jesus is saying there will be those signs in the world that hint of the end…BUT not everything that seems to be a sign of the end…is really a sign. (Hendriksen, William; Kistemaker, Simon J., Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, Baker, 1953-2001)
In Matthew 24 Jesus tells us what will occur between the time of the rapture—the removal of all Christians from the earth—and His second coming.
SO…despite Harold Camping spending millions of dollars on billboards predicting that Judgment Day would be May 21, 2011, or ancient Mayan astronomers predicting the world would end in 2012…we’re all still here.
You can take a look at what is occurring in the world today and say…boy…this certainly fits into what Jesus says will happen at the end time…it does…but it’s not to the degree of intensity that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 24.
What Jesus is teaching here is the exact same thing Daniel wrote about 600 years before Jesus was ever born…that the final seven years of man’s dominance on the earth…is divided into two / three-and-one-half year segments.
The first 3-1/2 years is identified as the beginning of birth pangs [8] verses 4-14…the prelude to the second 3-1/2 years identified as the pre-tribulation [21].
People become so engrossed with the abomination of desolation…the anti-Christ… the Beast…that they fail to correctly take what Daniel said regarding that person.
That’s why it’s important to have an understanding of what is written in…Isaiah …Jeremiah…Ezra…Nehemiah…Daniel…Zechariah…1 Thessalonians…and Revelation and how they fit in with Matthew 24 or you’ll come away with a mis-placed interpretation of this portion of Scripture.
Everything Jesus is referring to in Matthew 24 occurs after the Rapture…none of you will be here to see any of that…if you’re truly a Christian…if not…it’s ugly.
WARNING—if you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior…if all you’ve been doing throughout your whole life is playing church…you need to get serious because once the Rapture happens…you will have to suffer through the entire seven years…if you’re fortunate enough to live that long.
So does the Bible give any indication what must happen before the rapture can occur?…it does…just as Matthew 24 gives us the events that will happen before the tribulation…not the date…but the events that will happen…the Bible gives us details of what must occur before the rapture.
Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled; Luke 21:24…Certain things must happen:
…until the fulness of the Gentiles…the period when Gentiles are being saved
…until the Gospel is preached all over the world
…until the Jews return to their own land out of all nations;
There is nothing preventing Jesus’ return for His Church…nothing needs to be fulfilled…we’re just all waiting on Jesus’ timetable.
Let me give you a play-by-play chronological order of events that occur at the Rapture.
1) The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven…where He has been preparing a place for us [John 14:1-3].
2) The Lord will shout as He descends [1 Thess. 4:16] and the dead in Christ (deceased believers) will rise first.
3) Then we who are alive will be caught up (Raptured) into Heaven. [1 Thess. 4:17] where we will meet the Lord in the air [1 Thess. 4:17] where He will personally receive us to Himself. The church age now comes to an end.
4) At that point we will be changed (made incorruptible) [1Cor.15:51, 53].
5) All Christians will then stand before the judgment seat of Christ [Romans 14:10] not to determine lost or saved…but to get their rewards for work done while on the earth [1 Cor. 3:13-15].
Again…all this will occur…at some time in the future…God has given us these Scriptures so we won’t be fearful of the future…so we know exactly what is going to happen.
So…the rapture has occurred…we’ve all been removed from the earth…the dead have all been risen from the graves…we’re all living in heaven.
So…how do I know for certain that the Church will not have to suffer through the terrible time of the Tribulation…how do I know I’m a pre-trib believer…because some say we will go through the tribulation…and that frightens me…READ THE BIBLE.
In the book of Revelation, the church is mentioned 17 times in the first three chapters…it’s not mentioned again until chapter 19.
Beginning in Revelation chapter 5 is the introduction of the Tribulation…there is no further mention of the church until chapter 18…the moral and spiritual influence of the church will be gone…and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit with it.
Let me share with you how that will be one of the contributing factors of what occurs beginning in [24:4].
Something that I have shared with you for three weeks now…The Kingdom of God/Heaven can best be seen as being ‘already but not yet’.
