Matt.24:1-30 # 6 PROPHECY THE OLIVET DISCOARSE 7-30-11
As we continue to think on Prophecy let me say that the temple of Jerusalem in the days we’re dealing with today, consisted of the entire sacred enclosure, which included many buildings, balconies, & courts, there were appointed places for the men of Israel, and other sections for the women, and also for the Gentiles, and that of the priests, all included as the temple.
Before we get into Matt. 24: we need to understand that God had sent His prophets and various miracles to try getting the Jewish people to except His ways.—
In Matt. 23: that we’re about to read a portion of, lets me mindful that this was the Lord Jesus’ last public message, and He comes down hard on these religious but lost hypocrites that paraded around under the guise of truth. Some of the common people no doubt were shocked at His words, for they considered the Pharisees to be righteous, in putting this together I read that there were possible 600 Pharisees at that time.
Not all of the Pharisees were hypocrites; among the Pharisees were a few members who desired true spiritual religion. Nicodemus also Joseph of Arimathaea, were two and possible more.
Listen as I read from Matt. 23: 29-39 in order for us have a better understanding of what we’ll find in Matt.24:
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• Jesus concludes His appeal to the leaders of the Jewish nation with these words:
29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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Jesus the Jews Messiah now stops His testimony to the people of Israel. Every effort that divine love could put forth had been tried but tried in vain.
Prophets had been sent, and stoned; messenger after messenger had come and pleaded, and reasoned, and warned, but to no avail. Their words had fallen upon deaf ears and hardened hearts. All that the messengers received was shameful handling, stoning, and death.
-------------------- As we get into our text for today notice in the 1st verse that Jesus is now walking away from the Temple:
Matt. 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: --Jesus was about to leave the Holy city where He had offered peace, love and joy, with all the blessings of God but He was rejected and scorned and as we all know finally crucified, but with His leaving the city he will shortly be looking down on the city in judgment along with its inhabitants. --and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2And 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.
The prediction that the temple would be destroyed, Matthew 24:2 had been made in the presence of all the 12 apostles.
And having said that Jesus then leaves the city, crosses the Kidron Valley, and went east of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives from which He sit down and look on the temple courtyard, knowing that it will now be over 2000 years before Jerusalem will have lasting peace, Israel has had ever thing but peace, through out their history there’s been nothing but killing of their people and living in daily fear of what might happen next, and its all because of their rejecting Jesus their King.
The Jews said in Matthew 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. –and it has been ever since.
• Jesus fore told that the temple would be destroyed in
Luke 21: 24 --and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
This was a prediction of the fall of Jerusalem that took place 40 years later in 70 a.d. as Titus the Roman General leveled the Temple, it also goes farther into the distant future during which the “times of the Gentiles” will continue until the end of the Great Tribulation.-Gentiles have always had the say so all over the world but soon the King of the Jews will reign.
3And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, --- Notice, not all of the disciples, but Peter, James, John, and Andrew.----2 sets of brothers.
Mark 13: 3-4 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, (across from) Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
Matt.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? [age]
• Here His disciples asked Him three questions:
When shall these things be? #1 the destruction of the Temple; (2) what shall be the sign (not signs) of thy coming? (3) And of the end of the world?—or age.
An accurate interpretation of this discourse has to do with the end time events that lead up to the return of King Jesus.
The answer to the 1st question to do with the destruction of the Temple is not answered in Matthew but is in Luke 21:20- 24 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23But woe unto them that are [small children) and to them that give suck, [infants] in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Jesus explained three different periods in the time of Tribulation, 1st The Beginning of the Tribulation in verses 4-14.
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many
The Jews have often been led astray by false prophets and false Christ’s.
Let’s be sure and notice that the 1st thing Jesus said to His disciples was, “Take heed that no man deceive you. And that goes for us today, we’re His disciples today, a disciple is a learner, a follower and we’re certainly that. ---let’s not allow any of these so called prophets of today lead us astray.
6And 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. 7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: marriages, homes, and nations will be torn apart because of lack of loyalty. Lawlessness will abound .---
and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Wars are not a sign of the end; Wars of themselves do not announce the end of the age or the coming of the Lord. War and famine usually go together.
Earthquakes help to create famines, and both help to cause epidemics (pestilences) that take many lives.
