Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 24:9 - 24:14
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_24:9-14
9"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
Mat_24:9 "Then" This term is used several times in Jesus' end-time discussion (cf. Mat_24:9-10; Mat_24:14; Mat_24:16; Mat_24:21; Mat_24:23; Mat_24:30; Mat_24:40; Mat_25:1; Mat_25:7; Mat_25:31; Mat_25:34; Mat_25:37; Mat_25:41; Mat_25:44-45). The question is
1. Is it simply a transition marker?
2. Does it designate a temporal sequence?
3. Does it designate a context sequence (like the waw consecutive in Hebrew)?
▣ Mar_13:9 is much more specific at this point. " Courts and synagogues," a phrase not found in Mat_24:9, shows both governmental and religious persecution of Christians (cf. 1Pe_4:12-16). " Beaten" or literally "skinned," Jews whipped offenders thirty-nine times-thirteen times on the front and twenty-six times on the back (cf. Deu_25:1-3; 2Co_11:24).
▣ "you will be hated by all nations" Jesus prepared His disciples for the world's hatred (cf. Mat_10:22; Mat_21:35-36; Mat_23:37; Mar_13:13; Luk_21:17; Joh_15:18-19; 1Jn_3:13). The level of opposition to the gospel is surprising (cf. Eph_6:10-18). The implication of this phrase is that Christianity has spread into all the world (cf. Mat_24:14) which means Jesus is referring to a future time.
▣ "because My name" Not for their own wickedness or civil crimes will believers be persecuted, but because they are Christians (cf. Mat_5:10-16; Mar_13:9; 1Pe_4:12-16).
Mat_24:10 "many will fall away" Under persecution and spiritual delusion many followers of Jesus will "fall away" (lit. "be caused to stumble," cf. Mat_11:6). These are the ones spoken of in the parable of the soils in Mat_13:21 (cf. Mar_4:17; Mar_8:13). They are the ones who "do not abide" in Joh_15:6. They are the ones who leave the fellowship in 1Jn_2:18-19. They are the ones described in Hebrews and 2Pe_2:20-22. See hyperlink at Mat_7:21.
Mat_24:10-11 This implies organized opposition (cf. Mar_13:12). Families will be split over Christ (cf. Mat_10:35-37). Those who should have been changed by the gospel act like the unsaved (cf. Tit_3:2-3).
Mat_24:11 "many false prophets" This is a frightful thought. These people are wolves in sheep's clothing (cf. Mat_7:15-23). Believers must have a grasp of the gospel, a yieldedness to the Spirit, and a godly lifestyle to protect themselves from these pretenders (cf. 2 Peter 2; 1Jn_2:18-19; Revelation 13).
Mat_24:12 Persecution will reveal the true spiritual nature of the pretenders (cf. Mat_13:20-22) or the weak (cf. 1Ti_6:9-10).
Mat_24:13 "but whoever endures to the end, he will be saved" This is an aorist active participle (endure) followed by a future passive indicative (saved cf. Mat_10:22. See Special Topic: the Need to Persevere at Mat_10:22). This is the doctrine of perseverance (Rev_2:2; Rev_2:11-12; Rev_2:26; Rev_3:5; Rev_3:12; Rev_3:21) and it must be held in a dialectical tension with the doctrine of the security of the believer. Both are true! Both are gifts of God. The term "saved" can be understood in its OT sense of physical deliverance and its NT sense of spiritual eternal deliverance.
Endurance is an evidence of a life changing encounter with Jesus (be sure to read the Special Topic on perseverance at Mat_10:22). It does not imply sinlessness, but it does contrast the actions of Mat_24:10-12!
Mat_24:14 "this gospel of the kingdom" This was mentioned earlier in Mat_4:23; Mat_9:35. It is synonymous with "the gospel." It referred to the content of Jesus' preaching.
▣ "shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations" This is the goal of Mat_28:18-20; Luk_24:46-47; Act_1:8! It marks a major shift away from the "Israel only" policy. This is one of the things that must occur before the Second Coming. It is impossible to know how specific to interpret this phrase. Does it mean every single tribe or people in racial groupings or possibly everyone in the Roman world of Paul's day? This second option is possible because the phrase "the whole world" is literally "the inhabited earth."
hyperlink