Biblical Eschatology Revisited



Implications of the Sixth Seal as the “harpazo” – Part 2

In Part 1, we discussed how various related scriptures dealing with the
“harpazo” (aka “rapture” to some) interrelated with our discovery of
the outcome of the sixth seal of Revelation.  We were able to determine
that all of our present understanding of these verses remained intact. 
We also saw how it supported what we see in our world today and in
history about the martyrdom of believers all over the world and that
the Lord knows who will glorify Him in this way and how many.

We also examined how we can observe the changes in our world moving
toward a more intolerant view of any belief other than that which
promotes sin and debauchery in every sort of form. Yet there is more
that we need to discuss regarding this subject in order to fully
develop what the Lord has given us to understand. (It would be good for us to re-read Revelation 6 to refresh our memories before we proceed further. By doing this, this post can avoid being too long..)

So far we’ve touched on the fifth and sixth seals so taking a look at
the rest of them are in order. To do so, we must carefully consider
what we see here since we seem to have an obviously symbolic sort of
account given. Why is that so? First, we see Christ referred to as the
Lamb and while He certainly is that such a reference tells us that we
are to consider what we see carefully to their true symbolic meaning
hopefully without stretching things too far.

So let’s take a look at this and bear in mind that we are working with
symbols here and it is quite possible that the interpretation of them
may be incorrect. This attempt merely represents a possible outcome
from the symbols shown using biblical references, information, and
likely conclusions known about human nature to attempt to derive a
possible message and meaning. If there are any references to people or people groups, this is only incidental to the discovery of the information that is given. Since we have no control of what was written in the  scriptures, we are merely trying to find out what it says.

In comparative scriptural terms, the first seal appears to have the following information to convey to us:

1.    A false messiah: there is only one other rider mentioned in
scripture that rides a white horse, Jesus Christ 
       when He returns in
Revelation 19. Since Christ is opening the seal, He is obviously not
riding the horse. This
       indicates that the rider is an messiah imposter.
2.    Horses with riders appear in the first four seals but not the
fifth and suggests that the first four seals are
       interrelated. If this
is true, then seals 2 through 4 are results of what the rider in the
first seal does.
3.    This false messiah is given a crown which is a symbol for authority, dominion, and rulership.
4.    The rider posseses a bow. The Greek word for “bow” means the type for shooting arrows.
       a.    The meaning for the bow could involve warfare or hunting.
             
i.    Warfare, or the effects of it, are related in the other three
horsemen.The sword is used as the
                    symbol for this. So we will
examine “hunting” as the most probable meaning.
             ii.    If the fifth seal is any indication of what the bow is used for
it might mean that this false messiah hunts
                   down those who believe in
the Word of God and maintains a good testimony.
            iii.    Who were hunters named in the Bible?
                  
1.    Nimrod – founder of Babylon and Nineveh (Gen 10:8-12)
                          a.    A mighty hunter before the Lord
                         
b.    Founded cities that were later adversarial to Israel
                   2.    Ishmael – forefather of many indigenous peoples of the Middle
East (Gen 21:20-21). He
                          became an archer and hunted in the Wilderness
of Paran. He is the son of Abraham whom the
                          promise did not come nor
would Abraham’s descendants be named. (Gen 21:12)
                  
3.    Esau (Edom) – the brother of Jacob who despised his birthright;
he became a skillful hunter.
                          (Gen 25:27) The forefather of the Edomites
who committed gross offenses to Israel during the
                          Babylonian Captivity
as recounted in the book of Obadiah.
5.    The first rider’s goal is conquest
      
a.    going out conquering and to conquer… from the rest of the context the whole world is strongly inferred.
6.    A summary statement of the possible meaning of the first seal is
a compilation of related data considering the
       information we know about
each of these points and the characteristics we learn about them in the
scriptures.

     Someone/Some group who numbers among or is related to the descendants of
Nimrod, Ishmael, and/or Esau
     will assume authority and will go forth
intending a worldwide conquest. He/They will emulate his/their
     forefathers by
creating a new order like that done in Babel (could be secular or
religious) instead of trusting
     God by faith. He/They will resent the claim
that the promise of God belongs to Isaac’s line and claim the

     inheritance of Jacob for himself/themselves.

