Presents
Pamphlet #4433
Presents
Pamphlet #4433
Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed
from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings
of the temple.
2 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.
3 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?
My
Hi-lite: Matthew 24:4
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many.
6
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled:
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers
places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 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.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another,
and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall
wax cold.
Matthew
24:13 But he that shall endure unto
the end, the same shall be saved.
14 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.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,
(whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee
into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not
come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field
return back to take his clothes.
Matthew
24:19 And woe unto them that are with
child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not
in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor
ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,
there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall
be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you,
Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that,
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you,
Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret
chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there
will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of
those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall
be shaken:
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.
Since the days of our youth, many of us "Baby Boomers" have heard and read the 24th chapter of Matthew known as the Olivet Prophecy. Ironically though, it never occurred to most of our generation that it would be during our lifetime that all those prophecies would come to pass and that we would one day wake up to find we are no longer reading the Olivet Prophecy but rather the Olivet History and Current Events. To that end, we will learn (and document by following the specific instructions of Jesus Christ when we get to verses 32-35 of this 24th chapter) that the final generation began on May 15, 1948, and we will discover that lo and behold... many of the prophecies contained in this chapter have already come to pass just as He said they would... and that means that the hour is late! Matthew 24:33 "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
Let us begin this exciting chapter by first recalling that at the conclusion of our last study Jesus Christ had just informed the scribes and Pharisees that "their house shall be left desolate" and that they shall see Him no more until they say "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Mat. 23:39)." Observe now that Jesus "goes out" and "departs", as in removes Himself from the temple!
The word "buildings" in Greek is the compound word "oikodome" which means the architectural structure of the house or edifice! Though this temple was far inferior in beauty and awe to the one king Solomon built, it was nevertheless a magnificent and quite impressive structure indeed.Matthew 24:1
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him for to shew Him the buildings of the temple.
Those who are familiar with the law, i.e. have been to school in the Old Testament, know that the temple was but a type, a shadow, used symbolically to teach us about the true temple which is the body of Christ. You "see", the "structure" of that temple had now become corrupt through the infiltration of the scribes and Pharisees who now sat in the seat of Moses. In other words, the offspring of the "false rock", those "cold dead stones" now made up the structure of the temple, not the "living stones" which make up His spiritual house, the true temple and body of Christ. Remember, they have now rejected the chief cornerstone, the true Rock, for as it is written in Deut. 32:31 "...their rock is not as our Rock"! Peter (petros) understood this and explained it well in 1 Peter 2:4-6.buildings, oikodome, oy-kod-om-ay', Greek 3619; feminine (abstract) of a compound of Greek 3624 (oikos) and the base of Greek 1430 (doma); architecture, i.e. (concrete) a structure; figurative confirmation :- building, edify (-ication, -ing).oikos, oy'-kos, Greek 3624; of uncertain affinity; a dwelling (more or less extensive, literal or figurative); by implication a family (more or less related, literal or figurative) :- home, house (-hold), temple.doma, do'-mah, Greek 1430; from demo (to build); properly an edifice, i.e. (special) a roof :- housetop.
Again, they rejected the Anointed One of God, the precious Rock of our Salvation!You "see", their temple is not our temple for the true body of Christ is made up of "living stones", stones that possess life which comes from Jesus Christ, who gives us eternal life!1 Peter 2:4-6
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
So what we "see" happening here following the rejection of the chief corner stone, is Jesus Christ going forth and departing from that temple to the Mount of Olives. Do you remember what "olive" is in Greek? It is "El-ah'-Yah". Of course mounts or mountains are symbolic of nations or governments.[5] Ye also, as lively (living) stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.[6] Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.
olive, elaia, el-ah'-yah, Greek 1636; feminine of a presumed derivative from an obsolete primary; an olive (the tree or the fruit) :- olive (berry, tree).
Christ used the Greek word "blepo" when He said unto His disciples "See ye" not all these things? This word is important for it means to "take heed" and "perceive", as in open your eyes and ears and pay real close attention to what is being presented and taught.Matthew 24:2
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.
You "see", Christ is not talking about the physical stones of the temple but rather the "kenites" who have taken over the temple. In other words, that wicked evil temple that shall be standing in Jerusalem when Christ returns shall be pulverized and all those stones "thrown down", turned to powder!blepo, blep'-o, Greek 991; a primary verb; to look at (literal or figurative) :- behold, beware, lie, look (on, to), perceive, regard, see, sight, take heed. Compare Greek 3700 (optanomai).
Remember we already learned this, i.e. that our Rock, the Chief Cornerstone which has become the head of the corner, shall "grind those stones (kenites) who reject Him to powder, spiritually speaking!throne down, kataluo, kat-al-oo'-o, Greek 2647; from Greek 2596 (kata) and Greek 3089 (luo); to loosen down (disintegrate), i.e. (by implication) to demolish (literal or figurative); specially [compare Greek 2646 (kataluma)] to halt for the night :- destroy, dissolve, be guest, lodge, come to nought, overthrow, throw down.
They perceived right for a change. And so it shall be at the second advent when Jesus Christ returns to this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords that the "Stone" cut out without hands (Dan. 2:34, 45) shall come and level that idolatrous temple they have built up and grind it to powder such that there shall not be one "stone" left standing upon another!Matthew 21:42-45
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?[43] Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
[44] And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
[45] And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spake of them.
Note: If one is able to read and understand that the timeframe spoken of in this entire 24th chapter concerns the events just prior to the return of Jesus Christ and the "end of the age" when He comes and pulverizes ALL the stones of the temple set up by the kenites, then any discussion of the fulfillment of the destruction of the temple (other than in type) having taken place prior to the final generation, such as in 70 AD by Titus the Roman general, would be nonsensical and an admittance to ignorance of the subject. Even if one doesn't know his stones from a hole in the ground, he or she would have to admit that the "wailing wall" still stands, meaning that there are still some stones standing upon another! Blepo!
The disciples have come to Christ "privately" to ask three specific questions:"When shall these things be", i.e. when He comes and smashes the temple, etc., "What shall be the sign of His coming", and "What shall be the sign of the end of the world (age)?"Matthew 24:3
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?
When true disciples of Jesus Christ go to Him, meaning they go to the Word of God seeking answers to their questions, He will reveal the answers to them for He alone is the Revelator... not some man! In fact, what Jesus Christ is about to outline for His disciples on the Mount of Olives concerning the "things" of this final generation, parallel exactly those "things" He reveals in the book of the unveiling (apokalupsis) concerning this same short season, i.e. the final generation of the fig tree which we shall learn of a few lessons hence.world = aion, ahee-ohn', Greek 165; from the same as Greek 104 (aei); properly an age; by extension perpetuity (also past); by implication the world; specially (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future) :- age, course, eternal, (for) ever (-more), [n-]ever, (beginning of the, while the) world (began, without end). Compare Greek 5550 (chronos).
The word "shortly" means a "brief space of time", which means these "things" that take place happen during the short season at the end of this flesh age, i.e. during the final generation!Rev. 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John:
So in answer to their questions, Jesus begins with the first sign coupled with a "blepo", open up your eyes, and a warning to watch out for Christian preachers, teachers, ministers, etc.!shortly, tachos, takh'-os, Greek 5034; from the same as Greek 5036 (tachus); a brief space (of time), i.e. with Greek 1722 (en) prefixed) in haste :- + quickly, + shortly, + speedily.
Take heed that no MAN deceives you. If you truly want to know the "when", "what", "why", "where", etc., of the events of this final generation then you must go privately to Jesus Christ, to the Word of God, and see and listen with open eyes and ears to what He has to say instead of following after the traditions of men that those who are Biblically illiterate take as "gospel"! This is important because Jesus Christ said (next verse) that in these last days, during the final short season at the end of this age, which is NOW, the majority will be deceived... which means that the majority are wrong in what they teach and in what they believe. How is that possible?Matthew 24:4
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
In my name means "in His authority". They come as Christian preachers, pastors, ministers, teachers, priests, etc., etc., all claiming to represent Him and saying "Jesus is Lord", "Praise the Lord", "Lord, Lord"! The problem is all that most of them teach are the idolatrous traditions of men! Very few claiming to represent Him in these last days ever teach the Word of God chapter by chapter and verse by verse whereby the people can come to know Christ and become firmly founded upon the true Rock. Paul also spoke concerning the telos, the time of the end of this age when Christ would come and destroy the temple and we would gather back to Him. He also warned us not to let MAN deceive us by any means concerning when that happens.[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
The subject is the second advent, the return of Christ when we gather together unto Him.2 Thes. 2:1-4
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,
Do not be fooled by some fly-away, any-moment "Rapture Theory" which teaches that those who are "Left Behind" are the ones who are not saved! You have been warned by Jesus Christ directly and through His servant Paul to beware and take heed to the teachings of men and to stick with what you can document in the Word of God. Otherwise you will be deceived and spiritually seduced by the false messiah![2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
The false messiah, the antichrist, who is Satan himself appearing as an angel of light claiming to be God, shall appear at the sound of the 6th Trump and deceive the whole world with the exception of those who have the seal of God in their foreheads[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
(Rev. 9:4), i.e. are knowledgeable of His Word and do not have their foreheads filled with fairy tales about snakes and apples and Ishtar bunnies and fly-away theories!
