Title Page. Lesson Nine Matthew 24:3-5 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these

Title Page

Lesson Nine

Matthew 24:3-5

Matthew 24:3-53 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Matthew 24:6-9

Matthew 24:6-96 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

Matthew 24:10-13

Matthew 24:10-1310 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Matthew 24:14-15

Matthew 24:14-1514 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Focus Verse

Matthew 24:3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives,

the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the

end of the world?

Focus Thought

After Jesus’ earthly ministry was completed, He gave full assurance that He would return to take His bride home. He gave many signs that would precede

His coming to alert mankind to His imminent return.

IntroductionIntroductionOne of the most important prophetic chapters in the Bible is Matthew 24. As the chapter opens, the disciples were pointing out to Jesus the exquisite beauty of the Temple, which was for them a physical reminder of the covenant relationship of the Jewish people with God. Also significant were the incredible improvements that the Temple structure had been undergoing for decades.

IntroductionHerod the Great (73-4 BC) had begun refurbishing the Temple some years before Jesus was born. The renovation was continued by his son, Herod Antipas (4 BC–AD 39). The project was still ongoing when the disciples pointed out the buildings to Jesus. Surprisingly, Jesus responded by pronouncing the future destruction of this imposing physical structure: “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).

IntroductionJesus’ disciples probably were distraught and could not conceive of such a judgment occurring unless perhaps it was connected with the end of the world. They asked three questions about what they understood to be the singular final judgment. Actually, their questions required three separate answers from Jesus.

IntroductionIn Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked:

(1)“Tell us, when shall these things be?” (2) “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” (3) “What shall be the sign of the end of the world?”

IntroductionJesus gave answers to each of these questions. Some of His answers specifically addressed the time when one stone would not be left upon another (AD 70). Other answers related to the signs of Christ’s second coming (throughout the church age but especially in our time). Still other answers were directed to offer signs of the end of the world (events leading to the Battle of Armageddon, which we can now view on the near horizon).

IntroductionThis lesson will focus in detail on each of the answers that Jesus gave and demonstrate what these answers have to do with the church today.

I. When Shall These Things Be (A-C)

When Shall These Things Be

The first question asked by the disciples was related to the destruction of the Temple. The disciples could not have understood that the Temple would be destroyed but would once again be rebuilt. They could not know that the siege that would be suffered by the Jewish people in AD 70 would be only preliminary and a foreshadowing of the ultimate fulfillment of the siege, which would occur during the Tribulation.


Some students of Scripture wonder how a single chapter can speak to more than one time period. Actually, the idea that a single scriptural passage has more than one fulfillment is a standard hermeneutic principle in interpreting prophecy.


In order to conceive how Jesus could paint a word picture that would encompass both the events involving AD 70 and also the events at the end of the age, it is important to study and glean further information from other Gospels as well. While Matthew’s Gospel focuses largely on an ultimate siege of Jerusalem in the Tribulation, Jesus’ words in Luke 21 center more on the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.


A. Destruction of the Temple and City

Jesus specifically told of a time when Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20). He said that those who would be in Judea at that time should flee (Luke 21:21). Jesus also prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24) and the taking captive of Jews in Judea (Luke 21:24). All interpreters apparently agree that this passage referred to the historical siege by the Roman armies less than forty years after Jesus spoke these words.


B. Siege by Titus in AD 70

The destruction of the Temple is recorded in significant detail by the Jewish historian Josephus. Because of the rebellion by the Jewish people, Rome sent legions into Israel to suppress the revolt. A disastrous war ensued in which approximately one million Jews were killed and a similar number taken into captivity.


This war ended with the siege of Jerusalem and the ultimate destruction of the Temple by the Roman general, Titus. Terrible conditions occurred in which cannibalism was reported along with Jewish infighting until the very time when the Temple was burned and Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled. History records that Christians remembered the words of Jesus and fled to safety.


C. Siege at the End of the AgeAs terrible as were the atrocities that occurred in AD 70, this event alone could not have been the ultimate fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy. Luke’s Gospel prophesied that Jerusalem would be “trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24), clearly speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and also predicting a future restoration of the city.


Matthew’s focus clearly involved a later event. He recorded the words of Jesus, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). Despite the cruelty of the first Jewish War in Israel from AD 67-70, it was hardly the greatest tribulation the Jews have seen.


Both before and after this war, Jews have suffered greater losses and atrocities. Clearly, Matthew 24 referred to the Tribulation, the greatest extended judgment the world will ever see. This event, often referred to as the “day of the LORD” in the Old Testament, also figures as a major focus in the writings of the apostle Paul and the apostle John.


