The End Times; Are We There Yet
episode 3

We start each episode with headlines and news stories that cause us to think we are in the End-Times.  Some of these were ones that actually gave me some hope.

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Well, we left off last time with a look at Matthew 24, Jesus’ Olivet Discourse about the End Times.  Remember that we talked about the rules of study last time; That we would do this study chronologically; we will start with what happens first, the proceed to what happens 2^nd, and so in, with the events of the end-times.  We will do this study Christocentrically; We begin our study by looking to Jesus’ own words on the end-times, and then fill in His chronology with what is described in other places.  That’s why we began in Matthew 24; the Olivet Discourse.  And we will do this study literally; that means that as much as is possible, we will interpret what we are reading literally.  We’ll get to more about that as the study unfolds.

So last time we were looking at Matthew 24, and the parallel passages in Mark and Luke; the Olivet Discourse.  Let’s set the stage again before we pick up where we left off.  As Matthew 23 concludes, Jesus and His disciples are leaving Jerusalem, and I think Jesus is emotionally burdened with the rejection He felt in this last week before His crucifixion.  He knows what is coming for Himself.  And He knows what is coming for Israel and Jerusalem.  In 70 AD, Rome will tire of Jewish rebellion, and will send in their armies to stamp it out for good.  They surround the city.  The Jewish zealots in the city had taken control of Jerusalem in 66 AD, 4 years earlier.  And on April 14 of 70 AD, Rome’s general Titus, who would later become emperor, surrounded the city, with 3 legions of troops.  That’s about 15 to 20,000 troops. 

The city was filled to capacity at the time because of Passover, possibly as many as a million people inside the walls.  The siege lasted 5 months, in which the Romans built a wall to prevent any people or supplies coming or going, and attempted to breach the walls of the city.  Inside the city, the zealots acted like terrorists by hoarding the food for themselves and their forces, causing a severe famine among the citizens trapped in this war. 

Eventually Rome did break through, and a massacre ensued. 

Josephus said that 1.1 million non-combatants died in Jerusalem, not only from Roman soldiers, but from famine and violence in the city before the breaching of the walls. 

As the legions charged in, neither persuasion nor threat could check their impetuosity: passion alone was in command. Crowded together around the entrances many were trampled by their friends, many fell among the still hot and smoking ruins of the colonnades and died as miserably as the defeated. As they neared the Sanctuary they pretended not even to hear Caesar's commands and urged the men in front to throw in more firebrands. The partisans were no longer in a position to help; everywhere was slaughter and flight. Most of the victims were peaceful citizens, weak and unarmed, butchered wherever they were caught. Round the Altar the heaps of corpses grew higher and higher, while down the Sanctuary steps poured a river of blood and the bodies of those killed at the top slithered to the bottom.^[16]

He also stated that it was not Titus’ intention to destroy the Jewish temple, but the Roman army had set fire to parts of the wall, and that fire spread to the temple complex.  His description also blames the frenzy of the invading army for much of the destruction.

All of Jerusalem’s remaining inhabitants were enslaved. 97,000. Many were made gladiators to die in the Roman entertainment arena.  Josephus reported that thousands were crucified, so much so that the Romans ran out of wood for that purpose.  Some have argued with Josephus’ numbers, but no one doubts the magnitude of the massacre. 

Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done), [Titus] Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as they were of the greatest eminence; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison [in the Upper City], as were the towers [the three forts] also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall [surrounding Jerusalem], 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 [Jerusalem] had ever been inhabited. 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.^[22]
And truly, the very view itself was a melancholy thing; for those places which were adorned with trees and pleasant gardens, were now become desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down. Nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judaea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn sadly at so great a change. For the war had laid all signs of beauty quite waste. Nor had anyone who had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again. But though he [a foreigner] were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it.^[23]

So, as Jesus and His disciples leave Jerusalem, and His disciples point to the temple and how magnificent it was, Jesus’ thoughts go forward in time to when Jerusalem would be judged for rejecting and crucifying the Son of God.  And He says to His disciples,

“Do you see all these things, truly I tell you, not one stone will be left upon another, everyone will be thrown down.”

Well this prophecy is startling to His disciples.  So their enthusiasm is immediately squashed, and they wait as they leave the city to find a quiet place to ask Jesus “when will these things be?” and “What will the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

That’s what we started with last time.  And I laid out for you Jesus’s chronology of events, from that moment, when He sat with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, clear to His 2^nd coming.  And this is how His chronology went.

1^st He told them about things that would happen as a normal part of history;

Matthew 24:4-8

⁴ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

⁵ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

⁶ And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

At verse 8, Jesus indicates that these things are not the end-times events.  In other words, the last 7 years of this age have not yet begun in Jesus’ description.  Then He says this in verse 9,

Matthew 24:9

⁹ Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Notice that He begins with the transitional word “then.”  I believe this is the start of the last 7 years; the Tribulation.

