Matthew 24 - The Second Coming
It is good to be back here with you live. Someone asked me this last week, “Is it good or bad teaching with everybody wearing masks?” I said, “Well, it’s kind of a mixed bag.” On the one hand, I can’t see the negative faces as clearly, which is good—except for the guy who was sitting right over there at the 10:00 service, fast asleep. But on the other hand, I also can’t tell if you agree with or like what I’m saying.
We tend to be in a pretty quiet context here. Joe was talking about preaching at La Fuente, our Spanish gathering, where people are shouting, “Amen!” and “¡Gloria a Dios!” They’re actively responding. In this room, it’s often dead silence. So here’s what would help: if you hear something you agree with, you can nod. That’s okay. You can give a little amen fist pump. You can say something out loud. Let’s try that a little bit today. If you hear something you like, give me a little feedback.
Reading the Roadmap: The Olivet Discourse
If you have your Bibles, let’s turn to Matthew 24. If you’re visiting with us, we are currently in what is called the Olivet Discourse. It spans two chapters—Matthew 24 and 25—where Jesus lays out what is coming in the end times. It is called the Olivet Discourse because Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives with His disciples, engaging in a little Q&A about the signs of His coming and the end of the age.
Matthew 24:3 (NASB)
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen, and what [will be] the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’
When we talk about the end times—and we’ve covered some of this over the last couple of weeks—I want to walk a familiar path so that it becomes second nature to us. The key to understanding the prophetic picture in books like Revelation, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Zechariah is having a proper hermeneutic. Your hermeneutic is simply the grid through which you interpret the Bible. When you read Scripture literally, grammatically, historically, and with Christ at the center, it doesn’t make everything effortless, but it makes the future the Bible points toward much easier to understand.
Think about the grand timeline of Scripture. The Bible speaks from eternity past, until God by His grace speaks the world into existence. God makes man in His image, and then comes the fall. The foundational covenant in your Old Testament is the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12, where God promises Abraham land, seed, and blessing.
Genesis 12:1-3 (NASB)
Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
That promise expands throughout the Old Testament: the land promise is detailed in the Palestinian Covenant of Deuteronomy 30, the seed promise is developed in the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7, and the blessing reaches its fullness in the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31.
Deuteronomy 30:1-10 (NASB)
’So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call [them] to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. ’If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. ’The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. ’Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. ’The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. ’And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. ’Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.
2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NASB)
’When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. ’He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ’I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took [it] away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ‘Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.’‘’
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NASB)
‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the LORD, ’I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ’They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’
Then Daniel’s prophecies pinpoint the exact timing of the Messiah. Jesus shows up right on cue at the Triumphal Entry, goes to the cross, does the heavy lifting to satisfy the wrath of God for us, and ascends to the Father in Acts 1. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is poured out, and the Church Age begins.
Acts 1:9-11 (NASB)
And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’
Acts 2:1-4 (NASB)
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
The next prophetic event we are anticipating is the rapture of the church, where Jesus descends and believers are caught up to meet Him in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NASB)
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of [the] archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
That event initiates a seven-year period known as the Tribulation, detailed in Revelation 4 through 19. The final three and a half years are known as the Great Tribulation, which culminates in the physical return of Jesus Christ in Revelation 19. Jesus will establish His throne in Jerusalem for a thousand years, fulfilling the covenant promises made to Abraham, before ushering in the new heavens and the new earth.
Revelation 19:11-16 (NASB)
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it [is] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes [are] a flame of fire, and on His head [are] many diadems; and He has a name written [on Him] which no one knows except Himself. [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’
Revelation 20:1-6 (NASB)
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I [saw] the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Revelation 21:1-4 (NASB)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer [any] sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be [any] death; there will no longer be [any] mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’
God’s Plan for the Nations and Israel
To understand Christ’s return, we have to understand God’s heart and plan for both the nations and Israel. In Hebrew, the word for “nations” is goyim, often translated as “peoples” or “Gentiles.” Early in Genesis, God creates one human race in Adam and Eve. But after the flood, Noah’s descendants disperse.
Genesis 10:5 (NASB)
From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
At the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, God confuses human language, and people scatter across the earth, forming different nationalities and cultures. Then, in Genesis 12, God calls one man—Abraham—out of the nations and establishes a covenant with him, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s redemptive focus is primarily directed toward the Jewish people.
Genesis 11:1-9 (NASB)
Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn [them] thoroughly.’ And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top [will reach] into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The LORD said, ’Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. ‘Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.
When Jesus arrives, He begins His public ministry by preaching to the Jewish people, as was His custom.
Luke 4:16-21 (NASB)
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.’ And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’
It is always a healthy reminder to remember that our Savior was Jewish. In modern terminology, Jesus was a person of color. When He first sent out the twelve disciples, He told them not to go among the Gentiles or Samaritans, but to go to the lost sheep of Israel. But when the leadership of Israel rejected Him, a pivot occurred. Jesus began speaking in parables and turned His attention outward.
The heart of God has always been for all peoples. That is why Jesus concludes His earthly ministry with the Great Commission, telling us to make disciples of all ethne—all nations and ethnicities.
