30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many struggle with chapter 24, especially verse 29. Escapism isn’t happening!
But the Revelation is the Apostle John’s version of the Olivet Discourse. Look at the facts, as noted by Don Preston:
The seals of Revelation 6 follow exactly the pattern predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24.7 The pattern of judgment in Matthew— as well as Mark 13 and Luke 21 is:
1.) War (Matthew 24: 6; compare Revelation 6: 1-2).
2.) International strife (Mat. 24: 7a; Rev. 6: 3-4).
3.) Famine (Mat. 24: 7b; Rev. 6: 5-6).
4.) Earthquakes (Mat. 24: 7c; Rev. 6: 12;16: 18).
5.) Persecutions (Mat. 24: 9-13; Rev. 6: 9-11).
6.) De-creation (Mat. 24: 15-31; Rev. 6: 12-17) (de-creation).
Additionally, there are other parallels. Please note:
1.) Both speak of the judgment of a sinful city following the completion of the world mission (Mat. 24: 14; Rev. 14: 6f).
2.) Both speak of the Great Tribulation (Mat. 24: 21; Rev. 14).
3.) Both speak of the Abomination of Desolation (Mat. 24: 15; Rev. 13).
4.) Both urge the faithful to flee from the city (Mat. 24: 15f; Rev. 18: 4).
5.) Both speak of false prophets and the workers of false miracles (Mat. 24: 24; Rev. 13: 12-15).
6.) Both speak of the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds (Mat. 24: 30; Rev. 14: 14f). 7.) Both speak of the sounding of the Trumpet at the time of the end (Mat. 24: 31; Rev. 11: 15f).
8.) Both speak of the salvation of the elect (Mat. 24: 31; Rev. 14: 15-16).
9.) Both speak of the gathering of the birds of the air to feast on the carcass of the dead (Mat. 24: 28; Rev. 19: 17f).
Compare this with Deuteronomy 28: 25-26; Psalms 79; Jeremiah 34, etc.. This is a common theme associated with punishment on Israel. 10.) Both predictions were to be fulfilled soon (Mat. 24: 34; Rev. 1: 1-3; 22: 6, 10, 12, 20). These, and other similarities, show that the Olivet Discourse and Revelation are parallel. The significant thing about these parallels, for the amillennialist and postmillennialist, is that every one of them is taken from the section of Matthew 24 that is almost universally agreed to be speaking about the fall of Jerusalem.