Are You Ready for
the Second Coming? (Part 1)
Commentary
on Matthew 24
One day, as Jesus
and His disciples were leaving
the temple, Jesus directed His
followers to consider the
magnificent buildings that made
up the temple complex. “
‘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.’ ” (Matthew
24:2) Jesus’ declaration was
shocking and the disciples must
have wondered what He really
meant. The disciples probably
thought that pulling apart stones
weighing between two and five
tons was impossible, so Jesus
must have been telling them a
parable or sharing a spiritual
concept.
To put Jesus’
words in perspective, consider
Noah’s story. Noah predicted
God would use rain to destroy the
whole world. The antedulivans
were probably amused and thought
Noah was really crazy. They may
have concluded there must have
been a spiritual meaning to his
words because logically, water is
so heavy that it cannot rise into
the air and then fall from the
sky. Prior to the flood, rain had
not fallen. (Genesis 2:5) Today,
people rationalize in the same
way. The book of Revelation
predicts that God is about to
destroy 25% of Earth’s
population and burn a third of
the Earth and I believe He is
going to do this in our time.
Many Christians would dispute
this conclusion by saying
Revelation is symbolic; it does
not really mean what it says.
There must be a spiritual
application because no one knows
what Revelation means.
Later, the
disciples approached Jesus while
He was gazing at Jerusalem from
the Mount of Olives. They wanted
to know more about the
destruction of the temple. “ .
. . ‘Tell us,’ they
said, ‘when will this
happen, and what will be the sign
of your coming and of the end of
the age?’ ” (Matthew
24:3) It appears they thought
Jesus would destroy the temple
when He returned to establish
God’s kingdom. Jesus
responded with noticeable
sadness. First, He gave them an
overview of the rejection that
His followers would experience
after His departure; then, He
told them what would happen to
the city of Jerusalem; and
finally, He told them about His
return.
“Jesus
answered, ‘Watch out that no
one deceives you. For many will
come in my name, claiming,
‘I am the Christ,’ and
will deceive many. You will hear
of wars and rumors of wars, but
see to it that you are not
alarmed. Such things must happen,
but the end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and
earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of
birth pains.’ Then you will
be handed over to be persecuted
and put to death, and you will be
hated by all nations because of
me. At that time many will turn
away from the faith and will
betray and hate each other, and
many false prophets will appear
and deceive many people. Because
of the increase of wickedness,
the love of most will grow cold,
but he who stands firm to the end
will be saved. And this gospel of
the kingdom will be preached in
the whole world as a testimony to
all nations, and then the end
will come.” (Matthew
24:4-14)
There are three
general elements in this passage.
First, wars, famines, and
earthquakes are “birth
pains” which will grow in
frequency and intensity over
time, just like birth pains.
Second, people will be deceived
and due to persecution, many will
abandon their faith in Jesus.
Finally, “this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in the
whole world” to proclaim
that Jesus will return and
establish His kingdom before the
end comes.
Jesus said, “So
when you see standing in the holy
place ‘the abomination that
causes desolation,’ spoken
of through the prophet Daniel
– [Matthew adds] let
the reader understand – then
let those who are in Judea flee
to the mountains. Let no one on
the roof of his house go down to
take anything out of the house.
Let no one in the field go back
to get his cloak. How dreadful it
will be in those days for
pregnant women and nursing
mothers! Pray that your flight
will not take place in winter or
on the Sabbath.”(Matthew
24:15-20, insertion mine)
The Romans hated
the Jews long before Jesus was
born because the Jews endlessly
and strenuously opposed Roman
authority. This hatred explains
why Nero declared Judea and
Jerusalem to be utterly
destroyed. About A.D. 66, he sent
the Roman general, Vespasian to
terminate a Jewish revolt.
Vespasian destroyed many towns in
Judea and killed tens of
thousands of Jews. Then, in an
effort to eliminate the rebellion
“once and for all,”
Vespasian besieged the city of
Jerusalem. After waiting for the
Jews to starve to death for
several months, news came that
Nero had committed suicide.
Vespasian immediately lifted the
siege and returned to Rome so
that he could become the next
Caesar (April A.D. 69). A few
months later Vespasian sent his
son, Titus, to renew the siege
around Jerusalem. This siege
began in February A.D. 70 and the
Romans destroyed the city in
September. During the siege, the
temple was burned. The cedar
walls fueled an immense fire.
