Mat 24:21-22 | KingComments | STEP | To underline the seriousness of the situation in the days preceding His coming, the Lord points to what is spoken of by the prophet Daniel. By this He means parts in the book of Daniel that bring us to the last days ( ), or the end time ( ). The place that the Lord speaks of where these things will play out is Judea, that is Jerusalem and its surroundings. “The holy place” is the temple in Jerusalem. The “abomination of desolation” will be there. An abomination is an idolatrous image. The abomination of desolation means that the idol will cause desolation. Because of that idolatrous image God will bring great misfortune upon the land through the antichrist, the one who set the image up, to which he also commits himself by showing himself as God ( ). The statue is the image of the beast from the sea and represents the dictator of the restored Roman empire ( ). It is a word to the remnant of Israel and not to the church. The Lord tells them that those who are near to that area must flee to the mountains. The mountains will be the only suitable location to hide from the antichrist and his followers. There will be no time to lose. The persecution comes like a storm in the desert. Any delay can be fatal. If you are on the roof, you shouldn’t go back into your house to pick up essential items. If you are on the field, you must not attempt to pick up your cloak that you have placed somewhere else on the field. The watchword is: flee for your life. To give in to any other thought will result in death. The Lord speaks with compassion about the pregnant women, those who are about to bring new life into the world, and those nursing babies, those who have just brought new life into the world. They are the vulnerable. He even thinks of the weather conditions and religious duties. They must pray that they will play no part. Any obstruction to their flight can be fatal. He says these things because He knows how terrible that time will be. It will be a time of unparalleled tribulation. There has never been such a thing and never will be. It is a time that, as far as the abominations are concerned, is unparalleled. The Lord emphasizes the horror of that time by saying as a consolation that those days will be shortened. If He did cut those days short, no one would survive that time. This cutting short is made for the sake of the elect. He knows all those who belong to Him and, in view of them, ensures that the maximum suffering is not exceeded (cf. ). He points out once again that this time will be particularly hard because of the false Christs. If, in the midst of the greatest ordeal, people present themselves as those who want to give help, there is a huge temptation to respond to it. Those false Christs and false prophets will present themselves by doing great signs and miracles. It will all seem so real that even the elect are in danger of falling into this deception. They should not do so, especially now that the Lord has told them so in advance. Forewarned is forearmed. They should not let themselves be lured out of their hiding place by fine words to go to a wilderness or an inner room because the Messiah would be found there. The wilderness, where John preached ( ), is not the setting of the Messiah. He is also not in the inner room. They are all traps. When He, the true Messiah, appears, it will be like the lightning that comes from the east and flashes to the west. With this the Lord also answers the question the disciples have asked in . His coming will be seen everywhere. They only have to pay attention to the ‘flash of lightning’ to know it is He Who comes and not another. He will come as “the Son of Man”, that is to say to rule over all the earth and not only over Israel. The first acts of His government will be judgmental acts. Where the objects of judgment are, there He will appear, as vultures gather where dead bodies are.

‏ Matthew 24:21-22

The Great Tribulation

To underline the seriousness of the situation in the days preceding His coming, the Lord points to what is spoken of by the prophet Daniel. By this He means parts in the book of Daniel that bring us to the last days (Dan 9:27 ; Dan 11:31 ; Dan 12:11), or the end time (Dan 11:40). The place that the Lord speaks of where these things will play out is Judea, that is Jerusalem and its surroundings. “The holy place” is the temple in Jerusalem. The “abomination of desolation” will be there.

An abomination is an idolatrous image. The abomination of desolation means that the idol will cause desolation. Because of that idolatrous image God will bring great misfortune upon the land through the antichrist, the one who set the image up, to which he also commits himself by showing himself as God (2Thes 2:4). The statue is the image of the beast from the sea and represents the dictator of the restored Roman empire (Rev 13:12-15).

It is a word to the remnant of Israel and not to the church. The Lord tells them that those who are near to that area must flee to the mountains. The mountains will be the only suitable location to hide from the antichrist and his followers. There will be no time to lose. The persecution comes like a storm in the desert. Any delay can be fatal. If you are on the roof, you shouldn’t go back into your house to pick up essential items. If you are on the field, you must not attempt to pick up your cloak that you have placed somewhere else on the field. The watchword is: flee for your life. To give in to any other thought will result in death.

The Lord speaks with compassion about the pregnant women, those who are about to bring new life into the world, and those nursing babies, those who have just brought new life into the world. They are the vulnerable. He even thinks of the weather conditions and religious duties. They must pray that they will play no part. Any obstruction to their flight can be fatal.

He says these things because He knows how terrible that time will be. It will be a time of unparalleled tribulation. There has never been such a thing and never will be. It is a time that, as far as the abominations are concerned, is unparalleled. The Lord emphasizes the horror of that time by saying as a consolation that those days will be shortened. If He did cut those days short, no one would survive that time. This cutting short is made for the sake of the elect. He knows all those who belong to Him and, in view of them, ensures that the maximum suffering is not exceeded (cf. 1Cor 10:13).

He points out once again that this time will be particularly hard because of the false Christs. If, in the midst of the greatest ordeal, people present themselves as those who want to give help, there is a huge temptation to respond to it. Those false Christs and false prophets will present themselves by doing great signs and miracles. It will all seem so real that even the elect are in danger of falling into this deception. They should not do so, especially now that the Lord has told them so in advance. Forewarned is forearmed.

They should not let themselves be lured out of their hiding place by fine words to go to a wilderness or an inner room because the Messiah would be found there. The wilderness, where John preached (Mk 1:4), is not the setting of the Messiah. He is also not in the inner room. They are all traps. When He, the true Messiah, appears, it will be like the lightning that comes from the east and flashes to the west. With this the Lord also answers the question the disciples have asked in Mt 24:3. His coming will be seen everywhere. They only have to pay attention to the ‘flash of lightning’ to know it is He Who comes and not another.

He will come as “the Son of Man”, that is to say to rule over all the earth and not only over Israel. The first acts of His government will be judgmental acts. Where the objects of judgment are, there He will appear, as vultures gather where dead bodies are.