Month: April 2026

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #362 ~

Let me be clear from the start. We do not know the exact time of Christ’s coming, but we do know the general time, the overall sequence of events leading up to His coming and the rapture of the church. This is the message of this post and what each of you need to clearly understand.

Matthew 24:32 – “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near…” A parable is a story that communicates, that illustrates a spiritual truth. This story is about a fig tree whose branches are becoming tender and are growing new leaves. When this happens, we know for certain that summer is near, that it’s coming soon.

Matthew 24:33 – “… so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” When we see the things happening that Jesus spoke about in vss. 4-30, we know His coming is near, that He is right at the door, that He will soon rapture the church. It’s not saying Israel is the fig tree and that becoming a nation in 1948 is the sign that Jesus’ coming is near, but it’s a lesson about how we can know the general time, the season of His return.

Likewise, Luke 21:28-33 tells us the parable of the fig tree, but its lessons are more specific. First, we learn that our redemption is near, for it is at Christ’s coming that we are redeemed, that we are delivered from our fleshly body and are glorified. Second, we learn that the kingdom is near, for Christ is the King, and it is at His coming that He begins His kingdom on earth. Rev. 11:15

Here is a list of the things from Matt. 24:4-30 that must occur before Jesus’ coming. There’s deception, false Christs, wars, rumors of war, famines, earthquakes, great tribulation, martyrdom, hate, apostasy, betrayal, lawlessness, an unloving world, Christians persevering, preaching the gospel, the abomination of desolation (Antichrist is revealed), Jews fleeing from Judea, false prophets, signs and wonders, great tribulation shortened, the sign of the end of the age, and the sign of Christ’s coming.

These 22 things must take place before Christ returns to rapture the church. Christians need to know that there’s this sequence of end-times’ events – that this one thing happens, and then this next thing happens, and so on. And Christians should expect them to happen, look for them to happen, see them happen, and be encouraged when they do happen, for each of them is a signpost pointing to Christ’s coming.

I need to remind you of Daniel’s 70^th week, a 7-year timetable of prophetic events (Dan. 9:24-27). It starts with the confirming of a treaty between the Antichrist and Israel; at its midpoint, the 3½ year mark, the abomination of desolation occurs and the Antichrist is revealed; at its endpoint, a large remnant of Jews is saved. The 22 things listed in Matt. 24 take place during this week. I believe that wars, famines, etc. begin sometime before Dan. 70^th week and continue into the first half of that week (Matt. 24:4-8). I also believe that the building of the Jewish temple occurs during the first half of this week. Most importantly, Christ returns to rapture the church sometime during the last half, the last 3 1/2 years of this week, a time known only to God the Father. Matt. 24:36

Matthew 24:34 – “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” We read about all these things taking place, and now we learn that there will be a select, special group of people living during a certain period of time who will not pass away until they see all these things happen. When they see them happen, they know they won’t have to wait long to be with Jesus, for they see “the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25), that “their redemption is drawing near” (Lk. 21:28), that “the kingdom of God is near” (Lk. 21:31), and that “He (Christ) is near” (Matt. 24:33).

When Jesus said these things, He was speaking like a prophet. He was talking to the apostles, to His disciples, but He was also speaking to a future generation of disciples who needed to be alerted, who needed to know these things would be taking place, and who were to be watchman (1 Chr. 12:32, Ex. 3:17). So Jesus is talking to a future “you”, and this is us, and our children, grandchildren, and great-children. As I look at God’s eschatological word and observe the world around us, I believe it is in the coming decades that Christ will return to rapture His church. This is an amazing and astounding truth, a sobering but exciting reality that a future generation of Christians will, not long from now, see, not just a few of these things take place, but “all these things take place.” Matt. 24:34

This is what Jesus tells you in Matt. 24: “See to it that no one misleads you” (vs. 4); “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened” (vs. 6). “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations” (vs. 9); “When you see the abomination of desolation… “(vs. 15); “If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’… do not believe him” (vs. 23); “Behold, I have told you in advance” (vs. 25); “when you see all these things, recognize that He is near” (vs. 33); “be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (vs. 42).

