Matthew 24:1-4

Foreword: It is necessary to have an open Bible in front of you for this study. Although I will quote some scripture, I will not quote all scriptures in discussion. You will need to look them up.

Imagine the setting. Yeshua and the disciples were walking through the temple grounds looking at the various buildings. Yeshua had just left the temple when this took place. The setting was one of peace and tranquility.

Try to place yourself in the shoes of the disciples. They expected Yeshua to move into power as the Messiah and overthrow the Romans. In the previous chapter, Yeshua changed from a peaceful teacher to one of wrath as he strongly opposed the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees. Perhaps the disciples saw this and wondered if Yeshua was now stepping into the role as Messiah in the form that the Jewish people expected.

The question in verse three from the modern perspective allows the reader to question when Yeshua will return. When the disciples asked the question, it had an entirely different meaning. Their question was not “come” as in coming back from a trip. It was “come” as in when are you going to step into the position of power? The problem with the question is that Yeshua had not left the scene yet. The disciples really did not expect him to leave the scene either. Their question then was focused upon his returning from a distant place. Their question had to focus on a different agenda. This is where we have to read carefully and consider their meaning.

The “end of the age” to them was not “end times” as we think of it. It was a question that focused upon the immediate oppression of the Roman empire. This question was focused upon the immediate problem of the Roman government and of expected military role of the messiah. They expected Yeshua to move into power and lead the Jewish people to freedom. Old Testament prophets foretold the millennial reign of the coming messiah. They expected that Yeshua would step into that role during his lifetime.

Yeshua uses their misunderstanding to springboard into the prophecy concerning end times. They thought He was going to take military power over Rome and take up rule in a millennial aspect. Before we get to that, let’s back up a few verses and look at Yeshua’s prophecy concerning Jerusalem.

The temple was completely destroyed in A. D. 70, there was one wall of the city which was left somewhat intact.  We will look at that in the next few pages.  The setting has changed here also, it went from Jesus publicly railing on the Scribes and Pharisees to an intimate setting where the disciples are the ones present.

Josephus recorded an interesting story about a man named Jesus. He took up a dirge against Jerusalem seven years prior to its destruction. He proclaimed ““A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!”^[1] He took up this dirge during the feast of booths (tabernacles/sukkot) at a time of peace and prosperity in Jerusalem. He went around the city day and night proclaiming his message. Finally the authorities had enough and had him scourged to the point that his bones were showing through. He never shed a tear for himself but continued to cry out  “Woe, woe to Jerusalem!” at each whip stroke. He was released as insane. He made this proclamation every single day and very loudly at every Jewish festival. He continued his dirge until sitting upon the wall of the temple seven years and five months later. Finally he changed his message “woe, woe, to myself also!” just prior to a stone cast from a Roman engine of war which killed him.[2]

There were many false messiah’s who rose to acclaim in the day. It was a constant stream of prophets. At about A.D. 66 the Jewish Zealots lead a charge against the Romans and took the city back.

“They gained the ascendancy in the progress of the war, took forcible possession of the city and the temple and introduced a reign of terror. They kept up the Messianic expectations of the people and hailed every step towards destruction as a step towards deliverance. Reports of comets, meteors, and all sorts of fearful omens and prodigies were interpreted as signs of the coming of the Messiah and his reign over the heathen. The Romans recognized the Messiah in Vespasian and Titus.”

“To defy Rome in that age, without a single ally, was to defy the world in arms; but religious fanaticism, inspired by the recollection of the heroic achievements of the Maccabees, blinded the Jews against the inevitable failure of this mad and desperate revolt.”^[3]

It was on this foundation that the Jewish people fought so incredibly hard to preserve the temple. They fully expected the Messiah to return during the battle and deliver them from the Romans. False prophets had assured them of absolute victory somewhere in the battle. They fought on till their death. Josephus recorded the following:

“1. (271) While the holy house was on fire, everything was plundered that came to hand, and ten thousand of those that were caught were slain; nor was there a commiseration of any age, or any reverence of gravity; but children and old men, and profane persons, and priests, were all slain in the same manner; so that this war went round all sorts of men, and brought them to destruction, and as well those that made supplication for their lives as those that defended themselves by fighting. (272) The flame was also carried a long way, and made an echo, together with the groans of those that were slain; and because this hill was high, and the works at the temple were very great, one would have thought the whole city had been on fire. Nor can one imagine anything either greater or more terrible than this noise; (273) for there was at once a shout of the Roman legions, who were marching all together, and a sad clamor of the seditious, who were now surrounded with fire and sword. The people also that were left above were beaten back upon the enemy, and under a great consternation, and made sad moans at the calamity they were under; (274) the multitude also that was in the city joined in this outcry with those that were upon the hill; and besides, many of those that were worn away by the famine, and their mouths almost closed, when they saw the fire of the holy house, they exerted their utmost strength, and broke out into groans and outcries again: Perea did also return the echo, as well as the mountains round about [the city], and augmented the force of the entire noise. (275) Yet was the misery itself more terrible than this disorder; for one would have thought that the hill itself, on which the temple stood, was seething hot, as full of fire on every part of it, that the blood was larger in quantity than the fire, and those that were slain more in number than those that slew them; (276) for the ground did nowhere appear visible, for the dead bodies that lay on it; but the soldiers went over heaps of these bodies, as they ran upon such as fled from them. “^[4]

“A false prophet was the occasion of these people’s destruction, who had made a public proclamation in the city that very day, that God commanded them to get up upon the temple, and that there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance. (286) Now, there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose upon the people, who denounced this to them, that they should wait for deliverance from God: and this was in order to keep them from deserting, and that they might be buoyed up above fear and care by such hopes.”^[5]

“Now, as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other such work to be done) Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminency; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne, and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. (2) This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison; as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; (3) but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. (4) This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind.”^[6]

The battle leading up to the destruction of the temple and city was a long one. It was laced with many false prophets who encouraged the people to a fearless defense of the temple. The entire populace of Jerusalem was slaughtered and the city destroyed. During the battle the Romans crucified five hundred people per day to demoralize the masses. Jerusalem suffered greatly in that day, History records tremendous efforts of the Jewish people to conserve the temple.  Yet, contrary to popular belief, the temple was completely destroyed. Josephus (above) said the only wall left standing was the west city wall. This is argued by some to be the outer wall of the temple. My argument is that Josephus was a Jew, and knew the difference. Yeshua’s prophecy was totally fulfilled.

Matthew 24:5-14 With biblical prophecy there is almost always a pattern of near and far fulfillment. This means that there is a fulfillment of the prophecy that takes place close to the time that the prophecy was made and a fulfillment that takes place in the distant future. This passage gives us a perfect example of that fulfillment.

The near fulfillment was the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple. Many false prophets came declaring that they were the Messiah. They wreaked havoc on the people. In the midst of the havoc, the Jewish people took up arms against Rome and won. There was a period of about six years where they had seized the city and defied Rome. Nero sent the first group of soldiers led by Vespasian to put down the rebellion. Nero’s suicide resulted in failure of the operation. Vespasian was recalled to become emperor. Titus then returned with soldiers to finish putting down the rebellion.[7] False prophets were able to strengthen their positions by the apparent success in warding off Rome. In the end their prophecies proved to be false.

