Matthew 24:15

Matthew 24:15 says, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)  Jesus is still speaking about the Second Coming, and refers to the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel standing in the holy place, and then He adds let anyone who reads this understand it.  I believe this means that there can be different interpretations of what this means, but that Christians should recognize it when it happens.  Verse sixteen adds, Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:  Jesus warns those who are in Judea to flee to the mountains when this occurs.  Verse seventeen continues, Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:  Jesus warned people that they should not take the time to attempt to pack anything, but that they should flee immediately.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.  As just stated, Jesus said that there would be no time to return to the house and take anything.  Verse nineteen declares, And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!  Jesus stated that it would be an especially hard time for women who were pregnant or who had babies.  Verse twenty adds, But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:  Jesus said that they should pray that this didn't occur on the sabbath or in winter, when time to travel would be limited.  Verse twenty-one continues, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  Jesus said that during this time there would be tribulation like the world had never seen nor ever would see again.  Verse twenty-two declares, And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.  Jesus said that unless these days were shortened that no one would be saved, physically I believe, but that for the sake of the elect, or those who put their faith in Christ, that this time of persecution would be shortened.  Verse twenty-three declares, Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.  Jesus warned that there would be those claiming to be Christ during this time, but that Christians, nor anyone else for that matter, were to believe him.  There have been people in our time who claim to be Christ, or Jesus returned to the earth physically, and there have been people who believe them, but there is but One Christ, and that is Jesus.  Verse twenty-four adds, For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.  Jesus warned that these false Christs and prophets would show great signs and wonders, and if possible that they would deceive even those who had already put their faith in Him.  Not all things that seem to be a miracle come from God.  Verse twenty-five continues, Behold, I have told you before.  Jesus said this was not the first time that He had told them this.  It should certainly not be the first time that we as followers of Christ have heard it, and we should take heed that we do not allow ourselves to be deceived by anyone claiming to have some greater connection to God than anyone else does.  Verse twenty-six says, Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.  Jesus warned that wherever someone claimed to be this false Christ that we were to not go after him.  Verse twenty-seven declares, For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  Jesus said that like the lightning spread across the entire sky, so would the His return be seen by all people at once.  No one will have to go looking for Him in any specific place.  Verse twenty-eight concludes, For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.  When Jesus returns, He will come to all people wherever they are whether they have accepted Him as Savior and Lord or not.

Matthew 24:1

Matthew 24:1 says, And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.  After Jesus left the temple, the disciples came to show him the buildings of the temple.  After Jesus left, that is all it was- a building.  The place that we worship is only a building if God is not there and in charge.  Verse two states,  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.  Jesus asked if they did not see all these things.  Do we see all things clearly when we are looking at the world today?  Jesus then told the disciples that it would all be thrown down, and the temple as it was viewed then was.  People went to the temple to pray and meet God, but it had lost that function, plus people would meet Jesus wherever they were after His death, burial and resurrection.  Verse three says, And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?  The disciples came to Jesus privately when He was on the Mount of Olives asking when these things would happen and what was the sign of the end of the world.  People are still looking for a sign today.  Verse four declares,  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  Jesus warned the disciples, and the warning is still true for us today, to not let any man deceive them about the end of time.  Verse five adds, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  Jesus said there would be many who came claiming to be Christ, and we hear of people doing so today, and that many would be deceived.  Verse six continues, And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  We definitely hear of wars and rumors of wars today, but Jesus said that even though this must come to pass, the end was not yet come.  Verse seven states,  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  In addition to wars, Jesus said there would be pestilence and earthquakes in places where they normally didn't occur, and we know this is true today.  Verse eight adds, All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Jesus said these were the beginnings of the sorrows, and He was speaking to His disciples over two thousand years ago.  Verse nine continues, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.  Jesus told the disciples that they would be afflicted and killed, and hated by all nations for His name sake.  We are not there yet today as far as being hated by all nations, but we are getting closer.  Verse ten continues, And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  There are many people offended by Christianity today, and they may hate Christians, but we cannot respond with hate for them, but it seems to me that we too often do.  Verse eleven declares, And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.  We know that there are many false prophets today who deceive many people, but there always have been.  Verse twelve adds, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  Jesus said that because iniquity would abound that the love of many people for God would grow cold.  How often do you hear someone say that if there is a God, why does He allow all this evil to exist, and that they cannot believe in a God Who does?  Verse thirteen continues, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  I believe that anyone who truly puts his or her faith in Christ as Savior and Lord will indeed endure to the end.  Nothing will separate us from God if we are truly His.  Verse fourteen declares, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.  The only sure fact that will mark the end of time is the gospel being preached in all nations.  I am not sure if this has happened yet or not, but if we are looking for a sign of the end of time, this is the only one that matters.

