And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Christ's words mean that many professed believers will stumble from faith and fall away, turning against one another in betrayal and hatred amid affliction, persecution and universal hatred for His name's sake. The rupture reaches into the church and the closest ties, with members offended over disagreement, close friends separated, parents and children betraying one another, and those who abandon the faith oppressing and maligning former fellow believers. The saying stands in His Olivet answer about the temple's overthrow, His coming and the end of the world, coming after wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes as the beginning of sorrows and before false prophets, abounding iniquity and the gospel preached in all the world for a witness. It was fulfilled when early Christians were betrayed to councils and killed, and will be strictly fulfilled again among professed Christians at the end when laws restrict religious liberty and force conscience until God interposes for His loyal people. It is therefore a solemn danger signal to be studied, understood and taught, calling believers to watch and be ready, to endure to the end, and to press together in unity and humility rather than turn away from one another.
Discourse Context and Scope
Matthew 24:10 belongs to Christ's Olivet answer to when the temple would be thrown down and what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. That answer joins the destruction of Jerusalem with His coming, interweaving the destruction of Jerusalem with the final destruction of the world. It was given shortly before He entered Gethsemane to bear the sins of the world as a discourse of prediction and warning. It was a warning to the first disciples about what they would meet at the hands of fellow men, and it was also given for those living in the final scenes of earth's history and for believers at the end. It will be strictly fulfilled again among professed Christians, when those who have been companions in Christian association will not always keep fidelity, and cherished envy and evil surmising will separate close friends.
Jerusalem's destruction serves as a type of the world's final destruction by fire. The disciples could not see how the destruction of the temple could be fulfilled, though for years labor was given to convince the Jews that great calamities would come upon their nation and upon Jerusalem unless they should repent. The discourse includes signs before these events and instructions for people in Judea to flee when they see the abomination of desolation, praying that flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. The Sabbath of creation remains to be observed after Christ's crucifixion. The same pattern holds for judgments that will come upon cities because their inhabitants have greatly dishonored God, when the Lord looks upon impenitent cities and sends messages of reproof and warning by His messengers, and when the messengers are despised and the messages rejected so that patience and forbearance will not turn hearts to Him, God sends judgments as He has done upon San Francisco, which no human power can stand against.
The great prophecy in Matthew 24 in brief covers the whole Christian dispensation and sketches the history of the present dispensation to the complete restitution of all things. It describes the history of the church between His first and second advents, predicting what His people would face from His departure until His return. They would endure humiliation, reproach, and suffering, as the enmity directed against Him would also be directed against those who believe in Him. It traces the church in her warfare and her sufferings as she passes on to her promised redemption and on to the final triumph of the people of God, the destruction of Satan and all his followers, the total and eternal extirpation of evil from the universe, and the renovation of the earth as the everlasting inheritance of the saints.
Matthew 24 and 25 describe the second coming of Christ to the world with power and great glory to gather His elect and reveal the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. The verse portrays the condition of the church at Christ's second coming and gives warning to watch and be ready, which should arouse earnest zeal in the heart of the true believer. Signs are presented in the heavens, on earth, in the church, and in the wicked world that show Christ's coming is near. Like Noah's day the world will be warned before its approaching doom, while the day and hour of Christ's coming remain unrevealed and no one knows them.
The verse comes after wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, with famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places as the beginning of sorrows. It comes after His followers are delivered up to be afflicted and killed and hated of all nations for His name's sake. At that point many fall away from faith and turn against each other in betrayal and hatred. It comes before many false prophets rising and deceiving many, iniquity abounding and the love of many growing cold, yet he who endures to the end will be saved, and the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations before the end comes. It is one of Christ's solemn words of warning to take heed that no man deceive them, that the time of trouble comes as a thief in the night, calling the people of God to heed the warning rather than learn the secret time of Christ's coming, to prepare themselves, to perform faithfully their individual duty, to give Christ's warnings to others, and to maintain watchfulness and readiness.
