Matthew 24:33 Study Bible: Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

◄ Matthew 24:33 ►

So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.

So also
This phrase serves as a connective link, drawing a parallel between the preceding verses and the current statement. In the Greek, "houtōs kai" emphasizes the certainty and immediacy of the events being described. It suggests that just as certain signs are unmistakable, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. This phrase encourages believers to be vigilant and discerning, understanding that the spiritual realities are as evident as the physical ones.

when you see
The Greek word "eidete" implies not just a casual glance but a perceptive, discerning observation. It calls for an awareness that goes beyond the surface, urging believers to be spiritually attuned to the signs of the times. This seeing is not merely physical but involves a deep understanding and recognition of the prophetic events unfolding.

all these things
This refers to the signs and events Jesus described earlier in the chapter, such as wars, famines, earthquakes, and the persecution of believers. The phrase "panta tauta" in Greek underscores the comprehensive nature of these signs. It is a call to recognize the culmination of these events as indicators of the approaching fulfillment of God's plan. Historically, these signs have been interpreted as both specific to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and as ongoing indicators of the end times.

you know
The Greek word "ginōskete" implies a knowledge that is certain and assured. It is not speculative but based on the clear evidence of the signs. This knowledge is rooted in faith and the understanding of God's Word, encouraging believers to trust in the promises and prophecies of Scripture.

that He is near
The phrase "hoti engys estin" speaks to the proximity of Christ's return. "Engys" suggests something imminent, close at hand. This nearness is both a warning and a comfort, reminding believers of the urgency of readiness and the hope of Christ's return. It reflects the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" of the Kingdom of God, where believers live in anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promises.

right at the door
The imagery of being "at the door" (Greek: "epi thurais") conveys the idea of immediate presence and impending action. It suggests that the return of Christ is not a distant event but one that is poised to occur at any moment. This phrase serves as a powerful reminder of the need for constant vigilance and preparedness, echoing the urgency of the parables that follow in the chapter. Historically, doors have been seen as thresholds to new realities, symbolizing the transition from the current age to the age to come.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this passage, providing prophetic teaching to His disciples about the signs of the end times and His second coming.

2. Disciples
The immediate audience of Jesus' teaching, representing all believers who seek to understand the signs of the times.

3. Mount of Olives
The location where Jesus delivered the Olivet Discourse, which includes Matthew 24, a significant teaching on eschatology (the study of end times).

4. End Times
The period leading up to the return of Christ, characterized by specific signs and events that Jesus describes in the surrounding verses.

5. Fig Tree
Used as a metaphor in the preceding verses (Matthew 24:32) to illustrate the discernment of the times based on observable signs.

Teaching Points

Discernment of the Times
Believers are called to be observant and discerning, recognizing the signs that indicate the nearness of Christ's return.

Urgency of Readiness
The imagery of Jesus being "right at the door" underscores the urgency for believers to live in a state of spiritual readiness and anticipation.

Faithful Stewardship
In light of the nearness of Christ's return, Christians are encouraged to live faithfully, stewarding their time, resources, and relationships in a way that honors God.

Hope and Assurance
The promise of Christ's return provides hope and assurance for believers, motivating them to persevere through trials and remain steadfast in their faith.

Witness to the World
As believers recognize the signs of the times, they are called to be a witness to the world, sharing the gospel and the hope of Christ's return with others.

Bible Study Questions

1. How can we cultivate discernment to recognize the signs of the times as described in Matthew 24:33?

2. In what ways does the urgency of Christ being "right at the door" impact your daily life and decisions?

3. How does the teaching in Matthew 24:33 encourage you to live with a sense of hope and assurance in the face of uncertainty?

4. What practical steps can you take to ensure you are living in readiness for Christ's return?

5. How can you be a more effective witness to others about the hope and reality of Christ's imminent return?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Matthew 24:32-35
The parable of the fig tree, which precedes verse 33, emphasizes the importance of recognizing the signs of the times, just as one recognizes the change of seasons.

Revelation 3:20
The imagery of Jesus standing at the door and knocking parallels the urgency and imminence of His return as described in Matthew 24:33.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Paul echoes Jesus' teaching by urging believers to be watchful and sober, recognizing the signs of the times and living in readiness for the Lord's return.

