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The Unmistakable Coming: Surviving the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:15-28) · Reformed Thinking

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39% That is the number of adults in the United States who you
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know, look around at the world today, watch the news, and
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genuinely believe we are living in the end times.
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Yeah, that is a staggering statistic.
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I mean, it really shows where people's heads are at, right?
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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We take your articles,
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theological frameworks, and historical data, and we extract
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the most vital insights to help you figure out the world.
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So today we're taking a deep dive into a topic that clearly
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carries a massive cultural burden.
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Oh for sure. When nearly 4 out of 10 people
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are walking around with this this undeniable existential
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dread, you start to realize we are dealing with a society that
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feels like it is hurtling toward a breaking point.
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Yeah, and people try to soothe that anxiety, right?
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They use various secular frameworks.
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Exactly. Well, I should say precisely.
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You see a heavy reliance on the idea of human progress, or the
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assumption that like Darwinian evolution translates into social
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evolution. Right, the hope for some kind of
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global utopianism. Yeah, the prevailing narrative
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out there is that humanity is just progressively climbing
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toward this enlightened state of universal peace.
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But then you open the biblical text, specifically, you look at
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the words of Christ, and he delivers this stark declaration
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that just shatters that utopian illusion completely.
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It really does. He states that human history
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will not culminate in a self-made utopia, but rather in
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an unparalleled epic of divine judgement and cosmic
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tribulation. And that is the mission of our
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discussion today. We're going to examine Matthew
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chapter 24, specifically verses 15 through 28.
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The goal is to unpack the theological and historical
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realities of the Great Tribulation and the Abomination
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of Desolation. And we are treating this text
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not as some speculative puzzle to solve on a whiteboard, but as
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severe warning and honestly, an absolute anchor of comfort for
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the believer. Yeah, that dual nature of the
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text is crucial because you listening right now, you might
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feel overwhelmed by the daily barrage of catastrophic news.
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Right. But this ancient text offers a
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really precise sovereign framework for human history.
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It demonstrates that the eschatological timeline is not
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spinning out of control. No, it rests securely in the
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hands of the Triune God. The future is a matter of divine
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decree, not some human accident. So before we look at the
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horrific events of the Tribulation itself, we really
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need to establish the Ground Zero of this prophecy.
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Yeah, we have to understand where and when Jesus actually
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delivered these words and, you know, the historical precursors
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he referenced. Setting the scene really changes
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how we understand the weight of his words.
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The historical context is essential here.
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We are looking at the Tuesday of Passion week, so roughly 8030 or
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33. Just days before the
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crucifixion. Yeah, literally.
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Days Jesus has just delivered a blistering, devastating critique
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of the apostate religious leaders, which you can read in
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Matthew chapter 23. Right, He pronounces all those
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woes upon the scribes and Pharisees.
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Yes, and then he does something highly symbolic.
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He leaves the temple complex and declares their house desolate.
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He actually tells them, see your house is left to you desolate
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and then he physically walks out.
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Which is huge. The departure of Christ from the
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temple is the theological equivalent of the glory of God
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departing from Israel back in the Old Testament.
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Wow. So he is now seated privately
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with his disciples on the Mount of Olives.
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They are looking back across the Kidron Valley at Herod's Temple.
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And this was a magnificent, gleaming architectural marvel.
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It was covered in gold and white marble.
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Right. And looking right at the center
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of their religious and cultural universe, Jesus delivers the
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Olivet discourse. The disciples are marveling at
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the stones, and Jesus tells them that not one stone will be left
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upon another. I mean, that statement alone
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shatters their worldview. Oh, completely.
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And the trigger event for the coming devastation, the actual
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catalyst for the end of the age, is found in verse 15.
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He introduces a really specific, terrifying concept to his
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disciples. Yeah, the phrase that sets
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everything into motion is the abomination of desolation, he
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says. Therefore, when you see the
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abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the
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prophet standing in the holy place, right.
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So what is the actual theological weight of those
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words in the original language? Well, when you look at the Greek
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phrasing there, the term used for abomination is incredibly
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severe. It's Belugma.
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Belugma OK, yeah. And in its Greco Roman usage and
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its appearance in the Septuagint, which is the Greek
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translation of the Old Testament, it refers to
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something really profoundly foul and detestable to the Almighty.
