The Great Tribulation

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Well, good evening If you want to open your Bible and not use the pieces of paper that were given to you, that's fine
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We the main text I will be looking at will be Matthew chapter 24 and just to let you know,
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I've got the exact same thing that you guys have so nothing special may refer to a couple of other passages here and there and And maybe
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Daniel and in Revelation, but by and large we're going to stay pretty much confined to the
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Olivet Discourse and I Do have a couple of quotes from Josephus that I will
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I'll give you the references You want to look them up on your own time and do some fact -checking to make sure that my memory is correct
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So before we get started, let me open us up with a word of prayer and then we'll start Father God, I pray right now that you would give me extra measure of your spirit extra measure of your grace as I Begin to open up a very difficult and debated debated passage over the years father.
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I pray that I would Explain it. Well, I pray that I would honor your son honor your word bring glory to your name
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And I pray that father ultimately we would leave this place edified and equipped And to love you more.
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I pray that we would put you the prophetic word on display and that father We would see the providence of you carrying out your purposes through even wicked men in Christ's name.
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Amen Well first and foremost, what is the Great Tribulation?
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That is the big question What is it? When was it and why?
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Did it happen? Well one when we think about the Great Tribulation who was the object of that Great Tribulation.
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What was its purpose and did it serve its purposes? Hopefully before we leave
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I will answer those questions for you But before we do that, there are going to be some preliminary things.
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We need to know The Olivet discourse has a futurist view meaning everything that moving from Matthew chapter 24
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Verse 4 on is all in the future Nothing has anything to do with its original audience in which the time
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Jesus gave it to his disciples when they asked him specific questions understand that his disciples asked specific questions and Then Jesus gave them answers
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That did not relate to them That would be the futurist view and not only would that be the futurist view the futurist view would also have the idea that somehow this
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Great Tribulation is Disconnected from the rest of the world when the church is raptured out
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Seven years before any of this takes place. I Want you to understand too.
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There's nowhere in Holy Scripture where the Bible talks about seven years of tribulation
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Take your Bible Spin it up shake it far and wide high and low and you will not find it back in my younger days
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When I first got saved we were at a church and they begin to say about what the seven year of tribulation
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It happens here happens there and in my arrogant zeal days
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I Took my Bible in the middle of the class and I held it up like this and I begin to shake it
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And the man asked Mike what's going on? I was like, I'm thinking maybe if I shake my
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Bible hard enough what you just said may come out and My wife wanted to crawl under the chair
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That happened again So I want you to understand the futurist view the historical context is almost irrelevant
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Then you have another view which is called the double fulfillment view And the double fulfillment so it shows that there is some historical context of what happened some of it was fulfilled in the time of Jesus within the time frame in which he gave and Then there would be down the road in another generation to come whenever that may be there would be another fulfillment
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Well the problem with the double fulfillment View is it becomes very arbitrary you go?
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Okay Well, this was this is a double fulfillment or that was a double fulfillment or well We think this is or that is the only time we should look at scripture and look at a double
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Fulfillment is when it says there will be another There would be one coming of Christ as a and his first advent, correct?
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Then there would be another we are guaranteed. There will be two comings of Christ. They were prophesied.
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They were different now we do have what's called prophetic trajectory or prophetic perspective where profit or prophecy was spoken of in the
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Old Testament and Light of something else that would come that would not exhaust its first prophetic word so there will be a
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The Virgin will be born with child Did was there a historical context to that in the book of Isaiah?
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Well, of course there was but there was also going to be a day when Mary would be in Bethlehem and she would be born
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She was in the whole the Holy Spirit would have overshadowed her and she was being born the
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Christ the king of a virgin that is called a prophetic perspective that then had a prophetic that was not exhausted until Christ Coming in his incarnation.
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That's not double fulfillment Then you have what's called the preterist view the preterist view is
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Simply meaning preter which is the Greek word for? past meaning in the pen the past this happened in the past and We're saying that some of these things took place in the past now you have two types of preterist view you have the
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Evangelical orthodox view and then you have the heretical view the heretical view is that everything that Jesus prophesied in the
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Olivet Discourse has taken place and everything that was prophesied in the book of Revelation has taken place and Lo and behold
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Jesus has already come the judgment has taken place and then we are in the eternal state
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I don't know about y 'all. But if this is the eternal state, we really didn't have much to look forward to Now the orthodox view would say that the original audience
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Was looking for something that would take place it was in their future But then it would take place.
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So now us looking back to the prophetic word. We're looking back
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Saying oh that was fulfilled here That was fulfilled here and we can look at how those things were fulfilled in prophecy
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Hey anytime a prophetic word is given Don't you have to look back into history to see if it was fulfilled like when
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Jeremiah told to get the false prophet? Hey this time next year, you're gonna be dead Hey that time next year that guy was dead was his word true
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Yes, it was true because you could look in history and that's what happened This is how we're going to look at Matthew 24 and it's parallel passages
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So if you want to see how I've broken down the Olivet Discourse in Matthew You can if you write this down you can or you can just listen however you want to do it
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You have the the questions given to Jesus as he come out You have the context set in verses 1 through 3
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You have verses 4 through 14 are going to be the time between the resurrection exaltation enthronement of the
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Lord Jesus Christ and 70 AD Verses 15 through 35 actually deal with the destruction of Jerusalem and Then verses 24 through 24 36 on through the end of chapter 25 deal specifically with Jesus second coming now if you're looking at Your parallel passage you're going to notice that Matthew's Discourse is much longer and when we get to chapter 24 verse 36
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I will explain what has taken place there and why it is longer.
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So let's uh, let's look at the text Jesus came out from the temple and he was going away with his disciples came up to him to point out the temple buildings and He said to them do you not see all these things?
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Truly I say to you not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down And as he was sitting on the
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Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying Tell us when will these things happen?