The focus of Matthew 24 relates primarily to events prophesied in Daniel 9 (the abomination of desolation referred to in Matthew 24:15), to the battle for Jerusalem recorded in Zechariah (primarily chapter 14), and to the events described in the Book of Revelation (primarily chapter 19). These prophecies point to the time when Jesus Christ will win ultimate victory over the powers of Satan and the Antichrist.

II. What Shall Be the Sign of Thy Coming (A)

What Shall Be the Sign of Thy Coming

A. The Universal Hope of Redemption

God has always wanted the people with whom He is in covenant to anticipate the redemption that He will bring about.


When punishment was meted out to Adam and Eve for their sin in the Garden of Eden, even this judgment did not come without an accompanying redemptive promise. God promised that from the seed of Eve would come One who would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). Thus, from the very beginning, there was an expectation of a Redeemer.


There is at least some Jewish tradition that Adam and Eve believed that redemption would come from their first children that were born. Sadly, this was not the case. Still, God’s people universally continued to look for redemption until the time of Christ.


Further, even though Jesus proclaimed that He Himself was the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptural hope of redemption, He also spoke of a future redemptive hope. Probably, this was difficult for those who heard the words of Jesus to grasp. Yet, a recurring theme for Jesus was that He would go away but that He would return. Indeed, when Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives after His resurrection, angels standing by the people underscored this promise.


“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?

this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come

in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

II. What Shall Be the Sign of Thy Coming (B)

B. Signs Pointing toward Redemption

Jesus was not reticent to talk about ultimate redemption during His earthly ministry, particularly as Calvary approached. It is enlightening though, that when Jesus gave signs of His coming, most of the signs could be, at least in part, descriptive of many events during the church age.


Consider these verses from Matthew 24: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matthew 24:5-7).


Could one not always point to wars, betrayals, famines, pestilences, and even to people claiming falsely to represent Christ in some way? While there have been more wars and new records of both pestilences and famines in the last one hundred years, such statistics would not have been known by previous generations.


While there is a very real evidence of increased earthquakes over the period in which they now have been measured, such a statistic would hardly have been known earlier. Jesus spoke in such a way as to point the church to always be looking for His redemption.


The apostles of Jesus echoed the need for the church to anticipate an imminent return of Christ. Facing martyrdom, Paul wrote that not only would he soon receive a crown, but that such a crown was “not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Timothy 4:8).


Of the return of Christ, the writer of Hebrews stated, “Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). Further, Paul exhorted Titus to teach believers to look “for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

II. What Shall Be the Sign of Thy Coming (C)

C. Imminent Hope of Redemption Today

The tenor of the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 goes well beyond the first-century church. The first century experienced only a foretaste of events that would occur during the greatest judgment the world would ever know.

II. What Shall Be the Sign of Thy Coming (C)

Thus, while events may have been fulfilled in part, the signs will be more clearly fulfilled in intensity during the period just prior to the return of Jesus Christ in judgment. The prophetic landscape is now taking shape where we could realize the fulfillment of these events in our lifetimes.

III. Signs of the End of the World (A-C)

Signs of the End of the World

A. The Tribulation Period in the Book of Revelation

The last question the disciples asked Jesus was what would be the sign of the end of the world. Matthew 24 is not alone in dealing with this. The Book of Revelation lays out a general chronology of how the events will take place. One need only to look at the order and sequence of the book.


Revelation 2-3 contains an admonition to the churches of Asia Minor, which represented the present church age. Revelation 4-5 represents the church in heaven, apparently already raptured, as evidenced by the crowns on the heads of the believers (stephanos in Greek). This Greek word for crown represented a victor’s crown and in the Scriptures was used only in reference to the crown placed on Jesus Christ at the cross and to the crown to be worn by victorious believers.


Revelation 6-19 gives an overview of a time of great tribulation, the same Tribulation as described by Jesus in Matthew 24:21: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” The Book of Revelation describes these plagues in detail, judgments that are so terrible that the majority of the earth’s population will be killed. The book mentions three sets of seven judgments—seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials.


B. The Appearance of the Antichrist

One of the most prominent features of the Book of Revelation is the appearance of a man (metaphorically called a beast) who also is called in other parts of the New Testament “the man of sin,” “the son of perdition,” or the “antichrist.” (See II Thessalonians 2:3; I John 2:18.) This individual ultimately will work to control the monetary system so that people cannot buy or sell without his “mark.”


