A Warning of Peril

(Part 2)

Matthew 24:15-28

March 6, 2005

 

In the fall of 1974, a taped message by a preacher, whose name I cannot recall, made the rounds on my college campus. In the message, this preacher sorted through a wave of Old Testament texts along with some in the New Testament, comparing dates and calendars of Jewish holy days with various fulfillments in the New Testament, and then came up with a calculation. If his calculations were correct, he stated, then Christ would return in October 1974. He had even given the precise day in October. He made a very convincing argument that included enough figures and calculations to make an actuary envious! October 1974 passed without secret rapture of the church or a public return of Christ. A similar calculation, this time from an engineer, made the rounds 15 years or so ago. Again, the predicted date passed with no cosmic activity, only a bunch of book sales!

 

It's really strange, is it not, that there is such fascination with figuring a date for Christ's return? You almost get the idea that people want to work Christ's return into their schedule! But the emphasis made by our Lord was not upon predicting particular timeframes but upon preparation of heart and life. We are to live each day as though we may stand before Christ. We are to keep our focus as Christians, regardless of the intensity of worldly opposition. We must live with a Christ-centered view to the end. But that calls for vigilance on our part in the face of trials and difficulties. How are we to live with a view to the end?

 

[Refer to Part 1, February 27, 2005

I. An Impending Peril

      1. Jerusalem and the temple desecrated (v. 15)

      2. Urgent warning to flee (vv. 16-18)

      3. The Son of God expresses horror (v. 19)

      4. Merciful instruction (v. 20)

      5. Christ's observations (vv. 21-22)]

 

II. A view to the end (vv. 23-28)

 

I believe that we see a shift in Christ's answer to the disciples' question taking place in verse 23. He answered their first question concerning the destruction of Jerusalem in verses 15-22. Now He engages them in response to the second question concerning the time of His coming and the end of the age.

 

1. Prevalence of impostors (vv. 23-26)

 

The shift in explanation is noted by the word "then." "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him." Matthew uses this same word about 90 times in his Gospel [according to BAG, 831]. At points it has a reference to time, at others to events, and still other uses, it expresses sequence. In this case, "then" does not have the necessary idea of sequential time, according to the 4th century Greek preacher John Chrysostom [Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 606n. 37]. It simply conveys what follows without any tightly fixed timeframe. "Then if anyone says to you," i.e., after the period of the great tribulation described in verses 15-22, the time when Jerusalem was destroyed. The atmosphere would have been ripe for talk of a Messiah, so Christ warns of impostors who will claim to know where Christ was and others who by devilish power would do signs and wonders to draw people away from the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in the gospel. Some will claim special revelations or visions or mystical knowledge (all we have to do is turn on TBN to see this!). Christ warned of the prevalence of impostors who will deceitfully cloak their language, spicing it with enough Scripture to appear genuine. Beware, Christ has warned us!

 

By the second generation of Christians, heresies began to proliferate. Harold O.J. Brown observes, "In a sense, the first heretics were the more sophisticated and more intellectual Christians" [Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church, 27]. Many of the doctrines that we hold dearly were gradually being worked out. But some attempted to brush past the theological moorings set by the apostles to develop and espouse their own ideas of Christ. Brown wisely explains, "To the extent that doctrine is disdained and theological inquiry regarded as superfluous, even in our own day, old heresies reappear and new ones are created, even among those who think of themselves as orthodox and believe that they are firmly attached to the faith once delivered" [28]. So how do we recognize impostors?

 

(1) They look for Christ outside the gospel

 

Here we find those claiming belief in Christ yet who must color their teaching of Him by either twisting the natural meaning of Scripture, or by looking outside the Scripture altogether. After two thousands years of church history, theological novelty ought to arouse our suspicion.

