What do we need to know about the Second Coming?
Text: Matthew 24:1-35
Hosts:
J. Kent Edwards
Vicki Hitzges
Nathan Norman
Narrator: Brian French
The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God’s voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org
Produced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production
© 2025 CrossTalk Global
Brian: Everyone has fears, but one of the most intense and damaging is the fear of abandonment, the worry that people you love will reject or leave you. This fear often comes from traumatic life events such as the loss of a loved one, infidelity, childhood abuse and neglect, and the divorce of one's parents. Have you ever feared that someone you really care about and have depended upon might suddenly leave you? If so, you are not alone. Even Jesus disciples were join Kent Edwards, Nathan Norman, and Vicki Hitchkis as they discover In Matthew, chapter 24, verses 1 to 35 how Jesus calms their fear of abandonment. Welcome to Crosstalk, a Christian podcast whose goal is for us to encourage each other to not only increase our knowledge of the Bible, but to take the next step beyond information into transformation. Our goal is to bring the Bible to life, into all our lives. I'm Brian French. Today, Dr. Kent Edwards, Vicki Hitchkis, and Nathan Norman continue their discussion through the Gospel of Matthew. If you have a Bible handy, turn to Matthew, chapter 24 as we join their discussion.
Kent: Nathan, Vicki, have you known people who have suffered from the fear of abandonment? If so, how did it affect them?
Vicki: I think that's a common fear. When I heard that being read, I thought about little kids in a nursery. When little kids are separated from their mother, they never go, oh, wow, this is my chance to break free. They turn around and howl.
Nathan: Yeah, that's a good image. That is kind of along the same lines with kids. I've had the benefit of knowing a lot of people who've been adopted as kids and kind of navigated life to adulthood. And one of the common threads is this kind of fear of abandonment. And one thing that a lot of them have shared with me is that throughout a good portion of their young adults, even into midlife times, is they were always kind of pushing people away. You know, they had this fear of abandonment deep within them. And so it was almost like they felt like the people in their lives were eventually going to leave anyways. So you might as well just push them out now and do horrible things to try and get rid of them, because you can't possibly love me because nobody loves me. Because I had all this traumatic early life experience. It's a really tragic thing.
Vicki: I remember being in the third grade and one of my friends was out on the playground just sobbing all by herself. And it turned out her parents had just gotten divorced. And, man, that shook me up. And I went home and I said to my mother, are you and Daddy getting divorced? And she said, no, you'll never have to Worry about that. She said we might murder each other, but we won't ever. We won't ever get divorced.
Kent: Oh my word. Did she really say that?
Vicki: Yeah, she did, but she, she was kidding, but.
Kent: I know, but she's such a sweet woman. I can hardly imagine.
Vicki: You'll never have to worry about that. But, but it comforted me. I could deal deal with murder. I don't know why, but I couldn't deal with divorce.
Kent: No. I have a daughter in law who works with some severely emotionally hurt children. And if she were here, she would say yes, there's a lot of abandonment issues that the kids that she works with happen over and over and over again. They want to be loved, but don't want to be loved because of the pain that will inevitably come. And seeing that pain is not easy. But it's not limited to today either. I think the fear of abandonment has affected people throughout all ages, even the disciples. I mean, if you think about it, the disciples had lived and ministered with Jesus for close to three years. And the thought of him leaving them alone, of abandoning them, I think that was frightening. Jesus started talking about living disciples back in Matthew 16 when he said that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and that he must be killed and on the third day raised to life. And just the announcement that he was going to leave them made the disciples upset, especially Peter. Wouldn't you agree, Vicki?
Vicki: Do you think it was that he was leaving or the fact that he said he was going to be killed?
Kent: Well, certainly he was going to be leaving.
Vicki: Peter took him aside and he began to rebuke him. And he said, never, Lord, this will never happen to you. And Jesus turned and he said to Peter, get behind me, Satan.
Kent: That was pretty strong. But then Jesus comforted them with the words in verse 27, says, the Son.
Vicki: Of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Kent: So first Jesus told them, I'm going to leave. And then said, yeah, but there's a time when I will come back. But here in Matthew 24, their fear of Jesus leaving them came back with a vengeance because, well, look what happened.
Nathan: 24:1 it says Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.
Kent: We don't usually have a lot of architectural references in the Bible, but you certainly do here. I'm told that the road from Jerusalem to Bethany passes through the Mount of Olives, which gives Apparently a spectacular view of the city, particularly the temple. And that temple was spectacular. King Herod renovated and rebuilt the area of the Temple Mount. It took 46 years to come to completion.
Vicki: Wow.
