Matthew 24:1-3 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?
When shall these things be?
What shall be the sign of thy coming?
When is the end of the world?
These are questions that have been asked for generations. Many different answers have been given. Obviously all the answers can't be correct.
We will cover these things throughly in our Wednesday night bible discussion when we get there. For now, let's look at verses 4-28. These verses have a direct relevance to the disciples. Jesus is preparing the disciples for what is going to happen and how they are to survive when it happens.
Jesus is telling the disciples that Great tribulation is coming. Actually in verse 34 he says it will be in their life time. Jesus wants them to be prepared for this great tribulation. Let's take a look at what he says.
Matthew 24:2 There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. What a statement Jesus makes here. Could this really happen? This happened in the time of Daniel. The Temple was destroyed. It was rebuilt by Ezra and Nehemiah. Will it happen again? It did. It happened in seventy A.D. by the Roman Empire.
Seventy A.D.
The Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire. Jerusalem was destroyed.
This act is what is called the abomination of desolations. Matthew 24:15.
The parallel scripture to this is found in Luke 21:20. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
At this time there were a great number of Jews living in Jerusalem. Were they destroyed along with the rebellious Jews? The answer is NO. This is why Jesus gave the instruction that he did. Let's look at this instruction.
The Instruction
Matthew 24:4-22 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Not the great tribulation).
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (End of what? End of Israel as a nation) .
15 When ye (the disciples) therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
What can we do?
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child,(pregnant) and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Jesus knew he would not be there when this happened, so he prepared his people for this coming disaster. Flee to the mountains and be saved. History says that not one Christian lost his life when this happened.
Announcements
April 2, Work day 10:00 a.m.
April 8, Men's night out 7:00 at Slot World.
Wednesday, Red letter study. Matthew 21
March,17- 24 College @ V.C.F.
March 30, 12-1:00 PRAYER RALLY. State Capital
June 20 Rodeo in Reno. Buy tickets before May first. 13:00 and 8:00
Remember the brown box, building fund, bicycle, and sewing machine jar.
Food pantry, food donation. Cans and non-perishables
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