Verse by Verse

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

39 And did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

watch (v.42) = be continuously on guard

Christ likened those future days in which the signs will unfold to the days of Noah (vs. 37-39). Noah announced a coming judgment and offered people a way of escape from it. However, people ignored Noah’s warnings of judgment and went on occupying themselves with their normal course of life. They were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (vs.38) right up until the very day Noah entered the ark. — Pentecost, page 405

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According to Matthew 24:40-41, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” Because at the rapture believers will be taken out of the world, some have confused this with the rapture of the Church.

Here, however, the situation is the reverse. The one who is left, is left to enter the kingdom; the one who is taken, is taken in judgment. This is in keeping with the illustration of the time of Noah when the ones taken away are the unbelievers. The word for “shall be taken” in verses 40-41 uses the same word found in John 19:16, where Christ was taken away to the judgment of the cross. — Walvoord, pages 193-194

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It is the opposite meaning of “taken” and “left” when the Lord comes as the “Bridegroom” for His Church. Then, too, some will be taken and others left. The true believers will be taken into glory, caught up in clouds to meet Him in the air; the unbelievers and mere professors will be left. Some deny that the word “taken” in our passage means a judicial taking away. The context, however, shows (the reference to Noah and the flood) that this must be the meaning. Surely those who were taken by the flood were not “received into glory.” — Gaebelein, page 516

I sent this e-mail to Ricky Kurth.

I’m working through Matthew chapter 24 now. Verse 36 says that no man or angel knows the day of the Lord’s second coming, but only the Father.

Here’s my question. Isn’t the second coming going to occur at the end of the 70th week? In other words, once the Tribulation begins, won’t all believers know that the second coming will be in seven years?

What am I missing?

Wait, I think I figured it out. It’s talking about His coming in judgment, so it’s referring to the beginning of the Tribulation, not the second coming, right?

Here’s his reply.

No, you were right the first time. In the context, both before and after, it is talking about the Second Coming (v.30, 37).

You ask tough questions! I have some theories I’ll share, and I’m copying Dave in, so he can contribute too.

An easy out would be to say that no one knew the date and time of the Second Coming at the time the Lord spoke those words. That would be because the 70th week countdown to the Second Coming had not yet begun. That’s true, but in the subsequent context, it makes it clear that the Second Coming will come unexpectedly on people standing around, so this explanation would not seem to be the natural choice.

Next, Matthew 24:22 says,

“Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened“

This would explain why the Second Coming would come on men unexpectedly, as the subsequent context indicates, and why no man would know the day nor the hour.

How God will shorten the days of that is not clear. But when we read that “the third part of the sun was smitten” (Rev.8:12), that could mean the sun’s intensity is lessened by 33.3%, or it could mean as Amos says,

“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.”

We mark days by the sun, and if days are shortened by a third, that would “shorten” the 70th week.

But then you could say that people who (unlike me) are good at math could figure out the day of the Second Coming once the days are shortened. Well, maybe; but then they’d have to wonder, “Will God go by the original 24 hour a day seventy weeks, or by this new way of reckoning days?”

Then you have to factor in that the 70th week is usually described as 42 months, or 1260 days (Rev.11:2,3). But in Daniel 12:11, half the Tribulation is called 1290 days, thirty days longer. This is because there are so many things that are said to happen mid-Trib that they can’t all be done in one day, so there is a pause in the 70th week. Well, if God can mess with the 1260 day amount in that way, why not in some other way? He’d have to stick to the Book, but maybe there are other things in the Book we’re not thinking of.

For instance, there is this fascinating thing that dispensational pioneer Clarence Larkin discovered, that God does not seem to count time when Israel is out of favor with Him. I don’t know if this could factor in too. It actually could be the only explanation. Or it could be this explanation plus all of the above, or only a certain combination of all of the above. But if we can’t figure it out, most likely Tribulation saints might not be able to figure it out either.

He also sent my question to Dave Stewart. He’s what he said.

