Matthew 24:4-6, 7-8. Are any of these, signs of the end?
People coming falsely in His Name, wars, rumors of wars, no, He says these are not signs of the end.
Nations rising against nation, famines, earthquakes. A little closer. But these are only the very beginning of the pregnancy’s warning signs. Definitely not the time of the end.
And all of these things have been happening for centuries!
Matthew 24:9-13. Are these signs of the end?
Now, here, we are given a clue. Though these verses also are talking about a centuries-old phenomenon, the persecution of true saints of God, false prophets, lawlessness, the love of believers falling short, there is this other word to consider: “The one who endures to the end will be saved.”
The end. Here Jesus is talking about a time of evil that will permeate the entire world and be so strong as to affect the Christians, bringing them into a lukewarmness and worldliness. This is the time to awaken from sleep and endure the persecution, not keep running from it.
Matthew 24:14. Is this a clear sign of the end?
Close, but not really. The Gospel has been preached in all the world for a long time. It has already been to every major nation, and every minor nation. It has not reached every people group. When will that happen? When will that clock stop ticking?
No way to know! Various mission organizations calculate all this in different ways. I have to say that even this is not a clear sign of the very end, though it will happen for sure, before the end.
Luke 21:18. A hair of their head will not perish? What of that multitude of martyrs who have lost their lives over the centuries?
To fulfill a promise like this, Jesus would have to resurrect every hair on every head of His beloved people. But Is that not what has been predicted for us?
Matthew 24:15. Is this the sign they requested?
They asked for a sign, singular. This is a singular once in a lifetime sign. They asked for something that would immediately precede His coming and the end of the world and the destruction of Jerusalem. This is it. Follow the text. It leads from here to the greatest Trouble the world – not just Jews – has ever experienced, and from there to the return of Jesus.
Their simple question received a simple answer, but oh my! have we clouded His response with our “knowledge” through the years.
The abomination of desolation was spoken of by Daniel, but cannot refer to Daniel’s time or the Syrian wars he predicted, since this abomination is still in our future, per Jesus’ words.
Follow every clue! If something will not fit, abandon the theory and move on…
Matthew 24:19-22, Luke 21:22-23. Is this about the end time? What clues?
Consider: The Trouble predicted here is unprecedented, matching with the prediction of Daniel 12. All the catastrophes from the beginning of the world cannot be compared to it. Surely the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was a great horror, but not to be compared to World War 2 and the Holocaust. So it must be future. And worse than those two events combined. Now we know we have the technology in our own hands for a horror not even imagined before this time. The evil will be so great as to cause God to cut it short in answer to the pleas of His people.
Matthew 24:29. When does the Tribulation occur, and Jesus’ coming?
Read His lips. The Tribulation occurs after the abomination enters the Temple of God. And His coming occurs AFTER the Tribulation.
Matthew 24:31. What is the rapture?
Yes, there is a rapture. How I wish the word had not been introduced into the Christian church, for so many believe now that the rapture of the church and the second coming are two separate events. This they believe without Scriptural evidence equal to what I have shared in the last question.
Rapture, a catching away, a snatching or seizing, definitely will occur. When Jesus comes. When Jesus comes. When Jesus comes.
It’s recorded right here, without that word attached. And that word, rapture, is nowhere to be found in Scripture.
Matthew 24:34. Which generation is Jesus referencing?
When the abomination of desolation occurs, that is, when the sign that the disciples asked for is observed by His people, the final clock starts ticking. Within just a few years after that, “all these things will take place.” The generation that sees the abomination of desolation will see the end of history as we know it.
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