Jim Parker
Member
End Times According to Matthew 24 and 25 Part 1B
23-28 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. 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. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
This part certainly has to do with the end time after the great tribulation when there will be many false Christs and false prophets seeking to draw people to them by offering false hope of their false religion.
The second coming of Christ will be obvious to everyone. It will be as obvious as a lightning flash on a dark night. It will be impossible to miss.
“The carcass” may be interpreted as Christ’s body and the “eagles” as the saints and angels. It is not an easy verse to interpret.
The Third Part of the Answer: The End. Mat. 24:29-31
Mat 24:29-31 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. 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. 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. After the tribulation, the appearance of the coming Son of Man will be so glorious as to make the sun, moon and stars appear dark by contrast.
The “powers of heaven” that are shaken are very likely what Paul referred to at Ephesians 6:12.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
2. All the tribes of earth include every national and ethnic group in the world. No one will miss seeing the Son of Man returning.
3. The sound of the trumpet and the gathering of the elect is spoken of by Paul at 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Jesus said the same thing here and is the basis of Paul’s teaching on the subject.
4. Note: For those who hold to the teachings of the rapture and Dispensationalism, this comment by Jesus puts the elect being “caught up in the air” after the great tribulation. (See v.29: “Immediately after the tribulation …”)
23-28 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. 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. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
This part certainly has to do with the end time after the great tribulation when there will be many false Christs and false prophets seeking to draw people to them by offering false hope of their false religion.
The second coming of Christ will be obvious to everyone. It will be as obvious as a lightning flash on a dark night. It will be impossible to miss.
“The carcass” may be interpreted as Christ’s body and the “eagles” as the saints and angels. It is not an easy verse to interpret.
The Third Part of the Answer: The End. Mat. 24:29-31
Mat 24:29-31 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. 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. 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. After the tribulation, the appearance of the coming Son of Man will be so glorious as to make the sun, moon and stars appear dark by contrast.
The “powers of heaven” that are shaken are very likely what Paul referred to at Ephesians 6:12.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
2. All the tribes of earth include every national and ethnic group in the world. No one will miss seeing the Son of Man returning.
3. The sound of the trumpet and the gathering of the elect is spoken of by Paul at 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Jesus said the same thing here and is the basis of Paul’s teaching on the subject.
4. Note: For those who hold to the teachings of the rapture and Dispensationalism, this comment by Jesus puts the elect being “caught up in the air” after the great tribulation. (See v.29: “Immediately after the tribulation …”)
