WWUTT 1182 Jesus Talks About the End? (Matthew 24)

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Jesus said, you're gonna hear of wars and rumors of wars. There are gonna be famines and earthquakes in various places.

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But the reason why he talked about this was to say, these are not signs of the end when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible teaching podcast that we may be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the

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Lord. Tell your friends about our ministry at www .wutt .com. Here once again is

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Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We continue our study of the events in the ministry of Jesus between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday, which we'll be celebrating this weekend.

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In the calendar of what we refer to as Holy Week, Monday is often thought of as Fig Monday, because that's the day that Jesus cursed the fig tree, and we looked at that yesterday.

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Tuesday is sometimes called Olive Tuesday. Now, why is it called that? Because it was this day that Jesus talked to his disciples on the

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Mount of Olives about the destruction of the temple and the signs of the end of the age. We find this speech in Mark 13, in Luke 21, but where it's most prominent and given the most detail is the

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Olivet Discourse that we have in Matthew 24 and 25. That's the text I'm gonna be looking at today.

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Since this is such a big chunk of text, I'm gonna go ahead and begin reading and we'll break this up as we go.

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Matthew 24, starting in verse one, Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

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But he answered them, you see all of these, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

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Now, an interesting thing about the temple that I did not mention yesterday as we were talking about Jesus cleansing the temple, this is the longest building in the world.

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It was understood that in first century Jerusalem, that temple, Herod's temple, was the longest building on earth at that time.

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Massive columns lining up and down. It really was a large structure.

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The temple mount was very, very big. So given that this was such a feat, an accomplishment of architecture, the disciples truly are wowed by what they're looking at.

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They're pointing at a marvel of man, the construction of this temple. And Jesus, unimpressed by it, says to them, do you see all of these?

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I tell you, there's not gonna be one stone left on another. It's all gonna be thrown down. So he goes up on the

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Mount of Olives, this is verse three. 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?

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Now, I didn't read verse three properly. It says, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, where else have we seen

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Jesus sit down and begin speaking to his disciples? Well, the first place was the Sermon on the

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Mount. That's the way Matthew five begins. He goes up on the mountain and sits down and his disciples come to him.

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So here we have that same sort of a picture in the last of five discourses that Matthew gives over the course of his gospel.

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This is the fifth one. And it's about the signs of the end of the age. It's the second longest discourse after the

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Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters five, six, and seven. So again, taking the position of a king, sitting down on a mountain and talking with his disciples, he tells them about the signs of the end of the age.

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He says in verse four, see that no one leads you astray for many will come in my name saying,

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I am the Christ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

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See that you are not alarmed for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

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For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

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All these are but the beginning of birth pains. Now let me stop here for a moment. I wanna clarify that what

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Jesus is talking about with his disciples is the destruction of the temple. That's coming 40 years after this in 70

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AD. That's what they asked him. And that's the answer that he is giving them.

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But I also believe that this is a sign of the second coming of Christ.

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So we have both things going on here. Jesus is telling them about when the temple is gonna be destroyed, because that's what they asked about.

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That's within a generation of their conversation here. So the destruction of the temple is a micro fulfillment of this prophecy that Jesus is giving.

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And it points to a macro fulfillment that's gonna happen on a global, you might even consider it a cosmic scale when

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Jesus returns at the end of the age. So where Jesus is talking about here about a sign of famines and earthquakes in various places, there's kind of a localization of this that's going to occur.

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And indeed it did. We read about a famine that had happened in the land, a very grand famine that took place in about the 50s or 60s

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AD, which the apostle Paul was collecting money for to be able to benefit the

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Christians that were there in Judea, who were suffering as a result of the famine. And the book of Acts talks about that.

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So there were famines in various places. There were earthquakes. Colossae was damaged by an earthquake, it was completely destroyed by an earthquake almost prior to the destruction of the temple in 70

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AD. And Rome even forgot about Colossae and they kind of had to come up with their own money in order to rebuild, but they were never fully able to.

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So this city experienced this, this was actually after Paul had written to them. So the letter that he wrote to the

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Colossians was just prior to that earthquake that devastated the city. So it's just a couple of examples of how we would see these kinds of disasters happening throughout the

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Roman empire and even prior to the destruction of the temple. But I want you to take note of something here.

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Jesus is not saying that those disasters are a sign of the end. Not the sign of the end of the temple and not a sign of the end of the age.

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Go back again where he says, see to it that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying,

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I am the Christ and they will lead many astray. Have we not seen that happening in the world? You've seen it in your lifetime.

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It's been going on for the last 2000 years. The apostle John even said in 1

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John that we know it is the last hour for many antichrists have come.

