In Matthew 24 Jesus leaves the Temple and on the Mount of Olives talks to four of His Disciples

In Matthew chapter 24 a chronology is given by the Lord of the events of Daniel’s prophecy of the seventieth week as given in Daniel 9.   There are several important observations that need stating before an interpretation that is relevant to our day is considered.  It must first be observed that the “church” had not yet come on the scene and not until the day of pentecost or some say even later in the book of Acts, as the gentile believers were first called Christians, was the Church formed. Secondly the disciples were then Jewish and it was they that the Lord talked to, that is Peter, James, John, and Andrew, (Mark 13:3) in what is known as the Olivet Discourse. Thirdly there is a distinction that must be maintained between Israel and the Church in all of Scripture or errors of “Replacement Theology” can cloud the true meaning God has for us, the Church, and what He has for the people and nation of Israel in Scripture. Replacement Theology is another study in itself and has strong ties to ones method of interpretation but a strong literal interpretation keeps Gods plan for Israel and His plan for the Church distinct.  Any system based on the Alexandrian or Origin method of allegorical interpretation, such as in all the high churches (used in its broadest sense) of today, are based on the church replacing Israel in all the promises and prophecies of God and so assign to the church things that only Israel will experience.

My purpose here is to show that the account in Matthew is a chronology of predicted events in relation to the nation of Israel and is not a place we should look for or even expect to see the Church represented.  This discourse follows the woes pronounced upon the Pharisees and the judicial blindness upon the nation of Israel.  Any events that the Church participates in because of these considerations must be looked for elsewhere.  In my numerous readings of Matthew 24 I do see a curious occurrence that I will mention when we get to verse 36 as regards the terms “day” and “hour”.

Let it be noted that both Matthew and Mark follow the same story line almost to the verse but one exception is that Mark in chapter 13 verse 3 gives the identity of the disciples who came to Jesus privately on the Mount of Olives as Peter, James, John, and Andrew.  Later we will see how different the Luke 21 account is and why and that here is where one should look for any reference to the Church as Jesus is talking to Gentiles as well as to Jews. I’m going to look at this chapter verse by verse and comment on what is really being said and to whom. It is noteworthy to point out that Jesus left the temple and was on the Mount of Olives in verse 3. Verse 1.  Jesus departed from the temple and his disciples showed Him the buildings of the temple and its stones. Verse 2.  Jesus referring to 70 AD when Titus destroys the temple says ” 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.” Verse 3.  Jesus sitting on the Mount of Olives was approached by the 4 disciples privately and asked three questions. “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? (KJV). “World” is replaced by “Age” in the NKJV. The Greek Word: αἰών Transliteration: aiōn-Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary Vine’s Words: Age, Course, Eternal, World.

1) when will these things be?      2) what will be the sign of Your coming?      3) and (the sign) of the end of the age? (age is used in place of world in the NKJV)

Verse 4. “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”  Jesus tells them not to be deceived and gives them His answer in the following verses which I believe occurs in Daniel’s 70th week in the first half of the tribulation at it’s outset.  Revelation 6 which starts the tribulation period has, in the same order, the description of  these events as they unfold. So He answers their first question ‘When’, in the following verses, that is during the tribulation at the end of the age. Verse 5.  “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Revelation 6;2, The white horse rider to deceive that he is messiah comes to earth. That is the first of the four horseman of the Apocalypse. Verse 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.” Continue to verse 7a. Verse 7a.  “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:” Revelation 6;4 the red horse rider “power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another:” That is the second of the four horseman of the Apocalypse. Verse 7b. “And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”(NKJV)  Rev.6:6 the black horse “A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny;” This showing famine, the third of the four horseman of the Apocalypse, and Rev.6:8 the pale horse whose name was death the result of pestilences and earthquakes, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” That is, the forth of the four horseman of the Apocalypse. Verse 8.  “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” the greek word for sorrows means a pang or throe, especially of childbirth -Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary, and is said to be what Israel will look for before the second coming Isaiah 66:7-8 and Jeremiah 30:4-7.  