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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. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 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. ~ Matthew 24:9-14
Today, we continue our study of Matthew 24 where the Lord Jesus is in the process of answering questions from His disciples regarding the end times. It was Wednesday evening during the Lord Jesus' last week on earth. He sat down with His disciples on the western slope of the Mount of Olives and He told them that He would return in the future to establish His kingdom. At that time He told His disciples about their immediate circumstances as well as His Second Coming. His was in response to their question: "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
In our last study of this passage the Lord Jesus described events which He referred to as: "These are the beginning of sorrows or birth pains." Five times in the Old Testament this saying was employed to speak of God's judgement upon man's sin. It speaks of it as the birth pains of a woman, as God intervening in history in a very judicial and direct manner. It is a key phrase, because although we have always had wars, earthquakes, famines, that phrase "birth pains" is quite descriptive. There are normal birth pains that happen, like wars and rumors of wars and famines and earthquakes. But, as when a woman is having a baby, when the contractions become more frequent and more intense, then we know the birth of the judgment of God upon unbelieving man will be much closer.
In v.9 of today's passage we read, "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake."
From the very first century these words were fulfilled. The book of Acts tells us how the apostles, and the early Christians, were often beaten in the synagogues and dragged before governors and kings, as was predicted here by the Lord Jesus. This promise of persecution has been pertinent to believers of all times. It was definitely applicable to first century believers who endured unbelievable treatment from non-believers. It will be most applicable for those who choose to believe in the Lord Jesus after the Rapture of the Church has taken place.
In v.10 of today's passage we read, "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another."
Hatred toward Christians abounded during the first century. In like manner, for those living during the Tribulation, hatred will be the cause of family members betraying other family members. In fact, during that time of the Tribulation, the most hated group will increasingly be those who claim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This makes sense since the will of Satan will be unfettered in this world at that time.
In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold."
Those who redefine things from good to bad will have the corner on what people will wrongly believe to be the truth. The key here is that the love of many will now increasingly grow cold. Lust will replace love as the virtue. The lack of love in any context results in atrophy in a variety of ways. The word "lawlessness" means they violate God’s definition of things. Here, we are given a description of man going crazy on sin. Sin will be so abundant that it will draw people who are moving toward the truth right back out of it.
In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 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."
Superficial faith collapses under persecution. Authentic, God-given faith will endure, because the Holy Spirit will provide strength and grace to endure in the faith. "The end" here is talking about the end of a person's life. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to be faithful to death. This is not what saves us but our ability to do such due to the presence of God in our lives is a sign that we have been saved. Interestingly the word "witness" here is where we get our English word "martyr." The genuineness of our faith in the Lord Jesus is primarily a product of the presence of God in our lives. Anything is holy because God is there. God and only God makes us holy, righteous and acceptable before Him.
While Matthew 24:1-14 describes the first 31/2 years of the Tribulation, Matthew 24:15-31 describes the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation. Revelation 6-19 describes the Tribulation in detail and follows the outline of Matthew 24. The first half of the Tribulation is described in Revelation 6-9 while the middle of the Tribulation is described in Revelation 10-14. Then, the last half of the Tribulation is described in Revelation 15-19. All of this reveals the Lord knows all that will happen beforehand. Thus, we can trust Him with everything, especially our future and our lives.