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what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age and Jesus answered and he said to them see to it that no one mislead you
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For many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and will mislead many You will be hearing wars and rumors of war
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Say that you don't be frightened for these things must take place
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But the end is not yet for nation will rise against nation kingdom against kingdom there will be famines and Earthquakes in various places, but all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs
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Then they will deliver you to Tribulation you will be killed you will be hated by all the nations because of my name and at that time many will fall away and Will betray one another and they will hate one another many false
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Prophets will arise and will mislead many and because of lawlessness It will increase and most people's love will grow cold
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But the one who endures to the end. He's the one that will be saved This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come therefore when you see the abomination of desolation
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Which was spoken of through the Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place. Let the reader understand
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Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out of his house
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Whoever is in the field must not turn back to go get his cloak But woe to those who are nursing and pregnant in those days for those days will be terrible
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But pray that your flight will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath for when there will for there will be a time
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Of great tribulation such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now
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Nor ever will unless those days had been cut short No life would have been saved but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short
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Then if anyone says to you behold, here is the Christ There he is
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Do not believe him for false Christ and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders
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So as to mislead if possible even the elect Behold, I have told you these things in advance
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So if they say to you behold, he is in the wilderness do not go out or behold
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He is in the inner room do not believe them for just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west
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So with a son of so with the coming of the Son of Man be and wherever the corpse is there the vultures will gather but immediately after the tribulation of Those days the
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Sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven well, and they and the heavens will be shaken and the sign of the
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Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the tribes of the earth will mourn and the they will see that the
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Son of Man is coming in the clouds of The you'll see that the
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Son of Man is coming in the clouds in the sky with power and great glory and he will send forth
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His angels with great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds
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From one end of the sky to the other now learn the parable of the fig tree
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When its branches have already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near So you too when you see these things recognize that he is near and he is right at the door truly
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I say to you this generation will not pass away until these things take place heaven and earth
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Will pass away, but my words will not pass away well, we'll stop right there and Pick up in verse 36 when we get there
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So it's very clear what has taken place Did Jesus had been teaching all week in the disciples with?
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With his disciples in the temple and if you were had your Bible and you just wanted to back up in the last couple of verses in chapter 23
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You're going to see where Jesus had just blasted the Scribes and the Pharisees They had already made it very clear that they wanted him killed and Jesus says you were the ones that killed the prop
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Your parents are the ones that killed the prophets and he says you know what you even testify that your parents are the ones that killed
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The prophets because you said you're the ones that that adorned their tombs and whitewashed him to make them look clean
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He said so your own words Testify that your father's killed the prophets he says in your own words condemn you as well
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He says and now basically this is paraphrased because now you're trying to kill me and your parents killed the prophets that came before me
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You now are going to heap up all the judgment on not only on those but everyone from righteous able to Zachariah the son of Barak I the one that was killed between the altar and The and the the temple you have now born on yourself all of that Judgment and Jesus then turns and he says your house has now been left desolate
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Jesus then walks away Leaving the temple He makes his way down through the
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Kidron Valley Then makes his climb up to the Mount of Olives Where he would sit and have this conversation with his disciples specifically
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It would have been Peter James John and Andrew They came up to him privately after this had happened and asked him specific questions
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And those specific questions as they walked out they asked him this first Which is really interesting to me as Jesus is walking out.
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They said to him. Did you not see all of these things? Luke says they say do you not see all these stones?
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Do you not see all these beautiful buildings Jesus? How many times do you think Jesus had seen them at this point?
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We know for at least for three years he had been teaching off and on in every feast
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But even as a young boy his dad would have taken him for every for every major feast
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Joseph his father, which was a godly and just man would have taken it. Jesus was very aware of how beautiful this place was and they said do you not see all of these things and He says truly
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I say to you Not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down That would have been a shocking statement to them
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That would have been breathtaking If you looked at the progression of how long it had taken to get the
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Improvements to this one of the seven most wonders of the world at this point in time from the time of Zerubbabel's Ragtag temple that they called it when the people remember the people cried at the time going
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Oh, this is nothing like what Solomon had they thought this was a shack compared
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Well from the time of Zerubbabel to the time of Herod's temple The Romans had given
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Herod tons and tons of money to enlarge its portico to raise it up with its wall to Actually lift up the temple mount so that you could see it for miles away
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Had given him tons of money to out to to plate the front of it with gold and whitewashed the marble
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So that and put spires on the top to keep the pigeons from Defecating it that you could see it for miles away and when the
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Sun would rise in the east it would bleam off the front like the coming of God and Jesus says to them not one stone would be left on another and Just like we would have been astounded to hear that they asked
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Jesus these questions He said while he was sitting on the
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Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately and they said Tell us when these things will happen
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What will be the sign of your coming and what will be the end of the age Three specific questions
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They asked Jesus and I want you to understand if Jesus does not answer these three specific questions to them
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Jesus misled them and if he says it has to do with some generation 2 ,000 years reserved that makes
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Jesus a deceiver Jesus is not a deceiver Jesus is not a liar and Jesus is not a misleader
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Jesus is going to give them very detailed answers to their questions
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They may not like his answers, but he will give them their answer First question tells we when will these things happen the other what will be the sign of your coming?
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What will be the end of the age? It's interesting. They ask him those three questions, but they never asked why?
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They never asked Jesus well, why? Because they had been with Jesus for three to three and a half years and they
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Continually this this the city of Jerusalem continually rejected meaning the leadership
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Continually rejected Jesus and when Jesus told them these things are happened There was no reason for them to ask why they had read they had rejected
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Everything that the prophets had told how many times did they hear Jesus say if you believed in Moses You'd have believed in me if but because you don't believe in Moses You don't believe me because you're not of your father
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Abraham You you hate me and because your father's the devil you want to murder me
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These are the things that they heard so when Jesus said he was going to lay the place was going to be laid waste
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They did not need to ask why they just wanted to know when what would those signs be?
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And then what would be the end of the age? Now if you look at Mark's passage and you look at Luke's passage, they only ask two questions
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When will these things happen and we'll be the sign of your coming and That's what we're primarily going to deal with until we get to verse 36 now
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Jesus answered and he said to them In verse 4 see to it that no one mislead you for many will come in my name
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Saying I am the Christ and will mislead many From the time that Jesus resurrected was enthroned exalted
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The giving of the Holy Spirit the Pentecost had come the disciples had gone out
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They begin to preach the gospel. There had been many people claiming to be the
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Messiah after that many There was there was a man named
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Abba of all silver he is a Jewish historian
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He claimed no less than 16 from the time of Jesus's crucifixion to the destruction of 70
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AD men coming and claiming to be the Christ Men coming to claiming to be that they were the
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Messiah and we're going to lead the nation of Israel out of this oppression government of Rome matter of fact if you think about when
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Paul had caused a riot And he I think it's in Ephesus.
