Matthew 24:15-31
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.
The Coming of the Son of Man
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.
There will be such a pressing time of tribulation at the end of time before the judgment day arrives that we can scarcely comprehend it. When it is upon us, the temple will have this 'abomination of desolation,' as written by Daniel the prophet (Daniel 9:27; 11:31) as a final signpost of blasphemous idolatry and worship of a man opposed to Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) for us to see and flee from the great tribulation to follow. This pressing time of great suffering, anguish, and persecution will press on all with anxiety and fear as an hour of trial and impending punishment for all who continue to reject the truth of Jesus Christ. Fortunately, the elect (Zechariah 14:2) who are there will find the time pass more quickly as if the days themselves are made shorter so they suffer less until being ushered into eternity with the Lord soon after. Many false messiahs will show themselves as the answer to be saved from those pressing times and those who continue to reject Christ and His gospel will point to false christs and even work great signs and miraculous wonders to lead the lost further astray and away from their salvation. Even now we have portents of these in the ones claiming to be Jesus Christ with false religions and mesmerizing tales to tickle the ears and numb the spiritual understanding. It will only increase and the pressure to escape suffering will drive many to these dead ends instead of trusting Christ alone and His preserving power of grace to eternal salvation through the foolishness of the message (1 Corinthians 1:21-22, 23-25) by repentance and faith. The ones opposing Christ will continue to offer quick but misleading answers to the oppression of the pressing times, yet we are warned not to believe them when we hear these lies if we are alive in these times. When Jesus returns it will not be possible to have someone point to go find Him, for He will come back in an instant like a bolt of lightning flashing across the heavens. Those facing death of body and soul will be found as vultures circling the remains of the perishing. We are told in that moment all will immediately be deconstructed by God as He turns off heaven’s light which He created in the beginning (Genesis 1:3-5, 14-15, 16-18) to lead and guide us to know and follow Him. The sky will go dark as the sun and moon cease giving light and the multitude of stars will fall from the heavens above leaving only the light of the Lord standing there. This world will be shaken (Hebrews 12:26-27), but His eternal kingdom will remain (Hebrews 12:28) that we elect may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear as it is written here. Jesus Christ the Son of Man and Son of God will appear in all His omnipotent power and divine omnipresence of glory to be seen and dreaded by those rejecting Him and welcomed with humble thanksgiving and praise by those He saved. Yes, His angels will reap the righteous with triumphal trumpets as those elected in Christ are separated like wheat threshed from the chaff (Luke 3:17) of those not found clothed in the righteousness of Christ (Matthew 22:12-14, 1 Corinthians 1:30, Philippians 3:9). These certainties of God’s accountability to judgment call us to make our own calling and election in Christ certain (2 Peter 1:10-11)! We will endure great trials and tribulation, but Christ’s return will bind up our wounds and give eternal comfort and healing in His presence forevermore.
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