mat24_1-31

Christ’s Overview for the End Time years Immediately Preceding His Coming as World-Ruling King
(Parallel accounts in Mark 13 and Luke 21)

Jesus’ disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, ask Him what will be the sign of His coming and the end of the age.
For many years, especially since the end of World War I, the things Jesus mentions in verses 5 through 8 have been, to one degree or
another, a part of our world scene. In recent years there has been an intensity of activity. Jesus’ comments in Matthew also refer to a
period of intense world upset during the end time.
In Matthew 24:4, Jesus answers and warns them first and foremost to take heed that no one deceives them. The warning is to be
aware, on guard, and vigilant, to pay attention to and notice what’s going on around them. The Greek word could have been “regard,”
which means to observe, mark, watch, give attention to, and to contemplate.
For a true Christian, the main concern is not to allow oneself to be deceived and lied to. If the truth slips away, then the future cannot
be discerned and understood.
Jesus states in verse 5, “Many will come in My name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” Although we have had, for many
hundreds of years, many false teachers preaching the Jesus of their imaginations and their biased understanding of Scriptures, it
seems that in this verse Christ intends for us to understand that in the end times, there will also be those who preach an inaccurate and
incomplete Messiah. Certain of these false leaders and teachers could very well be of God’s church. Men who have an opinion of truth
that they hold as correct and will not humble themselves and believe the words Jesus spoke that define and establish the truth.
Verses 6 through 8 reads – “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen,
but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in
various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”
Here Christ focuses on wars, rumors of wars, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes – these things being the beginning of sorrows. All of
these things have always been a part of mankind’s history. Jesus is telling us here that in the end time years, these things will escalate
and fill the earth as never before.
In parts of Africa today, tens of hundreds of thousands of people have been slaughtered. Draught has caused widespread crop
failures. The corrupt governments of these destitute nations withhold food and medical aid for political gain, and simply out of hatred.
Gifts of money, grants and loans that are given specifically to aid the suffering people, is taken and pocketed for personal use by
insensitive, selfish and corrupt government “officials.”
Disease and infection are rampant in many African nations. Children and babies die at a rate of 500 to 1,000 per day. The prospects
for much higher tolls are just weeks and months away. Several countries are so severely infected with AIDS that in some areas, 25 to
30 percent of the children are orphans. As much as half of the adult population could be lost in the next 10 to 15 years.
In time, all of these things and more will make their way to the prosperous western world, and increasingly to the eastern nations. God’s
delayed judgment will visit itself especially upon His chosen people, for their rebellious and evil ways. So write the prophets.
Verse 9 says – "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”
At some point, true Christians will be caught in tribulation and persecution. Many will suffer and some will die. At some point, both the
“Christian” world and the “new world order,” as formed and directed by the antichrist, will have identified the true believers in the
Messiah as a problem and a threat.
Jesus’ comments in verse 10 are unsettling. “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.”
It appears that even among various Church of God organizations, groups and individuals, there will be betrayal and hatred. As many
see things come to a head, doctrinal and philosophical differences will become much more apparent. Fear, lack of understanding and
faith will cause many to turn on each other. Those matters that are not clearly understood and agreed to doctrinally, are perceived as a
threat, which generates fear, anger and hatred. There develops an attitude of, “Let’s get them before they get us.”
Verse 11 continues – “and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”
As national tribulation comes closer, there will be many false prophets and teachers among many of the established Christian religions,
as there has always been.
It is appreciated that certain of the verses in Matthew, which quote Jesus, can be understood as applying to the longstanding Christian
organizations of the world. However, these words of Christ are primarily directed to those who have knowledge of the true God, His Son,
and the law of Moses. Many of these people are probably converted, many others have come to see the truth of Jesus’ words and
those of the prophets. These people, for any number of reasons, are uncertain and somewhat confused. The ground, in a sense, is
fertile for the false teachers and deceivers. These false teachers seek to gain a following for themselves, for purely selfish reasons.
These self-deluded would-be leaders will have a message of submission that signifies that if you become a part of us and believe what
we believe, and then you will have an opportunity for salvation. Of course, that is foolish and of a cultish nature.
Verses 12 and 13 – “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be
saved.”
These words certainly have application for the world, but they seem to have a specific utilization for God’s end-time people. Verse 13
goes on to tell us that only those who endure to the end shall be saved. This is a cleansing and sorting time for God’s people and His
church.
Verse 14 – “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
This verse has been greatly misunderstood. The questions of who and when is supremely important and is be covered in the Two
Witnesses presentation.
Verses 15–20 – "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet
Daniel let the reader understand then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to
take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women
and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.”
This complex, involved and exciting set of prophecies are very exact in their nature. The Place of Safety presentation looks at all the
related Old and New Testament Scriptures, organizes and details the story flow so that the reader will readily discern that God is not
causing things to be written in a mysterious and hard to understand manner, but rather, with some thought and study, every event
comes into being in a logical and common sense way.
The problem is, and always has been, that men desire to form their own ideas and opinions of what they believe the intent of Scripture
is – especially the words of the Messiah. All that is necessary is for one to understand the simplicity of Scripture – to believe the
recorded words of Christ, the prophets, and the apostles.
Verses 21 and 22 – “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be
equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
The great tribulation being spoken of here has two parts. The first has to do with famine, disease, and war coming to the house of
Jacob and Judah. These things will annihilate many millions of people. The remaining population will go into captivity, and from that
group only, a remnant will be saved. Then there is the tribulation of war, famine, and disease on the remaining world population.
Mankind, if left to his own devices, would destroy all life from the face of the earth, but as it is said, because of the elect, the saints of
Christ, it will not be so.
Verses 23-26 – “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and
false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible. See, I have told you
ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe
it.”
Leading up to, and as a part of the tribulation, there will many false prophets and ministers who will show great signs and wonders that
could possibly deceive even the elect of Christ. They will claim Jesus has returned, and is in such and such a place. Jesus Himself tells
us not to believe the liars. How will they deceive people? By twisting scriptures and producing lying signs and wonders. These signs
and wonders will be upon us in a short time.
The activities of the antichrist during the first 3 1/2 years of Daniel’s 70th week prophecy will lead to the desecration of the Jewish
temple. His influence and world control is the real beginning of Jacob’s troubles. This will be a stressful time for the true Church of God.
For in all likelihood, the signs and wonders of verse 24 will be an actual fact of this first 3-1/2 year period of time, and especially
pronounced as the tribulation and captivity of our peoples comes near.
Some of these false prophets and ministers will, no doubt, be of the longstanding religions of the nations and people. This is also
possibly a reference to the supreme false religion and its leader, who will give power to the beast and thus seek to dominate all
mankind.
It should not be overlooked or minimized, but there is a reasonable possibility that from within the organized Church of God, deceivers
and liars with false power will appear. If this is the case, then it may be for some, a difficult sorting.
A Christian must always be on guard, and not assume anything. He must know, understand, believe, and obey the word of Jesus Christ,
the only Lord and redeemer of men.
Verse 25 is comprehensive and a strong admonition to mankind. Jesus tells us that He has given us the necessary information to
understand what’s happening, and thus to protect ourselves.
Verses 27-29 – “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever
there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon
will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”
In verses 27 and 28, Jesus gives two signs as to His immediate coming. In verse 29, He continues on to tell of the conditions after the
tribulation (Jacob’s trouble), but before the sign of His coming.
Verses 30 and 31 – “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call,
and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
With these words, Jesus confirms the Old Testament prophets and lays the groundwork for understanding the detailed prophecies
found in the book of Revelation.
Verses 32-51 are parables and illustrations to give support, clarify and reinforce what has been previously discussed.