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Like almost exclusively denoting idolatry.
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Yes, almost exclusively. It is not just a moral failing,
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It is a literal stench in the nostrils of God.
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It is the ultimate violation of His Holiness.
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And then the word for desolation.
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That points to the absolute barren devastation that this
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specific idolatry produces. Idolatry in the Holy place
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strips the life and presence of God from the area, leaving it a
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total wasteland. So it is a specific localized
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act of anti worship that brings complete ruin to the Jewish
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disciples sitting on that mountain.
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That phrase would have triggered a massive historical memory.
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Which brings up a dynamic I was thinking about regarding how
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biblical prophecy actually functions.
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Oh yeah, like looking at a mountain range.
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Yes, looking at these prophetic texts is a lot like standing
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miles away from a massive mountain range.
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When you look at the peaks from a distance, they look like they
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are pressed flat against the sky, sitting right next to each
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other. Right.
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But what the viewer cannot see from that vantage point is the
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massive, sprawling valley of time and distance between those
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peaks. Yeah, that analogy perfectly
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describes the concept of prophetic telescoping.
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The biblical prophets and Jesus himself here utilizing the book
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of Daniel, point to historical shadows that act as precursors,
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but they are looking past those shadows to a distant final peak.
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Right. For instance, the first
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historical peak or shadow that the disciples would immediately
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think of is the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes.
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Yeah, back in 167 DC, Antiochus brutally desecrated the Jewish
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Temple. He sacrificed a pig on the
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sacred altar and erected a statue of Zeus.
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Which is a literal historical abomination causing desolation.
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The original Jewish audience would have shuttered just
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remembering the stories of that event.
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Antiochus is the historical prototype, but Jesus is pointing
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past him, stating that the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy
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is still in the future. Now another peek in that
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prophetic mountain range is the Roman destruction of the Temple
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in 8070 under the general Titus. The Roman legions besieged
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Jerusalem, slaughtered its inhabitants and burned the
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Temple to the ground. They completely dismantled the
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sacrificial system. Right.
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And here. Here is where the theological
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rubber meets the road. There is a viewpoint out there
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known as preterism. OK, let's unpack that.
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Preterism argues that these prophecies in Matthew 24 were
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exhaustively and entirely fulfilled in that 8070
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destruction by the Romans. But looking through a strict
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dispensational framework, 8070 is just another shadow.
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It was another peak in the foreground, not the final
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destination. Yeah.
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The reason a robust dispensational theology rejects
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preterism is that the cosmic magnitude of the events
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described later in this discourse simply did not occur
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in 8070. Because Jesus speaks of an
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unparalleled global tribulation. Astronomical signs and his own
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physical return, flashing like lightning across the sky.
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Right. Titus destroying the Temple was
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horrific, but it did not culminate in the physical return
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of the conquering Christ. So the framework we are
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examining insists on a strict distinction between God's
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dealing with national Israel and his dealing with the Church.
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Yes, this perspective places these specific terrifying events
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in the future, in a period known as the 70th week of Daniel, or,
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you know, the time of Jacob's trouble.
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And this period of wrath is directed specifically at ethnic
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Israel and the unbelieving world.
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Correct. Prior to this, according to the
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pre tribulational view we're looking at, the church will have
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been raptured. The Church is not the target of
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this specific outpouring of divine wrath.
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That redemptive historical distinction elevates the
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sovereign orchestration of history.
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God is not reacting on the fly. He deals with Israel according
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to his specific covenantal promises, and he deals with the
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Church according to his specific covenantal promises.
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Now, since the trigger event, this future abomination of
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desolation is a recognizable, objective desecration of a
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rebuilt temple. The immediate consequence for
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those who witness it is going to be absolute frantic panic.
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The sign is clear, so the response has to be immediate.
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Let's look at the specific instructions Christ gives for
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the moment that idol is erected. The language Jesus utilizes in
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verses 16 through 20 is really a grammatical barrage of panic.
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A barrage of panic. I like that phrasing.
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Yeah, he employs a series of rapid fire third person
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imperatives in the Greek. The verbs in the original text
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are just abrupt and forceful. They do not suggest a casual
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departure or some sort of strategic retreat.
