The Book of Matthew Last Day Events

Lesson #11 for June 11, 2016

Scriptures: [Exodus 19:5-6; Matthew 23 & 24; John 12:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:16][i].

1.    In this lesson we will look at the issues connected with the second coming of Jesus Christ. The second coming of Jesus is irrevocably linked to His first coming. There was no reason for Him to come the first time if He does not plan to come back.

2.    In 1863, a small group of adventists organized themselves into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They thought that the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath and the soon coming of Jesus were the most important and most prominent truths that they believed. Were they wrong about the nearness of the second coming? More than 171 years after the Great Disappointment of 1844, we are still here. What went wrong? Why has there been such a delay?

The long night of gloom is trying, but the morning is deferred in mercy, because if the Master should come, so many would be found unready. God’s unwillingness to have His people perish, has been the reason of so long delay.—Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 194. (1868); Ev 694.2.

3.    How could Ellen White say that there had been “long delay” in 1868? What would she say today? What would God say to us as a group and as individuals about the delay?

Had Adventists, after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward. But in the period of doubt and uncertainty that followed the disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith.... Thus the work was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. Had the whole Adventist body united upon the commandments of [696] God and the faith of Jesus, how widely different would have been our history!

It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness....

For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord’s professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.—Ellen G. White, Manuscript 4, 1883; Evangelism 695.3-696.2. [Bold type is added.]

4.    In 1888, there was a conflict at the General Conference session which led Ellen White to make the following statement some time later about the outpouring of the latter rain:

An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord’s message through Brethren [E.J.] Waggoner and [A.T.] Jones.

By exciting that opposition Satan succeeded [235] in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world.—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, bk. 1, 234.6-235.0. [Bold type is added; content in brackets is present in the original.]

5.    How do you feel about the delay in the second coming? Why do you think there has been a delay? Some of us can remember generations past who have stated with great conviction that they thought Jesus would come in their day. But, He has not yet come. Why is that?

6.    For whatever reason, delay seems very often to be part of God’s plan. Think about Joseph, Abraham and Sarah, Caleb and Joshua, etc.

7.    In light of all of these issues, let us take a careful look at what Jesus said as recorded in Matthew 23 and 24 about the Jewish leaders in His day and then about the destruction of Jerusalem and His second coming.

8.    God had chosen the children of Israel to be His special people. His friends Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been promised the land of Canaan as the future home of their descendants. At the time of the exodus while camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, they received a message from God which said:

Exodus 19:5-7 (GNB): 5 “Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people, 6a people dedicated to me alone, and you will serve me as priests.” 7So Moses went down and called the leaders of the people together and told them everything that the LORD had commanded him.

9.    Unfortunately, over the next 40 years, they rebelled again and again until, finally, God was forced to say that He was not taking them into the land of Canaan because they deserved it, but rather, because He had promised it to their ancestors (Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 9:5; 10:15; 11:9)ii and fulfilling that promise was necessary to uphold His Own reputation. (Exodus 32:11-12; Numbers 14:13-19; Deuteronomy 9:28-29)iii Unfortunately, the children of Israel did not follow through on their covenant with God.

2 Kings 21:9-11 (GNB): 9But the people of Judah did not obey the LORD, and Manasseh led them to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the LORD had driven out of the land as his people advanced. 10 Through his servants the prophets the LORD said, 11 “King Manasseh has done these disgusting things, things far worse than what the Canaanites did; and with his idols he has led the people of Judah into sin.” [Bold type is added.]

10.    Second Kings 17:7-23iv tells us that the northern kingdom of Israel did just about everything that one could possibly imagine to rebel against God, and they were taken into captivity by the Assyrians and never heard from again. Judah did even worse, and God “sent” them into Babylonian captivity. Seventy years later as prophesied by Jeremiah, Cyrus allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem; but, only a handful left with Zerubabbel.

