Yes, this is one very long title for the chapter of a book, but it shows that this chapter has a great deal of essential information that EVERY follower of Christ needs to know! Yes, this chapter is extremely important. However, as you are going to find out, in most instances, the current-day interpretations regarding this chapter are not even close to the things our Lord was trying to tell us. Matthew 24 is the most stellar example of what happens when interpretations are made by taking most every word literally and not giving proper attention to every word. In most cases, the translation is good, but the interpreters do not take into consideration the customs and practices of the people of that day. Nor do they give enough attention to what the rest of the Word of God has to say.
When you add it all up, the 24th chapter of Matthew is one of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted chapters in the Bible, even more than some of the chapters in Revelation. Despite this, when the teachers teach it, they teach with great certainty.
Matthew 24 is a chapter loaded with Bible prophecy; therefore, it has many metaphors which one should not interpret literally. Yes, everything has a literal meaning, but you must arrive at it by unmasking the metaphors. Most of this chapter is figurative, yet almost everyone teaches and reads it literally. It’s almost as though the literal words they interpret figuratively, and the figurative words they interpret literally. Because of this, the church of today has an altogether mistaken idea as to what this chapter says and means. It is most regrettable because every Christian MUST know and understand what the Sign of the Son of Man is because there will be a heavy price to pay for not knowing this sign. Once you comprehend this sign, it will open many doors and let in a lot of needed light. This additional light will give you a clearer vision of many things in the Word of God. It is that important! Without it, you will suffer the consequences of the evil servant we come across in the last few verses of this chapter. Without this knowledge, you will be worse off than the foolish virgins of Matthew 25.
This chapter also contains one of the most quoted yet least understood verses in Bible prophecy:
Matthew 24:36 (KJV)
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
There is no doubt this verse is preached over and over probably millions of times, but it is quite probable that those doing the preaching never considered that the day and the hour might possess an alternate interpretation, and not just the one you assume when taken at face value. Is it possible they did not take into consideration that our Lord spoke in parables for a reason, and they were even a mystery to His disciples? Is it possible that in a chapter crammed full of end-times prophecy, they forgot to consider the prophetic or the figurative meaning of a day and an hour?
The real meaning of the day and hour explains why only four verses later Jesus said, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” and failed to mention the day He stated earlier. It is lamentable how few have noticed that after our Lord told us that no one knew the day and hour but the Father only, yet He spent the rest of the chapter inferring just the opposite of what our teachers are telling us. What is even more ironic is that in a chapter almost everyone uses to prove we cannot know when our Lord will return for us, there are at least four instances in this chapter telling us He will return on the Feast of Trumpets! One of these is much stronger than just a clue, and when you consider all of them together, it makes it crystal clear what month and day our Lord will return for us. (That’s month and day, not hour or year!)
There are also a lot of different interpretations as to what the events in the first part of this chapter are referring to, with many believing that all these things take place in a 3½ year tribulation period followed by a 3½ year great-tribulation period. While it is true that all of these events take place in the tribulation period, this tribulation period is more like 1400 years in length, as revealed in the hour, day, month and year prophecy of Revelation 9:15. It also should be noted our Lord said that while we are in the world, we will always have tribulation, so the REAL tribulation period could be said to be from the time of Christ until the time He returns for us. His return for us is the topic of the last half of this chapter, beginning with the Sign of the Son of Man in verse 27. Not to sound repetitive, but you MUST understand what this sign is. Once you know and fully understand this sign, you will realize the day of Christ’s return is an appointed time that you need to know, or you will undoubtedly miss it.
Before we start, we should point out that in these signs of the end, there are examples of the significant role numbers play in interpreting and understanding the Bible. One such example is in the number of warning signs Christ gave to His Disciples. There are 9 of them. Nine is the number of judgment, which is significant because, after the fulfillment of these signs, judgment is precisely what takes place. With that said, let’s start at the beginning and go all the way through this chapter.
Matthew 24:1-2 (KJV)
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. 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.
Almost everyone agrees this verse was prophetically fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the 2nd Jewish Temple. However, have you ever considered what Christ said earlier in His ministry?
Matthew 12:39 (KJV)
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Yes, Christ was three days in the earth as Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale. But have you ever considered that God through Jonah gave the city of Nineveh 40 days to repent and avoid destruction? As you now know, in Bible prophecy, one day is equal to one year. Christ’s ministry began when He was 30, and in the chapter on Daniels 70 Weeks we established that our Lord was crucified in April (Nisan) of 30 A.D. This prophecy was made between 27 and 30 A.D., making it a 40 day (year) warning and making the comparison He gave concerning Jonah precise in every aspect. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem came 40 years after the Jews rejected His warnings and had the Romans crucify Him in 30 A.D.
Matthew 24:3-5 (KJV)
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? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
The disciples asked three things of Jesus; they wanted to know when the destruction of the Temple would happen, what would be the sign of His return, and what would be the sign of the end of the world. Jesus then answers them with many signs of the end of the world. Because these signs are so widely misunderstood, people do not realize the signs He gave are in reverse chronological order, with the first group of signs given being the last signs of the end; and the last signs being the first signs of the end. The last sign, which is the first warning, is the false Christ coming out of the desert. It is a warning concerning the false profit Mohamed 570-632 AD. Next is the setting up of the abomination of desolation (Dome of the Rock) in the holy place in 688 AD. Then He follows with the longest segment of time, the time of his two witnesses, which begins with the greatest tribulation in 688 A.D. and continues until Israel regained statehood in 1948. All the events listed first take place in the period from 1948 until Christ returns.
However, before Jesus mentioned any events, His very first words were to warn us about false Christ’s that would deceive many. Not only did He warn us of this first, but He warned of this again in verses 11, 23, and 24. For Him to mention this three times in one chapter has got to tell people to know your Bible and don’t rely on what someone else is saying so that you will be able to distinguish the truth from a lie. Notice that this is not just a warning; it is saying that it is going to happen; many shall come in my name and shall deceive many. The world has had many that have stood up and claimed they were the ones with the key to salvation, but as you will see in a few verses, our Lord singles out and warns us of one of these false Christs in particular.
Matthew 24:6 (KJV)
And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
This verse needs little explanation. We now have Russia starting and fighting a war with Ukraine and now Russia is threatening nations seeking to join NATO. Today Russia has announced that Poland will be next on their list. China has made it known they are going to take over Taiwan. Just before these developments, Pakistan threatened to wipe Iran off the map if they attack Saudi Arabia. Iran has been threatening to wipe Israel off the map. North Korea is threatening South Korea, Japan, and the US. Muslims fighting for Allah are threatening the rest of the non-Muslim world. It seems like everyone is threatening everyone else. It appears this fulfillment is ongoing and it is highly likely we will hear of yet more threatening as the time of Christ’s return nears. But through all this, He tells us not to be troubled because He is in control and these events serve to say to us that our Blessed Lord is coming soon.
Matthew 24:7-8 (KJV)
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
“For nation shall rise against nation” The prophecy named in the previous verse states that in the last days before Christ’s return, there will be wars and rumors of wars. Before you would have wars and rumors of wars, it only makes sense that you would have nation rise against nation.
“And there shall be famines.” If one were able to look at a world map that indicates where the world is experiencing the worst food shortages, one would be able to see that except for industrialized nations of North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, there are food shortages to some degree or another in the rest of the world. Central Africa, India, Pakistan, and New Guinea are among the places showing the most significant food shortages. One of the claims made by charities trying to feed some of those lacking food says that every night, more than 800 million people go to bed hungry with the majority of them being women and children.
It should also be noted that Joe Biden is being used by our Lord as he has announced food shortages will be coming to the U.S.
“And pestilences” There can be no doubt that there has been a marked increase in new diseases along with the reemergence of a number of the older ones that at one time were thought to be almost eradicated. Tuberculosis is making a comeback, and this newer strain is drug-resistant. Measles is now becoming a threat again in much of the world, including the U.S.
When considering pestilences in the world today, do any of these names ring a bell? Legionnaires’, Ebola, Vibrio Vulnificus, Brain-eating amoeba, Flesh-eating bacterium, H1N1, HIV/Aids, West Nile Virus, Mad Cow Disease, and Bird Flu. Just recently, a new disease has infected a number of children in the U.S. It acts much like polio, but it is not polio because some of the children have fully recovered with no permanent disabilities. Even the secular minds in the world have noticed this taking place. In an article in the London Sunday Times, they wrote:
”There is something very unusual about the present time. Deadly viruses are mutating to infect humans at rates never seen before’ according to one headline. At least thirty-eight new killer human pathogens have emerged in the past twenty-five years. Three-quarters of those, including AIDS, avian flu, SARS, and new variant CJD, originated as animal diseases. A new survey from the University of Edinburgh identified 1400 pathogens that can infect humans. More than half of these pathogens crossed the species barrier from animals to man.”
All of these are nothing when compared to the Covid 19 that is now inflicting the world, yet have you heard anyone connect it with our Lord’s warning in this verse. Doesn’t anyone find it curious that a world that has been killing children in the womb for many years is now threatened by a virus that is killing the elderly, the ones who were around in 1973 when the murder of children was legitimized?
“And earthquakes in diver’s places.” The map which follows is a diagram of the earthquakes that occurred on Oct. 20th, 2016, from 12 AM to 3 PM. (9 hrs. taken from the time of this writing.) Four of these earthquakes are over 5.0 in magnitude. There were 48 quakes in this short amount of time. Many believe there is a good reason for the increase in earthquakes. The moon is in one of its 300 + year cycles, during which time it is nearer to the earth. The increased gravitational pull on the earth causes much more stress on the tectonic plates because of the increased effect the moon has on the ocean tides, causing the increased earthquake activity. Obviously, our Lord was well aware of this when telling His disciples the things that were going to happen.
