The End of the Age  Pt.2       Mt.24:4-13    1-14-01

we are about to explore a topic that is very dear to the heart of our Lord.

1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 
2"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
3As 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?" 

In vv.4-14 Jesus takes them from beginning to end.

4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 
6You 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. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. 
MK -5Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6Many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,' and will deceive many. 
7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

LK - 8He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,' and, `The time is near.' Do not follow them. 
9When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." 
10Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 

9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 
14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then will come the end. (the word, “end” is last in the Gr.) 

Warning about deception
4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 
How many of you have ever felt any anxiety regarding the end?  The Bible talks about persecution, tribulation, suffering, judgment, etc.  They sound like dangerous times, and it would be normal for a person to have some fear in his heart when he thinks about the possibility that he might have to endure those times.

But if we are to have fear regarding that time, what should we be most afraid of?  The most dangerous part for us, the biggest risk, the most deadly peril is not the 100 lb hailstones, or the fighting or suffering.  Jesus’ biggest concern for us was deception.  He was most concerned that we not be deceived.

How many of you have a sense that you may well be deceived regarding the end?

5 For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 
So many will be deceived, but none of us are at risk?
The word many appears 4 times just in this little section from v.4-12.

Does that strike you as dangerous?  Jesus, speaking to the men who wrote the NT, men He personally educated, “Watch out!!!  Many will be deceived – watch out that you aren’t!!”
4 "Watch out that no one deceives you. 
5 For many will come in my name… and will deceive many. 
11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Again in v.24
24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. 
10 At that time many will turn away from the faith

And we sit back and say, “The Apostles needed to hear that, but it’s not an issue for me.”

“But doesn’t v.24 imply that the elect are in no danger?”  We will get to that.  But for now you should understand that these warnings were directed to Peter, James, John and Andrew.  These are warnings that are directed to true believers.

Another problem we face is when we do admit that there is a danger of deception, we tend to blow it off as unimportant.  “Who cares if I’m deceived about the end times?  No one really knows.  It’s a lot of guess work.”  

Most Christians have a sense that if they are deceived about salvation, that’s serious.  If they are deceived about Scripture, that’s really bad.  If they are deceived about the doctrine of God the Father, or Jesus or the Spirit, that’s awful.

But if I’m wrong on my view of end times – no big deal.

Why are we so quick to minimize or set aside the strong warnings of our Lord?  We say we want guidance for the future, we say we want to know what’s around the bend so we can plan, we constantly pray for God’s leading (since He can see the future and we can’t).  And so He looks into the future and says, WATCH OUT FOR THIS!  and we say, “ho hum.  That doesn’t apply to me.  I’m in a different dispensation.”

Go through your NT someday and pick out all the warnings you can find.  Write them down on a piece of paper, and I will show you a major, respected Christian leader who strongly teaches that that warning doesn’t apply to us.

Want to know how you can live in light of prophecy?  Take the warnings seriously.

When the Lord gave warnings this strong about being deceived, it amazes me that people are willing to attend a church where the teaching is shallow just because they have more friends there, or they like the music, or…

That is very dangerous.  Why would a Christian do that when the Lord Himself repeatedly warned us that the danger of widespread deception is right around the corner?

You may be thinking, “How could that happen?  How could the false Christs be persuasive at all to a true Christian?  I can’t imagine anyone who would be able to convince me that he is the Christ.”

That’s how I felt until I thought through the scene of this passage.  Here are some things to keep in mind:
* How are people deceived in spiritual matters?   Generally it’s not through persuasive, complicated, logical arguments.  Usually it simply happens when a person comes to a point when he wants to believe the lie.  

A Christian might go for years saying, “No question about it, abortion is murder!”  But then, suddenly he finds himself in a difficult situation.  
Maybe he falls to temptation, and his girlfriend is pregnant.  
Maybe a married couple discovers their baby will be deformed or diseased.
Maybe a person is surrounded by a group of friends who all strongly feel that abortion is OK, and that constant pressure pushes a person to wish he could agree with his friends.

Then the pro-abortion arguments suddenly sound a little more persuasive to that person.

How many of you have gone for a time thinking the Bible clearly condemned something, then experienced pressure, so that believing that way became a major difficulty, and then found yourself becoming a little more sympathetic to the arguments that you used to regard as ridiculous?

The reason so many people will be deceived by the false Christs is they will have reasons to want to believe that those men are the Messiah.

For one thing, the ravages of war can be very wearying.  And the person who can bring an end to it can be a tremendous hero.

Think of what it would be like to be ravaged by war over a long period of time.   We know nothing of that in our culture.  We think of the Gulf War.  We watch it on TV for a couple days, then we are on to the next amusement.  