11.    About 80 to 90 years later, Ezra and Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem with a determination to straighten things out. The result was what we now know about in Jesus’s day as the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were so busy carrying out their religious duties that they did not have time to even think about what they were doing! Could we make the same mistake? If we join the Seventh-day Adventist Church and comfortably ride along on the Adventist “bus,” will that guarantee us a place in heaven?

12.    Matthew 23 is a terrible diatribe against the Jewish leaders. Finally, in Matthew 23:38, Jesus had to say: “Your house is left to you desolate.” When Jesus left the temple, it was no longer His Father’s house.

13.    There is an interesting statement in Matthew 23:35 that raises questions about our understanding of inspiration.

2 Chronicles 24:20-21 (GNB): 20Then the spirit of God took control of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood where the people could see him and called out, “The Lord God asks why you have disobeyed his commands and are bringing disaster on yourselves! You abandoned him, so he has abandoned you!” 21 King Joash joined in a conspiracy against Zechariah, and on the king’s orders the people stoned Zechariah in the temple courtyard. [This took place around the year 800 B.C.]

Zechariah 1:1 (GNB): In the eighth month of the second year that Darius was emperor of Persia, the LORD gave this message to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo. [He began his ministry in 520/519 B.C.] [Bold type and content in brackets are added.]

14.    Notice that it was not Zechariah son of Berechiah that was stoned to death; but rather, it was Zechariah son of Jehoiada! Matthew made a mistake! Does that bother you?

15.    In the Hebrew Bible, 2 Chronicles is placed at the end of the Bible. (The Jews do not recognize the New Testament, of course.) So, when Jesus mentioned Abel from Genesis and Zechariah from 2 Chronicles, He was including all of biblical history, and He was recognizing that there was already a kind of “order” in the books of the Old Testament. Remember that they still were using scrolls. The kind of books we use had not been invented yet. We are not going to throw Matthew out because he made a small historical error. Matthew was human like the rest of us. Some people want to reject Ellen White because on one occasion she gave the wrong number of rooms in a hospital. Ellen White was also human.

16.    As we know, a great transition was about to take place in God’s relationship with the human family. No longer were the Jews His select, chosen people. After Jesus died and rose again, going back to heaven, the disciples began to understand the mission He had assigned to them; and they preached those incredible sermons at Pentecost and other times. The family of God expanded to include all who responded to His call, including Gentiles. (Read Acts 11:19-21.)

17.    Read John 12:20-26. Some Greeks came from the west, requesting to see Jesus. They approached Philip who went to Andrew; together, they took the Greeks to Jesus. Jesus saw that as a foretaste of the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles. It is interesting to note that wise men came from the east to celebrate His birth; and then, Greeks came from the west just before His death. Jesus always meant to appeal to the entire world.

18.    Read Matthew 24:1-14[v]. In these verses Jesus began His warnings about the future of Jerusalem and of the world.

Jesus did not answer His disciples by taking up separately the destruction of Jerusalem and the great day of His coming. He mingled the description of these two events. Had He opened to His disciples future events as He beheld them, they would have been unable to endure the sight. In mercy to them He blended the description of the two great crises, leaving the disciples to study out the meaning for themselves.... This entire discourse was given, not for the disciples only, but for those who should live in the last scenes of this earth’s history.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages 628.1.

19.    Throughout Matthew 24, He made it very clear that the final events in this earth’s history will be a terrible time for Christians. The Devil knows that if a group of Christians remain faithful, he is finished. But, fortunately, if we stay faithful and endure until Christ comes back, it will be a wonderful and unique experience. Christ has promised us a home with Him forever.

20.    What did He say about the future of Jerusalem and the Jewish people? See Matthew 24:15-24vi.

Matthew 24:21 (GNB): ...that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been...

Daniel 12:1 (GNB): ...Then there will be a time of troubles, the worst since nations first came into existence.

Revelation 7:14 (GNB): He said to me, “These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution....” [Bold type is added.]

