Matthew 24:15-28
“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the
prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then
let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let
the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,
and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his
cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those
who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your
flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then
there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the
world until now, no, and never will be. And if those
days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of
the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone
says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform
great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
See, I have told you beforehand. So, if
they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say,
‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For
as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be
the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is,
there the vultures will gather.”
I
have no desire to be a fool, so let me be clear that I have no understanding of
when this will take place, or if it has taken place. Often when it seems that God is quiet on a Scripture
I will look to see what has been reveled to others, and that is what I am doing
in this paper. In the Holman Study
Bible, the authors have this to say about verses 15-24, “These verses probably describe events
related to the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in A.D. 70.” (Page
1660) We do know that in A.D. 70 a Roman
general and later the emperor Titus held Jerusalem under siege and on August
28, A.D. the Roman troops torched the temple as is reported by the historian
Josephus. Now back to Holman Study
Bible. “However, Matthew 24:29, closely associates
this tribulation period with the second coming of Jesus. This implies that these events closely
parallel things that will occur immediately before Jesus return (2 Th 2:3-4). The entire period ranging from the
destruction of the temple to the events preceding Christ’s return may be
described as a period of great tribulation for Christ’s followers. The abomination that causes desolation is an
idolatrous object that will desecrate the Jerusalem temple as foretold in
Daniel 9:27. Though Josephus identified
it as the shedding of priestly blood in the sanctuary several years before the
destruction of the temple (War 4.147-201; 4.343; 5.17-18; cp. Matthew
23:29-36), Jesus’ description of the abomination as standing in the temple
implies that it is an object, not an event.”
Two
things that we can grasp hold of are those who by faith have trusted in Jesus
will not perish, and that Jesus’ return will be visible to everyone on
earth. Even in tribulation we are more than
conquerors in Christ Jesus. As Children of the King of Kings and the Lord of
Lords, we are on the winning side. So my
dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus told us; “These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you
will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
From
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
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