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He had caused a riot. They grabbed him. They stretched him out they were fixing to beat him with thongs and he
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Kindly says to the man the Roman soldier. Hey, man, you speak Greek and The guy says yeah, and he begins to talk to him and he said wait a minute
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You're not one of those false messiahs that took the men out in the Egypt along with the
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Sicario the assassins to try to overthrow the government are you so even the
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Romans knew that there were false Christ and Thinking of it for a moment that Paul was that guy that we're fixing to whip him
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Simon Magus how many y 'all remember Simon the magician in a book of Acts? remember him
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Simon the magician even have Something in his church history now called simony where people try to buy the gifts of the church
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That comes from him. He was a false Christ Eusebius says that even in Rome they later
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Built a shrine to him where he was to be worshipped because he claimed to be
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God himself Now we don't know all of that from Acts But we knew do not do know from Acts what he was trying to do was buy the miraculous gifts
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Claimed to be a believer got baptized by Philip and everybody thought everything was great till Peter comes on the scene and Peter being by the power of the
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Holy Spirit being able to peer into the Soul of that man says you are filled with bitterness and gall and the judgment of God waits upon you
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He was a false Christ Then There was another man in history
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Eusebius talks about his name was Simon as well he led like four or five thousand men outside the
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City of Jerusalem and then they wound up being slayed in a revolt because that man claimed to be the
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Messiah So he says hey, there will be many that come in my name and say that I'm the Christ and they will mislead many
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But don't believe them Do not believe them And then he said you're going to hear about wars and rumors of wars
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And see that you not be frightened for these things must take place But there's not yet the end
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From the time that Jesus had resurrected and ascended to the time of 70 AD There were wars there were rumors of wars
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There was the civil wars of the Jewish wars what took place roughly from 66 to 70
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AD There were civil wars that broke out within the Roman Providences So there was a constant
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Uprising here uprising there, but the iron heel of Rome quickly put that down So they didn't last long.
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So Jesus is saying look even you see these men that are misleading There's Christ and false Christ and you're going to hear of wars and rumors of wars
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Don't even worry about that Because the ends not yet this is how it's supposed to be between the time that I have resurrected until the time of the fall of Jerusalem This is how it is going to be and we can even say this from an application standpoint
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There will always be wars and rumors of wars There will always be men that are going to come along and say that they're the
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Christ There will always be people that will come along and try to mislead many.
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I mean, I don't know how many people of you Remember even in Florida when I was a kid
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We'd try to stay up late to watch black belt theater and there was a guy that would come on called
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Yahweh ben Yahweh And he claimed that he was going to die and raise again
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Well, he died and he did He's still dead He about 25 years gone and he stinketh
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But you had men like David Koresh many of you know who he was
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You had men like Jim Jones the Kool -Aid drinker Even in our time we can see that there will be
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Many will come to misleading and wars and rumors of wars Turn the
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TV on There's always gonna be war War is a direct result of the fall and it will always be here
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And Jesus is saying so this is going to be the time this will always be the time and but it will be the certainly the time from now until Every stone on this building is knocked down He says and there will be famines and earthquakes because kingdom to rise up against kingdoms
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Well, if you think about nations rising up against nations and wars What usually causes famine and plague?
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War what's the easiest way to to get your enemy to quit fighting?
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You set up a siege wall you starve them out and then they'll easily submit for a loaf of bread
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Then be as the the famine would take place and people would die there's no one there to discard remove the remains so then you have pestilence and plague and What we would say great gain green and plague from decomposing flesh and maggots and Diseases that come from that.
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So yes, there will be plagues and famines and there will be earthquakes
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You Can't see the false teachers on TV all the time Saying hey, there's more earthquakes now than there's ever been just to let you know, that ain't true
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We haven't even been tracking them long enough to say that now we can look back in history
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And see okay were there earthquakes? Sure, there was one in Miletus There was it around this time?
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There was one in Pompeii. That was very devastating There was one in Laodicea, which is a one of the churches that it was written to in in the book of Revelation There was also one in Smyrna Lydia and then there was a there was actually one in Jerusalem And there was one believe it or not.
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There was one in Rome around around 51 so there was
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Earthquakes there's earthquakes today Think about just last month the one over over the other side of the globe killed some 2 ,000 people
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The end ain't yet But all these things must merely be the beginning of birth pains.
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Now, I don't know the difference between a pain and a pain. I Don't know what the difference is.
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Obviously, it's gonna hurt So whatever the difference is I'm taking it to be the same he says look when you see these things it's only the beginning
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Not the end. It's only the beginning it says they will deliver you up to tribulation and Will kill you and you will be hated by all nations because of my name
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Okay for the futurist we got a huge problem, what did he say? You you
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He says they're gonna deliver you up to tribulation. They're gonna deliver you up to be killed.
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He didn't say they're gonna deliver them you specific people specific time
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Directed specifically to them. This is what they're gonna do to you. Not some distant generation 2 ,000 years later.
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Not some distant future generation 1 ,500 years later. No you and your family will be killed for my name's sake and then in verse 10 and at that time many will fall away and betray one another and they will hate one another and that is
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What did take place? under Nero's persecution right before The major part of the
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Jewish Wars Nero began to persecute those people in around 64 ish
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People meaning the Christians and hey the whole book of Hebrews was written
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Don't go back You're being persecuted. Don't go back to Judaism Judaism was safe.
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You know that Judaism was safe Nero made the clear distinction that Judaism and Christianity was different.
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It wasn't a sect of Judaism that Christianity says. Hey, we won't say
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Caesar is Lord. We they only say Jesus is Lord the cowards of the
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Sadducees and Pharisees would say Caesar is Lord if you remember correctly when they said
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Pilate told them you want me to kill your king? And what did they say?
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We have no king but Caesar in that time men to save their own necks turned in their parents turned in their sons and daughters
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Over Christianity And then he says again
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In verse 11 many false prophets will arise and will mislead many says it again
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You know, he's saying look man There's gonna be a bunch of people talking some chatter and they're gonna be saying they're the
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Christ I'm telling you once again, don't listen to them They're going to mislead you and Then he says because of lawlessness
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Increased most people's love will grow cold That is exactly what happens in the
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Jewish Wars We'll get to this in a few minutes that is exactly what takes place the coldness of men
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Begin to slaughter their own people They don't even love their own family. They don't love their own countrymen.
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They don't even care anything about their children Because God gives them over to a debased mind as a judgment and they begin to kill one another
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Because their love for one another has grown cold But the one who endures to the end will be saved verse 13 now there's all kinds of Interpretive problems for people with that somebody saying oh, wow, if you don't endure the end you won't be saved.
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Well, that's true If you fall away you won't be saved
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But we don't look at it as you have to persevere to be saved we say you persevere because you are
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The spirit that lives with inside the believer will persevere to the end and they will be saved
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They will be saved. We talked just last week in Sunday school. We don't know when we're standing before a
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Magistrate one day to be hauled off in to be punished for our faith. What will we say on that day?
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I don't know I hope that I stand there with boldness and the power of the
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Spirit and say Jesus is Lord, and if it cost me my head it cost me my head.
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I hope But I've never been put in that position And if anybody in this room says without a shadow of a doubt that they would stand like an oak pride comes before a fall
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There's probably people in this room don't want you to stand up walk across the street and talk to your neighbor about Christ and you're worried about Being persecuted by the government
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And then verse 14 He says in the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to the whole world as a testimony of all nations
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And then the end will come now You say well it says here that the gospel that can be preached to the whole world
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Well have to understand this has a context remember context is King The easiest way of biblical interpretation context context context, that's it.
