The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 24 Part 6 End TImes and Suffering For The Gospel

We must remember when studying Jesus' teaching about last days, that the Church is still a mystery, hidden by God until the feast of Pentecost in Acts 2.

Jesus only spoke of the church once, when He told Peter that He will build it and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it (See Matthew 16:18).

What this means is that Israel and the Jewish people are the primary focus of Christ's Words regarding end times.

However, there are general truths that apply to believers in every generation, and I will seek to highlight them as we make our way through this chapter.

Matthew 24:3-14  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? 4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6  And 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. 7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8  All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 

Jesus' disciples asked Him when would the end of the world happen, what signs would accompany Christ's return and what will the last days be like.

Jesus warned against being deceived and our best defense is knowing the scriptures so that we can detect and avoid liars and deceivers.

Jesus warned that many people would claim to be Christ but in reality, they are of the spirit of antichrist that has been in the world since the beginning.

Jesus said that wars and ongoing conflicts will intensify as the end of the world draws nearer and that famine or disease will follow in their wake.

As the end times approach, earthquakes will occur on a global scale with alarming frequency.

Jesus also said that in the end times, close family members will betray those who follow Christ and that treachery will abound more and more.

During the end times, pastors, evangelists and church leaders will be persecuted, resisted, imprisoned and arrested for preaching the gospel.

False prophets will multiply and lead people astray, just as televangelists have done for many years.

Natural love and affection within families will wax cold and love for God will diminish.

Each end time trait that Jesus mentioned will grow stronger as the end gets closer, just like the birth pangs of a mother about to deliver a baby.

The faithful remnant of believers must persevere even if facing suffering for the sake of the gospel.

The gospel of Christ and His kingdom will be preached in all the world during the end times.

Such global preaching is possible today due to technology and this reminds us of the nearness of Christ's return for His church.

After the church, composed of all born again Christians, is taken by Christ to heaven, a time of tribulation lasting seven years will commence.

2 Timothy 3:10-15  But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

It does help us to remember that the end times include the final years of Christ's church on earth, prior to the rapture.

Paul gave us a warning about the last days right before he gave us the most powerful verses about the perfect, verbal inspiration of scripture (See 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The apostles tell us about how terrible the end times will be for Christians, right up until the moment Christ takes His church home (See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Jesus taught us that a servant is not higher than his master and since our Master Jesus Christ, suffered persecution, so shall His disciples suffer (See John 13:16; 15:20).

All apostles faced physical and spiritual persecution and all were martyred except John.

Therefore, God's Spirit guided Paul to give Christ's church an important truth. 

Each Christian who seeks to live a godly life in Christ, shall suffer persecution.

Church history bears witness to this truth. 

One can read Foxe's Book of Martyrs to read eyewitness testimony of the hatred and contempt poured out upon saints who refused to deny their faith.

Another excellent book is titled The Early Christians In Their Own Words edited by Eberhard Arnold.

Some believers suffer much and some suffer a little, but all will suffer because Christ suffered for us.

Suffering for the sake of the gospel is considered part of normal Christianity.

What makes the end times different is that evil men will increase in numbers.

They will hate Jesus Christ and want to harm His followers.

Evil men who listen to seducing spirits will come teaching doctrines of the Devil and they will deceive many professing Christians.

Therefore, when they emerge we will notice, because societal depravity will wax worse and worse.

What is Christ's church and each individual Christian to do when facing a worsening pressure against the gospel?

We are to continue in the apostolic teachings and hold fast to Jesus' words.

We are to turn to the scriptures for strength, for comfort, for solace and for hope because God's word is true and He is trustworthy.

Colossians 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 

Colossians 3:23-24  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 

When we face persecution for the sake of the gospel of Christ, we must seek first the kingdom of God and determine to live for His glory, no matter how harsh the consequences (See Matthew 6:35).

Even when we suffer for Christ, we are to do all things in His glorious name while giving thanks to God for our salvation.

Everything thing that we do in terms of work, leisure, chores, education, are to be done heartily as if we were doing those things for our Lord.

This truth will change what we permit to enter our minds and it will affect how we worship God, witness for Christ and walk with Jesus each day.

Our mission as Christ's church, is the Great Commission and this will never change, even if a government declares it is illegal to preach or share the gospel.

We must learn to be like Peter and the apostles, who told hateful religious leaders who insisted they cannot preach the gospel that  "We ought to obey God rather than man!" (See Acts 5:29).