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So there's many who are gonna come claiming to be the Christ or in the name of Christ and they're gonna attempt to lead people astray.

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This is not a sign of the end. It's just the way things are gonna be in this age, this final age, this last hour in which we are living.

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Everything since the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 and Pentecost has been the last hour.

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We are currently living in the last days. So Jesus says, do not be led astray. You will hear of wars, you will hear of rumors of wars and see that you are not alarmed for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

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For nation will rise against nation. It's been going on for 2000 years and kingdom against kingdom has been going on the whole time.

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There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Have we not seen that? And all these are but the beginning of birth pains which means it's not the end.

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It's the way the world is because everything has been subjected to futility as a result of the curse because of our sin against God.

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Consider what Paul says in Romans 8, starting in verse 18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

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And I hope that is an encouragement to you in these days. Verse 19, for the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

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The apostle Paul says in Titus 1 .1 that he preaches for the sake of the faith of God's elect.

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So the revealing of the sons of God, we will know who the sons of God are because they come to faith in the

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Lord Jesus Christ. So creation is eagerly awaiting for the revealing of God's elect, those who are gonna come to faith through the preaching of the gospel.

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For it's when that last person, that last one that God has elected for salvation comes to faith, boom, it's all over and that's when

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Jesus returns. So understand the meaning there of Romans 8 .19, the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

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For the creation, here's verse 20, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

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We have it written in Ephesians chapter one and to the Colossians also, that God is reconciling all things to himself through the person and work of his son.

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Colossians 1 .20, it says, God is making peace by the blood of his cross. There's even peace coming to all of creation through the work of Christ that happened there at Calvary.

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And the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption. When the new heavens and the new earth come in.

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Verse 22 now, this is Romans 8 .22. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

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Paul is not talking about a separate analogy here. He's using the same picture that Jesus is painting here in Matthew 24.

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I say that to you so that you may see that the disasters that we see going on in the world really cannot communicate to us a sign of the end because there aren't meant to be a sign of the end.

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It is the way that the world is subjected to futility. Look throughout human history and you see major, massive worldwide disasters that have taken place.

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And that was not the sign of the end. I mean, in the 20th century alone, more blood was spilled in that century than has ever been spilled in all the rest of the wars of humankind prior to that.

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World War I and World War II, you know that there were people living through those wars thinking that this has got to be the end.

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This is it. I mean, Jesus is definitely coming back and it didn't happen. So again, this is just the way the world is going to be.

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That's what Jesus is saying here. He's not saying that all of these disasters and calamities are a sign of the end, but rather they're going to happen and I don't want you to be alarmed.

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Again, all of this world is groaning in the pains of childbirth, waiting to be set free.

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And that will happen at the return of Christ. But for now, our work is to spread the gospel.

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We just preach the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the grave so that all who believe in him will not perish at the final judgment of God.

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Whatever day that is, we won't perish on that day because we have everlasting life given to us in Christ.

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We will not be standing on the side of those who will perish in judgment, but we will be standing in victory with the one who is conquered and that is

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Christ himself, destroying even death, the last enemy as talked about in 1

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Corinthians 15. So I just want to draw that out here of the beginning of this discourse in Matthew 24.

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All these are but the beginning of birth pains. We go on to verse nine.

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Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and they will put you to death and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

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That's still going on in the world right now. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

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And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

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And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.

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And then the end will come. You got it there?

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So we're going to be hated for the Christ whom we worship. There's going to be many false prophets who are going to come up and lead many astray.

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In verse 10, it says, many will fall away and betray one another and will hate one another.

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Now that verse is often interpreted to describe like this great falling away. That's not what's being talked about here.

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You've seen brothers and sisters in the Lord or those whom you thought were brothers and sisters in the

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Lord. You've seen them fall away. You've seen it. And Jesus is just alerting his disciples to the fact that this is what's going to happen.

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This is happening even now in the age of the church. But what the church needs to do is as Paul said to Timothy, it is a pillar and a buttress of the truth.

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It holds up the truth. It defends the truth. It takes the gospel to the world so that many may repent of their sin and come to faith in Jesus Christ through the hearing of the gospel.

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That's the only way a person is saved, that the gospel was proclaimed to them, that they repent of their sin and they put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

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And Jesus says, the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 24, 13.

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Not the one who believed for a time and then fell away, but the one who truly believes and is secure in Christ.

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And as Jesus says in John 10, no one will snatch them out of my hand.

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This message of the gospel, the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and to the disciples that was quite startling.

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This is not a message just for Jews. We're not talking about just a king for Jews here. We're talking about a kingdom that is gonna be made up of every tribe, tongue, and nation on earth.