Matthew 24:35 – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” That heaven and earth, as we now know it, will pass away, will not exist forever, is a momentous, unfathomable event. This is contrasted with the ultimate truth, that God’s holy, eternal, perfect, personal, prophetic word will never pass away. God is emphasizing the power, the supremacy, the certainty, the necessity of His word, specifically, in this area of eschatological truth.  

Matt. 24:35b, in its immediate context, is reinforcing the truths of vss. 33-35a, that all these things are going to take place because God’s word said they would (vss. 4-30), including the fact that heaven and earth will pass away (Ps. 102:25-26, Rev. 21:1). God also said they would occur before Christ’s return to rapture the church, and that there’s a generation of believers who will see them happen. Not only that, but all these things will happen because God will cause them to happen. Is. 46:9-11, Eph. 1:9-11

We must also see Matt. 24:35 in its larger context, for God placed it right in the middle of this critical end-times’ chapter. But why did God do it? To convince you that His eschatological word is true, absolutely, 1000% true; to stress the extreme importance of end-times’ truth at this time in history; to help you see that the prophetic truth in Dan. 9; Matt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 17, 21; Rom. 8, 11, 15; Eph. 1; Phil. 3; 1 Th. 4-5; 2 Th. 1-2; Tit. 2; James 5; 1 Pet. 1; 2 Pet. 3; 1 Jn. 2-3; and Rev 1-22 is no small thing, no minor doctrine, but a major doctrine, and must be seen and taught as such, especially for those living in these last years before Christ’s coming, and specifically for that generation who will be watching all these end-times’ events. 2 Tim. 4:1-2

I hope you are realizing that Christ’s coming is not imminent, that it can’t happen at any moment, that it can’t happen today, tomorrow, or next year. Nothing in God’s word says that no signs or prophesied events need to occur before the rapture. In fact, it says just the opposite. It’s telling you that all these things listed in Matt. 24 must take place before Christ’s coming and the rapture. And I hope you understand that the rapture is the 1^st event at His coming. All these things spoken of in vss. 4-30a take place before Christ’s coming and the rapture of the church which do not happen until vss. 30b-31. This truth is also taught in 1 Cor. 15:22-23; 1 Thess. 4:15, 17; 2 Thess. 2:1-9; 2; and Rev. 6:1 – Rev. 7:14.

As I just said, Matt. 24 explicitly says that “all these things” will occur before Christ’s coming and the rapture, and that we will see them happen. Heb. 10:25 tells us that we will “see the day drawing near”, which means we will be literally seeing these events happening in the world that Matt. 24 says are leading to Christ’s returns to rapture the church. 2 Thess. 2:1-10 says that Christ’s coming and the rapture of the church take place after Antichrist’s coming. Christians living on earth at this time will see the Antichrist before they see Jesus and before they are raptured.

Many Christians believe that the rapture of the church is imminent. But that is not true, for nothing in God’s word says it is true, and many verses tell us that it is false. The imminency of Christ’s coming must be recognized as error. And it is not without harm, for it causes Christians to think they won’t be here when the Antichrist is revealed, and that they won’t experience great persecution. Our loving Father wants us to know what will be happening and not be surprised.

Matthew 24:36 – “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” I am amazed that some people set a specific date for Christ’s return when Matt. 24:36 makes it clear that no one but the Father knows the exact time. No date is given to us in Matt. 24 or any other place in the Bible. What we do understand, what is clearly explained in vss. 32-34, is that we can know the season, the general time period of Christ’s return. Again, that’s because Christians living on earth in the very last years of this age will witness all these Biblically identified events leading up to Christ’s coming.

We have spent a lot of time in this and recent posts talking about different events that are happening before Christ’s coming. Some of these events, like more wars, increasing lawlessness, and great tribulation, are general in nature. But some are specific, like the abomination of desolation by the Antichrist, for this is a singular event occurring at a precise time, the 3½ year mark of Dan. 70^th week. Those who are here when this happens know that Christ’s coming is less than 37 months away (Rev. 9:5 — 42 months – 5 months = 37 months) – but we don’t know the exact time.

