Matt 24.1-51 tells us about what will precede the judgment of Israel in the first century, but Yeshua will also give us an eschatological picture of the coming of the Messiah with events in the Birth-pains, also called the time of Jacob’s trouble, the Acharit Yamim and the “tribulation.” It will have signs of the end, false messiahs and false prophets. It also discusses the role of the Torah in the last days, the basar being preached, Rosh Ha Shannah and Yom Kippur idioms, and the “elect.”
v 1…And Yeshua came from the temple and was going away when his talmidim came up to point out the temple buildings to him (the Temple was being rebuilt and was not completed at that time, and the new buildings impressed the talmidim. It was under construction for 46 years in John 2.20, and is not be finished for another 33 years, or 63 AD).
v 2…And he answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down (this is what is done to a leprous house-Lev 14.40).”
v 3…And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the talmidim came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be (the tearing down of the temple), and what will be the sign of your coming (they expected some manifestation to occur to announce all this; the Jewish historian Josephus was an eyewitness to this destruction and listed at least seven signs in Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5.3-4), and the end of the age (the present time)?
v 4…And Yeshua answered and said to them (he is going to instruct them as to what would happen to the Jewish people), “See to it that no one misleads you (delude or deceive-we are to have an active part in making sure no one deceives us by studying the Scriptures in its proper context and not involving ourselves in replacement theology of any kind).
v 5… For many will come in my name (they will come saying they represent Yeshua, not in opposition to him. However, they will be false and will deceive nearly everyone. One might look around as see many so-called believers today, but they are torah-less and not a continuation of the faith God has established. The question to ask is, “Am I following a Torah-based faith in Yeshua found in the Scriptures, or a Messiah that tells them that they are “not under the Law” and that it has been done away with?” It is those from the last group that Yeshua speaks of as those who will mislead-Matt 7.21-23) saying, ‘I (Yeshua; or possibly a person who will claim to be the Messiah; the False Messiah will not be opposing Yeshua, he will be a counterfeit) am the Messiah and will mislead many (this is the first sign before the destruction of the city and Temple. There was a high expectation of the coming of the Messiah at that time and that he would deliver them from the Romans-Luke 3.15).
v 6…And you will be hearing of wars (this is another sign of the destruction of Jerusalem. These wars may mean the insurrections and seditions against Rome that cost thousands their lives-Acts 5.35-38) and rumors of wars (like the time an image of the emperor Caligula was going to be put up in the Temple. The people were ready to go to war over it); see that you are not frightened (don’t leave the land yet, as if the destruction is going to happen now), for those things must take place, but it is not yet the end (of Jerusalem, the Temple and the Jewish state).
v 7…for nation shall rise against nation (another sign of the destruction of Jerusalem. Jews rose up against the Samaritans, the Romans fought each other for power, and others), and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines (another sign of the destruction of Jerusalem -Acts 11.28) and earthquakes (one in Crete and Asia during the time of Nero. Also in Phyrgia, Laodicea, Hierapolis and Colosse. Rome had a small one. The rabbis had a saying that when the nations quake, expect the Messiah).
v 8…But all these things are the beginning of sorrows (or “birth-pains” called the “time of Jacob’s Trouble”; a general deterioration).
v 9…Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and will kill you (as they did to James, Peter, Paul and all the talmidim except John according to church tradition) and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name.
v 10… And at that time many will fall away (Greek “scandalized”-those who only professed they were believers) and will betray one another (false brethren that Paul had trouble with, for example. This will happen again during the birth-pains when people come to a Torah-based faith. Some of their worst enemies will be those from their own family, especially by those who think they have the “truth” and that the Torah observant ones are really “deceived by Satan” and “under the law”) and hate one another.
v 11…And many false prophets will rise, and will mislead many.
v 12…And because lawlessness (which means “no Torah, or “torah-less”-sin can only be judged by one standard, the Torah-1 John 3.4- and it is the Torah only that we use to see if we are following the Lord-James 1.25) is increased, most people’s love will grow cold (towards God-Zeph 1.12; Rev 3.16-“complacent”).