But sooner or later we will be on the losing end of a war.  
Imagine a major war that went on for years.  
Imagine most of the men you know having been killed in the war.  
Imagine not high gas prices, but literal starvation all around you, because resources are gone.   Imagine being so weary of it, and so tired and heartbroken, and desperately wanting it to be over – and feeling that way for 2 years, or 3, or 5…
Imagine getting word that the war is looking like a losing effort to a vicious enemy.

No imagine a leader bringing peace – a leader who is a Christian!  A leader who is pro-Israel.   A leader whom you trust.  He has led thousands of people to the Lord.  He preaches the gospel with power and conviction.  

He has helped you in your life.  You have learned so much from him.  You trust him.  He is a kind, likable, gentle man.  

Now imagine being surrounded by all the Christian friends you respect pressuring you to accept this man.  Imagine your pastor thinks this guy is a huge hero.  Your parents love him.  Your spouse thinks he’s the greatest.

Now imagine that if you just go along, life is much, much easier.  But if you insist on being judgmental, and in your arrogant pride you insist you are wiser than everyone else, and seemingly only you know the truth.  And that stubbornness creates terrible problems.  

You could lose your job.  Then what would you do?  You worked so hard for your house, and now you can loose that.  Where would you live?

And with all that pressure, then someone comes along and shows you how those statements about Jesus appearing in the sky are figures of speech.  And here’s the technical grammatical reason why.  And by the way, here’s a verse out of Ez. that supports my view…

With all that pressure, suddenly those arguments can sound awfully persuasive.

I can’t even tell you how happy I was to see how much interest there was in the hermeneutics class.  And there may be that much interest in other churches as well  (I’m sure there is among the true believers).  But it’s not taught, nor is it exemplified or modeled by many Bible teachers.  We are moving closer and closer to a culture of Christianity where people have absolutely no idea how to correctly interpret the Bible.  

It’s not hard to see how that can lead to mass deception, and mass apostasy.

Now, think back to the disciples’ question.  They asked for two things: the time, and the signs.  

What did Jesus say regarding those two things?
As for signs: He said “Yes, there will be signs.  Want to see signs?  They are right there in v.24.
24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs 

And as for the timing - 36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son
Acts 1:7 – It is not for you to know the times or seasons.

Jesus: “You are asking for times and signs?  You will get them, and they will come from liars and dangerous false teachers who will use them to lead you astray.

in my name
trying to usurp My place.

What it won’t be
6You 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. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
What is the purpose of vv.6,7?  

Those vv were given for the purpose of preventing us from becoming alarmed when there are wars, thinking that was a sign of the end.

Many people believe that Jesus taught that the end could come at any moment.  He did not.  Here He says there will first be a period like this – there are some wars (Luke add revolutions) that have not yet been fought that must be fought before the end.

Neither Jesus nor the NT writers taught an “any-moment now” appearing of Christ.  Certainly Peter didn’t believe that (Jesus told him what kind of death he would die – Jn.21:18,19)  So Peter understood that he would never live to see the rapture.

rumors of wars
I have often wondered why this is significant.  You would think the important thing would be the wars – who cares about the rumors?

Perhaps the point is that the deceivers will always be talking about wars – telling you there are wars starting that precipitate the end.

Right now they are fighting over the Temple Mount.  That is not a sign of the end.

but see to it that you are not alarmed. 
Stirred up, excited – Paul quotes this rare word in 1 Thes. when he tells them not to get excited over people teaching the Day already came.

Such things must happen,
This is the language of divine sovereign control.  As hard as it is to believe when you are in the midst of a terrible war, it’s all part of God’s plan, He is in perfect control, and it must happen.

but the end is still to come.
Are all the wars and earthquakes signs?  The fact that there is conflict over the Temple Mount – is that a sign?  

Yes!  It’s a clear sign from God that this is not the end.

7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
lit: nation will be lifted up over nation…  This is talking about the normal shift of power between the great world powers.  One nation is strong for a while, but then declines, and another nation is lifted up over it.

 There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. 

birth pains was a common phrase used in the end times writing of that time that referred to the period of distress leading up to the end of the age.  But the emphasis here is on the word beginning.

There is a word for those – Braxton Hicks.  They are the false alarm labor pains – where the doctor says, “No, it’s not your time yet” and sends you back home.

Why does Jesus call them birth pains?  In what sense are these kinds of events similar to labor pains?

Labor pains are the unpleasant thing that stands between the beginning of the birth process and the wonderful, anticipated end.  A woman is excited when her time comes to give birth.  Even though she knows there will be great pain, she is glad when that due date approaches, because of what comes after the pain.

In fact, while during each contraction she may have second thoughts about the whole pregnancy, in general she is actually glad when the contractions start coming more frequently and more severely, because she knows what they will bring.

