Day Twenty-Four – Monday, February 3, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

Matthew 24

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

The Temple to Be Destroyed

Mark 13:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6 (Parallels)

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.”

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 24:1–2.

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus responds to His disciples as they point out the beautiful buildings of the temple.
• Jesus tells them that the temple will be destroyed, nothing left of it. This is His recounting of the prophecy in Micah 3 and I Kings 9. Later, the temple would be destroyed.

The Disciples’ Two Questions

Mark 13:3, 4; Luke 21:7

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?”

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 24:3.

Points to Ponder:

• After leaving the temple and the city walls of Jerusalem, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives with His disciples.
• After His telling of the destruction of the temple, they asked when all the things He prophesied would take place. This was their first question. They also asked what sign they should look for that the end of the age was upon them.

The Tribulation

Mark 13:5–23; Luke 21:5–24

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.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 24:4–26.

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus answered them with a teaching about the end times.
• First, He talked about deceivers that would come in His name, claiming to be the Christ.
• He then talks about wars and threats of wars. These things will come, but it is not yet the end.
• National conflicts will arise. Famine, disease, and natural disasters will occur. These are just the beginning of sorrowful times.
• Christians will be persecuted and hated. Many Christians will fall away and even hate one another.
• There will be false prophets. There will be lawlessness and a lack of love.
• Here is His admonition: Those who endure to the end will be saved. He further says that all nations will hear the gospel before the end of the age comes.
• Jesus speaks of the desecration of the temple and the mass hysteria that will ensue. He calls for all His disciples to flee the city at that time.
• He instructs them further not to run after the lies or rumors that He is in the area. Do not be deceived.

The Second Coming

Mark 13:24–27; Luke 21:25–28

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.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 24:27–31.

Points to Ponder:

• Some see this passage as a description of the rapture and the tribulation period following. Others think this is a prophesy of the second coming at the end of the tribulation period.
• This, though, seems to clearly be a description of His coming after the tribulation. At the battle of Armageddon, carcasses will be strewn, and there will be mourning.
• The gathering does sound like a rapture, but the it is also possible it is the gathering of those who came with Him to earth at this time.

Parable of the Fig Tree

Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33

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.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 24:32–35.

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus then gives an analogy of the fig tree. He describes it becoming tender and shooting out leaves in the warmth of the spring season. He simply says this will happen at a time just before the coming of the Lord.
• Some equate this budding of the fig tree with the reestablishment of the nation of Israel.
• While this is a possibility, that would mean that the generation that saw that event would not fully pass away before the coming of the Lord. This is a bit problematic in the fact that Israel has now been a nation for 75+ years. This does, though, signify that if this is the prophecy, then the Lord’s coming is very near!
• Jesus then utters the words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” This gives us His assurance that whatever He says, it will come true.

Illustration of the Days of Noah

Mark 13:32–37; Luke 21:34–36

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.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 24:36–44.

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus then makes sure that His disciples know that no one will be able to predict the day of His coming. Only the Father knows that timing.
• Earth will be like the times of Noah. People will be in security, not thinking of impending judgment. Then Jesus will come without warning, and many will be left behind.
• While the passage about the Lord’s coming—where all could see Him—was very much about His coming from heaven to do battle and set up a kingdom, this passage seems to be referring to the rapture of the church.
• We believe that the second coming is a two-part event. First, God will rapture the church, and then second will come again to do battle with the armies of the earth and set up His kingdom for a thousand years.
• Eastern writing, like that of the Bible, is typically stream-of-consciousness, which means that men wrote as they received inspiration from God, but it was not necessarily recorded in chronological order. This could explain why this passage speaks of two events that are related, but not simultaneous.

Illustration of the Two Servants

Luke 12:41–48

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.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 24:45–51.

Points to Ponder:

• Finally, Jesus encourages His disciples to be faithful.
• He speaks of the blessings that come to the faithful.
• He announces the reward to those who are faithful.
• He identifies the guilt of those who deny His coming again.
• He pronounces the judgment on those who act sinfully in His absence.
• He warns them of the hell that awaits the apostate
• Lord, help us to always be ready for Your coming!

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All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page.