Matthew 24:9 (KJV)
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 exact word for word situation this describes has been taking place in the Middle East for some time now, especially in Syria and Iraq and other Muslim countries. The persecution spoken of here to some degree has always been, but it saw a dramatic increase during the Arab Israeli war of 1947. It is the reason why the Jews left the Arab countries they were in and returned to Israel.
This persecution significantly increased when civil war broke out in Syria. Many Islamic fighters took advantage of the war to slaughter those of the Christian population. During the time ISIS controlled a good portion of Syria and Iraq, Muslims with Christian friends turned on them by giving them over to ISIS, knowing full well they would torture and kill the men, and rape, torture, and kill many of the women. Many of the women were used as sex slaves and as legal tender for which to barter and trade. There are videos online that show testimony from people that managed to escape ISIS and said the Muslims they thought were their friends were turning them over to ISIS knowing what fate laid in store for them.
Christians and Jews all over the world are experiencing persecution. Even in the US, there is persecution against Christians and Jews almost every day. There are Christians kicked out of college, people losing their businesses, forced out of the military, and losing jobs because of their Christian Faith. These are things you would never have believed could happen less than 25 years ago. This persecution is only going to get worse as we near the time of Christ’s return.
Matthew 24:10 (KJV)
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
More than likely, these words are meant to apply to Islam since Islam is the anti-Christ of end times Bible Prophecy. As you probably have heard, you are not allowed to say anything negative about Islam without offending the whole Muslim population or taking your life in your hands because you risk having a fatwa (bounty) placed on your head. There are now countries that once valued freedom of speech that will jail you for speaking negatively about Islam. That shows you how little the world knows about Islam and it proves how the world knows even less concerning the Word of God. Our Lord warned us all about Islam 500 years before it even existed, and then gave us the history of Islam telling us what they would do and when they would do it.
However, the “And then many shall be offended,” also sounds like the perfect description of political correctness. The left, which is anti-God and exists in all countries, has created an environment where just about anything can be construed to be an insult to this person or group or that person or group. The only groups it is acceptable to offend are people with conservative values, Christians, and Jews. The moral and religious gap between the left and the right has become so large that practically everyone on the left is much offended by anything that has to do with morality or the Word of God. Thus the left and Islam have much in common in that they serve the same master and are both antichrist.
Matthew 24:11 (KJV)
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
The false prophet that stands out the most would be the one called Mohamed, the founder of Islam. This religion is quite large, and yet most Christians do not even consider it for the role of antichrist throughout Bible prophecy. It can only be because of the ignorance that exists concerning Islam and its 1400 year history. This speaks volumes concerning the U.S. educational system and its leftist agenda. Students exiting High School have almost no knowledge regarding an empire that ruled the Middle East and parts of Africa and Europe for nearly 1300 years, which is almost as long a time as all the other empires of that region combined. When these students get to college, if they learn anything about the Middle East, it is mostly propaganda paid for by all the money Muslims are pouring into the college.
This religion of Islam now boasts almost 1.8 billion members who believe they are all part of one great ummah, which means community or city. It is an extremely antichrist religion. One of its most fundamental teachings is that God has no son.
Sura 19:88-89: They say: “(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten a son!” 89 Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous!
The only unforgivable and unpardonable sin in Islam is called shirk. It’s committed when one confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
There is another large group of false prophets found in almost every country in the world. They are your Global Warming Prophets. Sorry, that was proven incorrect, so now they have migrated to become Climate Change Prophets. They have now given us 12 years before the Earth, and all the people in the world die from what man is doing. They are correct that man will die from what man is doing, but it has nothing to do with carbon emissions. They are right that the climate on the earth is going to heat to the point it kills people, but again it will not be because of carbon emissions. They are not correct that we have 12 years to avert this catastrophe, because this will happen in less than 5 months from this writing, and it will be the wrath of the Lord of lord’s and King of king’s that performs it. However, the actual cause of it will be the failure of humanity to allow our loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who shed His blood to atone for the sins of the world, to rule in their lives.
Matthew 24:12 (KJV)
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Another 100% correct prediction. First, we should note the original Greek word for love in this verse is agapē pronounced ag-ah’-pay which is man’s love for God or God’s love for man, which is the deepest kind of love. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? A man without the love of God in his heart is nothing but a beast and worse. If a man has no love for God, it is obvious that he will have no respect for His Word or His commandments.
This prophecy should be obvious to anyone with a Bible-based morality. Today we teach our young it is OK to kill an innocent infant while it is still in the womb of its mother, but it is unthinkable that we should impose capital punishment on cold-blooded murderers. For thousands of years, marriage has been between a man and a woman, but now it can be between two men or two women, and considering the depravity of those pushing this agenda, it probably won’t be long before animals enter the conversation. People that call themselves progressives have no love or tolerance for anyone that opposes them. They are the ones that accuse those that oppose them with hate speech when they are the ones in possession of the hate. They have no consideration of others, and their only goal is to impose their immorality on others. The news articles of today are full of evil events that were almost unheard of less than 30 years ago. There is absolutely no doubt that the love of many has gone cold!
Matthew 24:13 (KJV)
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
In the past, some have interpreted this to mean that people fortunate enough to make it through the so-called great-tribulation period will be saved. Unfortunately, as we explained earlier, this period of great-tribulation does not exist in the way we currently teach. Also, to be saved just because you are still alive after all is said and done is essentially salvation through endurance. There is no such thing taught in scripture. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is no other way. Also, after the Rapture occurs, there will be no flesh saved except the servants of God that bear His seal in their foreheads. During the 14 days that follow the Rapture of His saints, there will be destruction to all the angels did not seal. All of His enemies will be destroyed during that time so that when the 15th day of the Fall Feast Season comes, his people will be safely dwelling in His presence. (God’s Feast Days, which are laid out in chronological order in the book of Revelation confirm this.)
Matthew 24:14 (KJV)
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
As mentioned earlier, this portion of scripture connects with God’s two witnesses of Revelation 11. Because of this, we know this is speaking of a precise amount of time. It speaks of the 1260 years from 688 AD until 1948 when Israel became a nation. (Please refer to chapter 11 regarding Revelation 11:3 for the specific time prophecy referred to here) The gospel of the kingdom has been preached in the entire world. This verse does not say anything about the Word of God being translated into every language to fulfill this prophecy. It says, “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations,” and God gave us an exact prophecy and a precise length of time for this. We are now at the end time. Actually, we are now at the end of the end time.
NOTE: The next several verses have absolutely nothing to do with the Rapture or Second Coming of Christ as many teachers teach. What these verses address are the earlier fulfilled prophecies that take place from the time of Mohamed, who is the “voice calling out from the desert” of verse 26. It is here the signs of the end stop, and the Sign of the Son of Man begins in Verse 27. Verses 27-31 is the completely misinterpreted Sign of the Son of Man which explains much regarding the Rapture of His saints.
Matthew 24:15 (KJV)
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
The abomination of desolation mentioned here, along with the previous verse about the spreading of the gospel throughout the world ties all this to the two witnesses of Revelation 11. As you know from previous chapters, the abomination of desolation refers to the Muslim temple Dome of the Rock, which stands in the holy place where the two Temple Mount temples once stood. The Bible refers to this as being an abomination, as being set up, and as standing where it ought not. The Dome of the Rock fits all these descriptions. In the Old Testament, God called the structures they built on hilltops to worship pagan god’s “abominations.” He calls this the “abomination of desolation” because it is so offensive to God that after its completion, both Jerusalem and the surrounding area became desolate. Very little grew there, and the population in Jerusalem went down to little more than 5,000 people in the early 1800’s. There is no doubt that this Dome of the Rock is the building meant here as it is such an abomination to God; there are four prophecies in the Bible using dates concerning it, and every one of them works out correctly. In addition to this, it is either named or spoken of numerous times in the Old and New Testament. We currently teach all the events mentioned in the first part of this chapter take place during a 3½ year tribulation period; immediately after it, there is another 3½ year great-tribulation period. The Dome of the Rock was set up in 688 A.D., and as you will read a few verses from now, Jesus says it is these people who experienced greater tribulation than there ever was or ever shall be.
Matthew 24:16 (KJV)
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Notice that even though the Dome of the Rock is in Jerusalem, our Lord did not direct this at those who dwell in Jerusalem. This verse is speaking to all those that dwell in Judaea.
While it is possible to take this verse literally, it can also have a symbolic interpretation. During the time of the Judges, Israel, because of their sin, was in the hand of the Midianites (Arabs) and the Amalekites once before. (Judges 6) The Israelites were forced up into the mountains where they were hiding in caves. The Arabs came up and stole their crops, sheep, and oxen; leaving practically nothing for them. Also, God already knew that the whole area was going to become a desolate wasteland. Because of this, the mountains our Lord told them to flee to are probably not the mountains of Judaea. One could interpret the Mountains here figuratively. In Bible prophecy, mountains refer to kingdoms. So it is more than possible the Lord is telling those who live in Judaea to move out once they see the construction of the Dome of the Rock begin and head for other Kingdoms. If they did not they would be in for a time of very heavy persecution. That is precisely what happened; the Jews dispersed throughout the world.
Matthew 24:17-18 (KJV)
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
These verses are not talking about the Rapture, and neither are these verses to be taken literally. These verses were given to emphasize how important it is to get out of town as soon as possible when you see a pagan temple under construction on the mountain where Jehovah chose to put His temple. It is an urgent warning given to His people so that they will not suffer severe persecution. Our Lord always warns those that are His, but not often do they listen.