The kingdom of heaven has already come to earth…it was inaugurated by Jesus in his earthly ministry…he plainly tells us ‘the kingdom of God is in your midst’ [Luke 17:21].
In His coming He brought the kingdom of God to earth…and when He went back to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us so we would not be left alone…every person who has claimed Jesus as their Savior has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit living in them.
It is the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth…and in our lives that helps:
1) restrain us from the evil that our human nature keeps wanting us to do…and
2) to convict us of sin…and
3) He is restraining Satan and his evil forces that are in the world.
People think things are bad in the world today…murder…rape…wars…it is nothing compared to what will happen once the Holy Spirit is removed from the world
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way,
What you are seeing in Matthew 24 is the result of when the Holy Spirit is removed at the rapture [2 Thessalonians 2:7] and the evil that will result when men are then allowed to do whatever their evil hearts desire.
In verses 4-14 Jesus gives the first birth pain in response to ‘what’ will be the signs of your coming…the first birth pain is:
1) – Deception by False Christs
See to it that no one misleads you [24:4] …He gives this deception un-paralleled priority.
There is a time coming…and really, it’s already here, when deception by false prophets…and false preachers will be so great…that if possible, even the people of God could be deceived.
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect [24:24]
Jesus begins to elaborate on the remaining signs that precede His coming at the end of the age.
Jesus begins to reiterate something that was told to Daniel 600 years earlier… here’s the importance in having knowledge of the Book of Daniel.
Six hundred years before Jesus was even born the angel Gabriel appears to Daniel and tells him exactly what Jesus is talking about here.
Why did Gabriel reveal to Daniel this information…what is there about Daniel that makes him special…because…you are highly esteemed [Dan 9:23]
Know where else in the Bible that kind of praise is given to someone…Gabriel tells Mary you are a ‘favored one’ …there’s a difference between being ‘favored by God’ and having the ‘favor of God’ in your life.
So why is Daniel so highly esteemed…at around the age of 10 or so he was taken captivity by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon never to return home or see family again.
It only gets better…upon his arrival in Babylon as just a boy…he’s castrated and made to serve the king until his death…BUT…throughout his life…he remained a faithful man of God…how easy to have lived his entire life in resentment.
So, here’s Daniel…now in his seventies…has served God faithfully his entire life…the lion’s den…as part of his reward for faithfulness Gabriel tells him ‘I have come to give you insight with understanding’ [9:23]
Gabriel tells him what will take place at the end of time…it’s the exact same events that Jesus is telling the disciples about.
So Daniel writes it down…hundreds of years before any mention of the ‘End Time’ is made…Daniel has already been privy to that …you can smoke all the medical marijuana you want and you would never be able to equal that prediction.
Another example that is pertinent to this chapter…60 years after Jesus reveals to the disciples the ‘what’ and ‘when’ of His second coming He again appears to John to give him a more detailed explanation of the last days.
In the book of Revelation Jesus gives to John a more vivid description of the events that will take place…John visions a book with seven seals on it…it’s a series of end-time judgements from God.
As each seal is broken Jesus reveals to John in greater detail what Matthew writes about…both Matthew’s account and John’s account are similar…they should be…they’re from the same person.
Jesus continues on with the six birth pains that occur before the Tribulation.
2) Disputes and Warfare Among the Nations
Verse 6 – 7a – “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars…nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…”
The second birth pain will involve intensified warfare among the nations and kingdoms of the world…in Revelation this is symbolized by the opening of the second seal and the appearance of the Rider on the Red Horse — Rev 6:3.
The rider was given power to take peace from the earth and make men slay each other – “nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom”.
Some believe World War 1…in addition to the signing of the Balfour Treaty in 1916 [Ezekiel 36] Russia becoming a dominant power in 1917 [Ezekiel 38/ 39] was the evidence of this sign…obviously not…then it was World War II which were both followed by famines and pestilences which seemed to fulfill Matthew 24.
But in this ‘signs’ there seems to be no distinction between nation and kingdom… in this birth pain no group of people will be exempt from war or the threat of war…with the moral and spiritual influence of the church being gone…and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit removed it will be chaos.
