1.
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2.
And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3.
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 thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
THE END OF THE AGE
‘Take heed that no man deceive you.’
Matthew 24:4
To understand the drift of this chapter we must carefully keep in view the question which gave rise to our Lord’s discourse—‘When shall these things be?’ The first fourteen verses apply with equal force to the close of both Jewish and Christian dispensations. What lessons have they to teach us?
I. A warning against deception.—Many false Christs and false prophets arose before the destruction of Jerusalem, and the eyes of man are continually blinded in the present day as to things to come. Be not deceived—
(a) As to the leading facts of unfulfilled prophecies, or ( b) as to the manner in which they will be brought to pass, or ( c) as to the time when they will be accomplished.
II. A warning against over-sanguine expectations.—As to the things which are to happen before the end comes. Do not expect—
( a) A reign of universal peace ( Matthew 24:6); or,
( b) A time of universal purity of doctrine ( Matthew 24:11); or,
( c) A universal acceptance of the Gospel ( Matthew 24:14).
III. Look up.—Yet, whatever may happen, look up, and pray daily, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ ( Matthew 22:20).
—Bishop J. C. Ryle.
5.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6.
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10.
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
HINDRANCES TO ENDURANCE
‘But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’
Matthew 24:13
What are the causes which make endurance to the end difficult in so very many Christian lives?
I. Persecution because of the Word.—There is the ‘persecution that ariseth because of the word.’ In some shape or other this is inevitable. Men who have done much for Christ have sometimes given way at last under the stress of relentless persecution.
II. False teaching.—And then there are the ‘false Christs’ and the ‘false prophets.’ Our faith is undermined by people who talk and write in the very best English, and who have so much about them that is winning and agreeable that we cannot believe what is really going on.
III. Weariness in well doing.—And then there is the weariness which steals over thought and heart with the lapse of time. Human faculties, after all, are finite. They spend themselves and they fall back into lassitude and exhaustion.
IV. Trifling with conscience.—And once more, there is the trifling with conscience, not necessarily in great matters, but in a number of little matters.
V. How endurance may be secured.—Perseverance is likely to be secured by three things especially—
( a) By a sense of constant dependence on God.
( b) By prayer for perseverance.
( c) By keeping the mind fixed as much as possible on the end of life and on that which follows it.
—Canon Liddon.
14.
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.
THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached.’
Matthew 24:14
Christianity was left with Christians to be transmitted. God has appointed that men should be instructed by their fellows, and Revelation lays us under the obligation of communicating its message to others. Christianity is a trust for our own good, but also for that of others. No one has a right to be called a Christian who does not do something towards the discharge of this obligation.
I. This is our duty.—
( a) Towards non-Christians in our colonies and possessions. As fellow-subjects with us; as having intercourse with us by commerce and other relations.
( b) Towards other races. As of one family with ourselves. That, however low and debased their condition, they may be helped to rise.
II. For this reason navigation and commerce should be consecrated to the service of religion; by helping in its propagation; as a discharge of our trust. Remembering that—even the bare establishment of Christianity in a place has its value; as a witness before and call to men. We can see but a little way ahead, and must be content to sow in faith, leaving the increase with God.
III. Societies are needed to bring men together, that their united efforts may do what they could not singly perform. Such work for foreign missions has a reflex benefit to us at home: strengthening faith here; making the Gospel a witness here also. If all this were seen, how little more persuasion would be needed! If the Gospel had its proper influence on Christians, then it would speedily settle Christianity in every land.
—Bishop Butler.
Illustration
‘Into the charter of the East India Company, when renewed in 1813, Wilberforce and other friends of missions succeeded in introducing the following resolution amongst others: “That it is the duty of this country to promote the interest and happiness of the native inhabitants of the British dominions in India, and that such measures ought to be adopted as may tend to the introduction among them of useful knowledge and of religious and moral truth; and further, that in furtherance of the same objects sufficient facilities should be afforded by law to persons desirous of going to and remaining in India, for the purpose of accomplishing these beneficent designs.” ’
15.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16.
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17.
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18.
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20.
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21.
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23.
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25.
Behold, I have told you before.
26.
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.
27.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28.
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29.
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:
30.
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.
31.
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.
32.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33.
So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36.
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37.
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39.
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40.
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41.
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43.
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.
44.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45.
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46.
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47.
Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48.
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49.
And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50.
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51.
And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.