Famine was so extreme that great numbers of the people starved to death. After the Roman’s broke through Josephus recorded that there was mounds of dead bodies in the city. Many of the homes were virtual tombs of the dead. Some sought to take refuge in the caves under the city. After victory the Romans dug down to exterminate these people. Josephus spoke of total destruction. According to the Romans everyone was killed. This is where the near prophecy stops. Those enduring to the end certainly did not survive. The good news of Yeshua was also not preached to inflame the people to stand in rebellion. Since we have a partial “near” fulfillment we now look to the distant fulfillment.

Biblical commentators have many opinions of what these verses mean.  Some feel that they are describing the first week of the tribulation, others feel that it is describing the end of the church age.

I take a bit of a different stand on the passage. The “church age” is the time when the Christian church takes lead position and follows the Messiah. During this time there has been several extreme attempts to extinguish the Jewish people. This started with the Crusades. Later there was the Spanish Inquisition. Then Russians made several attempts to wipe them out. The latest and most famous was the holocaust by the Germans. When you look at all the attempts to extinguish the Jews, it is several pages long covering the entire church age. There has been an antisemitic passion that has permeated the church age.

False prophets have risen on both sides of the fence, with both the Jews and the Gentiles. In the Christian church the largest doctrine that has brought destruction to the Jewish people is the doctrine of “Replacement Theology”. The simple definition is that the Jewish people had their chance and failed, now the Christian people are God’s chosen people replacing the Jews. This is a hideous lie from the devil and has been bought almost universally in the Christian church. Many churches who stand with the Jews and against replacement theology still live by its teachings. They stand against the doctrine by position but embrace it through practical application.

Let’s discuss “lawlessness”. Christian commentators consider lawlessness to be the failure of people to follow moral standards or laws set by society. The Jewish stand on this is much different. The early translators of the Bible almost exclusively translated all references to Torah (instruction) as “law”. This was translated from the Greek word “nomos”. A good example of this is found in Matthew 5:17-20:

Matthew 5:17–20 (KJV)

¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. ¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Yeshua is clearly speaking of Torah in this setting. The translators did a disservice to teaching by translating Torah which means instructions as “law” which indicates established laws or rule. The difference is in the mindset. The variance is from willingly following instructions to forcibly following laws. This view of Torah is incorrect since it does not lead to freedom but to bondage.

Yeshua spoke of lawlessness increasing (Matt 24:12). The Greek word in this case was “anomia” which adds an alpha to the front of the word “nomos” thus negating the word to mean “no law”. If we were to consider that nomos should be translated as Torah, then the idea is “no Torah”.

The Christian church has taught for years that we are no longer under “law” but under “grace” (Ro 6:14).  Pulling this verse out of context has drawn the church as a whole into the understanding that we no longer stand or live according to Torah. In effect there is “no torah”. Yet, one of the promises of the new covenant is that Torah will be written on the hearts of all who believe in the Messiah:

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (KJV)

³¹ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: ³² Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: ³³ But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Law in Jeremiah’s passage is “torah”. Here is the problem. If we declare that the law or Torah has been done away with, then we are agreeing with Yeshua. We live in a time of torahlessness. The Christian church has set up a situation where we live without Torah. The result of this is the “agape” love of the followers of our Messiah Yeshua growing cold.

The interesting thing about this is that Torah is written on the hearts of all who believe in Yeshua according to the New Covenant in Jeremiah. By declaring that Torah has been done away with, we dull the edge of our sword! Study of Torah by looking at the instructions found in the entire Bible will strengthen all believers exponentially. By declaring that Torah has been done away with we disagree with what God has written on our hearts and build a constant conflict in our spirits. This deception results in compromised Christians who are not able to be fully effective.

Turning from Torah has had disastrous effects in the Christian Church. Through the ages there has been an astronomical number of denominational splits, church splits and dissentions among Christian believers. I believe that this is from the inability to study the scriptures accurately. When we consider Torah to be done away with, our basis of truth is skewed. Many great teachers have sought to justify the Law being done away with. In my opinion this has proved the be the literal fulfillment of Yeshua’s prophecy (Matt 24:10-12). Misleading people and drawing them away from God’s instructions has caused Christians to be ineffective. It has introduced the seeds of destruction into the very fabric of Christian society.

Matthew 24:14: Yeshua stated that the Gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the entire world before the end comes. What is the good news? What is the Gospel? When we boil it down to the simple facts, it returns to Yeshua. His name literally means “salvation”. Salvation is not found any other way. He is the God of the Old Testament that gave Torah. God became flesh and lived as a man. He died and rose as the perfect sacrifice for all sin. He is our salvation. Through Him we have life.

Let’s think this trough. Yeshua came to Jews and Gentiles as the Savior. The good news to the Jewish people was that the Messiah had finally arrived. The promised Messiah came to set the wrongs right. Isaiah stated that the Messiah will tend His flock and gather His lambs to carry them in His bosom (Isa 40:1-11). The good tidings according to this passage is when God comes to set things right. He comes to reign. Yeshua stated that His gospel is as follows:

Luke 4:18–19 (KJV)

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Matthew 4:23 (AV)

²³ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

The Gospel then is not preaching the plan of salvation. It was the good news that the Messiah had arrived! The Messiah came to bring salvation. This covered several aspects. First, the immediate ministry of the Messiah was to heal the sick and tend to the flock that He interacted with. We see this take place through His earthly ministry.

Second, the Messiah came as Salvation. Yeshua’s name literally meant “Salvation”. This promise is found in the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34). The promise is that sin will no longer be remembered. When He was teaching the disciples they were not aware of the ramifications of this promise. Yeshua fulfilled the Passover by becoming the Passover Lamb that took away the sin of the world. The Passover was about the salvation of the Jews from Egyptian captivity (Ex 12:1-32). Yet, it did not stop there.

If the Passover was just about the Egyptian deliverance, God would not have commanded that the Passover continue to be observed as one of the appointed times (Lev 23:1-10). The very next year after  deliverance from Egypt the Lord commanded the Passover to be observed (Num 9:1-14). This was a critical ordinance that was to last forever. Why? This was critical because it looked forward to the ultimate deliverance from bondage to sin. This is further validated by the Feast of Unleavened Bread which begins on the same day as the Passover. This feast deals with removing sin from our lives symbolized by yeast. Then we have the Feast of First Fruits which follows a few days later. Yeshua rose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, He is the first fruit:

1 Corinthians 15:20–28 (KJV)

²⁰ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ²¹ For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. ²⁴ Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. ²⁸ And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

If you read the words above and replace the name Christ with the Jewish title Messiah, this passage makes more sense. The name Christ is never translated since it is considered a name. It is a “title” that describes the office of Yeshua. The word “christos” literally means “messiah” and should be translated as such. In Him was deliverance from death to bring Life (1 Cor 15:22).

John said that Yeshua is the Life and the light of men, He is the literal “word”, creator God that became flesh (John 1:1-17). We find out that the very Torah (law) is Yeshua in the flesh (John 1:17). As Messiah Yeshua was the literal Torah that became flesh and dwelt among men. This is the “good news” that Yeshua was talking about. It wasn’t a brand new covenant. The Good news was that God had sent Yeshua, God in the flesh, to bring Torah into full effect. Instead of being a dusty old instruction book, Torah became a living vital part of every believer. Salvation became possible through Yeshua, complete and total salvation with The assurance of eternal life. This is the good news.