Kent: He spared absolutely no expense. In fact, historian Josephus of the time said, and I quote, the exterior of the building was astounding. To approaching strangers, it appeared from a distance like a snow clad mountain. For all that was not overlaid with gold was of purest white. So they're on the mountain looking down at this gorgeous scene and Jesus says.
Vicki: Do you see all these things? He asks. Truly, I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another. Every one will be thrown down again.
Kent: I think the disciples would have. This would have taken their breath away because it was an amazing building. All of Jerusalem was spectacular, but this building, building was the queen. Herod believed that building this temple would be a task great enough to, and again, I quote, assure his eternal remembrance. Wow. But it wasn't. In AD 70, just a few years after its completion, the temple was destroyed by Rome. And the destruction of Jerusalem was so unsettling to the disciples that we read in verse three, it said, the disciples.
Vicki: Came to him privately. Tell us, they said, when will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
Kent: Jesus spends a long time in this chapter answering those questions. I think he thought they were good questions. The first one, when will this destruction happen? When is this all going to take place? Secondly, how will we know when you return you're going to leave? We know that, but how will we know when you come back? We don't want to miss you. And Jesus answered, well, watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name claiming I am the Messiah and will deceive many. It's kind of a warning. He's saying that the events to come will be so alarming and disorienting that people will be tempted to look for false messiahs. Things are not going to get better. In fact, he gives a threefold timeline of the destruction, starting in verse six.
Nathan: Says, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Kent: Okay, so we begin saying, there's going to be worldwide distress.
Nathan: But don't worry, it's not over yet. Yeah, don't worry, it's going to get worse.
Kent: This is only the first scene. Yeah. So it's going to begin with worldwide distress, and then it'll continue.
Vicki: In verse nine, it says, then you will be handed over to the persecuted and put to death. And you will be hated by all the nations because of me. At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. The love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Kent: Well, that's not particularly cheery news either, is it?
Vicki: It's not.
Kent: First, there's going to be worldwide distress, but don't worry, it's going to be even worse for you. So there's going to be increasing persecution. Welcome to second scene. But don't worry, there's more of that coming. Because then he says, we move on to the third phase.
Nathan: He said so. When you see standing in the holy place, the abomination that causes desolation, flee to the mountains, for there will be great distress unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
Kent: So things will start off bad and get worse. And finally, it would be absolutely unbearable. If the ace hadn't been shortened, no one would survive. That's not particularly good news, by the way. What is the abomination of desolation he mentions here? Any ideas, Nathan?
Nathan: Well, in layman's terms, we're talking about, like, something that's completely, unbearably evil. Yeah. So he's talking about the Antichrist, the spirit from Satan that is setting itself up against all the things of Christ, but also deceives a good chunk of people to think that, yes, this is good, this is wonderful. This is the correct way forward. But it is absolutely opposed to the things of Jesus.
Vicki: I thought we were going to be gone, but we're in the middle of all this.
Kent: Yeah. Notice that the Christians are. They are not immune from any of this. Because as we start in verse 16 and follow, look at what it says.
Vicki: Very specifically, it says, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. It sounds like it's gonna be pretty sudden. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
Kent: Wow. The disciples Savior is not giving them good news. It's not good news for them. What does it mean for us?
Nathan: Well, I don't like this theology.
Vicki: No, I don't like it either.
Kent: But the disciples asked a direct question and Jesus is giving them a very direct answer. I guess the question in my mind is, why would Jesus, who is about to die on the cross for our salvation, tells us things are going to get so bad that they'll almost be unsurvivable? I mean, what is his purpose in waiting? I mean, he's in charge of history. Why is he bringing this terrible time of suffering onto the earth?
Vicki: I don't know. And it seems odd that he would tell them that they're not going to.
Kent: Go through it, but they are, because it did begin to happen immediately. But it did happen. The temple was destroyed by AD 70. It began when he said it, and it's continuing to this day.
Nathan: Yeah, I think there's two reasons why Jesus is giving us this. One, I think for Christians of every generation, we need to be prepared for persecution. And unfortunately, a lot of times in our Gospel presentations, we're like, hey, Jesus is going to improve your life. In one sense, that's true. I have salvation. I have forgiveness of sins. I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give me joy. But in another sense, it's not true because he promises here and elsewhere that there's going to be persecution, that people will hate you because of your dedication to Christ. And it's good to know what you're about to go into. Right. It's good to know that there is going to be difficulties and you need to be prepared for faithfulness so that you're not surprised by what's happening. I think the other reason that to answer your question more directly, why is Jesus waiting to come back? Why doesn't he just stop all this pain and suffering? Right. Well, it's so that the maximal amount of people who will accept Jesus and receive salvation will be able to accept Jesus and have salvation. So in a real way, you know, Jesus calls us to walk the path that he walked. And so as a Christian, if you're truly following Christ, there will be suffering there. He said, take up your cross daily and follow me. There is going to be suffering. And so when we are suffering because of the sins of others, because Jesus is waiting to come back, we're living like Christ. We are suffering so that others won't have to, so they have an opportunity to accept Jesus.