Any, some, none or all of the above is exactly right, I think. Not only does the Lord say that no one knows the day or the hour, He goes so far as to say, “in such an hour AS YE THINK NOT the Son of Man cometh” (vs.44). And these guys will have the gifts of prophecy and of knowledge, and still they won’t be able to figure it out. The day and the hour is deliberately kept hidden as the parable of the ten virgins and others indicate. They need to keep their lamps burning because they just won’t know. The best they’ll have to go on is “when these things begin go come to pass, then look up…, for your redemption draweth nigh“. (Luke.21:28)

As to the known timeline of the Tribulation, we need to remember that the battle of Armageddon is a long, extended event. It doesn’t all happen in one day. So does the Lord return on day 1260? Or is that the day the battle ends? Or is it some time in between? Or does Christ return as Matthew 24:29-31 says, “immediately after.” If so, define immediately. And how long is it between “the sign of the Son of Man” and the actual second coming? I think this is one of the few major events God has planned that will be literally unpredictable.

32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!

34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

There are several opinions on what, exactly, the Lord was referring to when He mentioned the “fig tree” (v.32) and “this generation” (v.34). I have copied the two that make the most sense to me.

The fig tree is the picture of Israel. The parable of the fig tree in Luke 13 is well known, and its application is Israel, to whom the Lord came, looking for fruit, and did not find it. Luke 21, the record there of this discourse, mentions likewise the fig tree and all the trees; these are the Gentiles, the nations. In Matthew 21:18-22, we see in the withered fig tree a type of Israel’s spiritual and national death. But that withered tree is to be vitalized. The fig tree will bud again. However, the characteristic of the fig tree is that fruit and leaves are there together. As soon as the branch becomes tender the fruit is found. It is a rapid development. This is the lesson here. Israel’s blessing, new life, fruit and glory will quickly be realized in those end days. When in these last seven years, and especially the last 1,260 days, all these things come to pass, they will know that all which is promised to Israel will be at hand. — Gaebelein, pages 512-513.

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The word gena means not necessarily the same persons living, but it has also the meaning of race. The English word “generation” has this meaning of “family or a race of a certain class of people.” And so has the Greek. It is used in that sense in Luke 16:8. “This generation” is the race sprung from Abraham, God’s chosen earthly people. Well have they been called “the everlasting nation;” better still we could call them “the nation of destiny.” God has kept this race, and is keeping them, for the fulfillment of His own great, revealed purpose. The verse, however, has also the meaning that the people living, when the end of the Jewish age sets in, will behold its termination; it will all be accomplished in a small space of time. — Gaebelein, page 514.

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Some commentators refer “generation” to the nation of Israel. The meaning, then, would be that Israel would continue as a nation until the second coming of Christ. Some take generation to refer to an indefinite period of time (age) and, accordingly, take it as instructing the disciples that the age leading up to the second coming will not end until the event of the second coming itself. A third explanation is that the word generation means what it normally means, that is, a period of thirty to one hundred years, and refers to the particular generation that will see the specific signs, that is, the signs of the great tribulation. In other words, the same generation that will experience the great tribulation will also witness the second coming of Christ. — Walvoord, page 192-193.

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One having passed through the rigors of a cold Judean winter would eagerly anticipate the coming of summer. When such a one sees the first green shoots appearing on a fig tree, he has an indication of the season in which he is then living (Matthew 24:32). He can anticipate the passing of the cold and the coming of spring. Christ applied this simple principle, saying, “when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” (v.33). In the context “these things” refers to the signs of verses 4-28. Those who will see the signs will know that He, the Messiah, or it, Messiah’s judgment, is at the door. Since these signs will all occur in the seven years of Daniel’s seventieth week, the generation that sees the beginning of these signs will “not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34), for they all will fall within a brief span of time. These will not be signs given to a generation preceding the Rapture. Instead these signs will be given to a generation that cannot begin until after the church has been translated. — Pentecost, page 405.

The most simple explanation — that the Lord was speaking of the generation of people who were alive when He spoke these words — cannot be true because the Lord’s second coming did not occur while they were alive.

The possibility that the Lord was wrong also cannot be true because His Word is truth.

