Why Do Many Try to Chop Matthew 10:22 and 24:12-13 Out of the Bible?

In dealing with this question, it’s important to note that there is a lot of debate over whether the things said in Matthew chapter 24 apply to the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple AD 70 or to the second coming of Christ. These events are obviously not the same since Jesus did not personally return in AD 70. However, there are great parallels between them. We should generally note the parallels while using common sense to distinguish the things which apply to one event but not the other. Doubt in relation to any particular statement concerning the end times in Matthew chapter 24 can be dissolved through the additional details about this discourse provided in Luke’s account thereof in Luke chapter 21. Luke makes the distinction between the AD 70 judgment and the personal return of Christ to reign over all very obvious. Those who read Luke 21 should note the transition seen in verses 24 and 25.

Yet unlike the things which are spoken between Matthew 24:15-31, the things which are recorded in Matthew 24:4-14 (after the disciples’ questions in verse 3) are not specifically dealing with Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70 nor the great tribulation at the very end of time.

Matthew 24:1-8: “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers (or, various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

No one can rightfully limit this counsel to the destruction of Jerusalem or the great tribulation period. People have been claiming to be the Jewish Messiah since before Jesus’ first coming, people have been claiming to be the Jewish Messiah since, and countless people have deceived others in Jesus’ name right until this day. These things will continue to happen until His second coming.

Continuing in Matthew 24:9-14: “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (i.e. lawlessness) shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Jesus is talking about deception emboldening people to commit lawlessness in God’s eyes and influence towards being lukewarm towards God’s commandments. These things will shut a person out of His kingdom and send them to the everlasting fire of hell.

Is “endure to the end” in Matthew 24:13 talking about physical salvation? Or could it be talking about evidence one already had real faith in Jesus at some previous point in time? Or is it rather teaching something else?

No one can logically claim that “but he that shall endure to the end” is about physical survival in the great tribulation period without also claiming that the other things spoken of here won’t happen until then either. Persecution of Christians has been happening since the 1st century, unfaithful Christians have been betraying faithful ones since the 1st century, and false prophets have been deceiving many since the 1st century (and beforehand as well).

Moreover, the gospel of the kingdom was preached by the Apostles of Christ in the first century. Is that not the same gospel which we are supposed to believe in and proclaim now? Of course it is.

Though there are some which claim that the gospel of the kingdom is different from the gospel of salvation now, they are dead wrong. Cyrus Scofield made Dispensational Theology popular. Scofield’s concepts have influenced countless Bible schools and seminaries. Therefore, they have spread much and have had tremendous influence. Rather than simplify the Bible for the common man like Scofield claimed, he rather unnecessarily complicated the Bible and chopped it up so that no one can even know what is supposed to apply to them without someone helping them throw away common sense.

One key example of this is Scofield’s claim that there are multiple valid gospels throughout the Bible. Scofield basically claimed this in his notes on Revelation chapter 14. He claimed that the everlasting gospel will just pop up and come on the scene during the great tribulation period at the end of time. In reality, the everlasting gospel was preached from the beginning when God promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the Serpent. The everlasting gospel has come to light in its fullness by the appearance of Jesus Christ and the sending of His Holy Spirit to dwell within His obedient disciples after His atoning death and resurrection (see Acts 5:32).

Some claim that Paul did not preach the gospel of the kingdom to the Gentiles since they claim that the kingdom is not offered to Gentiles. We see that lie so clearly refuted by what Paul himself said in Acts 20:17-28 concerning how the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of the grace of God are one and the same gospel. We also see in the same verses that the same gospel is offered to both Jews and Gentiles. Both are called to repentance towards God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul himself also said that the gospel is to be “made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” in Romans 16:26.

Moreover, look at how the Book of Acts closes in Acts 28:30-31: “And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”

Some even teach a distinction between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. This is a slick way of justifying a lawless gospel which chops out what is taught in Matthew 24:12-13. Jesus actually spoke of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven interchangeably,

Matthew 19:23-24: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Many believe that Christ’s kingdom is totally in the future. Some believe though that His kingdom has fully arrived here and now. Others believe that His kingdom has already come and gone. All of these are dead wrong. There are present and future aspects of the kingdom.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16:28: “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

Think of the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Some standing there with Jesus in His incarnation did indeed see this (see Acts 2:32-40).

Romans 14:17-18: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.”

The future aspects of the kingdom should be analyzed in relation to how Jesus has not yet returned to rule and reign. The kingdom’s fullness will come when Jesus returns in person. It will surely not be until then. 2 Timothy 4:1 speaks of how He will judge the living and the dead at His appearance and His kingdom.

