Next the Lord Jesus now turns his attention back to addressing the first question the disciples asked.
When Will These Things Be? – First Question
Next, Jesus turns his attention back to the first important thing that is going to happen to his disciples, the destruction of the Temple. Now, picking back up on our reading.
Matthew 24:15-22… “Therefore, when YOU catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place, (let the reader use discernment,) then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains. Let the man on the housetop not come down to take the goods out of his house; and let the man in the field not return to the house to pick up his outer garment. Woe to the pregnant women and those suckling a baby in those days! Keep praying that YOUR flight may not occur in wintertime, nor on the sabbath day; for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.
Why did Jesus reveal this information at this time to the disciples? If we would go ahead and read Matthew chapter 25, we would find that Jesus introduce himself as the rightful king to the kingdom in Jerusalem. But the religious leaders and the rulers of Jerusalem did not accept him. This event caused God to abandon his house and eventually brings about the destruction of the Temple.
I cannot help but to take notice that the great tribulation only happens once. The Scripture indicates that this occurs with the destruction of the Temple of God and on the people that did not escape from the city of Jerusalem.
This event would only apply to the Jewish people who would be celebrating the Sabbath. Notice that Jesus says this will not occur again. How loving, Jesus gave clear direction for his disciples for escaping the destruction of the Temple and keeping them from being trapped inside the city of Jerusalem at the time of its judgment.
At Luke 21:22-24 the disciple Luke adds more detail about the destruction of Jerusalem and the trampling by the nations upon these Jewish people until the appointed times are fulfilled!
Luke 21:22-24… because these are days of vengeance to fulfill all the things that are written. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
When the Christ was being let off to his death the people were making a fuss when Christ turned to them and spoke these words found at Luke 23:27-30.
Luke 23:27-30… A large crowd of people followed Him, including women who were mourning and lamenting Him. But turning to them, Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and your children. Look, the days are coming when they will say, ‘The women without children, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed, are fortunate!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’
The Sign of Your Presence – Second Question
Now, Jesus turns his attention back to the second part of the question that the disciples asked: “what will be the sign of your presence?”
What is the Greek word rendered presence #G3952 Parousia? It is a technical word in reference to the coming visit of the king, as a Royal Visit.
Jesus disciples knew and believed strongly that he was going to show himself as the king, they were looking forward to his coming and making himself known as the king of the kingdom of God.
So, you can imagine this next set of Scriptures was confusing for his disciples to understand.
Matthew 24:23-28… “Then if anyone says to YOU, ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. Look! I have forewarned YOU. Therefore, if people say to YOU, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look! He is in the inner chambers,’ do not believe it. For just as the lightning comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the presence of the Son of man will be. Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
Now that we read this passage of Scripture we can ask: why would it be necessary for us not to fall victim to these false Christ?
First: the Lord knew that at his death people might be tempted to look for another Christ to fulfill their false expectations by being delivered from their oppressors Rome.
Second: Christ presence / coming will not come until the apostasy it will come first, so said the apostle Paul at 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
This apostasy is initiated by the antichrist spirit as it tries to fool people into thinking it is Jesus or from God. 1 John 4:1-3
Remember that Jesus promised to send forth the helper in his name. John 16:13
Third: The point about the presence / coming of Christ is this:, it will only be visible to you if you are paying attention for it. Because by the time that you finally see him, he will already be here, there will be no time to get ready to meet Christ.
The Sign in Heaven
Next Jesus begins to describe the events referred to by the Scriptures as the consummation of the age, meaning the end. This is the deliverance of the chosen ones they are the ones taken by Christ.
Matthew 24:29-31… “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.
First, I would like to point your attention back to what is first said here at Matthew 24:29. It says immediately after the tribulation of those days. What is this tribulation that Jesus is referring to?
We have already established that it is not the Great Tribulation of the Jews, but it is the tribulation of those who have to endure the apostasy. It is a tribulation of being born into the kingdom of God with the hostilities and hatred of those who are not wanting the kingdom of God nor Jesus as their king.
Jesus first mentioned this tribulation when answering about the consummation of the age, when he spoke about the pain of childbirth at Matthew 24:9-13.
Next, we have been given these very obvious signs in heaven in the following list:
- The sun will be darkened,and the moon will not shed its light
- the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken.
- Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect
Can this list be tied into the Revelation prophecy and will we be able to connect the dots? If you’re not sure then let’s try:
- Revelation 16:10-11…The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues because of their pain and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, yet they did not repent of their actions.
- Revelation 16:12-14… The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon’s mouth, from the beast’s mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons performing signs, who travel to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle of the great day of God, the Almighty.
- Revelation 19:11-16… Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on His head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself. He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is the Word of God.The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING of kings and LORD of lords.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17… For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.
So, where do you think we are in the stream of time?
At Luke 21:25-27 here the disciple Luke adds more detail speaking of the anguish of nations and the roaring of the sea.
Luke 21:25-27… there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring sea and waves. People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world.
Does this sound like what’s going on around us today?
The Point
Matthew 24:32-36… “Now learn from the fig tree as an illustration this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, YOU know that summer is near. Likewise, also YOU, when YOU see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. Truly I say to YOU that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
What is the point of the illustration? You and I know the seasons and the order that they come in, but when we see these signs, we are to know Jesus is standing at the doors. You do not need to have anyone to tell you what is going to happen next because you know that the bushes that put forth leaves in the spring will be followed by summer. You most certainly do not need someone to tell you where you are in the stream of time! Unless you are not paying attention. Unless you are just too busy with your own life to look up and see the signs!
Deliverance
What does deliverance mean for you? The disciples of Christ looked forward to entering into the kingdom of God and for the marriage of the Lamb to take place.
Luke 21:28… but as these things start to occur, raise yourselves arrect and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is getting near.
So, when you begin to see the signs of the presence of Christ we know that he is at the door and that soon he will enter in together up the chosen ones for their deliverance into the kingdom of God. Let us pick back up on the reading from Matthew 24:
Matthew 24:37-41… For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken along, and the other be abandoned; two women will be grinding at the hand mill: one will be taken along, and the other be abandoned.
Remember we spoke of Enoch’s prophecy and the consummation of the age, next let us read about that now from the writing of Jude.
Jude 1:14-15… Yes, the seventh one in line from Adam, Enoch, prophesied also regarding them, when he said: “Look! Jehovah came with his holy myriads, to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they did in an ungodly way and concerning all the shocking things that ungodly sinners spoke against him.
The end of the age ends with the destruction of the ungodly in the judgment. Enoch 62:1-13, Enoch 63:1-12, and 4 Ezra 13:1-58 all talk about this time period.
What have we learned so far?
The following is a list of compiled events from these 2 articles put in their proper order of time.
- Destruction of the Temple.
- Being objects of hatred because of Jesus name.
- Introducing of the misleading in the name of Christ.
- The Pangs of Distress.
- Consummation of the age.
- The kingdom good news is declared to all.
- The Apostasy to trick or fool some of the chosen ones.
- The darkening of the Sun, Moon and the Stars fall from heaven as the powers of heaven are shaken. Revelation 16:1-14
- Seeing the Son of Man approach. Revelation 19:11-16
- Hearing the great trumpet sound. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
- The Gathering of the Chosen ones in their deliverance.
If you don’t have the writings of Enoch and of the Apocrypha of Ezra or the book of Baruch you can look for them on this blog, in the upper right-hand corner you find a drop-down menu which will lead you to these rare books.
Come Lord Jesus, you who represent God’s righteousness!
For a more about The Last Days as for told by Jesus follow the hyperlink to The Days of Darkness Identified
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