Matthew 24:1-14--The Olivet Discourse (Part 1)

Matthew 24:1-14 English Standard Version (ESV)
LISTEN:  https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.24

​Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
24:1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all 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.”

Signs of the End of the Age
3 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 them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
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9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

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I am going to split Matthew 24 and 25 (The Olivet Discourse) up into several parts like I did The Sermon on the Mount.  This is one of the most direct passages talking about the end times and is the beginning of what is called the Olivet Discourse as this teaching occurs on the Mount of Olives.  Note that this is prophecy given to the nation of Israel that those of us who are Gentiles can glean some truth from, but some of it is going to refer back to the Old Testament book of Daniel which also has a lot to say about the "last days" for Israel, including when Messiah would appear and be "cut off."  That specific prophecy from Daniel is about to be fulfilled to the very day that was promised.  They are living in the "last days" of Daniel, but they seem to understand that the prophetic clock for Israel stops when Messiah is cut off (Daniel's 69th week) and that Daniel's 70th week (what we would call the Tribulation) is some time far in the future and that they should warn people to be ready for that to happen soon.  What are those warning signs?  Let's follow along with Jesus and see where we might be in the prophetic timeline that Jesus lays out here and what Jesus says our response should be when we see these things taking place (or at least what the response of Israel should be when they see these things taking place).

The first sign that Jesus gives is the the temple would be destroyed.  This has clearly already happened in 70 AD when the Romans came into Jerusalem to put down the last revolt from the Jews that they were willing to tolerate and to disperse the Jews out of their land in what will be known as the Diaspora.  The Romans heard that the Jews had used gold as mortar for the bricks in the temple (probably not true) but they tore every brick down looking for this hidden gold which fulfilled the worlds of Jesus here that not one stone would be left on top of another.  The Western Wall which is now referred to as the Wailing Wall was later rebuilt, and we now see that the Dome of the Rock sits on the temple mount.  The temple plays a vital role in Jewish prophecy and we will see later that the Jewish temple is restored and that the Antichrist will defile it.  This is still something that has to happen but it is not clear that its reconstruction happens before the 7 years of tribulation, so we should not wait for its constructions as a "sign."

The disciples are worried about this statement that the temple is going to be destroyed and that this has something to do with the end of the age, and they wonder how they will know this is coming.  Jesus has told them before that He can't give them an exact timeline for His return because only the Father knows (remember the parable of the wedding and how the Bride must always be ready for the bridegroom's father to say "Go get your bride.").  However, Jesus can lay out some broad strokes of things that must happen first that will be "signs of the times."

First, Jesus warns that there will be many false Christs (people that claim to be the Messiah) that appear during this time to try to trick Israel into following them.  They are to watch out and not believe any of them because their Messiah has already come--His name is Jesus of Nazareth, and when He returns again to this earth to establish His kingdom, it will be too late for those who have chosen not to believe in the salvation that He brought to both the Jews and the Gentiles.

There will be wars and rumors of wars--great wars (probably talking about world wars) where nations rise against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms.  I'd say that pretty much describes a lot of the modern wars, but it seems like in recent history someone has always been at war with someone else, even if the war was what we called a "cold war" where we were ready to "go hot" at a moment's notice.  We don't make peace or sign treaties very often but instead just make "cease-fire agreements" that are easily made and easily broken.  In addition to wars the Lord says there will be natural disasters such as earthquakes and famines but that this is only the beginning, like the first contractions that a woman feels to let her know that the delivery of the baby is eminent and to start to take action.  It's not necessarily an indicator of how long you have though.

The next sign that Jesus says to watch out for is that "they" (not really specified, but clearly the enemies of God) will put the nation of Israel and/or the Church (it's not exactly clear) through a time of tribulation, put them to death, and make them hated by all nations.  Many will fall away from the faith and will betray one another and even learn to hate one another.  I'd say this definitely happened to the Jewish people during the time of the Holocaust and that very much could be the time that Jesus is referring to--even the Church was persecuted, but the Church did not come out of the ordeal with clean hands and some Christians today claim to love God and yet hate the covenant people of God--the Jews.  They believe that somehow God broke His covenant with Israel because they put Jesus to death, but that's not exactly what the Bible says--we're going to pay careful attention as we go through the gospels and the epistles on who exactly (if anyone) put Jesus to death--spoiler alert, it probably isn't who you think it is.

There is also no question that many ethnic Jews have become Atheists since the Holocaust because they don't understand how their God could allow them them to go through that.  There were also some of the Jews (and Christians) who were out to save their own skin or out for profit and collaborated with the Nazis and turned in their "friends."  They were no better than Judas Iscariot that we'll see soon but God was still faithful and saved a remnant as He always does.  He does not promise to save everyone, but He dos promise to keep a remnant of His covenant people that He can keep His eternal covenant with.

Then, just like Jesus, He sticks a word of encouragement into the middle of this doom and gloom prophecy, "Those who endure to the end (the faithful) will be saved." We also hear that, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."  This is our job as the Church right now.  Every generation has the ability (especially with today's technology) to take the gospel to every tribe, tongue and nation.  We also know that God is going to give this job to some angels in the end times, but that "gospel" that is preached to the world at that time is not a message of salvation, but a message that 

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​Revelation 14:6-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”