Jesus’ Roadmap for the Future

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This series of short lessons attempts to detail Jesus’ Roadmap for the Future. It starts with the last lessons Jesus gave the disciples on the Mount of Olives, and ends with teachings from the Apostle Paul about the Rapture.

As an introduction, the Olivet Discourse was aimed at the consequences of Israel’s rejection of Jesus as Messiah, and anticipated the destruction of the nation (70 A.D.) and the final Tribulation period. Remember that the Church Age is an intercalation—meaning an insertion, like a parenthesis, into the Age of Israel. This means that with the Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation picks up where 70 A.D. leaves off. This is why the Church Age is called a “mystery” (Rom. 11:25; 16:25; Eph. 3:1–13; Col. 1:26–27), which is a graduate course to “the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10).
The Olivet Discourse reveals the consequences of Israel’s rejection of her Messiah (compare Matt. 23:37–39 and Rom. 9:1–5; 10:1–4; 11:25). These consequences are defined by Paul as “wrath … to the uttermost” (1 Thess. 2:15–16).
The outline is actually given by Jesus Himself, by using certain key words as markers of the divisions. Perhaps the most obvious of these words is “Then,” a time-word indicating a sequence of events. We find this in Matt. 24:1, 9, 11, 16, 21, 23, 29, 40; 25:1, 7, 16, 24, 34, 37, 41, 44, 45. With the exception of its use in Matt. 24:1, where it connects Jesus’ departure from the Temple with the following discourse, in all the subsequent times, it is used specifically to refer to the Tribulation period followed by His Second Coming. It is worth quoting Mark, here, for the statement he includes:
“For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.” Mark 13:19
In Matthew 24, Jesus gives us an outline, speaking of “tribulation” (Matt. 24:9), followed by “the abomination of desolation” (Matt. 24:15, see Dan. 11:31; 12:11), which is then followed by “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21) and, finally, “after the tribulation of those days” (Matt. 24:29) by the return of Christ to Earth (Matt. 24:30–31). Although both Mark 13 and Luke 21 include portions of this message, only Matthew gives us such a clear picture of the chain of events.

Gene Cunningham - July 27, 2022

The Beginning of Sorrows (Birthpangs)

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This section deals with what the New Testament calls the “last days” (Heb. 1:2), which covers the time from Jesus’ ascension to the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4:13–18). It is very clear from this section that the Rapture of the Church is not some “way of escape from suffering” as some present it. The whole history of the Church is one of affliction and persecution. This is, in fact, the normal Christian experience (2 Tim. 3:12). It is worth noticing that Matt. 24:4–8 covers the same historical time frame as Revelation 1–3. However, since Jesus is addressing Israel here, the “signs” of the times are the main focus. Revelation 1–3, written to the Church, focuses on conditions existing within the Church body and a call to continued spiritual purification. A. The Two Great Dangers, Matthew 24:4–6 The first great danger to believers is deception. The devil is a deceiver (John 8:44), and this is his greatest weapon against us. Just as he deceived Eve in the Garden, he seeks to deceive each one of us (Gen. 3:1–8; 1 Tim. 2:14; 2 Cor. 11:3). This deception comes from “false christs and false prophets” (Matt. 24:11, 24, see 1 Tim. 4:1–2). The second great danger is fear. Remember that fear and faith cannot live together (see Luke 21:34–38). B. Increasing Birth Pangs (Historical Trends), Matthew 24:7–8 It is my conviction, from simply taking Scripture literally, that the Rapture of the Church occurs at this point, between Matthew 24, verses 8 and 9 (see 1 Thess. 4:13–5:11; 2 Thess. 2:1–8; esp. Rev. 4:1). Jesus does not deal with it here, because the Church is still an unrevealed “mystery” (see Eph. 3:1–10). There are many today who reject the teaching of the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4:13–18), because they think it is a “cowardly” hope of weak Christians to escape the Tribulation. In light of the past 2,000 years of church history, this is a foolish notion. It has been the portion of believers throughout world history to suffer affliction and severe persecution, even to horrible torture and execution. The Church has surely paid her dues. Furthermore, we do not know what trials await us, even in the times of increasing birth-pangs ahead.