I like what Dr Billy Graham has to say on this. He believes this prophecy was dual in nature that it not only was for the time of the disciples, but for all ages. For there have always been earthquakes, wars and famines and certainly false religions in the name of Christ.
The difficulty in accepting this though, is that one can never really ever know for sure, just WHEN Christ will return, since they're applicable for all ages?
So what do you say? Can you solve the mystery of Matthew 24? Or shall it always be unsolvable?
RonA - your post and questions have been buried in another topic for many years. We are happy to bring it here where the discussion of Matthew 24 is taking place.
Yes, natural disasters have been going on for many thousands of years, but do we see them with much more frequency now? When we look at Luke 21, do we see many more instances of "waves roaring" - same with Mark 13.
Do we see the love of many wax cold? We do. Nations are rising up against one another - we see that, too with greater frequency.
When looking at Matthew 24, do we see a chronology to each verse? "This thing happens ... then, this thing happens ... after that, this thing happens," and so on. I believe we do. Note how many times "then" is used in this chapter, marking the next coming thing.
Jesus gives us a little breakdown:
Verse 1: He fortells the destruction of the temple:
Verse 3: What and how great calamities will be before it:
Verse 29: the signs of his coming to judgment;
Verse 36: And because that day and hour is unknown,
Verse 42: we ought to watch like good servants, expecting every moment our master's coming.
The "signs" of His coming are all around us right now and when we read the entire chapter, noting each sign, we can see where some have happened before and others are happening again now with greater intensity. Jesus is even at the door.