I’ve seen so many well-meaning people absolutely botch Matthew chapter 24. If you don’t understand its chronological order, you can end up attributing wrong prophetic aspects to the wrong passages. If we follow the scriptural mandate of using scripture to interpret scripture, then we can clearly see the chronology of Matthew 24, and then add some fine distinctions, and you have a detailed understanding of this amazing chapter, and you’ll end up seeing that it isn’t that complicated. In the below tables, we will be studying parallel passages to Matthew chapter 24. Specifically, we will be paralleling Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17, and Luke 21. By doing so, things will fall into place, and you should come away with a proper understanding of Matthew 24.
INTRODUCTION
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Matthew 24 |
Mark 13 |
Luke 21/17 |
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And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
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And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
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21 6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?
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Notice in Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Jesus three specific questions – “1) when shall these things be? 2) and what shall be the sign of thy coming, 3) and of the end of the world?” This gives us a loose guide to begin seeing the chronology of Matthew 24, as these three questions are answered by Jesus in the order they were posed. As we continue on through these passages, I’ll point out where each question is answered.
THE BIRTH PANGS
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Matthew 24 |
Mark 13 |
Luke 21/17 |
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4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
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5 And Jesus answering them began to
say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: 7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
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21 10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
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These are the birth pangs that precede the tribulation. We are currently in these birth pangs - the beginning of sorrows. “Beginning of sorrows” is a time phrase, helping us to keep chronological order, as we continue on.
BEFORE THE BIRTH PANGS
The below passages answer the first question – “When shall these things be?”
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Matthew 24 |
Mark 13 |
Luke 21/17 |
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9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
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9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. 10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. 11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. 12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. 13 And ye shall
be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved. |
21 13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. 18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish. 19 In your
patience possess ye your souls. |
Look at Luke 21:18. The word PERISH
– Greek apollymi (appol-ah-mee) can
mean perish, as in ‘die,’ or can also be used as a type of metaphor, meaning
“ to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell”
This must be the meaning here, since the next verse says “in your patience
possess ye your souls.” Therefore, verses 18 and 19 in our Luke passage must mean
the same thing as in Mark 13:13 and Matthew 24:13, where they say “But he that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
If they endure, then even though they may die for it, it will not be eternal
damnation, but they will be received into Glory.
Notice I bolded the word “then” in the Matthew passage, and the phrase “but
before all these” in the Luke passage. These are time words/phrases, keeping
us chronologically correct. The phrase “before all these,” is referring to
before all the birth pangs we read about before this section. So far, after
the introduction, we read about the birth pangs, and then jumped back to
reading about what happens before the birth pangs. On the timeline, we are currently
in the birth pangs as I write this.
The sections of Scripture we just read above, are describing what happened to the early Christians, before the birth pangs that precede the tribulation. The above passages answer the first question – “When shall these things be?”
THE MIDDLE OF THE TRIBULATION
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Matthew 24 |
Mark 13 |
Luke 21/17 |
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14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
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14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: 15 And let him
that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to
take any thing out of his house: 17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. 19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. 20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. 21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: 22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
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21 20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24 And they
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
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“The desolation,” or “abomination of desolation” that all three above passage show, is another time phrase. This is how we know the above is during the middle of the tribulation. Daniel chapters 9, 11, and 12 go into the middle tribulation period, and describe the Abomination of Desolation event in some detail. Daniel 9:27 shows the Abomination of Desolation occurring during the middle of the seven year tribulation:
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Daniel chapter 12:11-12 goes into the timeline of the seven year tribulation, and describes this Abomination of Desolation happening approximately in the middle of the tribulation:
“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”
Revelation 12:13-14 describes the woman Zion (Isa. 66:8) fleeing into the wilderness during the Abomination of Desolation, and places it about in the middle of the seven year tribulation:
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”
Verse 22 in Matthew 24, and verse 20 in Mark 13 both refer to the days being shortened for the elect. The New Testament defines the elect as true Christians – the people of God. As we’ll soon see in more detail, as we continue on, the days are shorted for the elect via the middle tribulation rapture. The “times of the gentiles” mentioned in Luke 21:24 is describing what happens as soon as the Abomination of Desolation is set up. And these days of the gentiles last for the second half of the tribulation, as is clear from reading Daniel 12, and Revelation 12.
PARENTHETICAL THE SECOND COMING, AND ARMAGEDDON PARENTHETICAL
The below passages answer the second question – “What shall be the sign of thy coming?”
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Matthew 24 |
Mark 13 |
Luke 21/17 |
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27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
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NOT IN MARK 13 |
17 20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. . |
This is Armageddon. Look again Matthew 24:28, where it mentions the eagles gathering at the carcass, and compare that to Revelation 19:17-18’s description of Armageddon:
“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.”
There will be multitudes of dead bodies at Armageddon, and scavenger birds, such as eagles, invited to eat the flesh of the fallen men. The Matthew and Luke passages we just read are not describing rapture, for the birds and carcass make it clear that this is when Jesus comes back at the battle of Armageddon. This occurs at the END of the tribulation.
Further, the passages we just read
refer to lightning coming from the east, and shining unto the west, and so
shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. The Bible refers to the Lightning
Coming synonymously with Armageddon, and Jesus’ Second Coming, when His feet
touch the earth.
Rapture, in the Bible, refers to Jesus coming in the clouds, and His feet do
not touch the earth. The passages we just read, clearly are describing the
Second Coming and Armageddon, not Rapture.
