Matthew 24:23-28
When a person gets to the heart of what the Tribulation Period, the Bible says will one day come upon this earth is all about, it comes down to this – God wants Israel to turn to Jesus Christ.
• The point will not be vengeance
• The point will not be to make people suffer
• The point will not be to get even with those who did Christ dirty
God has one purpose in the Tribulation period; and that is to bring Israel as a nation, to the place where they give God glory by receiving Christ as their Messiah.
There are some other things accomplished in the Tribulation, but this is the purpose that is stated time and time again in the pages of God’s Word.
It seems pretty obvious then, that Satan, who is the great imitator of the Lord, would attempt to deceive Israel into accepting a false Christ.
So right here, in the midst of the Tribulation, Matthew 24:23-28 warns the Jews that Satan will offer them a false Christ.
I have entitled the lesson this morning, Looking for Christ in all the wrong places…..
So I believe I will try to present the lesson this way
There are first of all Jews, in the Tribulation who
I. ARE NOT LOOKING FOR CHRIST
Vs 15-16
Remember what we said when we were studying these verses?
A. In the middle of the Tribulation period Anti-Christ will reach a point where he believes he has no enemies powerful enough to defeat him.
He will set himself up as a god in Jerusalem and demand to be worshipped.
B. Jesus warns that when his “abomination of desolation” sets up in Jerusalem, the Jews should flee into the mountains where God has a placed prepared to protect and provide for them.
Many of the Jews in Jerusalem will flee there
Some will not…….
Some will be
• Like Lot was in Sodom and Gomorrah and
• Like many of the Jews were after 70 years in Babylonian captivity.
• They will be comfortable where they are.
• They will be too attached to their business ventures to leave them behind (vs 17-18)
They just won’t believe there is anything to worry about.
They don’t believe in a coming Messiah anyway.
C. Is this not true in the day in which we live?
Is it not true that among Jews and Gentiles alike there are those who just don’t place any value in the spiritual?
• They see things like the rise and fall of presidents and kings as the natural order of things
• They feel like they have little or no control over those things and that the best we can do is
Eat, Drink and be merry, until tomorrow we die.
There will be those in Jerusalem, and around the world who do not see the spiritual significance of the “abomination of desolation.”
II. SOME WILL BE LOOKING IN SIGNS AND MIRACLES
Vs 23-24
I do not want to take the time to go back through it in detail again, so let me summarize what it appears will happen when this “abomination of desolation” is set up…..
A. Multitudes of Jews will flee Jerusalem to the place prepared for them
I believe it could be the rock city Petra.
B. Anti-Christ will pursue them, to destroy them, but will fail.
Revelation 12 says he will send a flood of water to devour them, but the earth will open up and swallow the flood.
God supernaturally protects those who have fled to this safe place.
C. Anti-Christ, not willing to give up so quickly tries another ploy
• If he can’t destroy them in their safe place,
• He will try to lure them out of that safe place
D. He will produce signs and wonders so miraculous, the Bible says, if it were possible they would deceive even the elect.
Rev 13:1-4
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? (KJV)
Rev 13:11-15
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
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.
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (KJV)
• He appears to die of a wound to the head and resurrect from the dead
• He appears to make fire come down from heaven and
• He appears to make his image in the Temple come to life
I say appears because I think it is questionable whether he really does these miracles or if he deceives people into thinking he has done them.
E. But the point is, those who have fled into that safe place – get word of the miracles, and someone may have been saying to themselves……
“No one can do those miracles except God be with him…
Maybe he is the Christ!”
I don’t know if Anti-Christ is successful at getting any of those in the safe place to leave it.
I do know our world will follow just about anybody who shows them enough smoke and mirrors
• A leader who is wealthy
• A leader who has come out from under hard times
• A leader who is good at convincing a crowd
People will follow someone like that regardless whether he has any experience or any evidence he will do a great job leading!
But the most important lesson in this passage is that
III. GOD’S PEOPLE CANNOT BE DECEIVED
Vs 24-28
Notice that it is not just they will not be deceived but that
A. It is not possible for them to be deceived.
• God’s elect, cannot be deceived.
• God’s elect will not leave the protected place and
• God’s elect will make up that nation of Israel that turns to Jesus Christ
That is not to say there aren’t some in the safe place that are not among the elect and who are deceived into leaving the safe place.
Their leaving will just be the proof they were not really God’s people….
I Jn 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (KJV)
If there are those who leave that safe spot and are taken by the Anti-Christ, it will only be evidence that they were never the Lord’s people.
B. The reason why they cannot be deceived is because
- Jesus told them Anti-Christ would try to deceive them
Vs 25 - Jesus told them what His coming would be like
Vs 26-27
And Jesus said
John 10:27-29
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (KJV)
• His people hear (and understand) His voice
• His people obey His voice and
• His people never perish