21.    The destruction of Jerusalem was an absolutely horrendous, awful event.

Christ saw in Jerusalem a symbol of the world hardened in unbelief and rebellion, and hastening on to meet the retributive judgments of God.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy 22.1.

22.    But, Jesus had warned them:

Luke 21:20-22 (NIV): “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.”

23.    Fortunately, Christians took His warnings seriously, and we read about what happened.

When Christians in Jerusalem saw this happen, they fled out of the city as Jesus instructed, whereas most of the Jews were left behind and perished. It is estimated that more than one million Jews perished during the siege of Jerusalem, with 97,000 more taken captive. (Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Tuesday, June 7)

However, during a temporary respite, when the Romans unexpectedly raised their siege of Jerusalem, all the Christians fled, and it is said that not one of them lost his life. Their place of retreat was Pella, a city in the foothills east of the Jordan River, about 17 mi. c. 27 km.) south of the Lake of Galilee.—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 499.

Pella (Ancient Greek: nsAAa, also known in Arabic as Tabaqat Fahl) is found in northwestern Jordan, 27.4 km (17 miles) south of the Sea of Galilee.[1] Pella represents one of ten Decapolis cities that were founded during the Hellenistic period and became powerful under Roman jurisdiction. With a history extending back into the Bronze Age, Pella expanded to its largest state during the reign of the Roman Empire....According to Eusebius of Caesarea, Pella was a refuge for Jerusalem Christians in the 1st century AD who were fleeing the Jewish-Roman wars. The fighting finally stopped when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.—“Pella, Jordan,” Wikipedia, April 10, 2016.

But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. And when those that believed in Christ had come thither from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men.—Eusebius, History of the Church, 3.5.3.Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 3.5.3) and Epiphanius of Salamis in Cyprus (A.D. 315-403) (Adv. Haeres. 29.7.7-8) mention Pella of the Decapolis as a place of refuge for the Christian community of Jerusalem in A.D. 69-70.—Rey-Coquais, J.-P. (1992). Decapolis. In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), S. Rosoff (Trans.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 2, p. 116). New York: Doubleday. [Bold type is added.]

24. It is hard to read about the destruction of Jerusalem. And it is even harder to imagine that the events just before the second coming of Jesus will be even worse!

Terrible were the calamities that fell upon Jerusalem when the siege was resumed by Titus. The city was invested at the time of the Passover, when millions of Jews were assembled within its walls. Their stores of provision, which if carefully preserved would have supplied the inhabitants for years, had previously been destroyed through the jealousy and revenge of the contending factions, and now all the horrors of starvation were experienced. A measure of wheat was sold for a talent. So fierce were the pangs of hunger that men would gnaw the leather of their belts and sandals and the covering of their shields.

Great numbers of the people would steal out at night to gather wild plants growing outside the city walls, though many were seized and put to death with cruel torture, and often those who returned in safety were robbed of what they had gleaned at so great peril. The most inhuman tortures were inflicted by those in power, to force from the want-stricken people the last scanty supplies which they might have concealed. And these cruelties were not infrequently practiced by men who were themselves well fed, and who were merely desirous of laying up a store of provision for the future.

Thousands perished from famine and pestilence. Natural affection seemed to have been destroyed. Husbands robbed their wives, and wives their husbands. Children would be seen snatching the food from the mouths of their aged parents. The question of the prophet, “Can a woman forget her sucking child?” received the answer within the walls of that doomed city: “The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.” Isaiah 49:15; Lamentations 4:10. Again was fulfilled the warning prophecy given fourteen centuries before: “The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, ... and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.” Deuteronomy 28:56, 57.

The Roman leaders endeavored to strike terror to the Jews and thus cause them to surrender. Those prisoners who resisted when taken, were scourged, tortured, and crucified before the wall of the city. Hundreds were daily put to death in this manner, and the dreadful work continued until, along the Valley of Jehoshaphat and at Calvary, crosses were erected in so great numbers that there was scarcely room to move among them. So terribly was visited that awful imprecation uttered before the judgment seat of Pilate: “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Matthew 27:25.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy 31.2-32.2.