You "see" (blepo), the deception of our people begins in the pulpit wherein lies the explanation of how it can be that in a predominately Christian nation the vast majority are almost totally Biblically illiterate. Well, Jesus Christ said that is exactly how it would be in these last days... and so it has come to pass exactly as He has foretold us![4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
To that end, there is a point of logic to be made here!If Christ's words are true (and they are) and we can document that we are in the final generation (and we shall), then since the majority of professing Christian preachers, ministers, etc., shall be deceiving the majority of professing Christians by what they teach (traditions of men) and by what they don't teach (His Word chapter by chapter), then the probability is greater that your preacher or minister is among them than not!And if you believe what he or she is teaching as doctrine and have not checked it out to see if it is Biblical, then you could be in for a big surprise when the first supernatural entity comes performing miracles claiming to be God. Think about it! If it were not so, Christ would not have given such strong warning to His disciples! In fact, it is His number one warning and it corresponds to the First Seal of Revelation 6, the White Horse of false religion, even fake Christianity.
The question then remains, "Have you "taken heed" (blepo) to this deception?" Simply do not trust the teachings of any man, including this one, without first checking what he (or she) says to see if it aligns with God's Word. Keep in mind those rascally Bereans in Acts 17:11 who had the gall to check out the teachings of the apostle Paul to see if what he taught aligned with the scriptures. Is there any man today more worthy than Paul whose words should not be subject to accountability in God's Word? I think not! Then too, if one so easily believes a mere man or woman who claims to represent Christ without documenting what he or she teaches, think how easily that person shall "be had" by a supernatural entity who comes performing miracles in the sight of men!
Here is the next "thing" Jesus said the generation of the Baby Boomers would experience. This corresponds to the Red Horse of Rev. 6:4, the Hidden Dynasty of Politics.
Did you know that the 20th Century was the bloodiest century in the history of mankind including two World Wars which were fomented to bring about the alignment of the nations? Of course the Baby Boomers were not part of those World Wars, for they boomed onto the scene just following the second World War, yet they grew up not only hearing about those world conflicts but also constantly hearing about the chilling prospect of another World War, a war which would result in the annihilation of all mankind in a nuclear holocaust. That constantly reported (rumoured) war between the east and the west was called the Cold War.[6] And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
However, world wars and the threat of world war did not signal the "end",(verese 6 above) which is "telos" in Greek and in this case means "the conclusion of" or the final events of the age.
Today people may fear terrorism to a point, and violence in the streets, and the prospect of a distant war in the Middle East, but there are no rumours of large scale wars like a WW III looming about! The tearing down of the Berlin Wall on November 11th & 12th, 1989, along with the demise of the U.S.S.R. when the Iron Curtain fell, symbolically ended the Cold War, i.e. the "rumours of war" in this verse.telos, tel'-os, Greek 5056; from a primary tello (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, i.e. (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literal, figurative or indefinite], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specially an impost or levy (as paid) :- + continual, custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare Greek 5411 (phoros).
But again, the end of the "wars" and the "rumours of wars" did not signal the end, which actually begins with the sorrows noted in verse 8 below! However, what follows in the next verse DOES, so we MUST understand what it means!
This verse has been grossly misinterpreted as nations rising in WAR against one another, even as the culmination of wars like a World War III. However, students of His Word know that the final battle is spiritual, a fight for the souls of men, not an all-out physical flesh and blood and guts battle at all! That is why we are instructed to put on the gospel armour in Ephesians chapter 6 and be prepared to stand against the "fiery darts" of Satan and his locust army!Matthew 24:7
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
So what does this verse mean, "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom?" It is really quite simple and is made clear in the Greek from which it is translated. First, the word translated "against" is the Greek word "epi" which means "upon" or "up against", as "along side of". Just think of your outer layer of skin which is called the "epi-dermis" because it lies against your dermis, i.e. the inner layer of skin. "Epi" does not mean in "opposition to", as in antagonistically, but rather as touching, as in along side of. This is important so here is Strong's definition in its entirety:
Next, the word "rise" means to "rouse" and "stand up", i.e. to "rear up".epi, ep-ee', Greek 1909; a primary preposition properly meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution [with the genitive], i.e. over, upon, etc.; of rest (with the dative) at, on, etc.; of direction (with the accusative) towards, upon, etc. :- about (the times), above, after, against, among, as long as (touching), at, beside, × have charge of, (be-, [where-]) fore, in (a place, as much as, the time of, -to), (because) of, (up-) on (behalf of), over, (by, for) the space of, through (-out), (un-) to (-ward), with. In compounds it retains essentially the same import, at, upon, etc. (literal or figurative).
The key to really understanding what this "rising" is comes from its base word "agora".egeiro, eg-i'-ro, Greek 1453; probably akin to the base of Greek 58 (agora) (through the idea of collecting one's faculties); to waken (transitive or intransitive), i.e. rouse (literal from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death; or figurative from obscurity, inactivity, ruins, nonexistence) :- awake, lift (up), raise (again, up), rear up, (a-) rise (again, up), stand, take up.
This word is translated either "market" or "marketplace(s)" in every instance in the New Testament except one where it is translated "street", as in "market street". Perhaps we are being a little overly detailed here with all these definitions, but for a verse that has for so long been misunderstood it seems appropriate. So let's complete all the words and see what "nations" and "kingdoms" mean.agora, ag-or-ah', Greek 58; from ageiro (to gather; probably akin to Greek 1453 (egeiro)); properly the town-square (as a place of public resort); by implication a market or thoroughfare:- market (-place), street.
"Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom", means that the gentile nations, most of which comprise what we call the "Third World Countries", shall rise together in the marketplace, and the ruling nations, the "royal kingdoms" (which means the true Houses of Israel, i.e. the Christian nations of the Free World) shall also "rise up together" in the marketplace.nations = ethnos, eth'-nos, Greek 1484; probably from Greek 1486 (etho); a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe; specially a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually by implication pagan) :- Gentile, heathen, nation, people.kingdom = basileia, bas-il-i'-ah, Greek 932; from Greek 935 (basileus); properly royalty, i.e. (abstract) rule, or (concrete) a realm (literal or figurative) :- kingdom, + reign.
What is Jesus talking about? He is talking about "globalization"... about One Worldism, about the New World Order! He is talking about the One World Political/Economic/Social Beast of Revelation 13:1 which John saw rise up out of the sea. The "Sea" is symbolic of "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues (Rev. 17:15)." It is happening right before our very eyes, if you can see it. The kingdoms of Europe have further risen together with the implementation of the Eurodollar and the Americas, including Canada and Mexico, are swiftly being brought under "Dollarization".
You may recall just a few years ago the following event depicted in the picture below which took take place when all the nations of the world, the third world countries (ethnic nations) as well as the G8 leading nations (kingdoms), all stood together at the Millennium Summit in the "Trading Capital of the World", yes, "the marketplace". It was the unprecedented largest gathering of kings and rulers in the history of mankind. Can you begin to see that the many false prophets Christ spoke of, the hearing of world wars and rumours of world wars, and globalization where both the ethnic nations and the kingdom nations rise together in globalization have "come to pass"? BLEPO!
Here's the picture:
"Millennium Summit 2000"
Note for the deeper scholar: 1989 we spoke of earlier follows the 70 year yoke of bondage placed upon our brother Esau, that one king or dynasty of Tsar Nicholas and Alexandria who were murdered in 1918 following the Jewish Bolshevik revolution of 1917. It is written in Isaiah 23:15-16 that following those 70 years, "Tyre" would again sing as an harlot. You "see", Tyre, which means "rock" in Hebrew, was a "little rock" island off the coast of Zidon which was the world trading center of the ancient world. You can read about Tyre in Ezekiel 27. It was a type, a forerunner, of the globalization which would take place in these last days when the great harlot of Rev. 18 would sing and "all the nations of the earth would commit fornication with her"! Rev. 18:3 "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." Ezekiel 28 then reveals to us that Satan, that vile person, that little horn spoken of by Daniel the prophet, is the king of Tyre. And so it has come to pass that the decade of the 1990's was the most prosperous decade of all as globalization flourished on the scene while a type of the little horn, a little horn in his own right... being identified as such by P. Jones as well as having been seen playing his little horn on MTV... that vile perjurer who committed fornication with the harlot and tried to deceive the world into believing that "he did not have sex with that woman", presided over the greatest kingdom nation during the rising of nation alongside nation and kingdom against kingdom! There is much more that could said concerning this matter but the fact remains that this one from little Tyre (rock) stands in the picture above. A word to the wise.