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It's not hard. It's not difficult He is saying the gospel is going to go out and to all the world.
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Well, what was the known world at the time? Roman Empire It had gone to the farthest reaches to the
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Empire and then the end would come and just because it says in that does not Mean the end of the world Okay.
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No, he means the end of the Jewish age When Jesus says the falling of the temple was going to drop every no stone would be left on another
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Would that not look as to the Jewish mind that the Jewish world was over?
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that's what he's saying before this happens the gospel is going to go out to the farthest reaches of The Roman Empire the known world you say well,
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I'm not sure about that. Well Paul uses the same thing He actually even says hey, the gospel has been preached to all creation
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Well had the gospel been preached in North America by the time I said that so you understand what what's being said?
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Okay, whether you want to take it as hyperbole or whether you want to take it as going to the farthest reaches of the
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Roman Empire He is making a point that it's going to go out and it's going as far as God says it needs to go
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Before he does what he's going to do now Verse 15 he's given all this time of what it's going to be like between his resurrection and exaltation until the time that 70
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AD comes The time of 70 AD would be the time of which the
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The temple would be laid to the ground He says in verse 15 when you see the abomination of desolation
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Which is spoken of through the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place and then it's in parentheses let the reader understand
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That is the writer saying you need to understand What was the abomination of desolation that was spoken of by the prophet
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Daniel? So in order for you to do that, you have to say what where did this take place in Daniel?
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Well, it took place in Daniel in chapter 8 there's an allusion to it when it talks about there's going to be this little horn that raises up out of the
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Grecian Empire and Then out of that Grecian Empire this little horn
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Immediately would be killed and then four horns would pop up after it the
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Grecian Empire The four the one horn would have been Alexander the Great. He didn't last long at the age of 30
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He was dead. It was a struggle amongst the four generals of who was going to take over the
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Seleucid wound up being the The stronger after a hundred hundred and fifty years of infighting the
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Seleucid Empire would be the one to come up It says and then one of those horns would raise up and raise itself up and speak pompous words against the
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Most High and would cause the evening and Sacrifices to stop and to cause the sanctuary to be desolate
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That's all we learned that part in Daniel chapter 8 But then as we move forward into Daniel chapter 11 verse 30
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Through 31 it talks about on the coming an abomination of desolation
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It talks about a man who would come in he would stop the evening and morning sacrifice for 2300 days
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And I don't take that as being 2300 days I take it as 2300 evening and morning sacrifice and what we do know that this person that read a little horn that raised himself up To attack the people of God of the
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Seleucid Empire was none other than Antiochus Epiphanes Antiochus the fourth
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He hated the Jewish people He rode in And Tricking them to offer peace and And then he immediately turned on them and then he he began to kill the
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Jewish people Not only did he begin to kill the Jewish people. He outlawed everything Jewish dietary circumcision
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How they worship no reading of Torah if the women were found that had had their baby boys
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Uncircumcised he would slit their throats and hang the babies around their neck
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He was brutal He came in to the temple precincts
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He set up an idol of Zeus. He offered swine blood on the brazen altar and then
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Wanted to be worshipped That is called in history by the
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Maccabees as The abomination of desolation now that was prophesied
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Hundreds of years before it took place So we have to look in history from Daniel when did that take place?
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We go to the historical book of Maccabees one Maccabees ones tells us this was that there was a
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Maccabean revolt the Maccabees overthrew Antiochus Epiphanes ran him out of Jerusalem in 163 they rededicated the temple which many of you know the
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Hanukkah is the festival of lights. That was when the Maccabees Judas Maccabeus his brothers then
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Rededicated the temple that's where we get the holiday of Hanukkah That's why
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Jesus said when you see the abomination of desolation as what was spoken of by the prophet
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Daniel Let the reader understand so They need to be looking for something that takes place like that happened in 66 the
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Jewish Wars began The Jewish Jewish people were going to revolt they were going to go against Rome.
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They were going to throw off Rome in 66 AD Sestius he was a commander
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Quasi -general never had any military experience He was sent to squash it the revolt the
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Jews revolted so Violently against the Romans they overthrew
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Sestius They took their catapults their engines their horses. They begin to take their armor.
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They put it to themself They sent to flight some 6 ,000 Roman soldiers this emboldened the
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Jews so then a man by the name of Joseph II Josephus Matthias Was put as a general over Galilee He began to have fight that would have a fight with the
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Romans trying to push them out Trying to continue to to throw off the neck of Rome and they were doing well
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They believe that this was a sign that God was with them Nero said
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I ain't gonna have no part of it. He sends Vespasian in To squash it.
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He begins to make his rounds through Galilee The bloodshed was absolutely horrendous in Josephus book 3 it says that the
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Sea of Galilee was so filled with blood from the amount of fighting as it ran down From the
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Sea of Galilee into the Jordan River Not only did the Sea of Galilee look like blood but the river looked like blood some 6 ,500
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Jews lost their life Trying to fight on that in a battle with their boats and as the the
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Romans found them They would grab them by their hair whack their heads off and throw their bodies into the water and the blood ran down like a river through Galilee That did not stop the zealots from trying to overthrow they go to Yotapeta Yotapeta was another city in which they had held up where Josephus Matthias was at They held them all for as long as they could
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Vespasian had them surrounded once they had them surrounded they Realized, you know what?
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We're not going to make it so instead of the zealots turning themselves in what they would do is they would draw dice or Cards on who was going to kill the other so that they would not have to kill themselves they would be killed by one another in honor instead of being sold into slavery or be butchered and tortured by the
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Romans Well those 40 men zealots that had went to a cave had hid out for a number of days were running out of food those 40 men drew
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Drew dice, however, they did that it got down to Josephus and one other man and Josephus says, you know, what dude?
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Check it out. I Got a better idea. Why don't we just give up? Why why don't we just go out there turn ourself in throw ourself at the mercy of Vespasian who was the general and we'll
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See what takes place That's what they do He goes out there
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They get to turn himself in Vespasian did not kill them he imprisoned him, but Josephus says this to him
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He says general Vespasian You will be the Emperor of Rome That's what he tells him
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Vespasian imprisons him We're not heard of Josephus for about a year
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Then there is another battle that is going on over in Giscola Or gush halav is actually
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Titus has surrounded it There is no way for them to get out
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Titus sends in word turn yourselves in and it happened to be on the
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Sabbath and a man by the name of Johanan Ben Levi says
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We can't do that on the Sabbath If you'll let us have the Sabbath to our own then
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I'll turn myself in on the next day Titus said okay.
