Matthew, Chapter 24       

Matt. 24:23-28

Matt. 24:23 "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore 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. 27 For 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. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together."

At the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, there was great religious deceit as many false Christ, and false prophets who had arisen and were showing great signs and wonders. There deception was so great that, if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect. Much controversy surrounds the identity of the "very elect." I am going to leave it alone, as I am unsure who the Lord meant by that statement. The Lord warned the disciples not to be believe those who told them that he was in the desert or in a secret chamber. He told them his coming both in judgment and in his kingdom would be easily recognized "as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west."

"For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." While I have some ideas about this, I am not convinced my thoughts are right, so I will leave it alone.

Matt. 24:29

Matt. 24:29 "Immediately 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."

With the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple the law covenant service came to a final conclusion: Heb. 8:13 "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."

For a period of about 40 years, the law covenant and the covenant of grace had run concurrently. Technically the law covenant ran unto the preaching of John: Luke 16:16 "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." However, the laws observation continued unto the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. Without the temple and with the destruction of the Levitical priesthood in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, there cease to be any way to continue to observe the law covenant by the Jews. The law covenant was closed out and the grace covenant continued with power. Most of the rest of the 24th chapter of Matthew shows forth this principle of the cessation of the law covenant and the continuation in power of the covenant of grace (new heaven and new earth).

The statement that the sun was darkened, and the moon not giving her light, and the stars of heaven fall from heaven is figurative language to show that the first heaven and first earth were passed away (Rev. 21:1).

Matt. 24:30-51

Matt. 24:30 "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: 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. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

This part of chapter 24 answers the question asked by the disciples, "What shall be the sign of thy coming?" It also answers the question "What shall be the sign of the end of the age or world?" By the combining of these two questions together the Lord showed to the disciples that the answer to these two questions was the same. The sign of the Lord's coming and the sign of the end of the age are one and the same as the Lord's coming and the end of the age are connected together.

We ask ourselves, in what matter was the Lord coming? Was he coming to end this time world, or was he coming in judgment to execute promised judgment upon the nation of Israel in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple? As we will see many of the things which the Lord said make sense if he is speaking of coming to execute promised judgment upon the nation of Israel, but do not make sense if he is speaking of coming to bring about the end of this time world.

"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. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Some have taken the mourning of the tribes of the earth to mean the mourning of the non-elect at the end of time, when the elect and the non-elect are separated and the non-elect sent to eternal hell. However, there are other scriptures that speak of the mourning of the tribes of the earth, that give us an entirely different picture.

In Rev. 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." The reason for this mourning is given to us in Zec. Chapter 12:10 "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart."

When Josiah the King had been mortally wounded in battle, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the land of Israel made a great mourning for him, for they loved him greatly. This is like the mourning of God's children when they see that Christ died for their sins and that they were judicially responsible for his death. We mourn that we were responsible because of sins for the death and great sufferings of our Lord and master who now reigns over us. A great example of this is given to us in Isaiah chapter 6 when he saw the glory of God, he mourned and cried out, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
It is to the mourners that the Lord sends his gospel messengers. (The word, angel, literally means messenger). They through preaching the gospel gather together God's little children into the church Kingdom of God here on earth.

32 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." It appears pretty plain that the time of the fulfillment of the sign of the coming of the Son of man and the fulfillment of the sign of the end of the world (age) was to come before the generation of the apostles was passed away. Whether any of the apostles besides John lived past the destruction of Jerusalem I do not know, but I do know that John lived beyond the destruction of Jerusalem. Thus, the generation of the apostles did not pass away before the sign of the Lord's coming in judgment upon Israel and Jerusalem or the end of the law age. I also know that the body of John is dead today and we still have not had the end of this time world.

The old law, "heaven and earth," passed away with the destruction of Jerusalem, but obviously, the Lord's words did not pass away. They are still with us today and are still vital to us today.

"36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

Knowledge of the signs had been given to the disciples, that they might flee from the impending punishment of the Israelite nation, destruction of Jerusalem, and destruction of the temple. However, the exact time was not given to them, but only the signs. To the rest of the Israelite nation, the conditions that would exist was like the world in the days of Noah. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark. Then it was all over for the pre-flood world, except for those in the ark. Likewise, the disciples knew of the impending judgment, but the rest of the nation of Israel went about their business until the Roman army surrounded Israel and the destruction was upon them. It was then too late for them.

40 "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."

Covenants are compared to women in Gal. 4:22 "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." The law covenant and the covenant of grace had been functioning side by side for about 40 years until the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Paul alludes to this in Heb. 8:13 "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." With the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple the law covenant was taken away, but we were left with the better covenant in which to worship God, the covenant of grace.

Along with the fulfilled promise of judgment upon the Israelite nation, the Lord also warned his disciples, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Now this watching had to be watching for impending timely judgments, because at the end of time, whether we are watching or not watching is not going to matter as far as our resurrection unto eternal life is concerned and it will not affect our eternal joys. However, as the Lord came in judgment upon Jerusalem, he also sometimes comes in timely judgment upon his servants and upon local churches. We are warned to watch and not suffer our house (church) to be broken up.

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The Lord also gives us encouragement as he says that if we watch and do his bidding that he will come and shower his blessings upon him. Likewise, failure to watch and to misbehave in the house of God will result in timely judgment. Now we know that eternal life is not dependant upon our timely works nor will we lose eternal life, if we fail to perform all of the timely works that we should. This passage sets forth a timely reward for timely works and a timely punishment for timely disobedience.