Christian biblical scholars have taught for years that we are no longer under law (torah) but under grace. The Bible teaches the opposite. We are under the instructions of God in a complete form through Yeshua. Otherwise what Yeshua said about Torah in the following passages would not make sense. Let’s look at a few verses on this starting with Leviticus, then going to the teachings of our Messiah about His commandments. His commandments in my opinion embrace the entire instruction of the Bible since He was the God of the Old Testament who gave the instructions:

Leviticus 26:2–13 (NET)

² You must keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord. ³ “ ‘If you walk in my statutes and are sure to obey my commandments,⁴ I will give you your rains in their time so that the land will give its yield and the trees of the field will produce their fruit.⁵ Threshing season will extend for you until the season for harvesting grapes, and the season for harvesting grapes will extend until sowing season, so you will eat your bread until you are satisfied, and you will live securely in your land. ⁶ I will grant peace in the land so that you will lie down to sleep without anyone terrifying you. I will remove harmful animals from the land, and no sword of war will pass through your land. ⁷ You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.⁸ Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. ⁹ I will turn to you, make you fruitful, multiply you, and maintain my covenant with you. ¹⁰ You will still be eating stored produce from the previous year and will have to clean out what is stored from the previous year to make room for new. ¹¹ “ ‘I will put my tabernacle in your midst and I will not abhor you.¹² I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people. ¹³ I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and caused you to walk upright.

John 14:15 (NET)

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.

John 14:21 (NET)

²¹ The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

John 15:10–14 (NET)

¹⁰ If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. ¹² My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you.¹³ No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.

What were the specific commandments of Yeshua? We have established in the entirety of the study of the Gospel of Matthew that Yeshua taught exclusively Torah. Nothing new was taught in the New Testament. Yeshua’s only really “new” teaching was the extra mile. That is not found in Torah.

We went on a Rabbit trail with this discourse, but I feel that it is important to understand that the Gospel is not a new idea. It is the good news that Torah came into full effect through Yeshua and that through Him, salvation is available to all men.

Returning to Matthew 24:14: Yeshua stated that the end will come when “this good news” is preached to the entire world. There is a huge movement in the Christian church that has taken notice of Torah. Many churches are investigating the Jewish writings and festivals and some are embracing them entirely. We are on the cutting edge of a new reform in the church as a whole. The testimony of Torah is now being preached to all Gentile peoples. This includes both the churched and unchurched.

What we do not know is how specific the Lord was in this statement. Will the Gospel that the Christian Church has been teaching be sufficient due to the billions of souls that have entered the kingdom? Will there be a correction that will turn Christians back to their roots of Torah? I do not know the answer to these questions. I do know that my job is to teach the scriptures as I see them. The practical application is up to the individual as their heart responds to God’s word and God’s Spirit. If I can cause people to think and reflect on God’s word in this study, I have been successful.

We looked at the “near” fulfillment of the passage. Now let’s extend the passage and look at what it speaks about the “far” fulfillment. This is where we see pictures of what is to happen in the end times. Keep in mind also as we read through the rest of Matthew 24 that it still has the two-part prophecy. It still focused on the “near” fulfillment through the destruction of Jerusalem and the impending persecution of the Christian church by the Romans.

The persecution began almost immediately after the resurrection of our Messiah and continued through Constantine in 325 A.D.. Here is a bit of my opinion on that era. Christians were messianic at the time. They kept the Jewish feasts and festivals and the Christian church consisted of Jew and Gentile believers who had come to know the Lord. The magnificent stories that we read concerning the early martyr’s demonstrates that their faith was complete. They put into action the words that they were taught and when delivered up to death, died with their eyes on Heaven.

Constantine blended the church and the pagan practices in an effort to join his empire together. He outlawed Jewish feasts, festivals and the Sabbath by pain of death. In their place Christians were forced to adapt with Sunday worship. They also later adapted by changing the pagan festivals to Christian festivals which renamed and reworked the old pagan festivals. This compromise probably looked good to many of the third century believers since it insured that they would escape persecution. Constantine, a priest of the Sun god, found a way to blend sun worship with Christianity. He also delivered the death blow to the Christian Church.

From this point forward in history, the Christians turned against the Jews and sought to eliminate them.  It began soon afterward when Replacement Theology was invented. Without persecution and with a willingness to deviate from the truth of scripture by abandoning Torah, the Christian church grew in safety. It grew much like a parasite which drew from the Bible, but ignored the deeper truths found in Torah. Today we have a fragmented Christian church that has untold numbers of denominations and deviant groups. The reason for the wide difference in belief systems comes down to one thing. We as a Christian church abandoned the guiding instructions found in Torah. By ignoring those instructions we have sought to fill missing Torah with man-made traditions and a wide variety of biblical interpretations. We entered a stage with Constantine of “torahlessness” (Matt 24:12).

God’s truth always comes full circle. Today there is a correction in place that is permeating Christianity as a whole. Thanks to the internet and the wide availability of information, many believers are seeing the pagan side of Christianity and turning back to Torah. Along with that turning back to Torah, persecution has began again on a small scale. Those who return to Torah will be standing against the tide of their peers and will be subject to persecution on various levels ranging from browbeating and expulsion to death.

This may seem out of the context of the passage. We will be revisiting these ideas later as we study through Matthew 24. They are important in understanding how we came to the conclusions that we have on eschatology (End Time studies).  This synopsis will also enable us to sort through error so that we can focus on possible applications of the teachings of Yeshua.

Beginning in Matthew 24:8 the duality of the prophecy begins. It appears to be describing the melting down of the church age, and in verse 9 the tribulation begins.  This is described in detail in Revelation with the breaking of the seals (Rev 6).  The first seal unleashes a time where nations are conquered. We do not know if this was in our past or in our future. We as a nation have checked off all the boxes that mark the end of a nation. In my opinion, we are living as a nation only by the grace of God. Other nations around the world have entered the same phase that we have. Time is ripe for nations to start falling like domino’s and a new world regime to set up. I do not know how long God will allow this reprieve to last. We may be looking at a few years, decades or a hundred years. When worldwide change starts taking place, we will see the tribulation ushered in quickly. Yeshua promised that nation will rise against nation, and worldwide military upheaval will take place (Matt 24:7-8). The second seal is war (Rev 6:3-4).

Seals 3-4:  Great famine and physical troubles will plague the earth. This is looking at famine created by a lack of food, natural disasters that will take place along with wild animals (Rev 6:5-8).  Think through this. If our infrastructure fails on a worldwide scale, we are in grave danger. Much of the food that feeds our nation is imported from nations around the world. Farmers in our nation are not raising food to support the nation, but rather to export as grain throughout the world. If our import/export trade stops due to wars, or natural disasters, the food that we have on the store shelves will be hoarded or used up in a matter of days. Other nations around the world have the same problem.

Wild animals has been almost a joke among eschatology students because they see them as figurative language. In America, we protect the carnivores that live in our land, with the exception of the coyote. Most of these animals have federal protection. It is very possible that they can become a threat again if our nation falls. For example, in the Ohio valley and much of the south, the black headed vulture has taken over. They attack cows giving birth and pick their eyes out, then they eat the calf that is born and the cow. Farmers are not allowed to shoot these birds since they are protected. The end result, flocks of these birds are plaguing farmers and attacking all forms of livestock. The farmers are in a dilemma. If they shoot the birds, they stand a chance of being fined by the federal government and possibly imprisoned. A few farmers are standing against the birds regardless of federal mandates. Most farmers obey the law and will not take the chance. The problem is that since everyone does not take up arms against the birds, the numbers lost are insignificant. You only get one shot at them due to their incredible eyesight and intelligence. They virtually have free reign… This is just one of the predators.

