26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:26–27 (ESV)
The time period leading up to the great tribulation will feature many individuals predicting the Messiah’s return. These type of predictions have not only occurred within the last fifty years but also the last 2,000 years, only to be proven false. Many more predictions will follow. Throughout the last two millennia, there have been numerous false prophecies concerning Jesus’ physical return to earth from heaven. Estimates have been made that there has been up to 3,000 such predictions since the first century, up to the present day.
Jesus indicated such false messiahs would appear prior to His return. He said, “23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.” (Matthew 24:23–25 (ESV)
Jesus predicted there would always be false teachers and messiahs trying to persuade and influence the church. Jesus said to not trust in, commit to, depend upon or honor and worship these prophecies or prophecies. They are false. The word false (ψευδό; pseudo) means fake and deceptive.
The Apostle Paul warned the Ephesian church elders of the same type of individuals (Acts 20:28-31). Within the New Testament Epistles, both Paul and Peter spoke against teachers and scoffers who either predicted Jesus Christ had already come, or ridiculed the believers because He hadn’t (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2; 2 Peter 3). So too did the Apostle John (I John 4:1-6) and Jude (Jude 3-4) encounter such individuals. So also does the church today.
What is the believer in Christ to do regarding such false prophecies? Jesus continued to warn His disciples, then and now, about the false predictions by false prophets. There will be many individuals saying Jesus will appear here or there. All such predictions are wrong.
Jesus said there would be those stating He would appear in the wilderness. He said do not go. Jesus said there would be those stating He would appear in inner rooms or chambers. He said to not trust such predictions. In contrast, Jesus stated that as sure as the pattern and reality of lightening, so also would be His second coming.
“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” was most likely a common proverbial saying in the first century. It meant that as vultures publicly circle around a corpse in the wilderness, so also will Jesus’ coming be public and unmistakable. In other words, when the Lord returns people will know it.
“Some, with reflection on John the Baptist (3:1), may point to the wilderness as the place where the Messiah is to be found. Others, to the inner rooms, as if the Christ were only for a few initiates, the Head of a private fraternity, revealing himself to no one else. In fact, the very opposite is the truth. It will not be necessary in that day to go in search of the Christ, as if he were to be found in some arid waste or some dark corner,” explains Dr. William Henriksen.
“A word should be said about the important term “coming,” in Greek Parousia,” continues Dr. Hendriksen. “The term refers to the return or advent of the Lord, his coming in order to bless his people with his presence. This meaning may be viewed as a modification of the sense: “the arrival” or “the visit” of the king or emperor. The sense of the comparison, then, is this, that just as a lightning flash is so brilliant that from one end of heaven to the other it is clearly visible, so Christ’s coming shall be such that “every eye shall see him” (Rev. 1:7).
One of the evidences the Bible is the Word of God is the accuracy by which it describes the past, present and future. May God continue to sanctify us through His Word each and every day (John 17:17). Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
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