Meaning of Taking Offense
To be offended is to stumble from faith, to fall away and turn away and make shipwreck of faith. Amid persecution many stumble in this way, betraying one another and hating one another when they reject Christ and come under the control of evil. The nearness of the great day of the Lord is seen in such apostasy among believers, when many who once rejoiced in the truth are offended and sink into a blank and cheerless spiritual condition without God and without hope, like the inhabitants of the old world.
Offense includes spiritual betrayal, turning against the Lord when He exposes a person's spiritual condition and gives a message to heed. Many stumble and apostatize from faith they once held because truth cuts across their practice. Many who claim to believe the truth will not accept light in God's appointed way.
From the crest of Olivet the prophecy looks down the stream of time to these last days, seeing the actions of saints and sinners at the end of time. Over them tears of sorrow are shed, especially over those who answer the earnest and strong uplifted voice of God's people with whispers of fanaticism and enthusiasm. Even amid that offense and scorn, His servants are bidden not to be afraid but to say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God.
The falling away comes among greatly favored professed believers when the Pharisaic spirit comes in and spiritual revival is lacking. It comes because they are not established in present truth by digging it out for themselves. Satan works upon the unconsecrated elements of the human mind to bring this result, while everyone who remains faithful and true to the end humbles the heart before God. In times of peril many change their opinions and take the side of the transgressors of God's law in order to escape persecution, and to save themselves bear false witness and betray their brethren.
Betrayal and Hatred Described
The betrayal and hatred arise amid affliction and persecution and killing and being hated universally, and they picture conditions existing in the church, not merely in the world. During the troubles and persecution preceding the end, many turn against one another in this betraying and hating. That turning is church members becoming offended with one another and turning away from one another because of disagreement.
Engaging in dissension and strife over disagreement, they betray and hate one another, and such conduct works against God and shows that first love has been left. Those who have been companions in Christian association do not always keep fidelity, for cherished envy and evil surmising separate close friends. This offending and betraying and hating among professed Christians was given as warning of what would be met at the hands of fellow men.
Persecution brings that betrayal and hatred even among the closest ties, so that parents and children betray one another and friends hand friends over to the Sanhedrin. Parents handed over children and children their parents, and these events accompanied the affliction and killing and hatred described in the preceding verse. This was fulfilled in the suffering of the early Christians, when Stephen and Paul and Peter and other Christians were killed, and Saul who had bitterly opposed believers before his conversion then preached Christ and was himself whipped and imprisoned with Silas.
Many who once belonged to the church abandon the faith in the crisis and turn against their former fellow believers. Their hostility leads them to oppress and malign them and to stir up others' anger against them. Amid persecution many stumble from faith and betray one another and hate one another, which describes the betrayal and hostility arising when people reject Christ and come under the control of evil. That pattern of betrayal and rejection also represents the future rejection, when the religious world sides with Satan and rejects the message concerning God's commandments and the faith of Jesus. The same spirit is reflected in the strong, bitter opposition that new religious views meet from people firmly attached to their established beliefs.
Every persecution forces witnesses to decide for or against Christ. Those who sympathize with the wrongly condemned and do not turn bitter against them show their attachment to Christ. To save themselves many bear false witness and betray their brethren after stumbling and apostatizing from faith they once held. By persecuting Christ's servants their opponents abuse Christ in the person of His saints. Yet persecution drives teachers of the truth to flee to other places where they continue preaching, so the attempt to suppress their work instead helps the truth spread.
Fulfillment Past and Future
Under persecution the offense, betrayal and hatred broke out even inside the closest ties, with parents and children betraying one another and friends handing friends over to the Sanhedrin. This was fulfilled in the suffering of the early Christians, who were betrayed by fathers, mothers, children and friends and killed, including Stephen, James and others, with Paul and Peter also numbered among the slain. Saul himself first bitterly opposed believers, then after his conversion preached Christ and was in turn whipped and imprisoned with Silas. By abusing Christ's servants in this way their opponents abused Christ in the person of His saints.
