Now that I have looked into the first half of Matthew 24:7, I will consider the second half of the verse. The passage says, "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs" (Matt. 24:7-8). So what about famines and earthquakes? ...
After painting a global scenario, Jesus now turns to personal consequences that will take place during the seventieth-week of Daniel, known as the tribulation. In fact Christ uses the word "tribulation" for the first time in His discourse. There are a number of issues that arise from this passage as it relates to the different interpretative approaches to our Lord’s discourse...
Jesus is progressing through His description of the first half of the tribulation, building toward the middle of the seven-year period of verse 15. In this section our Lord describes the spiritual state of the Jews within the land of Israel (Matt. 24:10-13). Their spirituality is not good, from God’s perspective...
In Matthew 24:9- 14, Jesus is talking about the spiritual condition of those during the first half of the seven-year tribulation period. It is not a pretty sight. Since believers will be persecuted and put to death, extreme pressure will be on believers, especially Jewish believers to flake out and fall away from serving Jesus the Messiah...
As our Lord’s discourse approaches the mid-point of the seven-year tribulation, verse 14 raises a number of interpretive issues. What exactly is meant by "the gospel of the kingdom?" Is this proclamation still a future event? What does "a witness to all nations" mean? What is meant by "then the end shall come?" ...