 Okay, it's taking a little bit of time to turn on. Okay, it's on. Good. All right. Greetings, everyone. Welcome back to our second lecture on BC 213, the end times. We are in chapter one, our introduction chapter. We're just kind of laying out the groundwork to start looking at the end times and the sequence of events. We, previous class, we went through some examples of the Bible being, or the Bible being a prophetic book and the reliability of the prophetic scriptures. What we want to do now is we just want to read through Matthew chapter 24. And the whole chapter is the discourse or the teaching given by the Lord Jesus. It's a long chapter, but I just want us to read through it. And then I want to just break it down to show it to us in sections saying, this is what he said, which will happen in this time period. This is what he said, which will happen in this time period. So if you break it down into the time periods that we understand, then it becomes very clear for us about when certain things are going to happen. So let's begin Matthew 24. I just request different people. So it's a long chapter that has 51 verses, but just different people to maybe read about five verses each and just pass it on. So each one could maybe read five and we can just take turns and go through it and read through it first quickly. Matthew 24 verses one to five. Somebody could read that first, please. Matthew chapter 24 verse one to five. Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. Do you see all these things he asked? I tell you the truth. Not one stone here will be left on another. Everyone will be thrown down. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. Tell us they said, when will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Jesus answered, watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name claiming I am the Christ and will deceive many. Okay, somebody from continue, please. Verse 6 to 10. Verse 6. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled. For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famine, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Verse 9. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another and will hate one another. Verse 11 to 15. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations. And then the end will come. Therefore, when you see the abomination of the restoration spoken by Daniel, the prophet standing in the holy places, whoever reads it, whoever reads, let him understand. Amen. Thank you. Next. 16 to 20. Somebody? Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the house top not go down to take anything out of his house and let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes, but go to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days. Verse 20. And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. Thank you. What's this, 21 to 25, somebody? But then, sorry, 21 to 25. For then there will be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time. No, not ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect sakes, those days will be shortened. Then if anyone says to you, look here is the Christ or there do not believe it. For false cries and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the erect. See, I have told you beforehand. Thank you. Verse 26 to 30, please, somebody? Verses 26 to 30. Therefore, if they say to you, look, he is in the desert, do not go out or look. He is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also the coming of the Son of Man be for wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. The coming of the Son of Man. Immediately after the tribulation of those two east, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will moon and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Thank you. 31 to 35, somebody? And he will send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet. They will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now, learn this parable from the victory. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near at the doors. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. Thank you. 36 to 40, please, somebody? But of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my father only. But as days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. 41, 45. Two women will be grinning with a handmill, one will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch. Before you do not know on what your day, Lord will come. What day your Lord will come, but understand this. If the owner of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would have not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Then who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time. Okay, last 46 to 51. Bless is the servant when his Lord, he comes shall find shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall shall say in his heart, my Lord, lays his coming and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and to drink with with the drunkards. The Lord of their servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of and shall cut him as thunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and garnishing of the teeth. