Mathew 24...... a fresh look

[JoeCanada]

Mathew 24 could be looked at in 3 sections. The first section, verses 4-8

                                   Matthew 24:4-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[a]Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. ⁸ But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

The next section...... verses 9-14

Matthew 24:9-14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁹ “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ At that time many will ^[a]fall away and will ^[b]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹² Because lawlessness is increased, ^[c]most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole ^[d]world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Then verses 15-28

Matthew 24:15-28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [a]Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ^18 [b]Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² Unless those days had been cut short, no ^[c]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[d]elect those days will be cut short. ²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[e]Christ,’ or ‘^[f]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will ^[g]show great ^[h]signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the ^[i]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ²⁷ For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[j]vultures will gather.

------------------------------------------------------------

All these are the beginning of sorrows......(vs 4- 8).... The whole world will experience these sorrows. All people groups. The wars, nation against nation, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, etc.....everyone alive will know about them, or experience them.

Then in verse 9-14......THEN they will deliver you..... this is a persecution against believers. This will be global. You shall be afflicted, killed and hated for His name. False prophets, iniquity, love of many grows cold................... And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a WITNESS to all nations....(WITNESS....that is believers testimony)...........AND THEN THE END SHALL COME..... 

Revelation 12:17, 20:24............So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand;

Rev 12:11

 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even ^[a]when faced with death.

Now, in verse 15....THEREFORE.........  Interesting word. Its 'oun' in greek.........OUN is an inferential term, a conjunction. It draws a conclusion from what precedes it. .................. Verse 15 is directly related to verse 9.....The abomination of desolation is the antichrist on the scene....and he begins his war on the believers in vs 9. So why will many be offended and betray one another and hate one another and their love grows cold? Because they will have expected to be gone. They will have expected to be raptured. (pretrib rapture) . Yet here they are, facing the persecution of the antichrist. They won't have a testimony because their lamp ran out  (parable of the 10 virgins). The deception will be great because of the false christs and false prophets (vs 24) and great signs and wonders to deceive the elect if it were possible.

Verse 25....."Behold, I have told you before".......... He told the apostles, the very representatives and builders of the elect in Christ. The church!

That is the tribulation.

Now we get to verse 29

Verse 29......IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation of those days.....verse 30.... then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man.....verse 31.....He shall send his angels....gather together his elect from the four winds......................DO YOU SEE, it says immediately AFTER , not before, He will gather together his elect. This it the rapture!......And its also....the resurrection of the righteous

1 Thess 4: 14-17........For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep ^[a]in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive ^[b]and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a ^[c]shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive ^[d]and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and ...

( The second coming starts with Jesus resurrecting the saints and transforming those alive... to meet Him in the air....it finishes with Jesus coming to the earth and landing on the mount of Olives....there is no resurrection when He lands on earth!)

The graves will open and the dead in Christ will rise first....then we who are alive will be caught up TOGETHER with them....to meet the Lord in the air........Then we will always be with the Lord....from that point on......ALWAYS

So if we are from that moment on, ALWAYS with the Lord, then we should be with Him in Rev 4 when John was called up to heaven. But we aren't there. He describes everything he sees, the angels, the beasts, the elders......but not the church. Not until AFTER the 6th seal is opened.

Rev 6:12....I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; ¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

Look at that....its the same as Mathew 24:29.....But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from ^[a]the sky, and the powers of ^[b]the heavens will be shaken.

Now look at Revelation 7:9...... Now John sees the church in heaven.......

AFTER this I BEHELD, and, LO, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Look at those three words.....AFTER, BEHELD. LO........ there was such a great number. Why didn't he see (LO) them earlier? He saw myriads of angels.....he should have seen all the MULTITUDE. They would have been with the Lord..(so we shall always be with the Lord...1Thes 4:17)

No, John only saw under the alter, ( at the opening of the 5th seal) the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.

 ^{Rev 6:10......}And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

The tribulation is well underway at this point.   But God has not judged or avenged....His wrath has not begun. Not until the opening of the 6th seal....... Look at Rev 6:17......For the great day of his wrath IS come and who shall be able to stand.

The tribulation is not the wrath of God. This tribulation is the wrath of Satan on genuine born again Christians. But on the other hand, “wrath” is God punishing the wicked for their sins, especially those who persecute true believers. Therefore, one concept is the wrath of God, and the other, the great tribulation, is the wrath of Satan. Predominately the word “tribulation” in Scripture means the wrath of demoniacally inspired unbelievers persecuting the true believers of God. 

