MATTHEW 24:15-28
“When he [antichrist] cometh, he must continue [but note] a short time” (Rev.17:10).
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming” (2 Th.2:8).
2. God will shorten the days of the great tribulation for the elect’s sake. From the historical perspective, some of the
Christians remembered the Lord’s warning and fled Jerusalem before the attack, sometime around 66 A.D. They fled to a
smaller town called Pella in the district of Decapolis. These believers prayed for their neighbors and their beloved city, and
God heard their intercessions. He shortened the days of terrible trials—shortened them because of the prayers of the elect.
God’s mercy toward the lost—even toward civilizations and cities—and His willingness to save the lost in answer to the
believers’ intercessory prayer are clearly illustrated in Scripture. Abraham’s prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah is an example.
If just ten righteous people could have been found, the cities would have been spared despite their terrible sin (Gen.18:23f).
Lot’s prayer for Zoar is another example (Gen.19:20-22).
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas.5:16).
“Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the
broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh
the truth; and I will pardon it” (Jer.5:1).
“For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying,
Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that
sail with thee....And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls....But the
centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which
could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: and the rest, some on
boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe
to land” (Acts 27:23-24, 37, 43-44).
Thought 1. God will honor the prayers of His true followers, even to the point of overriding natural disasters. How
much change could occur in the evil of the world, both natural and human, if God’s people really believed in inter-
cessory prayer and became real intercessors for this corruptible world?
Thought 2. Too many of us are complainers, not intercessors. Too many of us complain over our affliction or else
the length of our affliction. It is beyond us how God could ever allow such suffering. Three things are needed.
1) We must realize that God does not cause evil and suffering. God does not afflict; He delivers.
2) We must realize that we never suffer as much as we deserve. We are ever so sinful and have so polluted the
earth with evil that we deserve the worst.
3) We must realize that God is merciful. What is needed is not complaining, but prayer—intercessory prayer.
We need to pray, thanking God that the evil is not worse. Then in unceasing prayer, we need to ask Him to
correct and shorten the evil.
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(24:23-24) False Messiahs—End Times: there is the frantic search for a deliverer, for an earthly Messiah. Christ says
three things.
1. False messiahs and prophets will arise. When men are oppressed and oppressed, witnessing scene after scene of
death by hunger, pestilence, murder, and war, they cry for deliverance. They are ever so open to a deliverer’s arising on the
scene, and some are always ready to assume the power and leadership for which men cry. In the siege of Jerusalem, such
men (deliverers) arose who promised deliverance from both the Romans and the natural disasters. Apparently there had been
the constant belief and rumors that the Messiah had returned, and He was either out in the desert or in some secret room
within the city. He was just awaiting the hour to strike. The scene in Jerusalem was somewhat like Jeremiah’s day.
“Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, nei-
ther shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the Lord said unto
me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name:I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nei-
ther spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought,
and the deceit of their heart” (Jer.14:13-14).
The same kind of scene will repeat itself in the last days. The antichrist, the false deliverer of the earth, shall arise to deceive the
whole earth (see Rev.13:1-18). Note that Christ simply says, “Believe it not”—believe neither the rumors nor the false deliverer.
2. False deliverers will show great signs and wonders. Deliverers, local and national, always claim to be destined.
They point to signs and wonders. This has always been true—and always will be true—through all times. The end time will
witness an increase and intensification of signs and wonders that will stretch across the whole world.
“Then shall that Wicked (one) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him....and with all deceivableness”
(2 Th.2:8-10).
“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the
sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he
had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should
make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live” (Rev.13:13-14).
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