Matthew 24:
"As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
1. The question in bold is asking when Jesus would be revealed as King and come into His Kingdom. While on Earth, He was a servant. He had emptied Himself of all that which made Him clearly King. Satan tempted Jesus to reveal Himself by jumping off the pinnacle of the temple, and letting the angels catch Him before He hit the ground. This would have instantly ended the persecution Jesus faced from His people, as they questioned Him at every turn, and said that He was not who He claimed to be. They would immediately know He is the Messiah/King, and would therefore be accepted as such, no need to experience the rejection of the people. No. His purpose was to be the suffering servant, and to be our substitute.
2. Notice how it kicks off here. When you see the abomination of desolation in the temple. That is when they are to run. What does it mean if they see the abomination of desolation in the temple? It is the kickoff of the last 3 1/2 years of the 70th week of Daniel. If you look at the other mention of the abomination of desolation, in its multiple fulfillment form, it is more clear.
Daniel 11
" 31Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation."
This prophecy deals with a time before Jesus was on Earth, however, since Jesus brings it up again, that means that it is a multiple fulfillment prophecy, and the next fulfillment will be similar to the first. Hence you have the desecration of the sanctuary fortress, and doing away with the regular sacrifice. What do we see in the 70 week prophecy?
Daniel 9
"27And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”"
Consider more of the Daniel 11 prophecy:
"36 "Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all." [italics them present in text.]
So it appears that in Matthew, Jesus is speaking of a future time, after AD 70. (See Luke in continued comment for full reasoning. Consider though that God's dealings with Israel ends at the end of the 70th week. If you look at the world today, Israel is still here, and it appears that there is still unfinished business there.) Jesus then says, as soon as the 3 1/2 years are over, the Great Tribulation is over, immediately the sign of the Son of Man appears in the skies, and Jesus is visibly seen by all, in the clouds with all power. (He left and was received by the clouds, His sign is seen in and His return is with/in the clouds. The young men told the disciples the truth.) He then gathers up all the elect from all the corners of the Earth. It's over. The King has come. And He goes to Jerusalem (Zechariah), where He is recognized as King, for He says in Matthew 23 "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”"
So basically, they will see Him again, but it won't be until the receive Him as King, since saying "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" is recognizing God's King, as they did during the Triumphal Entry, but then turned and rejected Him. They didn't truly receive Him as King at that time.
-- Continued - Luke next
"As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
1. The question in bold is asking when Jesus would be revealed as King and come into His Kingdom. While on Earth, He was a servant. He had emptied Himself of all that which made Him clearly King. Satan tempted Jesus to reveal Himself by jumping off the pinnacle of the temple, and letting the angels catch Him before He hit the ground. This would have instantly ended the persecution Jesus faced from His people, as they questioned Him at every turn, and said that He was not who He claimed to be. They would immediately know He is the Messiah/King, and would therefore be accepted as such, no need to experience the rejection of the people. No. His purpose was to be the suffering servant, and to be our substitute.
2. Notice how it kicks off here. When you see the abomination of desolation in the temple. That is when they are to run. What does it mean if they see the abomination of desolation in the temple? It is the kickoff of the last 3 1/2 years of the 70th week of Daniel. If you look at the other mention of the abomination of desolation, in its multiple fulfillment form, it is more clear.
Daniel 11
" 31Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation."
This prophecy deals with a time before Jesus was on Earth, however, since Jesus brings it up again, that means that it is a multiple fulfillment prophecy, and the next fulfillment will be similar to the first. Hence you have the desecration of the sanctuary fortress, and doing away with the regular sacrifice. What do we see in the 70 week prophecy?
Daniel 9
"27And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”"
Consider more of the Daniel 11 prophecy:
"36 "Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all." [italics them present in text.]
So it appears that in Matthew, Jesus is speaking of a future time, after AD 70. (See Luke in continued comment for full reasoning. Consider though that God's dealings with Israel ends at the end of the 70th week. If you look at the world today, Israel is still here, and it appears that there is still unfinished business there.) Jesus then says, as soon as the 3 1/2 years are over, the Great Tribulation is over, immediately the sign of the Son of Man appears in the skies, and Jesus is visibly seen by all, in the clouds with all power. (He left and was received by the clouds, His sign is seen in and His return is with/in the clouds. The young men told the disciples the truth.) He then gathers up all the elect from all the corners of the Earth. It's over. The King has come. And He goes to Jerusalem (Zechariah), where He is recognized as King, for He says in Matthew 23 "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”"
So basically, they will see Him again, but it won't be until the receive Him as King, since saying "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" is recognizing God's King, as they did during the Triumphal Entry, but then turned and rejected Him. They didn't truly receive Him as King at that time.
-- Continued - Luke next