2 Thess. 2:4 refers to a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, but there’s no temple at this time. When we see this temple being built, we can say that Christ is coming very soon. But we can never say we know the day or the hour of His coming. As time goes on, we will be getting closer to Christ’s return and more Matt. 24-described events will be happening, giving us more and more certainty and confidence that “He is near.” Finally, we will see the sign of the end of the age and the sign of Christ’s coming, and we will say that He is “right at the door.” Matt. 24:33

What an exciting time to be alive, for Christ is returning soon to rapture the church. God gives us a needed and sufficient outline of what will be taking place before that happens. That’s because He loves you and really wants you to know the general time and sequence of end-times’ events. He doesn’t want you to be ignorant, worldly, afraid, confused, in error, or sleeping, but to be knowledgable, holy, courageous, discerning, wise, and wide awake when Christ comes back. And God wants there to be watchman in every family and church, ones who know His prophetic word and how it relates to events in the world. Might you be one!!! “Consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds… encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Heb. 10:24-25

P.S. Here are some important posts about the timing of Christ’s coming and the rapture of the church: “When Does the Rapture Take Place?”, “Antichrist Revealed, and Then the Rapture – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4”, “When is Christ Returning to Rapture the Church?”

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #359 ~

The coming of the Antichrist is before the coming of Jesus Christ. Now God’s word has much to say about the Antichrist, the most devilish man to ever live on earth. This wicked man hates all people, especially Christians and Jews. And he is called the Antichrist (1 Jn. 2:14) because he is against Christ and wants to take His place, to be in charge. He is also called the little horn (Dan. 7:13), a king (Dan. 8:23), the prince (Dan. 9:26), the Assyrian (Mic. 5:5), the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction (2 Th. 2:4), and the beast (Rev. 13:3-4).

God’s word has much more to say about Christ, and His coming. And Matt. 24 contains critical information about what happens before His coming – and you need to know these things. There are “birth pains” affecting people in various parts of the world – deception, earthquakes, wars, famines, plagues, and hyperinflation (vss. 4-8). This describes the present condition of our world, this end-times’ stage that leads to the end of this age and Christ’s coming. These “birth pains” are to wake us up, to alert us to the fact that Christ will be coming soon. Then there is great tribulation, the world-wide hate, persecution, and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Vss. 9-14

Today we are looking at Matt. 24:15-22, which focuses on the Jews. This is one of five side-by-side passages of Jews and Christians (Lk. 21:12-24, 2 Th. 2:1-10, Rev. 7:4-17, Rev. 12:13 – Rev. 13), evidence that God’s end-times’ work with the Jews coincides and is in conjunction with His end-times’ work with the church. And what happens to the Jews, as described in vss. 15-22, leads to, precipitates the great, global persecution of Christians that is described in vss. 9-14.

Matt. 24:15 – “Therefore when you see the Abomination of Desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)…” Jesus is referring to Daniel’s prophecy in Dan. 9:24-27, and the prince, the person in vss. 26-27, is the Antichrist. It’s at the beginning of what we call Dan. 70^th week that this prince confirms a 7-year treaty with the Jews. Then there’s the “Abomination of Desolation” and it occurs at the midpoint, at the 3½ year mark of this significant, prophecy-packed 70^th week. That the Antichrist desolates the temple means that he has broken the treaty with the Jews, and that is very bad news for the Jews.

At this point in time, there is no temple in Jerusalem, and that it will be desolated tells us that a new one will be built in the near future, another sign that Christ is coming soon. I believe the holy place is referring to the most sacred part of the temple, the place of God’s presence. Now an “abomination” is an object of disgust, of abhorrence and, Biblically, it means ungodly, idolatrous. And this “Abomination” causes “Desolation”, the devastation, the desecration, the defilement of this holy place.