Yeshua stated that famines, and earthquakes will take place in addition to the wars that will take place (Matt 24:7). This is expounded upon in the prophecy of the seals in Revelation 6.

Matthew 24:9-10: Tribulation, death, martyrs… Believers will be slaughtered by an angry world (Rev 6:9-11). Wait a minute! What happened to the rapture? Why do we have believers going through the tribulation? These believers are not lackadaisical pew warmers who show up on Sundays and holidays, they are strong believers! They are believers who have been slaughtered for their faith and because of their stand for God. Yeshua said that believers will certainly suffer tribulation, be killed and hated by all nations (Matt 24:9). Are you starting to see a problem here?  If Yeshua said that believers will go through the tribulation… Put the pieces together. We will examine the doctrine of the rapture as we progress in this study.

The sixth Seal picks up in verse 29.

Matthew 24:11-14: In this set of verses we are going to look at the distant prophecy even though this also applied to the near prophecy. Even with the near prophecy, there is a marked difference in the message. It was not totally fulfilled with the destruction of the temple or with the fall of the Roman Empire. This is where the prophecy clearly starts looking forward to end times. False prophets and false messiahs rose in strong force at the demise of the temple. This will happen again.

The false prophets will be the order of the day.  In the Greek, the word for “arise” is very interesting, it literally means to wake up from sleep, or to recover from a disease, to awaken, lift, or stand up.  This throws a different light on this topic, these false prophets are obviously motivated by the devil, and they seem to come up out of nowhere.  It is as if they developed overnight, awakening from sleep.  The are convincing enough to be able to deceive many of the elect.  They will speak such a good message that the elect will be drawn aside.

This is where the Church has to be extremely careful. I have watched false prophets arise in churches. They are very convincing. When they rise up, the acid test of their teaching turns to the scriptures. Are they teaching pure truth? Is the truth backed up by scripture taken in context or is their teaching based upon scriptures drawn out of context? The secondary issue to look at is if they are following scripture or a popular topic of the day. False prophets look good, smell good and sound good. They look like the real thing, sound like the real thing, and often appear to be super spiritual. It is not long before they have a following in the church.

I was recently involved with a false prophet like this. He taught healing, motivated people to seek healing, and soon had the entire church on a healing focus. As one of the pastors, his call to healing soon permeated the entire leadership. The problem with his message was not that he was preaching healing. The problem was that the message he taught was not founded in scripture. It was based upon the teaching of a myriad of healing ministers who draw a large following in hyper-pentecostal circles. One of the tests of a prophet is “does his prophecy come to pass?” In his case, he prophesied healing over a very visible person. Declared her healed and convinced the congregation of her healing. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be true. This is where diligence and testing the scriptures is a vital part of church business. When a person rises up teaching a new doctrine or expounding upon an old church teaching, test his words and see if they are true.

The congregation is important in this aspect. Most believers know the basics of Christianity. They understand about salvation and understand that Yeshua is their Messiah. If they never go beyond this truth, they stand gullible for false prophets. The congregation of believers must educate themselves, especially in our modern age. It is time that we get up and become active in studying the scriptures so that we have a clear understanding of what they teach.

Part of this activity is to move out of the pews and become involved in some way in church ministry. As the end times rapidly approach, we will be seeing more of this take place naturally. Why? Soon churches will become targets for persecution. When that happens believers will become involved in small gatherings in people’s homes and other in other hidden places. Small groups will utilize the gifts or abilities of every person in the group in order to function properly. Large churches thrive on having an audience of believers who never really become involved but rather attend church. These people often support the church financially, listen intently, and act as an audience of observers.

Deep rooting in the word does not take place since these people never step out to exercise their understanding in faith. In the modern age, this audience will stay as long as the truth they hear sounds right. As long as their ears receive truth that sounds good and makes them feel good, they will stay with the church. The scriptures speak of this:

2 Timothy 4:1–4 (NET)

¹ I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction. ³ For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.⁴ And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand they will turn aside to myths.

As believers it is time that we step out of this mold and move into our intended function. Each believer must study the scriptures intently so that deception will not catch us unaware. Studying the truth has consequences. Church members who study the scriptures very quickly develop a sensitivity for the truth. False prophets who rise up are evaluated by these members and soon found to be defective. Modern day church members have one of two options that they will exercise in this situation. First, they may fight against the false prophet and seek to expose him. Second, they may leave the congregation to seek one that is more biblically minded. Both are good options. I often refer to this as “voting with your body”.

In the church that I was involved in, attendance dropped drastically in the months that this false prophet rose to power. New people came into the church, but few were retained. I opted for option one and stood firmly against the false prophet. I evaluated his teachings and approached the leadership with my findings. After fighting against him for several years, and seeing his prophecy prove to be false, I moved to option two and left the congregation. I finally had to acknowledge defeat since I was fighting against the entire leadership and many members of the church.

During the end times, safety will be found in seeking out groups of believers that are true to the scriptures. False prophets that dominate society will draw the masses. The measuring point of what they teach will return to the scriptures. Do they teach the scriptures in context? Yeshua said that there will be a time of lawlessness. We discussed this earlier as torahlessness. Which means their teaching will not be based on the instructions of the Bible. As Paul stated above, their teachings will be based upon the desires of the people to hear new things.

Matthew 24:12: Torahlessness has a profound impact on Christians. As believers step away from the true word, they will soon stop experiencing and exercising “agape” love. This is the love that gives without expecting anything in return (1 Cor 13). There were several words that translated from Greek to the English word love. This word is unique and focuses upon totally unselfish love which does not expect reciprocation. It is safe to say that in most cases, this love is only possible through the power of God. When people abandon Torah, which is God’s instructions, then the love that is a result of the relationship with God grows cold.

What is the true word? Through the ages Christianity has sought to distance itself from the Jewish scriptures. One of the greatest errors that has been made by Christian teachers is to say that the Old Testament or the “Law” has been done away with. It has been taught that we are no longer under this law but under “grace”. The result of this teaching is a new teaching was developed which was based almost exclusively upon the New Testament. This was compounded by integrating the philosophies of Socrates and Plato into the doctrines of the church. Later, many pagan traditions also found their way in and were masked as biblical holidays. The reason for this diversion is simple. Christianity left the guiding instructions of the Old Testament behind. We became a ship without a rudder floating freely at will.

The true word that I am teaching is truth drawn from the entire Bible. I am not including any extra-biblical word or tradition to it. The writings of the great Christian theologians are not scripture. Neither is the Talmud or the writings of the Jewish sages. We need to throw off the bondage of tradition and return to the scriptures.

Many years ago Christian reformers took up this same call by declaring “sola scriputra”, which is Latin for “Scripture alone”. The idea was perfect in its intention, but never was fully implemented. This call struck the chord of truth in people and brought great reforms. However, they did not turn to scripture alone. They justified their actions with the scripture. The end result is a hodge-podge of teachings that are a blend of traditions of Christianity, pagan teachings and biblical teachings. Sola Scriptura, although claimed by many denominations has never been fully implemented.  It was never allowed to correct the existing error.

