Matthew

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

Jesus was foreseeing the time when the Roman armies would come and destroy the temple in 70 AD. This literally happened and there has been no temple rebuilt since that time. The Jews were driven from
their land and it remained that way until 1948 when they returned after the German holocaust.

Mat 24:3 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?

The end of the world as we know it. This world's systems are coming to a end and Jesus will return to set up His own kingdom. Until then though there will be a lot of deception. The reason is that when
people reject God and reject Christ who came to save us from sin, it opens us up to being deceived and believing the lies of Satan.

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

They come with another way of salvation other than trusting in Christ to save from sin and bring eternal life. They will either claim to be Christ, represent Christ or take the place of Christ. Some will claim to
represent God. Some will come claiming Christ as savior but teaching false gospels that do not save.

Some examples might be:

1. Believe in Christ but also live by every letter of the law in order to be saved.
2. Believe in Christ but be free to do as one pleases even sin and still be covered by His grace.
3. Believe in Christ but get to Him by way of a certain sect, church or person other than Christ such as a priest, pope, bishop etc.

To really believe in Jesus Christ is to accept Him in one's life by turning away from sin, denying self and being filled with the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit. The devils also believe in Jesus but they do not
live for Jesus or live in obedience to God. Salvation is more than mentally believing that a man called Jesus died, was buried and rose again. The devil believes that. We must repent of sin and allow Him to
fill us with His spirit. When we really believe in Jesus, we will be filled with the spirit. Our life is changed. We are made free from sin and become new creatures in Christ. Old things are passed away and all
things become new.

Mat 24:6 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.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

These things have been happening since Jesus went back to heaven but they are increasing as we come close to His return. We also have wars and rumors of wars. The biggest wars were world war 1 and 2
that took place in the 1900s.

Mat 24:9 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.

Whether He means the believers in Christ here or the Jewish people, this came true in both cases. The Jewish people have been the most hated group of people ever to exist and they still are hated. The
holocaust showed a horrible hatred of those people in these latter times. My Dad remembers this. He was alive during the holocaust although he lived in the United States and didn't really see it. It was in
the news papers at that time.

True believers in Christ have always be persecuted first by the Jewish people that rejected Christ, then by the Roman government, and later by the Catholic Church, and then by some Protestant Churches
which combined church and state instead of having freedom of religion. Notice that the same groups that persecute believers also hate Jews.

Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

People will fear the government and loss of jobs, money and their standing in society so much so that they will betray even their own loved ones to keep from suffering persecution and loss of either material
possessions or their lives. This also happened during the holocaust. Some risked their lives and businesses to help the Jews but most people went along with Hitler's government and the hatred of the Jews
to protect themselves. I believe God will reward the people who stood by the Jews.

I will speak of this more when I get to chapter 25 but here is what Jesus said about helping His people:

Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

So we see that our treatment of God's people whether it is the natural brothers of Christ (the Jews) or the adopted people of God (true believers in Christ, not just those that claim Christ but deny Him by their
works) is important to God. To mistreat God's elect is dangerous to one's soul.

Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Today we have many who deceive with false religion, false Christian religions, cults, promises of riches, those that use the grace of God to teach lasciviousness (license to sin by using the teaching of grace)
and adding to the simple gospel by making doctrines, rituals and commandments of men that God didn't make. Examples of these are confessing to a priest, worship of Mary, keeping the Jewish feasts,
circumcision, joining a certain church or following a certain person that claims to be the only way to God either in place of Christ or along with Christ.

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

We see this happening today. We must not allow hatred against any group of people to enter our hearts. This is the biggest reason why I avoid politics. Being in one political group that opposes the other
side can cause us to hate. Hating one type of race or religion also is dangerous. In saying that though, it is not hate to warn people that they are deceived and to tell them about true salvation through Jesus
Christ and Him alone. Love does not mean that we do not share the gospel that saves the soul.

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

The faithful are the ones that will inherit eternal life not just those that claim Jesus as savior. The proof of our conversion to Christ will be if we endure and keep our faith in Him until the end of our earthly
lives.