Matthew 24:19 (KJV)
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
While it is true that early Islam did not start out mistreating Jews and Christians, this only lasted during the time of the first few Caliphs; until the time our Lord tells us in verse 15, with the building of the Dome of the Rock in 688 A.D. After this, Islam became heavy-handed towards the Jews and Christians. They were allowed to live because God commanded it in Revelation 9:4, but they were reduced to 2nd & 3rd class citizens and charged a hefty jizya tax by the Muslims. Even though they were allowed to live, they were still little more than slaves, and the plight of their children was even worse. The Christian and Jewish peoples were not allowed to raise their children in the Jewish or Christian faith. The boys would serve in the Muslim courts or the Muslim military, and the girls would be slaves and servant girls and wives to Muslim men. Under Muslim Sharia Law, a Muslim man can have four wives, and they can be as young as nine years old. He may also have any slave or servant girl that serves him. The non-Muslim world is just becoming aware of some of these Islamic practices now because of ISIS. Many are horrified by how Islam treats women, young boys, and girls; yet this has been going on for almost 1400 years. Surely you can understand how horrible it would be if this were to happen to your children. Christ warned them then and warns us now about this terrible plague called Islam. (Plague is what God called Islam Revelation 9:20)
Matthew 24:20 (KJV)
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
In both of these instances, God is telling them to plan ahead, to be ready to go as soon as they see this temple under construction. If they were to flee during the winter, it would make their journey hard and difficult for obvious reasons. Christ is advising them to pray their trip not be on the Sabbath because according to Jewish law, Jews are only allowed to take a thousand steps or paces on a Sabbath day. If they attempt to leave on a Sabbath day, they would not be able to travel far enough to get out of danger.
Matthew 24:21 (KJV)
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
This verse creates a significant problem for those that teach and believe in a seven-year tribulation period because this verse states the greatest time of tribulation had its beginnings about 688 A.D. when the Dome of the Rock was set up. End-times Bible Prophecy shows Islam to be the antichrist. Almost all end-times timed prophecies can be shown to involve Islam in one way or another. You have been reading the proof. According to what we currently teach, the great-tribulation ended around 691 to 692 A.D. It’s not likely that all the people that suffered immensely for the past 1400 years at the hands of the religion of peace would agree with that interpretation if they were still able to voice their opinion. Revelation 9:5 states that Christians and Jews under Islamic rule were “tormented” for five months. (150 years in Bible prophecy time) According to Strong’s Greek Dictionary, the Greek word used for tormented here is “basanismos” which means tortured.
Matthew 24:22 (KJV)
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
This verse has nothing to do with the shortening of the length of a physical day, as is commonly taught and believed. This verse speaks of the same days of great-tribulation mentioned in the previous verse. It is saying that unless something happens to shorten the days of this great-tribulation caused by the continuous and rapid expansion of Islam, the ones doing the persecuting, torturing, and forced conversions to Islam, there would be nobody saved.
To get the specifics on what this verse is saying, we must go back to verse 15 and the setting up of the abomination of desolation that was indicated earlier to be the Muslim “Dome of the Rock. Islam broke out of Saudi Arabia in late 632 A.D. by attacking both the Sassanian and Byzantine Empires. After conquering parts of Assyria, they headed south to Jerusalem and eastward across the northern part of Africa and up the Iberian Peninsula. (Spain & Portugal) They murdered, robbed, raped, and enslaved people all along the way. When people were unwilling to convert to Islam, they killed the men and took the women and children as wives and slaves. There was no stopping them until the Battle of Tours, in present-day France on Oct. 10th 732 AD. Ironically it was the Islamic lust for gold and women that led to this major defeat. During the fighting, Charles Martel, the leader of the French troops, sent a small contingent of his men to scout out the enemy camp. When the Muslims saw this, they thought they were leaving to steal their booty of gold and women. Many fighters in the Muslim cavalry followed after Martel’s men leaving their brilliant military commander unprotected. Martel’s men killed the Muslim commander, and the Muslim chain of command that remained couldn’t agree on what to do, so the Muslims suffered a major defeat.
Many historians have said that if it were not for the Muslim defeat at the Battle of Tours, all of Europe and eventually America would now be Muslim. Islam denies the existence of Christ. So if the whole world were to become Muslim, nobody would be saved.
The discovery of America was the result of Europeans looking for a way to tap the wealth of the Far East. They could not travel to the East by land because the Muslims were in control of the vast area of land between Europe and the Far East. That made it completely unsafe to transport goods overland. Muslims ever since the time of Mohamed, were all about robbing caravans, killing infidels, and taking their women and their merchandise. Along came Christopher Columbus, who believed he could get to the Far East by traveling west. His idea was commendable and would have worked except that North and South America were blocking his path. So God used Islam to open up the Americas, which served as a strong proponent of the Gospel of Christ and a powerful opponent to Islam until recently.
Matthew 24:23-25 (KJV)
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before.
Again, Christ is warning us to beware of false Christ’s and not to believe their great signs and wonders. Muslims make many claims that they honestly believe but have no basis in fact. Islamic tradition teaches that the origin of the city of Mecca dates back to the time of Abraham when he and his son Ishmael built the Kaaba around 2000 B.C., but there is no evidence to back this up. However, if you have ever watched a Muslim video that tries to sell you Islam, you will understand what it means when it says “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” The videos are quite convincing and enticing even to one who knows they are false, so imagine the effect on those that are not aware that Allah is not who Muslims think he is?
Matthew 24:26 (KJV) Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Jesus already gave us two general warnings to watch out for false Christs; so you have no excuse should you fall for one of these false Christs. Here He gets more specific. If you know anything about Middle East history, you know exactly who “he is in the desert” refers to in this verse. The only false Christ and false prophet to ever come out of the desert is called the seal or last of the prophets by the Quran, and “he” is the first of the seals in Revelation chapter 6 of the Bible. The first part of this verse is a direct warning not to fall for this false prophet and false Christ, Mohamed. Islamic teaching says that every Muslim should journey (Hijra) to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. Here Jesus Christ is warning them not to go there, and this is more than 500 years before Mohamed was even born, or this decree published. There are almost 1.8 billion Muslims in the world that have not heard this because they believe the Bible is corrupt, and they will go to Hell if they touch one.
The secret chamber mentioned here most likely refers to the private room in the king’s castle or court where he could meet with friends and family privately and keep out of the public eye.
THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN
What you are about to read is the REAL interpretation of what the Sign of the Son of Man actually is. The statement can be made with complete confidence because there are at least three other Bible verses that bear witness to this, with one of them providing a visual picture of the event happening. We will reveal these verses to you, so you will need to decide whether you want to believe the Word of God or believe the words of men. It is extremely important you understand what follows!
You have not heard this interpretation from anyone before, and you will not find it in any of the Christian Bible commentaries. If you were to study several of today’s published commentaries concerning this sign, you would see there is not much agreement between them and that none of them truly knows what this sign is. That they don’t know this should boggle the mind for one great big giant reason. How can anyone presume that no one will know when the rapture will take place or what the interpretation for the verses that follow is when one does not even know what the Sign of the Son of Man is? If the Rapture could happen at any moment, why would our Lord be providing a sign? If it’s going to happen as fast as a bolt of lightning, when will there be time to watch for a sign? The fact there is a sign means there is something to be watched for, which completely goes against current day teachings.
Knowing the interpretation of the following verses is very important because once you know it, the way you interpret the verses that follow will change. That’s because we believe the “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only,” so we have taken all the verses that follow and interpreted them to fit that teaching. We have even done it with verses that don’t come close to fitting, and one would think more people would question them.
Once you understand what the sign is, it will allow you to understand better which verses one should interpret literally and which ones figuratively. Once you know what this sign is you will see that if you have no idea when the Rapture is going to take place, you ARE going to miss it!
After you read this, you MUST read the next chapter regarding the Parable of the 10 Virgins. It directly follows this chapter of Matthew and is totally and completely tied to it. Knowing the Sign of the Son of Man is the missing link that allows you to understand the REAL interpretation of the Parable of the 10 Virgins. The Sign of the Son of Man is the information the five foolish virgins did not possess, and it is the reason why they were left behind. You need to understand and combine the knowledge of Matthew 24 and 25. The information found in these two chapters is vital in determining whether you know the Word of God (Jesus Christ) well enough to be taken or left behind. This statement will not sit well with many Christians who feel they need nothing else, but our Lord already said you would feel this way in Revelation 3:17, the letter to the Church of Laodicea, the Church of today.
You may have doubts about what is coming next, but did you know several verses specifically warn about this? You probably don’t as these verses have been made to fit in the way we spoke of previously. The teaching of today interprets the literal figuratively and the figurative literally. Before we get into the Sign of the Son of Man, let’s take a look at what some of the commentaries say.
Here’s how some of the more popular Bible Commentaries interpret the Sign of the Son of Man.
Analytical Bible Expositor (Matthew 24:27)
The velocity of lightning “As the lightning cometh” Lightning is characterized by speed and suddenness. When looking at a stormy sky, suddenly lightning will streak across the sky. Christ’s return will be like that. In the midst of stormy conditions on the earth, suddenly Christ will return.
Bible Exposition Commentary
Matthew 24:27 indicates that the return of Jesus to the earth will be sudden, like a stroke of lightning.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Dallas Seminary)
And His coming will be like lightning flashing from the east… to the west; it will be a splendorous, visible event
The MacArthur Bible Commentary
The sign of the Son of Man, i.e., the Son of Man Himself is the sign.