Matthew 23:33

Matthew 23:33 says, Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?  Jesus was still talking to the scribes and Pharisees but the question could apply to about any generation and any group of people who profess to believe in God but really only do so for appearance sake.  Verse thirty-four adds, Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:  Jesus said that He would send to the people wise men, and that they would not only kill and crucify some and scourge them in their synagogues but would persecute them from city to city.  People today, especially in parts of the world, sent to share the gospel are persecuted, beaten and even killed, which is terrible, but this was God's chosen people that Jesus was talking to.  We cannot allow ourselves to be God's people, Christians, in name only and then persecute those who are proclaiming God's word.  Verse thirty-five adds, That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.  Jesus said the blood of all the righteous would their heads, and not just on the heads of those who lived at that time.  I don't believe this makes someone responsible for the sins of others, but makes them just as responsible for the attitude that they have toward God.  Had the people of that day lived during the time these prophets had, they would have joined in with those who were  persecuting them.  The scribes and Pharisees could not excuse themselves from the persecution of prophets in the past, because they were guilty of persecuting them in the present.  Verse thirty-six declares, Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.  I believe that Jesus was simply stating that what had been done to the prophets in the past would also be done in the present.  We can either be a part of those who follow Christ or we can be a part of those who persecute Him and those who witness for Him.  We cannot simply blame the crucifixion of Jesus on a past generation, but we must accept the fact that everyone at anytime is guilty of His crucifixion.  The question is always whether or not we will accept the gift of salvation that comes through belief in Christ alone.  This is a question that must be answered by each generation.  Verse thirty-seven adds, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!  Jesus asked the people of Jerusalem, the seat of government for God's chosen people, how often would God have gathered them under His wing and they would not allow Him to.  God awaits to gather people under His wing today, but how often do they refuse to allow Him to do so.  What is really sad is that these are the people who were supposed to be God's people.  Verse thirty-eight continues, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.  Since these people, who were supposed to be God's people, refused to listen to God's prophets they were left desolate.  So will we be spiritually, no matter how rich we may be in the world, if we refuse to accept the gospel of Christ.  Verse thirty-nine concludes, For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.  Jesus said that thy would not see Him again until they proclaimed Him to be blessed since He came in the name of the Lord, or God Himself.  We will not see Jesus until we acknowledge Who He is and accept His gift of salvation by faith.  We nay know everything about Him historically, but we will not truly see Him accept by faith.