Until Christianity embraces and begins to understand Torah, we will never fully understand the scriptures. We cannot understand the “Last Supper” without understanding Passover. On the same token, we cannot understand the death and resurrection of our Messiah fully until we understand Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of First Fruits. We cannot understand worship until we understand the Sabbath. All the Jewish feasts and festivals are vital to understanding our salvation through Yeshua. I do not believe we can remotely comprehend God until we get a handle on the Old Testament teachings about YHVH (translated as LORD in most Bibles).

Torahlessness has increased in the church since we have left our base of Torah. This message is not a popular one because it calls into question all teachings of the Christian Church. Yet, Yeshua said it will take place, and it has. I promise you, if you take up this burden and start seeking to understand the scriptures, it will not be long to where you will stand at odds with most Christians. We like our error and absolutely do not want it challenged. Christianity loves the idea that we are no longer under the instructions of God (under law).

Agape love, which is what we started discussing in these verses is an unselfish love that comes from God. It gives without expecting any recourse or reciprocation. This love will return when Christianity embraces the full understanding of the scriptures and fully embraces the Messiah. At that time there will be a burning desire in the heart of every believer to reach out to the sinner and redirect them to the Messiah.

I wrote the following many years ago when I originally commented on this passage, my focus has changed but the truth remains:

How can a Christian’s love grow cold?  After all, agape love is a love that is imparted to us by the Father; it is not a natural love that we naturally come by.  Phileo love is a brotherly love that is given toward each other, eros love is a love that is totally sexual in nature, but agape love is one which is beyond human capacity, it gives without expecting a return on the investment.  The only way that a Christian’s agape love can grow cold is if he is not tapped into the Lord.  In John 15:5, Jesus said He is the vine, so long as we are grafted into that vine and draw life from Him, we will display the love of God.  Once we abandon Jesus, the life that He sends through our spirits will grow cold.  There are several reasons that cause this, the main one is when sin is in our lives.  When sin enters a Christian’s life, it severs the relationship between him and God.  Before fellowship between the Christian and God can be re-established, the errant Christian must repent of his sin and confess to God that sin.  1 John 1:9 says that God is waiting to hear the confession, which is simply our agreeing with Him that we sinned.  No argument, no justification of the sin, just simply calling it by its name, sin.  Without going off the topic, when believers start following false prophets who market humanism instead of Christianity, we sin by departing from fellowship with God for a system which is based upon human understanding, upon the devil.  Light and darkness cannot mix, therefore if a Christian turns from the light to the darkness, his love will grow cold.  That does not stop him from being a Christian.  God will discipline those who turn from Him so that they will repent and return.  Only in the last days, there will be little time, and great turmoil.

The addendum to this is that now I understand sin is basic deviation from the instructions of God. Turning from sin means turning back to God’s instructions. Back to God’s Torah…

Matthew 24:13-14 This is where enduring to the end becomes important. Yeshua taught Torah through this entire book of Matthew. Everything except for the “extra mile” was drawn directly from Torah. Enduring to the end speaks simply of waiting out the error and embracing the truth.

We discussed the Gospel in the “near” fulfillment of the prophecy above. The idea of the Gospel is simple. There was a promised Messiah that came to deliver salvation. Yeshua’s name when translated from Hebrew is “Salvation”. He came to set us free from the penalty of sin. He redeemed us according to all the rules found in Torah. This message is preached to a degree. Many millions of people have responded to the call of Jesus. Christianity has done an excellent job at bringing people to Jesus. They have failed in teaching people the gospel which encompasses understanding from the Old and New Testaments.

Today we are in a time of change. A battle cry has risen in many churches across the world that demand a return to the Jewish scriptures, feasts and festivals. It is a passion that is creeping into every church. It is time that we as believers in every denomination around the world return to the basic scriptures for our truth. This is not a new teaching, it has always been there.

This section turned into a sermon of sorts as I railed away at the basis of Christianity. My apologies for that. I could not figure out a way to expound on the words to bring full understanding unless I expounded upon our understanding. I hope that in this small thumbnail sketch that it has tweaked your thinking to draw you to understand that the time for reformation is now. It is time that we turn to the scriptures fully. It is time that we return to Torah.

What is important is that this message of the good news must be preached to the entire world before Yeshua will return. The end of all times waits desperately for us to spread the good news.  The testimony that Yeshua is Salvation must be taught to all nations. What is the end? That is described in the following scriptures.

Matthew 24:15-28 Before we get started on this section, let’s take a trip back through history. Daniel prophesied that seventy weeks would bring the abomination that brings desolation (Dan 9:24-27). The near fulfillment of this prophecy took place with Antiochus Epiphanes. Here is a quote that sums it up well:

“Antiochus IV, 175–164 BC, was the eighth ruler of the Seleucid (Syrian) empire, formed after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. The name means “opposer.” Antiochus took on the additional surname Epiphanes, “manifest,” to indicate he was the manifestation of a deity. He required his subjects to worship him as Olympian Zeus. Antiochus intended to unify the empire by imposing Hellenistic culture on all inhabitants. This policy brought him into sharp conflict with the Jews of Palestine. He is infamous for establishing pagan worship in the Jerusalem Temple, the “abomination of desolation” referred to by Daniel. His relations with the Jews are recorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees, and prophetically seen in Daniel 8:9–25, 23–25 and 11:21–34.”^[8]

“In 167 Antiochus sent his tax collector Apollonius against Jerusalem with 22,000 men. They attacked on the Sabbath day and killed most of the male population (the “starry host,” “mighty men” and “holy people”). The women and children were captured and enslaved. Jerusalem’s walls were demolished and a Selucid military garrison took up residence in the “Akra,” the precise location of which is uncertain. All Jewish rites were outlawed and so the daily sacrifice was taken away from the Prince of the host (God) as Daniel 8:11 states. Worse than that, worship of Olympian Zeus was instituted in the Temple and “the place of His sanctuary was brought low” (Dn 8:11). Since Antiochus claimed to be Zeus incarnate, he literally set himself up “to be as great as the Prince of the host,” as predicted in Daniel 8:11. To commit the ultimate desecration, on the 25^th of Kislev (December), 167 BC, a pig was sacrificed on the altar to Zeus that had been erected over the altar of burnt offering in the Temple. Scripture refers to this as the “abomination that causes desolation” (Dn 11:31; 12:11). Offerings were made on the 25^th of each month in celebration of the birthday of Epiphanes, so the sacrifices were actually offered to him.”^[9]

I am quoting this because it clearly shows a parallel between what had happened in the “near” fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy and in the “far” fulfillment of the prophecy. A second way of figuring Daniel’s seventy weeks is to consider them as weeks is to consider them as “sabbatical” years. Calculating them in this manner lands the time of fulfillment directly in Yeshua’s time. Walvoord made this statement:

“1. At the end of the 490 years God will finish the transgression of Israel. The verb “to finish” (kālā’) means “to bring something to an end.” Israel’s sin of disobedience will be brought to an end at Christ’s second coming when she repents and turns to Him as her Messiah and Savior. Then she will be restored to the land and blessed, in answer to Daniel’s prayer.

