The words of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 24, are of crucial importance for us today. He prophesied of events to come in both the near and distant futures at the time He gave them. The first prophecy recorded here has to do with the fate of the Temple in Jerusalem. He said; “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Mat 24:2) That prophecy came to pass in 70AD, some 38 years or so after His crucifixion and resurrection. The Roman legions came and destroyed Jerusalem. The Temple which was layered in gold was burned and the stones thrown down so the soldiers could collect the melted gold. Not one stone was left standing upon another. He had much to say in this chapter about what the end times would be like but there is a passage we can look at that is of special interest to us. It of special interest because it speaks of the very last days before the “Great Tribulation” written of in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere. Just as a reminder, the Great Tribulation is that 7 year period of time that the earth is under the domination of the Anti-christ, the false prophet and Satan. It is a time when the people of the earth decide to worship the Anti-christ as god. God then pours out His vengeance upon an unbelieving people. But in this 24th chapter of Matthew, Jesus is describing what those days immediately preceding the Great Tribulation will look like.
Jesus gives the parable of the ‘Fig Tree.” Throughout the Old Testament the fig tree is used as a symbol of Israel just as the Eagle is used as a symbol of the United States or the Bear as a symbol of Russia. The use of symbols in no way diminishes the importance of this prophecy. In fact to attempt to force any other interpretation of this fig tree leads the passage to make no sense. So what did Jesus say? “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Mat 24:32-35) Jesus is telling His listeners and we who are reading His words to learn an important lesson. When we see the fig tree with tender twigs and budding leaves we know that something important is about to happen. It is important to know that Israel had not been a nation since the early years of 500 BC. Babylon had conquered it, placed their puppet government in Jerusalem and then in 587/86 returned and completely obliterated the city, the Temple and took many of the inhabitants away to Babylon. By the time Jesus came Israel had been ruled by the Medes and Persians, Greeks and later Rome. Let’s fast-forward to May 1948. Suddenly, in a single day, Israel is proclaimed by the United Nations to be a nation among the family of nations. This has never happened before in the history of the world that a nation, after military, economic and political defeat, ever became a nation again. Since the time of Israel’s rebirth interest in prophecy has increased. When Israel captured Jerusalem in the 1967 war interest became even more pronounced. Israel, the Fig Tree, is showing tender sprouts and budding leaves. Jesus said that the generation to see these things would not pass away before His return. I was born in 1946. If the generation He spoke of is the 70 or 80 years that most people could expect to live, these are the last days. Look up for your redemption draws near!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
WHAT'S NEXT?
You don’t have to be a prophecy student to be fascinated with the idea of knowing what is to come. I have discovered that Biblical Prophecy is the most reliable for the following reasons. Fully 20% of the Bible was prophetic when written. The events prophesied that have come to pass have been 100% accurate. There is still quite a bit of prophecy yet to be fulfilled. When reading prophecy I try to determine which is figurative language and which is literal. Words such as “like” “as if” are used to precede figurative language to describe something the writer has never seen before nor has no specific language to describe. But my overall approach is to understand that Biblical Prophecy should be understood literally. There are over 300 prophecies concerning the first advent of Jesus Christ. Some of the language was figurative and some literal. But all of the language used forecasted the actual events that Jesus fulfilled in his life. He was literally born of a virgin; literally healed the sick, the blind, the lame and raised the dead; He literally entered Jerusalem (on Palm Sunday) riding on a donkey’s colt; He was literally beaten so badly that he could not be recognized; He literally submitted to crucifixion and death and literally rose from the dead on the third day. He literally fulfilled over 300 prophecies.
What I hope to do in the following entries is to look at prophecy which is yet to be fulfilled against the backdrop of what is happening in our world today. I will be using the words of The Lord Jesus Christ, Daniel, the Apostles John, Paul, Peter and others and I will give references so you can look them up for yourself. There are several goals I have in mind for this project. 1) If you are currently a skeptic of the claims of Jesus Christ that you will be convinced that He is God and He does offer you salvation. 2) To assure the believer in Jesus Christ that you are safely in His hands and has nothing to fear. God is in control and will keep you out of the hour of His wrath. 3) That if you fail to come to faith in Jesus Christ and find yourself in the Great Tribulation that you will resist taking the “Mark of the Beast” and not worship him, even if it means your death. Taking of this mark will result in irrevocable damnation.
First, let’s take a broad overall look at the series of events that will take place in, what I believe, to be the near future. Since this is just a summary, I’ll not give Biblical references here but will do so when we get down to specifics.