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So it's not a situation where you call a moving company and
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pack your boxes. Not at all.
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These verbs demand a desperate, continuous, immediate escape.
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Jesus maps out the geographical and situational specifics with
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intense precision. He states that those in Judea
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must flee to the mountains immediately.
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Right. And he gets incredibly specific
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about everyday life in the 1st century.
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He says the man on the housetop should not go down into his
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house to grab his belongings. The worker out in the field
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should not turn back to grab his cloak.
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Now I want to push back on this a little bit, or at least look
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at the underlying psychology here.
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Why the intense focus on minor material goods like a winter
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coat? If you are facing the threat of
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a global Antichrist and an unprecedented desecration, isn't
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that bigger than someone's wardrobe?
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Why mention the cloak? That detail exposes the human
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condition perfectly. The exegetical reality is that
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the material goods themselves are not the primary issue.
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The issue is that in this specific moment on the divine
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timeline, any delay becomes an act of disobedience and a fatal
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error. Oh wow.
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Yeah, the possessions represent familiar earthly attachments.
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In a moment of sudden crisis, human beings default to normalcy
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bias. They want to gather their things
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to feel secure. That makes total sense.
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Jesus is saying the danger is so sudden and catastrophic that
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going back for a coat demonstrates A fatal failure to
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understand the urgency of the hour.
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That attachment will result in literal death.
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It forces the individual to recognize the absolute
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worthlessness of earthly wealth when judgment falls.
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Your bank account, your possessions, your extra coat,
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they cannot shield you from what is coming.
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No, they can't. But amid all this terrifying,
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breathless urgency, there's a striking moment of compassion
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from Christ. He pronounces A lament for
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pregnant women and nursing mothers.
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Yeah, he is fully aware of the physical toll and the sheer
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agony this frantic flight will demand of the vulnerable.
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He knows the physical limitations of humanity.
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He understands the burden of carrying a child while fleeing
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into the mountains. And he follows that deep
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compassion with a command to pray.
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He instructs them to pray that their flight does not happen in
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winter, when the freezing weather would make survival
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nearly impossible. We're on a Sabbath when strict
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travel restrictions and closed gates would hinder their escape.
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That introduces A fascinating theological paradox that we need
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to unpack. God completely ordains the
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future. The events of the end times are
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fixed by divine decree. Yet Christ commands His people
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to pray about the circumstances of those events, praying that it
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does not happen in winter. How does prayer function in a
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universe where the future is already written?
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This touches the very core of Reformed systematic theology.
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Providence does not cancel human action or prayer.
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It establishes them. Exactly.
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God sovereignly ordains the ends, the final outcomes, but he
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also ordains the means by which those outcomes are achieved.
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Ah, he decrees that his people will be preserved, and part of
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the ordained mechanism for their preservation is their obedient
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prayer. So prayer is not an attempt to
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change God's mind. No, it is the appointed means of
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grace by which God accomplishes His sovereign will on earth.
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So the necessity of abandoning everything, running to the
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mountains without a single moment's hesitation, forces a
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very heavy question. Which is.
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Just how bad is this coming distress?
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Why is the panic so absolute that you cannot even grab a
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coat? This leads directly into the
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theological epicenter of the entire Olivet Discourse.
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Verse 21 provides the sobering answer.
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Jesus states. For then there will be a great
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tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of
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the world until now, nor ever will.
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He is establishing the definitive metric of human
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agony. He really is, he says.
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It is entirely unequaled. When you think about the horrors
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of human history, the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia,
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the bubonic plague, the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ
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is stating that this future period will eclipse all of them
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combined. It is a sweeping declaration of
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unmitigated suffering. He is drawing a boundary around
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the horror. It is the absolute, undisputed
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peak of historical distress. But right when the text reaches
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its darkest, most terrifying point, we encounter what can
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only be described as the bedrock of Reformed theology regarding
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the sovereignty of God and salvation.
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Yeah, verse 22 is the critical pivot of the passage.
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Christ says unless those days have been cut short, no life
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would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect,
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those days will be cut short. That verse is a direct
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reflection of the theology found in the Westminster Confession of
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Faith. Specifically, chapter 3.