John 16:33 

³³ These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will^[a] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

 

 

 

 

[Daniel 11:36]

"Verse 29......IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation of those days.....verse 30.... then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man.....verse 31.....He shall send his angels....gather together his elect from the four winds......................DO YOU SEE, it says immediately AFTER , not before, He will gather together his elect. This it the rapture!......And its also....the resurrection of the righteous"

 

Matthew 24 is written specifically to Israel for the coming tribulation period

Your idea of verse 29 is after the tribulation period and is the gathering of the mortals of Israel, not the "rapture"

[Sister]

7 hours ago, JoeCanada said:

So why will many be offended and betray one another and hate one another and their love grows cold? Because they will have expected to be gone. They will have expected to be raptured. (pretrib rapture) . Yet here they are, facing the persecution of the antichrist. They won't have a testimony because their lamp ran out  (parable of the 10 virgins). The deception will be great because of the false christs and false prophets (vs 24) and great signs and wonders to deceive the elect if it were possible.

 

 

Hi Joe Canada

Except for a few minor things we can one day discuss, you most certainly have been doing your homework!  Great post.

 

 

Quote

 

Verse 29......IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation of those days.....verse 30.... then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man.....verse 31.....He shall send his angels....gather together his elect from the four winds......................DO YOU SEE, it says immediately AFTER , not before, He will gather together his elect. This it the rapture!......And its also....the resurrection of the righteous

 

Amen.  These are the things we are trying to show.  The proof is in the pudding.

[Billiards Ball]

Nicely done! But I can make it easier for you, simpler.

Read Matthew 24 as if it is exactly chronological, verse 1 happens, then 2, 3 and so on.

[Last Daze]

6 hours ago, Billiards Ball said:

Nicely done! But I can make it easier for you, simpler.

Read Matthew 24 as if it is exactly chronological, verse 1 happens, then 2, 3 and so on.

That's the common sense way to approach it, however, some have already determined the outcome they want and approaching it that way doesn't work for them.  No worries though.  As long as believers remain faithful to the end, it will all be okay.

It all seem to come back to being ready and alert.  Maybe that's why Jesus emphasized it frequently.

[Keras]

Matthew 24:1-31 is a sequence of events, from their time, until Jesus Returns.  It tells them what to do when the Romans attack and destroy Jerusalem and how it will be thru the Church age. 

Then; in verse 27-28, a description of the Sixth Seal - His Day of wrath that will be like a lighting flash and will kill millions.   After that time of distress; the sun will be darkened....stars will fall and the heavenly powers shaken, Then will appear.....Jesus in His glory - Revelation 19:11-14   Note that verse 13 tells us He Returns with His garments already splashed with the blood of His previous Day of wrath. Isaiah 63:1-6

Matthew 24:32-51, then goes on to fill in the details for us, now at the end of the Church age. He says the indicator for this is the 'budding of the fig tree'. We know that the fig represents Judah  and we have seen this 'budding and breaking into leaf', in the State of Israel, since 1948. Jesus says; the generation present will see it all; that is those born after 14 May 1948 who will still be within the decreed 3 score and ten = 70 years old, or older. This means that we can expect dramatic happenings before May 2018.

Do not discount this warning; we all can see how the Middle East situation is like a powder keg, Iran and its proxies are just waiting for the right moment to carry out their avowed intention to wipe Israel off the map. Their attempt to do that, will trigger the Lord's wrath. Ezekiel 7:14, Psalms 7:12-16, +

The Wrath of God will come from the sky:

Romans 1:18-20 Divine Retribution will be seen by all, falling from heaven on all the impiety and wickedness of men and women who deny the truth. 1 Samuel 2:10

            For all that can be known about God lies plain before their eyes. His invisible power and divine nature are knowable to any reasonable mind, so all are without excuse and their conduct is indefensible. Hebrews 11:6

Romans 1:21-32 These ungodly people know that there must be a Creator, but they refuse to acknowledge or give thanks to Him. So now, their thinking has become futile and their misguided minds are plunged into darkness. They claim to be wise, but they have just made fools of themselves. Psalms 14:1-3