Here we are in the first part of the 7 year tribulation period waiting for the peace treaty between the antichrist and Israel, which starts the tribulation, to break down and Israel to be persecuted which starts in the next verse. Verse 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.” I believe verse 9 starts the “Great Tribulation” or second half of the 7 year tribulation period which is started by the “abomination of desolation” spoken of in verse 15 below where Jesus tells them to flee to the mountains because of the persecution in this verse.  This is The description of the fifth seal in Rev.6:9 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:” This parallelism between the Olivet discourse in Matthew and the part of Revelation beginning with the sixth chapter supports the view that the first half of the week is described in verses 4-8. It also supports the view that if the harpazo, the catching up or rapture, of the Church happens before the tribulation period it would not be in the time period described by Jesus in the Olivet discourse and if the rapture of the Church happens during the tribulation before the second coming of the Lord He might have mentioned it if He was not talking to only Jews, but He did not.  I believe both is true that He did not mention it because it happens before the tribulation period He was telling them about and because He was talking to Jews and would not mention the events of the Church to them at this time for it did not exist yet. This second half of the 7 year tribulation is called “the time of Jacobs Trouble” given in Jeremiah 30: 6-7. “Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?  Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Here we have the birth pangs and that men will experience them also in this time of trouble. We also see the Jewishness of the time as it is referred to with an Old Testament Jewish name and that no other time in history has there been as bad a time on earth, “so that none is like it.” This is not a time Jesus would have his Bride on earth to suffer the wrath that is poured out by both the antichrist first  (Rev. 12:12) and then by God (Rev. 19:15) toward Israel and the nations so that only a remnant is saved (Romans 9:27).  It is said that Israel, represented by Jacob, will be saved out of it but this does not represent the Church because Replacement Theology, putting the Church where Israel is in scripture, is a false doctrine that will be discussed in another work. It is a fact rather that Paul, who we consider to be the Apostle of the Church, said that Jesus would deliver us from the wrath to come. In 1 Thessalonians 1:10 Paul wrote “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” and wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:9  “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”  John the Revelator also wrote that Jesus said “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” (Rev 3:10)  This keeps us from and “out of” not through the very time (hour) of the trial which will come on the whole world which is for those who are earth dwellers and not those who have their citizenship in heaven.  “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Phl 3:20-21 (NKJV – New King James Version, Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2011. 23 Oct 2011.) A word study of Rev 3:10 “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” shows the word “from” in the King James version is the greek word: ἐκ Transliteration: ek, a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds), from, out of place, time, or cause, literal or figurative, translated 181 times as “from” and 162 times as “out of” and  366 times as “of”.-Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary in the KJV.  This shows us that the writer meant that those who kept the “word” or “My command to persevere,” as the NKJV says, like the Church of Philadelphia did, will be taken out of the period of time “hour” when trial comes upon the whole world because it is to test “those who dwell on the earth.”  This testing is not for the Church but for “earth dwellers” as Luke 21:35-36 shows “For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.  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.”  Just like the teaching in Rev 3:10 the Church will be found worthy by keeping His word and persevere and will be “caught up” harpazo, taken “out of” ek, and “escape” ekpheugō,  the tribulation hour for they will not be apart of the snare that shall come on everybody that dwell on the face of the earth.  A closer look at the word escape in the Greek gives us even more insight to the fact that this is a removal of the Church before the Tribulation period.  The Greek Word: ἐκφεύγω Transliteration: ekpheugō Phonetic Pronunciation:ek-fyoo’-go. The english Words used in KJV: escape 5 times, flee 2 times.  the root is from ‘ek’ and ‘fyoo-go’. Ek meaning a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds), from, out (of place, time, and fyoo-go, a primary verb; to run away (literal or figurative); by implication to shun; by analogy to vanish :- escape, flee (away).-Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. The implication is clear here that to ‘escape’ may verry well mean TO VANISH OUT OF PLACE AND TIME. It certainly does not mean to be “preserved thourgh” as the Post-Tribulation view teaches. Other verses that talk about “earth dwellers” are Rev 6:10; 11:10, 13:8,12,14, 14:6; 17:8.  Revelation 3:10 and Luke 21:36 is not the only place this idea of being taken out of the earth before the tribulation begins is stated.  