Matthew 24:11

9 ^a“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

11 Then ^amany false prophets will rise up and ^bdeceive many.

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow ^acold.

13 ^aBut he who endures to the end shall be saved.

14 And this ^agospel of the kingdom ^bwill be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation

15 ^a“Therefore when you see the ^b‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” ^c(whoever reads, let him understand),

16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

19 But ^awoe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

21 For ^athen there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; ^abut for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

23 ^a“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.

24 For ^afalse christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, ^bif possible, even the elect.

25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.

27 ^aFor as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

28 ^aFor wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 ^a“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ^bthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30 ^aThen the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ^band then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 ^aAnd He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His¹ elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

32 “Now learn ^athis parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

33 So you also, when you see all these things, know ^athat it is near—at the doors!

34 Assuredly, I say to you, ^athis generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

35 ^aHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

36 ^a“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of¹ heaven, ^bbut My Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

38 ^aFor as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

40 ^aThen two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Matthew 24:11 Mean?

Matthew 24:11-12

Of all people, we who have left the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in the past decade should be most aware of the antinomian spirit working in the church of God. The doctrinal changes that began to be instituted mere months after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong had as their goal the removal of God's law, particularly the Sabbath, from the church's beliefs. WCG's subsequent heavy emphasis on "grace" and "love," along with its renunciation of "legalism" exposed its antinomian position. Because of these changes, it has joined evangelical Protestant "Christianity" to the point that it now worships on Sunday, encourages celebration of Christmas and Easter, and permits the use of crucifixes and images of "Jesus" by its ministry and membership and in its publications.

The "Christian" churches of this world are predominantly antinomian to some extent. Both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism belong to what can be termed Hellenistic Christianity, that is, a form of Christianity heavily influenced by Greek philosophies, particularly Gnosticism. Catholicism is the more moderate of the two, having retained obedience to the Church and its traditions as well as requiring certain works for salvation. However, its belief of the afterlife, with its levels of heaven, limbo, purgatory, and beatific vision - not to mention its belief in an immortal soul - brand it as Gnostic.

Protestantism is more antinomian, having rejected Catholicism's works during the Reformation. Martin Luther's doctrine of salvation by grace "through faith alone" removes God's law from the equation altogether. Pure Protestant theology is so antinomian that it claims that lawkeeping in any form - which it terms "legalism" - is detrimental to the soul's growth in spirituality. This form of Christianity also champions the doctrine of eternal security, the idea that, once one accepts Jesus, he can never lose his salvation, no matter what sins he commits ("once saved, always saved"). This doctrine knocks out law and judgment for sin in one blow.

Of course, the world itself is antinomian because it is under the sway of Satan the Devil, who despises God's law (Ephesians 2:2; I John 5:19; Romans 8:7). He even tried his antinomian tricks on Jesus, who countered with quotations from the law (Matthew 4:1-10)! Certainly, our adversary will tempt us similarly, trying to get us to put God's law aside so we can fulfill our desires.

Jesus, however, in his prayer in John 17, asks God to help us in this, and He also gives us the antidote to antinomianism:

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep [guard, protect] them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (verses 15-17)

Knowing God's truth and practicing it to become holy will protect us from the rampant antinomianism of this world, this age that is soon to end. Still to come are the Beast and his False Prophet, who will exemplify this anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-law spirit. To endure to the end, to survive the mystery of lawlessness that will mark the end time, we must hold fast to God's Word and seek His righteousness. "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the [New Jerusalem]" (Revelation 22:14).

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Nicolaitanism Today

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