You can see from the previous examples, commentaries will tell you that this means it will happen extremely quickly as a flash of lightning. The rest of them will tell you that the Sign of the Son of Man is Jesus Christ himself. However, neither of these is correct. This verse only gives us a small portion of what the Sign of the Son of Man is, and this verse is stating just the opposite of what most believe it to be saying. This verse is not the actual sign in itself. The Sign of the Son of Man is revealed in this verse and the five verses to follow, beginning with verse 27 and ending with verse 31.
HERE IS THE “REAL” SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN!
Matthew 24:27 (KJV)
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The lightning spoken of here has absolutely nothing to do with a bolt of lightning, nor does it have anything to do with the speed or quickness of a bolt of lightning. It should become obvious when you go back to the original Greek word used for lightning.
As you can see from Strong’s Greek Dictionary, the word lightning in this verse is better stated “bright shining” or “shining brightness.” Lightning does not shine; it flashes. Also, notice the word glare is listed. Glare is not an accurate description of what lightning does. In the King James Bible, the verse itself uses the words shineth to the west. In addition, Luke 24:4 uses the same word, but they chose to use shining. Also, notice that on one other application it uses light shining. So why is it that so many commentaries have chosen to change and connect this verse with a bolt of lightning? Because they did not understand the correct interpretation of the verse!
The Sun itself is the lightning spoken of in this verse. Lightning does not shine, but the Sun does. Lightning does not come out of the east and shines to the west, but the Sun does! This verse, when stated correctly, says, “as the sun (bright shining) comes from the east and shines to the west, the same will happen when the Son of Man comes.” In other words, when Christ comes for us, it will happen in the same way and with the same timing or speed as the sun rising in the east and going to the west. In other words, it will be occurring at the rotational speed of the earth. It will be a 24-hour event which happens just like a typical day. In case you haven’t noticed yet, this fits in perfectly with the teaching of the Feasts of the Lord where the first day of the Feast of Trumpets is the Rapture of His saints followed immediately by the second day which is the Day of the Lord. But there is much more to it than just this; you are about to find out this day will be anything but typical!
Matthew 24:28 (KJV)
For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Jesus was informing us as to the events that will lead up to and comprise the sign of the coming of the Son of Man. Since this verse starts with the word For, it must be connected to or a continuation of the previous verse. All of the newer translations have replaced the word eagles with vultures. Here is another case where the interpreters used the words that fit their beliefs rather than using the words that allow us to discover what our Lord is trying to tell us. Here are a few examples.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.
New International Version (NIV)
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Living Bible (TLB)
And wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
New American Bible (NAB)
Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
In addition to almost all the new Bible translations changing the word eagles to vultures, the new commentaries claim that in this verse the eagles should be altered to vultures since eagles do not feed on the flesh of dead animals. There are three problems with this reasoning: First, eagles do feed on the flesh of dead animals. Both my brother and my niece’s husband have witnessed an eagle feeding on roadkill. Second, where does this verse say anything about eagles feeding on dead carcasses? Thirdly, our Lord knows the difference between an eagle and a vulture and would not have made this mistake; or any error for that 
matter! If you look at the meaning of the original Greek word for eagles, you will find it to be “aetos,” and its meaning is wind like flight.
When the Son of Man next appears in the heavens, it will be for the Rapture of His saints. We will be changed in the twinkling of an eye from our physical bodies into our spiritual bodies. Our corpses will fall to the ground, and the transformed spiritual bodies will be transported straight up to an altitude where they can be easily gathered together by His angels. After they are transported up to this altitude, they will hoover like an eagle in “wind like flight” until the angels gather them and carry them off to the uttermost part of the heavens. So it is the descriptive words “wind like flight” that comes from the Greek word for eagle interpreters should have used in this verse and not the name eagles itself. The absolute proof that what you have just read is correct will be found just a few verses down from here where the very same event is further detailed and verified.
Matthew 24:29 (KJV)
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days” Please take note, we already explained how “those days” stretch from the time of Christ, all the way to the time which is about to be described, which is the time of the Rapture. This time of tribulation currently amounts to almost 2000 years, so to set aside only 3½ years of tribulation and 3½ years of great tribulation is somewhat ridiculous. That is not to say that there are not two 3½ year periods of time our Lord has set in place before His return. There could be, but they are not the last week of Daniel 9.
“Shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light” One could interpret this as the description of a solar eclipse and a new moon. However, “Shall the sun be darkened“ is also the description of an event that happens every day, 365 days a year during the evening hours. It is going to sound like an oversimplification to many, but “shall the sun be darkened“ is telling us the Rapture will take place at night when the Sun is darkened; but as you will see, this will not be just any ordinary night!
“The moon shall not give her light,” tells us what night. When “the moon shall not give her light” is the description of a new moon. A new moon happens once every 29½ days. It occurs when the moon is on the lightened or daylight side of the earth, and the backside of the moon is toward the sun. Thus the side of the 
moon facing the Earth does not receive sunlight so it cannot reflect any sunlight. The moon is not able to be seen for the same reason we do not see the stars during the day. This phase of the moon is called the new moon.
Since the Jews go by a lunar calendar, each new moon begins a new calendar month. The Feast of Trumpets is also called the New Moon in Jewish tradition because it is the only feast held on the first day or new moon of the month. The new moon is mentioned many times in the Bible, so it has great importance, but most Christians have no idea what it means. The first part of this verse is merely stating that the Rapture will occur at night on the night of the new moon. This is the first indication in this chapter that tells us the Rapture will happen on the Feast of Trumpets, the night of the new moon which is always Tishri 1 on the Hebrew calendar.
“And the stars shall fall from heaven” There is absolutely no way to interpret this literally because stars cannot fall from the heavens. Stars cannot fall from heaven because there is no place for them to land that is not in the heavens. Neither is this speaking of a meteor shower because this would still leave the stars in heaven. This verse is telling us that the light from the stars is going to appear and then disappear; making it seem as though they fell from the sky. What could cause such an event? Did you ever stand under a street light at night and notice that when you looked up toward the sky, you could not see the stars because the brightness of the street light was the brighter light? Actually, one could say that the Sun causes the stars to fall from heaven every morning. As the Sun gets closer and closer to the morning horizon, its bright light causes the stars to fall from the sky. The light from the Sun is so bright the dim light of the stars is not able to be seen during the day. It is this same type of thing that is going to happen during the Rapture as our Lord explains it in the next part of the sentence.
“And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” If taken literally, the powers should have something to do with light, gravitational pull, or electromagnetic fields. God’s Word does furnish us with the real meaning of this verse; however, we must once again go way back to the first chapter in the book of Genesis when God made the sun and the moon. In God’s plan, we need to know the beginning before we can understand the end!
Genesis 1:16-18 (KJV)
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Here He is making it clear that the power must be that of light. The Sun or greater light has power or rules over the day and the moon, which is the lesser light, rules over the night. The verse says power(s) of the heavens plural; so it is the power of the sun, the moon, and the stars that will be shaken. Remember, this is happening at night on the night of the New Moon when the moon is on the same side of the Earth as the Sun, so the moon will be incapable of shedding light on the dark side of the earth. That means that something else will have to be providing the light that shakes the powers of the heavens and causes the stars to fall from heaven. Verse 27 already told us the coming of the Son of Man would be like a regular day with the light coming from the east and going to the west; we know it is going to happen just like a normal day we have known all our lives; the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. So what is it that will make this day different?
Later in this chapter, it tells us that if the ruler (Goodman) of the house had known what watch the thief would come, he would have watched. A watch is one of four 3 hour night shifts or watches. Mark, chapter 13 names these watches and provides us with the reason why the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Mark 13:35 (KJV)
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Every one of these watches takes place during a time of no or very little sunlight. Since we already know it is during the time of the new moon when the moon is on the side of the earth where the sunlight is, this is telling us that the Rapture will occur during the night hours. Thus it will be daylight on both sides of the earth. It will definitely shake up the powers of the heavens as whoever heard of it being noonday bright in the middle of the night? This bright light on the dark or night side of the earth will also cause the light from the stars of heaven to fall or fail. The power of the moon will be shaken because it will be the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord giving the light to the dark side of the Earth. The power of the Sun will be shaken because the light will be 7 times brighter than noonday bright in the middle of the night with the glory of our Lord providing this brilliant light to the Earth. Only the Sun is supposed to give a shining brightness. This scenario describes precisely what our great and wonderful Savior does both figuratively and literally, and this is the Sign of the Son of Man. He changes darkness into light.
Our Lord spelled this scenario out for us at the beginning of Revelation 18, but it seems that no one connects this with the Rapture. Note: Another angel spoken of here is once again our humble Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, just as it is in other chapters of Revelation.
Revelation 1:1,4 (KJV)
1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Does this not form a picture of the Rapture in your mind? The image of the brightness of our Lord lighting the Earth and a voice coming from heaven saying, “Come out of her my people.”
If this is not enough to convince you, here are two more verses in the Old Testament that also speak of this day and make it quite clear as to what time of day the Rapture will take place.
Zechariah 14:7 (KJV)
But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Kinda shoots big holes in the “He could return at any moment” theory that has deceived all of Christendom doesn’t it?
Isaiah 24:23 (KJV)
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
“The moon shall be confounded” because the power of the moon is to furnish the light for the night side of the Earth and now our Lord Jesus Christ will be fulfilling the moon’s function.
“And the sun ashamed” because the brightness of our Lord’s glory will be brighter than the light of the Sun when He provides the light for the night side of the Earth.
