Matthew 24:15

Matthew 24:15

In Matthew 24:15-22 Jesus said, “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

Jesus is continuing to answer the two questions that the disciples asked Him at the beginning of Matthew chapter 24. They asked Jesus when would the temple be destroyed, and they asked Him when would be the sign of His coming and of the end of this age? It just so happens that the two incidents, about which the disciples asked questions, were separated by almost 2000 years up to the current point in time. So as Jesus answers the questions, He is talking about events that are separated by great periods of time. Therefore, part of the difficulty of interpreting the answer is trying to find which parts of the answer applied to which of the two questions.

We already have looked at the teachings that Jesus gave in verses 4-14 of Matthew 24. These verses are a description of the age in which we live. The age in which we live started with the first coming of Jesus, and this age will end with the second coming of Jesus. That’s one of the reasons that Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. His appearance almost 2,000 years ago marked the beginning of the age; and His re-appearance will mark the end of this age.

Starting in Matthew 24:15 Jesus seems to be addressing the first question that the disciples asked Him: when would be the destruction of the temple? Instead of giving them a time for the answer, Jesus gave them an event. When a certain event takes place, then you will know that the destruction of the temple is near. And along with that destruction will be other sorrows, because the evil powers that will destroy the temple will destroy other things in Jerusalem, and so Jesus warned the inhabitants of Jerusalem that as soon as they saw sacrilege being performed in the holy place (and the holy place is in the temple), that they should get out of Jerusalem as fast as they can. Not only will the temple be destroyed, and not only will the inhabitants of Jerusalem be forced to flee for their lives, but all the world shall suffer through a time of great trouble as has never been known on the face of the earth.

When Jesus referred to the abomination of desolation, or the sacrilege that will be performed in the temple, He referred to the book of Daniel who first prophesied that such an event would take place. It says in Dan. 9:27 about the antichrist that “he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the end...”.

Five hundred and some odd years before Christ, Daniel gave his prophecies. There is something that every student of the Bible should always remember about Biblical prophesies. Because the prophecies were given thousands of years ago, some of the prophecies have already been fulfilled. Therefore, one of the challenges of studying prophecy is to try and understand which of the prophecies have already been fulfilled, and which of the prophecies have not yet been fulfilled. For example, there are many prophesies in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah. We now know that some of those prophecies have already been fulfilled in the first coming of Christ. Other prophecies will be fulfilled at His second coming. It would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for people living before the time of Christ to have understood the distinction between the two comings. One of the great privileges that we have in the day in which we live is to understand this difference. Peter spoke of this in I Peter 1:10-11 and he said, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

Another thing to remember about Biblical prophecy is that some of the prophecies have more than one fulfillment to them. For example, the prophesy about the coming of Elijah before the day of the Lord has two fulfillments. It was partially fulfilled by John the Baptist who came in the spirit of Elijah, and it will be further fulfilled before the Lord Jesus comes to the earth a second time.

The prophecy given by Daniel about the abomination of desolation also has more than one fulfillment. The first time that it was fulfilled was in the year 168 BC The Jewish temple was desecrated by one of the Seleucid kings. The Seleucid dynasty governed a part of the remains of the empire of Alexander the Great. Their territory was in Mesopotamia and Syria, and there was a series of kings by the name of Antiochus. Antiochus IV, also known as Antiochus Epiphanies, wanted to destroy Judaism, and he is the first one who desecrated the Jewish temple in 168 BC. Antiochus IV was not a major ruler from the standpoint of world-wide events, but he was a major figure in the history of the Jewish people because of his great hatred for them and for their God, and because he was the initial fulfillment of the abomination of desolation.

Quite obviously Jesus did not think that the desecration performed by King Antiochus Epiphanies was a final fulfillment of the prophecy given by Daniel, because Jesus spoke of it here in Matthew 24:15 as though it were still a future event. It is entirely reasonable to conclude that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans in 70 AD was also a fulfillment of the prophecy given by Daniel that was expounded upon by Jesus.

But we must still ask the question about this prophecy, as we must about any Biblical prophecy: is it possible that it has still another fulfillment? Is it possible that the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD was only a partial fulfillment of what Jesus said? One thing that must be noticed in answering this is what Jesus said in Matthew 24:21. He said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Jesus ties the abomination of desolation to the greatest time of tribulation that the world has ever seen, or will ever see. This could only be an event that is yet in the future.

In order for there to be an abomination of desolation in the future, there must also be another Jewish temple. So at least one more Jewish temple will be built in order for this prophecy to be fulfilled. But even if a temple were to be built today; don’t get too excited and don’t read too much into it, because Jesus did not say that the building of a temple was to be a sign; but that the desecration of the temple was to be a sign. There have already been two temples built. Each of them has been destroyed. It is possible that there will be many more temples built, before the one is built that is referred to in this great prophesy.