Again, this is just a general overview of coming events. The next great event to take place will be the final great world-wide awakening or revival. This will be a time when God moves in a mighty way to bring many millions to faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Next will be the catching away or “rapture” of the Church. The church here means all those people, living and dead, who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sins and salvation of their souls. There is some number of theories about when the rapture will take place but I believe the Bible points to a time prior to the revealing of the Anti-Christ and the Great Tribulation. After the rapture comes the revealing of the Anti-Christ and his “One-World Government” followed by a 7 year peace treaty with Israel. This period is called the Great Tribulation. After 3 ½ years, this treaty will be broken and the entire world will be thrown into warfare unlike anything ever seen before. The Anti-Christ will claim to be God and his False Prophet will initiate the program where everyone is to receive the mark of the beast or the number of his name and worship him as god. Anyone who does this will be forever and irrevocably damned. But a multitude of people will not take his number or worship him. Many of them will be beheaded. Many others will hide out until the end. The end is not the end of the world. The end will be the return of Jesus Christ with His Church to put an end to the final great war, the “War of Armageddon.” Upon Christ’s return to the earth He will take the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet and throw them into the lake of fire. He will cause the devil, Satan, to be bound up for a thousand years. Jesus, Himself, will then set up His throne in Jerusalem and rule over the entire world for a thousand years. This is referred to as “The Millennium.” This will be a time of unparalleled peace and safety. After the thousand years is up, Satan will be released for a short time. He will again foster a rebellion against Jesus which will be put down quickly. After that will be what is called the “Great White Throne Judgment.” At this time all those who refused to place their faith in Jesus Christ will be resurrected and stand before God to be judged. At that time God will exact justice upon them and cast them into hell. This sounds harsh and it is but God is just and merciful and no one will go to hell that has not chosen to do so. About this same time God will cause fire to come upon the whole earth to purify it from the sin of the ages and He will restore both Heaven and Earth. Jesus will continue to rule over mankind for ever from the New Jerusalem which will come down out of Heaven. Satan will be cast into Hell for all time and there will never again be any sin, or war, or death, or pain and suffering for ever and ever. So there you have it; God’s plan for mankind for the next thousand years. Of course this is not an exhaustive or detailed explanation of the End-time events, but it does give you a good idea of the highlights. From here on we will look at specific events alongside specific prophecies.
What I hope to do in the following entries is to look at prophecy which is yet to be fulfilled against the backdrop of what is happening in our world today. I will be using the words of The Lord Jesus Christ, Daniel, the Apostles John, Paul, Peter and others and I will give references so you can look them up for yourself. There are several goals I have in mind for this project. 1) If you are currently a skeptic of the claims of Jesus Christ that you will be convinced that He is God and He does offer you salvation. 2) To assure the believer in Jesus Christ that you are safely in His hands and has nothing to fear. God is in control and will keep you out of the hour of His wrath. 3) That if you fail to come to faith in Jesus Christ and find yourself in the Great Tribulation that you will resist taking the “Mark of the Beast” and not worship him, even if it means your death. Taking of this mark will result in irrevocable damnation.
First, let’s take a broad overall look at the series of events that will take place in, what I believe, to be the near future. Since this is just a summary, I’ll not give Biblical references here but will do so when we get down to specifics.
Again, this is just a general overview of coming events. The next great event to take place will be the final great world-wide awakening or revival. This will be a time when God moves in a mighty way to bring many millions to faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Next will be the catching away or “rapture” of the Church. The church here means all those people, living and dead, who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sins and salvation of their souls. There is some number of theories about when the rapture will take place but I believe the Bible points to a time prior to the revealing of the Anti-Christ and the Great Tribulation. After the rapture comes the revealing of the Anti-Christ and his “One-World Government” followed by a 7 year peace treaty with Israel. This period is called the Great Tribulation. After 3 ½ years, this treaty will be broken and the entire world will be thrown into warfare unlike anything ever seen before. The Anti-Christ will claim to be God and his False Prophet will initiate the program where everyone is to receive the mark of the beast or the number of his name and worship him as god. Anyone who does this will be forever and irrevocably damned. But a multitude of people will not take his number or worship him. Many of them will be beheaded. Many others will hide out until the end. The end is not the end of the world. The end will be the return of Jesus Christ with His Church to put an end to the final great war, the “War of Armageddon.” Upon Christ’s return to the earth He will take the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet and throw them into the lake of fire. He will cause the devil, Satan, to be bound up for a thousand years. Jesus, Himself, will then set up His throne in Jerusalem and rule over the entire world for a thousand years. This is referred to as “The Millennium.” This will be a time of unparalleled peace and safety. After the thousand years is up, Satan will be released for a short time. He will again foster a rebellion against Jesus which will be put down quickly. After that will be what is called the “Great White Throne Judgment.” At this time all those who refused to place their faith in Jesus Christ will be resurrected and stand before God to be judged. At that time God will exact justice upon them and cast them into hell. This sounds harsh and it is but God is just and merciful and no one will go to hell that has not chosen to do so. About this same time God will cause fire to come upon the whole earth to purify it from the sin of the ages and He will restore both Heaven and Earth. Jesus will continue to rule over mankind for ever from the New Jerusalem which will come down out of Heaven. Satan will be cast into Hell for all time and there will never again be any sin, or war, or death, or pain and suffering for ever and ever. So there you have it; God’s plan for mankind for the next thousand years. Of course this is not an exhaustive or detailed explanation of the End-time events, but it does give you a good idea of the highlights. From here on we will look at specific events alongside specific prophecies.
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