Matthew 24:30 (KJV)
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Our Lord hints at what the Sign of the Son of Man is in verse 27, but He doesn’t give enough information to understand what it is. Next, in verse 28, He tells us what will happen when this sign appears, but we are still not given enough information to grasp the situation. Verse 29 tells us when it will happen. It will happen on the New Moon, which is the only day of the month that the moon does not give its light. It is also the day that designates the Feast of Trumpets in the Feasts of the Lord. He does not provide us with the year of the Rapture, but we now have enough information to know it will happen during the night hours on the night of the New Moon. Just this information alone tells us the “could happen at any moment” believers will be correct because he will come on them as a thief in the night. Verse 30 tells us what is going to happen when the Sign of the Son of Man appears, and verse 31 provides us with further details which allow us to understand what verses 27 and 28 are telling us.
Do you see a pattern here? It is doubtful that anyone would be able to understand the bright shining or the eagles by just looking at these verses alone. But when you do the research and look at verses that relate to the verses in question, you can know the answers. Just as our Lord spoke in parables to encourage us to seek, so has He done regarding His prophetic revelations. The Word of God tells us that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. All the information needed to solve this is found in His Word; we just need to seek and know Him as our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Matthew 24:31 (KJV)
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (eagles of verse 28) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet” This is our second indication in Matthew 24 that tells us the Rapture will happen during the Feast of Trumpets (New Moon) as this was the only feast that features the blowing of the trumpet or the Hebrew word shofar. This verse is a continuation and clarification of verse 28.
“And they shall gather together his elect from the four winds” Believe it or not this essentially tells us the approximate altitude His elect will be transported up to where the angels will gather them. The discovery of these four winds happened during World War II. We call these winds the jet stream. There are four of them with each hemisphere having two. Each hemisphere has one Polar and one Subtropical wind stream. These four winds play an essential part in determining the weather, and they also play an important role in cooling the earth. These are the same four winds that are held or stopped in Revelation 7:1, which may also contribute to men being scorched with great heat when the 4th vial is poured out.
If we would add to the Sign of the Son of Man what our Lord has revealed to us in Revelation 6:14, we would now have a pretty complete picture of the events that will take place during the Rapture or His saints. This verse takes place immediately after the stars fall from heaven like a fig tree when it is shaken by a mighty wind; which describes the time immediately following the saints being transported up to the region of the four winds and waiting to be gathered by the angels and carried off to the uttermost part of heaven.
Revelation 6:14 (KJV)
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
The diagram of the Rapture shows the events as described in this verse. It gives us a picture of what these events will look like as viewed from the heavens with the Earth’s rotation as one end of a scroll and the angels gathering the saints in the rotation of the other side of the scroll as it is rolled together. Now you can see how the Rapture will take 24 hours to complete, and you can see the exceptionally well-organized fashion in which our wonderful Savior will carry it out!
Christ reminds us in Luke 17:32 to “Remember Lot’s wife” and do not look back. Also, do you remember Peter’s walk on the water when he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink? A 35,000-feet fall has got to hurt even a spiritual body!
Matthew 24:32-34 (KJV)
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Those that read and interpret this verse identify it as the year 1948 when Israel declared statehood, but this is not the time spoken of by this prophecy of our Lord. Contrary to what you may believe or heard, a fig tree gets its start from a 12-inch cutting taken from a mature tree because fig seeds are very difficult to cultivate. The tree cutting is then placed in some moist soil or a seeding pot. We know this is the correct interpretation because this verse uses the word branch in the singular and not branches in the plural. Once the roots form and its leaves begin to grow or put forth, the seedling then gets planted in the ground where it will spend the remainder of its life. Israel became a nation in 1948 when it was planted in the ground. Israel was tender and began to put forth leaves in 1917 after the signing of the Balfour Declaration, which was drawn up and signed on Nov. 2, 1917. This declaration returned the Jewish people part of the land that God had promised them. It is this date and time that Christ was referring to here, and not 1948 when Israel regained statehood.
Knowing this correct year is significant for a couple of reasons:
- In the Old Testament, our Lord commanded Israel to honor a “Year of Jubilee” every 50 years. They could have slaves and sell their land and homes, but every 50th year, the slaves were to be set free, and the land and homes were to go back to the original owner. These statutes were to help keep Israel from coveting their neighbor’s goods. On November 2nd, 1917, part of the land was returned to Israel, making it by Biblical definition a year of jubilee. They received permission to start returning to the promised land. Fifty years later, in 1967 there was a six-day war, and control of Jerusalem was returned to Israel making it another year of jubilee. The actual year of Jubilee was lost over the centuries, but this could provide us with some evidence as to when it is.
- The second reason that knowing the actual date when Israel’s branch was tender is important is because of the amount of time Christ gives before the fulfillment of all things. In verse 34 He states that there will still be some of that generation still here when He returns and all these prophecies will be finished. In other words, some of those that were born in 1917 when Israel’s leaves started to bud, will still be here when our Lord returns. That was 105 years ago, so that in itself tells you that our Lord’s return is VERY near.
Matthew 24:35 (KJV)
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Those that want to save the earth are wasting their efforts in an already lost cause. It is not the Earth that needs saving; it is the souls of people that need saving. We know this because our Lord said it. If there is anything that this book on prophecy demonstrates, it’s not only is our Lord very consistent; He always does what He says He will do.
Matthew 24:36 (KJV)
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
It is this verse that is a major stumbling block to those that read the Word of God through Gentile eyes. It’s this verse that everyone uses to confirm their belief that our Lord has kept the time of His return for His saint’s a total secret, even though the Word of God is full of examples of our Lord informing His people of what He is going to do and then doing it. This verse has indeed been true for 1900 years as there was no need for us to know. That does not mean this verse was written and meant to be taken totally at face value, as almost the entire Christian community has done. Anyone that has spent a significant amount of time studying the Bible will tell you that the Word of God is very deep with many layers, and yet this verse escapes any further exploration or meditation. We make the same mistake with this verse that we do with much of the New Testament; we look at it through Gentile eyes instead of through the eyes of the ones to whom it was given. By doing this, we reject the warning given by our Lord to the church of Sardis in Revelation 3:3 when he said: “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
We received and heard through God’s chosen people Israel, and any interpretation which took into consideration Jewish culture and teachings would be quite different than someone only familiar with their Gentile background. To the Jew, the day and hour that no man knows would be referring to the Feast of Trumpets for more than one reason. The Feast of Trumpets is also known as the New Moon feast because of the time it’s observed. The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar meaning it’s based on the moon with every new moon marking the beginning of a new month. This feast is the only feast celebrated on the new moon, so they also refer to the Feast of Trumpets as the New Moon. This New Moon also marks the beginning of the new calendar year. It is a two-day feast, but because the duration of the monthly moon cycle is 29½ days. They didn’t know if it would occur on the 29th or 30th day. Thus it came on a day and hour that no man knew. On the first sighting of the crescent of the moon they would run to the priest to verify it. Once confirmed, the trumpets would sound, and the celebration and the New Year would begin. So to a Jew, this would be like telling him that the Rapture will occur on the Feast of Trumpets, which just happens to be one of the two days this feast represents. Now we have the third witness in this chapter our Lord is indicating to us the Rapture will occur on the Feast of Trumpets. So you see, there are other interpretations for this verse that are quite contrary to what Christendom teaches! Isn’t it Ironic that we used the same verse Christendom uses to say nobody can know the day of the hour, to confirm we know the month and the day? But in no way does it stop there.
There is yet another reason someone of Jewish heritage would interpret this as the Feast of Trumpets. It comes from the Jewish wedding tradition. The groom’s father would make the wedding arrangements with the father of the bride. After making the arrangements, the groom would begin to build the house in which the newlywed couple would live. The groom would be annoyed because the passersby would interrupt him in his work by asking about the wedding day. The groom, not wanting to get into the same conversation with everyone that passed by would say to them, “you’ll have to ask my father because only my father knows.” (It’s no coincidence the Hebrew wedding ceremony is portrayed immediately after this chapter in Matthew 25, The Parable of the 10 Virgins.)
As you can see by Jesus making this statement, our Lord was informing someone of Jewish heritage the feast (appointed time) on which the rapture would occur. It doesn’t reveal the year, but it does reveal the month, and the day of the year it will happen. So for anyone to make the statement that no one knows the day the Rapture will be; as in what day of the calendar year is a false statement. It has been believed by many for some time that the Rapture will occur on the Feast of Trumpets, and they likely didn’t have all the information that you have been provided, and we have just touched the tip of the iceberg.
God, in His infinite love even made way for Christians that only see things through Gentile eyes to discover that He would not hide the most important day of His children’s lives from them. When Jesus said, “but my father only” (knows), it was absolutely true, and there is no argument anyone can have here. The only one that knew the day and the hour was God the Father at the time this was stated. With that said, there are four problems in this verse the “can’t know the day and the hour” people have failed to consider: First, this may have been true when Christ spoke it, but that does not mean it is going to be true forever. In fact, it has to change, or Christ is never going to know when to return.
If we study God’s Word and prophecy like we should, we would eventually realize that the 24th chapter of Matthew is almost entirely prophetic. When reading prophecy a day and an hour have a different meaning. As revealed previously, a day is equal to a year. An hour has a time value of 15 days. As it just so happens, the Fall Feasts of the Lord number 15 days from the Feast of Trumpets to the Feast of Tabernacles. So a prophetic reading of this verse is saying, “But of that year and Fall Feast Season He will return, no man knows. Instead, all you hear repeated over and over again is “No one can know the day or the hour.” However, if you pay close attention to Revelation 1:1, you will see that only the father knows has been updated.
