Kingdom Living in the Last Days | Matthew 24 & 25

INTRODUCTION

We live in uncertain and often troubling times. Wars rage, morals decline, and even the church is not spared from deception and compromise. In such a world, how should believers live? In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus gives us a clear roadmap for life in the last days. He calls His followers not to fear, but to live with purpose, vigilance, and faithfulness. Today, let us hear from Jesus Himself on what it means to live ready for His return.

Open you bibles to Matthew 24 & 25
Matthew 24 and 25 is called the Olivet Discourse because Jesus gave this teaching sitting on the Mount of Olives to his disciples.

BACKGROUND

This narrative is part of the Passion week. Jesus has been anointed at Bethany, he enters Jerusalem on a colt and he goes and overthrows the money changers in the temple. His authority has been clearly demonstrated from his early ministry and now in the temple in numerous confrontations with these leaders. However, they will not believe in him. They reject him and set a plan to kill him. Jesus told all these parables about how the judgement on the religious establishment of Jesus’ day, the temple is coming and the end time.

Jesus leaves the temple back to Bethany after an extended conflict with various groups of Jewish leaders which began in Matthew 21:17.

Matthew 23:37

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

Jesus’ mission was to gather the people of Israel like a hen, calling them to be like a new people of God. They are under Rome and Jesus called them for nonviolence but to enter the Kingdom of God and pursue peace. They reject him and they take the violent way to take over the Romans. See the consequence: Look, your house is left to you desolate.

Matthew 23:38-39

38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Jesus says, “You are not willing to listen, you are going to be destroyed.” Jesus then gave them a very shocking statement, that the temple will be destroyed.

Matthew 24:1-2
1Jesus 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.”

The temple was one of the most splendid buildings in the entire Roman world. As Jesus leaves the temple, the disciples call Jesus’ attention to the glorious temple architecture. Temple was the national monument, national cathedral, and the national treasury all in one building. Jewish people expected God to defend this temple. Jesus said it will be destroyed.
Matthew 24:3
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?”

The disciples come to him and they ask how many questions here? Two
When will the temple be destroyed?
What is the sign of your coming and the end of age?

Jesus answers:
Fall of Jerusalem, Matthew 24:4-35. Jesus gives a timeline, this generation, v34

Matthew 24:34-35

34Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

He is speaking to the Jews and the Jewish temple.

Jesus is speaking around 30-33 AD.
The temple was destroyed in AD 70.
This is 40 years into history. Approximately the time of one generation.

Sign of His coming, Matthew 24:35-51. V36, nobody knows the time.

Matthew 24:36

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Matthew is probably writing this epistle after the destruction of the temple. His main motive to write this is to tell the readers: Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple, see that has happened in the same generation. Jesus also spoke about the end times and that he is coming back, this is going to happen. His intention is to prepare his readers to be ready for Jesus’ coming.

Jesus gave explanation of this in:

Matthew 24:15-21 15

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

For the Jews it was the end of the world to see their temple come down. But you flee.

Matthew 24:22-25

22“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.

Don’t let people cheat you or deceive you, you just bear witness of the good news of the gospel.

Matthew 24:29-31

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Signs of the End Age:

Besides events fulfilled in AD 70, Jesus also gives non-signs for the end. Jesus gives the general world conditions during this period of time that we call, the church age or the end times. The church age is between the ascension of Jesus or the day of Pentecost and his second coming. Our term for this time period is the church age or the end times. Jesus spoke about what will be life in the church age and this is how we are to live in this age.

Matthew 24:4-5

4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.

End-Time Scenario

1. Deception from within the church in the end times: False messiahs. False Prophets
False prophets, 24:4-5. They just have an agenda, they will take the name of Jesus, do ministry and proclamation and make money. So, watch out.

2. Evil Happenings in the world
Wars, rumors of wars, 24:6-7
Famines, earthquakes, 24:7

Matthew 24:6-7

6You 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. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Wars and earthquakes have happened before Jesus. This has happened before and even after the destruction of the temple. This is happening in our time. Jesus says, we live in a difficult, wicked world.

Jesus describes the world as a woman in labor. Full of difficulties and problems. Labor pain leads to new birth. But this world wickedness is leading up to Jesus’ kingdom coming down on earth to give new life.

