Matthew 24: 26-35

Matthew 24: 26-35 

JESUS TELLS ABOUT HIS RETURN / Matthew 24:26-35                   

Opening state by The Life Application New Testament Commentary "In times of persecution even strong believers will find it difficult to be loyal. They will so much want the Messiah to come that they will grasp any rumor that he has arrived. But if believers have to be told that the Messiah has come, then he hasn’t. Christ’s coming will be obvious to everyone."

Mat 24:26  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. Mat 24:27  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.

Jesus had warned the people that if a false prophet has told them that the Messiah had come they are being fooled. when Jesus comes everyone will know it and not have to be told.  Isa_40:3; Mal_4:5  These two verses do not say when the Lord is coming but do give some of what will happen prior to his coming.

Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Jesus is telling the people that when you see that the Eagles circling you can be sure that there is a carcass below. So will the signs of His return be known.

 Mat 24:29  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

Compare what was said in verse 24:29 to  Rev_6:12-14 Scary stuff, if all those disasters happen at the same time you would know that the end was near.

The Life Application New Testament Commentary: " Coming persecutions and natural disasters will cause great sorrow in the world. But when believers see these events happening, they should realize that the return of their Messiah is near and that they can look forward to his reign of justice and peace. Rather than being terrified by what is happening in our world, we should confidently await Christ’s return to bring justice and to restore his people."

 Mat 24:30  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. Mat 24:31  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.

If I am here when this happens this is where I am leaping with joy. At my age that may be a feat that I cannot pull off but  I would give it my best. There would also be sorrow for those that do not believe. They will have seven more years of extreme hardship. I can only hope that they will accept Christ during those years.

As in Mat_24:22, three main views of the Tribulation interpret this verse in different ways:

Pretribulationists would say that this “gathering” refers to the gathering of Jewish saints (also as in Mat_24:22), not the church. The “rapture” (taking believers to heaven) occurred before the Tribulation and concerned only the church.

Midtribulationists would say that this verse refers to the rapture and that it identifies both the church and the Jewish saints. This event will occur in the middle of the Tribulation, with the outpouring of God’s wrath on the world occurring in the last half of that period.

Posttribulationists would say that the rapture and revelation are a single event, and this pictures the only return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation. There, as here, he will come to gather his saints and to judge unbelievers.

All the Tribulations are hyperlinked to http://www.gotquestions.org/http://www.GotQuestions.org

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

You have to wait is the meaning.

 Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

The generation referred to in Verse 34 has always been an issue for us to understand. I am leaning on the LANTC again because there are multiple thoughts on this.

There are three views of the meaning of the words: this generation will not pass from  the scene before all these things take place. (1) It refers only to those alive at the time Jesus spoke who still would be alive at the destruction of Jerusalem; (2) it refers to the end times only; (3) it refers both to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end times—the destruction of Jerusalem containing within itself the elements of the final end times.

“This generation” could refer both to those living at a given time as well as to race or lineage (therefore, he would be speaking of the Jewish race). That makes the third view above most likely. The events of Mat_24:1-28 would occur initially within the lifetime of Jesus’ contemporaries. Not that all the problems would stop at the end of their lifetimes, but that all these things would be under way, verifying what Jesus had said. Jesus explained that many of those alive at that time would witness the destruction of Jerusalem. In addition, the Jewish nation would be preserved and remain on earth, so Jews also would witness the end-time events (see also Mat_16:28).

Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Agape

Dave