The warning was given to the first disciples concerning what they would meet at the hands of fellow men in the destruction of Jerusalem interwoven with the final destruction of the world. It will be strictly fulfilled again among professed Christians at the end, when authorities make laws to restrict religious liberty and force conscience, until God interposes for His loyal commandment-keeping people. Companions in Christian association will not always keep fidelity, for cherished envy and evil surmising will separate close friends. Christ gave the warning so believers will not be surprised at the unnatural cruelty of those who reject light, since every persecution forces witnesses to decide for or against Christ and many to save themselves bear false witness and betray their brethren.
The predictions of the prophetic chapter are being fulfilled in the present time and are fast fulfilling now. Their fulfillment shows that Christ's coming is at hand, the Lord near at the door, the world living in the very last days and last chapters of earth's history when the end of all things is at hand. Stormy times lie ahead, yet this calls for faith and courage without unbelief or discouragement and for earnest continued labor until the work given to do is finished.
The verse is one of the signs the Saviour predicted to herald His second advent in the last conflict of earth's history. The perils of the last days and the heavier pressure of the powers of darkness in it are now seen and sensed, though the signs are so common that people scarcely consider what they mean. The third angel's warning is the last message to be proclaimed before the Son of man is revealed.
The verse belongs to the outline of what is to come upon the world in the perils of the last days now present, when those perishing in sin must be warned of coming punishment for rejecting God's commandments and warnings. The warning was first labored for years to convince the Jews that great calamities would come upon their nation and upon Jerusalem unless they should repent, though the disciples could not see how the destruction of the temple could be fulfilled. The same pattern holds when the Lord looks upon impenitent cities and sends messages of reproof and warning by His messengers, and when messengers are despised and messages rejected so that patience and forbearance will not turn hearts to Him, God sends judgments which no human power can stand against, as He has done upon San Francisco.
Warning and Faithful Response
The verse is a lifted danger signal and specification of coming danger, given with prophetic sight reaching to the very end of earth's history to mark out what would surely take place in the last days. It is to be carefully studied, read and understood, explained to those being taught, and presented by ministers and teachers above matters of lesser consequence, because its truth decides the eternal destiny of souls. As its unmistakable fulfillment is seen, it calls the church to arouse, rousing from lethargy and awakening a sense of responsibility, while the world needs to be enlightened about the fulfilling signs by books containing the light of present truth.
It warns to take heed that no one deceives, and to watch and be ready, for no one knows the day or hour. God's people are not to rush on blindfolded receiving messages that are not true, nor to seek to learn the secret time of coming, but to recognize fast-fulfilling events so they are not surprised or unready when He appears. Faithful watchmen watch for the prophecies, and the warning should arouse earnest zeal in the heart of the true believer, with faith and courage and without one word of unbelief or discouragement, even though stormy times lie ahead and the time of trouble comes as a thief in the night.
Heeding the warning means preparing to meet the coming event, performing faithfully individual duty, and enduring to the end unto salvation. It means giving Christ's warnings to others, warning those perishing in sin of coming punishment for rejecting God's commandments and warnings, and warning the world of the coming event. Money entrusted by the Lord is to be invested to give the world the last message of mercy.
The offense, betrayal and hatred picture conditions existing in the church, where members turn away from one another over disagreement in dissension and strife, showing first love left and working against God. Instead believers must not turn away from one another but carry light to those in darkness and do their God-given work in unity. Dissension from outside will surely come, with fires kindled by the enemy to lead astray if followed, so God's people must not walk in sparks of their own kindling nor in sparks the enemy kindles, but walk in heaven's light where they reach the highest standard of truth and righteousness, equity and judgment. They must come in humility of mind, put self out of sight, and press together and unify as far and as fast as possible in the Spirit of Jesus, so the Holy Spirit will come in and blessing rest on the work; when they draw apart, each seeking to bring in something different, the work is prolonged and nothing is accomplished and the blessing cannot be received.
The signs call His household servants to prepare the way for the second advent by helping in every possible way those for whom He gave His life. That preparation is instruction for the great conflict, requiring Bible believers who see and sense the perils of the last days and the heavier pressure of the powers of darkness to keep laboring earnestly and do their very best work until the work given them is finished.