Romans 5:9, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him”  uses a different Greek word for ‘from’ when referring to keeping the saved ones “from wrath through Him.”  This Greek Word: ἀπό, Transliteration apo, is used 393 times as “from”, 129 times as “of”, and 48 times as “out of” -Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.  This word is never used in the sense of going through something as it would have to mean in order for the Church to be on earth during the Tribulation.  That this is the wrath to come (which is the Greek Word ὀργή transliteration: orgē by implication punishment -Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary)  that we are to be saved from at Christ’s return is stated in 1 Thessalonians 1:10,  “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from (apo, out of) the wrath to come.”  Here we have Jesus delivering us from the wrath that has not come yet when He comes from heaven and catches up the Church in the Rapture. This cannot be at the end of the Tribulation after the wrath has already been poured out by satan and God, but must be when Jesus comes for His Church in the Rapture before the Tribulation and its wrath starts. Post Tribulationists say that the wrath begins in Revelation 16 when the vials or bowls are poured out and that the Rapture happens just before this at the seventh trumpet judgement. I contend wrath starts in chapter six at the seal judgments where the ‘Four Horsemen’ conquer, people kill one another, there is starvation, people die by the sword and from hunger and pestilence. The fifth seal shows martyrs who were killed under the altar and when the earthquake happens in the sixth seal “the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Rev 6:15-17 (KJV)  This was a result of the earth dwellers experiencing all the previous seals no doubt, and so the Church must be Raptured before the first seal which is the beginning of the Tribulation. Oh yes, Post Tribulaitonists say that the Church has been sealed they say in the next chapter and protected from all that is going on but there is no sealing of the Church for it is not even mentioned and only the 144,000 Jews are. J.Dwight Pentecost wrote p.185, “If the church goes into the first three and a half years of the tribulation, the 144,000 would be saved into the Church, since the church is still on the earth.  Yet these are seen to be Jewish witnesses during the entire period.”  This is more proof the Church is not there in the Tribulation. The fact that the 144,000 are Raptured “were redeemed form the earth” and being “first fruits to God” (Rev. 14:3-4) tells us that the Church is not Raptured here and if Raptured before this the 144,000 would have gone with them unless it was before the tribulation started. We sometimes forget that besides the 144,000 (Raptured in Rev.14:3) and the Two witnesses (Raptured in Rev. 11:12) both someware in the middle of Daniels 70th week, there is the angel “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev 14:6-7 (KJV).  If the Church were on earth during the Tribulation it would be the institution who would be doing the teaching and spreading of the Gospel and the Lord would be pointing the lost to be decipled by it even if it were underground. But because it is in Heaven the angel is given the task of preaching to those who ‘dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe,tongue, and people.”  In verse 9 of Chapter 7 it talks about “a great multitude which no one could number….standing before the Throne” but verse 13 and 14 it states “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation.” These were not seald but died as martyrs and are not the Church but Tribulation saints. No more are sealed after the 144,000 because verse 9 starts with “After these things” which is after the angel finished sealing the 144,000 Jews which is all he was told to do before the four angels could “harm the earth and the sea.”  In chapter 7 verse 2-4 says “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, Saying ‘Do not harm the earth and the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of these who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed.” (NKJV). The sealing is over.  There is also proof that the ones “standing before the throne” who came out of great tribulation are not the Church but Tribulation Saints who were no doubt saved under the ministry of the Two Witnesses and the 144,000 Jewish missionaries and who were martyred soon after. They are referred to as though they were new Christians, some newley saved Jews and not the mature Bride of Christ, the Church. This is in verse 17 at the end of this chapter 7. “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”  This same thing is prophecied in Isaiah  “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 25:8 (KJV). This implies a process of shepherding they need to go through as babes in Christ to be sheperded and taught so many things they don’t know as new Christians and because of all the suffering they endured to have their tears wiped away and be loved by a God they did not know but are just learning about. At this point the Church on the otherhand is now the mature bride of Christ. They are the faithfull one the Body of Christ soon to become his Bride and we are rejoicing and singing and no tear needs to be wiped from our eyes because tears of joy are a rainment we want to give as praise…to Him who sits on the Throne. Selah!   