Matthew 24:10-14

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

¹¹ And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

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

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

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

This is a description of the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation.  The seven seal plagues of the Book of Revelation have begun.  The antichrist and his false prophet are in the forefront and winning complete control of the world and its nations.  Persecution is mounted against Christians who object to that control.  The world’s people become more violent and loveless because the Holy Spirit no longer restrains that, and Satan is unleashed to do his greatest evils against believers. 

Then in verse 15 we have another transition.  Here’s verses 15-22

¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

¹⁶ Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

¹⁷ Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

¹⁸ Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

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

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

²¹ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

The abomination of desolation describes the event that signals the beginning of “the Great Tribulation.”  The last 3 ½ years of the end-times.  The abomination of desolation is when the antichrist breaks a peace accord with Israel, invades their nation and Jerusalem, their capital city.  It is reminiscent of how Rome invaded in 70 AD.  It tells us in Revelation that he sets up an image of himself in the holy place and requires that the world worship it.  It is here that Jesus says that the Jews and believers in Jerusalem should flee the city into the wilderness.  

That’s where we left off last time.

So, as we follow along with Jesus’ narrative in Matthew 24, we come to verse 23. 

²³ “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. ²⁴ For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

So, right after the invasion of Jerusalem by the antichrist and his armies, there seems to be a lot of deception about Jesus’ return.  At this point, 3 ½ years into the Tribulation, there has been a great falling away from the faith.  But, among believers, I think there will be a heightened awareness that they are living in the end-times.  And with that awareness will be a greater understanding that Jesus’ return is very near.  But, as we well know, there are various opinions about when Jesus will return and rapture the Church.  Some who believed that the rapture would come before the Tribulation, would have to have adjusted their understanding.  Maybe they will join those who believe the rapture is in the middle, or after the Tribulation.

But, whatever they believe, things are getting worse for believers, and they will be vulnerable to being deceived.  Some, who are not well-versed in Scripture may not fully grasp how Jesus’ return will take place.  And here there would seem to be people who arise, telling Christians that Jesus has returned, but that He has shown Himself only to a select few.  Jesus warns His disciples,

²³ “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. ²⁴ For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

The deception is going to be so great at that time, that “if possible” even the chosen ones would be deceived. The fact that He says, “if possible” indicates that it’s not possible for the elect to be deceived.  If some of the elect were actually deceived, I think He would have said that false prophets and false prophets will arise showing great signs and wonders, and they will be so deceptive that they will even lead some of the elect astray.  But He doesn’t say that.  He says that “if it were possible to lead the elect astray” the deception is so great that some would be deceived. Then He continues,

²⁵ “Behold, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶ “If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures^[b] gather together.

He indicates to believers that they don’t need to worry about being deceived, because when Jesus returns it will be quite visible.  “As the lightning flashes from the east to the west.” “Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures are gathered together.”  He’s comparing His return to lightening flashing in the sky, which is seen by everyone from east to west.  He’s comparing it to when an animal dies out in the wilderness, and scavenger birds can be seen from miles away by any one in the area.  His return will be visible to all. 

So, Jesus described the beginning of the Tribulation, He described the beginning of the Great Tribulation, and now He tells us how it all ends. He describes His return.

Matthew 24:29   “Immediately after the tribulation of those days

Now, let me ask you, “when” does He say the next things will happen?  “After the Tribulation.”

the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 

These are signs of the end that have been foretold clear back into Old Testament prophecy.

¹⁰ For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

⁴ And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Just before the 2^nd coming of Christ, the book of Revelation describes the 7 vials of God’s judgment being poured out on the earth.  I believe these last judgments come in a very short time in the last days and weeks of the Great Tribulation.  The reason I believe that they come very quickly at the end is because some of them are so destructive, that I don’t believe life on earth could continue much longer after they came.  But at the very end we have these things;

Revelation 6: ¹² And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

¹³ And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

¹⁴ And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Revelation 16: ¹⁷ And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

¹⁸ And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

¹⁹ And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

²⁰ And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

²¹ And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

So, very quickly we have plague coming fast and furious, we have massive earthquakes, we have the armies of the antichrist gathering at the valley of Megiddo, Armageddon.  We have atmospheric events happening with the moon and sun that darken the light coming to the earth.  

In other words, it’s like God is getting the attention of all the earth.  We are on the precipice of the global destruction of life on this planet.  And not only are things happening on the land and sea, but God is also shutting off the lights.  The sun is darkened, the moon does not give it’s light, the stars of heaven are shaken.  Why is God doing this?  Because in the middle of this gloom, and worldwide darkness, something happens in the eastern sky.

Then Jesus continues in Matthew 24

³⁰ and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.