Here is what Isaiah has to say concerning Tyre following the 70 years:
The harlot has begun to sing and all the nations of the world have jumped in bed with her!Isaiah 23:15-16
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
And so it is that globalization is now a reality which means that the labor pangs have begun and the birth of a new age, the end of this one and the beginning of the next, is just around the corner. By the way, globalization corresponds to the Black Horse, the Hidden Dynasty of Economics in Rev. 6:5-6![16] Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
Do you know what the great famine of the end time is? Most people read about famines and pestilences and earthquakes and see these only in the physical sense. In other words, they look for food shortages and droughts and disease and earthquakes in different parts of the globe to document the fulfillment of Mat. 24:7. However, while it is true that many of these things are manifestations of that which is happening spiritually, Christ is speaking about those things which pertain to soul and spirit. For instance, the famine of the end times is not for food but rather a great spiritual famine for the true bread of life which is documented by Amos the prophet. Remember, Christ has foretold all of these things. (Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.)Matthew 24:7
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.[8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Though the lack of truth concerning God's Word is the principle famine these days, there are other information famines as the truth concerning politics and economics, etc. is routinely twisted and "spun" by a liberal biased and controlled media. And what are "pestilences"? Pestilences are diseases which follow famines, and so it is that we have many spiritual and social "diseases" brought about by the famine and the dearth. Where would you like to start: homosexuality, illegitimacy, perverse justice, crime in the streets, prisoned schools, ad nauseam, ad nauseam!Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
And what about earthquakes? The word "earthquakes" means "commotions" as in shake-ups! These shake-ups have been occurring in all sorts of divers areas, not meaning just geographically, but in such places as the financial markets both domestic and global, church and educational institutions, politics and courts of justice, etc., etc.These pestilences and commotions are called "troubles" in Mark 13:8 and Luke 21.
You "see", you can have a "seismos" in any area or place of society. Notice that a seismos of the air is called a "gale" while a seismos of the earth is called an "earthquake". A seismos in the financial arena one could call "Enron".earthquake, seismos, sice-mos', Greek 4578; from Greek 4579 (seio); a commotion, i.e. (of the air) a gale, (of the ground) an earthquake :- earthquake, tempest.
Finally, the word "sorrows" in verse 8 means birth pangs or throes, literally "travail"!What Christ told us was that the labor pangs would begin when we see all the nations rise alongside of each other. He tells us in Luke 21 that there "shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring." Look up the words in this verse and understand how the beast rising up out of the sea causes the sea, which you will recall is symbolic of the peoples and multitudes and nations, and the waves, which are the actions or movements of the people to roar, which is to make a loud noise.
Many of our brothers and sisters in this nation and people around the world are anxious and in the dark and wonder "What in the world is going on?" Meanwhile, the true servants of God, those disciples (students) of His who go to Him privately and seek His knowledge and wisdom through His Word, not only know exactly what is happening right now and why, they consider it a privilege and are excited to see it happening in detail exactly as He foretold us it would! Remember, Christ Himself said that He has foretold us all things and He has (Mark 13:23)! All we need do is study His Word and take heed to the things He says and pay no attention to what fables man has devised in his traditions and theories.distress, sunoche, soon-okh-ay', Greek 4928; from Greek 4912 (sunecho); restraint, i.e. (figurative) anxiety :- anguish, distress.perplexity, aporia, ap-or-ee'-a, Greek 640; from the same as Greek 639 (aporeo); a (state of) quandary :- perplexity.
aporeo, ap-or-eh'-o, Greek 639; from a compound of Greek 1 (a) (as a negative particle) and the base of Greek 4198 (poreuomai); to have no way out, i.e. be at a loss (mentally) :- (stand in) doubt, be perplexed.
We truly live in the most exciting
time in the history of mankind, which is the final generation, the
short season of time our Father has reserved to fulfill His plan at the
end of this flesh age!True
peace of mind, the opposite of the distress and anxiety many people are
experiencing these days, comes from the knowledge of His Word. And that
faith which is built upon the foundation of knowing His Word by having
seen that it always has come to pass exactly as it is written, assures
us of what tomorrow brings... for it too is
written of and shall also come to pass exactly as it is written!
Did you know that there are two "works" of the servants of God in these last days during the final generation of the fig tree? One of those works began while the season was young and has been going on for some time now. That work is the great shepherding to the house of Israel which is the teaching of the visions of the prophets by the sons and daughters of Acts 2:17-21, who are those brothers and sisters of the church of Philadelphia (brotherly love) in Rev. 3:7-13 who love to study and share His Word with their loved ones. It is to that family of students (disciples, i.e. those disciplined in His Word) who serve Him and keep His Word, both male and female, to whom He has given the key of David (Rev. 3:7) and upon whom He has poured out His Spirit of Truth in these last days. Acts 2:18 "And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy." To prophesy means to teach the prophets which is what the "watchman" is instructed to do in the great Book of EZEK-I-EL whose name means "God is Strong" or "God is my Strength". Ezekiel was a type of the watchman of these last days.
Ezekiel was to eat the entire roll, the Word of God, and absorb and digest it with understanding until it became a part of him. That is how ones grows the gospel armour of Eph. 6 and becomes "strong in the Lord". Now notice the commission to one who is strengthened by God, i.e. is made strong through the knowledge and wisdom from His Word.Ezekiel 3:3-5
And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Ezekiel was to go to his brothers and sisters of the house of Israel*, i.e. the Christian Nations of the world, and teach God's Word (His scroll) after the manner of "Thus saith the Lord" (Ezek. 3:11) and "It is written", i.e. chapter by chapter and verse by verse teaching His words, not man's traditions. Understand that Ezekiel's work was not as one sent to the gentile nations, but rather to the house of Israel*.[4] And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
You "see", the great shepherding and sealing of the Word of God in the minds of the 144,000 of the house of Israel* (Rev. 7:3) and to any and all who will open their eyes and ears to hear His Voice in this final generation, occurs during the 5th Trump when the four winds are held back for the elect's sake to complete their sealing, saving work. To that very end, we will learn that Christ told His disciples in this private set of instructions on the Mount of Olives that He has shortened the time that the abominable one, Satan, the son of perdition, antichrist, shall come stand in the holy place claiming to be God, which happens at the sound of the 6th Trump. He further states that His reason for shortening that time is for the elect's sake... not because He is concerned that they shall "bow a knee to Baal", for that they did not do so in the first earth age and neither shall they in this one, but because of the saving work they do during this extended period of "longsuffering" (2 Pet. 3:9)! Otherwise, because the deception will be so great when the false messiah comes, no one would be able to escape so great a flood of lies and deceit. Matthew 24:22 "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Again, the elect during that time before Satan is cast out of heaven to this earth are teaching God's Word and giving His warning to their brothers and sisters that they might be saved from spiritual desolation. That is part of the duty of the watchman to give the warning of the coming of the king of Babylon in these last days of whom Nebuchadezzar king of Babylon was a type![5] For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;
While the many (most) preachers are teaching any-moment rapture theories and saying that Christ is going to return at any time to take up His church, the true servants and watchmen of God are teaching His Word to their brothers and sisters and declaring as it is written that the false messiah, the fake bridegroom, comes first to take them to wife and that most of them will be spiritually seduced by him. In other words, the false prophets who teach the traditions of men are sounding the alarms out of order, in the wrong sequence! They are sounding the alarm of the 7th Trump, which is when Christ returns, while the true teachers of God's Word are warning and sounding the alarm that the 6th Trump, which is the coming of the false messiah, must first take place before we gather back to Christ at the 7th Trump. Paul made this so clear in 2 Thes. 2 that anyone who will take the time to examine that which is written instead of allowing men to deceive and convince them with their soothsaying words and books and movies, can come to a simple understanding of the truth.
Nevertheless, there comes a time when the season of the final generation at the end of this flesh age waxes old and the Baby Boomers start to get gray hair, that the 6th Trump does finally sound and the abominable one is cast down out of heaven and comes defacto (Rev. 12:7-9) standing in the Holy Place claiming that he is God. Make no mistake about it dear Christian. It shall happen exactly as it is written no matter how popular those fly-away doctrines to the contrary may be!