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And lets be reminded that this is in no way any thing to do with the Church here in this discourse., the tribulation is to do with God turning back to His chosen people Israel, Israel will earnestly be calling on God about mid way of the 7 year tribulation as they realize that this man that had allowed them too freely worship has now stop it. This is of coarse the Antichrist as we know of him, now he’ll not be called “antichrist” in that day, the title “antichrist” is to let us know that he is opposed too everything that God is for, he will at that time declare himself to be god.
2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth ----and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.—
Revelation 13:15 And he (the false prophet) had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
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Lets remember that Jesus is addressing this to the Jews, not the Church or any gentiles, Matthew is primarily the gospel to the Jewish people, it was written by a Jew,{Matthew) to the Jews, about a Jew,[Jesus the King of the Jews], it is the only gospel of the 4 that use’s the term [THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN] 33 times, no where else in the Bible do we find these words in that order, there’s many references to the Kingdom of heaven, but not with this selection of words--[the kingdom of heaven]
This discourse is Jewish. Jesus talked about Judea, the Sabbath, and the prophecies of Daniel concerning the Jewish people, the church had not yet been revealed, for it was yet a mystery as Paul says in Eph. 3:1-12.
All of us know about wars, and there are always rumors of war, we see the Islamic countries rising up trying to take over their neighboring countries, their continually killing each other, we see it often on the news of up risings in the streets of these countries, their unhappy about their crooked leaders as most of us are today; and it’s not going to get any better but worse, we all know about the horrible earth quakes in Japan and other parts of the world, the earth quakes are becoming more frequent and more powerful and destructive, and there’s people starving to death, we think of Ethiopia, there’s all kind of diseases today and new ones that keep coming that no one knows any thing about, Jesus said, 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.—this is only the beginning of sorrows.— Thank God we that are saved are not going to be here when it really gets underway.
Then to answer the 3rd question--“What shall be the sign … of the end of the world [completion of the age]?” NOTICE it says SIGN, not signs, so these verses were about to read are all part of the SIGN of the end of the AGE. The answer to this question is found in verses 9–22.
9Then shall they deliver you [the Jews] up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. [The end of the tribulation] 14And this gospel of the kingdom [not the gospel of grace that we preach today] shall be preached in all the world [ by the 14400 Jewish missionaries of Rev, 7:] for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15When YE [JEWS] therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: [when the image of the Antichrist is set up is about the mid way point of the Tribulation.
And the way this comes about is the Antichrist will break his covenant with the Jews after three-and-one-half years. Russia and that coalition prophesied in Ezekiel 38—39 is at the middle of the 7 years.
Israel will be at ease and dwelling in safety at that time, for she will be protected by the Antichrist. At that time, he will be the ruler of a 10-nation alliance, "The United States of Europe that we find in Rev. 17:12-13. ---- 5/6 0f that coalition will be destroyed, not by Israel, but by Almighty God. When the Antichrist sees that his great enemy, Russia, has been beaten, he will take advantage of the opportunity and move into Israel, breaking his covenant and taking over the temple.
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17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child,[pregnant] and to them that give suck [infants] in those days!
20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake [elect is Israel] those days shall be shortened.
There are many people that don’t agree with me on my interpretation of this verse.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Most say that the last half of the 7 year tribulation will be shortened, but I am not happy with that view, and here is why. We’re plainly told in
Revelation 12:6 And the woman [Israel] fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
That’s 3 ½ years, the last half of the 7 year tribulation.
However, I suppose it could mean that these awful days of such destruction would be shortened there in Israel because Israel is Gods elect, but that the tribulation will continue until the full 7 years are complete; I say without any hesitation that the tribulation is to last for 7 complete years and no less, there are no contradictions in Gods word.
Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,----WEEK meaning 7 years.
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And the other question the disciples ask Jesus “What shall be the sign of thy coming?”—The answer to this question is found in verses 23–44
NOTICE, it says S I G N--- not signs, so when these things are under way it’s a sure sign that His coming is near.---these will be the SIGN that His coming is near.
23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24For 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. 25Behold, I have told you before. 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. 27For 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.
28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. [The scavengers will be there to clean up the dead bodies of Armageddon]
29Immediately 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: 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: -----
We read in
Acts 1: 9-11 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
It may very well be that at Gods set time for Him to be seen there will be a light and or a cloud similar to or identical with the Shekinah Glory that will surround Jesus when He comes--- Jesus ascended to heaven in a cloud an angel told His disciples that He would return the same way.
-----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.
