The Lord had just pronounced the solemn words of judgment with respect to the temple: “Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” After leaving the city He goes to the mount of Olives and His disciples come and ask Him: “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the [age]?” — that is, the end of the time during which the Lord should be absent from them.
This leads the Lord to speak of many things which should take place before His coming. There would be false Christs appearing and deceiving many, and there would be wars and rumors of wars. There would be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in many places. But these would only be the beginning of sorrows for that guilty nation on account of their rejection of Him. His disciples would be persecuted and killed and hated for His name’s sake. False prophets would arise and deceive many, and on account of the prevailing lawlessness many would give up their profession of faith. But those who would endure through this time of trial would be saved. Also there would be those who through this time of trial would carry the gospel of the kingdom unto all nations before the end would come.
It is clear that what the Lord is speaking of here does not refer to Christians, but to the Jewish disciples as they were then and to the Jewish remnant of the future day. The Jewish remnant’s hope is for Messiah to come in His glory back to earth to reign over them and to set them free from their Gentile oppressors. Then His presence will put an end to all their sorrows and bring in everlasting joy. The Christian’s hope, however, is to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and to reign forever with Him in heavenly glory and eternal happiness.
Prophetic Warnings
The Lord then refers to the prophecy in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11, when the nation should be given over to idolatry, and an idol would be set up in the temple. This would bring about the great tribulation. Those who refused to worship this idol would have to flee into the mountains to escape. It would be the greatest tribulation that ever had taken or ever would take place. But the Lord has set a definite limit on how long that tribulation could last. “Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
The Lord warns them of false prophets and Christs who should show great signs and wonders and who would, if it were possible, deceive the Lord’s own people. “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.” Christ’s coming will not be in secret when He returns to deliver His own. “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.” Every eye will see Him then. His appearing will be as sudden and rapid as the lightning.
God “hath appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Jesus] whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
Further Meditation
1. What is the beginning period of the coming tribulation called?
2. How many different portions of Scripture point ahead to this time?
3. A wonderful way to read through the scriptures that refer to this coming time is with the chronologically arranged Prophetic Scriptures by C. E. Lunden.