Parable of the Fig Tree – Matt. 24: 32-35
Verses 32 and 33 are straight forward concerning the ways or manner of the fig tree and knowing that summer is near. So it will be that
when all these things Jesus previously and specifically stated begin to take place, then know the time of His return is not far off.
In verse 34, the generation that will not pass away until these things are accomplished, is that generation in which all these prophecies
given by Jesus come into fulfillment. It is that last end time generation that will witness His second coming. You and I are now living in
this generation.

Illustration of Noah’s Days – Matt. 24:36-44
In verse 36, Jesus says of His exact time to return, only God the Father knows. It is very likely, Jesus now knows His time. When He
spoke these words, God the Father had not divulged this information.
In order to help end time believers appreciate events leading up to this great event, Jesus talks about how conditions were in the time
of Noah leading to the flood. Life went on as usual and humanity took little notice and did not seriously consider Noah’s warning
message.
The parable of the two women and the two men in the field, I believe, has application for God’s end time Church. It appears that when
God offers His protection, only a part of the Church will believe. It will be in some ways difficult to discern the times, but those who
believe and trust Christ will understand. They will be busy, but they also will be watching and making themselves ready. For the wise,
everything taking place concerning end time prophecy will indicate the “main event” is not far off.
Verse 43 tells a story about the man of the house, the owner, who, if he knew the time, the hour, the house was to be violated, would
have watched and prevented the break in. Thus Christians must watch and understand the times. An hour is a very brief period of time,
one needs to be in a constant state of alertness and readiness for the Messiah’s coming.

Story of the Two Servants – Matt. 24: 45-51
God commends the faithful and wise servant. God expects His people to be busy living righteous lives and doing the assigned tasks in
preparation for the return of His Son to earth. The gift and the reward are well worth the dedication and perseverance.
On the other hand, if the believer in Christ reasons there is still time, more time than certain others would agree to, he becomes
accusative and abusive towards the brethren. The evil servant will receive visitation when he is occupied with other concerns and
matters and has discounted the times. God is not pleased with an unbelieving and fearful attitude.

Understanding Prophecy Is a One-On-One Matter, Between Jesus and the Believer
Well over one half of the Bible deals with prophecy. Approximately 90% is yet to be fulfilled in the years directly ahead of us. The words
of Jesus, the prophets and the apostles are specific and firm.
Many Church of God associations and groups have presented their ideas and understanding of end-time prophecies with varying
degrees of accuracy and completeness.
There is an attitude and an actual position that says, “We have done our part and our best, now we must wait and see.” This approach
is nowhere near satisfactory for believers.
Many of these organizations and individuals claim they have the whole and necessary understanding and truth of prophecy. These
people are only fooling themselves and those who give a serious ear to them.
They have taken their opinions, ideas, and traditional thoughts and built a firm supposition that they claim is the truth of the matter. All
men should be aware and not let any man or organization substitute their reasoning for the clear plain words of Scripture.
A good foundational set of verses is found in 2 Peter 1:19-21. Peter knew how prophecy came to be, that men should heed the written
prophetic word, and that men are not permitted personal interpretations of these words.
2 Peter 1:19-21 – “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light
shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy
of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Concluding Thoughts
Prophecy is a vital and integral part of God’s recorded word. It is not to be treated lightly, disrespectfully, or with arrogance. Neither
should it be feared or viewed with suspicion or avoided. It can be understood, and must be so in this end-time.
Jesus said, “I have told you beforehand.” We must believe the Messiah who has set the stage so that we can understand the prophets
and the apostles.