Jesus appears in the sky.  And, you may ask, will everyone see Him?  Yes, remember that when Jesus appeared to Paul on the Damascus road, he saw a light brighter than the noon day sun.  I think the world is going to go dark, around the entire globe.  And with all the earthquakes, everyone will be awake, and out of buildings for fear of their collapse.  And this is how I envision it.  In the pitch black of that moment.  The shaking of the earth will cease, and everyone will steady themselves wherever they stand.  And they will be peering into the sky in wonder at the blackness.  Then, out of the east, a small light will appear.  You say, east of where?  East of everywhere.  For even as the sun rises in the east and is eventually seen by the entire globe, I think Jesus will approach the globe from the east, and circle the globe.  And His light will be far brighter than the noon day sun, so that as He moves from east to west around the globe, the whole earth will collectively think, “that’s not the sun.”  And then a realization will hit.

Revelation 6: ¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

¹⁶ And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ¹⁷ For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

This is Jesus’ description of His second coming.  Now remember that I told you that we are looking at the end-times chronologically.  This has been a short overview based on how Jesus laid out the events in the Olivet Discourse.  We are going to go into more detail later.  But let me emphasize again one detail of the order of events.

What did He say would happen?  “and then” the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.  “and then” When is that? “after the Tribulation.” When is the only time in Matthew 24 that Jesus says He will return?

After the Tribulation.  Jesus never describes a return, visible or invisible, before the Tribulation starts.  He never describes a rapture or resurrection of the saints before the Tribulation starts.  

Take note of this; The disciples started this conversation with Jesus.  They had three specific questions; when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Don’t you think that if the rapture was going to be before the Tribulation, that Jesus, desiring to answer their specific questions, would have said, “Hey guys, don’t worry, before all the bad stuff hits, I’m gathering the elect from one end of heaven to the other.”

But Jesus here describes His coming, and the rapture.  And both are described as happening “after the Tribulation.” 

Okay, so let’s back up a bit.  It’s dark around the world.  Jesus appears brighter than the sun.    Jesus continues describing..

Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

After He is seen by all the world at His coming, after the Tribulation, a great trumpet is sounded, and His angels are sent to gather the elect from the four corners of the globe.  

Now some will object with the order here.  They will say that Jesus was speaking to His disciples as representatives of the Jews.  And they will say that later Paul would tell us that there is going to be an invisible rapture of the Church, before the Tribulation.  But I want to ask you something.

Does what Jesus said, in Matthew sound familiar to you?

²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

³⁰ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹ And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Doesn’t that sound like a description of the rapture that you’ve been taught through your Christian life?  Doesn’t that sound just like what Paul describes in his letters to the churches in Corinth and Thessalonica?

⁵¹ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

⁵² In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

¹⁵ For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

I personally think that they fit perfectly together.  They vary some in which details are presented, but they do not seem to describe two events.

So, here again is the principle of Christocentric study.  When we want to understand something in Scripture, we start by looking at Jesus’ explanation of it.  So, according to Jesus, the only “gathering of the elect” or catching away, or rapture is after the Tribulation.  

Now some say that what is described in Matthew 24:30-31 is not the rapture.  My initial response is, it sure sounds like it to me.

³⁰ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹ And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Now, I know that this still leaves you with questions.  The big question is; “If this chronology of events, and of the rapture is so obvious, then how does anyone come up with the idea that Jesus comes invisibly, before the Tribulation, to rapture living Christians?  Well, we will get into more detail later.  But those who teach that Jesus will rapture the Church before the Tribulation, have a special way of interpreting these verses.  I’m not going to get into all of that right now. 

I just want Jesus’ simple words, and the simple chronology of the end to sink in for a bit.  And remember that this chapter was all the 1^st century Christians had concerning the end times for about another 20 years.  They had the Old Testament, but there is no explicit prophecy about the rapture, before or after the Tribulation, in the Old Testament.  They will only have Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, and the Old Testament prophecies until Paul writes his letter to the Thessalonians.

Now some will say that Paul gets new revelation describing a pre-tribulation rapture of the Church.  Now, I don’t argue that he got some new revelation from God about some of the details of the end-times.  But, just as a teaser, let me say this; Paul doesn’t say anything to change this chronology in any of his 13 letters. And neither does any of the other epistles, or the book of Revelation.

If you want to test, or challenge that statement, then here is some homework for you.  Find for me one single Bible passage that makes an undeniable statement that Jesus will rapture the Church before the Tribulation.  Let me explain further.  We just read a chronology of events in Matthew 24.

²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

³⁰ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹ And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Some things are obvious to any honest Bible student;

1.    The events of Matthew 24:29-31 happen “after the Tribulation.”

2.    The first of those events is Jesus appearing visibly in the sky.

3.    Then verse 31 says that a great trumpet sounds and He “gathers His elect from one end of heaven to the other.”

Homework; Find for me another verse, or group of verses that say Jesus will gather the Church “before” the Tribulation.

We are going to end today’s study with that overview of Matthew 24.  Next time, I want to put together an overall chronology starting with the Olivet discourse, then drawing in Old Testament prophecy, the book of Revelations, and the New Testament epistles.