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Well Johanan Ben Levi Skedaddles And he gets out
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And he heads to Jerusalem and let me read to you what happens when he gets to Jerusalem Now upon John's entry to Johanan John Now upon John's entry into Jerusalem the whole body of the people were in an uproar 10 ,000 of them crowded about every one of these
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Most of them being fugitives that were come to help them. They inquired of him of the miseries that had happened abroad
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This is in book 4 chapter 3 John Well, he was a little concerned for those who had he had left behind He had a little concern for those whom he had left behind.
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He had no concern for the women or children He didn't care whether they were killed or not But so he went about among the people and he persuaded all of them to go to war
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So by the hopes he gave them he told them that they could do this He affirmed that their affairs with the
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Romans that the Romans were in weak condition when they were left in Yotapeta and Giscola he lies to them.
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They weren't in weak condition They were actually being overrun and that their power was being overrun
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He jested upon their ignorance and he also said that the Romans who had become very unskillful
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Although they should take to themselves wings and should fly over the wall of Jerusalem and fight
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Who such they would find great difficulties taking in the villages of all of Galilee He says we have broken their engines.
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We have broken down their siege walls and we are conquering Rome This is what he says when he went in there
47:59
Josephus then goes on to say that John being a selfish and unscrupulous man with persuasive powers
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Convinced many that he was sent by God to liberate them John Then goes to the temple
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Sets himself up in the temple as the Jewish Savior claiming himself to be
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God. He stops animal sacrifice and He kills the high priest
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That is what John Giscola did when he went in with his insurgents in Jerusalem in 67
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AD We have a three -way civil war now going on We have the zealots fighting amongst one another
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We had them trying to throw off Rome in the meantime while they're trying to throw off Rome Rome is having a problem because Nero kills himself
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Now you fought y 'all following what's going on here? wars rumors of wars
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Men claiming themselves to be God standing himself in the temple and then he is the abomination of desolation
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He stands in the temple of God doing what
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Antiochus Epiphanes did walks himself in I am God I am here to save you
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He kills the high priest. He stops evening and morning sacrifice sets up his own priesthood and they begins to offer
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Sacrifices to himself Little -known figure in history but in biblical history he's huge and Biblical times this man's huge John Giscola was an absolute tyrant
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You had Simon at Simon and Eliezer other zealots who were fighting in the civil war to try to gain control over Jerusalem Nero kills himself you have now if you have three emperors that try to come to power between 68 and 69 you have civil war breaking out all over the
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Roman Empire You have civil war going on in Rome itself Vespasian is dispatched back to Rome where he is made
50:31
Emperor Now Vespasian says I've got to go back and Finish what we didn't finish with Jerusalem They were on the verge of taking over Jerusalem.
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They were on the verge of dropping Jerusalem and the zealots in 68
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They had to drop the siege wall Because of all the other fighting that was going on in Rome and sent all of their troops back
51:02
Interesting when it says when you see The abomination of desolation spoken of through Daniel the prophet let the reader understand
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Then he says let then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains Well, hey if there was a siege man a siege wall built up by the
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Romans How are they going to get to the mountains? So one of the providence of God, how did the siege wall be dropped
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The nutcase Nero killed himself So that God's people
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Could skedaddle on to a place called Pella You know, there is not one recorded death of a
51:48
Christian in the city limits of Jerusalem in the time of 66 to 70
51:54
AD Not one not one
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Church Church historian Eusebius says not one Christian was killed
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Jewish people Who didn't heed the words of the Lord? Jesus Christ were butchered and they weren't butchered by the
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Romans in Jerusalem They were butchered by their own people. Listen to this This is this is from This is from book 4
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Chapter 3 it says now there was not present.
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There was at present neither any place for flight Nor any hope for preservation of the people but as they were driven one upon another in heaps as they were slain thus the greater part was driven together by force as There was no place for retirement and the murderers were upon them having no other way
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They threw themselves headlong over the city because there was nowhere else to put the bodies
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They underwent more miserable Destruction than that which could ever be avoided because that they were doing this to themselves
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Voluntary these people that didn't want to die by the zealots were throwing themselves headlongs off the building killing themselves the outer part of the temple overflowed like a river of blood
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They had slain by Josephus. I wasn't there to count them 8 ,500 people on the temple mount 8 ,500 people
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They'd kill their own people. This isn't the Romans doing this. This is the
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Jew on Jew crime This is Jew killing Jew Josephus goes on to say and I was going to read the whole thing but it
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For some people that it's probably a little bit tough but after The description of their after and in book three where a mother had just finished because the famine had gotten so bad
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She had just finished nursing her baby She then killed her baby roasted the baby and ate it that Is the type of tribulation that they were going through that is the type of tribulation that the world had never seen
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Now After these were slain the zealots and the multitude of the Indomitians had fell upon the people as a flock who would fall on profane
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Animals, they cut their throats and for the ordinary sort they were destroyed in whatever place they could find them
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They killed noblemen. They killed youth They first caught them bound them.
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They shut them in prison. They slaughtered them by night Imprisoned them by day
54:58
This is what The Jewish zealots were doing to their own people
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Josephus says that their their appetite for destruction was insatiable
55:11
They were bloodthirsty men and not only were they bloodthirsty men But it says that then when that didn't wasn't enough they begin to dress themselves up like women
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Dress adorning themselves in women's clothes painting their eyes and their faces up like women and it having open blatant homosexual acts on the holy place and Acting the place as if it were a brothel.
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Hey, these aren't my words. These are Josephus He's got six books. If you want to read them you can read them
55:46
And if you don't like what I'm saying He's an eyewitness
55:53
And the question is well, how was he an eyewitness Remember what he told
55:58
Vespasian He said you'll be Emperor one day and when
56:04
Vespasian became Emperor he's like That guy said it was gonna be this way
56:13
He pulls Josephus out of prison Adopts him as his own
56:20
Makes him a liaison to go back and forth into the city of Jerusalem To try to make terms of peace with the zealots so they quit killing each other
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Understand that that's what Rome's intent was to do their intention was never to lay waste to the building
56:36
It was never to burn it to the ground It was to make terms of peace and when
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Elie Azar one of the zealots said hey, man, we're not going to make it Hey got he escaped.
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Nobody ever knows what happened to him, but Simon Simon the zealot and John of Giskola they continued on and when
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Titus got there in 70 to set up the siege wall to find out how they were going to get in he rode around on his horse
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This is in Josephus book 5. He rode around as he rode around He was looking over the wall
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Seeing the bodies that their own people could see the killings of the zealots from afar and he held his hand
57:15
Now he wasn't praying to the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, but he held his hands up and he said Oh God Please don't charge this to me.