Please note that this doesn’t mean ALL of the descendants of these Old
Testament people. The symbol seems to imply that the rider is someone
that was somehow related to those people.

In comparative scriptural terms, the second seal appears to have the following information to convey to us:

1.    Subsequent to the first rider, the second rider removes peace
from the world causing men to slay one another
       and the magnitude of the
killing is great.

In comparative scriptural terms, the third seal appears to have the following information to convey to us:

1.    The third rider has a pair of scales in his hand indicating measuring or controlling the distribution of something.
2.    A voice explains something related to this… a quart of wheat and
three quarts of barley for a denarius
       (typically a day’s wage)… the oil
and wine were not to be damaged or hurt perhaps symbolizing the “best”

       of things were reserved for themselves.
3.    Note that famine has not yet hit the world. Food is expensive
and perhaps scarce but there is still yet enough
       to eat requiring every
bit of one’s resources to purchase it.

In comparative scriptural terms, the fourth seal appears to have the following information to convey to us:

1.    The rider is Death and Hades follows him.
2.    Authority is given to them over 1/4th of the earth.
3.    This authority includes killing men with the sword, starvation, pestilence, and by using wild beasts of the earth.

Now we have already mentioned the martyrs of the fifth seal who were
killed because of the Word of God and their testimony that they had
maintained.  When asked when God would finally avenge their deaths, we
learn that there were still more to die the same death they had and
that had yet to be completed. Now we can also note that they were told
to wait a little longer meaning that that avenging would be
accomplished at the right time.

Summarizing what seems to be the entire message of the first five seals of Revelation…

     Someone/Some group who numbers among the descendants of Nimrod, Ishmael, and/or
Esau will assume
     authority and will go forth intending a worldwide
conquest. He/They will emulate his forefathers by creating a
     new order like
that done in Babel (meaning the gate of God) instead of trusting God by
faith. It is most
     probable that he/they will resent the claim that the
promise of God belongs to Isaac’s line and will claim the

     inheritance of Jacob for himself/themselves.

     He/They will remove peace from the world by causing the massive slaying of
men.  He/They will, in some way
     be able to measure out or control the
distribution of food but preserve the best for himself/themselves.

     His/Their way leads to death and those who follow him/them have their ultimate
home in Hades.  He/They will
     ultimately control 1/4th of the earth at that
point and will exert their authority by the use of various means
such
     as the sword, by starvation, pestilence, and by using wild beasts
of the earth.

    
Ultimately, he/they will hunt down and martyr those who trust in the Word
of God and those who live their  
     lives by it.  The Lord Himself knows
what is going on and will deliver fair and just retribution at the
proper
     time.

Again, this is not conclusive nor is it claimed to be accurate, it is
just a possibility.  Yet there remains some nagging bits of biblical evidence
that are pertinent to what we are investigating.

In my post regarding Daniel 2 and its reference to the final kingdom
which shares the common thread of possessing the land of Israel and
Jerusalem and of course, the Temple Mount, it is more than historically
obvious that the final kingdom did take control of Jerusalem in 638 AD
and with only brief interruptions, historically speaking, have held
onto the Temple Mount to this day.  Without any speculation at all, we
already know that these people are descendants from any one or all of
the Old Testament men that were listed earlier with intentions
consistent much like the “proposed interpretation” of the seals above.

We also discovered in my post regarding Daniel 7, we learned that the
fourth beast in that vision (relating to the fifth one in Daniel 2
because Daniel was then in Persia, the second kingdom, instead of
Babylon, the first) is the same one that represents the final kingdom
by which Christ will destroy. If we study the actions of this beast, it
matches the activities of persecuting believers and overcoming them
until Christ returns to remove this final Gentile kingdom from the world and to
rule in Jerusalem in righteousness.

With the testimony of these two critical prophetic passages, it is
difficult to attempt to associate another group with who will happen to
be in power when all this has come down… indeed if we aren’t seeing it
with our own eyes now. It seems entirely plausible within the information given that both the first rider and the kingdom could be somehow all one in the same for all practical purposes.  Still, the time frame is not perfectly certain
and while things we see today may only be a prototype for sometime in
the future we are well advised to wait, and watch and assess what
transpires, looking to the Word of God for any additional clues which
might give us a signal to where we are on the prophetic timeline and who exactly is involved in this action of conquest.