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Right, which declares that God from all eternity did by the
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most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and
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unchangeably ordained whatsoever whoever comes to pass.
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This text in Matthew proves that God's eternal decree dictates
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the actual literal calendar of suffering.
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The implication is terrifying. If the days were not forcefully
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amputated by divine decree, the Antichrist and the outpouring of
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wrath would literally annihilate all flesh on the planet.
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Human survival is entirely dependent on God stepping in,
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and the text explicitly uses this reality to dismantle
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theological frameworks that elevate human ability, like
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Arminianism. Yeah, let's talk about that
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Armenian theology. She generally tends to elevate
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human autonomy and free will over divine sovereignty.
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It leans heavily on the idea that human choice is the
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deciding factor in salvation and perseverance, but the
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preservation of the Saints in this passage rests entirely upon
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God acting unilaterally. The text says it happens for the
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sake of the elect. Right.
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The Elect are those chosen by God before the foundation of the
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world. Their survival in the
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Tribulation does not depend on their own cleverness or their
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survival skills, or their free will to endure.
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It depends entirely on God shortening the days.
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I was trying to visualize this concept of horrific suffering
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being bounded by a sovereign decree.
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It is like a parent who allows a necessary life saving medical
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procedure for a child. Oh, that's a good way to look at
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it. The parent knows the surgery
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will cause immense pain and the child will suffer terribly
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during the recovery process, but the parent strictly dictates to
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the surgeon exactly when to stop setting the absolute boundaries
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of the procedure so that the child survives and heals the
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suffering. The child experience is very
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real and it is agonizing, but the suffering is never
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sovereign. Only the parent overseeing the
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procedure is sovereign over the outcome, right?
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That analogy captures the dynamic perfectly.
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The Tribulation is severe, beyond comprehension, but it is
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never autonomous. The Antichrist is not sovereign.
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The distress is not sovereign. Only God is sovereign.
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He measures the precise duration.
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Yeah, he measures the precise duration of the wrath
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specifically to ensure that his chosen people are not consumed
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by it. He holds the stopwatch.
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Extreme physical suffering almost always breeds desperate
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spiritual vulnerability. When people are starving, when
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they are terrified, when society is collapsing around them, they
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look for saviors. They want a way out.
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And that psychological reality sets the stage for the next
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massive peril in the text, which is spiritual deception.
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In verses 23 through 26, Jesus shifts the focus from physical
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flight to spiritual discernment. The nature of the commands
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changes entirely. Earlier the command was to flee
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to the mountains. Now the commands become
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prohibitive warnings. Do not believe it.
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He warns that false Christs and false prophets will arrive on
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the scene and they are not just going to have persuasive
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arguments or charismatic personalities.
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No, he says. They're going to perform great
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signs and wonders. They're bringing supernatural
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spectacles to back up their claims.
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This is a critical juncture in the theological analysis.
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The framework we are examining takes a firm cessationist
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stance. Right.
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Cessationism being the theological view that the
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miraculous gifts of the Apostolic era, things like
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speaking in tongues, predictive prophecy, and Apostolic physical
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healings, ceased with the death of the original apostles and the
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closing of the biblical Canon. So if we operate from that
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cessationist framework, meaning God is no longer dispensing the
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gist of miracles to individuals, what are these great signs and
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wonders that are happening during the Tribulation?
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How are they performing them? Well, according to this
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perspective, these signs are explicitly demonic counterfeits.
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They are supernatural in nature, but their origin is satanic.
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They are designed specifically by the enemy to deceive.
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They imitate messianic hope, they mimic biblical miracles,
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and they exploit the sheer terror of the population to draw
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people away from the truth. And looking at this through our
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theological lens, this provides a very strict critique of modern
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charismatic and continuationist movements, as well as seeker
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sensitive pragmatism and the prosperity gospel.
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Right now, just to be clear to you, the listener, we are just
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imparting what the source material argues here.
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We aren't picking political or denominational sides, but the
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argument presented is that these modern movements dangerously
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condition the church. Yeah, they condition people to
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accept subjective emotional experiences and pragmatic
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spectacle over the objective truth of the written word.
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The danger is one of conditioning.