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They have done this to themselves That was Titus the general Vespasian son the one who would begin to knock down The stones of the temple very shortly.
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He said so when you see this abomination of desolation Head to the mountains of Judea when you see this happen
57:48
So what was the marker for the people of God when they see John Giskola come in the high priest is killed
57:54
He sets up himself to be sovereign monarch claiming himself to be God. That's their cue.
57:59
We got to get out of Dodge and You head to the mountains and he even says what you do when you head to the mountains
58:05
He says you don't if you're on the rooftop. Don't you don't go down. Don't go get anything out of your house
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In other words, don't go get your phone. Don't go get your laptop. Don't get your cloak
58:17
Don't go get a saber a dagger. Don't go get a bottle of water You you you hit the trails because it's it's coming
58:25
And if you're going to escape my judgment on these people for rejecting me is what Jesus is saying
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Then you're gonna have to get out of Dodge He even says to the one who's in the field.
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Don't go back. Don't get your coat. Just go go cold I'm gonna be cold and dead and Then he says in verse 17.
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Woe to those who are pregnant in those days who were nursing Yeah Jesus would again say this very thing
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As he's walking down that path road to be crucified. You remember the the women are weeping and He says don't weep for me
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Don't weep for me. I'll make all things new we You better pray for the ones that have babies and I'll be nursing in those days
59:18
Because what you're doing to me the judgment of God's gonna come on you read the read Luke what he says at the time of the
59:24
Crucifixion he says what you've done to me. No, no, no, no, no, you better pray for you kids
59:33
And he says pray that it not be winter So why not do why would they pray that it not be winter
59:42
Kind of hard to climb up a icy mountain It's kind of hard to travel with no coat in the cold
59:50
It's kind of hard to get provisions in the cold When it's not harvest time
59:59
And then he says in verse 19 for those days will be a time of tribulation
01:00:05
Such as the world. I'm sorry such as has never occurred since the beginning of creation
01:00:10
Which God created until now and never will never
01:00:17
Again in history Has it happened and I can confidently say will happen
01:00:26
Never will happen again. What took place in 70 AD? That was the judgment of God on a city that was an apostate
01:00:38
They they had totally rejected Jesus is the Messiah you remember when
01:00:45
Caiaphas Said they were standing in front of Pilate and he says hey, man
01:00:51
I've just guys done nothing wrong and they said crucify him And he says this man is in it.
01:00:59
He said well if that be the case, then you let whatever Happens that if it be wrong, let the judgment of God fall on us and our children's children.
01:01:07
That's what Caiaphas said That's what's fixing to happen Never again with the world see the barbarism the cannibalism the butchery that took place
01:01:23
John Giskell as men were so violent when people were trying to leave they were eating coins
01:01:29
To get out so that they wouldn't be robbed. They were killing them cutting their stomachs open to get the money out
01:01:42
That's pretty bad It is an estimated In in three and a half years of that siege from the zealots to the time of the
01:01:55
Roman actual knocking down every stone Some 1 .1
01:02:02
Million Jews died in a concentrated area the city of Jerusalem that wasn't abroad that was in that area
01:02:12
Even right after the destruction of Jerusalem They were running out of lumber to crucify the
01:02:19
Jews on the main roads coming in that they had to Had to stall off the executions because they were running out of they didn't have any stipes to stick them to So they were having to either crucify two at a time on the same site or they were having to stop and then wait to This person died so they could crucify more some 30 ,000 on the main road heading out of the road to Damascus 30
01:02:43
Thousand That's a time of great tribulation such the world has never seen
01:02:52
And then it says in verse 20 unless the days Unless the Lord had shortened those days.
01:02:58
No life would have been saved and that is true Had God not cut that loop had stopped it
01:03:07
Hey the Romans once they saw that these nut jobs were killing each other and they could they started killing them had the
01:03:14
Romans they didn't care. They would have just marched right across Everywhere and killed everybody in their path
01:03:22
But the Lord says the Lord cut it short and Why did he do it?
01:03:29
for the sake of the elect Hey that if the Romans would have just made their walk
01:03:36
After they knocked down Jerusalem and just made their March all the way across all of Judea across the
01:03:42
Jordan and keep on going they would have wiped out Every person that resembled a
01:03:48
Jew or a Christian in their sight but it says that the Lord stopped it and he did it for the elect's sake and Then if anyone says once again here goes and if anyone says you behold, here's the
01:04:02
Christ Or behold, he is there don't believe him. I think
01:04:07
Jesus knows There's gonna be a lot of people that are gonna come along and claim to be him This is the third time he has said he's gonna say it one more time and he says don't believe him when they say he's the
01:04:19
Christ and he says in verse 22 for false Christ and false prophets will rise and Will show signs and wonders in order to lead astray if possible even the elect
01:04:29
But take heed Behold, I've told you everything in advance now
01:04:37
Now we're going to get to Some apocalyptic
01:04:43
Prophetic word from the Lord He says but in those but in those days after that Tribulation the
01:04:52
Sun will be darkened the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers
01:04:58
Of the heavens will be shaken Now if you're a literal literalist futurist
01:05:08
Well, you know what happens here The Sun and the moon really don't shine anymore and stars actually fall from the sky and You really understand how
01:05:25
Impractical that really is I Mean if the Sun quit shining
01:05:32
Would anybody live? No We'd all freeze to death
01:05:37
He is speaking in Old -testament prophetic word and it happened time and time again
01:05:44
Where the Sun would be darkened the moon would not give its light stars would fall from heaven and it was talking about the cataclysmic overtaking of Governmental powers he talks about it in Isaiah.
01:05:59
He talks about it in the book of The book of Ezekiel and it says it will be a time that the world would never see and the the
01:06:12
Sun would be Darkened it would not give its light and the stars would fall from heaven and the sky and the powers of heaven would be shaken
01:06:21
Write these down look at them on your own Isaiah 13 verses 9 through 13
01:06:29
Talks about the fall of Babylon Isaiah 34 for and Ezekiel 32 6 through 8 uses the exact terminology of the powers of governmental being overthrown
01:07:13
Now in Matthew 24 verse 30
01:07:22
I'm going to read this in the New American Standard But I prefer the
01:07:28
King James in this because I'll explain to you why it says and Then the sign of the
01:07:35
Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see The Son of Man coming in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory
01:07:45
That's what it says in the New American Standard the King James actually says it this way and then the sign that the
01:07:53
Son of Man is in Heaven will appear and all the tribes of the earth will mourn.