Read the first two verses of 2 Thes. 2 and you will know that "that day" Paul is talking about is the day we gather back to Christ at the sound of the last (7th) trump! The point Paul is making here is that there is going to be a great "apostasy" among our people take place before that happens which is when the abominable one, the son who has already been sentenced to perish and therefore called the "son of perdition", Satan posing as the Messiah, shall come and deceive the majority of professing Christians into believing that he is God, even that he is Jesus Christ who has come to rapture them away. To that end, it is written (Mat. 24:24, Rev. 13:13) that he shall perform great wonders and miracles in the sight of men to convince people that he is who he claims to be.2 Thes. 2:3-4
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Once the 6th Trump has sounded and the king of Babylon of these last days, Satan as anti-christos (the instead-of-Jesus), has arrived on the scene, the shepherding work of the brotherhood of the church of Philadelphia which blows the trumpet warning of his coming will have been accomplished. That simply means that the sealing of God's Word in the foreheads of those in Rev. 7 will have taken place and Satan will have arrived defacto, and so it is now time for the proclamation (heralding) of the "gospel of the kingdom" throughout the world as a witness and testimony to the leaders and peoples of all nations. That proclamation is the good news (though the nations won't see it that way) that the King and His dominion are coming to take over the reigns of government on this earth. Though God's elect are instructed not to worry nor to premeditate on what they shall say when they are delivered up to give that witness and testimony, we know from Joel 3:9-21 that the proclamation will include the warning that they had better prepare themselves with all the strength and weaponry they can muster... for His judgment (God is Judge) is coming to the valley of Jehoshaphat (Yahveh Judges). This is important to our understanding in today's study of Mat. 24 so here is a glimpse of that proclamation of the coming of the King with His saints to take dominion and to reign on earth:[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
This proclamation and warning is to the gentile nations which is what God's elect who are delivered up will give as His testimony and witness against them. Again, they will be proclaiming the coming of the King of kings and the pouring out of His cup of wrath upon the ungodly! They will be proclaiming the sound of the 7th Trump, not the 6th, for the 6th Trumpet will have already sounded.Joel 3:9-17
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
The message to the kings and rulers of the nations will be that their little LOVE AFFAIR with the harlot, the New World Order is about to end and it is now DECISION time for it is soon going to be JUDGMENT time in the Valley of Jehoshaphat when Yashua returns with His elect! So they can choose to either surrender and turn to YHVH who is GOD (JO-EL) or PREPARE to DEFEND THEMSELVES! Gather together all your mighty men and assemble even your weak and handicapped because your gonna need everyone you can muster and all the fire power you can harness, oh great little kings and rulers of the earth!
Go for it now O' kings and rulers of the earth, because when the King of kings and Lord of lords comes you guys are going to beat your swords back into plowshares and pruninghooks and you're going to learn how to use them to plow truth and execute justice according to His Word![10] Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
They shall assemble themselves in the "gathering place of the assembly (Har-Megiddo)" when the Lord and the mighty ones of God, the saints of the most high, come down riding on their white horses to take the kingdom and execute His justice in all the earth! Read Isa. 13:3-6![11] Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
This is the time when the harvest is ripe... at the sound of the 7th Trump, the Day of the LORD![12] Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.[13] Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Remember this verse for we shall see it again later in this 24th chapter of Matthew pertaining also to His second coming at the 7th Trump.[14] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.[15] The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
We will also discuss this shaking of the heavens and earth later in this 24th chapter.[16] The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his Voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Jerusalem shall be cleansed when Christ returns and destroys all the "stones" of that temple... remember? So the good news (gospel) of the kingdom (the King and dominion coming) as His witness and testimony that the great shake-up is about to come upon the earth, shall be given when "certain of God's elect" are delivered up and the Holy Spirit speaks through them in a language which needs no interpreter as ensampled in Acts 2 on that first Pentecost Day following the resurrection. This is the second work which happens late in the season and which is accomplished by those spiritually rich Christians of the brotherhood who are also of the church of Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11.)[17] So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
Here is what Christ says to them:
Do not misunderstand what is being taught by declaring that there are two works because there is still only one body. However, just as there are different parts, even assemblies, of that body so too are there different destinies of the members of that body. Always remember that our Father is "true to His Word" and He has promised that He will not suffer (permit) you to be tried or tempted above that you are able to bear. Some of these Smyrphs (Smyrna-Phillies) have already been through some mighty rough times. But the point is, if Father has a job for you to do then He knows you can "cut it"!Rev. 2:9-10
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Here is that promise:
You "see", those of the church of Smyrna, which comes from the root word "myrrh" meaning "perfumed oil, ointment", are spiritually "rich" Christians of the brotherhood, meaning they are filled to the full with the anointing oil and are able to bear it, able (with His sword) to "cut it" through much tribulation. They have the faith to stand directly before the king of Babylon when they are delivered up and without even thinking about it, even in the face of almost certain death, boldly refuse to bow before His image! They find Satan posing as Christ to be a disgusting abomination indeed!1 Cor. 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This takes us right to the Book of Daniel where Christ Himself will direct us concerning the abomination of desolation. Matthew 24:15 "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)." Let him who reads the Book of Daniel the prophet understand what takes place during the time the abominable one stands in the holy place.
You "see", all the events that take place in Daniel, in the book titled "God is Judge", occur once the 6th Trump has sounded because the king of Babylon, even the king of Babylon of the Book of Revelation, is present as world leader and the one to be worshipped! To that end, we do not see line by line teaching in Daniel (an ensample to Smyrna) as we do in Ezekiel (an ensample to Philadelphia), but rather casting into prisons and lion dens, and delivering up before the king of Babylon, and witness and testimony given by some of God's elect, "certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes (Daniel 1:3)".
Here are their (spiritual) qualities:
In fact concerning tribulation, these spiritually rich servants of God are going to get a little more pressure placed upon them to drink of ol' king Nebuchadnezzar's wine of fornication and to eat his idolatrous meat. You can read of their ten day's of spiritual tribulation in Daniel 1:12, "Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink". However, they refused his wine and meat and rather "fasted" on pulse (something sown from seeds, i.e. seeds of truth) and water (that living water from His Word, the fountain of truth). You will find the connection to prison, and 10 days of spiritual tribulation, and being faithful even in the face of death, made with the church of Smyrna in Rev. 2:10.Daniel 1:4
Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
And so it is when the king of Babylon comes, exactly as it is written and exactly as those who "have a little strength and have kept His Word" have declared (Rev. 3:8), then the work of the delivering up and witness of the servants of God turns to the Book of DAN-I-EL (God is Judge), the events of which all take place when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is present.Rev. 2:10
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Earlier we talked about how Christ told us that once globalization takes place, then famines and pestilences and earth shattering events in all walks of life would begin to take place and increase like labor pangs as the One World Political System, the New World Order which is that First Beast of Rev. 13:1 setup by the sons of Cain, rises up from the sea (from among the people) and begins to make great waves. Then the false messiah shall enter in when Michael stands up and casts him out of heaven to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9, Dan. 12:1) and there shall be a great "Woe", "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."
With that background in mind, let us continue now and read about that time of trouble and what God's elect shall be doing.
Make no mistake about it. Some (certain) of God's elect shall be delivered up and persecuted and vilified (destroyed) in the eyes of the people for "His names sake", which means because of their beliefs in His Word and His authority that are deemed politically incorrect. To wit, in chapter six of the Book of Daniel you can read how they tried to deliver up Daniel by first finding occasion against him concerning the kingdom. They checked his FBI files and his IRS returns but they came up short in that Daniel was found to be a good law abiding citizen.Matthew 24:9
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.
That attempt at destroying Daniel having failed, they turned to political correctness and sought occasion against Daniel concerning "the law of his God"!Daniel 6:4-5
Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
So you know what they did? They had a "royal statute", as in politically correct legislation, signed into law that made it illegal to openly petition the God of Israel, the God Daniel made prayer and supplication to, or else that person would be cast into a den of "lions" to be ripped to shreds and devoured.Wake up brothers and sisters because politically correct legislation making it a crime to teach God's law concerning matters of ancestry, homosexuality, etc., are being passed at an alarming rate in this nation.[5] Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Did that cause Daniel to close his windows and go into hiding or did he continue to openly follow his Father's will?Daniel 6:7
All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Of course you know the rest of the story and how that Daniel was delivered up to death... but he trusted in His God and the Lord delivered Daniel by shutting the mouths of those lions, those gainsayers. You "see", true Christian soldiers are not the least bit intimidated by leftists and spiritual terrorists who attempt to destroy them because they keep their Father's Word. They know of their salvation and thus do not fear what man can do to their flesh which they know is only temporary housing anyway. They revere only Him who has ALL POWER and is therefore able to destroy both soul and body in the lake of fire.Daniel 6:10-11
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Here is what Christ said concerning our flesh bodies:
The point is, those who are fearful for the life of their flesh, beyond the natural instinct of self preservation, and cling to some rapture theory which promises to prevent them from physical harm (because according to the theory you have to be already "saved" in order to qualify for the trip), then none of this applies to them because they don't have enough gospel armour on and in place to take a stand and "cut it" anyway! But God's elect who love the Lord Jesus Christ and know Him through His Word, expect to be persecuted and suffer trials and tribulations. Hey, it comes with the territory! Consider the life of Christ. John 15:20 "...If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you...". Consider the life of Paul. We are at war against spiritual terrorists! Ephes. 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." That fact is, if you are one of God's elect, then there is nothing to fear nor to be anxious about because there is nothing that can shake the foundation upon which you stand and thus separate you from the love of God! Nothing! Are you fully convinced of that as Paul was, or do you still have doubts and fears?Matthew 10:28-32
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Let us read what Paul has to say concerning God's elect.
