END TIMES: Daily Reading Plan #3
Matthew 24:3-35
"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
"If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time.
"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the wilderness,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
"Immediately after the distress of those days " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
"Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
After Jesus takes a seat on the Mount of Olives with the temple in view, the disciples ask Him for more details. Their questions focus on "the end of the age," meaning the end times. They also wonder about when Jesus will return. Christ's response fills the remainder of this chapter, as well as the next (Matthew 24:3).
Jesus begins to describe a time when He will be gone from the earth and the disciples will be on their own. He warns them that many will come claiming to be the Christ: the Messiah. They will hear news and gossip about violence, conflict, and other tragedies. There will be international conflicts and famines and natural disasters. None of these will mean the end has arrived. At most, they are signs that the end is approaching (Matthew 24:4–8).
That era will bring great suffering to the followers of Christ. They will be persecuted and murdered. This hate will be due to the world's rejection of Christ. Many who seemed sincere in following Jesus will fall away under this pressure and even betray and hate their former friends. Liars will arise and lead many self-identified Christians away from the faith. Rejection of morality and law will expand. The influence of godly love will fade from the world. Those who survive these events, however, will see the gospel preached throughout the world, right as the end comes (Matthew 24:9–14).
One vivid sign of these end days will fulfill a prophecy mentioned extensively by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). This "abomination of desolation" involves some undefined, depraved defilement of the temple. Those who see this happen should run for their lives, not even hesitating to gather supplies. Those days will be terrible beyond imagining. Jesus describes them as a great tribulation, worse than anything else in history. In fact, those events will be so terrible as to threaten all human life (Matthew 24:15–22).
While many terrible things happen in AD 70, they don't rise to the levels depicted in these descriptions. Most likely, all that Jesus describes in these passages is set to happen in what is—at the time of this writing—still the future. When Christ's second coming finally occurs, it won't be secret in any way, shape, or form. Those who claim they need to tell others that Christ has returned will be liars, without exception. The second coming will be obvious to everyone in the world, including apparent signs in nature and around the world. An otherwise-unexplained "sign of the Son of Man" will appear. As Jesus sends angels to gather His chosen ones, the rest of the world will mourn (Matthew 24:23–31).
Jesus next says that when people see these signs, they will know that His return is truly, immediately upon the world. Just as budding leaves on a fig tree signal the imminent arrival of summer, those events will indicate the return of Christ. The generation of Jesus' own time will not be the ones to see this (Matthew 21:43). Rather, those who observe the catastrophic signs will be the ones to see the end (Matthew 24:35).
At the same time, the time of Jesus' coming cannot be known or predicted by any person. The signs will be obvious—but only when they happen. Prior to then, there will be absolutely no truth behind claims to know the date of Jesus' return. That's why His followers must live in a constant state of readiness. Jesus begins to deliver parables to show how Christians should live out this attitude of preparation. The servant found faithfully doing what the master instructed will be blessed. The one wickedly serving himself will be subjected to a gruesome, miserable fate.
Reflection Questions
- What do these verses say about the end times and knowing the signs leading up to the end times?
- What do these verses call you to take to heart regarding how you live your life?