Kent: Vicki, isn't that what Peter mentioned in 2 Peter 3?
Vicki: It says in verse 7, the heavens and the earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Kent: So the disciples ask two questions of Jesus. When will this destruction happen? And Jesus says, yeah, it's coming. You're going to face it. And it's going to continue to come until I return. And the second question was, well, how will we know when you've returned again? That's another good question, isn't it?
Nathan: That is, it would be nice to know when this is going to happen. Do I have to worry about it in my life?
Kent: Well, because in the desperation of all this terrible suffering, we're looking away for, maybe he's come back. Maybe it's over. Where is he? Where is he? I think there's a temptation to start looking for messiahs. And that's why Jesus reminds them again, even as he did at the beginning of this chapter.
Vicki: In verse 24, it says, false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So if anyone tells you, there he is out in the wilderness, do not go out, or here he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it.
Kent: How will we know if Jesus has returned? How will we find him if we don't go looking for him? Well, I love Jesus answers, saying, you don't have to go looking. My return, it ain't going to be.
Vicki: A secret, he says, for as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Kent: So as clear as lightning is seen in the sky from all directions, so everyone, regardless of where they are, everyone is going to see when the Son of Man returns. He uses a metaphor here that's a little strange to us. Where there's a carcass, the vultures will gather. Well, that's true, because wherever there is a body, the birds will circle over top. They just will. And that's just not in the desert environment. I see that. I live in the west coast of America, close to the ocean. And when fishermen go out and look for fish, they don't look for fish. You know what they look for?
Vicki: Birds.
Kent: Birds. Really, they do. They'll have radar, they'll have binoculars. They'll be looking for where the birds are circling. For wherever the birds are, there's fish that are present there. So the birds give away the location of what you're really looking for. And he's saying here, just as you know from a distance, where the body is, where the birds are, everyone will know from their distance where the Savior is, where the Son of Man is.
Nathan: And in verse 30, all the people of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Kent: Why will they mourn? Why will the nations mourn?
Nathan: Because they're in rebellion against Him.
Kent: Right? So for them he's coming in judgment. But he continues in verse 31, Vicki.
Vicki: He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Kent: Don't have to wonder whether you miss Jesus arrival. No one will miss it. Some will hate it. We're going to love it. When Jesus returns, you'll know it. You will see him. Now in this passage, things are bleak today. But according to Jesus, we can be sure of two things. Yes, things are going to get worse. Not just for non Christians, but for Christians as well. But when history reaches its zenith, Jesus will return. God will not abandon us. Although it may feel like it at times, it's not true. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is always faithful. Our spouses or employers may have abandoned us, but God never will. History is still God's story, and evil will not win. We can depend on that. Because, as Jesus promised in verse 34.
Vicki: Truly I tell you, this generation, the human race, will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away. But Jesus said, my words will never pass away.
Kent: And so we wait. Wait for our Savior to come to us. Because the one who ascended into heaven in Acts 1 will descend 1 day to gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. And we will be with him forever.
Brian: Jesus came in such a nondescript way the first time. The early Christians were afraid they would miss his second coming. But Jesus makes it abundantly clear when he returns, you won't have to go looking for Him. Everyone will know. If you've been trusting in Jesus, you don't need to be afraid of being left behind. I trust that today's discussion of God's Word has been helpful and served as an encouragement to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers together. Let's bring God's Word to life to our lives. This week, the crosstalk Podcast is a production of crosstalk Global, equipping biblical communicators so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more about this educational nonprofit organization, please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org. our next crosstalk events are happening in Salina, Kansas and New England. Help us train the next generation of biblical communicators. All you have to do is click Donate in the show notes and make a donation of any size. You can also help support this show by rating it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're enjoying it. Be sure to listen next Friday as we continue our discussion of the Gospel of Matthew. You won't want to miss it.
Vicki: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Kent: I think that makes your point, Brian. I think that makes your point, Nathan.
Nathan: Nobody knows my name.
Kent: It's only when I call my kids names of old dog, that's when I get in trouble.
Nathan: That's rough.
Kent: That's rough. That's rough. Yeah.
Nathan: My first two serious girlfriends were both named Lisa. That was helpful. Lisa number two is like Lisa.
Kent: Oh, shoot.
Nathan: Oh, wait. No, I'm good.