Many Bible students believe the
gold and silver that decorated
the temple melted and ran into
the cracks between the stones
that made up the walls. After the
fire, the Romans separated every
stone to recover the precious
metals precisely fulfilling
Jesus’ words to His
disciples.
The interval
between the two sieges was the
opportunity that Jesus predicted.
Jesus told His followers to leave
the city after an enemy came and
surrounded Jerusalem. The phrase
Matthew used, “the
abomination that causes
desolation” was a religious
idiom. To the Jews, it meant that
uncircumcised foreigners would
arrive intent on destroying
God’s property. The Gentile
equivalent of this phrase is
found in Luke 21:20. Of course,
no one could escape during a
siege, but Jesus prepared His
followers to be prepared to
escape the moment the siege was
lifted.
Jesus said,
“Pray that your flight will
not take place in winter or on
the Sabbath” because winter
travel was especially risky for
the young and elderly. Jesus also
recognized that traveling on the
Sabbath would be a consideration.
Therefore, before going to the
cross Jesus highlighted two key
facts about the Sabbath. First,
He indicated the fourth
commandment would not be
abolished at the cross because
the seventh day Sabbath should
still be considered holy forty
years later. Second, Jesus knew
that resting in the wilderness on
the Sabbath would be risky
because the pilgrims would be
easy prey for warlords and gangs
who preyed on travelers.
Therefore, He encouraged His
followers to pray that God would
help them avoid both issues and
God heard their prayers!
Then, focusing on
the end of the world, Jesus gave
His disciples a summary statement
saying, “For then there
will be great distress, unequaled
from the beginning of the world
until now – and never to be
equaled again. If those days had
not been cut short, no one would
survive, but for the sake of the
elect those days will be
shortened.”(Matthew
24:21-22) Jesus told His
disciples that He would return
when the world was caught up in a
time of distress, called the
“Great Tribulation,”
which has no equal in
Earth’s history. We know
from apocalyptic prophecy that
God’s wrath in the form of
fourteen judgments will cause
this global distress prior to
Jesus’ return. The seven
first plagues (or seven trumpets
described in Revelation 8, 9 and
11) will inflict a mortal blow on
the Earth and kill half its
population. The seven last
plagues (or seven bowls in
Revelation 16) will follow and
they will kill everyone who
receives the mark of the beast.
These horrific, fourteen
judgments will create this great
time of distress.
Jesus told His
disciples the Father had
shortened the length of “the
great distress” for the
saints. We know from Daniel
12:11,12, the length of time
established was 1,335 days.
However, Jesus indicated the
original length of “the
great distress” was longer.
My understanding is that if
Israel had been a faithful
trustee of God’s covenant,
God would have established His
kingdom on Earth soon after Jesus
began His ministry. (Mark 1:15)
If God had done this, the end of
the world would have played out
in a very different manner than
what is coming. The great
distress and the end of the age
under “Plan A” would
have lasted 70 years for some
nations and 40 years for others.
(See Isaiah 23 and Ezekiel 29.)
Compare these periods of
tribulation with that of Israel
in Babylon for seventy years.
This means that “the great
distress” for the whole
world under Plan A would have
been longer, but less intense
than it will be under the
shortened “Plan B.” For
this reason, the Father reduced
the time of great distress under
Plan B to 1,335 days and sealed
this information in the book of
Daniel until the time of the end.
For further study on this topic,
please see Appendix D in my book,
Jesus’ Final Victory. https://wake-up.org/Commentary/AppendixD.pdf
“At that time
if anyone says to you,
‘Look, here is the Christ [Messiah]!’
or, ‘There he is!’ do
not believe it. For false
Messiahs and false prophets will
appear and perform great signs
and miracles to deceive even the
elect – if that were
possible. See, I have told you
ahead of time.” (Matthew
24:24-25, insertion mine)
Jesus warned His
followers to be on the lookout
for imposters during the time of
“great distress.” The
Bible tells us that a great
imposter, Lucifer, will appear
physically during the Great
Tribulation. God will permit the
devil and his angels to exit the
Abyss (the spirit realm) and be
visible on Earth at the fifth
trumpet. The devil will
masquerade as Almighty God and
perform incredible signs and
wonders. Lucifer’s signs and
miracles will be so amazing that
if possible, the saints would be
deceived. (Revelation 13:13,14.)