01:08:00
That's actually how it said in the Greek the New American Standard is not as Accurate as the
01:08:09
King James and the reason why I make that point is this that it's often said that okay
01:08:15
Well the futurists say well the sign that the Son of Man in the heaven will will appear
01:08:20
I mean it is a sign that the Son of Man will appear in the sky could only be at his
01:08:25
Rapture or the second coming. Well, that's actually not what it's saying It's saying then the sign that the
01:08:32
Son of Man is in heaven. You understand What was the sign that the
01:08:37
Son of Man was in heaven? He has been exalted. He has been enthroned. He has now been
01:08:43
Vindicated through the destruction of Jerusalem. You follow me? No make no sense
01:08:48
No No, okay thumbs up down It's The King James says and then the sign that the
01:09:00
Son of Man will appear in heaven Not in the sky
01:09:12
The sign that the Son of Man is in heaven is what? the destruction of Jerusalem and Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn
01:09:28
Well, we think about tribes. We don't need to think about tribes as in the
01:09:35
Tribes of Indonesia, that's not how the Bible sees tribes Okay, the
01:09:41
Bible only speaks to 12 tribes and it was the 12 tribes of Israel So when it speaks of the tribes, it says they would and all the tribes of the earth will mourn
01:09:50
Well, what are the tribes that are going to mourn? It'll be those that actually Rejected him they're going to mourn because now there's no turning back from the judgment and it says and then they will see the coming of the
01:10:02
Son of Man Coming in the clouds in the sky in power and in glory you say well, wait a minute
01:10:10
Now it's saying they're going to see him the Son of Man coming in the clouds Remember Jesus is speaking now as an
01:10:17
Old Testament prophet He is speaking prophetically like they would have understood
01:10:24
Isaiah talks about the the armies of the Lord coming in the sky and It would be the
01:10:30
Assyrians that would come and destroy Israel He says that in Isaiah 19 if you want to look at it, even in Micah chapter 1 verse 3 through 6 talks about the same thing about God coming in In power and glory in the clouds the
01:10:46
Psalms talks about God as being the cloud rider on his chariots coming and Then it ought that's the only way this could make sense as well when
01:11:00
Caiaphas Tells Jesus Do you claim to be the
01:11:07
Christ and he says yes I am and he says you blasphemer you remember he strikes him and Jesus says the next time you see me.
01:11:18
I'll be coming in power and in glory That's the only way those two passages can come together
01:11:25
Caiaphas was killed by the zealots in 66 AD at 67 AD when he came in Caiaphas was killed
01:11:31
He was the high priest that was killed When he sinned did the zealots came in he was killed along with his his sons and all of his posterity
01:11:43
In verse 31 says and he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from the end of the sky to the other now it's we think of trumpet most of us think of the great trumpet for the end that here it is the
01:12:01
The the Trump shall resound and the dead in Christ will rise first. Well, that's not what this is talking about He's talking about there will be a great trumpet and God's going to send out his messengers.
01:12:11
Those messengers is Angelos not always meaning Angelic beings but can send out his ministers to go and gather and this will be the time of the church
01:12:20
He's going to go out. He's going to gather in all of his people and He says this in verse 32 chapter 24 of Matthew now learn from the parable of the fig tree
01:12:32
When its branches have already become tender and put forth its leaves, you know that summer is near So you too will know that all things recognize that he is near and right at the door
01:12:48
He's saying look when you see a fig tree and you see that things are sprouting, you know that fruits coming
01:12:55
You know that something's fixing to take place That's what he's saying here Just like you look at a fruit tree and you can see that the fruits fixing to come
01:13:03
So when you see all these things coming, you know, it's it's time and then he says one of the
01:13:14
Most debated passages in verse 34 Truly I say to you
01:13:20
This generation will not pass away until these things take place
01:13:26
From the futurist perspective. It really ain't this generation The futurist perspective thinks this is some
01:13:35
Disconnected generation a long time away from now Well, that's not what it says.
01:13:42
Is it it says? The truly I say to you this generation
01:13:48
How many times did Jesus address this generation? He said it's this generation that Desires a sign it's this generation.
01:13:58
That's wicked It's this generation that has rejected me and in the same way
01:14:03
He says it's this generation that will not pass away until these things come to pass Jesus saying look all these things
01:14:10
I just told you wars and rumors of wars the overthrowing of the temple the abomination of desolation
01:14:16
Though with the the ransack of Jerusalem not one stone being left on another all these things are going to take place and everybody
01:14:23
That is in this generation We'll see it and that happened
01:14:28
Jesus was crucified 30 33 ad dependent on how you have your your time frame and then in 70 ad
01:14:34
The temple was raised to the ground and it happened in that Generation you understand if you don't believe that Jesus that this happened in the time of Jesus is
01:14:48
The generation which Jesus is speaking of then that attacks the reliability of Jesus's words
01:14:57
You understand that Means Jesus would have been telling them. This is going to happen at another time and really
01:15:03
I told you all this for nothing. I Really told you all this because it really doesn't pertain to you.
01:15:09
No, he's telling them this is going to happen in this generation and then he says
01:15:16
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Look he's saying look what I'm telling you. It's true What I'm telling you will come to past and it'll happen just like I told you
01:15:27
So Jesus answers their questions He answers from from verse 4
01:15:34
Through 35 he answers verses 1 & 2 Answers I mean questions 1 & 2 when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming now?
01:15:47
What will be the end of the age now Jesus answers that in verse 36
01:16:00
But of that hour and day no one knows not even the angels of heaven nor the
01:16:06
Son but only the Father And alone now the question too is okay.
01:16:13
Nobody knows the hour nor the day, but God Well, wait a minute. I thought
01:16:18
Jesus was God and how come Jesus doesn't know when he's coming back Jesus in his humanity
01:16:28
Did not have exhaustive knowledge of all things do y 'all believe that Understand that you understand that Jesus grew in the grace and knowledge of God Jesus did not walk around with the exhaustive knowledge of all things now
01:16:45
He did have a lot of knowledge because God gave him what he needed at the time that he needed But Jesus is saying at this moment right now.
01:16:53
I don't know when I'm coming back But he does say this
01:17:03
For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like it is in the days of Noah For in the days before the flood they were eating drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and They did not understand until the flood came and took them all away
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So will it will be with the coming of the Son of Man be now
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This has to be speaking of his second coming Because do you see when it says it'll be like it was in the days of Noah They'll be eating drinking and given in marriage
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That's pretty normal wasn't it Is eating and drinking pretty normal Giving in marriage doing your own thing going about doing their own
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Living their life. He says that's when the Son of Man's come. He's gonna come in an hour and what you don't know
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Life will be normal. Was it normal from 66 to 70
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AD? Was it? Then there were people eating each other and killing one another
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That's why we can see right here that this is Jesus talking about his second coming and Not only can we see it here, but in it's at this point that Luke is
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Quoting this now if we want to know if another passage
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Parallel passage is talking about the same thing We have to go to that passage if you look over on that last page on Luke.
