And then the end will come

This verse is most often interpreted as being a prerequisite for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which of course it is, but the time of the fulfilment of it is later than most people realize – in the time of the last few years on planet Earth, called the Tribulation.

This becomes clear when we study the context of the verse where Jesus spoke these words. He was answering His (Jewish) disciples’ question about what the sign of His coming and the end of the age would be. Keep in mind that Jesus was speaking to Jews about the end of the age here, warning them about what they as Jews would be facing during what He called a great tribulation. You can pick up the clues proving this as you continue reading in Matth 24 about “those who live in Judea”; “those on the housetop” referring to the booths built during the feast of Sukkot; “pray that your flight is not on a Sabbath”.

That the Tribulation is meant for Jews primarily is further confirmed by two Old Testament prophets:  Jeremiah 30:7 “How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob (meaning Israel), but he will be saved out of it.”  And also the angel Gabriel explains to Daniel in Daniel 9:24 “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city…” where Daniel’s people of course are Jews and his holy city is Jerusalem, and the last (or seventieth) week referred to here, is the seven years of the Tribulation at the end of the age.

Back to our verse 14 quoted above.  In verse 15 following right after it, Jesus starts with “So”, connecting the two, and thereby placing verse 14 in a specific time frame.  He then speaks about the appalling sacrilege Daniel warned about, which is when the coming Antichrist will set himself up in the Holy of Holies in the third temple, declaring himself god, and demanding that all peoples everywhere worship him. He did not need to explain what he was referring to as His disciples – being Jews – knew the writings of their prophet Daniel. We know from reading Daniel that the timing of the event Jesus spoke about here, is in the middle of the Tribulation, right before God executes His final judgment through the seven bowls, leading to the end of the age.

When the book of Revelation speaks about this same time, we find our verse 14 of Matthew 24 being fulfilled, as we read in Rev 14:6 “Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.”  The next events Revelation describes as happening on earth after this flying angel, are the seven bowls judgements, and then the visible second coming of Jesus.

It would seem that the end of opportunities to proclaim the gospel to all nations before Jesus returns and the end of all things then comes, lies here – in the middle of the seven-year Tribulation.

Point to ponder:  We have limited time!  When the bowl judgements start, it spells the end of God’s grace with mankind.  How can you increase your involvement in winning souls for Christ – ask Holy Spirit to show you new, creative ways to tell/show others Who He is!