Christ's words mean that many professed believers will stumble from faith and fall away, turning against one another in betrayal and hatred amid affliction, persecution and universal hatred for His name's sake. The rupture reaches into the church and the closest ties, with members offended over disagreement, close friends separated, parents and children betraying one another, and those who abandon the faith oppressing and maligning former fellow believers. The saying stands in His Olivet answer about the temple's overthrow, His coming and the end of the world, coming after wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes as the beginning of sorrows and before false prophets, abounding iniquity and the gospel preached in all the world for a witness. It was fulfilled when early Christians were betrayed to councils and killed, and will be strictly fulfilled again among professed Christians at the end when laws restrict religious liberty and force conscience until God interposes for His loyal people. It is therefore a solemn danger signal to be studied, understood and taught, calling believers to watch and be ready, to endure to the end, and to press together in unity and humility rather than turn away from one another.
Discourse Context and Scope
Matthew 24:10 belongs to Christ's Olivet answer to when the temple would be thrown down and what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. That answer joins the destruction of Jerusalem with His coming, interweaving the destruction of Jerusalem with the final destruction of the world. It was given shortly before He entered Gethsemane to bear the sins of the world as a discourse of prediction and warning. It was a warning to the first disciples about what they would meet at the hands of fellow men, and it was also given for those living in the final scenes of earth's history and for believers at the end. It will be strictly fulfilled again among professed Christians, when those who have been companions in Christian association will not always keep fidelity, and cherished envy and evil surmising will separate close friends.
Jerusalem's destruction serves as a type of the world's final destruction by fire. The disciples could not see how the destruction of the temple could be fulfilled, though for years labor was given to convince the Jews that great calamities would come upon their nation and upon Jerusalem unless they should repent. The discourse includes signs before these events and instructions for people in Judea to flee when they see the abomination of desolation, praying that flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. The Sabbath of creation remains to be observed after Christ's crucifixion. The same pattern holds for judgments that will come upon cities because their inhabitants have greatly dishonored God, when the Lord looks upon impenitent cities and sends messages of reproof and warning by His messengers, and when the messengers are despised and the messages rejected so that patience and forbearance will not turn hearts to Him, God sends judgments as He has done upon San Francisco, which no human power can stand against.
The great prophecy in Matthew 24 in brief covers the whole Christian dispensation and sketches the history of the present dispensation to the complete restitution of all things. It describes the history of the church between His first and second advents, predicting what His people would face from His departure until His return. They would endure humiliation, reproach, and suffering, as the enmity directed against Him would also be directed against those who believe in Him. It traces the church in her warfare and her sufferings as she passes on to her promised redemption and on to the final triumph of the people of God, the destruction of Satan and all his followers, the total and eternal extirpation of evil from the universe, and the renovation of the earth as the everlasting inheritance of the saints.
Matthew 24 and 25 describe the second coming of Christ to the world with power and great glory to gather His elect and reveal the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. The verse portrays the condition of the church at Christ's second coming and gives warning to watch and be ready, which should arouse earnest zeal in the heart of the true believer. Signs are presented in the heavens, on earth, in the church, and in the wicked world that show Christ's coming is near. Like Noah's day the world will be warned before its approaching doom, while the day and hour of Christ's coming remain unrevealed and no one knows them.
The verse comes after wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, with famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places as the beginning of sorrows. It comes after His followers are delivered up to be afflicted and killed and hated of all nations for His name's sake. At that point many fall away from faith and turn against each other in betrayal and hatred. It comes before many false prophets rising and deceiving many, iniquity abounding and the love of many growing cold, yet he who endures to the end will be saved, and the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations before the end comes. It is one of Christ's solemn words of warning to take heed that no man deceive them, that the time of trouble comes as a thief in the night, calling the people of God to heed the warning rather than learn the secret time of Christ's coming, to prepare themselves, to perform faithfully their individual duty, to give Christ's warnings to others, and to maintain watchfulness and readiness.