2 Thess. 2:3-4, speaking of the same event, says it this way, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” So the Antichrist is revealed and discerning Jews and Christians realize that this proud, godless person in the Jewish temple is this great enemy of God who had been prophesied by the prophets. They see that the Antichrist is strongly opposed to God, so much so that he openly defies God, and exalts himself above God, acting and speaking like he is God. “He opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle.” Rev. 13:6

2 Thess. 2:1-4 also tells us that the Antichrist must be revealed and must desolate the temple before Christ’s coming and the day of the Lord. That is, the coming and revealing of the Antichrist must occur before the coming and revealing of Christ. The phrase, “With regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together with Him” (vs. 1), states that the rapture of the church occurs at Christ’s coming. Since the Antichrist is revealed before His coming, then he desolates the temple and is persecuting Jews and Christians before the rapture. Many Christians don’t want to hear this, but it’s true. And Paul emphasizes this truth by saying, “let no one in any way deceive you.”

Here are two more points from Matt. 24:15. We are informed that we will see the “Abomination of Desolation.” This doesn’t mean we will be in Jerusalem and be watching it happen but because of our present technology, we will see it on our TV’s, the internet, or our phones. And God wants us to see it for He wants to warn us that the Antichrist is alive and about to begin ruling this world, and about to begin persecuting and killing Jews, and then Christians.

Then there’s the phrase, “Let the reader understand.” The conclusion to vs. 15 exhorts us to not just read it but to understand it. Throughout history Christians have read this verse, but now that we are in the end-times, it’s imperative to understand the present-day relevance of these words. And it’s not just saying the Antichrist is alive but that he has been revealed for who he really is, and that he will be going on the warpath, he will be persecuting and murdering the elect (vss. 21-22). Do you see that God is alerting His people to the fact that life on earth will soon be extremely difficult? (Rev. 12:13, 13:3-10). The good news is that this tribulation won’t last long before Christ returns to rapture the church, which will happen within three years after the Antichrist is revealed.

Matt. 24:16-21 – “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains…” What happens after the devil possesses this wicked man, this Antichrist? This devil, this God-hater, uses this evil man to do his devilish work. This godless Antichrist also hates God and His people, both Jews and Christians. Full of rage and wrath, he sends his armies after some of the Jews, those who are god-fearing and expecting the Messiah to come. But they are not yet true believers, ones who recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, and who repent of their sins and believe in Him.

Now most Jews are ungodly and deceived and stay in Israel, for they don’t realize that this sharply dressed, smooth talking, “super” man is the Antichrist. But he is a fake, the most evil man to ever live on earth. These Jews may even think he is the Messiah, but he can’t be, for he is a Gentile and not a true Jew, not a descendant of Abraham. And his desire is to usurp the throne of the rightful King, and be worshiped by the world. Matt. 4:8-9, Rev. 13:4-5

So God instructs the Jews to run for their lives, and to not go back home, for that would mean certain death at the hands of the enemy. Rev. 12:12-13 describes this time of terror: “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time. And when the devil saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman (the Jews)who gave birth to the male child (Jesus).”

God tells us that the flight of the Jews will be extremely difficult, especially for women and children, and some will die. But a good-sized remnant will escape and be protected from this great tribulation, a persecution “such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will” (Matt. 24:21, Zech. 13:7-9). And those who escape, those whom God physically saves from the Antichrist will be spiritually saved at the end of Daniel’s 70^th week. Is. 45:17, Jer. 31:31-34, Dan. 9:24, Rom. 11:25-27

I must say it again – this persecution of Jews leads to the persecution of Christians. The great tribulation we learn about in Matt. 24:21-22 is followed by the great tribulation of Christians that we read about in Matt. 24:9. Rev. 12:17 tells us the exact same thing – “The dragon was enraged with the woman (the Jews), and went to make war with the rest of her children (the Christians),who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

In summary, the coming of the Antichrist (vs. 15) and great tribulation (vss. 9, 21-22) take place before the coming of Christ (vss. 27: 30-31). Now Matt. 24:22 tells us that this great tribulation caused by the Antichrist is cut short, and Matt. 24:29-31 then states that Christ comes after this tribulation is cut short, at which time He raptures the church. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened… the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky… they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds… and He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Amen! Amen! Amen!

P.S. This Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the victory of God over sin, death, and hell. And it is the resurrection power of God that results in our justification, sanctification, and glorification. Here are three posts on this most important subject: “Christ’s Resurrection Means the Best is Yet to Come”, “The Answer to Death is Christ’s Resurrection”, and “The Life-and-Death-Changing Results of the Resurrection.”