There must be two distinct comings of Jesus, once for His Bride the Church unannounced, as the bridegroom in the Jewish marriage ceremony, and once to save Israel and usher in “the Kingdom of God” as predicted in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 30:1-10) and in Matthew 24 and 25.  Yes this is the mystery Paul referred to as relates to the Church. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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.” 1 Cor 15:51-52 (KJV).  I will have more to say about these trumpets in a different chapter.  I know Post-Tribbers are adamant on this, that there can only be one coming of the Lord.  They taunt Pre-Tribbers by saying “so you believe in two comings?” as if the two comings are the same or accomplish the same goals.  They can try to belittle us but the reality is that if Christ wants to come back for His Church before He returns with His Church then He will do so and not be persuaded by those who don’t believe He can do it.  I contend that in order for ALL those who are found worthy to escape ALL these things that shall come to pass will have to be taken to heaven before the Tribulation starts. They can not just flee to the mountains after they have endured some of what “shall come to pass” to where some will make it to be protected (a remnant of Israel). The fact is that 2/3 of Jews, represented by the woman in Rev 12, are killed (Zechariah 13:8-9), and that they are persecuted, verse 13, before she fled and that satan “went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” Rev 12:17.  I have read where some have tried to change the meanings of these greek words to mean the Church will be here during the tribulation somehow protected but when all the overwhelming evidence is in and only facts supported directly by Scripture, and not adding “what if’s” then only a pre-tribulation rapture of the Church can be supported. That statement may be pre-mature to say now in our study of Matthew but the evidence will pile up as we get to Luke’s gospel and beyond in chapters dealing with the Imminence of His coming, the Trumpets, Replacement Theology, historical arguments, the Types and the support from scripture and other sub topics. If the Church were to go through the tribulation it would be more likely that a Greek word that meant through would be used like the greek word: διά Transliteration: dia, a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (used 88 times), or the greek word: ἐν Transliteration: en  a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), translated “in” 1902 times, “by” 163 times, “with” 140 times, “among” 117 times, “at” 113 times, “on” 62 times, “through” 39 times -Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. Verse 10.  “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”  The greek word for offend is σκανδαλίζω Transliteration: skandalizō, translated offend 28 times. (“scandalize”); from  (skandalon); to entrap, i.e. trip up (figurative stumble [transitive] or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure) :- (make to) offend. As you see we get our word scandalize from this word in the greek and latin. Here we have a description of many things we know will happen at this time. The first is unbelief and apostasy. When Jesus was teaching all the parables in matthew 13 and then went to the synagogue and taught those there were astonished and said “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Matt. 13:54-55) “So they were offended at Him “verse 57” and because of there unbelief He did not do mighty works there (verse 58). The second description is betrayal. In Luke 21 it tells of the betrayal that happens during the Roman seige of Jerusalem leading up to 70 AD. “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.” Luke 21:16 (KJV) And this is the third description, hatred so that some will be put to death. Of course these are the three things that happened to Jesus at the hand of the religious leaders in His day. The same thing will happen during this time of the tribulation period because the Restrainer, the Holy Spirit in its indwelling of the Church will not be present to hold iniquity back because the Church is ‘caught up’ just before the man of sin is revealed.  “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:” 2 Thess. 2:6-8 (NKJV). The Holy Spirit will always be present even during the tribulation (Acts 2:16-21) but the believers with the Holy Spirt indwelling as a power, the Church, will be absent so satan will know he can raise up the antichrist waiting to be revealed. That the Church can be referred to as a He is proved by the fact that we are the ‘body of Christ’ and His body is not that of a woman. “And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Col 1:18 (KJV) and that the Church is referred to as a ‘perfect’ man from Eph 4:13 (KJV), “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”  That ‘He’ cannot be the Lord God because He cannot be removed either and like the Holy Spirt will dwell everywhere.   It cannot be His influence or restraining power for that would not be a He as being totally removed but an attribute that would be considered an ‘it’. An example is God’s omnipresence, it is one of His attributes but it is not He.  Paul wrote in the first part of verse 6 of 2 Thesselonians 2 that the Church at Thessalonica   knew what he was talking about and the Greek word for ‘know’ i’-do, is to see, beware, behold, look on and I think meant  that they could see the restrainer and ‘behold it’ and that it must be the Church, their colective body, Christ’s Church.