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It says Luke 17 This is where Matthew compresses two ideas together he takes the idea of I've told you what's going to happen at the time of From the time of the resurrection till 70
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AD But I don't want you to be confused Matthew I don't want you to be confused that this is going to be the second coming so what he does is he compresses almost to the
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T a Discourse from Luke 17
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Luke 17 from 22 through 37 is a discourse that Jesus had with the
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Pharisees and The Pharisees says well, when is the kingdom of God going to come and this is when
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Jesus says the kingdom of God will come when no man knows and it'll be at the time as it was in the days of Noah when people were eating and drinking and giving in marriage and they
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Were living their life They were doing their own thing Going about being normal.
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That is when the second coming will happen and he says
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In verse 40 of 24 Matthew he says and then there will be two men one in the field one would be taken in another left
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Two women will be grinding at the mill one will be taken in another left Now I know we have many times heard that to be is that's going to be
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The rapture and that's not what that's talking about. It's talking about judgment
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They'll be one will be taken and the other will be left one will be taken to judgment and the other won't and You can look at the loop passage and you can see the parallel passage
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It says one will be taken and the other will left and it says and how do you know it says where the vultures are?
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Circling that's where it will be. Look vultures don't circle looking for a place to land like planes when the runway is full vultures circle because of what
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Somebody's dead and then he says
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After saying all these things he says therefore. I want you to be alert For you do not know which day your
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Lord is coming But be sure of this that if the head of the house would have known what time of night the thief was coming
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He would have been alert and would have been allowed For his or would not have allowed for his house to be broken into for this reason
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You must be ready for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you do not think Jesus is once again saying
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Just be ready. Do we hey, do I think that Jesus? Is coming back soon, yes,
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I Don't know some of you might disagree with me even some of my brothers disagree with me All right, do
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I think Jesus come back tomorrow morning? I don't I don't But I should live as if he could
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Okay, if you want to ask me why Don't think Jesus will come back in the morning because there's still people across the globe
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That are in places that have never heard the gospel yet and he says there'll be one from every nation tribe and tongue and there's some
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Nations that have not heard the gospel now. Do I think that God could do that relatively quickly? Yes But do
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I believe that? Jesus is coming back quickly. Yes, and we should live in that way. He says here be ready be alert
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But you do not know when I am going to come and why should we do that because in verse 45
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It says who then is faithful and sensible slave Whom his master put in charge of his household to give them food at the proper time
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Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes look
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Whether he comes back in another thousand years or he comes back Tuesday morning
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We should be found faithful And we should be found Following him and serving him
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Truly I say to you That he will put him in charge over all of his possessions
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But if that evil slave says in his heart my masters not coming For it is a long time off and he begins to beat his fellow slaves eat
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Drink with the drunkards the master of that slave will come on a day When he does not expect him and at an hour in which he does not know and he will cut him into a pieces and Sign him into a place with the hypocrites in that place where they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth
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It's pretty obvious at that point if the Lord comes back
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And you've been an unfaithful servant You're going to be confined to the place where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth
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You know we think about Hypocrite says here, you know, they'll be signed a place with the hypocrites The Bible doesn't use the word hypocrite sort of like the way we do, you know
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We kind of see somebody they don't really say and do it They say they're gonna do and we kind of say
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I just a hypocrite. That's not how the Bible uses that the Bible doesn't use the
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Hypocrisy as Like a little rash on the epidermis of your skin that you can be cleaned up Hypocrisy in the
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Bible is a cancer and It eats away at the soul why do you think
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Jesus told the Pharisees or told his disciples about the Pharisees beware of the
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Leaven of the Pharisees and they were like what the bread of the Pharisees what he's like, no
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No, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees because it isn't a cancer and it will drag you to hell
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He's saying here You don't be a hypocrite Don't say you love the
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Lord and you're gonna serve him and then when things get hard things get a little tough and you go You know what?
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I'm not gonna do that anymore What did it say? but got persons a worthless slave and That person is then turns away from following and doing what his master told him and then when he returned what happened
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He was found unfaithful And that person was then assigned where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth so What was the time of Great Tribulation It's not the last three half years of a seven -year tribulation that the
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Bible talks nothing about the time of Great Tribulation was the time between 66 and 70
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AD in Which the Jewish people were brutalizing and killing one another
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They were Given over to a debased mind And I can go ahead and kind of let out of the bag a little bit
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I believe that the revelation where it talks about they're letting out the the
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Locust out of the pit to go out and to harm and to and to kill the men
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I believe those were the demons that were released out of that out of that trumpet of Revelation 9 that went into those men and those men begin to butcher and to kill one another
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I believe that in the book of Revelation where it talks about the four horsemen the four horsemen were the
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Surrounding of the the the armies the war the white horse was the the armies surrounding
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Jerusalem I said they came that he had a bow and I know the historical view thinks that that's
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Christ but he did not conquer and Then it goes on to talk about the red horse that red horse talked about Civil War What took place at 70
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AD from 66 to 70 it was widespread Civil War Then the black horse comes and it's death and then what comes after that the pale horse which is famine
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The time of Great Tribulation is not something in the future
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That we should look at between the rapture and the second coming. It's something that has taken place now the question is
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Do I believe there will be a great persecution towards the end of the age? Well, yes, I do. But that's not what
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Jesus is talking about here member context determines what it means
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We can't make it mean what it what it does not say Jesus said when you see this in this generation
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So it will be So my futurist brethren
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Can never be wrong Because all they got to do is say it just ain't happened yet It just ain't happened yet But when we look in history and we see that the prophetic words of Jesus where Jesus spoke specific things to look for specific markers to look for Specific times and then
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G you look in history and those things took place We can say this has been fulfilled
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The Great Tribulation Was experienced as a judgment of God on The Covenant people of God of the
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Old Testament the Jewish people that have rejected Jesus as Messiah That is a great tribulation if you have any
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Questions comments or outburst of anger after I pray you can throw things at me or you can ask me some questions if I need to clarify anything
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Let's pray Father God, thank you for your word. Thank you for the reliability of Scripture Thank you for the reliability of your son
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Thank you father that he came into the world that he came into his own and father his own received him not
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But father everyone that believes in him to them you gave power to become the sons of God and father for that we say
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Thank you God. We love you. Once again. Thank you for this time for us to get together around your word on a
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Friday night Look forward to being back here in the morning to listening to Keith and to Andy prepare them
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Lord to speak to us. Give them an extra measure of your spirit father We be edified and equipped in Christ's name.