Matthew 24:15-31
The events foretold in these verses concern Israel and will not take place until after the rapture of the Church. But in order to show that they are the consequences of His rejection in the preceding chapters, the Lord speaks to His disciples as if their generation had to pass through this terrible time. In reality, when in the future day the Antichrist seduces the nations, defiles the temple (v. 15) and persecutes the faithful (v. 16 . . .), Christians of this present dispensation will no longer be on the earth. So all the warnings and exhortations given here do not directly concern us. But the Lord Jesus Himself is greatly concerned in these circumstances which precede His coming in glory (v. 30). And He thinks with the greatest sympathy of the faithful who will suffer at that time. He assumes also that those whom He calls His friends share that interest and sympathy (John 15:15). Telling us about it in advance (v. 25) shows on His part a mark of great confidence and love (cf. Genesis 18:17). Is that not a sufficient reason for seeking to understand these prophetic truths? And, moreover, it is a source of profitable exhortation in every age for all the Lord’s witnesses – exhortations such as: endure (v. 13); pray (v. 20); watch (v. 42).