Signs, End of the Age, and the Tribulation

The setting (24:1-3). As they left the temple, the disciples pointed out its buildings, and Jesus said, “not one stone shall be left here upon another” (24:2). History records that about forty years later, in AD 70, Roman armies destroyed the temple. On the Mount of Olives the disciples asked two things: when this would happen, and what would be “the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age” (24:3). Planao. “Take heed that no one deceives you” (24:4). The verb is planao (say: plah-NAH-oh), to lead someone off the right way so that he wanders. Jesus used it again in verses 5, 11 and 24. Before He said a word about wars or famines, He warned about being led astray. False christs and false prophets. Some would claim to be the Christ (24:5, 23-24). Others would claim to speak for God (24:11). Some would back up their claims with “great signs and wonders” (24:24). A miracle by itself does not prove that a message comes from God. The message must agree with what God has already said in His Word. If possible. Jesus said these deceivers would try to fool “even the elect,” and He added “if possible” (24:24). The elect are the people God has chosen. Jesus did not say that His people would be swept away. He warned them so that they would not be: “See, I have told you beforehand” (24:25). Unmistakable. Rumors would place the Christ in the desert or in the inner rooms (24:26). Jesus said, “do not go out” and “do not believe it.” His coming will be like lightning that “comes from the east and flashes to the west” (24:27): sudden, public and seen by all. For you. The best guard against a fake is knowing the real thing well. Learn who Jesus is from the Scriptures, and measure every claim about Him by what God has said.

Throeo. “See that you are not troubled” (24:6). The verb is throeo (say: throh-EH-oh), to be alarmed or thrown into panic, as when frightening news comes. Jesus did not tell His disciples that hard news would never come. He told them not to panic when it did. Luke records, “do not be terrified” (Luke 21:9). Must. “For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (24:6). Wars, famines and earthquakes do not mean that history has slipped out of God's hands. They are things He said would happen, and He said so ahead of time. Not yet. Jesus also warned against treating every war or disaster as the final moment: “the end is not yet.” Luke has, “but the end will not come immediately” (Luke 21:9). The same words that comfort also rule out setting dates. Nation against nation (24:7). Jesus named wars between nations and kingdoms, famines, pestilences (diseases that spread) and earthquakes “in various places.” He named no nation and no year, and His followers are not asked to fill those in. Birth pains (24:8). “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” The word for sorrows means the pains of a woman in labor. Birth pains are real and hard, but they come before new life. Paul used the same picture for the whole creation waiting for God to make all things new: “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:22). Hard days point forward to the day God sets everything right. For you. News of war and disaster is real, and it is right to pray for people who suffer and to help them. But you do not have to live in fear. The Lord who told His disciples these things beforehand holds the future, and He has told His people how the story ends.

Thlipsis. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation” (24:9). Tribulation is thlipsis (say: THLIP-sis), pressure, the crushing weight of trouble. Jesus told His disciples plainly that following Him would bring pressure, hatred “for My name’s sake” and, for some, death (24:9). Pressure on the inside. Verses 10-12 describe what that pressure would do to many: many are “offended,” stumbling and falling away; some betray others; false prophets deceive many; and as lawlessness spreads, “the love of many will grow cold.” Hypomeno (24:13). “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” The verb is hypomeno (say: hoo-poh-MEN-oh), to remain under a heavy load without running away. Jesus was not adding a work that earns salvation, which is “the gift of God, not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Enduring is what real faith does, and the God who gives that faith also keeps it: believers are kept by the power of God through faith (1 Peter 1:5). Luke's account. Luke adds that the pressure would “turn out for you as an occasion for testimony” (Luke 21:13), a chance to speak about Jesus. He also records, “But not a hair of your head shall be lost” (21:18), and, “By your patience possess your souls” (21:19). The gospel goes out (24:14). “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” A witness is a true report given before others. Mark's account says that the gospel must first be preached to all the nations (Mark 13:10). Paul could write, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). For you. Following Jesus may cost you something. When it does, remember who is holding you. Ask Him for strength to keep going, and look for the chance that hard days give you to speak about Him.

Daniel (24:15). “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place.” Daniel had written of something detestable that would be set up in God's sanctuary and leave it desolate (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). In the Bible an abomination is something God hates, very often false worship. Desolation is ruin and emptiness. Jesus pointed His hearers back to Daniel's book: “whoever reads, let him understand.” Luke's account. Luke records Jesus' words this way: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near” (Luke 21:20). Urgent, and full of care. “Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (24:16). No one was to go back into the house or back from the field for clothes (24:17-18). Even here Jesus showed care for mothers with babies (24:19) and told His followers to pray about the timing of their flight (24:20). Great tribulation (24:21). “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Jesus spoke of trouble greater than any time before or after it. Many Christians believe Jesus will take His church home first. Shortened (24:22). “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” The days of trouble have a limit, and God sets it. He sets it out of care for “the elect,” the people He has chosen. Told beforehand (24:25). “See, I have told you beforehand.” Jesus spoke these things ahead of time so that His people would recognize what they saw and not be deceived. In His hands, prophecy is not a puzzle for guessing dates. It is a gift that builds trust. For you. You do not need to know every detail of the future to be safe in it. You need to know the One who holds it, and He has promised never to leave His own.