3. Jesus’s Disciples Will be Persecuted.

Matthew 24:9-13

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. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Life in the present age for those who believe in Jesus will be difficult. Jesus says that during the church age, it will be a time marked by persecution. Right from Acts 2 we read about the incredible persecution that took place and they are going on today. Jesus prophesied it all.

Persecution – Put to death, hated by all nations because of Jesus.
Apostacy – Many will turn away from the faith. Love of most will grow cold.
Betrayal – People will betray each other, hate each other.

Jesus tells us that Christian life will be hard. It is going to be difficult but we need to persevere.

Matthew has been speaking about believer’s persecution it in his gospel.
>Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
>Matthew 10:16-20 16“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Paul talks about persecution and suffering.

We won’t receive rest form our sufferings until Jesus comes to destroy the wicked and publicly glorify the saints, 2 Th. 1:5-10

2 Thessalonians 1:5

All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

God permits his elect to suffer with his concern that their suffering will not result in their spiritual ruin. Suffering according to Jesus is a way of life for his disciples throughout the whole period between his resurrection and his coming.

In fact, suffering is one of our calling.

1 Peter 2:21

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

How Should One Live In The End Times?

Matthew 24:12-13

12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

1. Stand Firm; 24:13

Stand firm to the end. Endurance.

This is about becoming an intentional disciple of Jesus. There are all kinds of social forces, there are all kinds of fears that kind of distract me and pull me in all directions. But I need to stand firm and follow Jesus and follow his teaching.

Endurance.
Just hang on following Jesus.

Second,
Matthew 24:14
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.

Jesus is acknowledging here that the fall of Jerusalem is not the end of the world. There is a mission of his disciples to live in the world and bring the good news/gospel to all nations.

2. Bear Witness; 24:14

Bear Witness to The Good News of Jesus.

So we need to stand firm and bear witness to Jesus. That is how we are to live every day.

We are to individually share the good news and we have to collectively share the good news.

3. Watch & Be Ready; 25:13

We know the parable of the 10 Virgins or the 10 bridesmaids
Normally there is a procession from the groom’s home to the bride’s home
It was an honor to be a bridesmaid and it was an embarrassment to mess up.
The celebration go on for 7 days. When the bridegroom comes, 5 are not ready.

Matthew 25:10-13

10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

We need to be watchful and be prepared for the Lord’s coming to meet him at any moment. We must be spiritually prepared to meet Jesus.

4. Work with What God Has Given; 25:14–30

Be Productive.
Parable of the talents
God has given us resources, we need to use those resources. Whatever gifts he has given us, whatever economic resources he has given us, use them for the furtherance of the Kingdom, don’t insult God by not using the resources for God. That is what people do who waste their lives on other things.

5. Serve Others in Love; 25:31–46

“The scene of the judgment of the sheep and goats brings these parables and the discourse to a dramatic conclusion with the pronouncement that we will all be accountable for what we do in this life while awaiting the return of the King. The powerful twist to the scene is that our service to Jesus is demonstrated best by how we serve the least of Jesus’ brothers. The preceding parables also reveal a person’s heart—preparedness, responsibility, readiness, productivity—but caring for the most needy among Jesus’ disciples is the clinching evidence of kingdom life.

There is a primary responsibility that we must care for those of the household of faith, but also all of God’s creatures. There is inherent value in those created in God’s image, even those who are living lives separate from God as well as those who are unattractive emotionally, relationally, or even physically. God truly loves the world and desires that none should perish (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9). We must have great empathy for all individuals made in his image and understand their eternal nature. This should give us a heart for missions and an intense desire that none would perish eternally.”

CONCLUSION

How does Jesus want his followers to live in a world that is constantly on the verge of crisis and a world that is constantly falling apart?
Jesus wants us to trust that history is in his hands. Stand Firm. Spread the Good News.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

His death and his resurrection means that the most powerful forces of evil don’t get the last word in this world. This have always been bad and that life is probably going to be continue on like in the last 2000 years, there will be evil and wickedness. But one day, Jesus will return and confront evil and bring his kingdom. So we need to stand firm, spread the gospel, and watch and be prepared for his coming.

LIFE APPLICATION POINTS

1. Stay Spiritually Alert and Rooted in the Word
2. Use Your Gifts Faithfully for God’s Kingdom
3. Serve Christ by Serving the Needy
4. Endure Trials with Hope and Perseverance
5. Live Each Day Expecting Christ’s Return