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. All right, so this is a very, very interesting chapter because you know how it starts off. Jesus with his disciples, they are in Jerusalem. Jesus looks at the temple and he says, I'm telling you, this is Matthew 24, 1 and 2, this temple is going to be destroyed. I imagine if you are sitting, you know, you're one of the disciples of Jesus and you hear him tell that this temple is going to be destroyed. Now, this is not an ordinary temple. This is, yeah, so as I told you, I see a note in the chat. That's fine. Yeah, this is not odd. This is the main temple, Solomon's temple. And Jesus is saying this temple is going to be destroyed, not one stone will be left. It's going to be thrown down. So obviously, the disciples are saying, wow, that's a strange thing for anybody to say that this temple is going to be destroyed. So they wait till they're away alone with Jesus. So they've gone to the Mount of Olives and they're with, you know, they have this personal time and they say, come to him, Jesus, and they say, Lord, can you tell us when is this going to happen? You said, this temple is going to be destroyed. When is this going to happen? When is going to be your coming, the sign of your coming? Because in their minds, they have recognized Jesus as the Messiah. That means he's the one who's going to come and rule and reign on the earth. You know, he's the one who's fulfilling the prophecies. As I said, the government will be upon his shoulder and to the end of his government, to the increase of his government, there will be no end. So if this one, this person is going to fulfill that prophecy, which is one of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that means he is going to have his kingdom. He's going to have his government and it's going to be so powerful and there will be no end to that government. So they come into Jesus and saying, when is the sign of your coming? You are coming, you know, you're going to come in power and authority and all this is going to end. So they're connecting this temple being destroyed with the coming of the Messiah with the end of the age. So they're asking, please tell us. Now, it's very interesting. What Jesus spoke about, he said, this temple will be destroyed. It was actually fulfilled within the next 40 years. So Jesus spoke that around AD 30. That's about the time when Jesus lived. AD 70, 40 years later, the Roman emperor Titus, he came to Jerusalem because there was a rebellion and all of that. He came and their temple was destroyed. So what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24 verse 2 was actually fulfilled immediately, meaning within 40 years, literally it was fulfilled. But what Jesus spoke thereafter, that is from verse 4 onwards, goes way out into time, things that are yet to be fulfilled. So I want us to see this that in this one chapter, Matthew 24, there are different timelines for different things, different timelines. The fact is verse 2, which actually prompted the disciples asking this question, tell us when you are going to come and when will be the end of the age. That verse 2 was actually fulfilled within 40 years. Temple was destroyed. But the things Jesus continued to talk about, the sign of his coming and the end of the age is way out into the future. And it's all in one chapter, Matthew 24. So as we read this chapter, we must keep in mind that there are specific time periods that are actually being spoken off. And if we can see it clearly, then our understanding of the end times, end time prophecy becomes very clear. Example, we said, the time period for Matthew 24, 2 was that time itself, within the first century, 80, 17, fulfilled, happened. Temple is destroyed, no longer there. But now when we get into verse 4 onwards, Matthew 24, verse 4, here's how I want you to follow with me. Jesus is talking about signs. So he talks about deception. This is from verse 4 onwards, that verse 4 and 5, there will be many who come to deceive people. They will say, I am the Christ, I am the Messiah, I am, there will be deception, false prophets and preachers. Verse 6, there will be wars. Verse 7, the nations will be fighting. There will be famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Verse 8, he says, but this is only the beginning. There's only the starting, the beginning of sorrows. I mean, beginning of, which later on he will call it tribulation. This is the beginning of sorrows. I mean, this is like, okay, it's like the buildup. You know, example, the volcano is getting ready to burst, but it's not yet bursting. It's just building up. Then verse 9, you'll be hated by people for my name's sake, that people will be hating believers, Christians, those who follow Jesus. There'll be betrayal. Verse 10, verse 11, there'll be false prophets. Verse 12, there will be lawlessness and people will have no love. Love will grow cold. There's no love, no more love. There's no more compassion. Verse 12, verse 13, he who endures to the end will be saved. Verse 14 becomes very important. The gospel will be preached to all nations, and then the end will come. So, verses 4 to 14 is a buildup because he says, then the end will come. Then the end will come. So, verse 4 to 14, time period, it's a preliminary. It's a buildup to the end, the beginning of the end, then the end will come. So, these are, verses 4 to 14 are three curses. There are things that are going to happen, and they'll get worse and worse, but that is still not the end. They are leading up to the beginning of the end. The key is the gospel, verse 14, the gospel will be preached to all the nations as a witness, and then the end will come. So, what I want us to see is, verses 4 to 14 is a preliminary time period. It is not in the end, but it is before the beginning of the end, and we are familiar with all these things. There have always been false prophets and people who claim to be Christ, and there have always been wars, and there have always been rumors of wars, and there have always been earthquakes and pestilence, there have always been there, and believers have always been persecuted in different parts of the world, and there have always been false prophets, and verse 12, there have always been lawlessness, and it's always been there, but it's like before the beginning of the end, these things would be even worse than before. It's worse than before, and the most important thing is that gospel will be preached to all the nations, and then the end will come. But I want you to think about something. When Jesus was speaking this, he was sitting, maybe sitting by the Mount of Olives, he was sitting with his disciples, you know, 