Prophecy in Matthew 24

Desolation because of abomination

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto you; how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, You shall not see me from now on until you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See you not all these things? truly I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (23:37-39; 24:1-2)

Here is the full passage in context from which we quoted in Daniel 9. Once again we do not find any mystical monsters. It is Jesus who desolates His own sanctuary because of the abominations of His own people. It is the “little” things within the Father’s family that hurt Him most and destroy universal love and peace the most. Everyone knows to stay away from the open criminal, but backbiting and betrayal in the family cuts deep. We expect more. The nonreligious expect more and therefore are more disappointed. Jesus applied this principle to the Jewish priests.

“And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, You are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:14-15)

If somehow there should be abominable monsters ready to break in desolate the temple, they would find an open door to a sanctuary already desolated by the abominable behavior of its priests.

Daniel did not blame the desolation of the sanctuary on outside forces. Likewise, Jesus abandons and desolates the temple because of internal sins. Nowhere in the Bible is the poor condition of God’s church or nation blamed on external monsters or influences.

Signs of the beginning of the end

“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 your coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (v3-8)

Many Christians point to all the bad stuff outside of the church and declare that Christ’s return is imminent. An earthquake or hurricane is almost proof of the Second Coming next week. However, Jesus said, “The end is not yet” and “these are the beginning of sorrows."

Final persecution and proclamation

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 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.” (v9-14)

Make no mistake, war and natural disasters and epidemics are terrible, but more terrible is the lack of love in the church. The greater sin is the church’s coldness and lack of earnest mission to those ignorant of Christ’s transforming love. The one sign that the end is near is a church on fire to share the gospel with the world.

This prophecy is the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. A purified people is an unselfish people, and unselfish people reach out to others to help and serve. The sheep, goats, and blood of the Day of Atonement was a ceremony to keep a culture on the same page. It was an illustration to an immature people. The principle inspiring that illustration is right here in Jesus‘ prophecy. The Father was not after ceremonial purification, but loving hearts.

Abomination of desolation

“When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray you that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.” (v15-20)

At His first advent, Jesus desolated the sanctuary by abandoning it “until you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” Gabriel prophecied to Daniel, “for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

If the sanctuary is desolate until Christ’s return, then how can there be a holy place with abominations that make desolate?

This is where the heavenly sanctuary comes into play. Briefly, the temple in heaven is Christ’s throneroom from where He operates Project Transformation for the people of earth—especially for His professed followers, the church. Their sins ascend to the most holy place on the incense of the Lamb’s longsuffering prayers. His blood forgives, heals, and empowers all of His children seeking to do the right, loving thing. This includes people of all religions or no religion.

But now in this passage we see leadership in the church stand up to declare their own way rather than God’s. The faithful gospel preachers in the previous passage are now bidden to flee from this fallen church at once. Revelation 18 foretells a call to true hearts to leave the false church, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Iniquity abounds so much that the mainline church is described as fallen.

“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are grown rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” ( 18:2-3)

For Babylon to fall means that it had to previously be upright and good. Only a church, not a nation, can match this description. Furthermore, the nations commit fornication with Babylon. Only a church once true to God can prostitute itself with the kings of the earth.

Both in Revelation and here in Matthew, this final and complete fall of the church happens just before the time of trouble because of a church-state union. This empowers and emboldens the church to persecute some of its own members. This is a major reason why they must flee.

This may seem too fantastical to believe now, but there are only two options: 1) either a mad mystical monster invades the church from the outside or, 2) selfish, power hungry leaders spiritually hijack the church from within. Since the Bible never mentions an external monster and because Daniel’s prayer pointed us to look in the church, the answer is sadly obvious.

Great tribulation

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (v21-22)

Jesus almost quotes Daniel when he said, “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.”

False christs cannot shine from east to west

“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Wherever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” (v23-28)

A false church has false prophets to teach falsehoods. Nations try to destroy religions that threaten their power, but a church has prophets who work on the inside to deceive the people.

The coming of the Son of man

“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: 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. 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.” (v29-31)

Again, Daniel’s timeline is repeated. The return of Christ and the resurrection of His saints puts an end to earthly empires and ushers in God’s kingdom.

We may know when it is near

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So likewise you when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Truly I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, until all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (v32-36)

But which signs tell us He is near? Wars, “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes” are just “the beginning of sorrows.” What do we look for?

In the church there will be a polarization and a separation between the true and the false, between those living and teaching the true gospel versus those who rely on the power of self and/or government.

“Said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

Notice this same separation in the next passages.

As in the days of Noah

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come.” (v37-42)

There is nothing wrong with marriage itself. God invented it in Eden as part of a perfect world. What the people are doing in this passage is making it an end in itself. They are eating, drinking, and marrying according to their own selfish pleasure as if the world will never end. They give no thought to others nor to their own future. They are totally unaware of impending judgment.

Watch for Him as a thief in the night

“But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be you also ready: for in such a hour as you think not the Son of man comes. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in a hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him apart, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (v43-51)

As in the days of Noah, we see selfish pleasure take a prominent role, but there are also two other points made. This degenerate attitude and behavior takes place in the church—the servants. And some servants sieze power over the other servants. Rather than rely on the inspiration of the truth, spiritually weak leaders rely on administrative and governmental policies and force to push their own way. They will be rewarded with the hypocrites portion.

Human nature, untransformed by the love of Christ, seeks selfish pleasure then guards it and builds it with carnal weapons. External force replaces internal faith, hope, and love. As time goes on, we will see a more rapid growth and polarization in both of these directions. However, the majority will be on the side of external force and government laws to control the conscience. Those who trust in the power of infinite goodness will ever be in the minority. “When the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Summary

Now that we have become familiar with both of them, compare Daniel’s time to Matthew’s. Notice that no new events were added. All Jesus did was apply Daniel’s using Christian language. Because the Israelites rejected Christ, He rejected them. That decided the direction of Daniel’s prophecy. Remember, it could have been fulfilled either way, whether or not Israel was loyal. They chose to crucify their Messiah, so that set the prophecy in the direction of the Christian church rather than the Hebrew nation.