Daily Devotional For Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Good day Southside. As we are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew for these devotionals, we come now to Matthew 24:15-28. Due to the length of this passage, we are going to take several days to work our way through it. Here is the whole passage below:
“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), (16) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (17) Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. (18) Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. (19) But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! (20) But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. (21) For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. (22) Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (23) Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or There He is,’ do not believe him. (24) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will ]show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (25) Behold, I have told you in advance. (26) So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. (27) For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. (28) Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (NASB).
We saw yesterday that Jesus is referring to the fulfillment of the prophecy of the prophet Daniel whose prophecy came true in 168 BC. Yet, what happened then will also repeat itself again some time in the future of the disciples – 70 AD, when Rome completely destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Many of Jesus’ followers who witness this and flee for their lives to the mountains for safety.
But there is a third repeat of this “abomination of desolation” to come sometime in our future or in a future after our deaths with the rise of the Antichrist during the 7-year period of the persecution after the church is taken out of the world. Mark 13:14 puts it this way, “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains” (NASB). The Apostle Paul refers to this prophetically in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
Revelation, the last book of the Bible, which refers to the end times, discusses this as well in Revelation 13:14-15. Jesus says as with Rome, the Antichrist’s persecution of Christians will be so swift they will not have time to get even personal property. Pregnant women cannot move fast and nursing mothers have difficulty hiding crying babies. Jewish Sabbath laws prohibit Jews from traveling more than 1,050 yards – not far. For Christians, they should pray for nothing to hinder their ability to flee and hide. In verse 21, Jesus refers to the prophecy of Daniel 12:1. Great suffering is in store for God’s people during the 7 years of Tribulation like the world and Christians have never seen in the past, not even under the great purge of Rome.
The Jewish historian Jospehus, who lived during the Roman attack in 70 AD writes that 100,000 Jews were taken captive and over 1.1 million Jews were slaughtered by Rome. Such is in store for Christians during the Tribulation period since without the mark of the beast they cannot buy or sell, even for food. When we get to verse 22, scholars have mixed opinions on this. Here are the views below:
- Some believe in a Pretribulationism – this view believes the “elect” refers to Jews who have returned to the Lord through a national revival due to the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, 12,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus will return before th 7-year Tribulation begins.
- Some believe in Midtribulationalism – this view believes the “elect” refers to the church (all true believers, both Jews and Gentiles). Jesus will return in the middle of the Tribulation –3.5 years through the rapture. They believe this is what Revelation 11:7-14 suggests/
- Some believe in a Posttribulationalism – this view believes the "elect" refers to (all true believers, both Jews and Gentiles) who persevere through the whole 7 years of the Tribulation, which will be ended by God taking them out through the rapture.
So, who are the “elect?” In the Old Testament, the “elect” refers to Israel (see 1 Chronicles 16:13, Psalm 105:43, Isaiah 65:9 and Daniel 12:1). In the New Testament, the “elect” refers to the church – all believers (see Romans 8:33, Colossians 3:12, 2 Timothy 2:10, and 1 Peter 1:1-2). To eliminate any misunderstanding, “elect” refers to the faithful and obedient. We know the demons believe but they are not getting into heaven. This is the Apostle Paul’ point in Romans 8:29-30. Some have erroneously interpreted Romans 8:29-30 to mean that God predetermined who would be saved and go to heaven and who would be condemned and go to hell. What this means is that God’s purpose and salvation for humanity was not an afterthought; it was settled before the foundation of the world.
Therefore, when the Tribulation and suffering comes, we must remind ourselves that God is still in control. God will not have forgotten us – just the opposite. With the Temple in Jerusalem becoming the headquarters of the Antichrist, those closest to it will be in the greatest danger. This is why they should flee as quickly as they can, taking nothing with them but their lives. Through history the devil has done everything he can to destroy and wipe out God’s chosen people, both Jewish and now Christ. Pastor, author and New Testament scholar John MacArthur writes this:
“Since God first called and made His eternal covenant with Abraham, satan has sought to destroy God’s chosen people, the Jews, and their God-ordained nation of Israel. To have destroyed the Jews would have been to destroy God’s redemptive plan for mankind, because “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). To have eliminated the Jews before Jesus was born would have broken the line of promise and thwarted the birth and therefore the redemptive ministry of the Messiah, who had to be a descendant of Abraham and of David. Having failed at that, however, satan still seeks to destroy individual Jews in order to prevent Christ’s ultimate redemption of them and to destroy Israel as a nation in order to prevent its restoration under His divine rule.
It must be added that God has allowed satan some success in his attacks on Jews. Because of their covenant violation, unbelief, and apostasy, satan has sometimes actually acted as God’s executioner to punish them. Because they will refuse to worship him and especially because they belong to God, the antichrist will also unleash exceptional fury against those who come to believe in Jesus during the last days.” (Source: John McArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 40).
Reflection Assignment: Have you ever been persecuted or mocked for your Christian faith? If so, how did you respond? If you have children or grandchildren who go to school, are you preparing them how to stand against their peers who may pressure them to compromise in their Christian faith? Right now you can worship freely with no inhibitions. Do you? Do you hold back, wondering what others may think?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (ESV).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I have to admit, I do not always worship You uninhibitedly. I have the freedom now to do this. Around the world there are Christians being persecuted for their faith and I am not. Lord, please forgive me for this. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly