The end of the age - Matthew 24:1-14

(Additional Reading - Mark 13:1-13, Luke 21:5-19)

Matthew 24:1-14 (NIV) (KJV)

1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

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My Notes:

“And this gospel will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

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In this is the promise. This discourse from the Mount of Olives is dramatic, and intense, and incredible. But the central truth is that the Kingdom of Heaven IS going forth. The Kingdom of Heaven WILL be declared. The END is not the END, but only the end of the beginning.

It’s the end of this time of waiting. It’s the end of uncertainty, and confusion, and injustice.

It’s the beginning of the total fulfillment of the Kingdom of Heaven. We see it growing and moving and living among us now, like yeast in dough, like mustard plants on a graveyard.

But when this short time is done, this time of declaring its’ coming among the weeds and the wheat, we WILL see the fulfillment of all we hope for.