Next, Jesus turned His focus upon something that is going to happen during that last seven year period, prior to His return to rule and reign.

Matthew 24:15-18  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17  Let 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. 

This prophecy is different in its tone and Jesus connects His words with Daniel the prophet.

This prophecy is one that had a swift, partial fulfillment when Roman soldiers breached the walls and gates of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. 

Large numbers of Jews were killed or enslaved and sent to far away places.

Jesus said that when these terrible things begin to occur, those who are in the lowlands should flee to the mountains.

They are not to return to their homes to gather their belongings because the need to flee swiftly will be urgent and delays may prove fatal.

Matthew's gospel was recorded around 55 A.D. and was heard and read in the churches many years prior to Titus destroying the holy city

One ancient historian wrote that all Christians who had heard or read Matthew's gospel, fled across Jordan to a city named Pella.

Christians who fled to Pella stayed in safety and none died in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

However, Jerusalem will face one final destruction during the tribulation period when antichrist initiates a vicious persecution of the Jews.

We will look into the "abomination of desolation" That Daniel wrote of in our next post.

Proverbs 14:16  A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. 

Proverbs 22:3  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. 

Therefore, the general principle for believers is when we face imminent threat to our lives and families, if we are able to, we ought to flee.

This is both prudent and right.

King Solomon was given the gift of wisdom from God and his advice about acting prudently when trouble comes our way, is beneficial for us today.

A wise man is generally one who fears God.

A wise man will depart from evil when he learns of it but a fool barges forward toward the evil and suffers the consequences.

A prudent man takes note of changing circumstances that may affect him or his family. 

When he senses that something evil is coming, he hides himself and his family from danger.

Proverbs 3:5-7  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 

A wise man who fears the Lord does not trust his own heart or emotions.

God promises to direct our paths when we trust him rather than our own thoughts.

The idea is that when the antichristian forces move to persecute believers, they are going to come rapidly to kill or imprison Christians.

We see this happening in Sub Saharan Africa where Islamic radical groups are murdering Christians and destroying churches in places like Nigeria, Sudan or Mali.

There is also much political persecution in communist nations that are atheistic, like China, North Korea or Syria.

Then, nations that have religious nationalism enforce harsh laws against religion other than the state sponsored one, in places like India, Pakistan, Iran or Afghanistan.

Globally, about 400 million Christians are facing some level of persecution for their faith.

1 Peter 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 

All Christ's apostles wrote about suffering as a normal event for Christians to experience, but the suffering will greatly intensify as the last days draw closer.

Peter reminds us not to think that is some terrible or strange thing that we should suffer for Jesus' sake.

Instead, we are to rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for the gospel of Christ.

The general principle in the Old and New Testaments is that suffering precedes glory.

John 15:18-21  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 

Jesus forewarned us that the world system is going to hate Christians because it hated Christ.

Jesus said that His servants (Individual Christians) are not greater that our Lord. 

He suffered for us and we shall suffer in various ways for Him.

If we lived a life like the corrupt culture does, then we would face no persecution.

We will generally suffer as born again believers because we are not like the world. 

The world (all corrupt, depraved cultures) loves those who are like they are.

They tend to hate those who are different and a Christian is very different.

We are a new creation in Christ who see the old ways of life pass away as we begin walking in newness of life with Jesus (See 2 Corinthians 5:17).

However, suffering in the ens times is going to much much more widespread, fueled by venomous hatred for Christ, the gospel and those who bear the name Christian.

As the day of the rapture of Christ's church draws nearer, so this hatred toward Christians will erupt.

What we observe in places like Nigeria or Sudan will erupt all over the world with fierce antagonism against the gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another general principle for Christ's church is that the world has a built in hostility to gospel preaching and Christian living.

This unchecked hostility is spawned by the wicked one, the father of lies, Satan.

The moment a sinner is born again, he or she is engaged in spiritual warfare and we must put on the armor God provided in order to stand fast to His Word and living for His glory (See Ephesians 6:10-20).

When we live like the world, talk like the world and think like the world, we have fewer problems.

However conformity to the world is not an option for Christians.

We are specifically commanded not to be squeezed into the mold of cultural depravity by having our minds renewed with scripture (See Romans 12:1-2).

Let us live knowing that we may face some level of persecution or hatred for the sake of the gospel.

Let us fill our minds with the Word of God so that we are prepared for daily spiritual warfare.

Let us do all things heartily as unto the LORD each day, no matter how much the world hates us.

Bob