The restrainer is the Church for without the rapture of the Church Satan will not know when he can start his deception of Israel and the false peace treaty which starts the 7 year 70th week of Daniel 9:27.  If the millions who belong to Christ, the Church, were here there would be an outcry such as never before would be heard against the antichrist and his treatment of the Jews.  This would be an outcry so strong and loud that it could not be overlooked by John in his description of the 70th week.  They would expose every move the antichrist would make, the false treaty and the foreseen abomination.  The Church would know what was happening and would unite in large numbers against the government the anti-christ was trying to form and unite others outside the church.  There is no such revolt or faction against the anitichrist seen in scripture as there shouldnot be if the Chruch was Raptured before he came on the scene. Some Post Tribulationists acert that it is the government that removes it’s restraining influance allowing the antichrist to rise. Dwight Penticost writes, “some One is peventing the purpose of Satan from coming to culmination and He will keep on performing this ministry until He is removed..Expanations as to the person of this Restrainer such as human government, law, the visable church will not suffice, for they will all continue in a measure after the manifestation of this lawless one…it would seem seem that the only One who could do such a restraining ministry would be the Holy Spirit.” J.Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: pp. 204-205

It is interesting to note that satan has had to have someone he can possess to become the antichrist for a long time not knowing when he will have the freedom to be released to try to destroy all of Israel so that the Lord cannot return. Christ said He would not return until Israel calls for him to do so (Matthew 23:39).  The true Church or presence of the righteous for a long time has restrained evil with its presence or fought it and with its absence the goodness it represents will be out of sight and out of mind of those left on earth to do iniquity.  In Genesis 18 and 19 we see If there were but 50 righteous men in Sodom and Gomorrah or perhaps even 10 they may have held back some of the sins that were present and saved it from destruction but none could be found and so God had to destroy it taking out Lot and his family before judgment hit.  When judgment hits during the tribulation we simply, like Lot, will not be here.  There is much more proof of this outside this study that one can find to be certain this is the case. The description of the Great Tribulation continues until the 26th verse. Verse 11 “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” This is a reference to “unbelieving Israel” that happens in the Tribulation as spoken about in the OT. “And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.”  Jer 23:13-14 (KJV) ” Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” Ezek 14:6 (KJV) Verse 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.” I believe since this verse is in the context of the tribulation period since at least verse 9, that it pertains to that period and not to the present Church Age. It is the 144,000 Jews who will give testimony to the saving power of Jesus to those on earth especially the Jews. It is the 2 witnesses who will preach to all the nations of the world during that period for 42 months. And many others like saved remnant Jews and gentiles that were not protected by the seal of God as the 144,000 and the 2 witnesses were and nowhere is the Church or its saints mentioned.  Verse 9 of Revelation 6 states “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:” These saved, slain tribulation saints under the altar were saved after the tribulation started under the ministry of the 144,000, the 2 witnesses and the saved remnant Jews.  You see many say that nothing can happen until the gospel is preached in all the world and that cannot happen for many, many years but that goes against the doctrine of imminency, that Jesus could come back at any moment, The “end time” clock could start the Matthew scenario at any moment with the Gospel being preached in all the world occurring in the tribulation. Lets go on with Matthew 24 now and add other topics later. Verse15 through verse 20 gives more instructions to the Jewish population of that day during the Tribulation of the last days. It is the same as what Jesus told the first century Jews to do when they saw the Roman legions, under Titus, start surrounding Jerusalem that is to “flee to the mountains” Luke 21:20-21 verse 24 shows us that this happens just before the dispersion “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.”  Another interesting point is that in verse 20 Jesus says “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:” Only a Jewish person would be concerned about traveling on the sabbath which they are forbidden to do. This is just another indication that the message was just for Israel and that the Church is not in view. Verse 21-22 affirms that great tribulation like none other is occurring and that for the “elect’s” sake those days will be shortened. Another word for elect is chosen and Israel is know as God’s chosen people up till now and its only after the gentiles are grafted in can they be called elect.  “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Verse 23-26 gives more detail of the deception that occurs in the tribulation. The next verses describe what happens after “the tribulation of those days”.  “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.  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.  Behold, I have told you before.  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.” Verse 27-30 “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.  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.  