Therefore, Jesus warned, do not
go out to see any miracles.
“So if anyone
tells you, ‘There he [the
Messiah] is, out in the
desert,’ do not go out; or,
‘Here he is, in the inner
rooms [a secret meeting
place],’ do not believe it.
For as lightning that comes from
the east is visible even in the
west, so will be the coming of
the Son of Man. Wherever there is
a carcass, there the vultures
will gather.’ ” (Matthew
24:26-28, insertions mine)
Jesus described
His return with a metaphor and a
proverb. As lightning illuminates
the Earth from horizon to
horizon, so He will illuminate
the Earth from horizon to
horizon. To make His warning even
stronger, Jesus used an ancient
proverb that had a disgusting
association. The proverb says
that vultures are naturally drawn
to dead flesh in the same way
that wicked people are naturally
drawn to false miracles. (See
Matthew 16:4.)
“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.’ ‘At
that time the Son of Man in
heaven will appear in the sky and
all the peoples of the earth will
mourn. They will see the Son of
Man coming on the clouds of the
sky, with power and great
glory.’ ” (Matthew
24:29-30)
I believe the book
of Revelation indicates the seven
last plagues (seven bowls) will
last 70 days. Assuming each
plague is ten days in length,
“the sign of the Son of
Man” will appear in the sky
on Day 1,325, about ten days
before the 1,335 days are
concluded. This sign will be a
small cloud that grows larger and
larger as it approaches Earth.
(Luke 21:27) Soon after the cloud
appears, a gigantic explosion
will fill up the whole sky. The
sky will recede like a scroll.
The stars will fall, the
Sun’s fiery blaze will be
snuffed out and the moon will not
be seen. With the exception of a
fiery cloud that continues to
expand in size and brilliance,
terrible darkness will cover the
Earth. The one thing that will
demand everyone’s attention
will be this expanding cloud
filled with powerful lightning,
thunder, and energy. At the
appointed time, billions of
glorious angels will come out of
the cloud and encircle the Earth.
They will be visible from horizon
to horizon. As Earth rotates
inside a sphere of billions of
fiery beings, every eye will see
Jesus who sits at the right hand
of “the Mighty One.”
(Matthew 26:64) All nations will
tremble for good reason. Jesus
has come to destroy His enemies
and rescue His children. For the
wicked, He is the Lion of the
tribe of Judah. For the saints,
He is the Lamb of God. Jesus will
speak and Lucifer and all of his
operatives will land in a lake of
fire. Then, Jesus will speak to
the remaining wicked and they
will drop dead. The master of the
universe will then call His
children out of their graves and
they will come forth with new
bodies, free from the ravages of
sin’s curse!
“And He will
send His angels with a loud
trumpet call, and they will
gather his elect from the four
winds, from one end of the
heavens to the other.” (Matthew
24:31)
When Jesus calls
His sleeping saints, the holy
angels will descend to each
grave, even those in the deepest
parts of the ocean, to meet and
greet God’s sons and
daughters as they come to life.
Then, the angels will escort the
redeemed to the hovering throne
where Jesus and the Father wait.
The Holy Spirit will be filling
each child of God with the
magnificent power of eternal
life. He will connect every heart
and soul with an excited Jesus
and a longing Father. There will
be perfect unison in spirit and
truth! At last, God’s
children will be gathered up and,
together with the Trinity, they
will head for Heaven to inherit a
glorious city prepared for them
from the foundations of the
world! The joy and awe of this
event cannot be told. It has to
be experienced.
“Now learn
this lesson from the fig tree: As
soon as its twigs get tender and
its leaves come out, you know
that summer is near. Even so,
when you see all these things
[the great distress which has no
equal in Earth’s history],
you know that it [the Second
Coming] is near, right at
the door. I tell you the truth,
this generation [the human
race]will certainly not pass away
until all these things have
happened. Heaven and Earth will
pass away, but my words will
never pass away.” (Matthew
24:21-35, insertions mine)
