Scripture, Matt. 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Mat 24:4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
Mat 24:21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again.
Mat 24:22 "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
Mat 24:23 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.
Mat 24:24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Mat 24:25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
Mat 24:26 "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the wilderness,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
Mat 24:27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Mat 24:28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Why study this Parable? The final discourse in Matthew 24 is a part of the Olivet Discourse because it was given on the Mount of Olives, and is also referred to as the Discourse on the End Times. The discourse corresponds to Mark 13, Luke 21, and Matthew 24.We should all be aware of what Jesus says about the end times and this parable is a simple explanation of how to recognize some of the signs.
"Meditation: Jesus quoted a familiar proverb to his audience: Where the body is, there the eagles (or vultures) will be gathered together. Eagles, like vultures, are attracted to carrion. The Book of Job describes the eagle spying out its prey from afar (Job 39:29). here the Roman armies are intended, whose ensigns were eagles; and the eagle still is, to this day, the ensign of the Roman empire: formerly other creatures, with the eagle, were used for ensigns; but C. Marius, in his second consulship, banished them, and appropriated the eagle only to the legions: nor was it a single eagle that was carried before the army, but every legion had an eagle went before it, made of gold or silver, and carried upon the top of a spear (z): and the sense of this passage is this, that wherever the Jews were, whether at Jerusalem, where the body and carcass of them was, in a most forlorn and desperate condition; or in any other parts of the country, the Roman eagles, or legions, would find them out, and make an utter destruction of them. What's the point of this analogy? It's inevitable that a thing will happen when the necessary conditions are fulfilled. The return of the Lord is certain, but the time is unknown. The Lord's judgment comes swiftly and often unexpectedly. Just as a lightening strike illuminates the whole sky so swiftly will, it be.
Jesus warns his listeners not to be caught off guard when that day arrives (see Luke 17:26-37) It will surely come in God's good time! Luke 21:20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Luke 21:21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those In the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. Those whose hope is firmly anchored in Heaven will not be disappointed when God's judgment comes. They rejoice even now that they will see the Lord in his glory As he is - Pure, holy, blameless, and loving; so are we in this world; being saved from our sins, and made like to himself in righteousness and true holiness. No man can contemplate the Day of Judgment with any comfort or satisfaction but on this ground, that the blood of Christ has cleansed him from all sin, and that he is kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation. This will give him boldness in the Day of Judgment.
Wherever wicked people are, there will be assembled the instruments of their chastisement. The providence of God will direct them there, as the vultures are directed to a dead carcass.
2Th 2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
2Th 2:2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us--whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter--asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
2Th 2:3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
Verse by Verse Study
Mat 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
1. There are three questions this study will answer, what are they?__________________________
2. Have we heard of end times predictions? _____________________________________________ 3. What do we know about the end times?______________________________________________
Mat 24:4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
by pretending to come from God with a new revelation, setting himself up as the Messiah, after his departure; suggesting himself to be the person designed by God to be the deliverer of Israel,
1. Have we seen such as that in our world today?________________________________________
2. From whom? And what happened?________________________________________________
3. What is the Christians view of this? _________________________________________________
Mat 24:27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The coming of the Lord will be a plain, unmistakable fact, like the lightning which lightens both ends of the heaven at once, and is seen of all. It will not be connected with some particular place, but will manifest itself and be recognized the world over.
Mat 24:31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Rev 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
1. What do these verses imply?_______________________________________________________
2. Have you ever seen lightening in the night sky? ______________________________________
3. Is there any doubt about his coming?_______________________________________________
Mat 24:28 And he replied “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather”
The words in this verse are proverbial. Vultures and eagles easily ascertain where dead bodies are, and hasten to devour them. So with the Roman army. Jerusalem is like a dead and putrid corpse. Its life is gone, and it is ready to be devoured. The Roman armies will find it out, as the vultures do a dead carcass, and will come around it to devour it. This proverb also teaches a universal truth. Wherever wicked people are, there will be assembled the instruments of their chastisement. The providence of God will direct them there, as the vultures are directed to a dead carcass.
The words are an answer to a question, where such persons would be, who would be taken and destroyed, when others would be left, or preserved; and manifestly refer to the body, or carcass of the Jewish people at Jerusalem, and other fortified places; where they should think themselves safe. The verse in Matthew is clearly about the time of the 2nd Coming. The original language indicates birds of prey here. Some other Bible versions translate this as "vultures." The gathering birds of carnage come after Christ strikes the nations at His return, as shown below
Revelation 19:15,17-18 - Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.... Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.
1. When a people, by their sin, make themselves as loathsome carcasses, nothing can be expected but that God should send enemies to destroy them. What do the eagles and vultures in this parable represent?________________________________________________________________________
2. First they are told no one knows the day or the hour, but they will know when certain things begin to happen. What does this mean to us today?_______________________________________________
Mat 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
3.What do these two verses from Matthew represent?_______________________________________
Questions.
1. Do we need to be cautious about who we are letting influence us?
2. How do we develop a method or litmus test for that?
3. What is the single deciding result in a litmus test? A change
4. What is the single deciding result in a Christian.? A change
Closing Prayer
"Lord Jesus Christ , you are our hope and because of your life death and resurrection you have made us worthy to stand before God on That Great Day Of Judgment .You and only you are our salvation. Not our works lest we boast but by the sacrifice of your Son Jesus, we are saved. Help us to never lose sight of the goal of heaven and give us fresh joy and zeal to live each day for your kingdom." AMEN
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