[Note: This sermon expounds Matthew 24:1–14, introducing the Lord's teaching on the signs of his coming. Delivered 5 July 1981, Montreal.]
We have now come to Matthew chapter 24, and today we read from verses 1 to 14. Before proceeding, let us recall the framework provided by Matthew 23:39 — "You will not see me again until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" — which implies three things: they will see him again; before that, the Jews will undergo a change of heart causing them to welcome him; and the cause of that change will be the two remarkable events of Matthew 24, namely the setting up of the abomination of desolation (verse 15) and the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens (verse 30). Into this framework the specific signs of Matthew 24 fit.
The disciples, seeing the magnificent temple shining on Mount Zion — built over half a century with no expense spared — were admiring it when the Lord stunned them: "Not one stone of this building will be left upon another." Forty years later this is exactly what happened. Titus did not intend to destroy the temple, and gave orders against it, but in the heat of battle one Roman soldier threw a torch through the window and the whole thing went up in flames. The words of the Lord were fulfilled precisely. Therefore we must take very seriously everything else he says in this chapter. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."
Three things are deducible from the disciples' question in verse 3 — "What will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" — all of which are important. First, significant things will happen at Jerusalem at the end of this age. Israel serves as a spiritual thermometer: by watching what happens there, we get a reading of how close things are to God's plan for the world. Second, the coming of the Lord will bring this age to a close. We are not speaking of the end of the world — the world will continue, this heaven and earth will still be here; but the age will close, just as the Old Testament age closed when Christ first came, and as the pre-flood age closed with the flood. The Lord's return will bring in the millennium, and only much later will this heaven and earth give way to the new. Third, there will be signs pointing to his coming — the disciples rightly understood that his coming would not arrive without warning.
There is a widespread notion in the churches that Christ could come at any moment. I say plainly, that is not scriptural. If he could come at any time, there would be no point asking what the signs of his coming are — the question would be meaningless. The Thessalonian church made exactly this mistake: thinking the Lord might come at any moment, some sold their possessions and sat idle waiting. Paul wrote to them to get back to work, and that is where the famous sentence "he who will not work, neither shall he eat" comes from. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Paul says explicitly: "Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed." There are specific things that must happen before the Lord comes, and these are precisely the signs the Lord Jesus lists in Matthew 24.
The rapture also is sometimes used as an escape from this point — the Lord might not come in his second coming, but he might rapture the saints at any moment. This doesn't work either, because in scripture the rapture is inseparably part of the second coming event. The only passage that specifically describes the rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17, and there Paul introduces it with the words "we who are left until the coming of the Lord" — the rapture is set in the context of the second coming, not as a prior separate event. Paul mentions the second coming first in verse 15, and the rapture follows in verse 17 as part of the same event. The book by G. E. Ladd, Our Blessed Hope, treats these questions in detail and with scholarly care.
These three things deduced from the disciples' question provide the structure for what follows. And the Lord answers the question with these opening words: "Take heed that no one lead you astray." The signs are not given to fill our minds with theology so that we feel superior to others; they are given for our spiritual survival. As we approach the end, there will be increasing turbulence and uncertainty — in the stock market, in politics, in every area — and in such conditions deceivers thrive. They feed on people who are weak, gullible, and confused, as sharks feed on the vulnerable. The whole purpose of knowing the signs is to recognise the deception before it destroys us.
[Continues in Part B]
# The Signs of Christ's Coming — Matthew 24:1–14 (Part B) — Seven Signs; The Faithful Minority; The Fig Tree and Israel
[Note: This is Part B of the sermon on Matthew 24:1–14, continuing directly from Part A. Delivered 5 July 1981, Montreal.]
Continuing through the signs of the Lord's coming, we come to the second sign in verses 6 to 7. Wars will intensify. Human beings, however prosperous and educated, remain spiritually infantile. The other day I pulled into a bank's small parking lot when a driver shot out from nowhere, screeched to a halt bumper to bumper with me, and simply sat there — blocking the entrance though there were two clear lanes he could have used. He was not wanting to park; he just wanted to assert himself. I simply backed up and let him through, and he looked almost embarrassed. That is how wars start: neither side wants to back down, and there is a standoff. Wars have always happened, but what the Lord is indicating here is intensification — things gathering momentum as they approach the end.
The third sign is in the second half of verse 7: famines and earthquakes. These also have always occurred, but they will become more frequent, more destructive, more severe. The other day in our house in Pincourt the whole building suddenly shook — a momentary tremor — which reminded me of how quickly and unexpectedly these things happen. But these are only the beginning of the birth pangs; bigger things are coming.
The fourth sign is in verse 9: worldwide persecution. Christians will be hated by all nations for the sake of the Lord's name. We are not there yet — Christians are persecuted in roughly half the world, not the other half. But it is coming, steadily. Some of us who became Christians in China have already had a sufficient taste of persecution. The Lord warns us not to assume our present freedom will last. Do not say "it will never happen to me" — those are precisely the words of the unprepared.
The fifth sign is in verses 10 to 12: apostasy — the love of many growing cold. Not only will many fall away, but some will betray others to save themselves, settling old grudges in the process. I have seen this happen in China when the communists came. People who had been zealous Christians collapsed under the pressure; some even reported fellow Christians to the authorities. The false prophets will be active even in this season, exploiting the confusion of those under pressure. This calls each of us to examine ourselves honestly: am I a sunshine Christian, coming to church when it suits me? Will I endure to the end when it costs everything?
The sixth sign is an encouraging one: verse 14, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." If the love of the majority grows cold, who will do this work? Clearly the faithful minority — the purified remnant who stand the persecution. Victory in the spiritual life is never a matter of numbers. The Lord Jesus had twelve men and with them turned the world upside down. Today we have thousands of missionaries going nowhere, because in most places the birth rate is outpacing the rate of conversions. It is not the quantity of workers that matters — it is what kind of people they are. That is why we have disciple training: that each person would not merely have knowledge but quality, and wherever they go could build up groups of disciples who in turn build up other groups. In Peter's words (2 Peter 3:12), there is actually a way to hasten the Lord's coming: by bringing the gospel to all nations, since the end will not come until that task is done.
The seventh and intermediate sign is the fig tree of verse 32: "When its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near." The fig tree in scripture is a symbol of Israel (Luke 13:6–9). The Lord is saying: when you see the nation of Israel, dead for nearly nineteen hundred years through its long winter, begin to come to life again, know that the end I am speaking of is near. You and I live in that generation. In 1948, the incredible thing happened: Israel became a nation, surviving the onslaught of Arab armies from all directions, even as the British left them to face modern tanks with a ragtag army. Nobody quite understands how they survived — but God's purpose was that they would. The fig tree has put forth its leaves. That sign was fulfilled in 1948, and we are living in these days. Let us be quiet before God.