In the previous installment I surveyed some of the biblical teaching on the great tribulation. It will not come as a surprise to most of you that many do not see the tribulation as a yet future time. Historicists and preterists believe that much, if not all of the tribulation has already occurred. Therefore, if one denies the futurity of the tribulation then it produces a great distortion of biblical prophecy...
In our journey through the Olivet Discourse, the passage at hand has a number of interesting issues with which I will deal. They include: the cutting short of days, no life would be saved, and who are the elect? I shall proceed to deal with them...
In the midst of the greatest time of upheaval and chaos in the history of the world, Jesus reminds his disciples that even then the most important thing in life is one’s relationship with Christ. As this passage moves into the events of the second half of the tribulation, the number one priority is to avoid deception.,,
Previously, Jesus has been warning the Jewish remnant during the second half of the seven-year tribulation to watch out for spiritual deception. Jesus referenced "the elect" (verse 24) for the second of three times in which that term is used in this passage, which refers to the Jewish remnant who will come to Christ during the tribulation. Jesus continues His instruction and warnings to "the elect" in verses 26-28...
After speaking of the suddeness and public visibility of His return in verses 26-27, our Lord now adds a parabolic idiom in verse 28. He says, "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." This phrase is also found in a similar context in Luke 17:24. What does this mean and to whom does it refer? However, before that question is answered I want to make a final point concerning verse 27...