It is admitted that this is more speculation than is usually offered here but if what we see transpiring in our world today has any correlation with what we can read in the scriptures, it would stand to reason that we should be paying close attention to what is going on. A tough message to bear, isn’t it? It is. Yet what would we expect from
the world that has invested itself in the message of ignoring what God
has said in the Bible and creating any sort of message for themselves
to do as they would like including destroy themselves with every sort
of sin imaginable even though it might have religious trappings. It’s a
very sad picture and we must stop and remind ourselves how patient the
Lord is with all this. Yet He is never too soon and never too late.
Will we see the persecution and martyrdom? We hope not for ourselves and everyone else. Yet
no matter what, it seems that either way, we won’t have to wait too
long before He comes for His own.  Isn’t that why its called the
“blessed hope”?  Indeed it is. Place your hope in the Lord, beloved, who loves all peoples everywhere from nation, tribe and tongue, encouraging them to trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, in order to be saved from their sin and have eternal life with Him. 
As He told Abraham, He intended to bless all the families of the earth... and He is and will continue to do so and the best is yet to come after all this.  Blessings, Mr.Vee

Biblical Eschatology Revisited



Implication of the Sixth Seal as the “harpazo” – Part 1

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this subject and while it’s been
a very busy time, it has also been a good time to contemplate the
implications of the sixth seal of Revelation and its connection to
Matthew 24:29-31. As we make this connection, we can begin to associate
other verses related to the matter and have some context for the seals
that precede it. Another reference, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, also then
ties into these two and provide some detail of how the actual event
will transpire.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are
asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will
bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say
to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until
the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so
we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with
these words.  I Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NASB)

This passage now ties in well with the context of the sixth seal and
its results and immediately subsequent occurrences. For the words
“caught up”, many folks have used the word “rapture” in connection with
these verses and perhaps a better term is using the Greek word,
“harpazo”.  The reason for saying this is that it correlates well with
the verses given by Jesus specifically in Matthew 24 identifying His
return for His own people before the wrath of God is poured out. The
word “harpazo” which has the literal meaning of “to seize upon”,
“spoil”, “snatch away”, “to seize upon with force”, “to rob”. It can be
properly contrasted with the Greek word “klepto” which means “to steal
secretly”. Here’s how Jesus actually referred to the event…

Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is
coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at
what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the
alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this
reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
when you do not think He will. Matthew 24:42-44 (NASB)

Having seen how this all fits very well within the flow and context of
the various passages on this subject, we can have a strong level of
confidence that this is indeed how things will transpire. The event
itself is one that the true believer in Christ looks forward to (or
should) as it is the day of redemption and we are to be changed… and
for good reason, there is a very practical matter that must happen in
order for the “harpazo” to happen…

Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet;
for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the
imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this
perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have
put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,
"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O
DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?  I Corinthians 15:50-55 (NASB)

Now most of the naysayers reject this whole notion citing the suffering
of Christians destroys the notion of the “harpazo”. Yet would you
believe that the Lord has even given us a very simple answer to this
but because we haven’t understood the significance of the link between
Matthew 24:29-31 and the sixth seal in Revelation, we often miss this.
Let’s take a close look at this by examining the fifth seal. The subtle
truth about this is that we are given the seals sequentially in
Revelation 6 and the fifth seal precedes the sixth.

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the
souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and
because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out
with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You
refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the
earth?" And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were
told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number
of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even
as they had been, would be completed also. Revelation 6:9-11 (NASB)

Has the Lord kept from us the fact that many will die a martyr’s death
before He comes back for His people in the “harpazo”? He doesn’t if we
read this correctly and properly correlate it with the verses
concerning this event.  If we are perceptive here, we can even see that
the results of the first four seals ultimately come to the fifth seal
and its results, martyrdom of believers who have kept a good testimony…
the destruction of those doing true “good”, those who are peaceful
citizens who have trusted in what God has truly said.

Clearly, there are people who are going to die a martyr’s death before the
“harpazo” and this should not present a problem of understanding to us
since we already know this is true and can readily affirm this. Yet we
must realize that this martyrdom is not the same thing that we can read
happening concerning those who are mentioned who would be killed for
not taking the “mark of the Beast” in Revelation 13.  