3) – Devastation Throughout the World
Verse 7 – “and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.”
In addition to the deception of false Christs and warring dissension among the nations there will be famines and earthquakes…natural disasters of staggering proportions that will ensue as the earth begins to disintegrate …far beyond any that the world has witnessed so far.
This is in conjunction with the opening of the third seal in Revelation 6:5…a rider on a black horse will spread famine throughout the earth…whatever population is left on the earth from after the warfare, they will have to survive by bare means of food…can you visualize the desperation that’s going to occur?
You can tie this in with the fourth seal in Revelation 6:7-8 as well…death, riding on a pale horse, wipes out one-fourth of the earth’s population…this is the result the events of the second…third…and fourth seals which are attributed to the wars and famines that followed.
Verse 8 – “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs”
EVERYBODY…we haven’t even gotten to the bad part yet…Jesus relates the increased intensity of the birth pains to a woman in labor…at the beginning thebirthpains are merely the early warning signs that the Kingdom is approaching …we haven’t even gotten serious yet.
4) – Deliverance of Believers to Tribulation
Verse 9 – “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.”
The fourth labor pain will be severe persecution of believers…being identified with Christ’s name will cost believers their freedom…their rights…and their lives.
KEY — these are the people who are saved after the rapture of the church…having been converted to Christ during the Tribulation…many will be saved through the preaching of the two witnesses [Rev. 11:3] and the 144,000 [Rev. 7].
5 – Defection of False Believers
Verse 10 – “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another”
The fifth birth pain is a consequence of the fourth…as persecution intensifies in the end times and believers begin to be arrested…hated…and even martyred.
When the persecution becomes too severe, these Christians will forsake Christ and join fellow unbelievers in persecuting God’s people…Three Reasons:
1) The Cost will be Too High — Unlike Peter who in a moment of fear and weakness denied knowing Christ…these are not true ‘believers’ but are unbelievers who reveal their true character and openly reject Christ.
2) The Deception will be Too Convincing – Some will defect because the cost is too high…but others will defect because they are deceived about the gospel.
3) Sin will be Too Attractive – As lawlessness increases…people’s love for righteousness and God will grow cold.
6 – Declaration of the Gospel To The Whole World
Verse 14 – “And this gospel …shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.”
The last birth pain to indicate that the end time is near will be the worldwide declaration of the gospel to a degree never yet seen before…God will supernaturally present the gospel to every person on earth.
[Revelation 14:6-] – “And I saw another angel…having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people’ [v.7] and he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come…”
KEY —- This will be the final attempt to evangelize the world…miraculously proclaimed from heaven…man’s opportunity for salvation will be over…because “then the end shall come.”
WATCH what follows…in [Vs. 4 – 14] He tells of six signs that will happen before His coming again into the world…BUT…there’s more…you can’t just take these six signs and say…these six and only these six.
Matt 24:8 – “All these events are the beginning of birth pains”
These birth pains are not to go on for years…decades…or centuries…people for 2000 years have been trying to make a correlation between world events in their life time and the birth pains identified in Matthew 24…Jesus has just given the ‘what’ part of their question…notice what Jesus says next…what immediately follows
Verse 15 – “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation…”
EVERYBODY…here he comes…tall…wide…and handsome…the single event that activates the birth pain signs will be the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 who in the middle of the seventh week breaks his covenant with the Jews.
This person…next to Jesus…will have the greatest impact on the history of the world…he will be the second most influential person who has ever lived.
The coming of the abomination of desolation triggers the birth pains that will be followed by a time of indescribable horror in the world that will focus on the nation of Israel.
While Jerusalem is encompassed by enemy nations who threaten to destroy her… the person she perceives to be her protector commits the abomination of desolation.
Verse 15 – “…let the reader understand…”
This reinforces the fact that Jesus was not giving the warning to the disciples or to their generation …but to those living in the end time…those who come to salvation through the preaching of the 144,000 and the supernatural preaching of the angelic messenger [Rev. 14:6-7]…who will read those truths in Scripture and understand the trials they are enduring.