Matthew 24/Zechariah 14-Olivet Discourse Parallel

Matthew 24/Zechariah 14 Parallel

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ As he sat on the Mount of Olives (See Zechariah 14:4-5), the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

NOTE: This is true for the events of 70AD, but they will have a greater fulfillment throughout the Church Age as well. Also, compare the below verses with Mark 13.

·         Daniel 9:26B & 27B-….And the people of the prince (Jews) who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 …And on the wing (peak) of abominations shall come one who makes desolate (Vespasian/Titus), until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator (Jews/Jerusalem/Temple).”

·         Daniel 11:33-35 ³³ And the wise (Elect/believers) among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. ³⁴ When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, ³⁵ and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

·         Luke 21:20-24 ²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, ²² for these are days of vengeance, TO FULFILL ALL THAT IS WRITTEN. (THERE IS AN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY OF 70AD). ²³ Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

 ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

NOTE: These are the Four of the Seven Seals of Revelation: Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. These problems with be present throughout the Church age until Christ’s second coming. Compare this to Zechariah 14:12-15.

⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation (See parallel in Daniel 11:33-35/Fifth Seal of Revelation) and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved (see Zechariah 14:1-3, Matthew 24:22, and Mark 13:20). ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (See Daniel 9:26-27-the End of Jews/Jerusalem).

NOTE: This is true for the events of 70AD. The events of 70AD are a microcosm of the Church age between Christ’s first and second coming. This is Promise to the Overcomer-Matthew 10:22, Luke 21:19, Romans 8:37, Hebrews 10:36, Revelation 2:7-11, Revelation 2:17, Revelation 2:26, Revelation 3:5-12, Revelation 3:21, Revelation 12:11.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when YOU (current people) SEE the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),¹⁶ then let those WHO ARE IN JUDEA flee to the mountains  (See Zechariah 14:5). ¹⁷ Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹ And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 

NOTE: Verse 21 uses poetic hyperbole for describing a disaster-It is not explaining the Dispensational view of the Seven Year Great Tribulation. See Daniel 12:1, Exodus 9:8, 10:14,11:6; Joel 1:1-4, 2:2 for similar phrasing.

²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 

NOTE: Those who flee to the mountains will be saved. This also includes others that were taken captive. They will come to a saving faith in Christ later. All of the non-elect were killed.

²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Verse 27-This verse is describing an earthly gathering by the gospel due to Christ’s Death, which will lead to his inevitable second coming. This should not be confused with the pre-trib rapture to escape a Seven Year Great Tribulation. See below for support.

·         Deuteronomy 30:4 ⁴ If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. NOTE: This is talking about an earthly gathering. Christ is known for using Old Testament imagery to convey his message.

·         Isaiah 5:26 ²⁶ He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!

·         Isaiah 11:10-12 ¹⁰ In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal (First Coming) for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. ¹¹ In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time (Second Coming) to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. ¹²He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

·         Isaiah 27:12-13 ¹² In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. ¹³ And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

 ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather (ripe for judgment)

Verse 15-28: It’s going to be so bad that it’s not worth going back to get your belongings. Pray that the weather conditions aren’t bad. The winter was known for having bad roads. For the Sabbath, the gates of the city were closed in order to prevent traveling in and out of the city. Furthermore, there will be many false teachers ready to deceive the public. No one will know the exact time, but we/Jerusalem are ripe for judgment. We/They won’t see it coming.

²⁹ “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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Verse 29- Again, Old Testament figurative language is used to describe the upcoming destruction and chaos for 70AD and afterwards during the Church Age. See Isaiah 5:26, 5:30, 13:9-10, 34:4-5, 60:20, Zephaniah 1:14-15, for similar phrasing.

 ³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the SIGN of the Son of Man (NOT THE ACTUAL SON OF MAN-THE SIGN), and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. NOTE: The Greek Word used here is ERCHOMAI, not Parousia. This is not Christ’s second coming (compare Revelation 1:7 and Revelation 2:5 that uses the same Greek word figuratively).

³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Verse 30-31-This is a combination of Daniel 7:13-14 and Zechariah 12:10, which is referring to Jesus enthronement and inauguration ceremony of the Kingdom of God in Heaven and on Earth in partial fulfillment (This is the ringing in of the Fifth Kingdom found in Daniel 2, 7, and 12).The “coming on the clouds” phrase refers to coming judgment. See below for support.

·         Matthew 26:64 ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “YOU have said so. But I tell YOU, from now on YOU will SEE the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”NOTE: This was directed to Caiaphas the High Priest. Not a future generation ready to see the Second Coming. Again, this is a figurative description of Christ’s first act of judgment (70 AD) as the official Kingdom ruler on apostate Israel.

·         Isaiah 19:1 ¹An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

·         Jeremiah 4:13 ¹³ Behold, he comes up like clouds; his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles— woe to us, for we are ruined!

·         Ezekiel 30:3-4 ³ For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.⁴ A sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Cush, when the slain fall in Egypt, and her wealth is carried away, and her foundations are torn down.