The position, held by Gaebelein (above), that the Lord was speaking of the nation of Israel and stating that the nation would survive until His return, while true, doesn’t feel right to me because of all the prophecies throughout Scripture that refer to Israel’s glorious future. Why would the Lord need to say it here?

So, for now, I’m leaning toward the view that the Lord was explaining that the generation that sees the signs that point to His second coming will also be there when the second coming occurs.

23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.

24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

signs and wonders (v.24) — Revelation 13

if possible (v.24) — but it isn’t, either because of God’s protection or because the days are shortened, or both

If told that Messiah has come already and is manifesting Himself in the desert they are not to go forth seeking Him there. If told He is hidden in some secret place they are not to believe it. For His coming will be in visible manifested glory when He shines forth from heaven as lightning flaming athwart the sky. — Ironside, page 321.

I have told you beforehand (v.25) — Matthew 7:15; 15:3-14; 16:6-12; 23:1-36; 24:11

Verse 28 is saying that, as where there is death, there will be vultures, so where there is corruption, there will be judgment.

those days (v.29) — Revelation 6:12-14

sign of the Son of Man (v.30) — probably the Shekinah cloud (Acts 1:9-11)

tribes of the earth (v.30) = lit. “of the land” — Israel, Zechariah 12:10-12

mourn (v.30) — an intense, ritualistic mourning

they will see the Son of Man (v.30) — Revelation 1:7: Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

trumpet (v.31) — the gathering of Israel — Isaiah 11:11-12; Isaiah 27:13

Christ now proceeded to describe the third eschatological event in Israel’s program — the restoration of the nation Israel back to the land. Since this whole discourse has been devoted to the prophetic program for Israel, the reference to “His elect” (Matthew 24:31) cannot refer to the church. Instead, the reference must be to the nation that God had chosen (Exodus 19:5-6). During the Tribulation, Israel will be scattered out of the land by military invasions. The Israelites will flee and find refuge among the Gentile nations. God will supernaturally bring the people of Israel back to the land through the instrumentality of angels. This will be the final restoration anticipated in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 30:1-8). — Pentecost, page 404.

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),

16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

Does he [Daniel] mention anything in his great prophecies about a future abomination and where do we find these passages? He does in three places.

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate” (Daniel 9:27).

And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation (Daniel 11:31).

And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days (Daniel 12:11).

There can be no doubt that the Lord refers to these three passages in Daniel, and it is of that abomination mentioned in these passages of which He speaks. These three verses in Daniel refer all to the same period of time; this period is three years and a half. The same space of time is mentioned in Daniel 7:25. “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.” (Which makes three and a half.) Then in Daniel 10:7 we have it mentioned again “… it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” Later, in the book of Revelation we shall discover the same period of time there.

 The 24th verse in Daniel 9 is the prophecy stated in a general way. “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Seventy sevens, as it is in Hebrew, make 490. This space of time is, so Gabriel declared, apportioned out, for the people of Israel and Jerusalem, and at the close of it the full blessing of Israel will come to pass; the righteousness of ages, undoubtedly refers to the kingdom age, the Millennium. So in a general way the whole prophecy of seventy-year weeks is given and what shall be accomplished in them and at the close of them for the people Israel and for Jerusalem. But now as we read on we find a division of these seventy weeks. First: Seven weeks; secondly: Sixty-two weeks; thirdly; One week. What does this division mean? We are not left to speculation, for the Word makes it plain. “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:25-26). The first seven weeks, that is 49 years, is the period of time which elapsed from the giving of the command to rebuild Jerusalem and its walls till this was accomplished. The commission to restore and build Jerusalem was given to Nehemiah by Artaxerxes in his twentieth year. The sixty-two weeks is the period of time from the complete restoration of the city and the walls till Messiah is cut off, that is the death of Christ, and there is nothing for Him.

When this prince, the head of the revived Roman empire, appears, he will make a covenant with the Jews. His covenant will be for one week, that is for seven years. It is interesting to notice that the covenant will be made with “the many,” not with all, for the believing Jewish remnant will know the true personality of the wicked prince and refuse to enter into that covenant. What this covenant will be we do not know … It will undoubtedly be of a political nature and connected with the resettlement of the Jews in Palestine, the rebuilding of the temple, and the institution of their worship by sacrifices.