Mark 13 omits the passages we just read, as does Luke 21. The passages we just read are only in Matthew 24, and Luke 17. LUKE IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE PROPER chronological ORDER of Matthew 24. LUKE SEPARATES THE SECOND COMING FROM THE RAPTURE, BY PUTTING THE SECOND COMING AND ARMAGEDDON IN A SEPARATE CHAPTER, WHILE MATTHEW HAS THEM IN THE SAME CHAPTER, BUT DIVIDES THEM WITH TIME PHRASES/WORDS.
THE MIDDLE TRIBULATION RAPTURE
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Matthew 24 |
Mark 13 |
Luke 21/17 |
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29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. |
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. |
21 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. |
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days,” and “after that tribulation” are both time words in Matthew and Mark, telling us that the verses we just read are to follow chronologically after Matthew 24:14-26, and Mark 13:14-23, which are the passages that describe the Abomination of Desolation. Notice we have two different phrases for the two halves of the tribulation. The first half is “the tribulation of those days,” or “that tribulation,” while the second half of the tribulation, as we saw in earlier passages, is referred to as “the great tribulation,” “affliction,” and “the days of vengeance.” This is because the second half of the tribulation is when God’s seven vials of WRATH are poured out, as we read about in the book of Revelation. Notice that Luke gave us no such time phrases, of the first half of the tribulation, such as “immediately after the tribulation of those days,” or “after that tribulation.” This is because Luke 21 goes straight from describing the middle tribulation Abomination of Desolation, right into the above passages of the middle tribulation rapture. This is unlike Matthew, which included verses 27 and 28, which are parenthetical, and describe the Second Coming, and Armageddon. Luke does not include this in chapter 21, but has it in a separate chapter; that of 17, which we saw a bit earlier.
Notice the middle tribulation rapture is mentioned
as happening with the “sound of a trumpet.” This is the seventh trumpet of
Revelation 11:15-18. Parallel this with Daniel chapter 12, as both passages
are describing the middle tribulation rapture. This rapture trumpet is told us
to be the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed, 52 In
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
The last trumpet mystery, via Revelation 10:7:
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he
shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath
declared to his servants the prophets.”
Now, here’s the really cool part. Take a look at the above Luke 21 passage, in
verse 28. See where I have it bolded? Look up, for your redemption draweth
nigh. That’s middle tribulation rapture – clear and simple.
ESTABLISHING THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH
The below passages answer the third question – “What
shall be the sign(s) of the end of the world?”
NOTE: I add some of my commentary directly in the below passages, via a smaller
font size, and brackets.
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Matthew 24 |
Mark 13 |
Luke 21/17 |
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32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. [Things fulfilled: When Christ finishes Armageddon, and sets up His Kingdom on Earth.] 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.| [Heaven and earth are destroyed and recreated without the curse, one thousand years after the seven year tribulation, as we read about in Revelation chapters 20 and 21.] 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. | [The day and hour when all things are fulfilled. The coming of the Son of Man.] 37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
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28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
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21 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. |[The physical realization of the Kingdom of God will occur on the Day of the Son of Man, of which we read about in Luke 17. This is referring to Christ’s second coming, at Armageddon. ] 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. | [The escape is the middle tribulation rapture, which will happen around 3.5 years before Jesus’ Second Coming at Armageddon. Verse 34 is a warning, because else we could miss the rapture, and still continue on clueless, and then the Day of the Son of Man could come upon us unawares. In other words, we should be sure of our salvation, and be following the true will of God for our lives.]
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The generation that shall not pass until ‘all these things’ are fulfilled, is the generation that sees the tribulation coming to pass. They see the signs described in these chapters. “These things” are fulfilled when Christ returns to the earth, to physically set up His kingdom, which takes place after the tribulation.
The passages we just read above are clearly referring again
to Armageddon, as was also briefly mentioned in Matthew 24:27-28, and mentioned
in detail in Luke 17:24-37.
Notice how Luke 17, earlier, mentioned it all together, but Matthew jumped
backwards to describing the middle tribulation rapture in verse 29, and then picked
back up on topic from verses 15-26.
The passages we just read cannot be referring to the rapture, because it mentions the physical coming of the Kingdom of God. This happens when Jesus comes back to this earth, not when He catches Christians away in the clouds. Also, the people being taken, as we read about in Matthew, are taken where? Remember we read this in Luke 17:37:
“And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together,"
referring to them being taken via
death, at Jesus’ Second Coming, and Armageddon, as described in Revelation
chapter 19.
Jesus doesn’t come as a ‘thief in the night’ at Rapture – the thief scriptures
always refer to Armageddon, and the Second Coming. The day and hour we don’t
know of is not the rapture, but when exactly the Second Coming occurs. The ‘no
one knows the day or hour’ scriptures never refer to the rapture, but always to
the Second Coming. This may have something to do with the time discrepancy in
Daniel chapter 12. We most definitely can know when the rapture will be, as we
see the signs unfold.
Notice that our Luke 21 passage
wraps this all up, by stating “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that
ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man.” To escape these events, which are in the
second half of the tribulation, we must be raptured. The rapture happens in
the middle of the tribulation, and those who are worthy – true, born again
Christians, will be raptured at the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:51-52,
Revelation 10:7 and Revelation 11:15-18, which occurs during the middle of the
tribulation period.
As you can see, Matthew and Mark cannot be properly understood chronologically,
without the aid of Luke 21 and 17. This is why most people completely botch
Matthew 24, when they lead studies on that chapter.
