And because lawlessness is increased, most people’ s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.” – Matthew 24:12- 13

In Matthew 24:9- 14, Jesus is talking about the spiritual condition of those during the first half of the seven-year tribulation period. It is not a pretty sight. Since believers will be persecuted and put to death, extreme pressure will be on believers, especially Jewish believers to flake out and fall away from serving Jesus the Messiah.

Increased Lawlessness

The Greek word anomia is usually translated as ” lawless” or ” iniquity.” It carries with it the idea of deliberately disobeying a specific standard. In the context of this passage- God’ s standard. Often the word ” lawless” is used in apposition to ” righteousness” or ” good deeds” (Matt. 23:28; Rom. 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:14; Titus 2:14; Heb. 1:9). Arno Gaebelein explains:

” Lawlessness shall prevail;” that is, complete anarchy will hold sway. This too is clearly seen in the breaking of the sixth seal (Rev. vi:12-17). The earthquake, the darkened sun, the blood-red moon, the falling stars, the rolled up heavens and the removal of mountains and island are all great symbols of starling political events, which will take place in the first three and one-half years. . . . the reign of terror and anarchy, worse than that of the French revolution and the Russian revolution of today, all classes of men, the kings, the wealthy, the rich and the poor, the bondman and the free, will be seized with terror. . . . This is the sixth seal, and it is precisely what the Lord saith: ” Lawlessness shall prevail!” [1]

This time of lawlessness is surely an unusual time in all human history. Leon Morris says that it is ” a way of life that refuses to recognize any divine law, which is identical for Matthew with a way of life in which one’ s neighbor no longer has any legal claim.” [2] Our Lord has been expounding upon the qualitative nature of the spiritual condition of unbelievers that will characterize the tribulation period, specially the first half. This description of lawlessness strikes a parallel to Paul’ s description of the ” man of lawless” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. This passage (Matt. 24) is building toward the abomination of desolation (24:15), which will be committed by the antichrist in the middle of the tribulation. Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2, combines the man of lawlessness with the abomination of desolation when he says, ” the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess. 2:3b-4). Robert Govett tells us: ” It is this abounding of lawlessness which gives to Antichrist his power both against the Jew and the temple.” [3]

What does the phrase ” is increased” mean in this context. Commentators are in agreement that it means unusually rapid or exponential increase. Morris notes that ” the thought is that in the days of which Jesus is speaking lawlessness will not simply increase a little: it will be multiplied.” [4] James Morison observes that ” all other passages where the verb (plŽthuno) occurs, it is translated multiply.” [5] This clearly fits the idea of future tribulation period where lawlessness will reach the highest levels in all of human history. We think it is bad today, cheer up it will be even worse during this unique seven-year period of history.

Love Will Grow Cold

The result of lawless increasing will be that ” most people’ s love will grow cold.” There is a cause effect relationship in this passage. The phrase ” most people” is literally ” the many.” Morris tells us that in this context, ” ‘ the many,’ indicates the majority; . . . ‘ most of you.’ ” [6] This is one of the reasons I think it is speaking of the unbelieving world, as opposed to believers. The rest of Scripture does not support the notion that most believers will be characterized by apostasy during the tribulation, instead, this is the state in which the world in general is characterized. ” This seems more related to the general condition of the world,” says Ed Glasscock, ” than to the followers of Jesus.” [7]

What does Jesus mean when he says, ” love will grow cold.” The expression itself is clear: loss of love. The main significance is to see the cause/effect relationship between lawlessness and loss of love. Morris explains it well:

But real love is impossible for the lawless person. By definition the lawless person is motivated by personal, selfish concerns, not by any regard for others or for the rules that govern our intercourse with one another. So with the upsurge of lawlessness there is a cooling off of love. The one necessarily involves the other.[8]

It is in just such an environment that will facilitate the man of lawlessness of 2 Thessalonians 2 to set up his image in God’ s rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. And, it is to just such an act that Jesus’ current discourse is moving (24:15).

End-Time Endurance

The exact meaning and implications of ” the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved,” is a hotly debated passage. Some use this passage to teach a Christian doctrine known as the perseverance of the saints.” While others believe that it refers to a physical deliverance. I hold to the latter position, primarily because it is the only view that makes sense in this specific context.