Meaning of Taking Offense
To be offended is to stumble from faith, to fall away and turn away and make shipwreck of faith. Amid persecution many stumble in this way, betraying one another and hating one another when they reject Christ and come under the control of evil. The nearness of the great day of the Lord is seen in such apostasy among believers, when many who once rejoiced in the truth are offended and sink into a blank and cheerless spiritual condition without God and without hope, like the inhabitants of the old world.
Offense includes spiritual betrayal, turning against the Lord when He exposes a person's spiritual condition and gives a message to heed. Many stumble and apostatize from faith they once held because truth cuts across their practice. Many who claim to believe the truth will not accept light in God's appointed way.
From the crest of Olivet the prophecy looks down the stream of time to these last days, seeing the actions of saints and sinners at the end of time. Over them tears of sorrow are shed, especially over those who answer the earnest and strong uplifted voice of God's people with whispers of fanaticism and enthusiasm. Even amid that offense and scorn, His servants are bidden not to be afraid but to say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God.
The falling away comes among greatly favored professed believers when the Pharisaic spirit comes in and spiritual revival is lacking. It comes because they are not established in present truth by digging it out for themselves. Satan works upon the unconsecrated elements of the human mind to bring this result, while everyone who remains faithful and true to the end humbles the heart before God. In times of peril many change their opinions and take the side of the transgressors of God's law in order to escape persecution, and to save themselves bear false witness and betray their brethren.
Betrayal and Hatred Described
The betrayal and hatred arise amid affliction and persecution and killing and being hated universally, and they picture conditions existing in the church, not merely in the world. During the troubles and persecution preceding the end, many turn against one another in this betraying and hating. That turning is church members becoming offended with one another and turning away from one another because of disagreement.
Engaging in dissension and strife over disagreement, they betray and hate one another, and such conduct works against God and shows that first love has been left. Those who have been companions in Christian association do not always keep fidelity, for cherished envy and evil surmising separate close friends. This offending and betraying and hating among professed Christians was given as warning of what would be met at the hands of fellow men.
Persecution brings that betrayal and hatred even among the closest ties, so that parents and children betray one another and friends hand friends over to the Sanhedrin. Parents handed over children and children their parents, and these events accompanied the affliction and killing and hatred described in the preceding verse. This was fulfilled in the suffering of the early Christians, when Stephen and Paul and Peter and other Christians were killed, and Saul who had bitterly opposed believers before his conversion then preached Christ and was himself whipped and imprisoned with Silas.
Many who once belonged to the church abandon the faith in the crisis and turn against their former fellow believers. Their hostility leads them to oppress and malign them and to stir up others' anger against them. Amid persecution many stumble from faith and betray one another and hate one another, which describes the betrayal and hostility arising when people reject Christ and come under the control of evil. That pattern of betrayal and rejection also represents the future rejection, when the religious world sides with Satan and rejects the message concerning God's commandments and the faith of Jesus. The same spirit is reflected in the strong, bitter opposition that new religious views meet from people firmly attached to their established beliefs.
Every persecution forces witnesses to decide for or against Christ. Those who sympathize with the wrongly condemned and do not turn bitter against them show their attachment to Christ. To save themselves many bear false witness and betray their brethren after stumbling and apostatizing from faith they once held. By persecuting Christ's servants their opponents abuse Christ in the person of His saints. Yet persecution drives teachers of the truth to flee to other places where they continue preaching, so the attempt to suppress their work instead helps the truth spread.
Fulfillment Past and Future
Under persecution the offense, betrayal and hatred broke out even inside the closest ties, with parents and children betraying one another and friends handing friends over to the Sanhedrin. This was fulfilled in the suffering of the early Christians, who were betrayed by fathers, mothers, children and friends and killed, including Stephen, James and others, with Paul and Peter also numbered among the slain. Saul himself first bitterly opposed believers, then after his conversion preached Christ and was in turn whipped and imprisoned with Silas. By abusing Christ's servants in this way their opponents abused Christ in the person of His saints.
