Cold Love – Matthew 24:1-14

The 2018 news story read, “A man who crashed his car Thursday night attacked at least five people, including two children, who stopped to help him before a Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputy shot him on Interstate 90” in Cleveland, Ohio. When we see things like this happening it makes us wary of helping anyone. It doesn’t feel safe to love people.

Jesus is describing the events leading up to his return as king in response to a question by his disciples. Cold love is one of the signs, stimulated by widespread lawlessness among people of this world.

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:1-14, ESV)

As the disciples marvel at the temple Jesus foretells its destruction.  The destruction of the temple took place 40 years later in 70 AD.  That is a partial fulfillment of this prophecy, or we might say, a foreshadowing of the prophecy’s fulfillment.

But that is not when Jesus came back.  The disciples want to know the signs of his coming and the end of the age.  In Jesus’ and the disciples’ minds history was divided into two ages, this present age before Messiah and the kingdom (Paul calls it “evil” in Galatians 1:4) and the age to come, the age of the kingdom and its King.  Jesus begins telling his disciples what will happen leading up to the coming of the age to come:

(1) False messiahs will convince many.

(2) Many international conflicts/wars will occur (Revelation 6).

(3) Famines and earthquakes will be part of God’s judgment on earth’s inhabitants (Revelation 6).

(4) Lawlessness will increase dramatically (2 Thessalonians 2).

(5) The gospel will be preached universally (Romans 11; Revelation 7).

The key for believers during that time is enduring, that is, staying fixed on Christ. That is the evidence of being saved. Their love will not grow cold, like so many. Those not saved will not endure but will come under God’s judgment.  For believers, the end will not be the end for them, but the beginning of reigning in the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20).