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:  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.” Jesus quotes the prophecy in Joel 2:10 “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:” It is the second coming of Jesus, the second advent, that which happens at the end of the Tribulation. Nothing is said here in Matthew 24 about the army who comes with him (Rev.19:14) because it is the Bride (the once Church) and the Church is still yet future at this time which is why, along with the fact that He was speaking to only Jewish Disciples, Jesus did not include any time table for the “harpazo”, the catching away of the Church to heaven. “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” Rev 19:14 (KJV)  “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2-3 (KJV)  Jesus is saying when He receives the Church to Himself in the Rapture it will be to heaven that He takes them, where He is.   “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.’ 1 Thess. 4:17 (KJV)  [caught up is ἁρπάζω, harpazō in the greek to ‘Catch, Force, Pluck, Snatch’ and the English word is ‘Rapture’ from the word used in the Latin Vulgate translation] Verse 31 The fact that the army was in heaven with Him before He came back as shown in Rev. 19:14 above is a very strong argument against Him gathering his Church after He breaks the clouds and sends His angels to do so as written in Matthew 24:31. “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.”  If the Church was in heaven with Him and came back as an army with Him then “elect” here are His chosen people Israel that are gathered by the angels as prophecied in the Old Testament. “That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.  If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:” Deut 30:3-4 (KJV)  This is clear proof that it is prophecied in the Old Testament that Israel will be gathered when the Lord returns at His Second Coming. And if there is doubt about this the next scripture removes it by placing this gathering at the “great trumpet” that is blown after Jesus returns to the earth as taught here in Matthew 24:31. The post-tribulation teaching that “elect” is not Israel but is only used to describe the Church is proven in error.  This is shown in Isaiah 27:12-13  “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” Isaiah 27:12-13 (KJV).   These elect in Matthew 24 verse 31 are the Saints of the Most High spoken of in Daniel 7 the remnant of Israel. “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” Dan 7:18 (KJV) “Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” Dan 7:22 (KJV)  “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”  Dan 7:27 (KJV)   There are several other things to note in Matt 24:31. The first is that there is no resurrection from the dead stated here and second those gathered are not taken to heaven.  This would be expected with the Jews and gentile nations that survive the tribulation but it is not what happens to the Church.  Matthew 25:31-32 tells us that Jesus will sit on His throne, on earth no doubt, and all the nations will be gathered before Him.  Here as in 24:31 ‘gathering’ is here on earth and is not the ‘catching up’ into heaven that happens at the rapture. The Greek words used in the Bible for ‘gather’ and ‘caught up’ are not synonomous and show that the gathering in this verse being studied (31) can not be the Rapture of the Chuch and to be ‘caught up’ is not what happens to those spoken about here. A word study shows us that there are at least fifteen different greek words that are translated gather, gathered or gathering of which most are verbs. Strongs dictionary has the following group of english words that these greek words mean.  Here I will list them: ‘to assemble’, ‘to accumulate’,’gather’,’to gether’,’market’,’marketplace’,’to gather in the town sqare’,’to sum up’,’gather together in one’,’to collect upon the same place’,’a complete collection’,’especially a christian meeting-for worship’,’to make a crowd’,’raise a public disturbance’,’gather a company’,’warrior-enlist in the army’,’choose to be a soldier’,’bestow’,’take in’,’call together’,’to hord’,’gather ripe fruit’,’collect the vintage’,’to make a crowd’,’to twist together’,’collect a crowd’, ‘unite’, ‘drive together’, ‘assuredly gather’.  What I would like to point out is that all these words imply a process that takes time for each of their meanings to happen.  Gathering in itself is an action verb that by necessity is a process and any process happens over a period of time depending on the scope of that process.In other words it does not happen instantly. The greek word for ‘caught up’ is ‘harpa’-zo’ which means to seize, catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take by force. This is much more descriptive of what happens at the Rapture of the Church described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.’  And of the description of this 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. This Rapture will happen instantly as just described and so cannot be what is happening in Matthew 24:31.           It is important to see that this trumpet that is sounded in verse 31, before the angels gather His elect, is the last trump of this age and not the 7th trump of the judgments (Rev.11:15).  Some say this is the trump referred to in 1 Cor. 15:51-52.  “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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.” These two trumpets are not the same trumpet as some say they are. There are those who say the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 vial or bowls (as in the NKJV) run simultaniously all ending with the Second Coming, Christs advent to earth (ie. Ervin Baxter, The End Of The Age program of End Time Ministries) but There is no support for this at all except that it allows the 7th trump and the gathering of the elect to happen at the same time fitting that interpretation as used by post-tribulationists.