·         Ezekiel 30:18-19 ¹⁸ At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark, when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt, and her proud might shall come to an end in her; she shall be covered by a cloud, and her daughters shall go into captivity. ¹⁹ Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

·         Zephaniah 1:14-15 ¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. ¹⁵ A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

This sign is the Death of Jesus Christ mentioned in Isaiah 5:26, 11:10-12, 27:12-13 (see above for these same verses. In the Book of Isaiah, this sign is referred to as the signal. This is NOT Christ’s actual second coming. This is the inclusion of the Gentiles/Spiritual Israel into the Kingdom of God. This is referring to the earthly gathering by the power of the gospel, which will inevitably lead to the second coming at a later time. Simultaneously, Christ has set the captives free from Paradise/Abraham’s Bosom. In Heaven, the “dead” saints will reign alongside with Christ during the 1,000 (figurative) year period of the Church age-See Revelation 20:4-5.

These two events are not the same event from different perspectives. They are two separate events. Compare this to the later passage in verses 36-50. We notice that the angels do not know the time of the end. This means the earlier portion cannot be the second coming because it will appear to be a contradiction. The angels cannot know and know simultaneously the same event.

Also, consider that verse 29 describes chaos and destruction while verse 36-50 talks about the day being the most typical, normal day around. They cannot both be true at the same time. Therefore, they are likely two different events. Third, verses 50-51 always refer to eternal damnation and finality. Last, compare the phrase in verse 30- “the sign of the Son of Man and the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” with verse 50-“the coming of the Son of Man. They are different phrases indicating that they are two different events”.

 

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Verse 32-35- The End of the Age will be preceded by many signs. However, the very last day of the Age/Christ’s Second Coming is unknown to all except for God.

 

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. ³⁷ For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. NOTE: In the KJV, NASB, BLB, and NIV uses the word TAKE, not SWEPT. This is to show that those who are taken are taken to judgment. A small translation issue like this can cause confusion and disconnect from the text. If take was used here in the ESV, we can see that this is NOT justification for a pre-trib. However, it is difficult to know unless you compare the same verse with different Bible translations.

⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken (to judgment) and one left (as a remnant). ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Verse 40-44-This passage has been misinterpreted by Dispensationalist to justify their position on the pre-tribulation rapture. It is incorrect.

·         Dispensationalists use 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 to interpret Matthew 24 and Luke 17. The problem with this approach is that we have to be cautious about using Jesus and the apostles’ writings to interpret Paul. Paul's writings are a different type of writing genre. Paul’s letters/epistles to the Thessalonians are for the purpose of giving comfort/ hope while Jesus’ words are for the purpose of prophetic/apocalyptic judgment in the Gospels. We need to be careful to compare and examine scripture according its own genre. Otherwise, we risk interpreting the text in a faulty manner.

·         In Matthew 13’s Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), we see that the unjust are delivered first unto judgment.

·         In order to avoid being “taken away to judgment” by the enemy, one had to flee to the mountains/ hills in order to survive. This is consistent with the idea in Zechariah 14:5 (The word Azal means “to go”) and Matthew 24:15-16. Therefore, to be taken means to die. In contrast, the survivors are the ones left behind as a remnant.

·         If you look at Matthew 25, it talks about The Parable of the Ten Virgins, The Parable of the Talents, and the Final Judgment. Each part describes the urgency of being ready and the finality of judgment.

·         In the Old Testament, the remnant that was left behind was the just while the unjust was “taken by God’s judgment”. See examples in Isaiah 4:2-4, Isaiah 39:6-7, Jeremiah 6:11-12, and Zephaniah 3:11-13

·         .In Zechariah 12 and Joel 1, we can see a connection with mourning and judgment, not salvation. The phrasing even appears somewhat similar to Matthew 24:40-44.

·         Zechariah 12:12-14-¹² The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹³ the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹⁴ and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.

·         Joel 1:4 ⁴What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.

·         In Matthew 24:42-44, Christ’s second coming is described as “a thief in the night”. It emphasizes the unexpected, urgency, and being ready for the hour of judgment.

·         The Greek word for “taken” is not a positive word exclusively. Negative Examples can be found in Matthew 27:27 and John 19:16.

·         To say that Noah and Lot were “taken away,” in a pre-trib rapture way is not a convincing argument. Lot and his family fled from God’s judgment. This description is similar to Jesus' teaching from Matthew 24:15-21. They had the choice to flee or face the judgment of God. A pre-trib rapture analogy is inaccurate because the individual is not taken for salvation and the others are left behind for judgment. Instead, what we really see is that the enemy is coming and whoever wants to live must flee—and those who refuse to flee will be taken by the judgment of God

·         A similar claim can be made for Noah. Without question, we can see that Matthew views the victims of the flood as being “taken away”. They were being taken away to judgment.

·         Matthew 24:37-39 –NASB Version“³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until THE FLOOD came and TOOK THEM ALL AWAY.THAT IS HOW IT WILL BE AT THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN.

·         Genesis 7:23  ²³ He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.

·         Luke 17:28-32 adds the phrase “Remember Lot's wife” further supports the fact that this context is judgment “to those that are taken away”

·         Therefore, being left behind means to escape God’s judgment as a remnant. The events involving Noah and Lot support the context of it “being taken to judgment.”

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place (to be taken there) there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

NOTE:  Jesus warns the wicked servants to not take lightly the delay of the master’s coming. The unrighteous will be condemned, cut into pieces, and thrown into a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Those that are unprepared will be “taken away” to eternal judgment while those that are left behind will receive deliverance.