 

With the common neglect of Scripture, even in Christian churches, is it really difficult to deceive people as long as one sounds convincing? Dan Brown, a novelist, has given his own version of Jesus Christ in The Da Vinci Code. Since most people do not understand the Bible, much less hold to a biblical worldview, "They conform their theology to Dan Brown," as Union University English professor Gene Fant Jr. points out. He adds, "Rather than holding up Brown's story for scrutiny against the clear teachings of Scripture," they have accepted "repackaged old heresies and conspiracy theories." Dr. Fant is right, "Our culture craves truth, even as it fails to recognize it" ["First Person: How to Read 'The Da Vinci Code,' http://www.bpnews.net/printcolumn.asp?ID=1688].

 

(2) They de-emphasize the gospel of Christ

 

Impostors have a way of de-emphasizing the gospel of Christ while appearing to be quite knowledgeable, deeply sincere, and winsomely convincing. "Here is the Christ," just look at our teaching! For instance, in recent days there's been a new push by the Mormon Church to be considered as part of mainstream Christianity. This has not been helped by Richard Mouw's comments. Mouw, president of my alma mater, Fuller Theological Seminary, apologized to a gathering of Mormons in November (2004) for the way that evangelicals had sinned against them by speaking of Mormon beliefs. He said that evangelicals had done this "without making a sincere effort first of all to ask you [Mormons] what you [Mormons] believe" ["We Have Sinned Against You," Richard Mouw, http://www.beliefnet.com/story/156/story_15656_1.html]. Let me be the first to acknowledge that the Mormons that I know are nice people, well educated, and regular contributors to the community. But the Jesus that they claim to believe is not the Christ of Holy Scripture. Mormonism denies the doctrine of the Trinity, teaches that Jesus is pre-existent spirit and is physically the offspring of procreation between the Father-God and the Virgin Mary. While acknowledging penal effects in Christ's death, Mormonism teaches that His death consequently puts men in a position to merit salvation through their meritorious works [cf. John Gerstner, The Theology of the Major Cults, 135-136]. However you may choose to parse it, that is not the teaching of scripture nor is it the gospel. Yet many, among even evangelical ranks, gloss over this blatant denial of both the Person of Christ and the absolute sufficiency and necessity of His redemptive work. Regardless of how nice one may be or how many great biblical terms one may use, if the gospel of grace in Christ is not affirmed then it is false teaching pointing to a false Christ!

 

(3) They rely upon signs, wonders, and the miraculous

 

Instead of relying upon the object truth of Scripture that leads to Christ, Jesus warns of those that will use signs, wonders, and the miraculous to lead away from Christ. "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect." While Jesus utilized attesting miracles to affirm the advent of His kingdom and the undeniable reality of the Incarnation, deceivers cleverly use "signs and wonders" to mislead people. Even with the miraculous works of Christ, they stood alongside the revelatory truth that He spoke. He declared His power to forgive sins as he forgave the paralyzed man and then raised him up. He fed the multitudes and declared to them later, "I am the Bread of Life!" As one older writer explained, "Even real miracles are not sufficient of themselves to prove the truth of any doctrine, but only one part of a complex demonstration, at once sensible, rational, and spiritual" [John Broadus quoting Alexander, Selected Works of John Broadus, vol. 3, 488-489]. Yet our day has witnessed a surge in the miraculous so that crowds follow after men, opening their bank accounts and blindly trusting them without hearing the errors that they teach. Servants of Satan, who himself appears as an angle of light, will deceive many by their craft and shrewdness (2 Cor. 11:12-15).

 

2. The call for perseverance (vv. 23-26)

 

Keep in mind that perseverance, continuing on in the faith, is the main watchword of our Lord's discourse on end times. He explains this by showing both the foundation and the practice in perseverance.

 

(1) The foundation for perseverance (v. 24)

      Note the little phrase, "so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect" (italics added). That poses a question: can the elect be misled so that they quit following Christ and completely turn from Him? The way Christ puts this is to frame the idea of intense deception by false Christs and false prophets that will be so severe, that if possible, even God's chosen would fall for it. But the phrase "if possible" or "if able," sets us upon the foundation for perseverance. Though facing tests severe beyond description, God's elect may falter and even fall, but because of electing grace, His own do not fall finally! He that began a good work in you will continue it to the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:34-39).