Sermons

The Kingdom Comes in Crises of Judgment	H. R. Haweis, M. A.	Matthew 24:29-34
The Last Congregation	J. Parsons.	Matthew 24:29-34
The Manifestation of Christ in Judgment	E. T. Marshall.	Matthew 24:29-34
The Sign of the Son of Man	A. J. Gordon.	Matthew 24:29-34
Tokens of Perdition	E. Griffin, D. D.	Matthew 24:29-34
The Event and the Time	J.A. Macdonald	Matthew 24:32-42

People

Daniel, Jesus, Noah, Noe

Places

Jerusalem, Judea, Mount of Olives

Topics

Door, Doors, Gates, Likewise, Nigh, Recognize, Signs, Sure, Thus

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Matthew 24:33

5299 door
9220 day of the LORD

Matthew 24:29-34

2565 Christ, second coming

Matthew 24:32-33

5335 herald
8227 discernment, nature of

Matthew 24:32-34

5694 generation
5946 sensitivity

Matthew 24:32-35

1431 prophecy, OT methods

Library

The Carrion and the Vultures
'Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.'--MATT. xxiv. 28. This grim parable has, of course, a strong Eastern colouring. It is best appreciated by dwellers in those lands. They tell us that no sooner is some sickly animal dead, or some piece of carrion thrown out by the way, than the vultures--for the eagle does not prey upon carrion--appear. There may not have been one visible a moment before in the hot blue sky, but, taught by scent or by sight that their banquet …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Two Forms of one Saying
'He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.' --Matt. xxiv. 13, R.V. 'In your patience possess ye your souls.'--Luke xxi. 19. These two sayings, different as they sound in our Version, are probably divergent representations of one original. The reasons for so supposing are manifold and obvious on a little consideration. In the first place, the two sayings occur in the Evangelists' reports of the same prophecy and at the same point therein. In the second place, the verbal resemblance is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Watching for the King
'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 …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

March the Twentieth the Lord is at Hand!
"Ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." --MATTHEW xxiv. 42-51. Then let me always live as though my Lord were at the gate! Let me arrange my affairs on the assumption that the next to lift the latch will be the King. When I am out with my friend, walking and talking, let me assume that just round the corner I may meet the Lord. And so let me practise meeting Him! Said a mother to me one day concerning her long-absent boy: "I lay a place for him at every meal! His seat is always ready!" May …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

What Lasts, and what Passes Away.
25th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matthew xxiv., 35. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away." INTRODUCTION.--Yes! all will pass away! This beautiful world and all that is on it. Our houses, our churches, our cities, will crumble away; the very earth with its mountains and rivers, and plains, and seas, will pass away. The stars will fall from heaven, the sun will have exhausted its fires, the moon will sink into night. But the words of Christ will last. SUBJECT.--Incessant …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

"And Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"And watch unto prayer." "Watch." A Christian should watch. A Christian is a watchman by office. This duty of watchfulness is frequently commanded and commended in scripture, Matt. xxiv. 42, Mark xiii. 33, 1 Cor. xvi. 13, Eph. vi. 18, 1 Pet. v. 8, Col. iv. 2; Luke xii. 37. David did wait as they that did watch for the morning light. The ministers of the gospel are styled watchmen in scripture and every Christian should be to himself as a minister is to his flock, he should watch over …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Of Meditation Upon Death
Very quickly will there be an end of thee here; take heed therefore how it will be with thee in another world. To-day man is, and to-morrow he will be seen no more. And being removed out of sight, quickly also he is out of mind. O the dulness and hardness of man's heart, which thinketh only of the present, and looketh not forward to the future. Thou oughtest in every deed and thought so to order thyself, as if thou wert to die this day. If thou hadst a good conscience thou wouldst not greatly …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Warning.
"Take heed that no man deceive you."--Matt. xxiv: 4. "Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."--Col. i: 27, 28. To give a warning is a sign of love. Who warns like a mother, and who loves like a mother? Your mother, perhaps, is gone, and your father is gone. Let me take the place of those who have departed, and lift up a warning voice. With Paul I would say: "I write not these …
Dwight L. Moody—Sowing and Reaping

Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold.
^A Matt. XXIV. 1-28; ^B Mark XIII. 1-23; ^C Luke XXI. 5-24. ^a 1 And Jesus went out from the temple [leaving it to return no more], and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him ^b as he went forth ^a to show him the buildings of the temple. ^b one of his disciples saith unto him, Teacher, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! ^c 5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings, he said [The strength and wealth of the temple roused …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Second Coming of Christ.
^A Matt. XXIV. 29-51; ^B Mark XIII. 24-37; ^C Luke XXI. 25-36. ^b 24 But in those days, ^a immediately after the { ^b that} ^a tribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word "immediately" used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at II. Pet. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Christian Conception of Life Has Already Arisen in Our Society, and Will Infallibly Put an End to the Present Organization of Our Life Based On
The Condition and Organization of our Society are Terrible, but they Rest only on Public Opinion, and can be Destroyed by it-- Already Violence is Regarded from a Different Point of View; the Number of those who are Ready to Serve the Government is Diminishing; and even the Servants of Government are Ashamed of their Position, and so often Do Not Perform their Duties--These Facts are all Signs of the Rise of a Public Opinion, which Continually Growing will Lead to No One being Willing to Enter Government …
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

