Mat 24:10-13 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 10 Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another - To illustrate this point, one sentence out of Tacitus (Annal. l. xv). will be sufficient, who, speaking of the persecution under Nero, says, At first several were seized, who confessed, and then by Their Discovery a great multitude of others were convicted and executed.

‏ Matthew 24:10-13

Verse 10

Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another - To illustrate this point, one sentence out of Tacitus (Annal. l. xv). will be sufficient, who, speaking of the persecution under Nero, says, At first several were seized, who confessed, and then by Their Discovery a great multitude of others were convicted and executed. Verse 11

False prophets - Also were to be raised up; such as Simon Magus and his followers; and the false apostles complained of by St. Paul, 2Cor 11:13, who were deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Such also were Hymeneus and Philetus, 2Tim 2:17, 2Tim 2:18. Verse 12

The love of many shall wax cold - By reason of these trials and persecutions from without, and those apostasies and false prophets from within, the love of many to Christ and his doctrine, and to one another, shall grow cold. Some openly deserting the faith, as Mat 24:10; others corrupting it, as Mat 24:11; and others growing indifferent about it, Mat 24:12. Even at this early period there seems to have been a very considerable defection in several Christian Churches; see Gal 3:1-4; 2Thes 3:1, etc.; 2Tim 1:15. Verse 13

But he that shall endure - The persecutions that shall come - unto the end; to the destruction of the Jewish polity, without growing cold or apostatizing - shall be saved, shall be delivered in all imminent dangers, and have his soul at last brought to an eternal glory. It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city; and, had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but, when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape. See Eusebius, Hist. Eccles lib. iii. c. 5, and Mr. Reading's note there; and see the note here on Mat 24:20 (note).