Good morning,
Prophecy can be confusing.
Matthew 24 is one of those places. Some have interpreted these events to have already been fulfilled. Some do not believe in the tribulation.
When I began to study this passage, I also was confused. Where do all these events fit into the prophetic timeline? Is this talking about signs to look for before the rapture or Christ’s second coming?
Dr. John F. Walvoord wrote an article, “The Signs of the End of the Age”, which I found helpful in deciphering this chapter of Scripture. Please read the whole article for yourself at www.walvoord.com.
The chapter is broken down into five sections.
Prediction of the destruction of the temple (v. 1-2)
Questions of the disciples (v. 3)
Course of the present age (v. 4-14)
Sign of the tribulation (v. 15-25)
Second coming of Christ (v. 26-31)
Prediction of the destruction of the temple (1-2)
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
“The temple was made of huge stones, some of them many tons in size, carved out in the stone quarries underneath the city of Jerusalem. Such large stones could be dislodged only through deliberate force. The sad fulfillment was to come in a.d. 70, only six years after the temple was completed, when the Roman soldiers deliberately destroyed the temple, prying off stones one by one and casting them into the valley below. Recent excavations have uncovered some of these stones.” (The Signs of the End of the Age, Article contributed by www.walvoord.com)
Questions of the disciples (3)
“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
“Matthew’s gospel does not answer the first question, which relates to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. This is given more in detail in Luke, while Matthew and Mark answer the second and third questions, which actually refer to Christ’s coming and the end of the age as one and the same event. Matthew’s account of the Olivet discourse records that portion of Christ’s answer that relates to His future kingdom and how it will be brought in, which is one of the major purposes of the gospel.” (The Signs of the End of the Age, Article contributed by www.walvoord.com)
Each of us has asked the same questions. We want to know when the Lord Jesus will return. Jesus plainly told His disciples it is not for them or anyone else to know the time of His return.
This chapter does not deal with signs for the coming rapture of the church. The reason, there are no signs for the rapture. It is imminent and could happen at any moment. No signs needed.
This chapter deals with signs for the tribulation and second coming of Christ.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001
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