25.    Why do you think that people even in our day try to imitate Christ? After all, He was only a poor, itinerant Galilean Rabbi who was crucified as a Traitor. So, if one does not believe that He was indeed God’s only Son, why would s/he be trying to imitate Him 2000 years later?

26.    Fortunately, Scripture gives us a clear picture of the second coming of Christ. Read [Matthew 24:27,30-31; and Revelation 1:7]vii.

27.    Jesus intends to come back Himself. (John 14:1-3)viii His coming will be visible to all who are living, and it will be very loud-loud enough to wake up the dead!

28.    Interestingly enough, that is exactly what the Jews were hoping would occur at the time of the first coming of Jesus. Will our hopes be dashed as theirs were? Do we have any false ideas about what might happen to us and how the actual coming will take place? The second coming and the events connected with it are the Christian’s ultimate hope. Without that hope, we will rot in the ground just like others!

29.    However, we need to understand that either at the second coming or at the third coming, everyone will be raised from the dead. See John 5:28-29ix.

30.    As eager as Christians have been to see the second coming of Christ, it should not be any surprise that some have tried to set a date. Read Matthew 24:36-37,42. It should be clear that since we have no way of knowing when that day will take place, we must be ready at all times.

31.    Read Matthew 24:32-35[x]. How do you explain the words in Matthew 24:34?

Dr. Richard Lehmann, writing in The Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, says that the Greek word translated “generation” corresponds to the Hebrew word dor, which is often used to designate a group or class of people, such as a “stubborn and rebellious generation” (Ps. 78:8). Thus, Jesus was not using the word to depict time or dates but to depict the class of evil people whom He had been referring to. Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Friday, June 10.

In harmony with this OT usage, Jesus would have used the term “this generation” without a temporal meaning, to refer to a class of people. The evil generation would include all who share evil characteristics (Matt. 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38).—Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (Hagerstown: Review and Herald® Publishing Association, 2000), p. 904.

In other words, evil will remain until the end of time-until Jesus comes back.

32.    Read Matthew 24:42-51xi. In His usual style-by the use of a parable-Jesus warned us about the necessity of remaining faithful and ready at all times. The unfaithful servant was not ready when his master returned, and he suffered a terrible fate. But, those who were ready received a great reward. Eternal vigilance is our only safety.

33.    Some of our Christian friends have very different ideas about the millennium and the second coming. Have you talked with any of them about it? The passages we have read today make it very clear that those alternative explanations of the second coming-in some kind of secret rapture or coming to reign as a king on earth for a thousand years-do not fit the biblical picture.

34.    Read Revelation 6:9-11xii. Those who have been martyred are figuratively asking God why the delay. And God responds by saying, “Wait a little while longer.” Do you foresee many more martyrs in the future? Are you prepared to stand firm for the cause of God no matter what?

© 2016, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged.    Info@theox.org

i-Exodus 19:5 Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people, 6 a people dedicated to me alone, and you will serve me as priests.”

Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2 “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law. 3 So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practice what they preach. 4 They tie onto people's backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads. 5 They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks![a] 6 They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Teacher.’ 8 You must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you are all equal and have only one Teacher. 9 And you must not call anyone here on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only the one Father in heaven. 10 Nor should you be called ‘Leader,’ because your one and only leader is the Messiah. 11 The greatest one among you must be your servant. 12 Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great.

Jesus Condemns Their Hypocrisy

13 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter! 14 [b]

15 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are!

16 “How terrible for you, blind guides! You teach, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy? 18 You also teach, ‘If someone swears by the altar, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gift on the altar, he is bound.’ 19 How blind you are! Which is the more important, the gift or the altar which makes the gift holy? 20 So then, when a person swears by the altar, he is swearing by it and by all the gifts on it; 21 and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there; 22 and when someone swears by heaven, he is swearing by God's throne and by him who sits on it.