If God has forgiven you and justified you and declared you ok in His eyes, then who cares what man says? We are not here to please man but to labor in the vineyard for the householder who sent us!Romans 8:33-39
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Christ paid the price and has the power to forgive and wipe away all the sins of those who repent and turn to Him.[34] Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Go ahead, give one of God's elect your best shot and see what happens to you. Our Father doesn't take kindly to those who mess with His children.[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
We know the enemy's battle plan and how miserably he goes down in defeat. You "see", we already have the victory in Christ because Christ already defeated death (Heb. 2:4) which is Satan.[36] As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
No problem! God's elect can and will "cut it"![37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
Are you "persuaded" or does your foundation still rock and roll a little?[38] For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
And yet even though God's elect do not fear what man can do, they also know that it is written to Satan and his angels when they come to this earth not to "touch His anointed" and that except for the glory of the death of the two witnesses in Rev. 11, not one hair on their heads shall be harmed.[39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We find that written in Luke's account:
Our brothers and sisters, even our close loved ones, shall be so taken in by the magnificence of the miracle working "peace loving" false messiah whom they will believe is really Jesus, that they will aid in the delivering up of God's elect because they want them to "love Jesus" and be saved by him.Luke 21:16-18
And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
The word "hate" in Greek is "miseo" which means to persecute.[17] And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
This also takes us to the Book of Daniel in that "not an hair" on the heads of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was harmed by the king of Babylon's fiery pit, neither did the smell of the smoke from the pit pass on their clothing, which is symbolic of the gospel armor.[18] But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
So fear not and understand that your Father has His eye upon His elect and He knows exactly what is happening in their lives. And if you are one who allows the Holy Spirit to speak through you when you are delivered up in the face of death, He has not only promised to deliver you but to confess you before your Father in heaven who shall openly reward and bless you greatly in the kingdom. (Follow what happened to the three children in Daniel to get a clue.) Remember also what we learned back in chapter 10 of Matthew concerning how much our Father values His children?Daniel 3:27
And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
Our Father knows when a lowly sparrow bites the dust. How much more is He aware of His own children?Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
He who has ALL POWER in both heaven and earth has His eye upon you for you are indeed precious in His sight... so there is nothing to fear! You are His child and He loves you very much.[30] But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
One more time for emphasis!When Satan and his angelic host come at the sound of the 6th Trump, they are given specific instructions that they cannot harm those who have the seal of God in their foreheads, those who have His Word written and engraved in their minds.[31] Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.[32] Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
The question is... Will it come as a surprise to you if and when you are one of those who are delivered up to councils or assemblages and "raked over the coals" because of your Christian beliefs? Will you cry out, "Oh dear God, why is this happening to me?", or will you be able to recognize and put two and two together knowing the PURPOSE and that the words of Jesus Christ are coming to pass and then be able to do as apostle James says in his opening remarks concerning tribulation, "Count it all joy...".Rev. 9:4
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
What went through the minds of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were delivered up to Nebuchadnezzar? Was their primary concern the fear of losing their flesh? How about Daniel when he was tossed into the lion's den? Yes, some of God's servants with eyes to see and ears to hear and who are rich in the knowledge and wisdom of His Word, having abstained from idolatry by fasting on the true bread of life and living water of His Word, shall be delivered up in these last days, in the days that lie just ahead. Blepo! Jesus Christ just said so! He also said to His disciples that they should neither be fearful nor anxious nor premeditate on what they shall say (Mark 13:11, Luke 21:14)!
As an ensample, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego did not premeditate when they answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter (Daniel 3:16)".Luke 21:14-15
Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
Christ will see to it that the mouth of the lions who seek to devour you are shut! Let's return to Matthew 24.[15] For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
To be offended is to stumble at the Word which is to be drawn away into the apostasy which culminates in this final generation into the multitudes bowing before and worshipping the false messiah. Again, our brothers and sisters who are entrapped in the seduction of antichrist will believe that the true Christ has returned.Matthew 24:10
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
offended, skandalizo, skan-dal-id'-zo, Greek 4624; ("scandalize"); from Greek 4625 (skandalon); to entrap, i.e. trip up (figurative stumble [transitive] or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure) :- (make to) offend.betray, paradidomi, par-ad-id'-o-mee, Greek 3860; from Greek 3844 (para) and Greek 1325 (didomi); to surrender, i.e. yield up, intrust, transmit :- betray, bring forth, cast, commit, deliver (up), give (over, up), hazard, put in prison, recommend.
hate, miseo, mis-eh'-o, Greek 3404; from a primary misos (hatred); to detest (especially to persecute); by extension to love less :- hate (-ful).
Many false prophets (preachers, teachers) shall arise and deceive many by teaching the traditions of men instead of God's Word and thus causing our people to become deceived... which is to go astray from His Word, to be drawn away from the truth of God's Word, and thus be spiritually seduced by the false messiah.[11] And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
deceive, planao, plan-ah'-o, Greek 4105; from Greek 4106 (plane); to (properly cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue) :- go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way.
Iniquity is lawlessness which is a violation of the laws of God caused by following the traditions of men which even seem so right in the eyes of man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Prov. 14:12). Though many of our brothers and sisters profess Christ and claim they believe in God's Word, it is because of their ignorance of the Word that they have been drawn away and therefore do not know Him. In other words, it is because the do "err" that they do those things which are contrary to His Word which is what iniquity is... believing and following the traditions of men, i.e. Churchianity. To wit, the "love" Christ is talking about in verse 12 is not "phileo" but "agape", the love of the truth of God's Word and the doing of His Will.[12] And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
You may recall at the beginning of this chapter when the disciples asked Christ concerning the "end of the age", we learned that the word "end" is "telos" in Greek. The end of this flesh age is not when antichrist, the false messiah comes at the sound of the 6th Trump, but rather when Jesus Christ the true Messiah comes at the sound of the 7th Trump. We will also discover later in this chapter that it is not the first woman taken in the field who is saved for she is seduced by antichrist, as in wed to the false bridegroom, the first supernatural entity to appear as Messiah. No, it is rather he or she who "endures" throughout the tribulation of antichrist and remains true and steadfast in overcoming the beast that shall be saved.[13] But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
"Tarry behind!" Yes, it is written that he who is "Left Behind" and remains as a chaste virgin (2 Cor. 11:2) unto the coming of the Lord that shall be saved. So BEWARE! Many false prophets shall rise (and many already have) and shall deceive many, the majority of Christians, into accepting the first messiah who comes to this earth... the one who shall deceive the whole world with his signs and great wonders into believing he is God. Again, don't let some foolish man or some book or movie deceive you unless you want to join them in their ignorance of God's Word.endure, hupomeno, hoop-om-en'-o, Greek 5278; from Greek 5259 (hupo) and Greek 3306 (meno); to stay under (behind), i.e. remain; figurative to undergo, i.e. bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere :- abide, endure, (take) patient (-ly), suffer, tarry behind.
Understand that the Lord cannot return at "any moment" because the next two verses tell us what yet must happen before the end (telos) comes, before Jesus Christ returns and destroys the stones of the temple and saints of the most high take the kingdom for ever and ever.
This happens when some of God's elect, those certain ones chosen before the foundation of this earth age who have a destiny to fulfill (Eph. 1:4), are delivered up to give His witness and testimony before the kings and rulers of all nations.Matthew 24:14
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.
[15] When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
noieo, noy-eh'-o, Greek 3539; from Greek 3563 (nous); to exercise the mind (observe), i.e. (figurative) to comprehend, heed :- consider, perceive, think, understand.
Daniel 11:31And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
Daniel 11:36And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
2 Thes. 2:4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
[5] Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
The 24th chapter of Matthew
contains the seven seals that were opened and revealed by Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of God, in the great Book of Revelation pertaining to "the things"
that must "shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1) during the final generation,
the generation of the fig tree, the very time
in (2010)
which we are now living!
And if one understands that the final generation began on May 15, 1948, which we will document to be the case later in this chapter, and that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled", i.e. those things Christ is revealing to us in this chapter that tie in to the things He foretold us through the prophets, then it would behoove one to pay close attention and take heed to all that is written herein for the firstborn of the Baby Boomer generation are in their 60's, which is retirement age!
