24:1-3 Prophecy About The Destruction of the Temple.

In verses 1 to 3 we find Jesus coming out of the temple and the disciples excitedly showing off the beauty of the temple. They were excited because Herod had been rebuilding and restoring the Temple. Sadly, it was destroyed in 70 A.D.

This was the 2nd Temple which was built after the Exile from Babylon and is referred to as Zerubabbel’s temple because it was rebuilt under his leadership.  He was given the task of rebuilding the Temple in the second year of the reign of Darius I around 520 BC. (Ezra 5)  Later, Herod sought to appease the Jews by rebuilding the Temple on a more magnificent scale.

The 1st Temple was Solomon’s Temple (I Kings 5-9).  Most people are familiar with this.  The Jews say that the 2nd Temple was not as beautiful and glorious as Solomon’s Temple.  These temples were on the temple mount in Jerusalem.  Now, the Muslims have their mosque there, but sometime in the future, that will change and the next temple will be rebuilt there.

The 3rd Temple will be built during the Tribulation Period and the Jews are preparing livestock (red heifers) and utensils for that Temple at this present time in Israel and elsewhere. It will be the temple that the Antichrist will desecrate about halfway through the Tribulation Period. It is sometimes referred to as the Tribulation Temple.

In speaking to the 4 Apostles here, Jesus prophecy (about this 2nd Temple that was being restored) was upsetting to these apostles. The thought of it being torn down was not what they wanted to hear. However, this temple work was not completed until A.D. 64 and 6 years later the Roman soldiers came to put down the Zionists and they completely destroyed this Temple. It was built of huge stones that were hewn out of the mount around Jerusalem. The Romans soldiers pried off the huge stones and threw them down into the valley below. Recent archeological findings have found some of these huge stones in that same valley.

The Apostles asked 3 questions: When shall these things be? What will be the sign of thy coming? And What shall be the sign of the end of the world.?

Matthew 24 4-14 Beginning of The Tribulation Period

First, A Brief Synopsis of End Time Events.

The Church Age
If you are not familiar with Bible timelines and prophecy, let me clarify what we mean when referring to the Church Age or The Age of Grace. From the time of the cross of our Lord until the coming Tribulation Period, we refer to that time as the Church age. Some would prefer that I say that it is from the Day of Pentecost, when the Church began, until the Tribulation. The Age of Grace is another name for this period.  This ends with Jesus coming for His children.  It is usually referred to as The Rapture (a Latin translation for “caught up”).  The church, the people who are saved through faith in Jesus death, burial and resurrection, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

The Tribulation Period (follows the Church Age either immediately or after a brief period of time.)

This is a time of judgment for the nation of Israel, specifically, the Jewish people who rejected their Messiah, Jesus Christ, when He came to bring them the promised Kingdom. The church will be taken out before this begins and will be in heaven with our Lord.

The Tribulation Period will only be 7 years long and is divided into 3 ½ years each. That is when the Antichrist will come on the scene and bring peace to the Jews and probably unite the religious world under his leadership. At the middle of the Tribulation, Antichrist will turn on the Jews and desecrate the Temple, setting himself up as a false Christ seeking worship for himself.  He turns on the Jews and the last 3 ½ years are known as The Great Tribulation because it will be so awful and violent persecution will prevalent. God is going to shorten this period because it will be so brutal. (24:22)

The Second Coming of Christ.

At the end of the Tribulation will be the Battle of Armageddon where Christ comes to this earth and every eye shall see Him.  He is victorious along with His people, fellow Christians (otherwise called saints in Scripture), He brought with Him from Heaven. Keep in mind that the Christians were resurrected from the graves and those alive were caught up (the Rapture) before the Tribulation Period began. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)

The Millennial Kingdom.

After the Tribulation Period, Christ will set up His Kingdom, a physical Kingdom and He will reign from Jerusalem for 1,000 years and this kingdom is referred to as The Millennial Kingdom. The world will experience peace and wars will cease. At present, we  have a spiritual kingdom, Christ in our hearts through the New Birth but this Millennial Kingdom will be a literal physical Kingdom with Christ on this earth.

The Great White Throne Judgment for those rejecting Christ.

After the 1,000 year reign will be The Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) where the unsaved will be resurrected from the graves along with those still alive and they will stand before God and sentenced to eternity in Hell along with the devil, beast and false prophet.  There are two resurrections in Scripture, one for the just (saved people) and one for the unjust (those rejecting Christ’s offer of pardon for them.) As believers in Christ we have been justified, made just, through the blood of Christ.  The unjust have not been justified because they refused to receive the New Birth (John 3:7).

The New Heavens and New Earth. (Revelation 21:1)

Then God will create a new heaven and a new earth (some say He will restore them) and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

So, there you have a brief (I emphasize brief) synopsis of end time events.

Verses 4-14 Signs of the Tribulation Period.

In these verses, 4-14, there are some signs that will accompany the last of the Church Age and the beginning of the Tribulation. Some of these signs we will see in the last days, but they, more specifically, refer to the Tribulation Period.

Here are these signs:
1. People pretending to be The Messiah.

2. Wars and threats of attacks from and against different countries.

3. Lack of food through severe famines.

4. Infectious diseases. (Pestilences. Some modern translations omit this, but Luke mentions it in 21:11 so I think it ought to be placed here also as the King James and Textus Receptus do and many other reliable versions.  Those omitting it are NLT, HCSB, ESV, NIV etc.)  It does not mean these translations are bad.  It just means they used some Greek manuscripts that omit it.  It is not a major point of contention.

5. Earthquakes increasing. (Statistics show an increase in the last 20 years.)

6. People killed for their faith in Christ Jesus. We are seeing people in America rapidly turning against the Christian community viciously in the last 10 years.

7. False preachers giving false predictions.

8. Large increase in open sinfulness turning many Christians away from the truth of God’s Word. (We see many so-called evangelicals adopting a modern-world theology and accepting many things that God calls sinful. Be careful to only accept God’s Word as the Authority or you could be deceived.)

9. The gospel of the kingdom reaching to the ends of the earth during the Tribulation Period. Many confuse this with the Church Age, but it relates to the time of Tribulation that is coming upon the earth.

Part IV Coming soon.

Ken Lewis Th.D.