This covenant will be effected in the beginning of the week (seven years) and all will run smoothly for a while. But in the middle of the week he will unmask himself and in conjunction with that other wicked one, the man of sin, the son of perdition, the personal anti-Christ, he will break the covenant and cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. In its place he will set up the abomination (Daniel 11:31). What then is this abomination? It will be idolatrous worship.

What will then take place is clearly stated in Revelation 13:12-18. There we read of an image. “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” This, no doubt, will be the abomination, and image worshiped; as well as the second beast, “who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This then is the abomination which falls in the last half of the seventieth week. The result of this abomination, the revelation of Satan’s power upon the earth, will be the great tribulation. This is fully borne out by the thirteenth chapter in Revelation. Of this our Lord speaks, when He said, “For then shall there be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world, until now, nor ever shall be.” And in Daniel we likewise read of this tribulation, “and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation” (Daniel 12:1). The context shows that it will be at this very time of which the Lord speaks, immediately before His personal, visible and glorious coming. — Gaebelein, pages 496-503

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The need for haste will be so great that it will cause undue difficulties for those who are hindered because of pregnancy (v.19) or who for other reasons have problems traveling (v.20). As a result of this final invasion of the land, Christ said, “There will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again” (v.21). As great as has been Israel’s sufferings in days past, unprecedented suffering awaits them in this period. But God has determined to preserve a remnant in Israel even though Satan seeks to exterminate every physical descendant of Abraham so as to prevent the fulfillment of the covenant God gave to him. John described this persecution (Revelation 12:13-17). Only the willingness of Gentiles to harbor the fleeing Jews will prevent the latters’ utter destruction. Christ promised that the Tribulation would be “cut short” and spoke of “those days” (Matthew 24:22). His promise has been misunderstood. Daniel spoke of the Tribulation as a “seven,” that is, a seven-year period (Daniel 9:27). John gave its duration in months (Revelation 11:2), and even in days (v.3) Some have asked, How could those days be shortened? Christ’s words cannot mean that the days will be decreased in number. The phrase “cut short” means “to terminate.” If those days with their awful judgments were allowed to continue indefinitely, the human race would be totally destroyed. Christ meant that God will allow that period to run its course but will terminate it according to His timetable so that a remnant will be spared. — Pentecost, page 403.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Christ now mentioned signs that will fall in the second half of the Tribulation. There will be widespread persecution and death (v.9). Many will be turned away from Christ to worship the political dictator whom John called the “beast” (Revelation 13:1-10). Paul called this person “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). Many false prophets will appear and deceive many. John wrote about a particular false prophet (Revelation 13:11-18) who, by Satan’s power, will perform miracles to persuade the world to worship the first beast, the political dictator described in verses 1-10. This false prophet will begin his ministry in the middle of the Tribulation. The beast will extend political power over the world and assume the prerogatives of Deity in the religious world, and these activities will be signs which fall in the second half of the Tribulation to forewarn Israel of the approaching advent of Christ. The beast will become a persecutor (Revelation 13:7), and many will lose their lives. This no doubt will tempt many to renounce Christ and give allegiance to the beast. But Christ promised, “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” (v.13).

During the time that the politico-religious system of the beast is in absolute control, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world (v.14). The gospel of the kingdom was preached by both John and Jesus (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). This was the announcement of the good news that the kingdom was near. This message had both a soteriological and an eschatological emphasis. When John and Jesus called on the nation to repent, they were asking them to acknowledge their sinful state and their need of salvation. They were inviting the people to turn in faith to God, who had promised to send a Savior.

This gospel will be preached by 144,000 set apart from the tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:1-8). These will be descendants of Abraham. — Pentecost, pages 400-401.

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

the age (v.3) — the Jewish age (Daniel’s 70th week), not the church age.