What we should come away with here is that if we are seeing the gradual
erosion of civil liberties granted to Christians and believing Israel
then we may be either seeing the actual things predicted in the
scriptures or a prototype of when it is the “real thing”.

To be sure, we have some alarm, almost on a daily basis of good, decent
folks being charged with “hate crimes” when all they were doing is
exercising their faith and are being denied expression of that faith
and even to the point of prosecution for it. This should not be in a
country such as ours where freedom of religion and its exercises was a
hallmark point in our Constitution. However, as we can see the effects
of Constitutional revisionism taking hold and destroying the very
foundations that were set to protect the citizen, it was only a matter
of time before the godless and haters of men and all things good would
start maliciously attacking the simple act of worship. Who knows how
long we will be able to retain possession of our Bibles?  Setting aside
the acts that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah intended to do to the
angels that had visited Lot, it is not hard to see the parallel of
their attitude and those in our government and even in our communities
who attempt to destroy all the good our country is known for. Read and
notice the attitude…

But they said, "Stand aside." Furthermore, they said, "This one came in
as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat
you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to
break the door.  Genesis 19:9 (NASB)

Didn’t they say, “Shut up and get out of our way! Who are you to judge
what we do? Since you think you are so righteous, we are going to teach
you a lesson.” Isn’t this the message that we see in our country
whether it comes from an official authority or those who would simply
seek to actively remove godliness from the earth and those who hope to
promote it? While this is a horrendous occurrence to contemplate, it is
upon us and our government and communities will (and are beginning to)
treat us just like that. However, we need to see this as did the eyes
of the angels that visited Lot. Against all the men’s  pressure to
crush Lot, the angels were able to push them all away and pull Lot
inside and blind and confuse them all in a moment. Their blindness and
confusion was so complete that Lot could leave his home and talk to his
future sons-in-law about the pending judgment and beg them to avoid it.
 

Yet we should take some hope in what we see happening today. It means
that we are closer to the end than ever before and we could be standing
before Him, totally and fully redeemed, healed and rescued very soon. 
Given this, we certainly should contemplate our actions in advance and
purpose to serve Him to the very end, sharing the Gospel to all who
will hear while there is still time.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting
anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And
have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out
of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment
polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from
stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless
with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and
now and forever. Amen.   Jude 20-25 (NASB)

These are critical words for us today right here in the little book of
Jude… Beloved, keep yourselves in the love of God and blessings as you
serve Him.  Mr.Vee

Alive and Well… well, almost…

Well, it seems that I’m still alive after quite a while away from Xanga at least in writing. I hadn’t anticipated that I’d be “away” this long but the distractions (even though being for a good cause) have been numerous.

Bee and I have been spending a great deal of time this spring doing
“maintenance” of our home and property just trying to get things all
together for another long time of letting things take care of
themselves. One has to do that now and then or it simply gets out of
hand. This time we needed help from “contractors”. Most of the time we
do the work ourselves. However, replacing the roofs and siding on the
house, garage, and the other buildings on the place is a little bit
much for just ol' Mr.Vee. Add to that some long needed repairs on the pool
and its just over the top on getting all that done before the Lord
comes back.

Anyway, it is in times like these one learns of what one likes and what
one does not like. Here’s a few that I’ve come up with in the last few
months… along with a few other things that I’ve learned along the way.

1.    I’ve found that I like contractors that understand why they are
hired, stay on top of the job, and have a sense for what is appropriate
so I don’t have to be constantly doing their job saying “I don’t that
like that”, “that isn’t going to work”, “why is that done so sloppily?”
etc. I think you get the drift. I’ve had one fellow who has been superb
at this. He should be given a medal and a bonus.

2.    I hate “no shows”. I work out of my home office and this helps to
open the gate and put the dogs in the kennel, and answer questions.
Those folks who are so inconsiderate to say they are coming and never
show have become one of my least favorite kind of folks. That’s
especially true when they come back and do it again and say “pretty
please, I had some inane excuse for not showing”.

3.    Look out for summer college help. Some of those kids only wish they were men and have no idea what real work is like. Now to be fair, I know some college help that are no where near a description like this and have my respect. My experience during the last few weeks did not include these better folks.