Revelation 1:1 (KJV)
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
When Christ spoke Matthew 24, He was here on earth. The Revelation of Jesus Christ was given long after He ascended into Heaven. With that understood, why does it say which God gave unto him? No one would have doubted anything in the book of Revelation if we only knew that it was from Jesus Christ. God doesn’t waste words in His Holy Word. He said it so that we would know that what He knows was given to Him by God the Father. There can be no reason for Him to mention this except for that verse in Matthew that tells us of something that only God knows. He included which God gave unto him to let us know the statement in Matthew is no longer valid. Take note that the word gave is past tense meaning it happened before He gave John these Revelations. It tells us what Christ said about only the father knowing changed before the writing of the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation contains an accurate account of the things His people should know from the time of the Revelation to the time when time shall be no more. As you will see in a later chapter of this book, the Fall Feasts of the Lord are built right into the book of Revelation. We haven’t noticed them because we don’t give Bible Prophecy or the Feasts of the Lord the importance they require.
The second problem with this is that when Christ said, “not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father;” they fail to consider the fact that if the Father never tells the Son the day He is to return, He is never coming back. On the other hand, when the Father tells the Son, the Son already said He would let us know:
John 16:13-15 (KJV)
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Jesus is telling us that “All things that the Father hath are mine” which tells us that He did not know the day He would return when He spoke in Matthew, but there’s a time coming when He will know. When He finds out from the Father when the day of His return will be, He will tell the Holy Spirit, who in turn will let us know. Does not this information fit in the “He will shew you things to come” category?
The third problem to consider is why did our Lord give us a sign of His coming? If no one is going to know the day or the hour, there is no need for a sign; especially if it’s all going to happen in the twinkling of an eye. If the Rapture is going to happen in the twinkling of an eye, there is no time for the Sign of the Son of Man as revealed to you previously.
Another problem we should address is why did He tell us the sign of His return and tell us to watch if we are not supposed to know the day or the hour to watch? Would this not seem to suggest that we need to be watching 24 hours a day 365 days a year for his return; which is complete nonsense. That would be impossible for anyone to do. Even if we knew the hour, (which He reveals in the next chapter,) it would be ridiculous for anyone to try to remember to look for it during that hour day after day. Why would He even bother to tell us anything about how or when it will happen if He had no intention of allowing us to know the day or the hour? If it’s all going to happen in the twinkling of an eye, why would we even need to know about it? Especially if it were to occur in the middle of the night while everyone is sleeping. Why would He say in Mark 13:36 to watch “Lest He come suddenly and find you sleeping? Yes, they tell you “sleeping” is not to be taken literally, but that presents them with another problem.
The Greek word for watch used here is “grēgoreō,” and it means to keep awake, to be vigilant. According to Strong’s Greek and Hebrew 
Dictionary, the meaning is the same in both the literal and figurative definitions. Webster’s 1913 Unabridged English Dictionary shows vigilant to mean “to be attentive to discover and avoid danger.” So why would our Lord tell us to watch? If it’s all going to happen without warning, in the twinkling of an eye, and no one can ever know the day or the hour, why did He tell us to watch, and why did He bother to give us any prophecy at all?
When you take in all the evidence provided in this chapter, it should now be evident to you the, “it could happen at any moment” people need to do a little more research. It’s time to stop listening to what people say and have been teaching for many years, and dig into the Word of God and see what He says!
Isaiah 42:9 (KJV)
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Matthew 24:37-38 (KJV)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” Our Lord is now taking us back to the days of Noah. He is telling us the world today is just as wicked as it was during the time of Noah. Genesis 6 says “the earth was filled with violence” and that “all flesh had corrupted His way upon the earth.” These things portray a pretty accurate description of the world we live in, but the verse that really hits the nail on the head is verse 2.
Genesis 6:2 (KJV)
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
This verse states that the people of Noah’s day were having carefree sex without the bonds of marriage. They turned one of the most sacred relationships God gave mankind into a meaningless event. If that does not describe the condition of our world today, what does? The internet is full of websites catering to married and unmarried people that just want to jump into bed with someone else. Today it is a rare thing for a couple to court each other and marry before they jump into bed together. The vast majority of children born today are born out of wedlock, and there is no social stigma attached to it anymore. Even the part about drinking rings a bell. Any policeman will tell you that if you go back to the root cause of any crime, you will find either Alcohol or illegal drugs over 90% of the time.
“Until the day that Noe entered into the ark” The people of Noah’s day did not believe Noah when he warned them total destruction was coming. Noah was building a ship the size of which they had never seen before, so it is highly likely that it was the talk of the known world and most everyone for hundreds of miles all around knew about it. They just continued in their sinful and immoral lives until the day that Noah entered the ark.
The same is true today. Our loving Lord has built for those that are His an ark called the Word of God. The prophecies within, when understood by the reader, will allow them to know when the destruction is coming. But; just as in the days of Noah, the world today is addicted to their worldly lusts, sex, drugs, and alcohol; while the things of God have no meaning to them. Even the majority of those that take the name of Christ are sleeping and will remain on the earth because He will come upon them as a thief in the night. It will be just as the current day teachers teach, they will be caught by total surprise when the time comes. They will be left behind because they accepted what someone else told them, and they didn’t take the time to do the research. It amounts to taking the word of man and not giving enough attention to the Word of God.
Matthew 24:39 (KJV)
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
It is regrettable but true. Just as our Lord warned Noah He has warned us. Our Lord warned the whole world through His word and His Master Plan the Feasts of the Lord. As you learned previously, the Feasts of the Lord reveal the month and day of the Rapture, Day of the Lord, Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and the day all His enemies will be defeated, and He will be dwelling among His people in peace; the Feast of Tabernacles. Our Lord showed us all these things in detail, yet there are very few who know it because we have paid so little attention to the prophecy that Jesus Christ gave us. Jesus Christ is Prophet, Priest, and King. Many have a decent understanding of Jesus Christ the Priest, and many of those know Him as Jesus Christ the King, but we are woefully ignorant and misguided when it comes to Jesus Christ the Prophet.
That nobody can know the day or the hour is so entrenched into almost every Christian that they will not accept anything you present them that says otherwise. The rain killed all not found in the boat just as all will perish when Christ returns if they have not repented of their sins and asked Jesus Christ to save them. God has not hidden anything from us. Throughout the Bible, God has demonstrated that He provides us with all our needs. He always warns His people (multiple times) and hides nothing from them, and yet there is hardly a Christian anywhere that does not believe He has hidden this most-important day from us, even though that belief is contrary to almost 6,000 years of written His-Story. The proof the destruction of the world was coming should have been as big as the ark to the people of Noah’s day, but still, they didn’t grasp the depth of their own wickedness. The proof of the time of the next destruction of the world in the Word of God is even bigger, yet history is about to repeat itself!
There is one more point to make in regards to “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” The commonly accepted teaching of today speaks of a last seven-year period with the first 3½ years of tribulation followed by 3½ years of great tribulation. Both of these present a picture of tough times. But the picture presented of Noah’s time would suggest something entirely different. To be eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage would paint a picture that everything is good and the people are not experiencing a great deal of hardship. Life goes on as usual, but the problem is that “usual” is evil.
The tribulation is the tribulation experienced by the disciples of Jesus Christ, but even that is the opposite of what has happened. The Man of Sin executed the masses of people that would not bow to the image of the beast in the first 3½ years of his rule. If there were to be a second 3½ years with even greater tribulation, that time would have ended almost two years ago. Instead, the Man of Sin and Satan in the Flesh along with his caliphate, have gone into perdition as the Bible predicts in Revelation 17:11. (He is also called the Son of Perdition) Even though Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi committed suicide and his caliphate destroyed, the persecution of believers is still going on, but it is not near as much as it was during the first 3½ years while he was establishing his domain. That is not to say his followers will stop their ruthless murdering of Christians and Jews, nor is it to say the plight of Christians and Jews will not get worse as the time of Christ’s return draws nearer.
Matthew 24:40-41 (KJV)
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Here is the fourth indicator that the Rapture will fall on the Feast of Trumpets. It is the reason our Lord chose this cast of workers for this verse. There is no need to tell Christians that when this event occurs, some will be taken, and others left. Hopefully, there is not any that would interpret this to mean that 50% will be taken and 50% left!
When people read this verse, they concentrate on one shall be taken, and the other left when they should be concentrating on what it is they are doing. This verse paints for us a picture of the Feast of Trumpets, which is the celebration of the fall harvest and symbolic of the Rapture,
The two in the field are doing the harvesting. The two grinding at the mill are processing the harvest. The grinding wheel had a grove cut in it that allowed it to separate the wheat from the chaff and direct the flour to a place where it was easily picked up. What this portrays is an example of what will occur during the Rapture of His saints as presented in the Sign of the Son of Man you read in verse 31. During the Rapture, Christ will be separating the wheat, which portrays the saved, from the chaff, which depicts the lost. The wheat (Saved) will be separated from the chaff (lost) and transported up to a place where His angels can easily gather them. The chaff (Lost) will be burnt up.
Matthew 24:42 (KJV)
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Once again, our Lord is using the word watch, (be attentive to discover and avoid danger) which we just went over a few paragraphs back. Christ is referring to the good servant in this verse as He tells them they do not know on which Fall Feast Season (hour) He will return. Watch therefore, is a command our Lord is giving us, but what does it mean? Present-day teaching tells us this means to make sure you are living a good Christian life, so Christ will rapture you when He returns. It sounds good, but it misses the boat and the flight; literally. When God gives us commands in the Bible, they are not figurative; He does not disguise them. He says what He means. If you are going to be leaving on vacation and you have your bags packed, the mail stopped, the neighbor coming over to feed the cat, but you don’t know what time your flight leaves; are you really ready? Why do you think the Bible contains so much prophecy? It’s so you can know what time to be at the airport! Our Lord loves us so much that He has informed us of everything we need to know. There are so many events that have happened in the last ten years and are even happening as we speak that every Christian should know and recognize, yet almost everything is unnoticed by the church. The Feasts of the Lord reveal the day and month of the Rapture, and if we understand Bible prophecy we will be able to know which “hour” (Fall Feast Season) it will occur, but the church doctrine of this day is so far off it is total taboo even to bring up the subject.