The questions showed that they had arrived at certain conclusions. The prophet Zechariah had described the advent of Messiah to institute His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4). This coming was to be preceded by an invasion of Jerusalem (12:1-3; 14:1-3). Jerusalem would be totally destroyed and the majority of the people in the land would be slaughtered (13:8-9). To these men, Christ’s words concerning the destruction of Jerusalem was the destruction predicted by Zechariah that would precede the advent of the Messiah. In Jewish eschatology two ages were recognized: the first was this present age, the age in which Israel was waiting for the coming of the Messiah; the second was the age to come, the age in which all of Israel’s covenants would be fulfilled and Israel would enter into her promised blessings as a result of Messiah’s coming. The present age would be terminated by the appearance of Messiah, and the coming age would be introduced by His advent. The present age, then, was to end in judgment, and the coming age must be preceded by this devastation. The disciples concluded that the judgment Christ had predicted was the one that would terminate this present age. After this judgment Messiah would come to introduce the age to come. Thus they asked “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age”? (Matthew 24:3).

Let us note concerning this great eschatological discourse that Jesus was here revealing the prophetic program for Jerusalem, the nation Israel, and the people of Israel. He made no reference to the church or the prophetic program for the church. Jesus did not speak here of events that will precede the consummation of the program for the church at the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Rather, He dealt with the future Tribulation, or seven-year period that will complete the prophetic program for Israel as revealed in Daniel 9:27. Because of its Jewish context this portion of Scripture must be interpreted with reference to Israel and not the church. — Pentecost, page 398.

sorrows (v.8) = birth pangs, travail

Christ described the events that will fall within the seven years of what Jeremiah called “a time of trouble for Jacob” (Jeremiah 30:7). Jesus referred to the rigors that Israel will undergo in this period as “birth pains” (Matthew 24:8). They will be the sufferings that precede the birth of the new age to come. Daniel indicated that this seven-year period will be divided into two parts of equal length (Daniel 9:27). Jesus described signs that will be given to the nation Israel in the first half of the Tribulation (Matthew 24:4-8). One sign will be that false Messiahs will appear (v.5). Another sign will be reports of war (vs. 6-7). Another will be natural catastrophes — famines and earthquakes (v.7).

John in Revelation 6 described events of the first half of the Tribulation by disclosing what was hidden under the seals on a scroll. That the seals fall within the first half of the Tribulation is suggested by the parallelism that exists between Christ’s signs in Matthew 24:4-8 and what John revealed in Revelation 6. John’s first seal has to do with a rider on a white horse (Revelation 6:2), who is a false Messiah. As the result of the rise of this one, peace will be taken from the earth and war will ensue (v.4). As a result of war there will be widespread famine (v.6) that will result in widespread death (v.8). Christ revealed that as rigorous as these judgments may seem, they will be only “the beginning of birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8). Thus in this portion Christ described the judgments of the first half of the Tribulation. He gave signs to Israel that would forewarn them of the approach of the Judge. — Pentecost, pages 399-400

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

At the end of the previous chapter, Jesus had said to the Pharisees: “See! Your house is left to you desolate.” As He leaves the temple, His disciples point out to Him that Herod’s temple is anything but desolate (v.1).

Many of my commentaries point to the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 as the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy in v.2. That didn’t make total sense to me, so I wrote to Pastor Kurth and asked, “Does the Lord’s prediction regarding the destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:2 refer to it’s destruction in A.D.70 or a coming destruction at the (end of?) the Tribulation, or both? And why?”

His response:

After the Lord talked about the destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:1-2 and the apostles asked Him “when shall these things be?” (v.3), everything He said in the rest of the chapter is future, so I believe the destruction He was describing is future as well. I don’t know how it could be past and everything else be future. I personally don’t think that what happened in 70 AD was any fulfillment of it, other than something the devil did to make people think it won’t happen again. Kind of the way people think Antiochus Epiphanes was the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Antichrist. I think Satan just made sure someone looked like he fulfilled those prophecies so people would think there isn’t another Antichrist coming. In my mind, the destruction of the temple is the same thing. Since it happened, people think it won’t happen again. But I’m not positive, so I copied Dave in on this reply.

