Matthew 7- The Narrow Path
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Matthew 24- Signs of The End
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 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?” Matthew 24:1-3
Matthew Chapter 24 is the core of all future end time events and the return of Christ. Now there are many Christians who believe all of Matthew 24 is already fulfilled, however while I believe parts are fulfilled, there are still many things to come, and will break it down in the next verses. The first sign of the end of the Old Covenant is the destruction of The Temple. This is one the of the charges the religious leaders placed on Christ during his trial, his prediction of the destruction of the Temple
We know that in 70 AD , this prophecy was fulfilled and the Temple in Israel was destroyed and never rebuilt , even to this day. Whether your a Christian or not, you can’t deny the accuracy of Jesus’ prophecy. However the destruction of The Temple has even greater meaning, as with the destruction of the Temple, goes the entire Mosaic Worship system, such as sacrifices, high priests, these are all fulfilled in Jesus Christ and his New Covenant (Hebrews 8)
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 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. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.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. Matthew 24:4-9
The disciples asked Jesus “What will be the signs of your return and the end of the age”? Jesus gives his disciples 4 signs, now when you study Revelation 6, the four horseman, they align perfectly with what Christ reveals here
- The Anti-Christ- 1rst Horseman White– And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Revelation 6:1-2
Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many Matthew 24:5
Yes many Ant-Christs have already come and gone, but the Son of Perdition(2 Thessalonians 2) will come at the end to deceive most of the world
- Wars- 2nd Horseman Red And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Revelation 6:3-4
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. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom Matthew 24:6-7
Yes there have been wars in the past, but the Anti-Christ will generate a war on a global scale, with casualties never seen in human history
- Famine – 3rd Horseman Pale And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. Revelation 6:5-6
. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places Matthew 24:7
Famine will come on a global scale that has never been seen before, and large amounts of the worlds population will die
- Death- 4th Horseman Black – And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:7-8
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. Matthew 24:9
The Last Horseman will be death and it will been seen on a scale never seen before in the world
Other resources:
Matthew 6 – Pray To Your Father
Matthew 23- Whitewashed Tombs
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:23-28
As we continue to look at Jesus’ rebuke of the religious leaders of Israel, we see a pattern. As Jesus said “You have omitted the weightier matters of the law” The religious leaders used parts of The Law to make themselves appear holy and righteous , however they neglected the greater parts of The Law because it didn’t benefit them. As the Apostle James said “Whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, is guilty of all” (James 2:10) We can’t pick and choose which parts of the Bible we want to follow, we either Love God or we love the world
Jesus called the religious leaders “Whitewashed tombs” (v27) Why? Because on the outside they appeared very holy and righteous. They sat in the most important seats, and quoted long prayers, and wore nice garments, but inside their hearts were wicked. They have adopted to a false religion, a religion that can’t save anyone, they needed to become Born Again through Christ
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. Matthew 23:29-36
Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, they decorate the tombs of the prophets, yet they are the one who killed the prophets. Jesus goes on to call them “You brood of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of Hell” The religious leaders are guilt of killing Gods prophets and eventually will kill the Messiah, they have brought a great judgment upon themselves and the nation of Israel
What can we learn from the religious leaders of Israel? We should learn not to fall for false religion, just because things appear to be “good” on the outside, doesn’t mean they are righteous on the inside. We have seen the Church today has fallen in the same trap, false doctrine and false teachers have flooded the Church. Don’t be deceived , God will not be mocked!
Worship God in Spirit and Truth, if we truly Love God with all our heart, soul, and strength, then our lives should reflect this Love, Amen!
Matthew 5- Be The Light
Matthew 23- Woe to False Religion Part 2
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Matthew 23:13-16
As we continue to look at Jesus rebuke of false religion , we must understand the word “Woe” in the Bible is the greatest condemnation you can receive. The word Woe can mean wretchedness or trouble, it basically means judgment is coming upon you. We often think of the Woes of Revelation, it’s the final judgment. So when Jesus is announcing Woe unto the religious leaders and their system, it’s an act of judgement and condemnation
Continually Jesus calls the religious leaders hypocrites, they don’t practice what they preach. They don’t truly love God and they don’t truly follow the Torah, they use man-made rules and religion to elevate themselves. Notice Christ said the religious leaders will receive “greater damnation” , so much for “soul sleep” as false prophets will receive a greater judgment in Hell than others, why? The Apostle James said “Many should not become teachers, because a greater judgment will be upon you” (James 3:1) There is a great duty and responsibility to be a servant of Christ, many have abused this calling and will suffer eternal consequences
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Matthew 23:17-22
Jesus continually calls the religious leaders “blind”, they are spiritually blind because they don’t have the Holy Spirit. As the Apostle Paul said “The natural man does not receive the things from the Spirit of God, because they are foolish to them” (1 Corinthians 2:16) Even though the religious leaders know the scriptures and have dedicated their lives to studying the scriptures, they couldn’t properly discern them because they don’t have the Holy Spirit or received Christ as their Lord
People might say “Jesus is being harsh to these religious leaders” these are the same men who crucified The Lord on a cross! If you are going to be a religious leader than you need to make sure you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the false prophets and false teachers of the Churches today will receive the same condemnation as the religious leaders of Israel, there is a great cost to be a disciple of Christ, make sure you are willing and able to pay that price! Amen!
Matthew 4- Daily Bread
Matthew 23- Woe To False Religion Part 1
Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. Matthew 23:2-7
In this Chapter, Jesus goes off on the religious leaders of Israel. Much of this can be applied today in Christianity. There are many people who love their religion but they don’t truly love God. They are hypocritical , not bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Alot of religion today has become a show or an organization, people are more concerned about numbers and titles, rather than saving souls
Jesus starts off by saying the religious leaders “Don’t practice what they preach” They love to quote the Torah, they love to wear their fancy garments, however they don’t follow the same scriptures they are reading. They continually make up man-made rules and religion, to keep people burdened under a yoke. However Jesus came to set us free, that’s why Christ died on the cross, to set us free!
The religious leaders love to put on a public show for people, they love their title and money, they abuse their power of being a spiritual leader of the congregation. However these same people, as Jesus said are “White washed tombs” (v27), they are dead to sin, their hearts are still hardened, they have no love of God inside of them
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Matthew 23:8-12
Jesus said “Nobody should be called Rabbi, for Christ is your Teacher” so much for Judaism, and Jesus also said “Nobody should be called Father, for God is your Father” so much for Catholicism. As we see, man-made religion doesn’t follow the Will of God. They make up their own agendas with their own rules to profit themselves. The religious leaders of Israel are guilty of abusing God’s word and people, to make an organization for themselves.
The greatest among you shall be your servant! Nobody should be exalted except our Lord Jesus Christ, because The Lord is the head of the Church, The Lord is King of Kings, everyone else is just brothers and sisters in Christ , Amen!
Is Jesus The First Horseman?
Matthew 3- Time Is Near
Unashamed of Jesus 