“In Old Testament days the highpoint in Israel’s festival calendar was the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). On that day the nation assembled before God, acknowledged her sin, and offered blood sacrifices to cover that sin. Though that sacrifice covered Israel’s sin for 12 months, it did not permanently remove that sin (Heb. 10:1–3). It was necessary that a sacrifice be offered God that would permanently remove all the accumulated sins. This sacrifice was offered by Jesus Christ who by His death made payment for all sins that had not been removed in the past (cf. Rom. 3:25). So His atoning work on the cross has made possible His future “finishing” of Israel’s transgression.”^[10]

Yeshua suffered, died and rose from the dead fulfilling Daniel 9:24. The Messiah was born, lived and ministered until shortly after His resurrection. Then He went up to heaven. This is where the prophecy gets interesting. Jerusalem was destroyed completely in 70 A.D. We covered that in the previous pages. Let’s compare that destruction to the desecration by Antiochus above:

1. Jewish rites were outlawed
2. Daily sacrifice ended
3. Pagan worship was blended with temple worship

Antiochus did not destroy the temple completely though. After the destruction of Jerusalem, almost the exact same scenario took place. There were two differences. First, Antiochus offered a pig on the altar to desecrate it. The Romans completely destroyed it. Second, Antiochus did not completely destroy the temple, the Romans did completely destroy the temple. They also melted down the fixtures and carried off the gold. Destruction was complete. From that time until now all sacrifices have stopped.

This entire section had an immediate fulfillment with the destruction of Jerusalem. Yet, many believe that there is yet another distant fulfillment to come. There is a great effort in place to find a way to rebuild the Temple. This has been a political and logistical nightmare due to many factors. Once the temple is restored, temple sacrifice will again be instituted. Many believe that this will set up the conditions for the great tribulation that is coming.

When considering the context of the passage, this understanding makes sense. Think through it with me for a moment. When the temple is restored this is going to change the dynamics of things. False messiah’s will try to set themselves up as the messiah promised from scripture. Remember, almost all of the Jewish people are still looking for the Messiah. They do not realize or understand that Yeshua is the Messiah. The deceiver will have a golden opportunity to put false messiah’s in power. This is also necessary for the two witnesses who will prophecy since the temple is their area of ministry (Rev 11). Once the temple is rebuilt, it also has the potential to be defiled one more time. Many believe that because of the prophecy that Yeshua made, there will be another unholy sacrifice made on the altar by the antichrist.

God works in a mysterious way when prophecy is involved.  I went over what happened at A. D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans which we covered earlier in this study.  Reading about the trouble that is coming to Jerusalem seems to have been completely fulfilled at that time.  When the Romans placed a siege upon Jerusalem, food was very scarce, even to the point where people had stooped to cannibalism according to Josephus.  It would have been a good time to run far and fast away from Jerusalem.  You can be sure that the early Christians thought these verses had been fulfilled in their entirety.

There were a few things that did not take place at Jerusalem. Although the complete destruction of Jerusalem was horrific, it is debatable whether it was the greatest tribulation that took place in the world (Matt 24:21). The “nor ever will” is eye opening. This means that every tribulation on the Jews that has taken place through history must be considered. I am certain that many, many more people were slaughtered during the Holocaust than were during the destruction of Jerusalem. Along that same reasoning, nothing in history compares to the brutality slaughter and evil actions that were leveled against the Jewish people during the Holocaust.  When the great tribulation comes during the end times, things will get much worse than anything in history.

Rebuilding the Temple is a critical landmark for the coming tribulation. I believe that this will take place prior to the tribulation beginning. I could be wrong completely on this though. On that same token we will see a repeat of the symptoms that plagued the people at Jerusalem.

Many false prophets will say that they are the Christ.  Satan will give them extraordinary power to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform many other magnificent signs. This is evident with the two beasts found in Revelation 13. When you compare that with the prophecy of Yeshua that the false messiah’s will have the ability to show great miracles, it must be recognized that these false messiah’s will look like the real thing (Matt 24:24). Satan has the power to heal. Those who consider spiritual healing to be an endorsement of a great teacher should be careful here. Many of the sicknesses that Yeshua healed in the New Testament took place after casting out demons. Miracles may appear to be very good, but they can also be very deceptive.

Matthew 24:27 Jesus warned us in advance.  He will not come to earth as before, He will not return as a man.  Jesus will not be preaching in pulpits, and performing signs in the local churches or on television for that matter.  He will not be having one on one conversations with people in their homes teaching and mentoring them to learn His truth as He did in the Gospels.  He will not be renting out stadiums and having conferences to teach great crowds His truth.  He will not be feeding thousands of people as He did in the Gospels.  In short, if a man claims to be the Messiah, don’t believe him, Jesus won’t return to earth as a man would; He will return with power!

I do not think we can predict the meaning of this verse until we see Yeshua come again. Yeshua said that His return will be like a bolt of lightning. We understand today that the bolt of lightning carries incredible power. No one fully understands the amount of power or the range of the power of a lightning bolt. This one factor is hotly debated among many today. In that same manner, in my opinion, no one can tell the method that Yeshua will use to return. One thing is certain, everyone will know He has returned.

Today there is a doctrine that must be called into question. This is the doctrine of the rapture. It is very obvious from Yeshua’s statements so far that the elect or believers will certainly be going through this tribulation. If this were not true, they would not stand the possibility of being deceived (Matt 24:24). Also from this section, it is clear that the tribulation must be shortened because of the incredible death and devastation that will take place. If it were to continue, all flesh would be killed (Matt 24:22). To this point believers are part of the tribulation. Revelation carries the same message through all the judgments. Believers are the target of the enemy. They go through the tribulation. With that in mind, let’s look at Yeshua’s conclusion of this passage and the way that He will return.

Matthew 24:28 Imagine complete devastation. Man has reached a point where brutality and death will be marked by corpses littering the earth. Revelation speaks of a great feast for the vultures that God has ordained (Rev 19:17-21). This takes place when Yeshua returns and defeats the antichrist.

Matthew 24:29-31 Note the words “but immediately after the tribulation”.  This is the hardest evidence that the rapture will not take place.  In these three verses we have the second coming of Christ described, along with what may be considered a rapture of sorts. This rapture is not a rapture at all, but a “gathering”…  Those who hold to the pre-trib rapture will say that this is a second rapture, rapturing the saints that were saved during the tribulation.  I disagree.

God has redeemed His people, and He has fashioned us for spiritual battle.  From the front cover to the back cover of the Bible the main focus is on spiritual and literal war.  Why would God change His method just to protect His children from participating in one of the greatest spiritual wars of all time?  We are already winners in Christ; our arsenal is loaded with weapons that are guaranteed to defeat the enemy, if we learn to use them.  I believe that we will fight the spiritual battles in the tribulation, we will see the great judgments of God as He rains them down on man, and we will be able to testify that our God is performing as He predicted, leading untold numbers of people to know Him.  We will either be killed for our witness, or if we are fortunate, we will live to the end and join the Lord in the end.

Revelation sheds tremendous light on this subject. After the vultures gather to feed on the corpses of those killed during the defeat of the antichrist some interesting things take place.

This is where understanding the feasts and festivals of the Jews becomes vitally important. When Yeshua returns to earth, it will be at the time of Passover. He will come to have a Passover seder or “marriage supper of the lamb” with His elect (Rev 19:7-10).  Two things quickly follow.