Matthew 23:23

Matthew 23:23 says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.  Jesus said the scribes and Pharisees paid tithes materially, but omitted the weightier matters of the law, such as mercy, judgment and faith.  He said they should have done these things while still paying their tithes.  Keeping a part of God's law is never enough, and we cannot pride ourselves on keeping part of it if we ignore the rest, especially those things relating to how we treat others.  Verse twenty-four adds, Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.  Jesus called them blind guides once again, and basically said that they condemned others over minor issues of the law while missing the really important parts in their own lives,  Verse twenty-five states, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  Again pronouncing woe on the scribes and Pharisees and calling them hypocrites once more, Jesus said that they cleaned the outside of the cup and platter and left the inside full of filth.  They wanted to look good to the world, even if they were full of corruption inside.  Verse twenty-six adds, Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.  Jesus told the blind Pharisees that they should first clean the inside of the cup and platter and then the outside would take care of itself.  In other words, the Pharisees needed to first clean up their spiritual nature, then what occurred in the world would take care of itself.  This is still true for us today.  Verse twenty-seven declares, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.  Jesus then compared the scribes and Pharisees to someone who cleans the outside of a tomb, but the inside was still full of dead men's bones.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  Jesus said that like the white washed tomb. the scribes and Pharisees looked good to the world, but inwardly they were full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  If we begin to emphasize ritual over a relationship with Christ and a love for our fellow man, then we are guilty of the same thing.  Verse twenty-nine proclaims, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,  Jesus even pronounced woe on the scribes and Pharisees for the way they treated the prophets, building tombs for them so they could worship them basically, and for adorning the tombs of the righteous.  We can become guilty of the same thing if we begin to hold the graves of the people more important than worshiping God.  Verse thirty adds, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.  Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees said if they had been alive in the time of the prophets that they would not have partaken in the shedding of their blood.  We may want to blame the death of Jesus on the people of His day, but we are all equally responsible for His death.  Jesus died for each individual because he or she could not fulfill the law in all its aspects.  Verse thirty-one declares, Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.  Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees were the children, or descendants, of those who had killed the prophets.  So are we today.  Verse thirty-two concludes. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.  Basically Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees to accept the fact that they were just as responsible as their fathers because they were still doing the same thing, and so are we today. 

Matthew 23:13

Matthew 23:13 says, But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.  Speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, some of the most religious of God's chosen people, Jesus said woe unto them.  They not only shut themselves out of the kingdom of heaven, but they worked to prevent others from entering as well.  Following rituals in self pride will never be enough to get anyone into heaven.  Verse fourteen states, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.  Jesus continues to pronounce woe on the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites.  Jesus said the took the houses of widows and for a pretense they made long prayers.  We can pray all day long, but unless we have a personal relationship with Jesus, it will do us no good.  Verse fifteen says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.  Jesus next pronounced woe on the scribes and Pharisees for working so hard to make a proselyte, then making him a twofold child of hell.  If we convert someone into a false Christianity, one that is based on anything more than faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, then we leave them worse off than they were before.  Verse sixteen states, Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!  Jesus next pronounced woe on those who said swearing by the temple was nothing but swearing by the gold in the temple made one a debtor.  Jesus called them blind guides.  The temple was God's house of prayer, but the gold inside the temple the religious leaders had come to view as their own.  Verse seventeen adds, Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?  Jesus continued by calling them fools and blind, asking them which was greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified it.  When we begin to look at a house of worship as being of less value than than the riches inside it, something is wrong.  Verse eighteen continues, And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.  Jesus then made the same statement about the altar versus the gift on the altar.  We should never value the gifts, the material things, brought to the altar of God more than we value the altar as a place to worship God.  Verse nineteen adds, Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?  Jesus then asked which was greater, the gift or the altar that sanctified it.  Whatever we bring to the altar of God should always be of less value to us than God that the altar represents is.  Verse twenty declares, Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.  Jesus said that if we swear by the altar that we also swear by all that is on the altar.  Verse twenty-one adds, And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.  Jesus said that if we swear by the temple that we also swear by God, Who dwells therein.  Verse twenty-two concludes, And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.  Jesus then said that anyone who swore by heaven was swearing by the throne of God and by God Himself Who sits on the throne.  As followers of Christ, we must acknowledge that there is nothing greater than our relationship with Christ, and we can never separate the world into the physical and the spiritual feeling that what we do physically will never be important to our spiritual relationship with God.  Everything that we have should be devoted to God and the advancement of His kingdom.