Dave’s response:

I agree. Verses 33 and 34 say to look for “all these things” and indicate that they will all happen together. This is in answer to their question, “when shall ‘these things’ be,” referring to the temple’s destruction. So vs.2 cannot be separated from the rest of the events described in Matthew 24. Also, in vs.15 the abomination of desolation stands “in the holy place” which indicates that the temple’s destruction described in vs.2 must occur some time after vs.15 and the events leading up to it.

Antiochus Epiphanes is a good comparison. He’s a pseudo-fulfillment which the Lord clearly refutes in vs.15 when He says that the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27 was yet to come in His day. 70 AD falls into the same camp, and for the same reasons. The rest of Daniel’s prophecy, like the coming and cutting off of Messiah, had to occur first. But those elements of the prophesy are ignored in favor of an “antichrist has already come and gone” interpretation of vs.27. It’s the same with Matthew 24. The [people who take this view think the] rest of the prophecy doesn’t matter as long as we understand that antichrist is past already. 70 AD is merely a back-up plan. If we don’t buy Antiochus Epiphanes, they’ll give us Titus.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.

33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;

39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Abel (v.35) — Genesis 4; Hebrews 11:4

Zechariah, mentioned as the son of Jehoiada in 2 Chronicles 24:20, probably was the grandson of the priest and Barachias was his actual father. — Walvoord, page 174

kills … and stones (v.37) — tense indicates habitual or characteristic action

house (v.38) — The word “house” could be a reference to the city of Jerusalem, or the Jewish temple in the city, or the Davidic house to which the Jews looked for a successor to David to deliver them and rule over them, or the nation as a whole. In any case, judgment must come. — Pentecost, page 394.

desolate (v.38) = alone

Blessed is He (v.39) — Psalm 118:26

This address was the last Jesus made in public and this was the last time He went to the temple.

Morgan makes the point that the “woes” of Matthew 23 match up one for one with the blessings (the Beatitudes) in Matthew 5.

Moses had written long ago in Deuteronomy 30:1-3, “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, wither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.” Moses went on to predict their regathering and their possession of the land (Deuteronomy 30:4-5) In Deuteronomy 30:6, he stated “And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”

Other references to the same revival in the Old Testament are frequently found. The closing chapters of the prophecies of Isaiah mention again and again the coming revival of Israel, as, for instance, in Isaiah 65:18-25. Jeremiah, in like manner, prophesies Israel’s future restoration in Jeremiah 30:1-11; 31:1-14, 27-37. Zechariah speaks of it in chapter 8, and 12:10; 13:1; 14:9-21. The New Testament picks up similar truth in Romans 11:25-36 and pictures Israel triumphant on Mount Zion in Revelation 14:1-5. While it is tragic that Israel did not know the day of her visitation at the time of the first coming of Christ, the godly remnant of Israel, that awaits His second coming to sit on the throne of David, will experience the blessing of the Lord and receive a new heart and a new spirit, of which Ezekiel spoke in Ezekiel 36:23-28.

the tragic note which ends Matthew 23 introduces the great prophecy of the end of the age, recorded in Matthew 24-25 and delivered privately to His disciples. This discourse details the prophecy of the coming kingdom and the time of reward and blessing for those who trust in the Lord. — Walvoord, page 176.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

tithe (v.23) — a tenth, for the use of priests and Levites (Leviticus 27:30).

anise (v.23) = dill

full of (v.25) = full from

The woe in verse 25 is because the Pharisees were concerned with ceremonial cleanliness which can be observed, but not with holiness.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’

17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’

19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.

21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.

22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

To swear by the altar was therefore to swear by all that was placed upon it, and to swear by the temple was to swear by Him who dwelt therein, even as to swear by heaven (a most frequent thing) is to take an oath by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. All such oaths were forbidden very definitely by the Lord on a former occasion (Matthew 5:33-37). — Ironside, page 305.

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By making such distinctions the Pharisees were able to take an oath, but then absolve themselves of responsibility for fulfilling the oath. The one uninitiated in the distinctions would accept the oath of the Pharisee, not knowing that the oath had been couched in such phraseology that the Pharisee did not consider himself bound by it. Christ condemned such duplicity. — Pentecost, page 393.