You "see", the Baby Boomers have already witnessed the fulfillment of many of these things He foretold us would take place in the final generation, including globalization of both the ethnic and kingdom nations, which is the emergence of the 1st Beast of Revelation 13:1, that Multi-headed One World Political System that rises up out of the sea of people. (sea/waters are symbolic of "peoples and nations and multitudes and tongues", Rev. 17:15). And it is pretty obvious even to non-believers that that beast system is gaining more and more strength likened unto the powerful crushing feet of a bear, and it is gaining more and more teeth like those of a lion that enable it to rip and tear and shred and devour its prey, and it is now moving ever so swiftly with the speed and prowess of a leopard. Yes, the New World Order is gaining momentum and strength in preparation for the 2nd Beast of Revelation 13:11, that abominable one who shall come on the scene looking "like a lamb", with the two horns like a lamb. Horns are symbolic of power and so it is that antichrist will appear as king of kings and lord of lords as he imitates the return of Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, by taking over as world ruler while claiming to be the Messiah. And though the world will love the message of peace and safety and the prosperity he brings with him, his words are indeed blasphemous and contrary to the Word of God, for he himself is blasphemous and an abomination.Matthew 24:34
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
He will speak as a dragon because this abominable one IS the great red dragon from the first earth age who drew 1/3 of God's children (Rev. 12:4) away from the mercy seat of God with his twisting (spin) and corruption of truth and justice utilizing the powers of the Four Hidden Dynasties which are false religion, politics, economics, and education. Those powers are the four colored horses (horses are symbolic of power, even war power) in Revelation chapter 6.Click #1848, & #1011 or #1012 to learn more. You "see", Satan is the one who empowers the 1st Beast as noted in Rev. 13:4 by using the same tail he used in the first earth age, those four hidden dynasties controlled by his own seed, the kenites, through which he is able to make desolate the hearts and minds of our people with the overspreading of his flood of lies and deception. Daniel spoke of this vile person who would come in the midst of the final week known as Daniel's 70th week and spread his abominable filth until such time as Christ comes and pours out His wrath upon the ungodly and destroys every last stone of the temple.Rev. 13:11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
If you break back the phrase "confirm the covenant" to the Hebrew you will find that it means to "strengthen the confederacy" which is the 1st Beast of Revelation 13:1, i.e. the New World Order. And when Satan comes defacto it is written that he will use all that strength of the NWO, as in "exercise all the power of the first beast". Rev. 13:12 "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed." Here are Strong's definitions for some of the key words in Dan. 9:27:Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Again, the New World Order is gaining tremendous strength as more and more peoples and languages and nations fall in line and march to the tune of globalization.confirm, gabar, gaw-bar', Hebrew 1396; a primitive root; to be strong; by implication to prevail, act insolently :- exceed, confirm, be great, be mighty, prevail, put to more [strength], strengthen, be stronger, be valiant.covenant, beriyth, ber-eeth', Hebrew 1285; from Hebrew 1262 (barah) (in the sense of cutting [like Hebrew 1254 (bara')]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh) :- confederacy, [con-]feder[-ate], covenant, league.
Make no mistake about it and let no man deceive you by any means as to the documented fact that this ol' dragon who makes desolate the hearts and minds of our people is coming to this earth defacto to "sit in the temple" and "stand in the holy place" claiming to be God.abominations, shiqquwts, shik-koots', Hebrew 8251; or shiqquts, shik-koots'; from Hebrew 8262 (shaqats); disgusting, i.e. filthy; especially idolatrous or (concrete) an idol :- abominable filth (idol, -ation), detestable (thing).consummation, kalah, kaw-law', Hebrew 3617; from Hebrew 3615 (kalah); a completion; adverb completely; also destruction :- altogether, (be, utterly) consume (-d), consummation (-ption), was determined, (full, utter) end, riddance.
There will be Baby Boomers who shall see this come to pass! So when you do "see" it come to pass then remember the instructions of Christ we shall read of in our study. Satan is coming to town to bring his bag of goodies and gather together as many "good little children" to him as he can. However, we know that very soon after the abominable one comes standing in the holy place that judgment upon that house is near at hand for as Christ said at the beginning of this 24th chapter, He shall return and pulverize all the stones of that temple.2 Thes. 2:3-4
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Matthew 24:15
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of byDaniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
This is what you are to do when you see the desolator standing in the holy place causing the daily sacrifice to be taken away by claiming to be Jesus Christ and backing up that claim by performing miracles in the sight of men whereby they bow to him and worship him! When that happens you know that the cup of our Father's wrath is being filled to the full quickly and about to poured out upon the ungodly.[16] Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
So make haste and flee to the mountains to commune with Him and stay away from the abominable filth emanating from the holy place. Why? Because the crowd that gathers there are about to receive the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah... now you see them... now you don't!
To help us understand this better, Christ tells us in Luke 17 that it will be just like the days of Lot when those fornicators who burned in their lust for one another were eating and drinking, and buying and selling, and planting and building up! We are to "see" this ensample as an analogy of the spiritual filth which is happening today, even in the holy place, and yet will wax even worse when Satan and his angels arrive! Jude 1:7 "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." To wit, that "great city" where the abomination of desolation is set up is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. Rev. 11:8 "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." Christ was crucified in Jerusalem in the land of Judea! Here is the analogy in Luke 17 giving us the link to the days of Lot:
Luke 17:28Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
[29] But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
[30] Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
[31] In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
[32] Remember Lot's wife.
Genesis 19:26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.looked back, nabat*, naw-bat', Hebrew 5027; a primitive root; to scan, i.e. look intently at; by implication to regard with pleasure, favor or care :- (cause to) behold, consider, look (down), regard, have respect, see.
salt, melach, meh'-lakh, Hebrew 4417; from Hebrew 4414 (malach); properly powder, i.e. (specific) salt (as easily pulverized and dissolved :- salt ([-pit]).
Genesis 19:17And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
It will be just like in the days of Lot, so get out and stay out and don't look back!Matthew 24:17
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
You do not need a "change of clothing"! The clothing you have on, which should be the gospel armor, is all you need.[18] Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Throughout God's Word adultery and harlotry are used to symbolize spiritual fornication and spiritual seduction... which is idolatry. Remember that Christ is teaching us here on a spiritual level. Don't go to the party! Stay away from the spiritual orgy which He likened to the physical orgies which took place in Sodom and Gomorrah, that vivid ensample that paints a picture in our mind's eye of gross perversion in order that we might draw the analogy to the spiritual perversion that is taking place! The apostle Paul also drew the analogy between the physical seduction of mother Eve who lost her virginity to that sleazy low life serpent (Satan) in the garden of Eden, and the spiritual seduction of virgins (Christians) in these last days who are to wait patiently until the true bridegroom comes![19] And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
So in Mat. 24:19 Christ is not talking about those who are pregnant in the natural (physical) sense. He is talking about those of us who do not remain spiritual virgins but are rather impregnated with the lies and deceit of "antichrist", a word which means "instead of Jesus" in Greek!2 Cor. 11:2-3
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. [3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The point is, when Christ returns to take up His virgin bride (His church/Christians) but discovers that she is already pregnant or is nursing a baby, spiritually, of her own, that is where the WOE comes in because He will not be too happy with her! Would you? Therefore do not be the first woman "taken" in the field... because if you turn back you will be seduced and lose your virginity!
The word "winter" can mean both a "storm or tempest" or the "winter season". Either way, the point is still to make haste (hasten) and pray that you are not caught in the great storm, that powerful spiritual tempest which is Satan's flood of lies, or unable to get out for any other reason, the second analogy being that one could only travel a short distance on the sabbath day. Again, this has to do with spiritual seduction... call it the harvesting of souls if you like. In that sense, the analogy would be do not become "harvested" in the winter, which is out of season![20] But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
"For then".. when? When you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place where "he" ought not, that is when the greatest spiritual tribulation to ever occur in this flesh age takes place! In his great guide book to the events of the 6th Trump when the king of Babylon is present, Daniel the prophet to whom Christ Himself has referred us,tells us that this time of great trouble (tribulation) begins when the great prince Michael, who stands for the children of God, stands up and as Rev. 12:7-9 tells us, casts Satan out of heaven to this earth![21] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Rev. 12:7-9 gives us the details of what happens when Michael stands up!Daniel 12:1
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Yep, that second beast of Rev. 13:11 comes looking like a lamb but speaking like a dragon because he is the great red dragon of the first earth age, who was that old serpent in the garden who seduced mother Eve, that same Devil who tempted Christ in the wilderness! Both he (Satan) AND his angels, those fallen angels of Gen. 6 who "kept not their first estate" and are now reserved unto destruction when Christ returns (Jude 6, Rev. 11:13), shall be cast to this earth by Michael and his angels. THAT is when the greatest of all spiritual tribulation ever to take place in this flesh age shall occur!Rev. 12:7-9
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,[8] And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
[9] And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And you know what else?Christ tells us in the next verse that the Father has shortened the time Satan will be here standing in the holy place, spreading his abominable lies and taking away communion to the true Christ by deceiving the people into believing he is Christ and receiving it unto himself.
Remember that this is private instruction (Mat. 24:3) to the disciples who "came to Him" privately on the "Mount of Olives" to seek wisdom and understanding concerning the "things" of these last days. The multitudes who follow after the traditions of men were not present to receive this knowledge and wisdom from the Word of God, nor do the multitudes of Christianity today understand concerning these things because wisdom comes from seeking Him, i.e. studying His Word. It is beyond dispute that the majority of professing Christians are grossly Biblically illiterate! To that end, it is written in Dan. 12:10 that only the wise in these last days would understand concerning the "end of these things" and the time of the end!Matthew 24:22
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
This is the same question the disciples ask Jesus Christ, the Word of God, concerning the end of these things! Matthew 24:3 "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? However, Daniel was told that his words would be "closed up and sealed until the time of the end... when the Lamb would "open the seals" (as per Rev. 5-6) and make His truth and the visions of the prophet known unto His disciples, the sons and daughters of Acts 2!Daniel 12:8-10
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
The wise in these last days know that antichrist's defacto reign upon the earth has been shortened. In fact, further wisdom and knowledge in Rev. 9 tells us that it, the time of the locust army, has been shortened to a five month period. A little study of locusts will reveal that these devouring insects come out of the earth for five months from May to September. Isn't that interesting?[9] And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.[10] Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Nevertheless know this! When Satan is cast out unto this earth with his angels, his locust army, he knows he has but a short time and he is extremely irate over it!