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Everyone who hears the gospel and believes it will be saved. The disciples may not have understood that right here as Jesus was telling them, but when he gives them the commission at the end of Matthew and then of course we have it in Acts chapter one as well, then they understand.

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Then when the Holy Spirit comes upon them at Pentecost and they're preaching and the gospel goes out even beyond there to the

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Gentiles, then they're understanding what this means, that it's gonna be preached. It's gonna be proclaimed throughout the whole world.

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We go on here to verse 15, Matthew 24, 15. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by the prophet

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Daniel standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

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Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

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And alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a

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Sabbath for then there will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

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And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

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Then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ or there he is, do not believe it for false

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Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

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See that I have told you beforehand. So if they say to you, look, he is in the wilderness, do not go out.

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If they say, look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the

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East and shines as far as the West, so will be the coming of the son of man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

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And so once again, I believe that what Jesus is saying to the disciples here points directly to the destruction of the temple that's about to occur, but we could also apply this to a greater fulfillment of something that is to come later on.

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The destruction of the temple, the chaos that would come against Jerusalem, when the

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Romans would come against the city and they would particularly go for the temple. As I mentioned yesterday about the temple being kind of a center of commerce, a center of the economy, the

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Romans wanted to destroy it because they knew it would cripple the Jews. So when all of that happens, signifying once and for all that the temple is not the place where God is worshiped, but that he's worshiped everywhere.

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And our union with the father is through Jesus Christ, the son. See, the destruction of the temple was gonna be, this is no longer where that union with God occurs.

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It happens with Jesus Christ. Jesus is talking about those things here, but we might also look at this in history as a sign of the end.

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We go on into verse 29. 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.

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Then will appear in heaven, the sign of the son of man. 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.

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And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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Now we come back to the illustration of the fig tree. Verse 32, from the fig tree, learn its lesson.

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As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

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Remember what we looked at yesterday regarding the fig tree. It had put out leaves, but it didn't have fruit on it. The leaves are an indication that there should be fruit there and that a season is changing.

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So also when you see all of these things, you know that he is near at the very gates.

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Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Now I'm coming close to the end of my time.

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So I don't have time to go into all of this. This is interpreted a lot of different ways, but mostly what

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I want you to be encouraged with understanding here is that, hey, we've read the last page and we know how this story ends.

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Jesus wins, he is the victor. And as you see these things that are happening in the world today, whether it's the threat of a plague or some sort of pandemic or we see disasters happening in the world, even if we see these things escalate, do not be alarmed.

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Jesus said this to his disciples, don't be alarmed by these things. Continue to trust in Jesus.

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We have no reason to be concerned about this. We trust in Christ. I mean, things can get hard for us.

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The economy could collapse. We may experience a famine of our own, but we should not despair as we come into hard times.

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Once again, Romans 8, 18, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

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Earlier in Romans 5, 1, Paul said, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our

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Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.

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And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.

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And remember Jesus saying, he who endures to the end will be saved. Romans 5, 4, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

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And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the

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Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Hold fast to Christ.

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He has ruled over these days that we are in. He's still on his throne.

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He has not left us nor forsaken us as we have the promise at the end of the book of Matthew.

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Behold, I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.

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Matthew 24, 36, but concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the

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Son, but the Father only. It's astounding to me how many false prophets will continue to claim they know the day that Christ is going to return when he has said plainly here, no one knows.

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I can't even tell you right now, Jesus is saying to his disciples, because only the Father knows.

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All of these things are happening according to the sovereign decree of the Father that was made before the foundation of the world.

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For as were the days of Noah, Jesus says, so will be the coming of the

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Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when

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Noah went into the ark, and they were unaware, until the flood came and swept them all away.

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So will be the coming of the Son of Man. See, there's gonna be even places in the world where people are celebrating and enjoying comfort in life.

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It's not like the whole world is going to pot through natural disasters, and then the Son of Man is gonna come.

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Some will be in suffering, others won't be. And then Jesus says in verse 40, then it's gonna be like two men in the field.

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One will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and one left.

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Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Now, this illustration that Jesus is giving here, this is not a reference to the rapture.

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The one who's being taken away is the one who's being taken in judgment. The one who remains is the one who inherits the earth.

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For they will reign in the new heavens and the new earth with Christ. Therefore, stay awake.

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Do not be as those who walk in darkness, who continue in sin and unrighteousness, but walk in the light of Christ, for you do not know on what day your

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Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

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Therefore, you also must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

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And this is a charge by Jesus telling his disciples, walk in holiness, serve your

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King. And when the King returns, he will gather you up with him into his eternal kingdom.

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You have nothing to fear of that day, but everything to hope in that day. Let us look to Christ, the author and the perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of God.

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Amen. Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas.