|
Jesus didn't speak very affectionately of the
scribes and pharisees. He "called it as it was"...
He wasn't practicing tolerance, or understanding,
or the concensus of "unity".
They had tried many times to "trick" him into
saying something that they could hold against
Him. They had spies that followed Him around
watching for Him to do something so that they
could "nab" Him and bring Him up on charges.
Now, as Jesus and the disciples left the Temple,
they turned His attention to the many buildings
of the Temple. "Master, look at the beauty of
it! It is adorned with beautiful stones!" See
Mark 13:1 and Luke 21:5
And Jesus said: See all of these things? Verily I say unto you, 'There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew 24: 2
For those who don't know, this great temple was
destroyed in 70 AD and indeed, there was not
one stone left upon another.
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, as He so
often did! The disciples came to Him and asked
him, "When shall these things be? what shall
be the sign of your coming and the end of the
world (age)"...V 3
"Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many". V 4-5
Indeed, many have come claiming to be Christ
since He spoke those words. I am sure that you
have recalled some in recent years claiming to
be "the Christ"....There are those in the world
today who claim to be "Christ", especially in
some of the mystic type of religions being
praticed today. Many "New Agers" claim that
various "gods" they worship are the "Christ"..
though they might call them by different name
than "Jesus"...
We must be very alert and "test" those things we
hear that "sound good" to verify if they really are
scriptural! While tolerance and unity of all the
different religions SOUND good, it isn't. I'll
answer your "doubts" with a question and you
do the homework.
If tolerance and unity is what God wants, then
why didn't Jesus practice it? He was
condemning His own people in Matthew Ch 23.
And later on when the "churches" got started
up in various cities, why weren't the "other"
teachings and religions acceptable to the
Christian Church? Why were they called "false"
prophets (teachers/preachers)?
Good can often be evil/bad....and sometimes a
bad thing can be "good". Think about that!
V6..And you shall hear of wars and rumors of
wars; see that ye be not troubled; for all these
things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet come.
Wars and rumors of wars...This has been going
on since the beginning of time...and especially
where Israel has been concerned. However, I
believe that what Jesus is talking about here is
Nations against Nations. In this past century
we have had 2 WORLD Wars...In both of
these wars, a "one world government" power
was being sought. WW 1 was to bring about
a communist power (Marx/Lenin)...and It is
my belief that this take over is still being
fought "behind the scenes", especially in the U.S.
It is another "topic" to discuss at some time...but
if you don't know what it is, do a little home work
about it. The fact that the "Iron Curtain" came
down was for the furtherance of communism..
which would emerge with a "new name"...
Social Democracy/Socialists...Government
control is their objective..and they speak a good
campaigne! We actually have a Communist
Party in the U.S. One of their favorite cries is
"Peace". Remember Vietnam? Who do you
think instigated all of those riots and peace
movements? They didn't just happen! They
are already promoting it on our college
campuses now....Our colleges and Universities
are prime areas for their recruitment of young
people who will go out and do their "dirty work"
in the name of Peace. Don't fall for it.
Remembe Vietnam! Don't divide our country!
V 7a Kingdom against kingdom. There has been a
continuous war going on within various
countries, especially since Korea and Vietnam.
Uprisings, many of which the U.S. has been
involved in. One of the more recent ones was
Kosovo....the same general area where we
are now focused.
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Palestine....all should
be familiar with these...the Persian Gulf has
been a hot bed for years! These areas are all
in the old Testament. Babylon, in Iraq, is where
Daniel was thrown in the Lion's den..and where
he and his friends were saved from the fiery
furnace of fire by "a fourth man who appeared
in the midst of the fire with them". An Angel.
Remember, too, that the U.S. also had a "civil"
war..North against South, the last actually
fought on our homeland. Pearl Harbor was a
military base.
V 7b and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
V 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. He
is saying here that all of these things were
going to be happening, but that they would
increase in frequency like labor pains of a
woman in child birth.
V 7a and b...all have done so since the time of
Jesus, but especially so within the past 100 yrs.
Have you not watched the famine going on in
other countries? During the depression years,
there was much hunger in the U.S. As I'm sure
there was in some of our homeland wars...He
is not talking about a "few" homeless people..
Famine will continue to get worse through out
the world, including the U.S.
Pestilences: We thought we'd pretty well taken
care of all those deadly diseases that have
wiped out thousands of people thru the years!
Younger people today have been virtually
immune to all diseases except for colds and flu/
SMALL POX and Polio were wiped out, as was
TB...Then along came AIDS! Now Smallpox
is back...Epidemics have swept countries over
the years...but they are much greater today,
especially around the world. Now we face the
possibility of biological attacks? We just don't
know which disease it will be. There have been
so many numerous "pestilences" around the
world, including rat infestations, killer bees,
livestock, food, and contaminated water. You
can think of more I am sure.
EARTHQUAKES & natural disasters. Earth
quakes have kept getting more frequent in the
past 100 yrs. The number of destructive ones
over the past 10-20 yrs have risen at a
tremendous rate of occurence! Other natural
disasters have been on the increase, too...
Earthquakes were known about in Jesus day.
It is important to note them here because of
their vast potential for damage, both lives and
construction and holdings.
In our country, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and
Floods have become closer and closer together.
Severe winters and summers along with
drouths, have been on the increase.
V 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Almost 200,000 Christians have been "killed,
murdered, tortured, etc this past century. More
than all put together since the time of Jesus.
There have been Christians in the U>S. who have
been killed because of their faith. The girl who
refused to deny her God at Columbine High
School is one I can't forget. I wonder how many
of us would admit being a Christian with a gun
pointed at our head?
For my name's sake. And are not the Christians
hated of all Nations today? As well as the Jews?
Two different peoples...two different nations...
One Holy Land; one land founded "under God"..
Do you think America is a Christian nation? we
aren't. Not anymore, nor are recognized as
such. And to a lot of people like Bin Ladin, we
are Satanists. Does that not fit the description
of what Jesus said pretty well?
Rest assured, if you are practicing your
roll as a Christian in your daily life, you are not
going to be "loved" by everybody!
V 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Because the Christian is prone to be "hated",
many will stumble...but I believe that this verse
really applies to some times just ahead for
us, even though it is happening even today.The
day is coming when people are going to betray
you because you are a Christian. Even your
friends may betray you because that choice
to them will be better than what they might
face otherwise. Even our own relatives will
betray us or turn against us because we are
Christians. There will be Christians who will
betray Christians at the End of the Age draws
closer...That is why it is so important that all
of God's Children strengthen their faith and
knowledge in His Word so that they might
endure those times.
V 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.....This has really been
happening over the past 20-30 years, but it will
become more so as time goes on! We cannot
accept everyone's statement that they are a
Christian! If their testimony isn't scripturally
sound, beware. False religions give you just
enough "truth" of God's Word to "sound right"
and always makes what they say sound "right".
It is my belief that probably 50% of our preachers,
if not more, will miss the rapture and many will
not even see Heaven later on. Even they have
been deceived by the false teachers in the
Seminaries....and some are there to intentionally
deceive the people.
V 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.: This has happened on
such a large scale over the past 20-30 years,
it is difficult to find a church you can go "visit"
and feel the "Holy Spirit" present in the people..
The Christian, for the most part, just blends into
the rest of society. Why? Because "sin" has
taken over our society and they have gotten
"caught up" into it's trap. Their love for God
just isn't what it used to be! There is no JOY
in their salvation! No witness. Some churches
emit such a "coldness" you feel like you are in
a meat freezer! Where there is LOVE of GOD
there is no "coldness".
V 13...But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."....In Rev 2:10, Jesus
says to the church at Smyrna: Fear none of those
things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be "tried"; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life".
To "endure" doesn't mean to "live" through
whatever comes; it means to "keep the faith"
to the very end, even if that end is death! Like
the Columbine High School girl. She will most
probably receive a crown of life!!
Enduring hardships, heartaches, sorrows, pain..
The future for us who love the Lord isn't going
to be easy. Endurance is a trial of our faith!
But what choice have we? The ultimate
destiny if we don't would be far greater! We
must restore our faith and increase it through
the study of God's Word; the knowledge of
His Word; our knowledge of what is happening
in the world..and in our own country. We must
learn to recognize the evil in what we think is
good...and remember the GOOD that God's
Word promises us through those things that
are bad. We can't lose sight of our Faith, Hope,
and Love in Jesus Christ our Lord!
V14..And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
The Gospel has literally been taken all over
the world and to all Nations...If there are any
areas of the nations that haven't been exposed
to it by radio, tv, missionaries, or crusades, then
they are few and will receive the gospel in
short time!
THE COMING OF THE LORD IS ALMOST
UPON US!! Indeed, He could come at any
time. I don't know what month or year it will
be...how soon or how long...but I believe that
we in the U.S. have some more sorrows to
bear before He comes. We are a gullible
people, but we are also independent and
bullheaded. There will be more sorrows to
come....and hopefully there is coming a
great REVIVAL to this nation real soon!!
Church attendance tripled after the attack..but
it is tapering off again now as people get back
"to normal". Many rededicated their lives to
Jesus...many were saved! many recognized
what happened as a Wake Up Call and have
reorganized their priorities in life. It was not
only a Wake Up call to Christians, but to our
Nation as well. It may be too late for the U.S.
to wake up and endure...but it isn't too late
for those of us who claim to follow Jesus!!
V 33 So likewise ye, when your shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the
doors." Jesus is talking about His second
coming!!
May the Holy Spirit touch our hearts and guide
and teach us in His wisdom and understanding
that we might grow in knowledge and become
secure in our faith. Amen
In His Precious Love
Louise White
Sept 30, 2001
Please let me know that you read this. Additional
Comments are welcome but not necessary.
Tim2-15@webtv.net
|