According to the Book of Daniel, the apostle Paul, and the Book of Revelation, this man will set himself up in the Temple and require people to worship him. If they do not take his mark, they will not be able to buy or sell, a notion that seemed all but impossible until recent years.


However, we now find ourselves in a place where computerized banking would in fact allow such a scenario. Moving closer and closer to a society where the electronic transfer of money trumps the use of cash, it is easy to see how such control could take place.


C. The Abomination of Desolation

The Book of Daniel, Paul’s writing in II Thessalonians 2, and Revelation 13 all describe how the Antichrist will set himself up in the Temple as a deity to be worshiped. When the nation of Israel was depoliticized after the Second Jewish War in AD 135, this was logistically impossible.


That is, if the Antichrist were to set himself up as god in Israel, there would have to actually be a nation of Israel. But in 1948, a modern miracle of resurrection restored Israel as a nation.


Further, in order for this prophecy to be fulfilled, there would have to be a temple. The Temple, of course, is not rebuilt as yet, although it is at least being planned in some quarters in Israel.


Some people question whether the Arab people would ever allow the Temple to be rebuilt on the Temple Mount, particularly since that is where the Mosque of Omar now sits. However, we should understand that people asked the same sort of questions when denying that Israel would ever again become a nation.


There is considerable conjecture by some individuals that the building of the Temple could occur in the near future and could logistically sit on its ancient site adjacent to the present mosque.

IV. The Second Coming (A-C)

The Second ComingJesus spoke in detail in Matthew 24 about the signs of His coming and the coming judgment, reminding us to watch for His appearing. While Scripture is replete with prophecies concerning this event, the clearest prediction of the culmination of this is found in Revelation 19, a passage that adds considerable detail to the prediction made by Jesus in Matthew.


A. King of Kings and Lord of Lords

After the Antichrist works very hard to destroy Jewish Christian believers in Jerusalem, a succession of battles will occur, which Revelation 16:16 calls Armageddon. The King James Version refers to “the battle” in Revelation 16:14; however, the Greek word does not necessarily signify a single battle, but actually points to a series of battles—a protracted series of events.


All of these events will culminate as described in Revelation 19 when Christ Himself will lead an army from heaven to conclude the final fate of the world. The armies of the Antichrist will not be able to stand before Christ’s power and glory.


B. Destruction of the Antichrist

Satan has had a foothold in the earth since Eden, and the apostle Paul called him “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). The Book of Revelation pictures Jesus Christ defeating Satan’s representative, the Antichrist, and his “assistant,” the false prophet.

IV. The Second Coming (A-C)Revelation 19:20 declares that both of these men

will be “cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” While it is chapter 20 before we see Satan himself being bound and cast into the bottomless pit, in the final judgment, Satan will ultimately join the false prophet and Antichrist in this final destination in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).


C. Possession of Our Inheritance

While Revelation 20 closes with the final judgment, chapter 21 opens with the promise of eternal hope. John lets his readers know that there will be no more struggle or pain. John heard a great voice offering great hope!

Revelation 21:4

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no

more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any

more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

IV. The Second Coming (A-C)What a wonderful time that will be when all our

sorrows are past!

V. The Need to Be ReadyThe Need to Be Ready

Jesus spoke in Matthew 24 not merely to be informative. He wanted His hearers to do something with the information that He was giving them. His exhortation was consistent with the theme of the entire Bible: those who are in covenant relationship with the Lord should anticipate His coming.

V. The Need to Be ReadyJesus spent considerable time making application to His prediction. He warned of some who will be taken up and some who will be left behind—in the field, at home, and at work. Jesus emphatically warned all who will hear His words to prepare their hearts and lives.

V. The Need to Be ReadyCertainly, if ever there was a time in which the church was standing on the brink of the end of the age, it is today. It behooves every one of us to be prepared for the soon return of Jesus Christ.

ReflectionsMatthew 24 is an incredibly important chapter in the Bible, not because of its beauty or poetry, and not even because of the certainty of its fulfillment. It is important because it reminds us that Jesus Christ is faithful and that the plan of God will succeed.

ReflectionsBut even more than this, Matthew 24 challenges us to be watching, anticipating the redemption that for millennia the Scripture has promised. Further, along with the writers of the New Testament, we are to watch for, anticipate, and love Christ’s appearing. As the signs of the times declare, He’s coming soon!

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Title Page. Lesson Nine Matthew 24:3-5 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these