How wise are you? Will you escape the great tribulation, the great time of spiritual seduction by the false messiah and his angelic troops, by remaining true to the Word of God, as in remaining a virgin until the true bridegroom comes, or will you listen to men who say Christ is coming at any moment to rapture you into the clouds and then when antichrist is here and standing defacto in the holy place, they tell you that Christ has returned?Rev. 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Let no man deceive you by any means! That day, which is that day when the true Christ comes and we gather back to Him, SHALL NOT COME, until the abomination of desolation comes as Christ's "stand-in", i.e. he comes and stands in the holy place claiming to be Christ and deceives the whole world into believing that he IS (2 Thes. 2)! It shall take the world by "storm". It is written... and so it shall happen exactly as Christ has foretold us! The multitudes who are waiting to be "raptured away" at any moment are going be delighted by this supernatural one and his angels when he appears and in their ignorance they will be easily taken and seduced by Satan posing as Jesus Christ, the bridegroom. Do not be deceived by man! Hear what Jesus Christ, the Word of God, has to say and believe Him over what man teaches. Why?...because the "false messiah" and "his false preachers" come first when Michael stands up and casts them out of heaven! Have you not read the Book of Daniel? (Let him that readeth understand!)[23] Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
The Greek word for "false Christs" is singular and refers to the false messiah:[24] For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
The deception of antichrist and his band of merry men will be so great that "if it were possible", which in the Greek context clearly denotes that it is NOT possible (see note in the Companion Bible), they could deceive the very elect. But elect are wise and they have his number! Furthermore, Christ has given them "power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19)"!false Christs, pseudochristos, psyoo-dokh'-ris-tos, Greek 5580; from Greek 5571 (pseudes) and Greek 5547 (Christos); a spurious Messiah :- false Christ.
So Christ has told you how it is going down just before the "telos" when He comes to destroy the stones of the temple!
The choice is now yours of whether to believe what men say or to "take heed", blepo, to what Christ has told you! Christ has foretold us that the abominable one is going to come stand in the holy place where he ought not and take the world by storm... and the whole world will believe he is who he claims to be.[25] Behold, I have told you before.
1 Cor. 15:51-50 and 1 Thes. 4:13-18 show us that when Christ returns, those of us who are still alive in the flesh we will be instantly changed into our spiritual (aer) bodies to gather back to Him. Know this! If you are therefore still in the flesh...,i.e. still have your flesh and blood body on, then the true Christ has not returned!It is as simple as that! Study God's Word and quit listening to stories and fables that cannot be documented in the Word of God.[26] Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Jesus Christ is coming to gather His elect, the "living", unto Himself, i.e. those spiritual virgins who have "endured" (tarried behind waiting patiently) unto the end. They are those who have remained true to Christ and His Word and have distanced themselves from that perverse crowd and not turned back nor been caught in the storm. All others shall have been seduced by the false messiah. We shall learn more of the 7th advent and the gathering of the elect in our next study. Until then, consider carefully this next verse which still applies to the time when the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place, because before Christ and His saints come to gather His elect from the four winds, Satan and his vultures shall come first to gather all the spiritually "dead" to his wedding feast![27] For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The word "eagles" here should be read "vultures" for "eagles feed only on fresh or living prey" and not on dead carcasses (See note in the Companion Bible). The point again is, before Christ comes and gathers the living from the four winds, Satan shall come and gather the spiritually dead unto himself!In other words, wheresoever the spiritually dead are, the birds of prey, Satan's dirty birds, those fallen angels who are cast out of heaven with him to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9), shall come and gather them together unto his wedding feast! Don't be one of those plucked up by these spiritual vultures! Remain alive and they shall not harm you for they feast only on dead carcasses![28] For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
What an exciting time in which we live! No wonder the prophets and the disciples wanted to know what it would be like in our day! We are witnessing things and shall yet witness things that no other generation in the history of mankind has ever imagined.So take heed and prepare now to take a stand against the fiery darts of the wicked one by putting on the whole gospel armor of God (Eph. 6). Study His Word and check out what you hear taught by men to see if it aligns with what Christ has foretold you. That way you remain a wise virgin. Otherwise, you might find yourself attending the wrong wedding feast and thus be on the receiving end of a "Woe" when the true bridegroom returns!
One of the questions the disciples asked Jesus Christ when they went to Him in private while He was on the Mount of Olives was "what shall be the sign of your coming"? Do you know the sign of Christ's return, in other words, not just what happens in the period leading up to it, but what exactly happens when the true Messiah returns to this earth at the sound of the 7th Trump? Well, if you do then by default you will know what hasn't taken place when someone who claims to the be the Messiah shows up on the scene "doing great wonders" and "performing miracles in the sight of men".
In our last study we learned that Satan and his dirty birds, those angelic, sweet, and soft spoken religious vultures who will prey on anything that is spiritually dead or dying, are coming like a swarm of locusts to devour and seduce all those who have not the seal of God in their foreheads (Rev. 9:4) and gather them to "Jesus"... only the Jesus they gather them to will be the abominable one, the spurious messiah who makes desolate the hearts and minds of our people while standing in the holy place and sitting the temple of God claiming to be God.
Yes, the whole world with the exception of God's elect will believe that Jesus Christ has returned because the Instead-of-Christ (anti-christos in Greek) shall come and heal the big crisis, the deadly wound (Rev. 13:12) to the confederacy, i.e. to the New World Order, and cause peace and prosperity and religious revival to abound. Quite frankly, if you have not been foretold and forewarned that this spiritually abominable false messiah comes first and you are not able to "tell the difference between the holy and the profane and discern between the clean and the unclean", then you will love this guy and the good times he and ministers appearing as angels of light bring with them.
So let's read and understand what Jesus Christ has to tell us about what happens immediately after Satan and his vultures, who appear pretending to be Jesus and His angels, gather their crowd together in the land of Judea.Remember we are still on the Mount of Olives receiving personal and private instruction from the Word of God.
Note: There is a figure of speech used in the following verse known as a polysyndeton which is simply the repetition of the word "and" at the beginning of successive clauses, each independent, important, and emphatic, with no climax at the end. In other words, great emphasis and importance is given in the following verse concerning how it shall be immediately AFTER the tribulation we just learned about, i.e. the tribulation of antichrist who COMES FIRST with his wicked angels (vultures) to prey on the spiritually dead and cause them to come to his wedding feast. But make no mistake about it and do not be deceived into following after Satan's crowd, because no matter how spectacular Satan as the spurious messiah may appear, when the true messiah comes the following happens... else He has not come!
"Immediately after" is immediately after the tribulation of antichrist, i.e. after the abominable one who makes desolate the souls of men comes standing in the holy place claiming to be God.Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days...
The word "shaken" means to topple or (by implication) destroy.shall the sun be darkened,and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
So let's keep this real simple, even on the first level without going into symbology, and understand that when Jesus Christ returns to this earth, the flesh age is over and all powers and principalities and rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12) are going to be shaken and toppled to the ground, i.e. put down, destroyed!shaken, saleuo, sal-yoo'-o, Greek 4531; from Greek 4535 (salos); to waver, i.e. agitate, rock, topple or (by implication) destroy; figurative to disturb, incite :- move, shake (together), which can [-not] be shaken, stir up.