Matthew 28:19 (NASB)
’Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
In Acts 1:8, Jesus says the gospel will go from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, there is an incredible ethnic tapestry present—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome, Cretans, and Arabs. The Holy Spirit falls, and the gospel goes global to the Gentile world. Paul travels across Asia Minor and Europe, boldly proclaiming that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16 (NASB)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
By the close of the book of Acts, Paul quotes Isaiah to explain the spiritual hardening that had fallen over Israel, declaring that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen.
Acts 28:25-28 (NASB)
And when they did not agree with one another, they [began] leaving after Paul had spoken one [parting] word, ’The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, ’GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’’ ‘Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.’
Does this mean God is done with Israel? Has He abandoned His promises to Abraham’s descendants? Absolutely not. In Romans 11, Paul explains that Gentile believers are like wild olive branches grafted into the rich root of Israel. God allowed Israel to stumble so that salvation would come to the Gentiles, which in turn would make Israel jealous.
Romans 11:11 (NASB)
I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.
We are not Israel. The church does not replace Israel in God’s prophetic plan. When the church is raptured, God’s focal point shifts back to the Jewish people. In Revelation 7, God seals 144,000 Jewish believers—12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel—to serve as evangelists during the Tribulation period while the Gentile church is in glory.
Revelation 7:4-8 (NASB)
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand [were] sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand [were] sealed.
The Dragon and the Woman: Revelation 12
What does this Jewish focus look like during the Tribulation? In Revelation 12, John is shown a dramatic vision of demonic warfare against God’s chosen people.
Revelation 12:1-6 (NASB)
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads [were] seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male [child], who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
The woman clothed with the sun represents Israel, and the male child she brings forth who will rule the nations with a rod of iron is Jesus. The great red dragon is Satan, whose rebellion swept a third of the angels from heaven. The dragon attempts to destroy the child, but the child is caught up to God’s throne—referring to the ascension of Christ.
When the dragon realizes he cannot destroy Christ, he turns his wrath toward the woman—the Jewish people. The woman flees into the wilderness to a place prepared by God, where she is protected for 1,260 days, which is three and a half years—the exact duration of the Great Tribulation.
Revelation 12:13-17 (NASB)
And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male [child]. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
This connects directly back to what Jesus said in Matthew 24:16, warning those in Judea to flee to the mountains when the final distress begins. Historically, no ethnic group has suffered persecution like the Jewish people. Behind that hatred is a spiritual enemy seeking to wipe out the nation through whom God’s covenant promises are fulfilled. Yet God will preserve them, just as the prophet Jeremiah declared.
Jeremiah 30:7 (NASB)
’Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it.
Matthew 24:16 (NASB)
then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Immediately After: The Return of the King
All of this sets the stage for Matthew 24. Over the course of the Tribulation, the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments are poured out on the earth. Jesus noted that if those days were not cut short, no human life would survive.
Matthew 24:22 (NASB)
’Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Then comes the climax of history in verse 29:
Matthew 24:29-31 (NASB)
’But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ’And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. ’And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Notice the timing: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days.” What brings an end to this horrific period? The physical return of Jesus Christ. The celestial lights go dark, the sign of the Son of Man appears in the heavens, and every tribe on earth will see Him coming on the clouds with great power and glory.
I was reading a commentary written in 1920. Back then, Israel was not even an established nation; that didn’t happen until 1948. The commentator could hardly imagine how the whole world could simultaneously witness an event in Jerusalem. Today, someone pulls out a phone, and an event on the other side of the planet is broadcast globally in real time.
When Jesus returns, Scripture tells us that every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him.
Revelation 1:7 (NASB)
BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Just as Jesus revealed His crucifixion scars to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, He will return bearing those marks of redemption. Zechariah prophesied this moment centuries before the cross:
Zechariah 12:10 (NASB)
’I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
When He appears, He will send His angels to gather His elect from the four corners of the earth—the multitude of Jewish and Gentile believers who placed their faith in Him during the fires of the Tribulation.
Faithful and True: The Conquering Christ
John gives us another breathtaking angle on this return in Revelation 19. Heaven opens, and Jesus appears not as a humble servant on a donkey, but as a conquering King on a white horse.
He is called Faithful and True. His eyes are like a flame of fire, He wears many crowns, and He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood. Why is His robe dipped in blood before the battle even begins? Some believe it represents His own shed blood that purchased our redemption. Others point to Isaiah 63, where the Messiah treads the winepress of divine justice against wickedness.
Isaiah 63:2-4 (NASB)
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? ’I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment. ’For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come.
Notice who is with Him in Revelation 19:14: “The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.” That is the church. Those who were caught up to be with Him in glory return with Him to reign upon the earth.
From His mouth comes a sharp sword—the Greek word is rhomphaia, a large, formidable weapon. In Ephesians 6:17, the sword of the Spirit is defined as the Word of God. Jesus does not need physical weapons; His spoken truth alone will judge the nations and establish His righteous reign.
Ephesians 6:17 (NASB)
And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
History is not spiraling out of control. God has made promises to Israel, He has opened the door of grace to the nations, and He will send His Son to make all things right. Our King is coming, and He will reign forever.