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About-Him.Com Devotional 11-12-2005
Http://About-Him.Com/ My Thoughts on the Life of Christ, from His Baptism to His Ascension. Our next few segments which cover Matthew 24 and 25 will deal with the prophetic utterances of Jesus regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, His second coming, the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment. I have divided it up into 3 segments. Also in an effort to save space, I have made external links to the scripture. It is important to remember several things when studying these passages: These subjects are covered in one continuous discourse by Jesus, beginning with the latter portion of Matthew 23 and continue through Matthew 25. It should be kept in context as such. In Matthew 24, the disciples asked a question with three aspects: The destruction of Jerusalem, The Lord’s coming and the end of the world. The answers are not necessarily in sequential order. In this regard, the Jewish mind of the first century did not demand the sequential continuity that we in this time have come to expect. Also I’m told, they considered prophesy to have a past, present and future fulfillment. We know that much of this chapter was fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem. However, much of it wasn’t. The answers to the three part question of the disciples are intermixed throughout the chapter. Our job is to properly determine what is history and what (I should say who) is yet to come. Par. 199: Prophesies of Coming Calamities ( The Destruction of the Temple) Mt. 24:1-14; Mk. 13:1-13; Lu 21:20-36 1 ¶ And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? After calling the attention of Jesus to the beauties of the temple, the disciples were stunned to hear Jesus predict it’s destruction. Naturally they asked, "When?" We remember that in Matthew 23:37-39 Jesus had wept over Jerusalem and declared that their house would be left desolate. He then stated that they would see Him no more until they cried, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." This they associated with His second coming and the resulting end of the age. A careful reading of Matthew 23:38-39 shows that Jesus is stating an indeterminate period of time between the destruction of the temple and His second coming. Thus the three fold question, When shall these things be and of your coming and of the end of the age? Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!See MT 24:4-24 Jesus talks of events that fit the period between His death and the destruction of Jerusalem and also the time prior to His second coming. There would be false Christs, wars, famine, pestilence and earthquakes in many places. However, these were just the beginning of sorrows. People would be killed and tortured for their faith. Many would be timid and betray their own households to save their own skin. Because of the prevalence of iniquity, the love of many would grow cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. In A.D. 70 Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. It is said that one million people of the city were killed in one day. However, the faithful who remembered the warnings of Jesus escaped to safety. I feel that the same will apply to this present age. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. By the time of the destruction of Jerusalem the gospel had been preached to all of the known world. Paul had desired to go to Spain. Tradition tells us that Thomas preached in India and Andrew in Scotland. However, the world that we know is many times bigger and the gospel will be preached worldwide before the second coming of Jesus. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand. We'll continue next week on the subject of the Abomination of Desolation. Don & Marie Spooner About Him! Ministries In About-Him
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