The first issue that must be dealt with in this matter is the meaning of the term ” saved.” Because the word ” saved” is used in the New Testament to refer to the time when one becomes a Christian (the moment of justification as in), many just plug that meaning into this passage. The leading Greek lexicon of our days says that the basic meaning of this word is ” save, keep from harm, preserve, rescue.” [9] This word can be used in relation to the doctrine of salvation (Matt. 1:21; Acts 16:31; 1 Cor. 1:18; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:19; Titus 3:5, etc.), or it can simply refer to physical deliverance or rescue (Matt. 8:25; 14:30; 27:49; Acts 27:31; Heb. 5:7; Jude 5, etc.). The exact nuance is determined by its context. ” The problem begins with the superficial hermeneutic of giving ‘ saved’ the same meaning in every context, which is not true of any word,” declares Glasscock. ” Words have no specific meaning apart from context. Here, ‘ saved’ (sozo) means basically to ‘ deliver’ or to ‘ rescue’ – from what and in what manner is dependent upon the context.” [10]

Many commentaries on this passage fail to consider the contextual factors before they start sermonizing on endurance in the Christian life. They make this into a passage that teaches the Christian doctrine of endurance, even though it is not supported by the specific factors in the text.[11] Truly, there is a Christian doctrine of endurance taught in the Epistles (Rom. 12:12; 1 Cor. 13:7; 2 Tim. 2:10, 12; Heb. 12:3, 7; James 1:12; 5:11; 1 Pet. 2:20). This doctrine teaches that one of the many character qualities that believer is to have is endurance. Why is this so? It is true because endurance under suffering produces character (Rom. 5:3-4). Yet, none of those references to the Christian doctrine of endurance speak of ” enduring to the end.” Instead, passages that speak of enduring to the end all occur within the same context- the tribulation (Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13; Luke 21:19; Rev. 13:10; 14:12). John Walvoord explains:

The age in general, climaxing with the second coming of Christ, has the promise that those that endure to the end (Mt 24:13), that is, survive the tribulation and are still alive, will be saved, or delivered, by Christ at His second coming. This is not a reference to salvation from sin, but rather the deliverance of survivors at the end of the age as stated, for instance, in Romans 11:26, where the Deliverer will save the nation Israel from its persecutors.[12]

Specifically this section is referring to the Jewish remnant, who, if they endure to the end, will be physically rescued by Christ at His second advent and they will go into the millennial kingdom in their mortal bodies (Matt. 25:21, 34). William Kelly explains: ” It is evident that the language is only applicable in its full force to Jews- believing ones, no doubt, but still Jews in the midst of a nation judicially chastised for their apostacy from God and rejection of their own Messiah. . . . Thus there is a certain, defined period of endurance- an end to come, as truly as there was a beginning of sorrows.”[13]

Parallel Passages

There are a number of parallel passages to Matthew 24:13 that support my understanding of this text. First, Daniel 12:1 says, ” Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.” Michael tells Daniel that this will be the time of tribulation in which the elect Jews will be rescued, which is the Hebrew word for saved.

Second, Mark 13:13, a direct parallel passage to Matthew 24:13 and says, ” And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.” The first half of Mark 13:13 is a summary statement of Matthew 24:9- 12, which is followed by the endurance statement in both passages. Luke 21:18-19, also parallel says, ” Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” This is the clearest of all when it reads: ” you will gain your lives.” ” Lives” is the normal word for physical life.

Third, Matthew 10:22, also within the context of the future tribulation says, ” And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” Once again we see an emphasis upon the physical deliverance of Jews during the tribulation after a time of persecution.

Finally, the two passages in Revelation (13:10 and 14:12) which speak of the ” perseverance of the saints,” also are references to physical deliverance. Both references are clearly within a tribulational context and speak of physical deliverance when one endures to the end.

Conclusion

We have come to an end of a section in Christ’ s discourse. Speaking specifically to Jewish believers during the tribulation (the remnant), He alerts them to the many dangers that will confront them during this unique period of history. Having told them of the great trials of this time, Christ promises that the ones who physically make it to the time of His second coming will be delivered into the Millennial kingdom which will come at the end of the tribulation period. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1] Arno C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of Matthew: An Exposition (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, [1910] 1961), pp. 484-85.

[2] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), f. n., 23, p.600-01.

[3] Robert Govett, The Prophecy on Olivet (Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle Publishing Co., [1881] 1985), p. 29.

[4] Morris, Matthew, f. n. 22, p. 600.

[5] James Morison, A Practical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Matthew (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1883), p. 461.

[6] Morris, Matthew, f. n. 24, p. 601.

[7] Ed Glasscock, Moody Gospel Commentary: Matthew (Chicago: Moody Press, 1997), p. 466.

[8] Morris, Matthew, p. 601.

[9] William F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), p. 805.

[10] Glasscock, Matthew, p. 466.

[11] An example of one who turns this passage into a sermon on Christian endurance is found in John MacArthur, The New Testament Commentary: Matthew 24- 28 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), pp. 28-29.

[12] John F. Walvoord, Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), p. 184.

[13] William Kelly, Lectures on The Gospel of Matthew (Sunbury, PA: Believers Bookshelf, 1971 [1868]), p. 484.

“And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’ s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.” – Matthew 24:10- 13

Jesus is progressing through His description of the first half of the tribulation, building toward the middle of the seven-year period of verse 15. In this section our Lord describes the spiritual state of the Jews within the land of Israel (Matt. 24:10- 13). Their spirituality is not good, from God’ s perspective.

The Hatred of Jewish Believers

In verse 9 Jesus predicts that all the nations of the world will hate the Jewish believers living in Israel during the tribulation. Why? Because they hate Jesus, the Messiah! This section of Christ’ s discourse (verse 9- 13) is parallel to Revelation 6:9- 11 and the fifth seal judgment. Thus, many who professed faith in Jesus as the Messiah in easier times, will deny Him and cooperate in exposing those who are true believers in Jesus. Such an understanding of this passage coordinates well with the sheep and goats judgment of Matthew 25:31- 46. ” Brothers” in Matthew 25 are the persecuted Jewish believers during the tribulation that are being spoken of here in Matthew 24. Only genuine Gentile believers will be willing to risk their lives in order to help the Jewish remnant. While this speaks of persecution of believers, especially Jewish believers, during the first half of the tribulation, the entire seven-year tribulation will be a time of great persecution.

The external hatred from the world (verse 9) puts all who profess the name of Christ under pressure. This in turn produces internal hatred among the professing Christian community during the tribulation. ” And at that time” locates the events of verses 10- 13 to be the time of tribulation mentioned in verse 9. It is clear that all these things will take place during the same time period. When the pressure comes, those who are not genuine believers will do three things at this time: 1) fall away, 2) deliver up one another, and 3) hate one another.

Fall Away

The verb ” fall away” carries the idea of ” to cause to sin,” and in the passive use, as we have in this instance, it means to ” let oneself be led into sin,” thus ” fall away” from the truth.[1] This word is the verbal form of the noun ” stumbling block” that is used often in Matthew (5:29f; 6:3; 11:6; 13:21, 57; 15:12; 17:27; 18:6, 8f; 26:13,33), although that is not the nuance here. Thomas Figart says that this word ” refers to a stick-trap used to catch animals. Such entrapped persons could hardly be classed as true believers; rather, they arte exactly like the seed which fell on stony ground in 13:21: . . . This leads to betrayal of one another, which is engendered by hatred.” [2] Matthew 10:16- 23 is a parallel passage, which also speaks of the persecution described in this passage in greater detail. All of these things will take place during the tribulation.

Deliver Up One Another

Look at Matthew 10:21- 22: ” And brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” This is exactly the same thing that is going on here in Matthew 24. Because of the global reach of the antichrist and his regime during the tribulation, the pressure will be so great that even fellow family members will turn against one another rather than face the consequences of not following the instructions of the global leader. ” The greatest expression of apostasy was betraying others who intended to remain faithful,” [3] notes Craig Keener.

Hate One Another

The hatred by all the nations (verse 9) against believers, especially Jewish believers (the remnant) in this context, will create such external pressure that it will result in hatred within the believing community among themselves. That is, false professors will turn against and hate the true believers. ” The repeated reciprocal ‘ one another,’ thus refers to betrayal (‘ they will betray’ ; cf. v 9) and hostility (‘ they will hate’ ; cf. v 9) within the ranks of the followers of Jesus.” [4] There will be virtually nowhere to turn for the remnant of Jewish believers. The only place where they will be able to turn for any kind of help will be Gentile believers. This explains the rationale of Matthew 25:31- 46 and why there will be the judgment of the Gentiles at the second coming for how they treated the Jewish believers during the tribulation.

Past or Future?

Although weaker on this verse than others, it is not surprising to find that preterists believe that verse 10 has already occurred in the past.[5] ” The pagan Roman historian Tacitus speaks of Christians in the era of Nero as universally ‘ hated for their crimes,’ ” [6] declares Kenneth Gentry. He continues, ” In verses 10 and 12 we discover a consequence of the persecution.” [7] Yet, Tacitus describes what is going on in Rome, not Jerusalem, as does Matthew 24. How does this quote in any way relate to Matthew 24:10? In fact, Tacitus says in the same section that ” there arose a feeling of compassion,” [8] for the persecuted Christians in Rome. This hardly fits the context of Matthew 24:10.

