Bob Josey: The Great Tribulation - Part 2 Jan 12, 2020

Post date: Jan 12, 2020 11:23:40 PM

The Great Tribulation – The Second Half of the Tribulation Period (Matthew 24:9-26)

1. The Signs of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:14-15)

24:14 – The Good News of the Kingdom reaching the entire inhabited world

In verses Matthew 14 & 15 Jesus gives the last two signs of the end of the age that occur during the last half of the Tribulation period. I have been to many mission conferences where verse 14 is taken out the setting of the of the Great Tribulation and applied to today. There are several reasons why this verse has nothing to do with today. First, please remember that Jesus is answering the question concerning the signs of the end of the age that the disciples asked about. We are not at the end of the age now. The end of the age does not occur until the last half of the Tribulation Period. These verses were written to Messianic Jews to prepare them for what is going to happen during the last 31/2 years of the Tribulation period. They were also written to non-Messianic Jews to warn them that at the end of the age and judgement was very near, therefore, they should prepare themselves since time was running out.

Let’s talk a minute about the word gospel that is used in most translations today. Some think the word gospel is a Greek word that is transliterated gospel. The Greek word that we translate gospel is euongellon. Euongellon just means good news. This word was found to be a couple of hundred years before Jesus’ birth. It is not a special religious word. It could mean good news about anything – the good news of the birth of a baby, the good news of an upcoming wedding, the good news of a job promotion, the good news of the defeat of an enemy, good news of the coming kingdom, or the good news of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, etc.

The word gospel that we find in most modern translations comes from two Old English words god meaning "good" and spel meaning "news, or a story." Therefore, the word gospel just means good news. Remember the off - Broadway musical production that opened on May 17, 1971 called Godspell? The name of the musical was taken from those two old English words. The musical dealt with the "good news" concerning the story of Jesus Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. Every time you come to the word gospel in your Bible, translate it good news. If you do that, the verse will make much more sense.

Let’s read verse 14 again. Did you notice that the good news in this verse concerns the Kingdom? The good news of the kingdom concerns the Messiah and His soon-coming kingdom. Let’s look at a few verses in Matthew – 3:1-2; 4:17, 23. When the Messiah was on the earth, the Kingdom was near. For Jesus to take someone into the Kingdom, he or she had to repent of their sins and recognize Jesus as the Messiah. The good news of the Kingdom was preached until the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah by accusing Him of performing miracle by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is what is called the unpartable sin. After this event, Jesus and the disciples never preached the good news of the kingdom again. The offer of the kingdom was withdrawn and the focus was then on the good news concerning Jesus’ being the Messiah who would die and be resurrected. This is the good news we preach today. We do not preach the message concerning the kingdom today because it is not near.

During the last half of the Tribulation Period, the coming kingdom will be near because the Messiah will be arriving soon at the second coming to set up His Messianic Kingdom. The Tribulation good news will stress the coming kingdom, and those who then turn to Jesus the Messiah for salvation will be allowed entrance into the kingdom. Therefore, the message that will be preached in the Tribulation Period will be similar to that preached by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel, but this message will clearly identify Jesus as the coming Messiah. This is not the good news we preach and share with people today, so Matthew 24:14 has nothing to do with evangelism today or mission conferences today. It is not a command, but just a statement. Our mandate and marching orders found in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, and Acts 1:8!

In 1973 the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution that the world should be reached with the good news of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection by the year 2000. This was a lofty goal that obviously was not fulfilled; however, it was certainly an honorable goal in which the convention strove to meet. Even though the inhabited earth will not be reached with the good news until the end of the Tribulation period before Jesus returns, we certainly must to do all we can, when we can, with what we have to get the good news about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to the inhabited world today.

24:15 – The Abomination of Desolation

In verse 15, as we shall see, is the one of the greatest observable signs within the second part of the Tribulation Period. It was coined by Daniel as the abomination of desolation. The word therefore (NASB, KJV) and the word So (ESV, NIV) connects the next set of verses to verses 9-14 concerning the Great Tribulation. Having given a brief overview of the entire Tribulation period prior to His return, Jesus then spoke of one of the greatest observable signs within that period, the abomination that causes desolation. Let’s read Daniel 9:27. The antichrist signing the covenant with Israel, which will bring her relative peace and safety and allows the sacrifices to begin again, is the event begins the seven years of tribulation. The abomination that causes desolation is the event that begins the second half of the tribulation. The sacrifices and grain offerings will cease and the relative peace and safety that Israel had under the covenant with the antichrist will also cease. There are two related events that occur that breaks the covenant with Israel and is again coined by Daniel as the Abomination that Causes Desolation.

The Abomination that Causes Desolation begins when the antichrist sets himself up as god in the Temple which will begin the establishment of the worship of this madman. We see this in 2 Thess. 2:4. Then the false prophet will make an image of the antichrist and set it up in the Holy Place of the Temple as seen in Revelation 13:14-15. These events are an abomination that cause the Temple to become desolate. The word abomination means something that is detestable and the word desolate means something that desecrated. Once the Temple is desecrated, it will no longer considered holy or set apart for God. The desecration of the Temple will be clearly recognizable by everyone. It will be detested by the Jews and hailed by the followers of the antichrist. It is at this point the relative peace and safety that Israel enjoyed for 31/2 years will cease and the antichrist will begin to systematically murder as many Jewish believers and unbelieves as he can.

The phrase “let the reader understand” is a dire warning to the Jews in the Tribulation period who live in Israel who read this verse and ones to follow. It is much stronger than the statements, “Listen, are you listening?” He is warning the Jews in Israel that when they see or hear about the things in verse 15 occurring, they should follow the instructions He is about to give them. If they don’t. they will suffer the consequences.

Jesus was telling those in the Tribulation generation about the bad news of the antichrist and his actions. In contrast, today we have good new to share with people – that Jesus died, was burned, and was resurrected and those who put their faith in Him will receive eternal life with God and will escape the eternal judgment in the lake of Fire. Also, they will escape the judgements of the Tribulation period, if it occurs in their lifetime.