Matthew 23:1

Matthew 23:1 says, Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,   Verse two adds, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:   Jesus told His disciples and the multitudes that the Pharisees and scribes sat in Moses' seat.  They were supposed to represent the people of Israel before God and God to the people of Israel.  Verse three declares, All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. Jesus told the people to listen to the Pharisees and scribes when they were teaching God's word, but not to follow their example, because they didn't do what the said people should do.  It may be today that there is someone who is proclaiming God's word and not living by God's direction.  If so, we are to still hear the word of God, but we are not to follow such a  person in the way we live our lives.  Verse four adds, For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  Jesus said the Pharisees and scribes put heavy burdens on others, but that they did not put any burden on themselves.  Verse five states, But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,  Jesus said the Pharisees and scribes did things that were supposed to be for worship simply to draw attention to themselves.  There are still people today who claim to be worshipping God but are only doing so to call attention to themselves.  Verse six adds, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,   The Pharisees and scribes wanted the place of honor when they were at any religious gathering.  Verse seven continues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.  Jesus said that when in public places that they wanted to be called Rabbi, or teacher, bringing recognition to themselves and not to God.  As followers of Christ, we must do everything that we do to bring honor and glory to God and not to ourselves.  Verse eight declares, But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.  Jesus warns us against doing things in the name of God when we are only doing them to bring honor to our self. Jesus tells us that there is only One Master, and that is Christ, and the rest of Christians are but brothers and sisters in Christ.  Verse nine adds, And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  Jesus said that we are to call no man father on the earth, and I believe that this means a spiritual father.  As Christians, we have only one spiritual Father, and that is God Himself.  As followers of Christ, we all have equal access to God, and we should never put someone in a position where we have to go through them to reach God.  Verse ten continues, Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.  Jesus tells us that just as we are not to call anyone else master but God Himself, we are not to allow anyone else to call us master.  We as Christians all have the same Master, and that is God.  Verse eleven states, But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.  Jesus said that if we want to be great in God's kingdom, then we will be a servant of Christ.  Verse twelve adds, And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.  Jesus gives us a warning that if we attempt to bring honor to our self instead of to God that we will be abased.  On the other hand, if we humble our self before God and man we will be exalted.  We should never do anything for God to bring glory to our self.

Matthew 22::31

Matthew 22:31says, But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,  Jesus then addressed the resurrection of the dead, which the Sadducees did not believe in, and asked if they had not read the scriptures concerning this.  Verse thirty-two adds, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.  Jesus said that God proclaimed Himself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and since God is not the God of the dead but of the living, then they would have had to be resurrected.  Verse thirty-three states, And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.  Once again, when the multitude heard Jesus, they were astounded at His doctrine.  Verse thirty-four declares, But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.  When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, but not to worship Jesus or even to learn from His teachings.  Verse thirty-five adds, Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,  One of the Pharisees, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question in order to tempt Him.  Verse thirty-six asks, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  The lawyer thought that he could trap Jesus by getting Him to declare one of the commandments to be greater than another.  The lawyer thought that he knew the law of God better than Jesus did.  We should never think that we know the law or anything else better than Jesus does.  Verse thirty-seven declares, Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This basically took care of the commandments concerning God.  Then verse thirty-eight adds, This is the first and great commandment.  Jesus said this is the first and great commandment, and until we accept it, we cannot keep the others.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.   Though not asked, Jesus said the second commandment was like the first, and that is that we love our neighbor as our self.  If we do this, then the rest of the ten commandments will take care of them self. Verse forty continues, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  Jesus tells us that all the other commandments hang on these two, and the second one really isn't a part of the Ten Commandments.  Verse forty-one states, While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,  While the Pharisees were still gathered together, Jesus then asked them a question.  Verse forty-two asks,  Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. Jesus asked the Pharisees who they thought that Christ, the  Messiah, was.  This is the ultimate question that we must all answer.  They said the son of David, which would make Him an earthly ruler and not the Son of God, which would make Him a spiritual ruler.  Verse forty-three then asks, He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,  Verse forty-four adds, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?  Jesus said if Christ was the son of David, then why did David in the Spirit call Him Lord.  David recognized that he was but a servant of God, and his children would be also, at best.  He did not declare himself to be the spiritual savior of Israel.  Verse forty-five continues, If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?  Jesus asked how David could call Christ Lord if He were David's physical son.  Verse forty-six concludes, And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.  No one, even the Pharisee who was a  lawyer could answer the question that Jesus posed, and from that day forward, no one asked Him any more questions.  There comes a time when we must quit questioning Who Jesus is, and either accept Him as the only Savior that there is or reject Him altogether.  The choice is always up to each individual.