March 23, 2003 / Volume 7, Issue 12
An Analysis Of Matthew 24 (Part 4)
Matthew 24:11-15
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Matthew 24:11
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
* refer to notes on Mt 24:4-5 |
"...such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."
(2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
"And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection has already passed, and they overthrow the faith of some."
(2 Timothy 2:17-18)
"Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour... Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
(1 John 2:18; 4:1)
"Now, there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose upon the people, who denounced this to them, that they should wait for deliverance from God: and this was in order to keep them from deserting, and that they might be buoyed up above fear and care by such hopes. Now, a man that is in adversity does easily comply with such promises, for when such a seducer makes him believe that he shall be delivered from those miseries which oppress him, then it is that the patient is full of hopes of such deliverance."
(Josephus, The Wars Of The Jews, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 2)
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Matthew 24:12-14
And because lawless will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 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.
Parallel: Mk 13:10, 13; Lk 21:18-19
* refer to notes on Mt 4:9-10 |
"To the angel of the church of Ephesus write... I have this against you, that you have left your first love..."
(Revelation 2:1, 4)
"And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write... I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth."
(Revelation 3:14-16)
"...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the Day approaching... But recall the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings..."
(Hebrews 10:25, 32)
PREACHED IN ALL THE WORLD
"And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'"
(Mark 16:15)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..."
(Matthew 28:18)
Commenting on Paul, "He preached in the East and in the West, winning a noble reputation for his faith. He taught righteousness to all the world; and after reaching the furthest limits of the West, and bearing his testimony before kings and rulers..."
(Clement to the Corinthians, Section 5)
"And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven... ‘...we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.'"
(Acts 2:5, 11)
"...but I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: ‘Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.'"
(Romans 10:18)
"...which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit... if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister."
(Colossians 1:5-6, 23)
"Thus, under the influence of heavenly power, and with the divine co-operation, the doctrine of the Saviour, like the rays of the sun, quickly illuminated the whole world; and straightway, in accordance with the divine Scriptures, the voice of the inspired evangelists and apostles went forth through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."
(Eusebius, Church History, Book 2, Chapter 3)
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Matthew 24:15
Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation', spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand)
Parallel: Mk 13:14; Lk 21:20
* Note Luke's clarity
* see APPENDIX for notes on Daniel's prophecy |
"Ananus stood in the midst of them, and casting his eyes frequently at the temple, and having a flood of tears in his eyes, he said, ‘Certainly it had been good for me to die before I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations, or these sacred places, that ought not be trodden upon at random, filled with the feet of these blood-shedding villains..."
(Josephus, The Wars Of The Jews, Book 4, Chapter 3, Section 10)
"At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly loved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in the everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore the building Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."
(Daniel 9:23-27)
"...there should arise a certain king that should overcome our nation and their laws, and should take away our political government, and should spoil the temple, and forbid the sacrifices to be offered for three years' time. And indeed it so came to pass, that our nation suffered these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel's vision, and what he wrote many years before they came to pass. In the very same manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them."
(Josephus, The Antiquities Of The Jews, Book 10, Chapter 11, Section 7)
"...when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, ‘My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?' And He said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days."
(Daniel 12:7b-12)
"And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city, and upon the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings round about it, brought their ensigns to the temple, and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to them..."
(Josephus, The Wars Of The Jews, Book 6, Chapter 6, Section 1)
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We will continue to chart through Matthew 24 next week...
Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
Did Adam die on the day he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Genesis 2:17 says yes, Genesis 3:6 & 5:5 show that he didn't. Is there a contradiction?
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