12, maybe there are a few people extra, we don't know, they were just sitting there, and at that time, when Jesus was speaking in Matthew 24, the gospel, the good news, the message of the good news had not gone very far, yet it had just gone in those districts around Jerusalem, so maybe within 200, a radius of 200 miles, that's it, wherever Jesus had physically gone and preached, that's where the gospel had gone till that time, so he's sitting on the mountain, on the Mount of Olives side, he's sitting, and he's saying, this gospel will go to all the nations, think about it, he's sitting with a few handful of disciples, and he's saying this gospel will go to all the nations as a witness, how can it happen? They're just so few of the people there, they're sitting in some place outside Jerusalem, but Jesus is saying this gospel will go to all the nations, and here we are today, 2000 years later, and truly the gospel has gone, we could say, we could say almost all, it has gone almost everywhere, it is true that there may be some parts of the world where the gospel has not reached maybe certain places still have to be reached, and certain communities may still have to be reached, but every continent, and perhaps we could even say every country, and every nation has heard, it may not have gone down all the way to every community, but I think with good confidence we could say the gospel has gone to every known nation, so verses 4 to 14 is this preliminary, the precursor or the buildup, the signs that are building up towards the beginning of the end, the key is the gospel being reached to all the nations, which we can say in our day and time is almost completely fulfilled, yes, if you say in terms of communities, yeah, we haven't reached everybody, but in terms of maybe geographical nations, I think the gospel has gone to every nation, so it's there, then verse 15 begins another time period, because now after Jesus, then the end will come, the key to the end, he begins by saying when you see verse 15, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, this is interesting, now Jesus is quoting Daniel, which we read Daniel, actually we didn't read all the verses, but in Daniel chapter 9 verses 25 to 27, Daniel speaks about the, in verse 27, he talks about the abomination of desolation, he talks about this man of peace, and he mentions this in several chapters, and like I said we will study Daniel's verse next year, but he mentions this man of peace, Daniel 9 verse 27, who comes, who sets up a piece, a covenant of peace for one week, that is for seven years, Daniel chapter 9 verse 27, and in the middle of the week, that means three and a half years, he will bring an end to sacrifice and offering, he will stop the sacrifices and offering, and he will move so quickly to do abomination, so it's just on the wings of abomination, wings talking about speed, he will move so quickly to do abomination, he will make desolate, he will just defile and destroy, and so Daniel 9 verse 27, Jesus is quoting Daniel 9, and he says look, this is when you look for this man whom Daniel spoke about, the abomination of desolation, but remember how this, this man start, he starts by making a covenant of peace for seven years, Daniel 9 verse 27, very clearly seven years, so he starts as a man of peace, he makes a covenant of peace, but in the middle of the seven years is when he will perform his abomination, very quickly, he will defile the temple, he will stop the sacrifices, so literally Matthew 24.15 is pointing us to the seven years of Daniel 9.27, that means Matthew 24.14 is the buildup to the seven years, and then Jesus quoting, this is what will happen, now very interesting, in the next verse, verse 60, Jesus says, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, now why is Jesus talking very specifically about Jerusalem, Judea, because we will see that the seven years of tribulation, there is a lot of focus on Israel as a nation, and there is a lot of, the seven years of tribulation has to do with Israel, now it doesn't mean that the whole world will not be affected, we will see in Revelation that when God is pouring out the judgments during the seven years of tribulation, the whole world is affected, but the focus is on Israel, and so Jesus is, and the Antichrist is going to go out all against Israel, Revelation 12, we will see it, so Jesus is talking, look if you are in Jerusalem, you can't even go out, so he's saying verse 16, if you're in Judea run to the mountains because we will read the Antichrist is going to go out all out against the elect, meaning the believers, but more specifically against the Jewish people, and so he says, pray that you don't have to run in winter around the Sabbath, verse 20, verse 24, that means the intensity of attack against Israel as a nation is going to be so great, pray that you don't have to run for your life in the winter, because obviously it's going to be very difficult, or on the Sabbath, because generally on the Sabbath they don't do anything, they don't go, you know, travel, so on, so this is verse 21, for then there will be great tribulation, so he's talking about a different time period, in verse 8 he said, the beginning of sorrows, verse 21, then when, when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, that is the middle of the seven years, so the second half of the seven years, when this man of, when this abomination of desolation is standing in the temple, holy place, when he desecrates the then, verse 21, there will be great tribulation, so there is the seven years we refer to as tribulation, but the second half of the seven years is great tribulation, is everyone with me so far? Okay, because you can use, you see very clearly, right, since then there will be great tribulation, when, when you see the abomination of desolation, verse 15, standing in the holy place in the temple, then there will be great tribulation, and he