v 13… But the one who endures to the end (the end of the above afflictions mentioned and not deceived by the false prophets) shall be saved (delivered from the present distress).
v 14…And this gospel of the kingdom (the basar-see the article on this site about what this is. Concepts of the basar include: the golden age of Israel; David’s throne restored; Messiah has come and God reigns through him; peace; man and nature restored; the resurrection has come; righteousness in the earth; the day of the Lord has come; the Torah goes forth to all nations; idolatry destroyed; the exiles have come back and true worship restored. The Messiah is the agent, empowered by God to redeem man and the earth. Man enters into this redemption by faith. This is the gospel that will be preached) shall be preached in the whole world (This is the Torah based gospel that the first century believers preached. But since the kingdom was rejected, this gospel will go out during the birth-pains. The False Messiah will be a “man of lawlessness” which means he leads those who teach a “Torah-less” gospel) for a witness to all the nations and then the end (of the present distress) shall come (he commissioned them in Matt 28.19-20).
v 15…Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation (Roman army with their idols on their standards and ensigns) which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (of the city or the temple), let the reader understand. (this may be an idol by the Romans who tore down the Temple building, and since the kingdom will come in its due time now, this may also alluding to an idol with the image of the False Messiah out of a revived “Rome.” Eschatologically, in our opinion based on Scripture, this may be a crucifix. This will be placed in the temple about thirty days prior to the mid-point of the Tribulation period, around the feast of Purim).
v 16… Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains (believers in the first century saw an opportunity to flee the Romans who were coming to the city, they fled to Pella and the Jordanian wilderness, all the way to Petra. By doing this and believing the words of Yeshua, they escaped the massacre that was coming. Jewish believers will go here also after the False Messiah declares himself God at the midpoint of the Tribulation-Rev 12.14)
v 17… let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in the house (there will be no time);
v 18… and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak.
v 19… But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days (because of the extra burden, or not being able to travel fast and escape. Some may decide to stay and endure a terrible siege and all the miseries that go along with staying)!
v 20… But pray that your flight may not be in winter (it is stormy and rainy, the days are short, snows and rains fill the wadis making it hard to travel) or on a Sabbath day (those who didn’t believe in Yeshua would not allow them to travel on the Sabbath, would hinder them);
v 21… for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall (nothing can be compared to what fell upon Israel and Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans, as witnessed by Josephus. Read his account of this and you will be convinced. But, what is coming will be worse than that).
v 22…And unless those days has been short (the siege of Jerusalem and all that went with it will end sooner than later, according to the pre-determined plan of God. If allowed to go on, nothing would be left) no life would have been saved (delivered from distress, it is that bad); but for the sake of the elect (Israel is his elect, but this can allude to the Jewish believers, chosen by God from the foundation of the world who have escaped) those days shall be cut short.
v 23…Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There’ do not believe it (many pretended to be the Messiah in 70 AD and some said he was here or there -Acts 21.38 for example; These rumors will crop up again in the last days during the siege of Jerusalem).
v 24… For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect (Jewish believers living in Israel. These signs of the false prophets will not have power over the elect, total deception will not be possible).
v 25… Behold, I have told you in advance.
v 26… If therefore they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go forth, or, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms (of the Temple),’ do not believe.
v 27… For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the son of Man be (Bar Enosh of Dan 7.13, a messianic title).
v 28… Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather (this is an idiom for a “impending disaster” and the corpse is Jerusalem and the vulture is Rome, whose emblem was an eagle; Rome represents the kingdom of the False Messiah in the last days who will come out of Europe also).