The warning was given to the first disciples concerning what they would meet at the hands of fellow men in the destruction of Jerusalem interwoven with the final destruction of the world. It will be strictly fulfilled again among professed Christians at the end, when authorities make laws to restrict religious liberty and force conscience, until God interposes for His loyal commandment-keeping people. Companions in Christian association will not always keep fidelity, for cherished envy and evil surmising will separate close friends. Christ gave the warning so believers will not be surprised at the unnatural cruelty of those who reject light, since every persecution forces witnesses to decide for or against Christ and many to save themselves bear false witness and betray their brethren.
The predictions of the prophetic chapter are being fulfilled in the present time and are fast fulfilling now. Their fulfillment shows that Christ's coming is at hand, the Lord near at the door, the world living in the very last days and last chapters of earth's history when the end of all things is at hand. Stormy times lie ahead, yet this calls for faith and courage without unbelief or discouragement and for earnest continued labor until the work given to do is finished.
The verse is one of the signs the Saviour predicted to herald His second advent in the last conflict of earth's history. The perils of the last days and the heavier pressure of the powers of darkness in it are now seen and sensed, though the signs are so common that people scarcely consider what they mean. The third angel's warning is the last message to be proclaimed before the Son of man is revealed.
The verse belongs to the outline of what is to come upon the world in the perils of the last days now present, when those perishing in sin must be warned of coming punishment for rejecting God's commandments and warnings. The warning was first labored for years to convince the Jews that great calamities would come upon their nation and upon Jerusalem unless they should repent, though the disciples could not see how the destruction of the temple could be fulfilled. The same pattern holds when the Lord looks upon impenitent cities and sends messages of reproof and warning by His messengers, and when messengers are despised and messages rejected so that patience and forbearance will not turn hearts to Him, God sends judgments which no human power can stand against, as He has done upon San Francisco.
Warning and Faithful Response
The verse is a lifted danger signal and specification of coming danger, given with prophetic sight reaching to the very end of earth's history to mark out what would surely take place in the last days. It is to be carefully studied, read and understood, explained to those being taught, and presented by ministers and teachers above matters of lesser consequence, because its truth decides the eternal destiny of souls. As its unmistakable fulfillment is seen, it calls the church to arouse, rousing from lethargy and awakening a sense of responsibility, while the world needs to be enlightened about the fulfilling signs by books containing the light of present truth.
It warns to take heed that no one deceives, and to watch and be ready, for no one knows the day or hour. God's people are not to rush on blindfolded receiving messages that are not true, nor to seek to learn the secret time of coming, but to recognize fast-fulfilling events so they are not surprised or unready when He appears. Faithful watchmen watch for the prophecies, and the warning should arouse earnest zeal in the heart of the true believer, with faith and courage and without one word of unbelief or discouragement, even though stormy times lie ahead and the time of trouble comes as a thief in the night.
Heeding the warning means preparing to meet the coming event, performing faithfully individual duty, and enduring to the end unto salvation. It means giving Christ's warnings to others, warning those perishing in sin of coming punishment for rejecting God's commandments and warnings, and warning the world of the coming event. Money entrusted by the Lord is to be invested to give the world the last message of mercy.
The offense, betrayal and hatred picture conditions existing in the church, where members turn away from one another over disagreement in dissension and strife, showing first love left and working against God. Instead believers must not turn away from one another but carry light to those in darkness and do their God-given work in unity. Dissension from outside will surely come, with fires kindled by the enemy to lead astray if followed, so God's people must not walk in sparks of their own kindling nor in sparks the enemy kindles, but walk in heaven's light where they reach the highest standard of truth and righteousness, equity and judgment. They must come in humility of mind, put self out of sight, and press together and unify as far and as fast as possible in the Spirit of Jesus, so the Holy Spirit will come in and blessing rest on the work; when they draw apart, each seeking to bring in something different, the work is prolonged and nothing is accomplished and the blessing cannot be received.
The signs call His household servants to prepare the way for the second advent by helping in every possible way those for whom He gave His life. That preparation is instruction for the great conflict, requiring Bible believers who see and sense the perils of the last days and the heavier pressure of the powers of darkness to keep laboring earnestly and do their very best work until the work given them is finished.