MATTHEW LESSON 47

     We begin in Matthew 24:1 "And Jesus went out, and departed from
the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the
buildings of the temple."  Matthew 24:2 "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."

     Jesus was speaking prophetically of the destruction of the temple
that He loved so well. This was the temple where He had driven the
money changers out. He had taught reverence in the house of God, that
it should be a House of Prayer. When Jesus (the Lord of the temple)
left, it was desolate. The outward magnificence was gone when the
holiness was gone. In less than 40 years, this temple would be
destroyed in a bloody battle.

     Matthew 24:3  "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the
disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these
things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end
of the world?"

     These disciples had all the things grouped together. One
question, when will the temple be destroyed?  The physical  temple
would be destroyed in less than 40 years. The temple of His body would
be destroyed in just a few days. When would He return to the earth? In
about 2000 years. When is the end of the world? At the end of the 1,000
years of peace on earth. You see, the disciples were wanting to know
specifics.  They had been listening to the warning to the scribes and
Pharisees, and even heard of some of the disciples becoming martyrs.

     Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed
that no man deceive you."

     Jesus warned them. the very first thing, that there would be
deceivers. His first answer: "Take heed that no man deceive you".
There were even deceivers then and now, but not the magnitude that there
will be in the end days.

     Matthew 24:5 "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ; and shall deceive many."

     Even during the time of John, John spoke of antichrists being in
the earth. These were not "the" Antichrist, but types of antichrists
(those who were opposed to Christ's teachings).  Paul spoke of
heretical seducers.  There were, also, others like Mohammed, that were
worshiped instead of Messiah. In our day, there are many people
claiming to be Christ.  Worse than that, people have begun to deny
that Jesus is God the Son.  They are bringing Him down to the level of
mankind, and they are, also, trying to elevate themselves to the level
of Jesus. The deception of false religion is rampant.  There are more
false gods than ever before. There is a man living in England
proclaiming to be Christ, right now.

     Matthew 24:6 "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."

     There have been wars raging ever since Jesus made this statement.
Wars have been on the increase in the last few years, and especially
in the Middle East. Right now there is conflict going on, on every
continent. Young people are being killed every day in Isreal. The
Arabs and the Jews have been in constant conflict. The protestants and
the Catholics are having a ("holy" ???) war in Ireland. There is
conflict in the streets in all the major cities in all the countries
of the world. The whole world is like a stick of dynamite about ready
to explode. There are enough bombs already made to blow the whole
world up. It is possible for some maniac to push a button and start an
(all out) nuclear war. So certainly, this part of the prophecy is
already fulfilled.

     Matthew 24:7 "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes, in divers places."

     Even in world war II, many people believed that this was the
fulfillment of this "nation shall rise against nation". Of course, the
two big powers with the bomb are the United States and Russia. There
is really no peace between them, just a stand off. Russia has attacked
countries like Afghanistan in attempt to take them over, and have
taken many small countries over to Communism.

     I saw a movie not too long ago, and it discussed how many
thousands die every day from the famines around the world, Ethiopia
and India are both plagued with famine right now. It really seems that
the countries with the famine are those who are worshipping cows and
other objects of the Creator, and not the Creator, Himself. You really
don't know what to do in these cases. Is this God attempting to change
them?  Should we go in and stop this problem? There are many thoughts
on the subject. It really hurts to see the pictures of the starving
children. We would surely have to say that the famines are already
happening.

     Pestilence is another problem. Even here in the United States,
pests are producing at an alarming rate. There have been tremendous
amounts of insecticide used to stop pests. Some insecticides have been
banned, because they have gotten into the water system, and humans
have a great amount of them in their blood.  We cannot say for sure,
but many believe that so much use of insecticide has brought on large
percentages of cancer incidents today. This too, seems to have been
fulfilled.

     Earthquakes have been on the increase. Last year, it seemed that
once a week we would hear of a damaging earthquake somewhere. Some in
places that I had not heard of before. There was a devastating one in
Mexico City. Everyone in the United States has been concerned about a
large one hitting around the St. Andreas fault that goes through
California. Here, again, we could say that this part of the prophecy
has been fulfilled.

     Matthew 24:8 "All these [are] the beginning of sorrows."

     As I said, it seems that all of the above are already happening.
So we can assume from that, that we are already in the beginning of
sorrows.

     Matthew 24:9 "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."

     The account of this in Luke adds "before all these things". We do
know that many of the disciples were delivered up and were martyred
for the cause of Christianity. I believe that this Scripture covers
Christians and Jews. Jews, even in recent years, have been persecuted
and martyred. Hitler killed about 1/6 of the Jewish people in world
war II. We hear of religious atrocities in Russia today. Many are
feeling the hand of persecution. I believe it goes even farther than
the physical death of those who stand for true Christianity. In our
society today, if a person truly loves God and tries to do something
to further the kingdom, he is labeled as a fanatic. Our own little
church has been persecuted by the people of the area. Lies have been
spread that are so absurd but have been really damaging. Truly, the
real believers in Christ are hated.