Mat 24:14 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.

God will make sure that all nations hear the gospel and then He will send Jesus back to receive His own people out of the world, judgment and tribulation follow and then Christ will set up His kingdom.

Mat 24:15 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:)
Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

During the tribulation there will be a false Christ or what we call the man of sin or anti-christ that will come and deceive the whole world if possible. He will come to the Jewish people and attempt to deceive
them first. Many who have rejected Christ will believe this man.

Jesus warned of this:

John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

We see here the danger of rejecting Christ because it opens our heart up to believe wrong teachers and wrong teachings.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

To believe in Jesus is to believe in the words He spoke. If we continue in His word, that makes us true disciples. If we say we believe and do not what He says, we do not really believe.

Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

When fleeing the armies of the anti-Christ there will be no time to worry about material possessions. During the holocaust some escaped because they fled in time to other countries.

Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

Pregnant women and those that have young babies would have a harder time fleeing.

Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Orthodox Jews would not travel on the Sabbath day. This is the part here than makes me think that Matthew 24 applies mostly to Jews that are here during the tribulation period rather than the church. The
believers in Christ would have no trouble fleeing on the Sabbath day if they thought their lives were in danger.

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

The Jewish elect may be what is meant here or the believers who found Christ after the tribulation started and after the true believers were taken by way of rapture before the tribulation started.

Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Whether or not Jesus Himself will appear to anyone I don't know but we are not to go about looking for Him on this earth in the physical. He will come from Heaven when He comes and every eye will see
Him. If someone says He is at such and such a place in person, we are not to believe it. These latter day visions of Mary are also unscriptural. We are not to go about seeking those things.

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

We are not to follow signs and wonders, visions and so called miracles. Miracles that give glory to God may follow true believers in Christ but we are not to follow the signs and wonders. All miracles are to
bring people to Christ and bring glory to God. True miracles will cause us to turn away from sin and believe in the Lord. Our lives will change. It will not cause use to give glory to some person or organization. It will not come if we give money or pay a huge amount of tithes. Freely we receive and freely we give.

Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 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.
Mat 24:27 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.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 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:
Mat 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.

I'm looking forward to this time. I'm so tired of the hurt, hatred, divorce, lust, greed, selfishness and the things we see both in the world and in the church. I really pray for His return.

Mat 24:31 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.

Every true faithful believe in Christ will be gathered from all over the world to be with Him. We may suffer now but at that time, judgment comes upon all those that have rejected Christ and the faithful will
enter into the kingdom of God and His Christ.

Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

This may mean the generation that is alive when theses signs start or the generation meaning the Jewish people will not pass away. The devil has tried to wipe them out many times but he will never
succeed.

Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Date setting is pointless. We cannot know the date. If we knew the date, many would put off their salvation until it got close to that time. Of course no one who did that would be really saved in the first
place. If we can't be faithful to Christ now, how can we be faithful to the Lord when times are bad? If we have the attitude that we will wait until we are old or wait until just before He comes to get right with
Him, then we don't really know Him.

Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 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,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

In other words, business as usual. Things will be going on like they always are when the Lord comes. It will be sudden and without warning. It is better to be ready always.

Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 24:43 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.
Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

This happened during the Middle Ages. They thought the Lord delayed His coming and begun to think they were the ones God chose to set up the kingdom on earth. They began to persecute and kill those
that disagreed with their creeds and doctrines of that day. The true church is to spread the gospel, not persecute anyone who does not believe.

Mat 24:50 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,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

A sign of His coming just might be that the so-called in name only church will be persecuting the true believers in Christ. A return of persecution against the Jews may also be what is meant here. We as
Christians need to be careful not to persecute. anyone who does not agree with us, especially the Jews.

We are to love those that hate us and be good to those that despitefully use us and persecute us. We are never to be the ones that do the persecuting. If we are cruel and persecute other believers or non
believers, it is a sign that we are not the ones that are the elect of God.

Chapter 25