4.  I like honesty and a willingness to work doing the things that
they say they do professionally.  I’m learning to spot a “loser” a mile
away.

5.    The quality of the workers is a more reliable sign of the crew’s
ability to do a good job than the crew chief. When both are not so
good, things just aren’t going to go well at all.

6.    There just is no substitute for ingenuity as a tradesman. It is
an awful waste of time and resources to do dumb things and it spoils
any good reputation that they had in the first place.  I went out this
morning and saw the new booster pump (for the pool) installed
haphazardly (yes, already piped in) right in front of the big filter
where I need a step to step up and pull the filter out for maintenance.  Duh-oh!

7.    An honest, contractor with a good crew is worth the money you pay
them. Anything less and you’ll soon find out how little gets done but
still costs you so much.

8.    Find a contractor that knows how to manage his time and his crews well. Such a fellow is worth his weight in gold.

9.    In the end, the one you recommend is the one who actually
finishes the job… ALL of it. I’m still waiting on getting some flood lights
remounted on the two peaks of my garage that one crew removed and never
replaced. Yes, its still on the punch list. I’m still wondering if it
will ever get done. I’m hoping so.

10.    A smart contractor always asks how you want things done and
offers good ideas to work out various problems along the way. He will
not do it and then find out everything is backwards and has to be done
over.

Anyway, such is life at this point in time. It surely seem like
“patience, determination, and insistence” are the watchwords for now.

As for the rest of the writing, I have at least a couple of dozen
attempted postings that are half done… just so many distractions… I’ll
be SOOOOOO glad when this is over.  Blessings, Mr.Vee

Biblical Eschatology Revisited



The Sign of His Coming: Part 3

We have now covered parts 1, 2, and 2B (interlude on false prophets). This is the third part in a
series of posts where we are looking at Matthew 24 and how Christ
answered His disciples’ three questions.

   1.    When will these things happen?
   2.    What will be the sign of Your coming?
   3.    What will be the sign of the end of the age?

To summarize, Jesus’ answers to questions #3 and #1 are clear:

   1.    re: What will be the sign of the end of the age?
         a.    This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all the
                 nations, and then the end will come.  Matthew
24:14 (NASB)

   2.    re: When will these things happen?

        
a.    The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple occurred when the
“people of the prince who is to
                come” (from Daniel 9:26... Jesus refers to this so this becomes a portion of the context) arrived and

                surrounded the city. This is “called the Abomination of Desolation” (in
a literal sense for the city) and
                starts a period of great tribulation
that has never been or ever will be excelled.

        
b.    This occurred in 70 AD and proceeds up until today and until something called the "times of the
                Gentiles" are fulfilled. That appears to coincide with Christ's return to earth in judgment and the
                liberation of Jerusalem from the Gentiles once and for all. This makes sense in that the final week of
                Daniel's 70 Weeks (7 years) will occur at the very end of this period of time.

        
c.    "b" lines up well with Luke 21, as we will find that those in Judea in
70AD were told to leave because
                the “days of vengeance” will have arrived. Some
will die but some will be taken captive and Jerusalem
                will be trampled
under foot until the “times of the Gentiles” are fulfilled.

        
d.    We have not yet reached the end of the “times of the Gentiles”
since Jerusalem and the Temple 
                mount remains trampled under foot by Gentiles.
While Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948, the temple
                mount is still under
Gentile occupation/control.

   3.     re: Jesus provides added description for false Christs and false prophets

         a.    They will deceive many and will use false signs and wonders.
        
b.    Since we haven’t seen such a manifestation since 70 AD it is
likely that while there are certainly many
               deceivers, those that have
extraordinary power may appear at the end of this period.
        
c.    There is an interesting correlation between these deceivers and the “man of sin” in II Thessalonians 2.
         d.    The manner of their coming is contrasted to Christ’s whose coming
will be extremely quick and
               surprising rather than coming slowly from the
drawing of large crowds.

Let’s now focus on the third and final question (#2 in the list above) which involves the sign of His coming.