23 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel!

25 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness. 26 Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too!

27 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.

Jesus Predicts Their Punishment

29 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives; 30 and you claim that if you had lived during the time of your ancestors, you would not have done what they did and killed the prophets. 31 So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets! 32 Go on, then, and finish up what your ancestors started! 33 You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell? 34 And so I tell you that I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others, and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town. 35 As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent people will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. 36 I tell you indeed: the punishment for all these murders will fall on the people of this day!

Jesus' Love for Jerusalem

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me! 38 And so your Temple will be abandoned and empty. 39 From now on, I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, ‘God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

24:1 Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Yes,” he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”

Troubles and Persecutions

3 As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”

4 Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. 5 Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people. 6 You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. 7 Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. 8 All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.

9 “Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. 10 Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. 12 Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. 13 But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 14 And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.

The Awful Horror

15 “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” (Note to the reader: understand what this means!) 16 “Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills. 17 Someone who is on the roof of a house must not take the time to go down and get any belongings from the house. 18 Someone who is in the field must not go back to get a cloak. 19 How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! 20 Pray to God that you will not have to run away during the winter or on a Sabbath! 21 For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again. 22 But God has already reduced the number of days; had he not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, God will reduce the days.

23 “Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. 25 Listen! I have told you this ahead of time.

26 “Or, if people should tell you, ‘Look, he is out in the desert!’—don't go there; or if they say, ‘Look, he is hiding here!’—don't believe it. 27 For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.

28 “Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 “Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.[a] 34 Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

No One Knows the Day and Hour

36 “No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son;[b] the Father alone knows. 37 The coming of the Son of Man will be like what happened in the time of Noah. 38 In the days before the flood people ate and drank, men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat; 39 yet they did not realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40 At that time two men will be working in a field: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. 41 Two women will be at a mill grinding meal: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. 42 Watch out, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. 43 If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house. 44 So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant

45 “Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant? It is the one that his master has placed in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time. 46 How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! 47 Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. 48 But if he is a bad servant, he will tell himself that his master will not come back for a long time, 49 and he will begin to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 Then that servant's master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. 51 The master will cut him in pieces[c] and make him share the fate of the hypocrites. There he will cry and gnash his teeth.

John 12:20 Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival. 21 They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

22 Philip went and told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory. 24 I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. 25 Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. 26 Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 There will be the shout of command, the archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first;

ii-Exodus 32:13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Remember the solemn promise you made to them to give them as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and to give their descendants all that land you promised would be their possession forever.”

Deuteronomy 9:5 It is not because you are good and do what is right that the LORD is letting you take their land. He will drive them out because they are wicked and because he intends to keep the promise that he made to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

10:15 But the LORD's love for your ancestors was so strong that he chose you instead of any other people, and you are still his chosen people.

11:9 And you will live a long time in the rich and fertile land that the LORD promised to give your ancestors and their descendants.

iii-Exodus 32:11 But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God and said, “LORD, why should you be so angry with your people, whom you rescued from Egypt with great might and power? 12 Why should the Egyptians be able to say that you led your people out of Egypt, planning to kill them in the mountains and destroy them completely? Stop being angry; change your mind and do not bring this disaster on your people.

Numbers 14:13 But Moses said to the LORD, “You brought these people out of Egypt by your power. When the Egyptians hear what you have done to your people, 14 they will tell it to the people who live in this land. These people have already heard that you, LORD, are with us, that you appear in plain sight when your cloud stops over us, and that you go before us in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill all your people, the nations who have heard of your fame will say 16 that you killed your people in the wilderness because you were not able to bring them into the land you promised to give them. 17 So now, LORD, I pray, show us your power and do what you promised when you said, 18 ‘I, the LORD, am not easily angered, and I show great love and faithfulness and forgive sin and rebellion. Yet I will not fail to punish children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for the sins of their parents.’ 19 And now, LORD, according to the greatness of your unchanging love, forgive, I pray, the sin of these people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 9:28 Otherwise, the Egyptians will say that you were unable to take your people into the land that you had promised them. They will say that you took your people out into the desert to kill them, because you hated them. 29 After all, these are the people whom you chose to be your own and whom you brought out of Egypt by your great power and might.’

