Context for Matthew 24:1-31
Jesus tells His disciples the signs of the coming age, the last age of this earth. These signs are a clear indication of what will happen before He comes again in glory.
“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.â€
Matthew 24:6 NASB
Many people study these verses of Matthew 24 desperately trying to coax out of them some secret about when the world will end. For thousands of years, generations of so-called prophets have declared that the end was upon us only to be proved wrong by the passage of time.
Why then did Jesus provide us such a glimpse into the future? Simply because it is by the measure of these things that we can rest assured that His promise to return is in fact true. Jesus wanted us to understand that, even after He left us to prepare a place for us in Heaven, that the events of Earth had not swept us away from Him.
Instead, assured that these things must happen, we should concentrate ourselves on seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness, keeping ourselves in the world and living out our faith through our daily lives. By this means, we protect ourselves against the things that must come to pass so that we are ready for the last day.
