The Gospel of Matthew
Prophecy about the people of Israel
Chapter 24
Chapters 24 and 25 form what is known as the Olivet Discourse, so named because this important pronouncement was given on the Mount of Olives. The discourse is entirely prophetic; it points forward to the Tribulation Period and the Lord's Second Coming. It primarily, though not exclusively, concerns the nation of Israel and its territory, for example, “let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (verse 16). Its setting is distinctly Jewish, for example, “Pray that your flight may not be ... on the Sabbath” (verse 20). The reference to the "elect" (verse 22) concerns God's Jewish elect, not the church. The church is not found in either the prophecies or parables of the discourse.
The temple was a set of buildings built on Mount Moriah, adjacent to Jerusalem. King Solomon built the first one about a thousand years before the birth of Christ (1 Kings 5-6). Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it five centuries later, but governor Zerubbabel built another temple 70 years after that in 516 BC. Five centuries after that, because of the bad condition it was in by then, and to please the people, the first Herod started building a new one over its ruins, in 18 BC. This temple was still unfinished at the time of the Lord Jesus. It was becoming a magnificent building of massive stones hewn in white marble, beautiful to behold. The disciples took the Lord to see the construction works.
The Lord warned His disciples "Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." The temple was finished in 65 AC and, just five years later, was destroyed by the army of the Roman general Titus, in disobedience of his orders not to damage it. It was never rebuilt, but a mosque was built on an area considered sacred by Muslims in its enclosure.
The Lord Jesus then went up the Mount of Olives and sat down facing Jerusalem. According to Mark 13:3, only Peter, James and Andrew were with Him, and they asked: “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" That means, they were curious to know when would the temple be destroyed, what supernatural event would precede His return to the earth to set up His kingdom and what would announce the end of the age immediately prior to His glorious reign.
In response, the Lord spoke what is considered to be His last sermon, which is a prophecy concerning the nation of Israel and especially His disciples among them, from that time until His second coming. His church is not part of this prophecy, and the people of Israel, as a nation, is especially focused in the events, for example, "so those who are in Judea flee to the mountains", "pray that your flight will not happen in winter or on the Sabbath", and the "elected" or "chosen" are Jews.
The Lord did not make a clear distinction between the facts linked to the destruction of Jerusalem and of the "end" which precede His return. Some events of the prophecy would occur in both events, and could be described with similar words, justifying them to be combined in this way. The same language is found in the prophecies of Isaiah.
Though it was not easy to distinguish the two events at that time, for us it is simpler since the destruction of Jerusalem occurred shortly after the prophecy had been pronounced, and we have all details available from secular history.
The Lord started by warning against false teachers and leaders: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name", calling themselves Christians or even claiming to be Christ himself, deceiving many people. In verses 6 to 8 he spoke of necessary wars, rumours of wars, famines and earthquakes, but they are not the end. They took place in the years leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and they are happening in our days. These are only "the beginning of sorrows": even greater disasters are to come (Revelation 6).
In verses 9 and 10, He revealed that His followers would suffer great persecution and martyrdom. This happened during the beginning of the Church, before the destruction of Jerusalem, throughout history and faithful believers will experience great personal testing during tribulation. The nations will conduct a bitter hate campaign against all who are true to Him. Not only will they be tried in religious and civil courts (Mark 13:9), but many will be martyred because they refuse to recant.
While such testing has occurred during all periods of Christian testimony, this seems to have particular reference to the 144,000 Jewish believers who will have a special ministry during the Great Tribulation (see below). The prophecy from verse 11 to 14 fits best in this last stage. False prophets arose at the beginning of Christianity, and the Gospel was spread across the known world at that time (Colossians 1:5,6), but it will be preached most effectively worldwide by those Jewish missionaries, and by an angel (Revelation 7 and 14:6,7).
Verse 13 "but he who endures to the end will be saved" is sometimes misinterpreted, thinking that it refers to salvation from the penalty of sin. It cannot be, because that salvation comes only through faith. It is also not salvation from physical damage, or even death, because there will be many martyrs during the tribulation. The Lord is referring to Christians of the tribulation period that survive, persevering, awaiting His return, in contrast with those who, having pretended to be Christians, will apostatize from the faith on arrival of persecution.
In the section from verse 15 to 28, the Lord Jesus spoke about the events of the period known as the "Great Tribulation" of the Jews, the second half of the seven-year tribulation period. These seven years are the last week (group of seven) of the prophecy of the "seventy weeks" found in Daniel 9:27, and detailed in Daniel 11:21-45 and Revelation 11 to 18.
The Great Tribulation will start when the beast, or Antichrist, breaking an agreement made with the nation of Israel, puts an idolatrous image of himself in the temple in Jerusalem (Revelation 13:15) and everyone will be compelled to worship him. This is "the abomination of desolation" (Daniel 9:27, 11:31,32).
This tribulation will consist of the most intense persecution against Jews in history, surpassing the "Holocaust" and "pogroms" of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the inhabitants of Israel will flee to shelter in the mountains of Moab (Jordan). The killing will be such that "unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened ". The "elect" are the Jews converted to Christ and who will form the new nation of Israel, saved from their enemies at the coming of Christ.
In the middle of this affliction there will be no lack of false Messiahs, seeking to deceive the people, and false prophets, as the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:9,10), performing great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the converted. But the Lord leaves His disciples warned against such as these: He will not conceal His return, but all will see Him on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, with signs in the Sun, the Moon and the stars, with the great sound of a trumpet, and angels to gather together all His elect.
The fig tree is one of the figures used to symbolize the people of Israel. For centuries, they spread all over the world, with no land, no temple, no priesthood, apparently lifeless, like a fig tree in winter. They are now coming back to life, with their own territory, independence and Government - a sign that the end is getting near.
In the prophecy of verse 34 "this generation" could mean that the people who lived then would witness the first event foretold, the destruction of Jerusalem at the beginning of the sequence. The words "this generation" can also mean the entire nation of Israel, which, in fact, remarkably still survives.
The Lord Jesus assures us that the prophecy contained in this chapter will be fulfilled faithfully - His words are safer than the physical heavens and earth, which will pass away (2 Peter 3:10 -13).
The final verses stress the surprise, which will mark the return of the Lord Jesus. Only the Father knows when He will return, and He is going to take the world by storm, as happened at the time of Noah, for not listening to his warnings. It refutes those who claim to be able to calculate a time or a future date for the event. It might be even now!
When He comes, the wicked will be removed so that only the righteous remain and enter the millennial Kingdom of Christ. The parables of the two men in the field and the two women at the mill illustrate this: the wicked will be taken away so only the righteous, like Noah, are left to enter the kingdom of Christ. Note: This is not to be confused with the rapture of the church, to take place before the tribulation (John 14:3, 1 Corinthians 15:51, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:17, etc.), where the one which is righteous will be taken away and the wicked is left to suffer the wrath of God.
The “faithful and wise servant” is the true believer, devoted to the Lord's service, who will be given great authority in the Kingdom of God. The bad servant is he that only pretends to be Christian, and he will be placed among the hypocrites and punished severely.
R David Jones
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 "Therefore when you see the 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 "Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!
34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Gospel of Matthew chapter 23