            Therefore God has given them over to all kinds of perversions and idolatries, while actually knowing God’s righteous decree that those who behave like this deserve to die, but they continue in their depravity and approve of the same conduct in others. Job 22:12-13

Romans 2:5-11 God’s kindness and patience is allowing us time to come to repentance, but if people refuse His gift of salvation, then on the Day of Retribution, all will be justly judged according to their deeds. His wrath awaits those who are governed by selfish ambition, who refuse obedience to the truth and who take evil for their guide. Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 29:19-21, Isaiah 65:11-12 

            To both the Israelites and Gentiles who pursue glory, honour and immortality by living a righteous life, God will reward them with eternal life. Hosea 2:19                    God has no favorites.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 It is just that God should pay back those godless peoples and give the righteous relief. This will happen when [the power of] the Lord Jesus is seen in the sky in a blazing fire, punishment will fall upon all who do not obey the gospel and they will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated  from His presence. Isaiah 59:18

On that great Day, Jesus will come and reveal His glory amongst all believers in Him. Only revealed to His believers. Jeremiah 31:2-3, Revelation 14:1

Hebrews 10:26-27 For those who deliberately persist in sin while knowing the truth, there remains only the terrifying expectation of God’s judgement, of a fierce fire that will consume His enemies. Habakkuk 3:12, Malachi 4:1

2 Peter 3:7 & 10 On that Day, the Lord will come as a thief, the sky will disappear with a great roar and the earth will be devastated by fire. Zephaniah 3:8, Isaiah 34:2-4, Isaiah 66:15-17, Revelation 6:14, Jeremiah 30:23-24

                                              

None of these Bible quotes fit with or refer to the Return of Jesus in His glory, seen by all mankind, at the commencement of His Millennium reign. Revelation 19:11

It is an event before that, where the Lord makes ‘fire fall from heaven’, His great Day of Retribution against His enemies’. It is the Lord’s Day of vengeance and wrath, the next prophesied event that we can expect. It is a terrible punishment by fire, that will destroy the attackers of Israel, a massive explosion of the suns surface, which will firstly devastate the Middle East, but also dramatically affect the whole world. Psalms 83, Micah 4:1                                       Ref;  logostelos.info

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Keras

[Daniel 11:36]

"This means that we can expect dramatic happenings before May 2018."

 

A date setter are you?

It could be before, or after .... no one knows .... and neither do you

Edited February 17, 2018 by Daniel 11:36

[Keras]

17 minutes ago, Daniel 11:36 said:

"This means that we can expect dramatic happenings before May 2018."                 A date setter are you?

I could be before, or after .... no one knows .... and neither do you

I am simply pointing out what the Bible tells us and what the current situation is in God's holy Land. 

What no one knows: is the day, when the Lord will arise and destroy His enemies.  What we do know, is that nearly 2000 years have passed since Jesus was here and we are now, once again 'as in the days of Noah'. God acted then and He intends to do so again. 

[Dennis1209]

2 hours ago, Keras said:

14 May 1948 who will still be within the decreed 3 score and ten = 70 years old, or older. This means that we can expect dramatic happenings before May 2018.

One exception I might have to that, "if by reason of strength fourscore years", the rest of that verse (PS 90: 10). The Lord can come at any time, and I suspect 2018 may see some biblical prophesy fulfilled.

[Dennis1209]

30 minutes ago, Daniel 11:36 said:

"This means that we can expect dramatic happenings before May 2018."

 

A date setter are you?

I could be before, or after .... no one knows .... and neither do you

We can't and don't know the day or the hour, but we are expressly told the season and what to watch for. We're most definitely in the predicted season and the generation the Lord said will see it fulfilled. 

If a person looks at Syria, who's there, what they are doing. Looks at the defense alliances and pacts between Russia, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Sudan and Libya at present (the major players). That has never happened in the history of the world until now. The ancient hatred of the Arabs and Muslims against the Jew's. Not to mention the recently found Goliath oil and natural gas fields Israel has found that Russia certainly needs, along with a warm water seaport. 

It lining up perfectly with Ezekiel 38: - 39: and the hook in Russia's jaw. Any morning now it won't take me by surprise to get up and here that Damascus, Syria is no more. Israel is striking enemy targets just miles from Damascus on a frequent basis now. I truly believe 2018 is going to be a prophetic year indeed.