The Evening of the Third Day in Passion-Week - on the Mount of Olives: Discoures to the Disciples Concerning the Last Things.
THE last and most solemn denunciation of Jerusalem had been uttered, the last and most terrible prediction of judgment upon the Temple spoken, and Jesus was suiting the action to the word. It was as if He had cast the dust of His Shoes against the House' that was to be left desolate.' And so He quitted for ever the Temple and them that held office in it. They had left the Sanctuary and the City, had crossed black Kidron, and were slowly climbing the Mount of Olives. A sudden turn in the road, and …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

A Key to the Knowledge of Church History
A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH HISTORY [Ancient] Edited by JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. Editor of "The Dictionary of Theology," "The Annotated Book of Common Prayer;" Author of "Household Theology," Etc. Etc. "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations."--St. Matt. xxiv. 14 Rivingtons Waterloo Place, London Oxford, and Cambridge MDCCCLXXVII [New Edition] …
John Henry Blunt—A Key to the Knowledge of Church History

Our Lord's Olivet Discourse Shows that There is no Universal Triumph of the Gospel Before his Second Advent.
The Olivet Discourse of our Lord is recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. We cannot now attempt a detailed exposition of these highly interesting and important chapters, but would simply single our from them a few things which throw light upon our present inquiry. At the beginning of Matt. 24 we find that three of His disciples asked our Lord, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?" (vs. 3). What then was the answer which …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Third Sunday Before Lent
Text: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5. 24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The vineyard and Its Keepers
'Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 34. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Watching the Horizon
"Thy Kingdom Come." "Thou art coming! We are waiting With a hope that cannot fail; Asking not the day or hour, Resting on Thy word of power, Anchored safe within the veil. Time appointed may be long, But the vision must be sure: Certainty shall make us strong, Joyful patience must endure. "O the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord! Every tongue Thy name confessing, Worship, honour, glory, blessing, Brought to Thee with glad accord! Thee, my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned! …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Another Shorter Evening Prayer.
O eternal God and heavenly Father, if I were not taught and assured by the promises of thy gospel, and the examples of Peter, Mary Magdalene, the publican, the prodigal child, and many other penitent sinners, that thou art so full of compassion, and so ready to forgive the greatest sinners, who are heaviest laden with sin, at what time soever they return unto thee with penitent hearts, lamenting their sins, and imploring thy grace, I should despair for mine own sins, and be utterly discouraged from …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

There is a Blessedness in Reversion
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3 Having done with the occasion, I come now to the sermon itself. Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Christ does not begin his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with commands and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire flaming, the earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but our Saviour (whose lips dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and blessings. So sweet and ravishing was the doctrine of this …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

An Analysis of Augustin's Writings against the Donatists.
The object of this chapter is to present a rudimentary outline and summary of all that Augustin penned or spoke against those traditional North African Christians whom he was pleased to regard as schismatics. It will be arranged, so far as may be, in chronological order, following the dates suggested by the Benedictine edition. The necessary brevity precludes anything but a very meagre treatment of so considerable a theme. The writer takes no responsibility for the ecclesiological tenets of the …
St. Augustine—writings in connection with the donatist controversy.

The Completion of Our Saviour's Prophecies Confirmed Pagans in their Belief of the Gospel.
I. The completion of our Saviour's Prophecies confirmed Pagans in their belief of the gospel. II. Origen's observation on our Saviour's disciples being brought before kings and governors; III. On their being persecuted for their religion; IV. On their preaching the gospel to all nations. V. On the destruction of Jerusalem, and ruin of the Jewish oeconomy. VI. These arguments strengthened by what has happened since Origen's time. I. THE second of these extraordinary means, of great use to the learned …
Joseph Addison—The Evidences of the Christian Religion, with Additional Discourses

Dogmatic.
I. (i) Against Eunomius. The work under this title comprises five books, the first three generally accepted as genuine, the last two sometimes regarded as doubtful. Gregory of Nazianzus, [303] Jerome, [304] and Theodoret [305] all testify to Basil's having written against Eunomius, but do not specify the number of books. Books IV. and V. are accepted by Bellarmine, Du Pin, Tillemont, and Ceillier, mainly on the authority of the edict of Justinian against the Three Chapters (Mansi ix., 552), …
Basil—Basil: Letters and Select Works

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