But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE
DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL
from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the
tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING
ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send
forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His
elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Matthew 24:29-31 (NASB)

As far as a time sequence here, we see that this happens after the
tribulation of those days which tells us that that period of time has
transitioned into the “past” and a new time period begins.  Now Jesus
gives us some specific items that will indicate that this has happened.
Let’s list them:

   1.    The sun will be darkened.
   2.    The moon will not give its light.
   3.    The stars will fall from the sky.
   4.    The powers of the heavens will be shaken.
   5.    The sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.
   6.    All the tribes of the earth will mourn.
   7.    He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet.
   8.    Christ’s own will be gathered together from the “four winds” from one end of the sky to the other.

Given that He’s indicated eight specific things to happen all at once, this
makes the event extremely rare and specific. This is a benefit to us
since only an event with all of these happenings would be the “qualifying
event” i.e. the beginning of the end for the time of the Gentiles.  This strongly suggests a change of
administration i.e. a change from God working with Gentiles after 70AD back to Him working more directly with Israel again. If that is true then we should see in the scriptures some sort of action from the Lord showing that this sort of change had occurred (and we will).

Is such an event really literally found in the Scriptures? Yes. To see the only event that I have found that matches this list, we’ll need to take a look at Revelation 6 & 7. First, Revelation 6...

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the
whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the
earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of
the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the
strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and
among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to
the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their
wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Revelation 6:12-17 (NASB)

We can see from this passage what correlates with the list above. After a
great earthquake (likely causing some severe geophysical changes i.e.
every mountain and island were moved out of their places), we see the
following:
(note the text in parenthesis refers back to Matthew 24)

   1.    The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair. (The sun is darkened.)
  
2.    The whole moon became like blood. (The moon will not give its light.)
  
3.    The stars of the sky fell to the earth. (The stars will fall from the sky.)
  
4.    The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up. (The powers of the heavens will be shaken.)
  
5,6.    Men of all stations of life hiding themselves in caves calling
for the rocks to fall on them because God’s
          and the Lamb’s day of wrath
has come. (All the tribes of the earth will mourn.)
         
a.    Now why would they do this? They had to see what was going on. (The sign of the Son of man was
                 recognized.)
         
b.    How would they associate that this was God’s judgment even though
so many simply hate to confess
                 that there is even a God, let alone
admit that Jesus Christ is His Son? They had to see something like
                 His
sign in the heavens to be forced to acknowledge this.

So, you might be asking me right now where do we find the angels and His people gathered? (i.e. where are the other points?) They are not in Revelation 6 ... we only
need to move on to the next chapter. Revelation 7 opens with angels now dealing with the Lord's people, first 144,000 from every tribe of
Israel are sealed by four angels and another multitude of His people (which no one could count) are
gathered before the Throne and before the Lamb which should complete the list rather well and even tell us who these people are in this multitude..

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:13-14 (NASB)

If we don’t make these
people be anything other than what the scripture says they are (believers in Christ), then we
have a clear correlation of what Jesus was talking about in the Olivet
Discourse (Mt 24, Luke 21, etc.)  It even suggests of a changeover of
administration from His current portion of His plan to the next on the
prophetic calendar and Israel again comes in focus.

Such an interesting find… and there’s more. Let’s take a look at some implications of all this next time. Mr.Vee

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what
is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints,and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He
brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at
His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the
one to come.  Ephesians 1:18-21 (NASB)

May your celebration of His resurrection be joyous for you and your family.  Mr.Vee

Biblical Eschatology Revisited



Precursors to His Coming: Part 2B -A Closer Look at the Deceivers

I had planned for this to be only a three part piece but as might
happen now and again, new insights happen and I always welcome these
when they are simply there before our eyes and we don’t have to stretch
things in order to be able to see them and relate the truth to others. 
What we are going to look at this time is a passage that dwells in the
shadow of two much more popular passages that people tend to focus on
instead of this so perhaps this might seem like a new look at an old
topic…

So let’s focus our attention on Matthew 24:23-28… and try to draw out the important items that its text communicates to us.


Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He
is,' do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will
arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if
possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go
out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them. For
just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west,
so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there
the vultures will gather.   Matthew 24:23-28 (NASB)

I once heard it said anytime God tells us something in the Bible that
it should be taken seriously. If He says it more than once that we need
to pay particular attention to it. At this point, it is clearly obvious
that this matter of deceivers is a point that Jesus is making is an
extended effort to make sure the disciples understand that it is
important. Now we can see that, not only does He take this one subject
and opens the entire discussion on this matter in verses 4 and 5, He
repeats His warning in these verses later in the chapter.

