Signs of the End
So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. Matthew 24:26 · Berean Standard Bible
If anyone says the Messiah is hiding in the desert or in some secret room, don't go looking and don't believe it. Jesus' return won't be hidden or secretive.
Jesus is protecting you from two common traps: the charismatic wilderness leader and the exclusive secret-knowledge guru. His return will be nothing like that.
Jesus gives practical, specific guidance about the kinds of false claims to ignore.
Think of it as Jesus giving you a spam filter for false messiah claims. Wilderness? Delete. Secret room? Delete. His return will be unmistakable.
Jesus gives specific examples: claims that Christ is 'in the wilderness' (erēmō) or 'in the inner rooms' (tameiois). Both represent false patterns: the wilderness evokes Moses-like deliverer expectations, while inner rooms suggest secret, esoteric revelation. Jesus rejects both models.
Several first-century false prophets led followers into the wilderness promising divine deliverance (cf. Acts 21:38, the Egyptian prophet). Jesus distances His return from all such patterns.
Jesus provides concrete examples of the types of false claims His followers should reject.
Jesus preemptively debunks two types of false messiah claims: the wilderness revolutionary and the secret mystic. His return will fit neither pattern.
24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
25See, I have told you in advance.
26So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Read all of Matthew 24 — The disciples ask when the end will come. Jesus answers with wars, earthquakes, and a warning: stay awake, because no one knows the hour.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad