CHAPTER 24

(A.D. 33)

DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE PREDICTED

¹And Jesus went out, and departed from the Temple (when He left, God left): and His Disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the Temple (this structure was one of the most beautiful in the world of that day).

²And Jesus said unto them, Do you not see all these things? (Is asked by Christ in response to the remarks made by His Disciples concerning the beauty of the Temple.) verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down (was fulfilled in total exactness; it took place in 70 A.D.).

SIGNS OF THE ENDTIME

³And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives (the coming siege of Jerusalem by the Romans some thirty-seven years later, began at this exact spot where Christ was sitting), the Disciples came unto Him privately (out of earshot of the many Pilgrims in the city for the Passover), saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? (Has to do here with the utterance He had just given concerning the destruction of the Temple.)and what shall be the sign of Your coming (refers to the Second Coming), and of the end of the world? (Should have been translated age.)

⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them (will now give the future of Israel, and how it will effect the entirety of the world), Take heed that no man deceive you (places deception as Satans greatest weapon).

⁵For many shall come in My Name (concerns itself primarily with the time immediately before the coming Great Tribulation, and especially its first half), saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (the greatest of these will be the Antichrist, who will claim to be the Messiah).

⁶And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars (has abounded from the beginning, but will accelerate during the first half of the Great Tribulation): see that you be not troubled (concerns true Believers): for all these things must come to pass (we are very near presently to the beginning of fulfillment of what Jesus said), but the end is not yet (the end will be at the Second Coming).

⁷For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places (few places in the world, if any, will be exempt from these judgments).

⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows (first half of the Great Tribulation).

⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you (pertains to the mid-point of the Great Tribulation when the Antichrist, whom Israel thought was the Messiah, will show his true colors): and you shall be hated of all nations for My Names sake (no nation will come to her rescue; Israel hates Christ, but Christ is the reason that the world hates Israel).

¹⁰And then shall many be offended (some Jews will accept Christ, which will be an offence to others), and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another (the Jews who accept Christ, will be the brunt of this animosity).

¹¹And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many (they will help the Antichrist).

¹²And because iniquity shall abound (the Antichrist called the man of sin [II Thess. 2:3]), the love of many shall wax cold (some who accept Christ, will turn their backs on Him).

¹³But he who shall endure unto the end (refers to the end of the Great Tribulation), the same shall be saved (speaks of survival, and not the Salvation of the Soul).

¹⁴And this Gospel of the Kingdom (refers to the same type of Gospel preached by Christ and Paul) shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations (not every person, but to all nations; this is close presently to being fulfilled); and then shall the end come (the Second Coming).

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

¹⁵When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in the Holy Place (speaks of the Antichrist invading Israel, and taking over the Temple), (whoso reads, let him understand:) (Reads it in the Word of God [Dan. 8:9-14; 9:27; 11:45; 12:1, 7, 11].)

¹⁶Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains (when the Antichrist invades Israel at the mid-point of the Great Tribulation):

¹⁷Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house (houses are flat on top in that part of the world; during the summer, people often sleep on top of the house; speaks of the necessity of haste):

¹⁸Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

¹⁹And woe unto them who are with child, and to them who give suck in those days! (The necessity of fleeing will be so urgent, that it will be difficult for pregnant women, and mothers with little babies.)

²⁰But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter (bad weather), neither on the Sabbath Day (concerns the strict religious observance of the Sabbath, doesnt permit travel):

GREAT TRIBULATION

²¹For then shall be great tribulation (the last three and one half years), such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be (the worst the world has ever known, and will be so bad that it will never be repeated).

²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved (refers to Israel coming close to extinction): but for the elects (Israels) sake those days shall be shortened (by the Second Coming).

²³Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not (dont be deceived).

²⁴For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets (the Antichrist and the false prophet [Rev., Chpt. 13]), and shall show great signs and wonders (which will be offered as proof); insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (will attempt to deceive Israel).

²⁵Behold, I have told you before (is meant to emphasize the seriousness of the matter).

²⁶Wherefore 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 (the next Verse will tell the manner of His Coming, which will eclipse all pretenders).

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

²⁷For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west (is meant to proclaim the most cataclysmic event the world has ever known); so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (no one will have to ask, is this really Christ; it will be overly obvious!).

²⁸For wheresoever the carcase is (speaks of the Battle of Armageddon), there will the eagles be gathered together (should have been translated, there will the vultures be gathered together [refers to Ezek. 39:17]).

²⁹Immediately after the tribulation of those days (speaks of the time immediately preceding the Second Coming) shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light (the light of these orbs will be dim by comparison to the light of the Son of God), and the stars shall fall from Heaven (a display of Heavenly fireworks at the Second Coming), and the powers of the Heavens shall be shaken (will work with the Son of God against the Antichrist, at the Second Coming):

³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven (pertains to the Second Coming, which will take place in the midst of these Earth and Heaven shaking events): and then shall all the tribes of the Earth mourn (concerns all the nations of the world which possibly will see this phenomenon by Television), and they shall see the Son of Man (denotes Christ and His human, Glorified Body) coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory (lends credence to the thought that much of the world will see Him by Television as He makes His descent).

³¹And He shall send His Angels (they will be visible) with a great sound of a trumpet (announcing the gathering of Israel), and they shall gather together His elect (Israel) from the four winds, from one end of Heaven to the other (Jews will be gathered from all over the world, and brought to Israel).

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

³²Now learn a Parable of the fig tree (the Bible presents three trees, the fig, the olive, and the vine, as representing the nation of Israel, nationally, spiritually, and dispensationally); When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves (is meant to serve as the illustration of Israel nationally), ye know that summer is near (refers to Israel as the greatest Prophetic Sign of all, telling us that we are now living in the last of the last days):

³³So likewise ye (points to the modern Church), when you shall see all these things (which we are now seeing as it regards Israel), know that it is near, even at the doors (the fulfillment of Endtime Prophecies).

³⁴Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass (the generation of Jews which will be alive at the beginning of the Great Tribulation; as well, it was a prediction by Christ, that irrespective of the problems that Israel would face, even from His day, they would survive), till all these things be fulfilled (there is no doubt, they will be fulfilled).

³⁵Heaven and earth shall pass away (doesnt refer to annihilation, but rather a change from one condition or state to another), but My Words shall not pass away (what the Word of God says, will be!).

³⁶But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the Angels of Heaven, but My Father only.

DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED

³⁷But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (the men of Noahs day were insensible to the Prophecies predicting the coming flood, and so will men be blind to these Prophecies announcing the coming of the Son of Man).

³⁸For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage (refers to an absolute lack of concern respecting Noahs Message of a coming flood), until the day that Noah entered into the Ark (means they watched him build the Ark, and heard him preach Righteousness for many years, but took no heed),

³⁹And knew not until the flood came (didnt believe the Message until the water began its precipitous rise), and took them all away (they were all drowned, and consequently, eternally lost); so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (the similarity with Noahs time).

⁴⁰Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left (does not refer to the Rapture as many believe, but rather to the terrible loss of life during the Great Tribulation).

⁴¹Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

⁴²Watch therefore (a warning to Israel to be prepared): for you know not what hour your Lord does come (present Believers know that the Second Coming will take place during the Battle of Armageddon [Zech., Chpt. 12] but unredeemed Israel will not know).

⁴³But 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 (as unexpected as this, will likewise be the Coming of the Lord).

⁴⁴Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh (when Israel, during the Battle of Armageddon, will have given up hope, Jesus will come!).

PARABLE OF THE FAITHFUL AND UNFAITHFUL SERVANT

⁴⁵Who then is a faithful and wise servant (refers to all Believers for all time), whom his Lord has made ruler over His household (in this case, the Church), to give them meat in due season? (God-called Preachers are responsible for properly feeding the flock.)

⁴⁶Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He comes shall find so doing (refers to faithfulness till the Rapture).

⁴⁷Verily I say unto you, That He shall make him ruler over all his goods (refers to the Resurrected Saints being made rulers in the coming Kingdom Age, and the faithful of Israel being placed in the same capacity as the premiere nation in the world).

⁴⁸But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays His coming (exactly what many in the modern Church are now saying);

⁴⁹And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken (not only to be in the world, but to be as well, of the world);

⁵⁰The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of (not ready for the Rapture; most of the modern Church, sadly, falls into this category),

⁵¹And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites (despite his profession): there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (will lose his soul, and go to an eternal Hell; most in the modern Church, sadly and regrettably, fall into this category; they are religious but lost!).