MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:1 The Delay, Return, and Judgment of the Messiah. These two chapters are often called the “Olivet Discourse” because Jesus “sat on the Mount of Olives” when he spoke these words (Matthew 24:3). It is the fifth of Jesus’ five major teachings recorded in Matthew. Jesus is sp... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:2 Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:3 The disciples ask two questions: (1) WHEN WILL THESE THINGS BE, and (2) WHAT WILL BE THE SIGN OF YOUR COMING AND OF THE END OF THE AGE? Jesus’ answer apparently combines the destruction of Jerusalem and his second coming. The near event (the destruction of Jerusalem) is... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:8 BIRTH PAINS indicates that there will be a time of suffering prior to the messianic age (compare Romans 8:22). Prophets used the metaphor of birth pains to describe terrible suffering in general (see Isaiah 13:8; Isaiah 42:14; Jeremiah 30:5) as well as specific suffering... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:13 END. Either the end of the persecution, when the Son of Man returns (see Matthew 10:23), or the end of one’s life. WILL BE SAVED. Not from physical death (see Matthew 24:21) but from divine wrath and human persecution. Saved persons will experience the full blessing and... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:15 Daniel 9:27 tells of the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION. Several times in Jewish history, it was thought that this prophecy was being fulfilled. But Jesus clarifies that the complete fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy will be found in (1) the destruction of the temple in A.D.... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:16 FLEE TO THE MOUNTAINS. During the Jewish revolt (A.D. 67), Jesus’ warning was fulfilled when Christians fled to the mountains of Pella. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:22 IF THOSE DAYS HAD NOT BEEN CUT SHORT, NO HUMAN BEING WOULD BE SAVED. Some suggest this means that, if God’s wrath against sin were to continue unchecked, no one would survive the destruction. Others see a reference to a cutting short of either the seventieth “seven” (we... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:28 WHEREVER THE CORPSE IS, THERE THE VULTURES WILL GATHER. Just as people from far away can see vultures circling high in the air, Christ’s return in judgment will be visible and inescapable. The vultures may suggest the widespread death that will accompany Christ’s return... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:29 SUN... MOON... STARS... POWERS. Some consider this to be entirely literal language (as in Exodus 10:21 and Matthew 27:45). Others take it as a mixture of literal and poetic language. Still others take it as entirely poetic, representing political judgment on nations and... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:30 SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN. Some suggest that this is a kind of heavenly banner that will open in the heavens as Christ returns in “power and great glory.” Others understand it to be the arrival of the Son of Man himself (see Matthew 16:27; Matthew 26:64). MOURN. Either a s... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:31 In both Jewish and Christian writings (Isaiah 18:3; Isaiah 27:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), a TRUMPET CALL is associated with the Messiah’s arrival. ⇐ ⇔... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:34 THIS GENERATION WILL NOT PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE. Several interpretations have been offered as to what “this generation” refers to: (1) the disciples who were alive when Jesus was speaking, with “all these things” referring to the beginning but not t... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:35 MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY. Jesus’ teaching has divine authority and permanence. It is greater even than HEAVEN AND EARTH. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:36 NO ONE KNOWS, NOT EVEN... THE SON, BUT THE FATHER ONLY. In his life on earth, Jesus learned things as other human beings learn them (see Luke 2:52; Hebrews 5:8). Yet Jesus was also fully God. As God, he could know things that only God knows (see John 16:30; John 21:17).... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:40 TAKEN... LEFT. The description may indicate that one is taken away to final judgment (see v. Matthew 24:39) while the other remains to experience salvation at Christ’s return. Or possibly the one who is taken is among the elect that the Son of Man will “gather... from t... [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:42 STAY AWAKE. On readiness for Christ’s return, see 1 Thessalonians 5:1; 1 Peter 4:7; 2 Peter 3:2. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images. [ Continue Reading ]
MATTHEW—NOTE ON MATTHEW 24:48 DELAYED. The behavior of the WICKED SERVANT shows that he is a false disciple (see Galatians 5:19) and deserves judgment. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]