Immediately following the Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During this feast all evil and compromise is sought out and thrown from the house. This is symbolized by throwing out the yeast. Yeshua brings His armies of angels to kill and destroy all who are not believers (Rev 19:11-16). This is immediately followed by the feast of the vultures (Rev 19:17-19). No one who stands against God will be left alive. The beast and false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire (Rev 19:20-21). House cleaning would not be complete without throwing out the yeast, or the cause for the rebellion of man. Satan is bound in the great abyss for a thousand years (Rev 20:1-13).

The next thing on the agenda after the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the Feast of First Fruits. This takes place where Yeshua raises up all the believers who were slaughtered during the tribulation. They reign with Him for the thousand years (Rev 20:14). The rest of the believers who were not slaughtered during the tribulation will not rise until the end of the Millennial reign (Rev 20:15). This is very clear. There will be no rapture in the form that modern theologians promise. The only raising of the dead will take place when Yeshua raises those who were martyred during the tribulation. These will reign with Him, no one else.

Immediately after the Millennial reign is the great throne judgments. This is where the actual “rapture” takes place. Daniel speaks of this an rapture of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Those who are righteous will be raised to glory, while those who are unrighteous will be raised to their final judgment (Dan 12:1-3). This is the second rapture that will take place (Rev 20:11-15). The first rapture is the raising of the martyrs. The second is the raising of all mankind to judgment. After this takes place there will be a new heaven and a new earth, this continues to the end of the Book of Revelation. With that thumbnail sketch, let’s return to Matthew.

The return of the Messiah will encompass all that we have discussed in the previous verses. He will come and destroy all the powers that stand against Him (Matt 24:29). All the tribes of the entire earth will be called into judgment (Matt 24:30). He will also gather His elect from the entire world in the final resurrection (Matt 24:31).

Matt 24: 31 This has caused quite a bit of confusion over the years. Many rapturist preach that this is the time of the great rapture. Earlier we discussed that Yeshua will come at the Passover. Then fulfill the spring festivals on His return. I base this on the return that is described in Revelation.

Now we are looking at a second part of the return. This is the return for judgment. We discussed this in the earlier concerning throne judgments. There are many unknown’s here since we are dealing with prophecy which deals with figurative language and literal language. We know for certain that the gathering will take place on the Feast of Trumpets, which lands in the fall. That leaves two distinct time periods that we are looking at the Return of the Messiah.

Considering the language of Revelation 20:11-15, I believe that the gathering at the Feast of Trumpets will be following the Millennial reign.  Although, it could take place just prior to the Millennial reign. Either way, it fits the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets is a festival where the shofar is blown to announce both the new year and the new reign of the King.

If it takes place just prior to the Millennial Reign, we have a situation where six months have passed since the return of the Messiah in a military role. This is an interesting position since it allows for every Jewish Feast and Festival to be fulfilled by the coming Messiah just prior to His stepping into the kingly role of the Millennial Reign.

If the gathering takes place after the Millennial Reign, it is a second cleaning that takes place. This one gathers the living and the dead as we discussed above. It is the judgment of all mankind just prior to the creation of the new heaven and new earth. This is consistent with Daniel’s prophecy concerning the rising of the righteous and unrighteous (Dan 12:1-3). In this situation, God gathers together all of the people of the earth, living and dead in order to evaluate them before creating a new heaven and new earth. This is a judgment for the ones who stand against God. It is also an evaluation of the ones who stood with God, a righteous judgment. These will enter in the new heaven and new earth where Yeshua will be King.

Either way of looking at the calling or gathering by the trumpet/shofar comes to a similar conclusion. The Feast of Trumpets begins the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah which is the “Day of Judgment”. Do you see how this is all tying together? Rosh Hashanah literally means “Head of the Year”. This is where the Coronation of the King takes place.

The Feast of Trumpets begins Rosh Hashanah, head of the year, day of judgment and coronation of the King. Let’s jump forward a few verses since this concept is tied specifically to the Feast of Trumpets.

Matt 24:36 The Feast of Trumpets starts the two-day festival of Rosh Hashanah. Why is it two days?  There is a Jewish saying that between the months, no man knows the day or the hour. The Jewish calendar is regulated by the moon. When the moon darkens completely, there are two days where they wait expectantly for the moon to shed its light again. Once the first sliver of the moon shows, a new month is born. The festival of Rosh Hashanah is a two-day festival that starts at the end of the month of Elul. The festival is the start of the month of Tishri. This is because it was impossible to know if the month stated on the first day after the moon darkened or on the second day. Tishri 1 begins the Ten Days of Awe where all men consider their sin. This is followed on Tishri 10, the Day of Atonement. Everything points Yeshua becoming King, coming into power and drawing His subjects to Himself. While we are on this topic, let’s forward a bit to Thessalonians. The Complete Jewish Bible gives the best translation of this:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (CJB)

¹³ Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people ¹⁴ do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. ¹⁵ When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; ¹⁷ then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.

Revelation 20:4–5 (KJV)

⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Now, let’s consider the information that we have at hand. The Thessalonian “rapture” if you want to call it that, will come at the extreme end of the world as we know it. We have two clues that help us set the time period. The first clue is that it is a resurrection of all, every single believer who has died. Let’s go to Revelation to see more definition on this. We know that the only ones raised during the first gathering of the first fruits is just prior to the millennial reign of the Messiah (Rev 20:4). People do not read the following verse which puts a qualifier on the time. The rest of the dead will not come to life until the end of the millennial reign (Rev 20:5)! Therefore, this resurrection that is spoken of in Thessalonians cannot take place until after the millennial reign. Let’s return to Matthew now.

This is my thinking, I’ve been rethinking eschatology since embracing the Messianic ideas.  When we bring into account the truth of the Feasts and Festivals then consider end time prophecies, it throws an entirely different spin on them… Am I right? Only time will tell, this is my best guess at the current time. We know a few things at this point. First, believers will certainly go through the tribulation. Second, The Messiah will return at the end of the tribulation. Third, those who are martyred during the tribulation will reign with the Messiah. Fourth, the worldwide “rapture” or gathering of the believers will take place at the end of the Millennium. Let’s keep this in mind as we continue on with Yeshua’s prophecy.

Matt 24:32-33 Fig trees speak of the sweetness of prosperity (Judges 9:11).  The fruit of the fig tree is a blossom that does not open. It speaks of both prosperity and selfishness. With this in mind, we have a different scenario than just a fig tree ripening. It is speaking of a time of great worldwide prosperity. Along with a great worldwide selfishness, or an egocentric society. Nothing could describe our society today better. Of all the times in history, social media establishes that the attitude across the world is “it’s all about me”. Or possibly, “I am the center of my universe”. This time of prosperity is marked with selfishness. It is marked with a narcissistic attitude of egocentric people. God has been forced out of our lives by many other concerns. I wonder how long He will tolerate this.

Matthew 24:33-34 The fig tree is figurative for egocentric prosperity. It is also figurative for the maturity of the prophecies that Yeshua has made in this chapter. In both cases, we could certainly be very close to the end and to His return. Only time will tell. When God determines that the attitude of the world is focused upon self and has turned inward instead of to Him, the last generation will see Him come.

