Jesus the Prophet.
Matthew 24: 1-31.
 

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 

2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, 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 and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 

5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

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. 

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. 

15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 

16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 

17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 

18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 

19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 

20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 

21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. 

23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. 

24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 

25 See, I have told you beforehand. 

26 Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. 

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 

28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. 

29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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. 

31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

 

                                                           ................................................................

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
 

This was the last time Jesus would enter the temple. His action of departing here was a prophecy, or a sign that He was leaving, never to return.

2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 

Here is a prophecy that came true to the letter. In 70AD, the temple was completely destroyed by Titus, to the extent that looking from a distance, one would never know that there had been a temple there at all.

There is still argument today about the site of Solomon’s temple.
The Jews believe that the Wailing Wall was the western wall of the temple.
There are others that believe it was the wall of Fort Antonia, which housed the Roman legions.

If the words of Jesus are true,” Not one stone will remain on another” then the latter would be true.
Excavations today still have trouble identifying even the foundations of the temple.
 

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, 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?" 

They were sat on the Mount, overlooking the Temple that Jesus had just prophesied would be destroyed utterly.
It seems like there were three questions here, whether the disciples knew it or not.

1. ‘When will these things be’.
Obviously, in the first place, they were referring to the destruction of the temple.

Secondly, they wanted to know what would be the signs that would precede His coming.
2. ‘What will be the signs of Your coming’

And when would everything be wrapped up.
3.‘The end of the age’.
 

Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 
Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 

 

This seems to be the six most important points that Jesus makes in the following verses. In vv 4,5,11,23,24 and 26.

1. Mat 24:4  Take heed that no man deceive you. 

2. Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 
3. Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 

4. Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
5. Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
6. Mat 24:26  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. 

Six times, Jesus warns about false Christ’s, false teachers and deceivers.

This has gone on since the inception of the church. There are more false prophets, false teachers and deceivers today than at any time in the history of the church and very likely will get worse.
 

There have been obvious ones such as Charles Taze Russell, the founder of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Also, Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.

Others include Alice Bailey, the founder of Theosophy, Ellen G White, the Seventh-Day Adventists,  Sun Myung Moon of the Unification church, (Moonies) and many more.

Others preach a different gospel, adding works to Faith for salvation. (Including main line denominations.)

 

You will notice that Jesus prophecies:
Once about Wars and rumours of Wars.

Once  about the rise of Nations against Nations and Kingdom against Kingdom.
Once about famines, pestilence and earthquakes in various places.

Once  about tribulation and persecution.

 

But Six times about false Christ's and false teachers.

How much more notice should we take of this?

If Jesus ever said “verily verily, or truly truly” it is important to Listen.

However, He warns six times about false Prophets and false Teachers, how much more notice should we take of this.

 

Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 

5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 

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. 

7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 

8  All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 

10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 

11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 

 

Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
Mat 24:26  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. 

 

One day the Man of Lawlessness, (AKA, the Man of Sin/the Son of Perdition, the antichrist, the beast), will be revealed but until he is, we experience the Spirit/Mystery of lawlessness which is already here.

 

2 Thessalonians 2: 7 for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work only He who restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

 

Jesus here prophesies the great falling away, “the Apostastia” (the Apostasy).
 

2 Thessalonians 2:3 let no man deceive you by any means I'm not come except there come a falling away and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition.

Matt 24:12 and because lawlessness will abound the love of many will grow cold but the that endures to the end  shall be saved.

 

Who will endure to the end?
 

All those who truly believe, for Jesus told is that “all that the father gives me will come to me and up those I will lose none”.

This is why we teach the perseverance of the Saints. (Once saved, always saved).
 

Only those that are professors, (not true Christians), will fall away.

Why?  Because Jesus is the one that saves us, we cannot save ourselves and Jesus is the one who keeps us, we cannot keep ourselves either.

Matt 24:14 this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness and then the end will come.

One day the fullness of the Gentiles will come in. (The last person will be saved) It is then that the end will come.

That is why no one knows the day, nor the hour of this coming.
 

Neither do we know who the elect of God are and that is why we preach the gospel to all men.
 

Jesus goes on to prophesy the revealing of the antichrist and the great tribulation.

He quotes Daniel, who tells us of the 70th week, the seven year renewed Covenant between Antichrist and many.