There is no mention of the Church being caught up in Revelation 11 at the 7th trump even in symbolism or allegory. It follows that Jesus is, as in all of Matthew 24, giving information about what will take place as regards Israel and not the Church. It is also important to say that God will not send His angels to call up the Church as in verse 31 when he gathers Israel but He will call them up Himself as told in 1 Thess. 4:16-17 “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  When you interpret what the Scriptures say about the end times literally you come out with a Pre-Tribulation eschatology.  ‘When’ this Rapture of the Church happens and ‘why’ will be discussed below when we get to Luke 21.  A study of the trumpets in greater detail is done separately.  Verse 32-34 “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”  The biggest question here is, how long is a generation? We can’t be sure but the Jews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years until that generation that rebelled passed away.  Some generations in the Bible were as long as 100 years but that is when the lifespan was hundreds of years so it can’t apply to a generation in our day since generations in Jesus day were shorter like ours.  It has been calculated from the genealogy’s of the Old Testament and from the book of Matthew and knowing the lapsed time that the average generation is about 52 years.  Some use the life expectancy of 80 years in there calculations but I think that is a stretch and by then 4 generations could be living at the same time.  I think 52 is closer and if we use this and the starting point when Israel regained Jerusalem in the 1967 war that they are still holding it comes up as 2019 that the Lord returns, the tribulation starting 7 years before that, in 2012. This of course gives us an idea how close the coming of the Lord may be but it still could be a little further into the future but I don’t think by much on the basis of this.  As previously stated if this generation is the one alive during the Tribulation then these estimates here don’t matter.  Looking at Israel as a good indication of the timeline of last days events, we are very close to them needing a peace treaty as the antichrist will provide in order to survive much longer. Verse 35. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” A statement by Jesus how sure His words are to come to pass. Verse 36. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Here is something I came upon in my reading of Matthew 24 over and over again and that is that this verse says day and hour and that verse 42 says hour only when talking about the Lords return.  In verse 36 Jesus is talking about the generation that will see all the signs and that it will not pass away.  That His coming is near but the day and the hour is not known.  If the Rapture of the Church takes place before the Tribulation as I believe, then this would be a good description of that event because neither the day or hour is knowable.  In contrast  the day of the second coming of the Lord is known at least 42 months (3 1/2 years) to the day and perhaps as much a 7 years before it happens. The Abomination of Desolation according to Daniel 9:27 happens in the middle of the 7 year tribulation and Israels covenant with the antichrist happens on the first day of the tribulation so these days will be known to the people living then.  The day of the Lords return will be know to those who know scripture, the Israelites, but the “hour” of his return will not.  And so in verse 42 below the second coming is given in its context of judgement as we shall see. Verse 37-39. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.   For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,  And knew not until the flood came, and took them (the ones that were eating and drinking) all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”  There are several interpretations of this scripture. One is that Noah and his family represents the Church riding out the tribulation period here on earth, protected from the judgements that are to befall “all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth” Luke 21:35. So the judgements will come to “all” on earth except for the 144,000 who are sealed (protected) from this wrath and the two witnesses for a time. We don’t find the Church is sealed in the tribulation or that it is even there in the tribulation not being mentioned at all till it is said that in heaven from the throne room with God on the Throne and the 24 elders present that  “His wife has made herself ready” “for the marriage supper of the Lamb has come” in Revelation 19:7.  In order for the Church to be in heaven here it would have had to be raptured previously and be prepared to return with Jesus at the second coming in verse 14. I don’t think the ones saved in the ark are the ones in view here but the ones who were outside the ark, that “they were eating and drinking” and “the flood came and took them” show the ones left are the subject as discussed below.  Another interpretation is that It could be said that this protection is for the Jews (a remnant) riding above the things which are happening on the earth. This may be a better interpretation with the explanation that Enoch is a type of the Church who was taken up “raptured” just before this time of trouble. Jesus not saying this because the Church is not in existence yet when He is talking to the four Jewish disciples. Then Israel will loose two thirds of its people during the tribulation period so they are not by any means protected as Noah and his family was (And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein Zech 13:8).  However there is a Jewish remnant that will be protected and saved at the end of the tribulation so those in the ark are more likely to be that remnant.  “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:” Romans 9:27 (KJV). A.R. Habershon in her book “The Study of the Types” states …”in our study a large number, if not all the types, probably have a double meaning. One interpretation will not exhaust all that may be learned from them: for we find that like so many other parts of God’s Word, they can be taken in various ways. Another illustration of this double teaching is in the flood and the ark. Salvation for all within the ark is a favorite gospel subject: and rightly so. Noah found grace in God’s sight, and safety not in himself, but in God’s appointed place of refuge.” She states a second meaning “..as representing the judgments that will fall upon the earth at His coming in glory. The flood was unexpected, so will His coming be; there was destruction on all that were not ready for it so will it be when He returns to this Earth”.  She has more to say about this and about verse 40 and 41 but first there is a third meaning she states about those in the ark.  Mrs. Habershons third meaning is the one I wish to showcase and makes a whole lot of sense when you consider it is the Jews Jesus is talking to.   “A third meaning in the flood and those who passed in safety though it, for the scene illustrates “the time of Jacobs trouble” and the preservation of the believing remnant. We are told in Rev. 12:15 that “the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood”… The woman is taken by many to represent Israel; and the time of persecution mentioned with such exactness in verses 6 and 14 to correspond with the Great Tribulation just before the Lords return to Earth.  A remnant of Israel will be preserved through the Tribulation as Noah and his sons were preserved through the flood;  while the Church will have been taken away as Enoch was caught up before the flood came upon the earth.  Many believe this to be the teaching of Revelation 3:10; and that to be kept from the ‘hour’ must mean to be taken away before it strikes.”  This is true based on the word study we did above. Verse 40-41 “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left”. Continuing with the judgement discussed above these verses speak of the wrath that will come to those who dwell on the earth during the tribulation period and the one taken were as the ones taken in the story of Noa in verse 37-39, taken away to judgement.  A.R. Habershon  continues.. “one shall be taken” in the next verse 40 of Math. 24, were “taken away by the judgment as in he days of Noah, and those that are left will be left for blessing.”  As she puts it, and that “in its primary meaning therefore this verse evidently does not refer to the Lords coming for His Church to the air, but to the subsequent coming with His Saints to the Earth.” Yes nor can it because in Matt. 24, Jesus was talking to a Jewish company and not to the Church which has not been established yet. This of course is the reality of what is happening here. There are many however that teach this passage speaks of the rapture of the Church based on the fact that there are other scriptures which basically teach the same idea that we can attribute to the rapture of the Church. Since we do know (based on all the arguments presented by me) that Christ comes twice, once for his Church and once with his Bride at the Second Advent, some scriptures will seam they are talking about the same event but studying them in context proves they are not.  There are to many differences in these two events as described in scripture to conclude they happen at the same time as Post-Tribulationists assert and is the subject of another chapter.  Paul writes about the mystery that is to befall the Church in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”  I believe the escape Paul is referring to here is the escape that the Church will experiance at the rapture because they will not escape but the brethren, the Church will.

It is logical that if I can show for the Church the possibility of a pre-trib rapture and then the probability of a pre-trib rapture and the possibility that there is not a post-trib rapture, post tribbers will be more acceptable of our theory. We as pre-tibbers are expecting the Lords return at any time, according to the doctrine of Imminance, and if it is not untill the last day of the tribulation we will be ready but the post tribbers will be caught by surprise, if it does not happen as they expect, as the master of the house was when the theif came not expecting him to break in and perhaps as the virgins were when they ran out of oil.

My study has shown that the Pre-tribulation rapture cannot be proved or disproved based on Matthew 24….and Post-tribulation rapture cannot be proved or disproved based on Matthew 24.  Only that we should look for the answer somewhare else and that too much weight is put on this passage by Post-Tribulatioists to prove there view.

Marriage supper of the Lamb Isaiah 25:6-9 “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 25:8 (KJV)

One big consideration is when the resurrection of Israel will occur and not to confuse the scriptures that pertain to that with what will happen to the Church. Many today who believe in Replacement Theoloy, that the Church replaced Israel after the Jews cucified Christ and rejected Him as Messiah, put the Church in the scriptures that only should be for the nation of Israel.  This can and does change the whole view of the end times, that is, just because Israel is resurrected at the second advent of Christ does not mean the Church must also be resurrected and raptured then also.  These are two distinct occurrences and each has its own descriptions which are mutually exclusive.

THIS AN UNFINISHED WORK IN PROGRESS.