A STUDY OF MATTHEW
CHAPTER 24

When reading Matthew 23 we can see that Christ is condemning those that think they are so much greater and closer to God than other people.

They are concentrating on how important they are and dwelling on forms of worship instead of who they worship.

When Christ and the disciples leave the Temple they begin to show Him the outside of it and how great it was, like so many of our Church's today.

Then we see what Christ has to say about it all in Matthew 24.

Mt 24:1
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mt 24:2
And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Christ is telling them here that there is really nothing special about that building, that the day would come when it would be torn down and nothing would remain but the rubble to show that it had ever been there.

Mt 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

It is very important to notice in verse 3 that the disciples fully understand what Christ is talking about, but they do not completely understand it.

They wanted to know when the Temple would be destroyed, when all the different things Christ was talking about was to occur, but I feel that one of the most important things found in this verse is “What shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the world”

Why would they want to know about His coming, when He was setting right there talking to Him? They knew that He was going to die, but that He would return again sometime.

Now let us look at what Christ told them.

Mt 24:4
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

He was telling them here not to be deceived by what man would tell them about any future events, that He would reveal to them the truth.

Mt 24:5
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Many have come saying they were Christ. Jim Jones said this, Charles Manson said this, many others have, so these words have been fulfilled.

Mt 24:6
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

We have not only heard of wars and rumors of wars, but have lived through many of them, or at least our ancestor’s did.

Mt 24:7
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Have not we seen all of this occur already

Mt 24:8
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mt 24:9
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my .

We have seen all of this happen in the past. Look at Germany and the Jews. Look at America today where Christianity is being attacked so openly. It has become a time where everything evil is good and everything good is evil.

Mt 24:10
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mt 24:11
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

We know that this has happened so many times in the past.

Mt 24:12
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Is not this true today, sin has become so ramped, there is no real brotherly love anymore, we are only interested in ourselves and what we can obtain, not how we can help those around us.

Mt 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Verse 13 tells all about our sealing our salvation. Those that endure to the end. In other words, we have to continue our daily walk with God, not going back into sin if we every hope to obtain eternal life.

Mt 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Has this not been and still being done?

Mt 24:15
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand).

Read the special page dealing with this Abomination of Desolation

Mt 24:16
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mt 24:17
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mt 24:18
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mt 24:19
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!.
Mt 24:20
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Verse 16 – 20 tells us what we should be doing and not doing when Christ returns.

Mt 24:21
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Now when all of those things that Christ has spoke of comes to past, that is nothing as the great tribulation is just getting ready to start.

He says that this tribulation to come was worse than any that had ever happened before, and there would be none like it after it

Mt 24:22
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mt 24:23
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mt 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

We see this happening all around us today, in fact some that reads these pages may try and say I am a false prophet, but they are wrong, I do not consider myself a prophet, I am just a Preacher trying to reveal the truth of God’s Word, to try and put a stop to a lot of this false teachings that is going on today.

Mt 24:25
Behold, I have told you before.
Mt 24:26
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mt 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mt 24:28
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together..
Now let us get into the real nitty gritty of Chapter 24. Mt 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:.

Tribulation of what days? The days we call the Great Tribulation

Mt 24:30
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory..

What is this? After the tribulation of those days, we shall see Christ returning, not before the Tribulation, but after. Christ is telling this to His disciples, so they can tell us, but man through time has made a mess of what Christ had to say about this.

Some try to say this is in referance to Christ's return to fight Satan at the end of the Millinium, but it can't be as verse 31 plainly shows.

Mt 24:31
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. .
He shall send His Angels, with a great sound of a trumpet, read Last Trumpet. And they will gather the elect, the Christians from the four winds or from all points of the earth, from one end of Heaven to the other. This occurs after the Tribulation period, not before. prior to the Millennium and before the Battle of Armageddon.

Why must we try and make the Bible say something it does not say.

Mt 24:32
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:.

This is talking about Israel becoming a Nation again, which occurred in 1948.

Mt 24:33
So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. .

He is telling us here to be prepared for after Israel is reestablished again then the time is near.

Mt 24:34
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled..

Christ was not talking about the generation of the disciples here; He was talking about the generation that would be living after Israel became a nation again. He said that generation would not pass away, a generation is about 65 years. SO sometime before 65 years from 1948 has passed away, Christ will return

Mt 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away..

Here Christ is showing just how important His Word is, Heaven and Earth may pass away, but not His Word.

Mt 24:36
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only..

A lot of people use this verse to say we can not know when Christ will return. It does not say that, it says no man knoweth the day or the hour, and we don’t and there is no way we can know, this is in God’s hand, in His Master plan.

Mt 24:37
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be..
Mt 24:38
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,.
Mt 24:39
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be..
Mt 24:40
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left..
Mt 24:41
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left..
Mt 24:42
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come..
Mt 24:43
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up..
Mt 24:44
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh..
Let us look at a couple verses from I Thess.

1Th 5:1
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

When Christ returns, He will return as a thief in the night

1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Here I believe God is trying to tell us something very important. He is trying to tell us that we are of the day not of the night, that we can be able to see if we will open our eyes. We can be prepared for the day of Christ return, even though we may not know the exact day or hour, but He wants us to know about the time so we can be ready, and not have any unfinished work to do.

1Th 5:5
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 1Th 5:6
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation
1Th 5:9
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

I think God truly wants us to know about when the return of Christ will be so we will work a little harder and faster, trying to witness for Him and to lead others to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour, so they will not be in darkness when He returns.

Mt 24:45
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?.
Mt 24:46
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing..
Mt 24:47
Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods..
Mt 24:48
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;.
Mt 24:49
And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;.
Mt 24:50
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,.
Mt 24:51
And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth..

The bottom line is, whether we know the day or hour or not, and in fact the possible year of His return, this is not really important, what is important is that we be the obedient and faithful servant we are supposed to be and to continue to work hard to lead others to Christ before He does return. We are supposed to be His caretakers, are we doing our job? Will He return and find that we are unfaithful servants.

Where is your heart today, is it on the world or on the God of this world.