Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
Today we are in Matthew chapter 24, coming down the home stretch of the Gospel of Matthew. We’ll listen in to the 51 verses of Matthew chapter 24 from Faith Comes by Hearing.
Matthew 24 Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
But he answered them, You see all these, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
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 close of the age?
And Jesus answered them, See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ. And they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed. For this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days. Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now. No, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” See, I have told you beforehand. So if they say to you, Look, he is in the wilderness, do not go out. If they say, Look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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.” and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the sun, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark. and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. So will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field, one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, My master is delayed and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Everybody wants to know about the end times. Hollywood portrays movie after movie about the end of the age. But here we can find out the real perspective, a biblical perspective, of how it will all end. In 1992, I wrote in my journal, The end of the age. Fake Christ. War. Famines. Earthquakes. Christians will be killed and hated. Many will fall away. More false prophets. And many more will be misled. Lawlessness will increase and people’s love will grow cold. Endure till the end. Help spread the gospel is what we should be doing with urgency. The question is not if Jesus is coming again. The only question is when. And no one knows, not even the Son. Jesus tells us to be ready always. Live like he may come today. In 2007, my journal entry is very similar. The end of the age, the second coming of Jesus. Jesus’ laundry list, many things to think about here. One, lawlessness has increased. Most people’s love will grow cold. We see so much hate today. In the U.S., there is no longer overriding love for one another, more accusation and blame for everything. Jesus warns us about not being misled, but being prepared regardless of the hour. Then in my journal I listed a man’s name and I said, Blank’s second coming came this week. Suddenly, be prepared by being intimate with God. And in 2016, the theme in my journal was very similar. Many come to lead people astray, and it works. We must endure through false teaching. The gospel must be proclaimed throughout the whole world before the end comes. Great tribulation is on its way. We must still be here, because Jesus says, in verse 22, “…but for the sake of the elect these days will be cut short.” False teachers will do great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect, according to verse 24. Jesus is coming back. Angels will gather the final harvest. No one knows when these things will occur, only the Father. We are to stay awake and be ready. I am not a sky-is-falling Christian. Never have been. I remember being in college decades ago and reading Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth. When I finished the book, I thought, why am I going to college? The world will never last that long. But here we are, decades later. But one thing is true. There will be an ending. The world as we know it will end. Whether it will be in my lifetime or not really doesn’t matter. When I was a young Christian, I used to want to be around to see Jesus coming in the clouds. But now that I’m older and wiser, ha ha, I realize it’s going to be hell on earth. Do I really want to be around? Jesus tells me what I need to do. He says, So that’s my job. Maybe it’s your job to stay awake and to proclaim Jesus to those around us. because all of us are going to have a second coming, whether it’s at the end times or not, right? But if we’re around, it’s going to be a glorious day. Verse 30 tells us, Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man. 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. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Yes, Jesus is coming again. Yes, there will be an end-time harvest. Some will be raised to heaven, and others will go to that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Lord Jesus, thanks for the warning. Thanks for letting us know that you are coming again and that there will be an end time harvest. In fact, my second coming could happen any day, any moment. So help me be ready. Let me do what you say for me to do, and that’s stay awake and be ready for you to come and get me whenever that day is. Come, Lord Jesus, come. If you don’t know that you’ll be on your way to heaven… Reach out to the Ezra Project either by our webpage, ezraproject.net, or call 303-369-8001. Let us help you with the plan of salvation to make sure we’ll see each other again in heaven. God bless you. Thanks for listening to AdBible today and Merry Christmas. As we close 2024, your year-end gift is so very important to the Ezra Project as we work our way through our first year of radio programming. In honor of your support of AdBible, connecting God’s people to God’s Word, we will send you the day-by-day book, The Writings of the Old Testament Historical Books, for any year-end donation. The book covers Job, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. You may have struggled with some of those books in the past, or maybe you’ve never even looked at them. My personal Bible reading journal entries will help you enjoy and understand better all these amazing Old Testament books. And the book will correspond to the first 148 days of radio programming starting January 1, 2025. So let’s end 2024 together with your donation to the Ezra Project and our gift of the writings of the Old Testament historical books back to you. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
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