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Exactly. If a church trains its people to
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chase after signs, wonders, emotional highs and physical
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healings today, relying on personal experience rather than
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the closed Canon of Scripture, they are priming the pump for
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ultimate deception. The demand for visible signs in
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the modern era is seen as a dangerous precursor to accepting
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the demonic deception of the Antichrist.
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If your faith requires a miracle to sustain it, you will
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eventually follow whoever performs the biggest miracle.
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I have to ask about the mechanics of this deception,
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though. Jesus says the deception will be
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so good, so convincing, with these massive supernatural
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signs, that it could trick the elect.
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If that were possible, how is anyone supposed to resist it?
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If you are starving in the wilderness and a man calls fire
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down from the sky and offered you bread, how do you fight
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something that looks identically like a genuine miracle?
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Jesus provides the defense mechanism right in the text, He
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says in verse 25, Behold, I have told you in advance.
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I have told you in advance. Yes.
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The defense against future deception is prior objective
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revelation. The written word of Christ must
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judge the visual sign. The visual sign must never be
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allowed to judge the written word.
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That is a crucial distinction for the believer.
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The miracle does not validate the message.
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The written word validates the source of the miracle.
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Exactly. If a prophet calls fire from the
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sky, heals the sick or stops a war, but contradicts the
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previously revealed scripture, he is a false prophet.
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The elect are protected not because they possess a higher IQ
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or better natural intuition than the rest of the world.
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They are protected because Christ has anchored them in His
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prior warning. His word holds them fast when
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their eyes tell them a lie. By warning the elect about these
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secret hidden messiahs, people whispering he is in the
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wilderness or he is in the inner rooms, Jesus creates a natural
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striking contrast right If the false Christ's operate in secret
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utilizing localized spectacles and cult like isolation.
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How will we recognize the true king when he actually returns?
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Well, we move to verse 27, which provides the dazzling certainty
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of the true Christ. Jesus describes the Perugia, His
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physical coming. He compares his return to
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lightning coming from the east and flashing all the way to the
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West. That vivid imagery absolutely
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demolishes any concept of a secret second coming.
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It leaves no room for ambiguity at all.
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This text directly refutes the teachings of groups like the
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Jehovah's Witnesses, who claim that Christ returned invisibly
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or spiritually in 1914. Right.
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Lightning is sudden, it is universally visible, and it is
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entirely undeniable. You do not need an insider to
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tell you that lightning just flashed across the sky.
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You experience it. The true return of Christ will
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not require coded announcements on the Internet, secret
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gatherings in the desert, or hidden chambers.
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Every eye will see Him. And then we hit verse 28, which
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contains a stark, almost jarring final metaphor.
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Jesus says wherever the corpse is there, the vultures will
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gather. That is an incredibly grim way
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for Jesus to describe his own victorious return.
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Why use scavenger birds? It feels almost morbid when
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discussing the King of Kings. It is a shocking image to
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Western ears, but we have to unpack the underlying meaning.
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The Greek word used for corpse, tuma, indicates a fallen,
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rotting body. OK, this phrasing indicates that
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the true Christ does not return merely, I should say, just to
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execute a rescue mission for the Saints.
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He returns to enact a judicial execution upon the wicked.
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Yes, a judicial execution. He is coming to wage war.
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A morally putrid, apostate world inevitably attracts the swift
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scavenging birds of divine. Judgment is a majestic yet
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utterly terrifying display of Christ as the conquering King.
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He is not returning as the suffering servant.
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He is returning as the righteous judge.
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This imagery aligns perfectly with Daniel Chapter 7 in
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Revelation 19. He is coming to violently
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eradicate rebellion from the Earth.
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Where spiritual corruption ripens and rots, divine judgment
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surely comes to clean it up. The appearing of Christ exposes
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death and condemns apostasy. It is the ultimate vindication
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of His Holiness. The gathering of the Vulture
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signifies that the judgement will be swift, thorough, and
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inescapable for those who have aligned themselves with the
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Antichrist system. Exactly.
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So we have traversed a massive, terrifying prophetic landscape
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today. Let's shift the focus to you,
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the listener. Right, the application if.
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We hold to the pre tribulation of you presented in this
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framework. The true Church will not be
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present on earth to endure this specific future tribulation.