Jesus had already warned about false christs and false prophets, and now He gives another warning about them. Jesus said in Matthew 24:23-26, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 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. Behold, I have told you before. Therefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; or behold he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.”

The best defense against false teachers and false christs, is to make sure that you know the true Christ. But some of these false teachers will be so convincing and so persuasive, and some of them will even demonstrate signs and wonders; that Jesus said that if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived.

It’s amazing how many people in the world are deceived, and how easily people become deceived. This is one of the threats to democracy; that some smooth-talking politician will come along in a time of trouble, and will talk people into giving him more power. But once he has the power, his true evil character will be shown. Many of the horrible dictators of the world have been like that. They come into power through deception and trickery, but once they have the power, it is too late. The main tool of deception that they use is the lies that they tell, and people believe them.

If you get someone who has the right personality and who knows how to use words deceitfully, the great masses of humanity just might believe him. This certainly will one day be the case with the antichrist. Daniel chapter 9:27 says about the antichrist, “and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week...”. The antichrist will be a political figure who will gain power through subtlety, but eventually his true character will be known and one of his greatest characteristics will be his intense hatred of the Jewish people.

But the reign of the antichrist will be short-lived, and his doom is assured. The ultimate destruction of the antichrist is described in Rev. 19:20 which says, “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

In Matthew24:27-28 Jesus tells why you should never believe it if someone tells you to go somewhere to see the Christ, or to see someone who claims to be the Christ, or to see someone whom they say is the Christ. Jesus said, “For as the lightening comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the son of man be. For wherever the carcass is, there will the vultures be gathered.”

What this means is that the second coming of Christ will be a worldwide event, and it will be miraculous in nature. If you are alive during the time of His second coming, and if you are a believer in Jesus, you will be a part of the miracle because you will be one of those who will be gathered to Him, to meet Him at His coming. First Thessalonians. 4:17-18 says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Again, Jesus associates His coming with the time of great tribulation that shall take place near the end of the age. He said in Matthew 24:29-31, “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: 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. 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.”

Jesus said that something will happen that will eclipse the light from the sun and the moon. Since it will happen immediately after the tribulation, perhaps this eclipsing of the light from the sun and the moon will be a result of nuclear wars, or some natural destructions such as massive volcanic eruptions or meteorites impacting the earth. We don’t know for sure what will cause these things, but we do know that they will happen. Jesus makes it clear that just before He returns there will be some astounding astrological events.

There are certain noticeable contrasts between the first coming of Christ and His second coming. In the first coming, He came quietly and was born in a stable into the household of a common carpenter and his wife. His second coming will be a worldwide event that will be seen by all the inhabitants of the earth. There will be no mistaking Him. In the first coming He came as a servant and He was delivered into the hands of men, and they did with Him whatever they wished, and they put Him to death. In the second coming He will come as a king, a mighty warrior to destroy the enemies of God. And those who do not believe will have one last chance to repent of their sins, when they look on Him whom they have pierced.

In the first coming just before His arrest and condemnation, Jesus could have called 10,000 angels to destroy the world and set him free; but He did not because of His great love for you and for me. In the second coming He will return with those thousands of angels and with a sound of a trumpet.

All the mad grabbing, and fighting, and striving for power and position and possessions that we have seen all these years will all prove to be in vain. The rightful owner will take possession of the kingdoms of this world because they belong to God and to His Christ. Jesus was undoubtedly thinking of the final victory and the exchange of power that would take place at His second coming, when He reminded His believers in the sermon on the mount that one day the meek would inherit the earth. Those who appear to win now, will one day prove to be losers because Jesus said that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”; and those who sell their soul to gain a portion of the world for only a few years, will find out once and for all at the return of Christ how true were His words when He said, “what shall it profit a man should he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

In Matthew 24:32-34 Jesus said, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So likewise when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Jesus said that certain events will happen shortly before His second coming and the end of the age. Those events He described as the desecration of the temple, the time of great tribulation on the earth as never before seen, and major astrological phenomenon that He called the “powers of the heavens being shaken”.

We do not know the time, but we do know that it will happen. The life that we live is temporary, and the age in which we live is temporary. The fact of the return of Jesus Christ should be both a warning to repent for those who do not serve God; but a message of comfort and consolation to those who believe on Jesus and who look forward to being with Him forever. We gladly await the end of the age. We look forward to the kingdom that Jesus will establish where there will be no sickness or death, no sorrow or crying, and no sin or suffering. We agree with the apostle John, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” And we remind the world to turn from their sins and to turn to Jesus for forgiveness before it is too late.

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