says, it will be since the beginning of the world, since it has not been seen since the beginning, meaning the troubles that are going to have during the tribulation, but especially during the second half of the tribulation, he's going to be so great, nobody has seen it, right, but then he says, just for the sake of the elects, so there will, the elect is talking about believers during the tribulation, and we will see, and, and when you, when you look through revelation, there will be people who turn to the Lord, there will be people whose hearts are hardened, who turn away from God, but there will also be people who turn to the Lord, who will be killed or martyred for their faith during the tribulation, and so these people are referred to as the elect, the believers, those who turned to the Lord during the tribulation, the days will be shortened, and there will be people even during those days who will come and say, you know, Christ has come, Christ has come, trying to bring some hope to people, trying to deceive people, verse 23, 24, and, you know, but he says, look, the coming of the Son of man is going to be sudden, verse 27, you know, he's not going to come slowly in the desert, you know, no, it's going to be sudden, it's going to be verse 20, so like the lightning that flashes, so Revelation 19, when John says, Jesus is coming, he comes riding on a white horse, and he comes to triumph over the Antichrist, he comes like a lightning, the Son of Man, he will come with such great power and glory, this is verse 27. Now, think about this, a lightning is very visible, it is very powerful, meaning it is like whether you like it or not, it is there, it's in your face, it is powerful, it cannot be hidden, it's not come, a lightning doesn't happen in secret, it's very powerful, meaning verse 27 is talking about the coming of the Lord, the Revelation 19 coming of Jesus Christ at the end of that great tribulation, and it's going to be so powerful, it's going to be something you cannot miss, it's not a secret coming, but it's a very visible, very powerful coming of the Son of Man, and verse 29, after the tribulation of those days, so once again, time period is being given to us, it's after the tribulation of those days, it is at the end of this tribulation when the moon will be dark and the stars will fall, so that's very clear, we see in Revelation chapter 6 and also in Revelation chapter 8, these things are happening, and these things are happening during the tribulation, so during the tribulation, the cosmic, the heavens, the heavenly bodies are being darkened, there's this tremendous things happening in the heavens, but it's all leading to the end of the tribulation, verse 30, then the Son of Man will appear in heaven, that is Revelation 19 is coming as the one, the Son of Man, so that is coming at the end of the tribulation, and there will be the gathering of people, of his believers from the four winds, that means the four ends of the earth, this is verse 31, so what I want us to understand, Matthew 24 verse 2 was fulfilled within 40 years, Matthew 24, 4 to 14 is the leading up to the beginning of the tribulation, meaning the beginning of the end, it is the leading up to, it is the preliminary, the precursor, things that will happen before the tribulation begins, Matthew 24, 15 to verse 31 is the tribulation, the second half is referred to as the great tribulation, the end of the tribulation is the Son of Man coming with great power and glory to collect, to receive whoever the believers are who had been through the tribulation, now what has not been mentioned to us is the rapture of the church, meaning the secret coming of the Son of Man for the church, okay, so this is the build up to the tribulation, the seven years of tribulation, the end of the tribulation, how it wraps up, but like I said, we will see that the seven years has to do primarily with the Jewish people, the church is not doing things here, they will be believers because the gospel will continue to be preached during the tribulation, but the church as a whole has been taken out of the way and you will see that in Scripture as Paul explains it to us in Thessalonians, he will explain it, okay, so this is a time period, the rest of Matthew 24 is Jesus giving us explanations, he tells us in Matthew 24, 32 to 35, he gives us one more, one exhortation and then verses 36 to 51 is an exhortation about how to be ready for all of these things, so 32 to 35, Jesus says, look, watch out for the signs, watch out for the signs, so example he says, Matthew 24, 32, says if you see the fig tree and if the fig tree is, you know, putting out its leaves and everything, it's beginning to turn green and all that, then you know, okay, summer is coming, you know, the leaves are coming out and it's getting ready, summer's coming, so look out for the signs, look out for the signs, now what is very interesting is verse 34, he says, when you see these signs happening, what were the signs in Matthew 24, 4 to 14, he's given us the signs, when you see these signs happening, all this will take place within one generation, that means this, the end of the age, the seven year period, obviously, will take place within one generation, one generation will see the build up to it and we'll see it happen, it'll take place, so if we are that generation and we are seeing these signs happening, the signs of Matthew 4, Matthew 24, 4 to 14 happening, then he says, look, in that generation, I'm saying if we are, I'm not saying we are, but I'm saying if we are, then everything will take place in this one generation that sees these signs beginning to happen, because they are building up to the great tribulation, the great tribulation, the tribulation is a seven year period, it'll happen all within that generation, so Matthew 24, 32 to 35, what is another thing and this is only a side note, I'm giving it as a side note, I'm not saying it is