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They will have been raptured prior to the Antichrist's reign.
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Yes. So how does an ancient
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terrifying prophecy about a time you will not even be here for
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dictate the way you live your life this coming week?
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What is the practical daily application of knowing this?
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The application is actually quite direct.
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The first major take away is the necessity of radical discernment
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and separation. Because if you know that human
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history is culminating in divine judgement rather than human
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perfection, most reject secular ideologies that promise to fix
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the world through human effort. Right.
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Looking at modern cultural issues through this theological
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lens provides a very specific grid.
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And again, impartially reporting the source material here.
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But from this perspective, movements like critical race
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theory, pluralism, and various secular social justice
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initiatives are viewed as attempts to build an earthly
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utopia without the returning king.
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They are inherently human centered solutions.
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They operate on the assumption that if we just educate people
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enough, or redistribute resources perfectly or pare down
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the right structures, we can achieve peace and equity.
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But the Olivet Discourse argues that these ideologies offer
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false humanistic utopias that directly contradict Christ's
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guarantee. The world is heading toward a
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climax of divine judgement, not social perfection achieved by
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political activism. This lens also applies that same
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strict discernment to religious unity.
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It highlights the necessity of rejecting ecumenical unity with
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systems that deviate from the biblical gospel.
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From a Reformed perspective, attempting to build spiritual
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alliances with Roman Catholicism or Mormonism for the sake of
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cultural influence is dangerous. Because it compromises the
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exclusive truth of justification by faith alone.
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The theological principle established here is that
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fidelity to the Word of God requires firm boundaries.
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If the world system is headed for ultimate judgement, the
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church must separate from any system, whether it is a
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political ideology or a religious institution, that
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offers a counterfeit hope or a counterfeit gospel.
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Which brings in a very helpful concept from Reformed theology,
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the third use of the law. Oh yeah, this is the idea that
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the commands of God guide believers in grateful obedience,
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showing us how to live in a way that pleases Him.
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If you look at the lifestyle implications of the commands
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Jesus gave, fleeing without grabbing a coat, abandoning the
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field without looking back, there is a massive application
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for how we view our possessions today.
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The theologian Ji Packer wrote extensively about this.
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He noted that believers must live with the mindset of
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pilgrims. We are passing through.
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That is the core of it. If those fleeing the Antichrist
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cannot stop for a split second to grab a winter coat, building
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a modern life around the endless accumulation of wealth, status
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and earthly comfort is sheer folly.
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It is a terrifying reality check on Western materialism.
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You have to ask yourself honestly, what earthly
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possession, what career goal, what financial safety net would
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slow down your obedience to Christ today?
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It exposes the hidden idols of the heart.
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We tend to build our castles in a world that is scheduled for
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demolition, right? But alongside that severe
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warning against materialism, the text offers immense theological
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comfort. Your salvation, your
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preservation through the trials of this life does not depend on
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your fragile, inconsistent grip on God.
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It depends entirely on God's omnipotent grip on you.
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That is the doctrine of election applied to your everyday
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Tuesday. If God sovereignly bounds the
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greatest tribulation in human history, literally altering the
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calendar of the Apocalypse just to preserve His elect, He is
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more than capable of holding on to you through whatever personal
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crisis you are facing right now. It obliterates anxiety regarding
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the future. The future is not a chaotic void
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governed by chance or political machinations.
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It is a measured, scheduled reality governed by a sovereign
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king who knows his people by name.
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Absolutely. Synthesizing everything we have
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unpacked today, this text in Matthew 24 destroys the
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persistent illusion of human progress.
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It exposes the deadly, fatal nature of earthly attachments
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and spiritual deception. But above all, it proves that
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history is hurtling toward a climax managed entirely by the
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decree of the Triune God. The King is coming, and his word
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is the only safe refuge. Which leaves us with a final
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concept to Mull over as you go about your week.
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Yeah, think about this. If the most terrifying,
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unprecedented days of global tribulation are already
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measured, scheduled, and bounded by God's sovereign mercy for His
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people, how does that reality reframe the minor, everyday
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anxieties that consume your current thoughts?
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Thank you for listening to Reform Thinking.