iv-2 Kings 17:7 Samaria fell because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the king of Egypt and had led them out of Egypt. They worshiped other gods, 8 followed the customs of the people whom the LORD had driven out as his people advanced, and adopted customs introduced by the kings of Israel.[a] 9 The Israelites did[b] things that the LORD their God disapproved of. They built pagan places of worship in all their towns, from the smallest village to the largest city. 10 On all the hills and under every shady tree they put up stone pillars and images of the goddess Asherah, 11 and they burned incense on all the pagan altars, following the practice of the people whom the LORD had driven out of the land. They aroused the LORD's anger with all their wicked deeds 12 and disobeyed the LORD's command not to worship idols.

13 The LORD had sent his messengers and prophets to warn Israel and Judah: “Abandon your evil ways and obey my commands, which are contained in the Law I gave to your ancestors and which I handed on to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not obey; they were stubborn like their ancestors, who had not trusted in the LORD their God. 15 They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them. 16 They broke all the laws of the LORD their God and made two metal bull-calves to worship; they also made an image of the goddess Asherah, worshiped the stars, and served the god Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters as burnt offerings to pagan gods; they consulted mediums and fortunetellers, and they devoted themselves completely to doing what is wrong in the LORD's sight, and so aroused his anger. 18 The LORD was angry with the Israelites and banished them from his sight, leaving only the kingdom of Judah.

19 But even the people of Judah did not obey the laws of the LORD their God; they imitated the customs adopted by the people of Israel. 20 The LORD rejected all the Israelites, punishing them and handing them over to cruel enemies until at last he had banished them from his sight.

21 After the LORD had separated Israel from Judah, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam caused them to abandon the LORD and led them into terrible sins. 22 They followed Jeroboam and continued to practice all the sins he had committed, 23 until at last the LORD banished them from his sight, as he had warned through his servants the prophets that he would do. So the people of Israel were taken into exile to Assyria, where they still live.

v-Matthew 24: 1 Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Yes,” he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”

Troubles and Persecutions

3 As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”

4 Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. 5 Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people. 6 You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. 7 Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. 8 All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.

9 “Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. 10 Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. 12 Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. 13 But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 14 And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.

vi-Matthew 24:15 “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” (Note to the reader: understand what this means!) 16 “Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills. 17 Someone who is on the roof of a house must not take the time to go down and get any belongings from the house. 18 Someone who is in the field must not go back to get a cloak. 19 How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! 20 Pray to God that you will not have to run away during the winter or on a Sabbath! 21 For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again. 22 But God has already reduced the number of days; had he not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, God will reduce the days.

23 “Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible.

vii-Matthew 24:27 For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

Revelation 1:7 Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!

viii-John 14:1 “Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe[a] in God and believe also in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so.[b] 3 And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.

ix-John 5:28 Do not be surprised at this; the time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice 29 and come out of their graves: those who have done good will rise and live, and those who have done evil will rise and be condemned.

x-Matthew 24:32 “Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.[a] 34 Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

xi-Matthew 24:42 Watch out, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. 43 If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house. 44 So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant

45 “Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant? It is the one that his master has placed in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time. 46 How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! 47 Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. 48 But if he is a bad servant, he will tell himself that his master will not come back for a long time, 49 and he will begin to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 Then that servant's master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. 51 The master will cut him in pieces[a] and make him share the fate of the hypocrites. There he will cry and gnash his teeth.

xii-Revelation 6:9 Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been faithful in their witnessing. 10 They shouted in a loud voice, “Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?” 11 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and believers were killed, as they had been.

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