 

There is a tension in perseverance that we see throughout Scripture. We are told to endure, persevere, and be steadfast. We are given warnings concerning temptation, deceit, and the devil's assaults. We are called to constant vigilance and alert action. Even the dominant theme running through Hebrews and the Revelation is perseverance. Yet at the same time, we are assured of the divine hand that holds us securely whatever may come. That's why Christ warns of the ferocious intensity of false Christs and false prophets displaying signs and wonders, "so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect." The aim of the false Christs and false prophets is certain: to mislead, to cause you to go astray, to cause you to fall away from Christ. And it will happen but for one certainty: you have been chosen by God, who has accomplished by grace all that is necessary to keep you for eternity. "These whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified" (Rom. 8:30). That's why Christ turns our attention to the mysterious doctrine of election. Even if we do not fully grasp this wonderful doctrine-and who but God can see it inside and out-we are to rest in the certainty of God's power to ultimately glorify those whom He elected out of His kindness before the foundation of the world.

 

The believer's confidence in the face of deceivers is not to be upon his own mental powers or even the powers of personal discipline. He must humbly recognize that he "will be safe under the defence [sic] and protection of God against all the snares of Satan," as John Calvin expressed it. He added, "And thus, however frail and slippery the condition of the godly may be, yet here is a firm footing on which they may stand; for it is not possible for them to fall away from salvation, to whom the Son of God is a faithful guardian" [Calvin's Commentaries, XVII, 141].

 

This means that the ground of my assurance, that I cannot fall away, does not rest on my choice of Christ as Savior and Lord, though I did indeed choose to follow Him, but rather upon God's prior choice of me as His own. In the weakness of my flesh I can struggle and falter when wondering how strong and reliable my faith remains. But our assurance never points to reliance upon what we've done but to our Lord, both in the sufficiency of His redeeming work and His electing grace that precedes His call through the gospel.

 

(2) The responsibility in perseverance (vv. 25, 26)

 

Perseverance has two realities happening simultaneously. God is preserving us by His grace while we, as believers, are pressing on in the flesh. In this case, our Lord tells us very simply, that in light of the claims of false messiahs and false prophets, in spite of even their miraculous actions or claims of revelation, "do not believe them... Behold I have told you in advance." Those claims will happen but Christ has warned us ahead of time. We are not to be mesmerized or hoodwinked by spectacular claims or achievements. Anyone or anything that would move us away from a total reliance upon Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the gospel, "do not believe them."

 

The Christian faith bears no witness to passivity toward obedience and faithfulness. Christ called to those we read of in the Gospels, "Follow Me!" The continuance of following Him gives evidence of genuine love for Christ and relationship to Him.

 

I was talking with someone this week, who has agonized over her relative's resistance to any Christian witness. The relative, who is in her 80s, made a profession of faith as a child and was baptized, but since she was a teenager she has not darkened the door of a church except for a wedding or a funeral. She acts repulsed and exasperated if anyone suggests that there is a connection between being a Christian and being part of Christ's church, as well as giving evidence of loving God's Word and delight in worshiping Christ. So, for nearly 70 years, she has remained on her church's "inactive members roll," and used her childhood profession as the rationale for refusing anyone who attempts to speak the gospel to her.

 

Such apathy toward Christ, the gospel, and discipleship doesn't resemble biblical Christianity. Jesus did not hesitate to call for His followers to persevere as Christians even in the midst of tribulation. Let me put this as clearly as I can. If you are not persevering or continuing on as a follower of Jesus Christ, then you have no reason to think of yourself as a Christian. I realize that some may grow cold and even backslide temporarily, but the weakening of assurance, in such cases, ought to be a natural part of this rather than the presumption practiced by so many. Perseverance is not a meritorious work that saves us. Instead, it is the evidence that we are being preserved by the grace of God as one of His elect children. The strength to persevere comes from the grace given to us in Christ. What Christ commands of us He enables by His grace.