So when we are told these are “false Christs” and “false prophets”, we
must understand that these will be people who will claim, one way or
another, that they are the “One” or speak about (or for) the “One”, the
messiah who will save the nation and the world of its ills and set
things aright in “righteousness”. Pay attention to this since there are
those out there looking for that very thing in anyone but Christ
Himself and there are many who would like for people to believe that
they are indeed the “One”.  I use the word “One” carefully here since I
do not mean God here but the one who would claim to be the “One” and
would have others acclaim him as that and then clinch the deception by
performing deceiving signs and wonders.

What is clear is that one of the signs of these deceivers is that they
do not come as Christ will come. In fact, they will "ask" others to come
to them and they will have huge followings coming after them like
buzzards after road kill. In contrast, Christ will come and as we will
see later on in another post, He will gather His people to Himself. It
is clear by what Christ says that these deceivers will be asking people
to “believe” in them.

Let’s now take a look back at II Thessalonians 2:8-12…

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the
breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His
coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of
Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the
deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not
receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God
will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what
is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the
truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. II Thessalonians 2:8-12 (NASB)

So in light of what was said before, this “man of sin” will himself use
deception, powerful manifestations, and the hearts of those that have
already rejected Christ to draw in his followers. See Revelation
13:1-10 and note the comprehensiveness of his affect upon those people
who were not Christ’s.

In order to keep this post short, let’s make of list of interesting
points that we can discover when comparing these passages and also
looking at this passage in Matthew by itself.

1.    Note the use of the singular vs. plural: The II Thessalonians
passage speaks in the singular with regards to who is doing the
deception using great power and signs and wonders. (one to deceive
many)  The Matthew 24 passage speaks in the plural with regards to all
those who would perform great signs and wonders to deceive. (many)

2.    Note the potential for contemporaneousness: It may be that the
“man of sin” (lawless one) may be contemporaneous (live and act at the
same time) as the rest of these deceivers. There may be a link between
their actions.

3.    Note that deceptive signs and wonders are used: The Matthew 24
passage brings out the matter of deceptive “signs and wonders” passage
for the first time.

4.    Note that few mass deceptions have occurred historically: There
does not appear to be a record of such a massive deception having been
recorded historically. Therefore, such a massive deception appears to
be a future event even from our perspective.

5.    Note who the deception works on: It is not hard to see that those
who have rejected the “love of the truth so as to be saved” would be
drawn by those who appeared to be able to have “power” to control their
lives and things around them for themselves and for their benefit.

6.    Note when the mass deception will work:  From #5 and II
Thessalonians 2:3, we can reason that the optimum time for these
deceivers to appear is when there was an abandonment of the faith and
unreasoning refusal to accept anything as truth except exactly how they
want to perceive it for themselves.

7.    Note that God will give them what they have asked for: God
Himself will oblige the will of these who turn away from the truth and
allow the deluding influence to have its powerful effect to literally
“seal” those who reject His truth into that state so that it will be
impossible to change ones mind after a “certain point”. It is not clear
at this point when such a thing would happen but would reasonably occur
when the Lord has determined that “the door to salvation is closed” and
judgment is to begin.

8.    Note that God had already made sure that they had heard the
Gospel:  It is interesting to consider that these people so deceived
“did not love the truth so as to be saved”, it would mean that they had
to have been exposed to the Gospel so that they would even be in a
position to have heard the truth in order to then not “love it”.

9.    Note the differentiating characteristics of Christ’s Coming: We
can see the repeating of important aspects of Christ’s coming
      a.    the element of surprise – compared to lightning which occurs when
we don’t expect it although the storm that brings
             it tells us it might
happen.
      b.    extreme speed – the flash of lightning gives us an idea of how fast His coming will be
      c.    comprehensive scope – “from the east to the west” often refers to a very wide extent even to the entire world.

10.    Note the differentiating characteristics between Matt 24”s
“coming” and Revelation 19’s “coming”: There is a distinct difference
in the characteristic of His coming in Matthew 24 as compared to the
His coming in Revelation 19 & 20.
      a.    Matthew 24 – more like “coming and going”
      b.    Revelation 19 & 20 – coming and warring against the lawless one and staying (reigning) for 1,000 years (20:4)

Who would have thought there was so much packed into these few verses?