At the midpoint of the seven years, the Antichrist will set which an abomination which is desolate.

We are not told what this is, However, it must be possible to discern it, for Jesus said, “whoever reads let him understand”.

The Great Tribulation.
 

Matt 24:15 Therefore when you see the abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place whoever reads let him understand.
 

There are those that believe that the whole seven years refers to the Great Tribulation.

However, this cannot be so, for Jesus said, “when you see the abomination of Desolation”.
 

Matt 24:21 for then shall be great tribulation.
 

If this is at the midpoint then the Great Tribulation will only be for three-and-a-half years at the most.

The first three and a half years refers to “Tribulation”.
 

This is supported by the Greek words used in the text.

Tribulation (Thilipsis), Great Tribulation (Mega Thilipsis), The Wrath of God, (Orge).
 

Three different words, that speak of three different events.

Irrespective of whichever view one takes on the great tribulation, Jesus prophesied it.

Jesus goes on to tell what can be expected at this time in and round Judea.

Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 

Mat 24:17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: 

Mat 24:18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 

Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 

Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 

This is one of those prophecies that show us that prophecy is cyclical. (Which means a prophecy can refer to three time frames) The times of the Prophet, the First Coming of Christ and the Last Days.

This one here can be read to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD and the Great Tribulation of the last days.

This is what happened in 70AD. The Christians fled to the mountains.

Also if one reads the horrific account of the siege in Jerusalem by Josephus the historian of that time, we read what occurred in the city.
In his writing “The Jewish Wars” Jewish Wars Chapter 5 and 6

Josephus tells us that over one million Jews died either by the sword or by starvation during the siege of Jerusalem. Over ninety thousand were taken prisoner and enslaved.

Josephus estimated the number of Jews in Jerusalem at the Passover season of 70 A.D. to have risen above 3 million. The Roman army completely surrounded the city and soon famine set in.
Armed groups of citizens went from house to house in search of food, breaking down doors and
confiscating food and anything of value for themselves. As the food scarcity intensified conditions got worse and order broke down completely in the besieged city as roving hordes of militants went totally berserk looting, killing and ransacking homes and confiscating all the goods they could lay their hands on without caring about how their victims would survive. In his account of the event, Josephus writes that thousands of Jews were captured as they went outside the wall to search for food. They were captured in ambushes.

Josephus writes:

“they were first whipped and then tormented with all sorts of tortures and before they died they were crucified before the wall of the city....every day they caught five hundred Jews...so the soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore for the Jews, nailed those they
caught to the crosses....Titus commanded that the hands of many of those caught should be cut off....now those that perished by famine in the city, the number was prodigious and the miseries they underwent were unspeakable for if so much as the shadow of any kind of
food did any where appear a war was commenced and the dearest of friends fell fighting one another....nor did they at length abstain from girdles and shoes and the very leather...they pulled off and gnawed....a woman snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, said, “....Come; be thou my food”...as soon as she said this, she slew her son, and then roasted him and ate one half of him and kept the other half concealed.”

​

This will also relate to some kind of persecution by the forces of antichrist.

How this reign of antichrist affects the rest of the world we are not told, however, Jesus tells us it will be bad.
 

There have over the ages been many assaults on Judaism, from the beginning of creation, when God said to Satan:

Genesis 3 I put enmity between thy seed and her seed.
 

Satan in many guises has tried to destroy the Jewish nation.

First, to stop the first coming of the Messiah,  (the seed of the woman) and then to try and wipe out the Jewish race, to prevent Jesus second coming.

From the Babylonians, to the Persians, from the Romans and in modern times, the Germans and the Muslims.

Six million Jews died in the Holocaust but Jesus said that this persecution will be worse.
 

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 

23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 

24  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. 

25  Behold, I have told you before. 

26  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. 

27  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. 

Jesus goes on to prophesy His second coming.

Notice,  that His second coming will be immediately after the tribulation of those days.

Certain celestial signs will be seen.
 

Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 

29  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: 

30  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. 

Again there are different interpretations of the sequence of the events of the second coming.

The Rapture and His coming to the Earth, to set up his Kingdom.

This is a study in itself.

However the purpose of this study it is quite clear, that these things are prophesied by Jesus and that these prophecies gel with many other passages of scripture, from the Old Testament Prophets.

 

The proof that Jesus was indeed, a Prophet.

​

​

​