Matthew 24:1-25

Jesus Tells About His Second Coming on Mount Of Olives

2 And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."

3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

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 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 pains.

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 fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.

11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.

12 "Because lawlessness is increased, 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 world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

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 "Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.

18 "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 life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him.

24 "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.

25 "Behold, I have told you in advance.

Things to Come

Zechariah, the prophet, had predicted in the Old Testament (Zechariah 14:4) that the Christ would stand on the Mount of Olives and establish his kingdom so the setting fits the questions the disciples were asking about the end times and when He would return.

 

Jesus described the signs to look for when the end of the age was near but did not get into specific dates.

 

The emphasis was more about the disciples being prepared for His coming than about worrying about the dates these things would happen.

 

Jesus told them to watch for the deceivers who would come and to live the way God wanted them to so that they would be ready no matter when the date came.

 

How about us?

 

Contrary to what many believe, Christians in many parts of the world are facing persecution as we speak.

 

For example: Not very long ago in China a young woman in her twenties was arrested for printing an underground Christian newsletter.

 

She was taken to jail. While there she was subject to all sorts of punishment. One such punishment was that she had to remove her shoes and walk all night back and forth in front of a door so that the guards could see her. After walking barefoot for hours on a floor made of rock and cement she saw footprints on the stone floor and realized they were made from blood on her feet!

 

She was eventually released from jail and forced to work in a factory making Christmas tree lights to ship to the United States.

 

Not to just single out China but, during the Olympic Games a group of Christians had their Bibles confiscated at the airport. Nothing more than an inconvenience but persecution just the same.

 

This is just a beginning of the many signs Jesus gave when He predicted the events of the future.

 

So, the lesson for us is to be watchful, don't worry so much about the exact time Christ will return. Be ready by striving to be the people God wants us to be.

 

 

 Love in Christ

- Bob

Matthew 23:13-36 - Jesus Condemns the Religious Leaders - This passage in Baptist study gives us the 8 woes Jesus presented to the Pharisees and scribes. He called them "blind guides" because of their greed and pretentious lifestyle.