At that moment in time we will be in the spiritual dimension that flesh and blood cannot enter (1 Cor. 15:50). In other words, we will no longer walk in the flesh under the sun because at the sound of the 7th Trump all who are alive and remain unto the "coming of the Lord" shall be instantly, in the twinkling of an eye, changed from their flesh bodies into their spiritual bodies (1 Cor. 15:51-52). If you therefore look up and the sun and the moon and the stars still give their light, that means Jesus Christ has not returned because, you "see", the brightness of His coming (2 Thes. 2:8) will far outshine them all! Remember in our last study we read a description of how the true Messiah returns. Let's review that verse:
Luke gives us a little different perspective of this total brightness!Matthew 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
That my friend is such brilliance as will cause the sun to be darkened and the moon to no longer give her reflection. In other words, Jesus Christ will appear with such a brilliance that the sun itself will not be visible. (Note: The deeper student will know that this is but an analogy because we are not really comparing apples to apples when we compare the physical to the spiritual dimension. In other words, Christ's brilliance far exceeds even the brightness of the sun itself for such spiritual brilliance cannot be measured by the fire and light we see with our flesh eyes and measure in degrees and lumens.)Luke 17:24
For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
Furthermore, we read in verse 29 not only of the brilliance of Jesus Christ when He comes, but that He comes with "power and great glory", as King of kings and Lord of lords to exercise all power in both heaven and earth which has been given to Him. Matthew 24:30 "...and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
And so it is written that at that day "every knee shall bow to the name (power and authority) of Jesus Christ. Philip. 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Students of God's Word know that these things pertaining to the day of the Lord are all contained in the Old Testament as well as the New. When Jesus said in Matthew 24:25 "Behold, I have told you before", He meant not just before they happen but also aforetime, i.e. of old.To that end, He quotes from both the Law (Deut. 4) and the Prophets (Isa. 13, Dan. 7, Zech. 12) to let us know that these things are already written for those who have been to school in the Old Testament. For instance, in Mat. 24:29 that we just read Christ is quoting from the great Book of Isaiah in chapter 13 concerning the Day of the Lord:
This is tribulation for the disobedient children and a day of vengeance for the enemies of the Almighty. This is NOT tribulation for God's elect whom He shall gather from the four winds to reign and rule with Him for a thousand years.Isaiah 13:6-10
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
[7] Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
All that is wicked, as in all the "elements" (which doesn't mean the physical elements but rather the "evil rudiments") shall be consumed by the brightness of His coming as Paul puts in 2 Thes. 2:8 or shall melt away by His fervent heat as Peter puts it 2 Pet. 3:10. The analogy is really one and the same which one can "see" by taking a magnifying glass on a sunny day and holding it above some dead dry grass or stubble and watch it burst into flames as the intensity of the light produces heat to the degree of combustion. The more technically oriented can hold a piece of paper or a cigarette close to the powerful ray of a laser beam and watch the same result. Nevertheless, the power and brightness of Christ's coming will leave no doubt whatsoever that the true Messiah has returned. This next verse in Isaiah is what we read in Mat. 24:29.[8] And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.[9] Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Again, Satan will most assuredly make a big impression when he comes "doing great wonders" and "performing miracles in the sight of men", like snapping his fingers and calling fire (lightning) down out of heaven. That is going to impress a lot of Biblically illiterate people who will see these great wonders and spectacular feats as credentials to his claim that he is Jesus Christ who has come to rapture them away!Don't let these miracles deceive you! Look up and if you still see the sun and moon and stars give their light in the sky and you are still in your flesh body, then the heavens haven't parted and the brightness hasn't come... which means Jesus Christ hasn't returned! Here is further documentation as to the deceptive spectacle Satan will put on when he comes.[10] For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Rev. 13:13-14
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
When Christ returns and crushes all power and authority and Babylon the Great falls down flatter than a pancake, it will be a glorious day for the children of God but a day of great mourning and anguish for those who were taken FIRST by antichrist and seduced into believing he was God. Then too, those who are deceived by the spurious messiah will be taken by complete and sudden surprise when the true Christ comes... because they will believe He is already here.[14] And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Let us continue with the sign of Christ's coming which we now know happens AFTER the false Christ has gathered his crowd in Judea, the "place of the gathering", which is called Armageddon in Hebrew.
This does not say that only those who have a "rapture ticket" are going to see Jesus Christ coming. It says that ALL the tribes of the earth shall mourn and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. John tells us this exact same thing in the Book of Revelation, the book of the unsealing for His servants in this final generation:Matthew 24:30
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.
Again, this happens at the sound of the 7th Trump, the last trump, the one that comes after the 6th Trump when the son of perdition and his vultures come and deceive the whole world. Even so, "so be it" and "that's that" which is what "Amen" means. In other words, that's the chronological order of the events and that is exactly the way it is going down (6 comes before 7) no matter what any man might tell you to the contrary, such as you are going to be taken up in some rapture at any moment! Do not be deceived! Listen to the words of Christ and believe Him instead of believing nice men and women who promise you blue sky instead of reality. Check out what you hear men say with that which is written in the Word of God to see if it aligns with what Christ told you. He is the authority and not man... no matter how many degrees a man might have or how much alphabet soup follows his name!Rev. 1:7
Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
We also read of Christ's coming in the Book of Daniel.
Will you be part of the king's dominion because you have remained true and faithful to Him, or will you be among those spiritual adulteresses who jumped in bed with the first messiah and became spiritually impregnated with his lies and deception into believing he was the true bridegroom? They shall be separated from the true Bridegroom at His wedding feast and shall join in the great wailing and mourning and gnashing of teeth we just read of in Mat. 24:30! We can also read of that great "mourning" of all the tribes of the earth in Zech. 12:11-14.Daniel 7:13-14
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.[14] And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
There shall be a "great mourning" where the nations are gathered in Jerusalem, so great that the comparison is made here to the unprecedented national mourning that took place in Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo when king Josiah died. You can read concerning the magnitude of the people's lamentations in 2 Chron. 35:22-25.Zech. 12:11-14
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
The Hebrew word "bad" translated "apart" in these verses means by implication "a part of the body" or "branch of a tree", i.e. every family tree or branch of the family. These family members are those who are separated (apart) from those who are gathered to Christ at His coming. Notice that it is "their wives apart" that shall be mourning. The word "wives" as it is used here means "adulteress" which is used in analogy throughout the scriptures to characterize "idolatry". In other words, all the family branches of idolatrous worshippers of the great false shepherd, antichrist, shall be mourning when they discover who it is they have been seduced by and taken for their husband. (We shall learn in chapter 25 why it is those foolish and unwise folks did not make it and endure through the dark hour of the reign of antichrist unto the coming of the Lord.)[12] And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
When Jesus Christ came at His first advent, He humbly rode into Jerusalem on a lowly ass and was later delivered up and beaten and crucified in order to pay the price to bring salvation to whosoever will. This time when He comes at His second advent it will be with all power and authority to gather His elect and establish His rule upon the earth.Matthew 24:31
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.
That great sound of a trumpet in verse 31 is the 7th Trumpet, the last trumpet, for there are only seven! By this time the four winds will have been released upon the earth and all those who do not have the seal of God ( See phamplet #1081) in their foreheads will have been taken by storm and swept away in the flood of lies and deception and gathered unto the false messiah. You can read about the four winds which bring about the final events and the return of Jesus Christ in both Daniel 7 and Rev. 7.
So there you have it. Just as there are two Jesus Christs, the false messiah and the true Messiah, there are two tribulations caused by their respective advents to this earth. And contrary to popular tradition, the tribulation of antichrist, the false Christ, is a time of peace and prosperity when the world will believe that the messiah has come. The picture book analogies of locusts devouring men, etc., that scare people into believing they are going to be tortured, etc.,are symbolic of spiritual warfare where the hearts and minds (not the flesh) of our people are made desolate by the spiritual onslaught of the abominable one, the king of Babylon of these last days, i.e. Satan posing as Christ.
You "see", it is because we are in flesh bodies that we cannot "see" things that are spiritual. For example, we cannot take an "attitude" and place it under a microscope and observe it. Nor can we measure "love" using the three dimensions of L x W x H. We can however see the physical sword of the king of Babylon slice through a man's heart, but we cannot see Satan's spiritual sword slice through the heart of a man's soul. So Father has given us pictures and types and analogies to enable us to conceptualize the spiritual warfare and the spiritual desolation that takes place in these last days. For example, if we tell someone that God's Word declares that the majority of our people are near death at this time because of the great famine and drought we are experiencing in the land, people would immediately think of a famine for food and a thirst for water and because they look out across the land do not see that taking place, they would wonder what in the world we are talking about. However, that is exactly the spiritual condition of our people, even at this time.
Remember Amos told us what the famine of these last days is: Amos 8:11-13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
If one does not eat bread (physical food) he or she will starve to death, right? Well, if one does not eat the bread of life (spiritual food from the Word of God) he or she will also starve to death (spiritually).
And our people are starving to death for there are few churches in the land that teach His Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse thereby feeding the bread of life to the people. Most preachers would rather follow the easy traditions of men and just teach the milk of salvation and baptism and get on with conducting praise and worship services where the basket of the people's sacrifice can be passed.
The result of the "famine" will cause Christians who are to remain virgins unto the coming of the Lord, to stumble and fall before the false messiah. That's spiritual death my friend, because Satan is death (Heb. 2:4). And so if one has eyes to see and ears to hear, he or she can look out across the land and "see" a valley of dry bones caused by the spiritual famine and dearth. Yes, the people are alive in the flesh and walking about, but spiritually they are deader than a dry bone! The only thing that can bring those dead bones back to life is the Spirit and Truth from the bread of life and the living fountain, i.e. the Word of God breathed into their minds through hearing the words of the LORD, the words that give life.[12] And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
God's elect shall not faint but rather endure and take a stand against the false messiah during his defacto reign on earth. They therefore will not suffer the tribulation of God which occurs at the sound of the 7th Trump when He pours out the cup of His wrath upon all those who have the mark of the beast, i.e. who worship Satan as God[13] In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
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