“Watch therefore” is a clear indication there will be more to see; He is going to be giving us more information on this subject at a later date, and the next verse verifies this. There is no point in watching if the statement means we will never know what hour (Fall Feast Season) our Lord is coming. Earlier in verse 36, He said we could not know the day and hour, so why did he leave out the day here? Since the hour is a metaphor for the 15 day Fall Feast Season, which the good servants are supposed to commemorate once a year as commanded in Leviticus chapter 23; there is no need to mention the year as they are observing them yearly. So Christ tells the good servant to be attentive to discover and avoid danger because you don’t know which Fall Feast Season (hour) the actual appointed time will be.
Matthew 24:43 (KJV)
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
The first question we need to ask here is; exactly who is the Goodman of the house? According to Strong’s Greek Dictionary, the Greek word oikodespotēs comes from two Greek words oikos meaning house and despotēs meaning ruler, lord, or master. So this Goodman of the house is not necessarily a good man; he is simply the ruler of the house. It is quite probable that in 17th century England when the King James Bible was written, the Goodman of the house was the owner. Here it states that if the ruler of the house had known what watch; which is what time of night the thief would come, he would have watched so that his house would not have been broken up. Notice the writing is not future tense; it is past tense. He is confirming that there will be Christians that will not be ready for His return. Also, notice that He used the word watch and not day or hour. He just got done telling us in verse 36 that no man knows the day and hour; and yet here He is talking about a watch. He could have used the word hour here, but He did not because there was something else He wanted to convey to us.
A “watch” is one of 4 three hour shifts during the night. A “ward” is one of 4 three hour shifts during the day. Here our Lord is confirming that the Rapture will take place during the night just as the Sign of the Son of Man portrays it. If the day and hour are a literal day and hour that no one can ever know, then why would our Lord say the ruler of the house does not know what watch the rapture will take place if he is not even able to know the day? For that matter, if it’s not possible for us to know the day and the hour, why include this verse in Scripture? If we can never know the day or the hour, this verse is a total waste of words, and as we said earlier, God does not waste words. Our Lord expects us to do a little thinking and seeking when we read His Word. As we attain more knowledge by studying His Word we will be able to understand more of what He is telling us.
Something else to consider is that since the house of the Goodman was broken into and he did not catch the thief because he had no idea when the thief was coming; then it’s a sure bet that the thief got away with his goods. So what is the point of telling us all this if we are not able to know the day and hour of His return? If the thief is going to get in and steal all our goods because we can’t know when He’s coming, what is the point of all this? Why not just tell us that we can’t know and leave it at that? As we will see in verse 47, our Lord will reward the faithful and wise servant by making him ruler over ALL his goods. That is the same as telling us we need to be attentive to discover and avoid danger by studying His Word so that we can know what hour the thief will come. Because as this verse states; “if the goodman (YOU) of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched.”
Matthew 24:44 (KJV)
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
After telling us the goodman of the house was not ready, now he is telling us we need to be ready. Once again, what is the point if it’s going to happen at any moment and we can’t know when that moment is? After telling us twice in the previous verses to watch, He is once again warning us to be ready. What is about to be said may not be well received, but it seems quite apparent that He expects us to be out there watching and waiting for Him. The previous verse says that “if the goodman (owner) of the house had known what watch the thief would come, he would have watched.” It seems as though our Lord is telling us He is going to reveal the time at a later date and He expects us to be watching: LITERALLY! In Mark 13:35-36 He tells us to watch, “lest He come suddenly and find you sleeping!” Most Bible teachers will try and make this figurative, but it is not. It is literal and not figurative. The interpretation of this would be “watch, or else He will come suddenly and find you sleeping.” If we reverse this verse, it will say, “watch, and He will not come suddenly and find you sleeping.”
God warns us to be ready because as it stands now, He is coming during a feast season that we don’t expect him, but what does that mean? It means a couple of things. Sadly it means that many of those that are His disciples are going to be caught by surprise because the Church has almost total ignorance when it comes to Bible Prophecy. It also means that on our own, we are not capable of knowing when the Son of man is going to return. Because everyone believes otherwise, in order to understand this, the Holy Spirit is going to have to be the one to reveal it to us, just as He told us in John 16.
Matthew 24:45 (KJV)
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Wow! Where did this come from, and what does being a faithful servant have to do with getting food in the last part of a chapter that deals with when and who will know what about the Lord’s Rapture of His saints? Actually, this is very easy to understand, but it will not sit well with those who believe Christ has not and will not reveal the day of His coming. Many people will submit that the meat of the Word of God is the things that are harder to digest, just as beef is harder for our digestive system to digest. It speaks to the meanings that do not reside on the surface, the things that the Holy Spirit shows us as we desire to understand more about the Word of God. If you paid attention to the meaning of the ancient Hebrew word môʿēd you know that a due season is an appointed time. (Check it out, the text box for it is in the last chapter.) So He is telling His faithful servants that He will give them a more in-depth understanding or more information regarding His return at the appointed time. That is the only proper way to interpret this if you are going to be intellectually honest with yourself. In most of the newer translations, the word meat has been changed to food, which shows they are translating from a false manuscript or they do not know what this verse is saying. The symbolism is lost when interpreters replace meat with food. If they interpreted it the way you were just shown, they would have to go back and redo a lot of other verses!
Jesus is telling us a deeper understanding will be given to the wise and faithful servants so they can make sure their house is ready for His return. If there are members of your household who aren’t saved, your house will be broken up. That shows just how loving our Savior truly is. If you were going to have a very important meeting with your boss, wouldn’t you want an advanced warning so that you could be as prepared as possible? Let’s use a Biblical comparison that is straight to the point. If you were a groom about to be married, would you just all of a sudden show up at your fiancée’s door and say “I don’t care what you are wearing, or that your clothes are dirty and you haven’t bathed or combed your hair, we’re getting married right now.” Do you really believe this is what our Lord would do? If you were the bride, wouldn’t you want to know ahead of time so that you could make yourself ready and know the day of your wedding so that you could anticipate with great joy as the day approaches? If you look at it from the bride’s perspective, isn’t this the most important day of her life? Because of the love in her heart for her groom, doesn’t she want to be as beautiful as ever for her groom and this extraordinary day in her life?
Matthew 24:46 (KJV)
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
First, take note this verse is speaking to the owner of the house who was wise and faithful to the point that his Lord gave him a greater understanding of His plans so that he would be ready and watching for the return of his Lord. He makes it clear that there is a blessing for this. He also makes it clear that this takes place at the time of the Lord’s coming. The so doing speaks of the actual act of watching for him and not living a good Christian life as many teach. If you genuinely love the Lord with all your heart, that should be automatic. He did not give us all the prophecy provided in this chapter and the corresponding chapters in Mark and Luke so that we could live a good Christian life. He gave this information so we would be ready for the time of His return for us. The words watch and ready are two different words according to Webster, and yet we have managed to make them mean the same thing. You can watch and not be ready, but you cannot be ready if you do not watch.
Matthew 24:47 (KJV)
Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
THE FATE OF THE EVIL SERVANT
Congratulations on having read this far! You were exposed to many new interpretations and ideas you have not come across before, and you stuck with it. However, brace yourself, and be warned! What you are about to read to the end of this chapter and the next are going to come as a bit of a shock to you; especially what follows immediately. You will have a hard time accepting what you are about to read, or you may not accept it at all; so we will provide you with appropriate scripture. Also, please keep in mind that our Lord is not returning because the church and all its teachings have been spot on and correct. The following doctrine is difficult for a well-grounded Christian to accept because our current day teaching is so far off the mark. Hopefully, these verses taken from Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians well help you open up to the interpretation that follows. Paul tells us;
2 Thessalonians 2:1,3 (KJV)
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
The Greek word used for “falling away” is apostasia, which means, a defection from the truth. Paul makes it quite clear that the subject of these verses is “by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.“ That means the subject of the defection from the truth is in regards to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering unto him (Rapture) as spelled out in verse 1. To try to make this out to be about anything else is quite disingenuous. Most Christians will probably not accept this, but this is our Lord telling us that the doctrine of the church in regards to the Rapture and His second coming will be a defection from the truth in the last days.
You read further proof Paul’s writings are correct in the previous chapters where we made the case the Man of Sin was already here, and his revelation went unnoticed by the church. After all the information our Lord provided, the church is not aware of his identity. That means the apostasy is with us now, and it’s this apostasy that has prevented the church from recognizing this Man of Sin. However, most will reject this because our nature is not to question our own beliefs but rather to believe it’s the other guys who must have it wrong.
With that said, here’s the punishment of the evil servant that did not know when his lord would return.
Matthew 24:48 (KJV)
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
The first thing that one must acknowledge here is “if that evil servant shall say in his heart” means this servant truly believes what is about to be said.
However, even before we talk about what this servant believes, we must understand who this evil servant is. We need to understand this verse is not speaking to the unbeliever that does not know the Lord or does not know anything about the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not the atheist, Muslim, or person with no moral standards that is saying in his heart my Lord is delaying his return. It is the preachers and teachers of the church of today who are telling us this, and it is the overwhelming majority of Christendom that is accepting it.