Matt 24:35 Yeshua stated that heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not. In our study of this chapter we have discussed the end times. At the end of it, heaven and earth will certainly pass away to be replaced by a new heaven and new earth. We have discussed this at length. We have also discussed that just prior to this taking place Yeshua will gather His people.

Rest assured, the tribulation is coming soon. For the Christian will not be a dark and dreary time as it is for the world, because we will know that our Messiah is coming to take us home at the end.  We have hope, we have assurance, and we know our Messiah.  Today our focus should be to learn His words so that when His Word, the Bible, is forcibly removed from us, we can continue to teach others.

Matthew 24:36-37 We have discussed this as the time between the months above.

Matthew 24:38-41; Luke 17:30-37 As a preface to this, I would like to quote from Erik Kraig, a good friend of mine and a mentor who has recently passed away. On the discussion of this passage, he sent me the following comment:

“Joe, Thanks. Matthew 24:28 – compare Luke 17:30-37. This is not the Rapture. Those who are taken here are those who will be judged. Note that they will be taken to a place where the birds will feast on them. This will happen on the day when the Lord is revealed (Luke 17:30). Thankfully, Matthew 24:31 is not the Rapture. It is the gathering of those who believed during the Tribulation and who survived to the end. Just as the non-believers are gathered, so are the believers. Note that the Rapture is to the Lord’s presence apart from the earth. In this gathering the earth is part of the scene. I agree. We will be in the battle. Note Revelation 19:14. We won’t do anything because Jesus defeats them with the sword which protrudes from His mouth (Rev. 19:15). God does not only know the future, He determines the future. The things that take place at the end do not happen by accident. They take place because the Lord pre-determined that they will. It is His plan. The when of the Rapture is not as important as the fact that it will happen. I believe strongly in a Pre-tribulational Rapture. But I am not omniscient. Still, on balance, I hold to the view I hold because it fits the evidence better than a Post-tribulational Rapture. (Note: in a Post-trib. scheme, where do the believers come from who populate the  earth during the Millennium? If they are all raptured at the end, no one is left in natural bodies to pro-create.) IHG, Erik”

I quoted Erik’s comment for a couple of reasons. First, Erik realized that the doctrine of the pre-tribulational rapture was severely flawed. Secondly, many who read these verses think that they are supporting the rapture. They clearly are not supporting any rapture that anyone would want to be a part of.

The characters involved in this gathering are not the ones that you want to be a part of. They are of the same mind as the world prior to the flood. They are also of the same mind as Lot’s wife (Lk 17:32). Luke records the idea by saying that those who seek to keep their life will lose it, those who lose their life will preserve it (Lk 17:33). The ones who are taken in this judgment are the ones who are of the same character of the pre-flood people. They are living life, living in prosperity and selfishness. Then the flood took them away. Look at who was taken in the scenario of the flood:

Matthew 24:38–41 (KJV)

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.

The ones taken were the ones who stood against God. Matthew did not make a logical error when he recorded the words of Yeshua. Those taken in this “rapture” are the ungodly. Luke noted the selfishness of men when he advised not to take worldly possessions and the desire of man to hold on to life (Lk 17:31-33). Worldly possessions represent the things that we cling to instead of God. Let’s jump to Luke for a moment to see the attitude:

Luke 17:33 (KJV)

³³ Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

The Greek language is interesting in this passage. The word for “life” in the first instance is the Greek word psyche. Normally, the word for life in the Greek is zoe. Translators have opted for the traditional translation of this passage rather than changing the word to fit the original language. This has caused some confusion. This error is made in every Bible I have looked at. At the least the translation of  “psyche” should be “soul”. At best, it should have been transliterated since the same meaning is carried by the modern word “psyche”.

On that same token, the second word “life” is not even in the original language, it is implied (Lk 17:33). The language of the verse then states that “whoever loses will preserve it”. In the character study of Lot’s wife, she looked back at what she lost in a desire to preserve or hold on to her former life. She was turned to salt. Her life was lost since she desired her former life. Those who preserved their life walked away from the previous life. Let’s return to Matthew.

Luke gave us clarification on what “life” was being spoken about. Matthew speaks about the idea of psyche by saying that people were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. This attitude is that they were preserving their psyche (Matt 24:38). Those taken in the passage are the ones who stand against God and stand for themselves.

This word is not speaking about preserving physical life, but rather preserving our soul. The attitude is that of preserving our ideologies, worldviews, how we approach life and our method of living. This is on the opposite end of the spectrum than saying that we are avoiding death. The idea from the English of “save his life” gives the idea of avoiding death. This is not what is stated in the Greek language. The Words of Yeshua clearly point to the person’s way of thinking, his psyche.

Everyone who opposes God will be taken away. When does this take place? If we were to put this on the timeline, it will most likely fit just prior to the Millennial Reign of the Messiah. That places it post-tribulational and pre-millennial. Why? As we discussed earlier, just prior to the Millennial reign, the Messiah will remove all the sin from the world. Everyone who opposes Him will be killed. The only ones entering into the Millennium will be believers.

When we speak of being willing to lose our psyche, we are speaking of being willing to turn loose of the egocentric lifestyle to embrace God’s direction for life. The prophecies through the Bible speak of the Millennium as a time when Torah, the feasts and festivals of the Jews will become the focus of life. We will not be practicing Easter and Christmas. We will be putting into practice all the Jewish festivals and the Sabbath will become the day of worship. Everything that we as Christians have built our lives upon will be lost.

Matthew 24:42-51 Parable of the sensible slave: This parable speaks of the faithful believers who cling to the Lord and follow His ways. Each of us are “slaves” of the Lord since we willingly follow Him and allow Him to direct our lives. Those who are unwilling slaves stand in opposition to the Lord according to this parable. On that same token God has put all of us in charge of His possessions since He owns the entire universe. Every worldly possession is surrendered at physical death. God is the ultimate owner of His creation.

Yeshua encourages each believer to endure to the end. We are to follow His instructions until He returns. On that same token, we have no idea when He will return. When He does return, all the unworthy slaves will be removed and thrown into hell (Matt 24:51). This is a sobering thought. This is the reason that we are studying the Bible. It is a time to call into question every activity and use the Bible as our measure for life. Then when He returns, we will be found ready to follow Him.

In closing, I want to clarify one thing. I am not talking about losing salvation. Those who are not slaves of God are in opposition to God. Those who have committed their lives to the Messiah have eternal life. The sad truth is that praying the “sinner’s prayer” does not bring salvation. Acting upon the sinner’s prayer is what brings salvation. When we turn our lives over to Yeshua and allow Him to become master of our lives, we are given eternal life. The “sinner’s prayer” comes at the cost of surrender. The righteous slaves in the parable are doing the master’s will. They are not focused upon following their own agenda’s. The faithful and sensible slave is the one who is putting God’s instructions into practice. I believe that all true believers have an driving desire to put God’s truth into practice in their lives.

This closes out our study of Matthew 24. All comments are welcomed.

^[1] Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 742.

[2] Ibid.s

^[3] Philip Schaff and David Schley Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1910), 394.

^[4] Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 741.

^[5] Ibid. 741–742.

^[6] Ibid. 750–751.

[7] Philip Schaff and David Schley Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1910), 395–396.

^[8] Brian G. Wood. Bible and Spade 11 (1998): 86.

^[9] Ibid. 87–88.

^[10] J. Dwight Pentecost, “Daniel,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1361–1362.