something to emphasize on, but as a side note, many people, many, and I say many people, I mean scholars, Bible teachers who look, who study Bible prophecy, they point out that the fig tree, Jesus spoke about the fig tree, symbolically the fig tree is symbolic of figurative of Israel as a nation, and we will mention this a little later as well, but I'm mentioning this in passing now, the fig tree represents Israel as a nation, so if Jesus intended verse 32 to be a pointer to Israel, when he used the picture of a fig tree, he says if you see the fig tree blooming, know that things are very close, so in one sense we take it literally, literally he was giving an example, like how you see the fig tree becoming green, you know summer is coming, that's literal, so the literal interpretation is when you see all these signs of Matthew 24, 24 to 14 happening and they're building up, becoming more and more, then you know that generation, in that generation the rest of the things will take place, that's the literal interpretation, but if Matthew 24, 32 the fig tree is taken in a figurative sense, figuratively the fig tree represents the nation of Israel, he seems what many prophets, Bible scholars will interpret it as the generation that sees the fig tree becoming green, which is the nation of Israel coming together, becoming powerful, that generation will also see the fulfillment, the completion of this, the last seven years of tribulation and the coming of the Son of Man, so that is something to keep in mind, but that is a figurative interpretation of Matthew 24, 32, may not necessarily be you know correct, but I'm sharing it because it is something you would hear very often, especially when it comes to Bible prophets, keep that in mind, we will talk about it in a little bit more detail a little later on, and then Matthew 36, 24, 36, to 38 he points to another sign, he says you know it is like in the days of Nova, what happened? In the days of Nova, Noah was warned, he warned the people, they didn't bother, but God took the elect out of the way, kept preserve them in the ship, then there was tribulation poured out and when that was over, people came back, but in the days of Nova, the reason people didn't pay attention to the preaching of Nova was they were so busy with their own things, you know, they were giving marriage and eating and drinking, they didn't pay attention to the warning, but he said look at what happened in the days of Nova, something like that similar to that will be happening in this time where even though the signs are being built up, people are not paying attention to it, they're just going on with their own life, eating and drinking and marrying and giving marriage, but then God's people will be taken out of the way, judgment will be poured out and then people will be able to turn to the earth, some Jesus gave that as an example and so versus 40 to 51, he says what should our responsibility be when you're in the end times, live responsibly, live in a way you're accountable to your master and ready for his return anytime, because we don't know exactly when he's coming, but you live in a state of readiness, that's the exhortation from verse 42, 51, okay, so if we understand Matthew 24, I mean what I want to say is like, this is this is how I understand Matthew 24 and it's so clear when you look at the identify the time periods that he's presenting to us and how we can look at it and you know there are two, these three time periods Matthew 24 verse 2, Matthew 24, 4 to 14, Matthew 24, 15, 31, then the exhortation that he's giving us verse 32 onwards till verse 51 is giving us exhortation, if we understand that clearly then Matthew 24 becomes easily understandable, okay, I know we've come close to the end of this hour, maybe we have a couple of minutes for questions and you know if you think about this and if you have questions we will definitely pick it up in our class next week, any quick questions before we close, was the explanation okay, were you following me in Matthew 24, yes, thank you, okay, any quick questions, I know there's not much time but anybody has, okay, you know we will close here but when we get back next week you know if you have any questions for Matthew 24, please feel free to ask or if you want to just go back and listen to this recording of this class and just go through Matthew 24 one more time just to see it very clearly that will be helpful because I think it's very beautifully put out for us in Matthew 24 how the Lord Jesus explains it for us, okay, so think about it and if you have any questions please bring it up in the class next week, okay, so let's close in prayer and we will dismiss, somebody could close in prayer please. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you under the name of Jesus, we thank you for this beautiful day and we thank you for the words in the Bible Lord, for the prophecies, God you're amazing and we stand in awe of all of your words, we stand in awe that you want us to know all of these things Jesus, we praise you, we give you the glory Lord and I just give you the fastest gifts, help us to live the life that Christ you, help us to live in a way, speak in a way and do things in a way like whether we eat or drink, let it be done for your glory Jesus, help us to live that responsible life Lord that we will always be ready to see you coming again and we will always shine your light to others that when they see us they can see you Jesus, be with us and guide us as well as the knowledge that we need just like how you gave Samuel the knowledge we are asking for Solomon the knowledge we are asking for knowledge right now Jesus, fill us with your words let your words sink deeper in our hearts, love Jesus, love you and Jesus, amen amen thank you everybody thank you have a good break and get ready for your next class see you soon God bless bye bye now thank you thank you everyone thank you thank you