Contrary to what deceptive lawless gospel preachers say, accepting Jesus as one’s personal savior is not sufficient to put one in His grace now nor will it be sufficient to put one in His good graces then. Those who love His appearance will be those who really submitted to His authority and endured to the end in being governed by the righteous precepts of His Word in this age.

Contention with the authority of the King of Kings is obviously the reason why many want to chop Matthew 10:22 and Matthew 24:12-13 out of the Bible.

Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 10:22: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Matthew 10:22 plainly says “but he that endures to the end shall be saved” like Matthew 24:13 does. Let those who want to insist that Matthew 24 verses 12 and 13 are not dealing with eternal salvation make fools of themselves trying to explain away Matthew 10:22 as well. Have them try to show that there is anything in Matthew chapter 10 which anyone could reasonably speculate pertains specifically to the great tribulation period at the end. Yet some will give heed to their nonsense anyways like people give heed to a lot of other ideas that are nonsense.

Proverbs 17:4: “A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.”

Consider how wickedly foolish it is to claim the Bible teaches that those who endure persecution faithfully will be saved from physical destruction. The Bible demonstrates repeatedly that many righteous people have had their natural lives taken away due to their faithfulness; and it says that this will continue to happen to the very end- especially during times of unusually great tribulation.

There are also some who teach that the endurance spoken of in Matthew 10:22 and Matthew 24:13 is only speaking of evidence of true faith. They are essentially saying that anyone who ever exercises saving faith in Christ will surely endure in that and can never really fall away. However, that understanding goes against what Jesus is saying in these verses.

A living faith in Jesus must be active. There is also free will after conversion to Christ as well as beforehand. These verses must be dealing with enduring in a love related to a living, saving faith in which there is no regard for sin (since sin is the transgression of God’s law- 1 John 3:4).

Warning people about falling away from a dead faith and invalid profession of Christ would be very bad counsel. As in Matthew 24 verses 12 and 13, we see from Hebrews 3:6 and many other Bible passages that for one to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of hope in Christ firm until the end is an “if” rather than a certainty. Holding fast a confidence and rejoicing of hope that was never valid to begin with would be a bad thing. Along the same lines, it is horrible counsel to warn people to not let their love wax cold if they don’t have a love for Jesus which is in line with how He has been revealed in the Bible and the conditions set forth to be in His grace.

Matthew 24 verses 12 and 13 are really teaching that you actually need to express faith in Jesus by forsaking lawlessness in God’s eyes and making choices afterwards which cause you to endure in that faith to the end in order to be saved.

Effective deception causes one to practice lawlessness. This would include tolerating lawlessness where one has jurisdiction to put it down. It also includes being cold towards righteousness.

You can be sure that those who deny Lordship salvation, along with all who don’t faithfully lead those who listen to them to shun sin and obey God’s Word faithfully, are among the very deceivers that Jesus is warning about.

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” would be a meaningless statement if one did not need to endure to the end to be saved.

Those who preach Christ without insisting on departure from unrighteousness in coming to Him, and insistence on not returning to it in order to continue in faith in Him, are deceiving in His name.

We see a corresponding warning from the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy 2:19: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

“Iniquity” here is not anomia (without law) in the Greek text like it is frequently when we find the word “iniquity” in the New Testament. Yet the word here in the Greek is “adikia” (ad-ee-kee-ah), which is a synonym of anomia. It is speaking of a deed violating law or justice; an act of unrighteousness.

Then very shortly afterwards we read in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud (that is, haughty; arrogant), blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection (note that this would include those who support abortion), trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent (that is, without self-control), fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady (that is, rash; reckless), highminded (i.e.. puffed up with haughtiness- Bible colleges and seminaries produce many like this), lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

The word for “power” in 2 Timothy 3:5 is dynamis (doo-na-mis) in the Greek text (where we get our word “dynamite” from). Those spoken of here profess faith in Jesus yet they do not surrender to Him to overcome the power of sin.

“Having a form of godliness” in 2 Timothy 3:5 = A shape of godliness. Many have a semblance of Christianity even though they don’t depart from iniquity (i.e. lawlessness/unrighteousness). When those like this are numerous, corrupted Christianity seems normal. Even wicked Christians then seem righteous compared to others. The same can be said of false Christian teachers. That is what makes these perilous times in which it is exceedingly difficult to enter the narrow way to life in Christ and endure to the end of it.