commentary matthew 24:14
So there is a one missing seven-year cycle that God is determined upon the nation of Israel, and the city of Jerusalem. See that you are not disturbed; for these things must happen; but the end is not 7. yet. Matthew 24 Commentary - Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible In this way, as I believe, we may and should account for the difference between Matthew and Mark in this particular, without in the smallest degree casting the shadow of an imperfection upon one any more than on the other; while the fact, already pressed, that eye-witnessing, while employed as a servant, is never allowed to govern in the composition of the gospels, bespeaks loudly that men forget their true Author in searching into the writers He employed, and that the only key to all difficulties is the simple but weighty truth that it was God communicating His mind about Jesus, as by Matthew so by Mark. Satan acts most mischievously, when he appears as an angel of light: the colour of the greatest good is often the cover of the greatest evil. 1. It is the fig tree once more, but used for a far different purpose. What is meant by "then the end shall come?" The trumpet of God shall sound, "and they shall gather together, His elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other. till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.". Pay, then, to Caesar his dues. The gold in the dome melted and came down in these crevasses. This transition, in my judgment, leads from the part particularly devoted to the destinies of the Jewish people, and opens into that which concerns the Christian profession. If possible. It is true that through the ages many men have come, claiming to be the Savior of the world. The piece of money they produced proved their subjection to the Gentiles. And you can see the rubble down there in the bottom of the valley, as these stones were just pushed over, and cracked, and broken, and are still lying in disarray in the bottom there on the street, broke these great pavement stones of the street as they fell. For the modern reader, phrases such as "all the world" and "all nations" have a ring of absolute universality (Fowler 434). Did it convey the notion of a hearty and true reception of the Messiah, with fruits meet for His hand who had so long tended it, and failed in no care or culture? Jesus answered, "Be on the look-out 5. lest anyone lead you astray, for many will come in my name saying, 'I am God's Anointed One,' and they will lead many 6. astray. 3). In Mark 9:1 Jesus is reported as saying, "Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come with power." Giving to the household their meat in due season. Although the people of Jesus day would not see the final events of the worlds history, many of them would certainly see a foreshadowing of those events; for they would live to witness the horror of the Romans destruction of Jerusalem. Once more, ere Jesus is led out to be crucified, the Jews showed what they were morally; for when the coarse-minded heathen put before them the alternative of releasing Jesus or Barabbas, their instant preference (not without priestly instigation) was a wretch, a robber, a murderer. The following may seem unbelievable. Therefore I do assert, with the fullest conviction of its truth, that, as the oil in the parable sets forth, not prophetic intelligence, but the gift of God's Spirit, so every Christian, and no other, has the Holy Ghost dwelling in him. When the resurrection comes, it will be manifest to every eye. The Spirit really wrote, "Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour." The present age will come to an end as Jesus returns in power and glory to save his own and judge his enemies (Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:25-28). Next follows the parable of the ten virgins; then, last of these, is that of the talents. Why should it not be carried out speedily to burial? The second said, "I will tell men there is no hell." 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. The beautiful end of Matthew is, that (while chief priests and elders essay to cover their wickedness by falsehood and bribery, and their lie "is commonly reported among the Jews until this day,") our Lord meets His disciples on a mountain in Galilee, according to His appointment, and sends them to disciple all the Gentiles. What we find here is a process of gathering the chosen, not merely of the Jews, but of all Isaiah, as I suppose, from the four winds of heaven. The servant who fulfilled his duty faithfully was given a still greater place; and the servant who failed was dealt with in severity. And that it will be the vultures that will come into the Valley of Megiddo to devour all of these slain bodies that are there.And someone even had a rumor that vultures were multiplying very rapidly in Israel, and that all the vultures were laying four and five eggs, instead of the usual two and all, which is all a bunch of poppycock. I tell you there is nothing secret about lightening that lights up the whole sky. Immediately after the tribulations of those days, then shall appear. the disciples came unto him privately, and they said, Tell us, when are these things going to be? Satan answered, "You will deceive no one that way; men know even now that there is q hell for sin." So Jesus is saying that no man knows the day, or the hour, only the Father. Fruit of righteousness can only be through Jesus to God's glory; and Jesus they yet despised. He is rejected now. Blessed is that servant, who is doing this when the Lord comes. Now in the beginning he said, "seventy sevens are determined upon the nation Israel". There are thus many added circumstances in harmony with the case. One false traitor in the garrison may do more mischief than a thousand avowed enemies without. One evil eye may too soon communicate its foul impression, and thereby many be defiled. And the idea that the Lord is going to delay His coming, until after some particular event, does not really create a real impetus towards diligence in serving the Lord, but usually has as its effect, a slothfulness, according to the words of Christ. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various 8. places. Of course, if the youngest in Christ are so privileged, the young men and fathers do not want. Therefore, if God calls Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it is not an unmeaning thing. What does Matthew 24:14 mean? In the gospel of Luke there is a similar one, though it might be too much to affirm that it is the same. The Age of Confusion Author: Ray C. Stedman Read the Scripture: Matthew 24:4-14 "What will be the sign of your coming and [the sign] of the close of the age?" This is the question the disciples ask Jesus as he sits on the Mount of Olives with the faithless city spread out below him. In the resurrection is seen the mighty power of God; but what is power for a sinner, with God before his soul, compared with righteousness? Now the Jehovah Witnesses really have a time when they get to this verse of scripture, double-talking. He is going to catch a lot of people by surprise. The same phenomenon will also occur before the second event, the end of the world. Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; see The New Testament World). Now I do know that many missions' groups take this as their real challenge and impetus for foreign missionary work, but I do not feel that it is a necessary requirement that the Lord cannot come for the church, until we have taken the gospel into all the world; and thus, our primary emphasis should be missionary outreach getting the gospel into all the world so Jesus can come again. It is clearly to have the Holy Ghost, whom every saint that submits to the righteousness of God in Christ has dwelling within him. It was indeed the power of the Spirit of God that controlled his heart; even as to Christ "the porter opened." If I have to serve Him, I do well to learn and ponder His every word and way; and in this the style and mode of Mark's gospel is invaluable. In fact, if God did not stop the butchery, no one would be left alive. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes would be relatively common occurrences (Matthew 24:6-8). (iv) This is all to say that Christianity brings a new conscience into life. Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." the Herodians. What was attempted by man completely broke down. When the hope revives, the position is recovered, not before. Matthew 7:7-11 link prayer and faithful living. "An ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Now the Lord does not leave us in total darkness concerning these seven years.He then went on to say, now the prince of the people that shall come, that would be the leader of this final world empire the ten nation federation in Europe, who is called the son of perdition, the man of sin, the beast, or several different names in the scriptures, commonly called the antichrist; he will make a covenant with the nation of Israel. Through his covenant he will be hailed as the Messiah; and thus the covenant no doubt will entail somewhat the rebuilding of the temple, because they say today, that they will recognize the Messiah because he will help them to build their temple and restore the worship. And the people will be dispersed. 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. And he describes it, chapter five, he describes the scroll in the right hand of Him, who is sitting upon the throne, and the worship and glory that is given to Christ, when He takes the scroll, and assumes the authority and power that is His. And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world But, notwithstanding these persecutions, there should be a universal publication of the glad tidings of the kingdom, for a testimony to all nations. (ii) They tell us that that time will come with shattering suddenness on those who are immersed in material things. In Matthew 24:1-51 he gathers together things that Jesus said about the future and gives us the vision of things to come. The verses are Matthew 24:6-8 and Matthew 24:29-31. Of two men in the field; of two women grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left. There are two missions of the servants of the Lord here: one during His lifetime; the other after His death. Matthew 24:6-14 meaning. We are not told that our Lord rose at that time; still less is it said that the angel of the Lord rolled away the stone for Him. It is remarkable that, although there had been signs and wonders given from time to time in Israel, miraculous cures wrought, dead even raised to life, and leprosy cleansed, yet never, previously to the Messiah, do we hear of restoring the blind to sight. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing ( Matthew 24:45-46 ). 12. What I have ventured to suggest I believe to be a motive, and an adequate motive, for the difference; but we must remember that divine wisdom has depths of aim infinitely beyond our ability to sound. the rejected king took but slight interest in the temple of which his disciples thought so much. How much, how little was man seen! Next is appended the Gentile part to itself. Matthew 24:14-28 NIV - And this gospel of the kingdom will be - Bible B. When we consider that saying, three possibilities emerge. The Pharisees were the high ecclesiastical party; the Herodians, on the contrary, were the low worldly courtier party: those, the strong sticklers for tradition and righteousness according to the law; these, the panderers to the powers that then were for whatever could be got in the earth. 272. We have already seen that it is one of the great characteristics of Matthew that he gathers together in large blocks the teaching of Jesus about different subjects. With clever tricks and comforting words they would assure them that the Messiah had returned and was hiding in some safe place, waiting to lead his people to victory. Apostasy from the truth, Matthew 24:10-13. Note, The consideration of the unchangeableness of the divine counsels, which govern all events, should compose and quiet our spirits, whatever happens. Either, then, God must raise them from the dead, in order to make good His promises to the fathers; or He could not be careful to keep His promises.