v 29… But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened (the Shekinah will depart, as witnessed by those in the temple who heard voices saying “Let us depart from here”), and the moon will not give its light (Israel will not reflect the glory of God), and the stars will fall from the sky (the priests, rabbis and the sages who departed from the Word of God will fall from their positions), and the powers of heaven will be shaken (no authorities anymore, they have been reduced to nothing)
v 30… and then the sign of the son of Man (Bar Enosh) will appear in the sky (Josephus was an eyewitness to this destruction and in Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5.3-4 he describes seven signs that appeared, some over Jerusalem before it fell), and then all tribes of the land (the twelve tribes of Israel) will mourn (Zech 12.10) and they will see the son of Man (Bar Enosh, the Messiah) coming on (or “with” great power and wrath on the city and nation) the clouds of the sky (in judgement) with power and great glory.
v 31…And he will send forth his angels (messengers of the Basar) with a great trumpet (the “shofar ha gadol” is an idiom for Yom Kippur and repentance because that was when it was blown) and they will gather his elect (to obtain salvation, chosen from all eternity from the Jewish people, along with believing non-Jews-Isa 11.11-12: Eph 1.4; John 1.13; 2 Tim 2.9; Acts 13.48) from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other (everywhere under the sun-Matt 28.19-20).
v 32… Now learn the parable (midrashic aggadah) from the fig tree (Israel): when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer (in this case, judgment) is near (Hebrew “karav” which means “here now”);
v 33… even so you too, when you see these things, recognize that he (Messiah) is near (“karav”=here now), at the door (judgment is coming).
v 34… Truly I say to you, this generation (the one present at that time) will not pass away until all these things take place (forty years later, in 70 AD, they did. This may also apply to those alive who see these things before his second coming).
v 35… Heaven and earth will pass away (the universe as we know it will be altered-2 Pet 3.10-13), but my words shall not pass away (be altered; without them being fulfilled-Matt 5.17-18).
v 36… But of that day and hour no man knows (in this context, the verse is present tense in Greek and it means that no man knew the day “at that time” definitively; the precise time for Jerusalem’s destruction was still distant), not even the angels in heaven, nor even the son (in his human nature) but the Father alone (who will determine if Israel repented. However, this vengeance did come in 70 AD and it will come again in the birth-pains).
v 37… For the coming of the son of Man will be just like the days of Noah (Noah knew it was coming but didn’t know exactly when).
v 38… For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage (continued with normal, everyday activities) until the day Noah entered the Ark.
v 39… and they did not understand until the flood came (now they all knew) and took them away, so shall the coming of the son of Man be (to take vengeance).
v 40…Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken (in judgment by the “eagle” by either being killed or taken captive-Matt 13.30-49) and one will be left (delivered to escape out of the hands of the Romans, and later the False Messiah).
v 41…Two will be grinding at the mill (the Greek does not have the word “women” but the word grinding is feminine), one will be taken (captive or killed by the eagle-Rome) and one will be left (alive, escape).
v 42…Therefore be on the alert (we are to have an active part by knowing the Scriptures), for you do not know which day your Lord is coming (because the time was not “fixed” yet, not precise. The kingdom was still being offered).
v 43… But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief (secret, sudden-1 Thes 5.2) was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house (the house of Israel, Jerusalem) to be broken into.
v 44…For this reason you be ready too; for the son of man is coming at an hour when you do not think (in the first Jewish war the nation overall was caught off guard).
v 45…Who then is the faithful and sensible slave (servant) whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food (alludes to spiritual food in line with the Torah) at the proper time?
v 46…Blessed (empowered to succeed) is that slave (servant) whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
v 47…Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his possessions (give him greater gifts).
v 48…But if that evil slave (servant) says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’
v 49…and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves (servants) and eat and drink with drunkards;
v 50…the master of that slave (servant) will come on a day when he does not expect and at an hour which he does not know (the time for the kingdom was not “fixed” in the first century and was being offered, and called the “day no man knows”-v 36. Later Israel was caught off guard by 70 A.D.),
v 51…and shall cut him to pieces (separate soul and body, meaning killed) and assign him a place with the hypocrites (the unbelievers-Luke 12.46); weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth (in Sheol, where their consciences torment them-Isa 66.24).
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