That’s how we should look at the tribulation of this age.  It’s necessary, and it’s bringing us closer to that which we desire.
  
So while these kinds of events are connected with the end, they are not the immediate precursors, and for that reason they cannot be used to gauge the nearness of the end.

Wars and natural disasters are not the end.  They are not a sign of the end.  They are just those birth pangs.  In fact, they are only the beginning of the birth pangs.

Diagram of inaugurated eschatology.  The end of the age is the parusia.  The beginning of the birth pangs began with the first coming.

So Jesus says, “When you see all that happen – don’t be alarmed, don’t get all excited.  It’s not the end.”

Interpreting natural disasters as omens has been a part of pagan religion for millennia.  Christians are forbidden from interpreting omens.  

So just recently I heard someone talking about how the number of earthquakes per year is way up, and he was all excited about that being a sign that the end was near.

What are we trying to do – the opposite of what Jesus told us to do?  When times of great distress come, Christians should be the calmest people on the block.  Instead we seem to be the ones leading the charge trying to generate panic.

Wars and fights and natural disasters are part of the normal course of human history.

It sounds to me like 70 AD is just exactly the kind of thing Jesus said would not be a sign of the end.

Is 70 AD significant?  Yes.  When a prophet announces something in the near future, you can tell if he is a true prophet by whether or not it happens.  But when a prophet announces something in the distant future or the end of the age – how are we to know if he is a true prophet?

So very often when a prophet from God does that, there will be some little part of the prophecy that takes place in the lifetimes of the hearers.  That is not the fulfillment of the prophecy, but it is specific enough to where the people can clearly see that this is a true prophet (Antiochus Epiphenes)

At this point, I am not convinced 70 AD fulfilled anything in Mt.24 – it’s all about the end of the age.   But in 70 God provided a specific example of just one little statement (not one stone left on another) to prove the validity of the prophecy.

Warning: Persecution & Apostasy
9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 

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

Warning about the coming distress
15"So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel-let the reader understand- 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Lk – armies Rev  16:14-18
14They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. 

15"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." 

16Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 

17The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 18Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake.
NIV 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 

Warning about deception 
23At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or, `There he is!' do not believe it. (that’s exactly how most of these guys found out about Jesus – Andrew: “Come see the Christ…”  Jesus is pointing out that it won’t be like that at His appearing)  24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time. 
26"So if anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, `Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 

After the distress: His Coming & the Rapture
29"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.'  
30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And 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. 

The timing
32"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. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 

Warning about he suddenness of the coming
42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 
45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, `My master is staying away a long time,' 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Be ready for a long wait
25:1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 
6"At midnight the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 
7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 
9"`No,' they replied, `there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' 
10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 
11"Later the others also came. `Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!' 
12"But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' 
13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. 

Make good use of the wait
A woman ought to be excited about the birth of her child, and she should prepare for it and be ready for it.  But she would be a fool to sit around watching her clock for the whole 9 months.

14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 
19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' 
21"His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' 
22"The man with the two talents also came. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' 
23"His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' 
24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. `Master,' he said, `I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' 
26"His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 
28"`Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 

Judgment Day
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I 
was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 
37"Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 
40"The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 
41"Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 
44"They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'   
45"He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." 

Lk 21:5-22:1
5Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6"As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down." 

7"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?" 

8He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,' and, `The time is near.' Do not follow them. 

9When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." 
10Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 

12"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13This will result in your being witnesses to them. 14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17All men will hate you because of me. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By standing firm you will gain life. 

20"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 

Mk 13:1As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" 
2"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." 

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"

5Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6Many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,' and will deceive many. 

7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. 

9"You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 
12"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 

14"When you see `the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong-let the reader understand-then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 17How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18Pray that this will not take place in winter, 

19because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now-and never to be equaled again. 20If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 

Announcement of Judgment
Mt.24:1
24:1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

 The Questions: when & what
3As 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?" 

Warning about deception
4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 

What it won’t be
6You 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. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. 

Warning: Persecution & Apostasy
9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 

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

Warning about the coming distress
15"So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel-let the reader understand- 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 

21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 

Warning about deception 
23At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or, `There he is!' do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time. 
26"So if anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, `Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it

27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 

After distress: His Coming & the Rapture
29"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.'  
30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And 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. 

The timing
32"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. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 

Warning about suddenness of the coming
42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 
45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, `My master is staying away a long time,' 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

21At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or, `Look, there he is!' do not believe it. 22For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect-if that were possible. 23So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. 

24"But in those days, following that distress, 
"`the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'  
26"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. 

28"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. 29Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 
32"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 

33Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 
35"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say to everyone: `Watch!'" 

25"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." 

29He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 
32"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 

34"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."