According to this verse, it is the evil servant that says, “My lord delayeth his coming.” So what does this mean? Strong’s Greek Dictionary shows the Greek word for “delayeth” is chronizō, which means to “take time” or linger. If you open Webster’s 1913 dictionary you will find the definition of linger is “to be in suspense.” The word suspense according to Webster’s 1913 Dictionary is “a state of uncertainty and expectation.”
Does this not describe perfectly the attitude of Christians today in regards to the coming Rapture of His saints? The information from each of the sources is provided if you have any doubts about what is stated here. Even if you only take the word delay, is this not what many Christians are saying today. “Oh, I just know the Lord is coming soon, but nobody knows when.” If this is not saying that He is delaying; what does? For sure this is a state of uncertainty and expectation!!!!
Consider the use and meaning of the word “delay.” Let’s suppose your brother from across the country called you and said: “I’m flying in to see you on Delta Airlines flight 263 at 3 P.M.; so pick me up at the airport.” You arrive at the airport at 2:30 P.M. and watch for him, but after 2 hours you still do not see him. At what point in time do you say he was delayed? Could you say he was delayed if you had no idea what day, time, or flight he was expected? No, you could not. There has to be a known or appointed time before you can say there has been a delay. God knows the appointed time because He is the one that set the appointment, and if you love God and are wise and faithful, Matthew 24:45 tells you He will let you know when that appointment is! There need to be two entities for there to be an appointment! If only one party knows when it is, you do not have an appointment.
Matthew 24:49 (KJV)
And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
This verse is not to be interpreted literally unless you have some Christian friends that are eating and drinking with drunkards and then going out and striking fellow Christians with their hands or some other instrument used for beating people.
If you stop and consider this verse a while, doesn’t it really seem ridiculous to try and take this literally? However, if you take it figuratively as it was intended; you will come up with something very different then what is being taught and believed these days.
Strong’s Greek word for smite is typtō, which in the figurative sense is “to offend the conscience.” That is straight from Strong’s Greek Dictionary.
“To eat and drink with the drunken” are all metaphors used in other places in the Word of God and you need to understand them to know what this verse is saying. To be drunk, you have to be drinking too much of something that has alcohol in it. In the time of the Apostles, that would be wine. Wine in the Bible is a metaphor for doctrine or teaching, which can be good or bad. You already know that waters, seas, rivers, floods are all metaphors for varying peoples in scripture. Jesus’s first miracle was turning water to the best wine served at the wedding. Jesus turned men (water) to good teachings and doctrine (wine). Good wine (doctrine) is good for your spiritual health. But if a person has taken in bad doctrine or wrong teachings they are considered to be drunk, stammering about, and not knowing what they are doing or saying.
This evil servant is offending the conscience of fellow servants because he has been eating (taking in or listening to) and drinking (swallowing) with the drunken. (Believers or spreaders of false doctrines or teachings)
So what is this evil servant saying that offends the conscience of the fellow servants? According to the previous verse, he is telling them that the return of their Lord is uncertain and nobody knows when it is going to be. He’s telling them this even though his Lord already gave him the Feast days (appointed times) and just got done telling him in Matthew 24:45 that he would give him more information as the appointed time drew near. However, that verse also states one needs to be a wise and faithful servant to receive this information.
Matthew 24:50 (KJV)
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
This verse is not hard to understand. The lord of the evil servant will come in a day he’s not looking for him, and in an hour of which he is not aware. This verse is as straight forward as can be, but the current day Christian believes the evil servant to be the drunken Christian that is out beating on other Christians with some sort of weapon. He is not aware that it’s the current day Christian that isn’t beating anybody that has no idea when the master will return.
It only stands to reason that if the evil servant is telling other servants, they cannot know the time of their Lord’s return, surely he is going to be surprised when his Lord does return. Please note that the Lord of this servant returns in a day that he is not looking for him and in an hour that he is not even aware of.” As stated previously, if one would take and turn this verse around and make everything in it positive it would read something like this. “The Lord of the good servant will come in a day that he is looking for him and in an hour of which he is aware. That is NOT to say that he knows the exact time to the minute, but that he knows the night and is aware of the hour his Lord is returning for him. He is awake and is anxiously waiting for the cry to go out.
Matthew 24:51 (KJV)
And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The cut him asunder does not refer to the lashings that were given out for punishment during Roman times as some commentaries suggest. Asunder means to bisect or cut in two separate pieces. That seems quite harsh for being caught off guard when the Rapture takes place. But when one looks at how far off course the church has gone by not heeding the warnings given to the churches, maybe this punishment is not that bad. We have replaced the Word of God with the words of men, which is the same condition that existed the first time He came. Would our Lord be returning if the church teachings were on target and we were obedient to the things He asked us to do?
If you have any doubt about the punishment of the servant who does not know the time of his master’s return, and you think the cutting asunder by his Lord to harsh; this very occurrence is depicted for us in Revelation 14. Our Lord provides us with a second witness to this, which takes place after the Rapture of all His saints and after the 144,000 are assembled as shown in verse 1. That means all the wise and faithful servants that have kept the commandments of their Lord are accounted for, so only the evil servants that were not Raptured or sealed are left. In verse 6, we see the angel flying in heaven and proclaiming the everlasting gospel which woul indicate a time for the evil servants to repent and ask forgiveness for their errors. It is apparent that some have realized their error and repented because of what we read next in verse 13:
Revelation 14:13-16 (KJV)
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labor’s; and their works do follow them. 14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Here is the cutting asunder of the evil servant of verse 48. There is another reaping that takes place immediately afterword, but this is the reaping of the tares that will be burned because it mentions the angel coming out of the temple that had power over fire. Please take note that just as Matthew 24:50-51 states, it is the Lord of the evil servant that cuts him asunder. Revelation 14:14 tells us it is the Son of Man that reaps the harvest of the earth with His sickle, and verse 17 says it is another angel that reaps the vine of the earth.
Revelation 14:17-18 (KJV)
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
The reaping of the harvest of the earth would be the tares that will burn with fire.
“And appoint him his portion” Portion suggests the punishment to this evil servant is not necessarily going to be permanent if he realizes his error and repents. It may just be the punishment for the offense he has perpetrated against His Lord that he did not confess or repent of at the time of the rapture. This is also confirmation of why it is so important He finds you spotless when the rapture occurs and gives further credence to why one needs to know the day and be aware of the hour of Christ’s return.
“And appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” First, why is Jesus calling these evil servants that don’t know when their Lord is returning “hypocrites”? Could it be because they tell everyone that it is the Lord that provides them with all they need but believe He will not tell them of the most important day of their lives? Could it be because Christ said, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth? Does not this tell us we should know what He is doing and yet almost none that are supposed to be His friends know what He is doing? Could it be because they believe our Lord when He said it is not God’s will that any should perish, yet they believe that He is going to return as a thief so He can catch as many people as possible off guard and in sin? Could it be because we teach the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals to us the light within the pages of the Word of God, and yet we read all these new misleading translations because the Word of God is too hard to understand?
“There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” This does not sound good. It reads quite a bit like Hell except there is no mention of the outer darkness. It could be a clue that it is only a temporary punishment if they repent. However, it will definitely be a time of profound regret.
Remember, it did say the evil servant would be appointed his portion, which suggests this is not for eternity. As you read in the previous paragraphs, the evil servant will miss the rapture of His saints because he did not know the day and was not aware of the hour of his Lord’s return. The Day of his Lord came upon him as a thief in the night. Because the evil servant was not aware of the time of his Lord’s return or the Day of the Lord, the evil servant will not be enjoying the presence of his Lord for a thousand years, which is the Day of the Lord. Is that not a just punishment? Because the evil servant missed the Wedding Supper of the Lamb they will spend that time with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth until the millennium is over and the time of the Great White Throne Judgement.
A closing thought for this chapter: It is quite conceivable that the blessing our Lord promises to the wise servant who knew when his master would return, and the blessing promised to those who read and keep those things written in the book of Revelation are the same.
Matthew 24:46 (KJV)
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. (Watching for His return)
Revelation 1:3 (KJV)
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
It’s entirely conceivable it’s the blessing of being able to take part in the “Day of the Lord,” which is the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, while the rest wait for the Great White Throne judgment. It is the Earth’s time of rest and peace, which could also be what our Lord was referring to when He said, “You will not enter into my rest.”
The Sign of the Son of Man &
The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return
CONTENTS
Book Introduction (Read for more info contained in the book)
- The REAL 4th Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream (Daniel 2)
- The REAL King of Babylon (Isaiah 14)
- The REAL Key to Deciphering Time Prophecy
- The REAL Secret Prophecy of Daniel 4
- The REAL Beast of Revelation 13
- The REAL 8th Beast of Revelation 17
- The REAL 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6)
- The REAL First 4 Trumpets of Revelation 8
- The REAL 4 Angels of Revelation 9 And the Plague of Islam
- The REAL Woman, Dragon and Flood of Revelation 12
- The REAL 2 Witnesses of Revelation 11
- The REAL 70 Weeks of Daniel 9
- The FEASTS OF THE LORD; The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return
- The REAL Appointed Year of Our Lords Return as Revealed in Daniel 12
- The REAL Sign of the Son of Man; and Signs of the End (Matthew 24)
- The REAL Parable of the 10 Virgins (Matthew 25)
- The Fall Feast Days as Revealed in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 6,7,8,11)
- The REAL Warning to the Church of Laodicea; the Church of Today (Revelation 3)
- Closing Thoughts & the REAL Day of the Resurrection of Our Lord
- Ready You Ain’t, Even if You’re a Saint Not Part of Book
- Main Page: The Appointed Time of Christ Return
The "REAL" Sign of the Son of Man; & 