Further, it has been noted above that verse 9 is linked to verse 10. Verse 9 says, ” Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and youwill be hated by all nations on account of My name.” Those whom Jesus calls ” you” in verse 9, are referred to as the ” many” and ” one another” (2x) in verse 10. Since our Lord speaks of the same group of people (the saved remnant) in both verses, whatever happens to them in verse 10 must be the same people referenced by the plural you in verse 9. If, as preterists believe, that verses 9 and 10 happened to the disciples to whom Jesus was specifically addressing in the passage, instead of a still future group of Jewish believers in Jerusalem, then those events did not happen in the first century. When didmany of the apostles fall away?[9] When did many of the apostles betray one another? When did many of the apostles hate one another? Instead, they loved one another.

This verse, like all of them in Matthew 24:4- 14, does not reference a past event. Instead, they look forward to a future time and a global event that will take place in literal Jerusalem.

Many False Prophets

In conjunction with the events of the preceding verses, ” many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.” This did not occur in the first century, to the extent that fulfilled the language of this passage, as taught by preterists like Gentry and DeMar.[10] False prophets are not the same as false teachers, as some suppose. The use of the term ” false prophets” reinforces our understanding of the Jewish orientation of this passage. Bruce Ware notes the following:

Here [2 Pet. 2:1] false prophets are distinguished from pseudodidaskalos, ” false teachers.” The implication is clear: False prophets were Israel’ s trouble; false teachers are the church’ s problem. Jesus’ use of pesudoprophetes, then, in the Olivet Discourse calls for a Jewish understanding of the term unless some contrary internal contextual evidence can be advanced to show that the word has taken on some different and rare meaning. Since there is no such evidence contextually, it is best to understand the word to refer to false prophets in Judaism. Again this ” Jewish element” in the discourse remains Jewish and does not relate to the church.[11]

Arno Gaebelein echoes Ware’ s understanding of this passage when he tells us:

The Jewish age has false prophets; the Christian age has false teachers. ” But there were false prophets also among the people, as there shall be also among you false teachers, who shall bring in by the bye destructive heresies, etc.” (2 Pet. ii:1). These false prophets who come in the end of the Jewish age will be possessed by evil spirits. Such was the case during the great apostasy of Israel under the reign of Ahab. The Lord permitted then a lying spirit to take possession of the false prophets as revealed by the prophet Messiah (2 Chronicles xviii:18- 22).[12]

The tribulation will be a time in which prophecy will be restored to Israel during the seventieth week of Daniel. Thus, Jesus provides instruction warning the nation of Israel to exercise discernment concerning this matter. Ware further explains:

Whom then could Jesus be warning? Obviously the warning is to Israel through the Apostles (who represent their nation Israel- this nation that anxiously looks for her Messiah). Jesus warned Jews in the tribulation not to be deceived by false Christs no matter what signs and wonders they perform.Israel is in danger of following false Christs because she has not yet recognized the true Christ. Unquestionably this is another example of exclusively Jewish element in the context of the Olivet Discourse which proves, along with the other contextual items not handled by Gundry, that Jesus addressed the nation Israel and its future in accordance with the intent of His Apostles’ questions.[13]

Conclusion

This passage lays out a future time of great persecution and hatred. Robert Gundy says, ” Throughout , we see a logical progression: persecution by outsiders causes many in the church to avoid persecution by betraying fellows disciples to the persecutors; and through failure to condemn this woeful loss of brotherly love, easygoing false prophets exacerbate the problem of treachery in the brotherhood.” [14] . The events described by our Lord will occur during the future tribulation period. This time period will require great perseverance on the part of the Jewish remnant. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1] William F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), p. 760.

[2] Thomas Figart, The King of The Kingdom of Heaven: A Commentary of Matthew (no publisher given, 1999), pp. 438- 39.

[3] Craig S. Keener, A Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), p. 571.

[4] Donald A. Hagner, Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 14- 28, Vol. 33B (Dallas: Word Books, 1995), pp. 694-95.

[5] See for example, Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church, (Power Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999), pp. 82- 85. Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Perilous Times: A Study in Eschatological Evil (Texarkana, AR: Covenant Media Press, 1999), pp. 52- 53. R. C. Sproul, The Last Days According To Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), p. 35.

[6] Tacitus, Annals 15:44.

[7] Gentry, Perilous Times, p. 52.

[8] Tacitus, Annals 15:44.

[9] This cannot be fulfilled through Judas, since he was a single individual and the text says ” many.” Also, Judas’ defection was at least 40 years before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in a.d. 70.

[10] See Gentry, Perilous Times, pp. 53- 54 and DeMar, Last Days Madness, pp. 84- 85.

[11] Bruce A. Ware, ” Is the Church in View in Matthew 24- 25?” Bibliotheca Sacra (April- June 1981; Vol. 138, No. 550), p. 169.

[12] Arno C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of Matthew: An Exposition (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, [1910] 1961), p. 484.

[13] Ware, ” Is the Church in View?” p. 169.

[14] Robert H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution, second edition, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), p. 479.