 

3. Certainties surrounding Christ's return (vv. 23-28)

 

What does Jesus Christ tell us of His return?

 

(1) An atmosphere of impostors and deceivers (vv. 23-26)

 

Such an atmosphere of impostors and deceivers as Christ describes surrounds the era of His return. So we are not to be duped by their looks or words or claims. Even with those claiming special revelations or miraculous power, we are not to be swayed. There is certainly a sense that deceivers and impostors have been with us since the first century. Yet, there appears to be times when such deceivers and the deceived increase. That happened in the 4th century with Pelagius' false teaching concerning the nature and will of man, and with Arius' denial of the deity of Christ. It happened in the midst of Middle Ages' Romanism, when the church followed ritual and idolatrous ceremonies to the denial of the gospel of grace. We see it as well in our own day as every imaginable substitute for the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in the gospel flirts with the affections of men's hearts. If anyone or anything directs you away from the absolute sufficiency of Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection, then mark it down as false Christianity. It would not be deceit if it failed to cloak itself in the wrappings of the Christian religion. Christ has told us in advance. So let us stick with Him and His gospel and the authority of His Word.

 

(2) Visible and unmistakable return (v. 27)

 

Christ's return will be visible and unmistakable. "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be." When a big bolt of lightning starts across the sky, it lights up the heavens in an unmistakable flash. Christ's return is not a secret, known only to a few or even just to the elect. There is no basis here for accepting the so-called "secret rapture of the church." What our Lord stresses is that when He does return, everyone will know it! All of the rebels and unbelievers of the world, as well as all of God's elect, will recognize that the King has returned in power and great glory!

 

The use of "lightning" to help us grasp the return of Christ points to both its unmistakable visibility and its suddenness. In the parables that follow (24:42-25:13), this point of suddenness is vividly made. Why is this? We have the natural tendency to grow slack by delays, or to slide in our faithfulness. So Christ reminds us that His return is not on our timetable.

 

Some pay little attention to the urgency of the gospel and the great need to follow Christ. Christ mercifully forewarned you that His return would happen without warning. So be prepared. Delay no longer in unbelief and stubborn defiance of Christ. Turn to Him, turn away from your sinful ways, and trust in Christ as your Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and King.

 

There's a sense of urgency for those of us who know Christ to press on in faithfulness. Let us take the gospel of Christ to those about us. Let us not grow weary or slack or careless, for we do not want our Master to return and find us idle or lazy or unconcerned for others.

 

(3) Everything will be on schedule (v. 28)

 

Verse 28, by any stretch, appears to be a strange, almost, out of place statement. "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." Some translations have "eagles" instead of "vultures." But the implication is that these birds feast on carrion, which would be characteristic of vultures, or "buzzards" in our common parlance, rather than eagles. Some suggest that the proverb points to the future judgment, and that may very well be the case. Another considers this proverbial language to imply the unmistakable visibility of the coming of Christ; that just as it is impossible for vultures to fail in spotting carrion, it will be impossible for the world to fail to recognize Christ at His return. But I think that John Broadus strikes upon the meaning of this proverb: "that things will come to pass when the occasion for them exists" [489]. Don Carson expands upon this comment. "Do not be too eager for Christ's coming, or you will be deceived by false claimants (vv. 23-26). When he comes, his coming will be unmistakable (v. 27), in God's own time (v. 28)-a time when the world will be ripe for judgment" [EBC: Matthew, vol. 2, 504]. Christ's coming, and every event on the divine calendar, will come in timely fashion. But you, on your part, be prepared by pressing on in faithfulness as a Christian.

 

Conclusion

 

So, what must we do in the meantime? Keep pressing on faithfully as a Christian. Don't let the world dull you or squeeze you into its way of thinking or pattern for living. Don't be sidetracked by religious visionaries who claim special revelation of Christ-press on! Live like a Christian. Proclaim the Christ and His gospel. One day He is coming. Let us all be ready for that day!

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