     Our nation, which is classified as a Christian nation, (and
certainly did start out as a Christian nation) is hated around the
world. The blessings from God have been on the United States, because
of the stand we have taken toward Christianity. However, now that so
many false religions have entered, it seems that the blessings from
God are being lifted. After world II, many Far East religions crept
into the country. Eastern mysticism is even infiltrating the main line
Protestants churches. Mind control is being practiced and called
faith. We see a watered down Christianity that is without power.
Second Timothy 3 calls it "having a form of Godliness, bur denying the
power thereof". Even inside the church world there is bickering,
fighting, and back biting. The message of Christianity has been so
watered down, that our ancestors would not even recognize our services
as having church. Even in our own ranks, some of the new messages have
removed the deity of Christ. If you take a stand against these false
teachings, then you are classified as being disturbed. If you truly
love Jesus, it is time to be "disturbed." You can see, with no
problem, that surely this part of the prophecy has been fulfilled, as
well. This is the case in the next verses.

     Matthew 24:10 "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray
one another, and shall hate one another." Matthew 24:11 "And many
false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."

     This is, probably, one of the most easily recognized things that we
see in our churches today. One of the most damaging messages being
taught today, is that Jesus Christ died spiritually and eternally; that
He suffered in the grave for us. Many churches, who in the past have
been very strong, are now teaching that Jesus was just a man when He
walked the earth. Fifty years ago, had someone attacked the person of
our Lord Jesus Christ like this, he would have been run out of town
on a rail. Jesus said the church would be called a House of Prayer.
You certainly would not call it that today. In most churches, very
little praying is going on. It is very difficult to separate the
activities that are going on in the church with the activities of the
world. The world has been brought into the church.  Very few churches
really have services where you can feel the presence of God. We have
gotten so worldly that God really doesn't feel very welcome. True
repentance and commitment are hardly even part of the function of the
church, anymore. Some churches go months and months without one single
conversion. False prophets, preachers, and other officers have brought
such a watered down version of Christianity into the church that,
except for the fact you are in a church house, you would believe you
were at some form of world entertainment. The messages and services
are appealing to the flesh. Many are being deceived. The only way not
to be deceived is to know what the Bible says for yourselves. Read it
every day. Ask God to help you. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and
help you to discern right from wrong.  Satan is clever, and he is out
to destroy Christianity and the Christians. The only weapons that we
have to fight him with are the name of Jesus Christ, the blood of
Jesus, and the Word of God. Do not be deceived, learn the warnings in
the Bible. Be wise in Jesus. Truly, this part of the prophecy has been
fulfilled, as well.

     Next lesson, we will begin in Matthew 24:12





























                       Matthew Questions 47

1.  When Jesus went out from the temple, who came to Him.
2.  Why did they come?
3.  When Jesus showed them the temple, what did they say about it?
4.  Was this prophecy fulfilled? How soon?
5.  What questions did the disciples ask Jesus on the Mount of
    Olives.?
6.  What two temples were meant here?
7.  Is the end of the world and the end of the age the same thing?
8.  What was Jesus' first warning to them?
9.  What would these proclaim?
10. What did John have to say about this?
11. What did Paul call them?
12. This man in England, is proclaiming what?
13. In verse 6, He said there would be what?
14. Name 2 groups that have never stopped?
15. What ridiculous name is the war in Ireland known as?
16. Describe the whole world at this moment?
17. In V-7, who is the conflict with?
18. Where are most of the famines? Why?
19. What is the side effect of the pestilence?
20. Name a major city that has recently had an earthquake?
21. In V-8, Jesus said all these signs were what?
22. What begins to happens to Christians everywhere?
23. What two groups have suffered martyrdom?
24. If you love God today, you are labeled as what?
25. Truly, the real believers in  Christ are ________.
26. Where did the false religious in the U.S. come from?
27. What is one practice of eastern religion that is being passed off
    as faith?
28. In second Timothy 3, what is the description given our watered
    down religion?
29. In our ranks, what has been done to Christ?
30. What does the Scripture say will happen among the brethren?
31. Who will arise and deceive many?
32. What is one of the most damaging messages being taught in churches
    today?
33. If you truly love Jesus, it is time to be _________.
34. Jesus said the church was to be called what?
35. Modern messages and activates in most churches appeal to the what?
36. What is the only way not to be deceived?
37. Have all these prophecies been fulfilled?