The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 24 Part 1 Introducing End Times Prophecy

Introduction to Matthew 24 and it's major themes.

Matthew 24:1-3  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2  And 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. 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? 

We come Matthew 24 which is a sermon of Jesus commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, because He taught these truths while they were at the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem.

Chapter twenty four has several major themes and we will explore them as we make our way through it.

Prophecy is a major theme and requires us to keep certain facts in mind.

One important note regarding the study of prophecy is that many prophecies have a near term or partial fulfillment and a final ultimate fulfillment that is yet to happen.

Pentecost was a partial fulfillment of Joel's end times prophecy.

One good example of this is when Peter preached his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit birthed Christ's church.

Ancient historians like Josephus tell us that tens of thousands of Jewish families came to Jerusalem to observe this feast day.

Some say that Jerusalem's population swelled by more than 100,000 during that week!

One mighty gift from the Spirit of God was manifested when the 120 disciples began speaking in tongues during the feast of Pentecost.

Acts 2:7-11  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 

Unlearned men and women were supernaturally enabled by the Spirit of God to speak the gospel in many different languages that they did not know at all!

This meant that they spoke the gospel message in foreign languages used by Jews who lived in other Roman provinces.

Many Jewish families and friends annually made the long pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The miraculous nature of speaking in tongues is that Christ's disciples were unlearned men who never learned any other language than what was spoken in Judea.

Luke's record tells us that Jews came to Jerusalem from seventeen different nations or provinces of the Roman empire.

Thus, Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem were astounded to hear the gospel preached in languages native to places where they lived, such as Crete, Persia, Egypt or Asia.

Luke tells us that they said "We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God."

Next, we want to hear Peter's explanation of speaking in tongues because this represents a partial fulfillment of a prophecy. 

This particular prophecy has a complete fulfillment that will happen at some point in the future.

Acts 2:16-21  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

When people heard Jesus' disciples speaking the gospel in foreign languages, some Jews mocked the disciples by implying that they were drunk.

Peter made it clear that a notable miracle from God was responsible for Jesus' disciples speaking in tongues.

Peter connected speaking in tongues with a specific prophecy of Joel given about 835 years before Christ was born.

Joel's name means "The LORD is God" and he labored during the time of the prophets Isaiah and Amos.

Though the book of Joel is only three chapters in length, it speaks of the powerful and fearful Day of the LORD final judgment.

Thus, the prophet emphasized God calling people to sincere repentance, humility and to put their complete trust in Jehovah for salvation.

We see that this is the same theme emphasized by John the Baptist and Jesus, when they preached the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.

It is a call for the people to repent of their sins, to believe on Jesus Christ and to be reconciled to God by faith.

It is also a solemn declaration that if they refuse to repent and turn to God, He will judge and condemn them for their sins.

Joel prophesied that the Spirit of God will be poured out upon "all flesh" meaning both Jews and Gentiles.

This is what happened in the book of Acts. 

Acts 2 tells us about the Spirit being poured out on Jews while Acts 10 tells us about Him being poured out upon Gentiles.

How do we know that Acts 2 is a partial fulfillment of Joel's prophecy?

Because of what did not happen when Christ's disciples spoke in tongues.

There were no additional supernatural wonders in heaven or signs on earth.

Blood, fire and the vapors from the wrath of God upon the wicked did not appear.

There were no mighty earthquakes, powerful thundering, great noises from mighty storms and no consuming fires (See Isaiah 29:6).

The sun was not darkened nor did the moon appear as blood.

2 Peter 3:7-9  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

Peter spoke prophetically about the end times and tells us that the present heavens and earth are going to undergo a fiery judgment when God's wrath is poured out on hateful, wicked sinners.

As in our day, people mocked the apostles and said that all things continue in the same cycle of life. The sun rises and it sets. People are born and people die.

The apostle tells us that God is longsuffering, not willing that anyone perish in their sins and be condemned to eternity in Hell.

We are assured that His promises will come true and final judgment of the wicked is certain.

2 Peter 3:10-12  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 

At Pentecost, the heavens were not dissolved by fire, nor was there an overwhelming explosive noise as all elements of creation were melted with intense heat.

This is why we know there are partial or near term fulfillments of prophecy and that a full and final fulfillment will come in the future.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

This is our faith, that God has spoken to us in His Word, that He will keep all of His promises and that all prophecy will be literally fulfilled.

Faith cannot be seen or measured in a physical sense but faith can and does profoundly impact each Christian's life in a powerful manner.

Jesus prophesied of the imminent destruction of the second temple at Jerusalem.

Matthew 24:1-3  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2  And 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. 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? 

In Matthew 24, Jesus predicted the near term destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem.

Then, He gave details about the end times events or what theologians refer to as eschatology.

Jesus followed this by describing His second coming.

Woven into these major prophetic end times themes are the believer's responsibilities to God during trials and tribulation.

After denouncing the hypocritical scribes and pretentious Pharisees, Jesus and His disciples came out of the temple.

His disciples gathered around Jesus to show Him the temple complex.

This would be the second temple restored by Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel and others.

This temple was lavishly renovated and enlarged by king Herod. 

{You can read archaeological articles to learn about the massive, beautiful stones and high quality construction used throughout.} 

Yet, as Jesus viewed the temple complex, He told His disciples that one day all its massive stones would be cast down.

Jesus spoke of an imminent partial fulfillment that happened in 69 AD when Roman soldiers destroyed and looted the temple.

After predicting the temple's destruction, Jesus and His disciples retreated to the private confines of the Mount of Olives.

His disciples asked three questions: 1) When would these things occur? 2) What signs would announce Christ's return? 3) When will the end of the world happen?

These questions are foundational for understanding the prophetic material in Jesus' answer.

Here is a good outline of Matthew 24.

The destruction of the temple Matthew 24:1-3.

The dangers of deception Matthew 24:4-5; 11; 23-26.

The beginning of sorrows Matthew 24:6-8.

Persecution and apostasy Matthew 24:9-13.

The abomination of desolation Matthew 24:15-22.

The signs of Christ's coming Matthew 24:29-31.

The sign of the fig tree Matthew 24:32-35.

The unknown day and hour Matthew 24:36-44.

Faithful servants contrasted with unfaithful servants Matthew 24:45-51.

Let us pray that the Spirit of God will grant us understanding of these complex end times things.

Let us be willing to commit ourselves as Christ's faithful servants who live for the glory of God no matter how much persecution or tribulation we endure.

Bob