I have some questions for you here… given the sort of clues that we have:

1.    What sort of things would need to be in place (or are) that could cause a mass deception to work, indeed a worldwide one?
2.    Beside apostasy, what would the overall desire of those who are
ripe for being deceived that the “man of sin” might use to
       lure them
into his deception?
3.    How could the “man of sin” deceive so many people at once since
we all know that everyone has different ideas about
       things? Remember
the old saying, “You can fool some people all the time. You can fool
all people some of the time.
       However, you cannot fool all the people
all of the time.” Why wouldn’t someone discover the deceiver’s
falsehood
       and reveal it?”
4.    What is our main defenses against such powerfully deluding deceptions?
5.    How close do you think we are to such a situation?

Well, for only six verses, we sure did go a long way… until next time.  Mr.Vee

Insights

Its been an interesting and fast-paced time since my last post.  Bee
and I were out of town this weekend and just arrived back home. A
passage that I heard this morning at a church we were visiting has been
on my mind all day.  It is found in the midst of Isaiah and tells us
much about God’s intent and will to accomplish His purposes in all
things… from the beginning to the end. It also fits in well with our
time revisting biblical eschatology…

Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no
other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from
the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done,
saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My
good pleasure'; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My
purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it
to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.  Isaiah 46:9-11 (NASB)

The Lord does not mince words nor give us idle promises of His coming.
If we care to take the time to understand what He has been telling us
all from the very beginning, we must understand that the current state
of things will come to an end when He deems it is time, precisely at
the right time, precisely in the right manner, just as He has said. We
should pay particular attention to what He has said in order to
understand what will happen and to ready.  Mr.Vee

Editorial

How We Do Things Here on Veritas Verbatim

I’m surprised it has taken this long to finally have had to use the
“delete” button here on Xanga. I’ve also learned where the “block”
button is as well. Bee and I had talked about when she began to get
comments that would start getting out of hand. Well, the time has come
and now its done. I suppose each of us on Xanga goes through this at
some point or another especially if we discuss topics that there are
likely to have a wide range of opinions, all the way from extremely
rational to those decidedly not. Anyhow, one learns quickly why radio
show hosts simply hang up on some callers. A conversation is going
nowhere but “down” very quickly and a decisive move has to be made. After
sleeping on it, I’m glad I did it, both for the sake of that person and
for the rest of us who really want to try to do something positive to
understand His word better.

So I’ve decided to compile a “rules and regulations” list for those who simply don’t "get it". For those of you who have been here a long time and wish to impart some wisdom, I would sincerely welcome it.

I have been very pleased with all you folks that stop by here and are
very mature and self-controlled, and are able to express themselves
constructively when they disagree. This speaks volumes about how the
Lord is working in you and this is something that is valued here and I've learned a lot from folks who can help me understand their point through the proper use of the scriptures. In
light of recent events, I have come to appreciate that more.


Rules and Regulations for Participation on Veritas Verbatim
(these may change as we
learn more about how people tend to interact here… this is just a start)

1.    This is a Bible study along with a few other incidental
observations along the way that comes across my   
       desk,  some biblical,
some not but perhaps may be related indirectly. In this study, the Bible is authoritative. I
       am subject to
what it says… so is everyone else.

2.    Come wanting to learn. There is plenty of material in the Bible
to do that. I learn things every time I post…
       and I share these things
with you. This is your opportunity to share what you see written there as well.

3.    Come respecting God’s Word as the most perfect expression of
truth, both in content and construction,
       which has come from the most
perfect and benevolent communicator in the universe, God Himself.

4.    The predominate method of study is attempting to discern, using
plain language written in our Bibles, using
       conservative hermeneutics (appropriate bible interpretation practices), what God has said in the Bible
and
       letting Him speak for Himself.

5.    We come with the assumption that God wants everyone to understand
what He has said. That said, His
       communication is very clear and simple
so that even those with less ability can be able to understand what is

       said. This means we take a stand that the Bible reaches to the lowest
level of human ability to understand and
       is accessible to all in either
written or spoken form just as it is written. Otherwise, those who were

       academically challenged would be forbidden the opportunity to know God.

6.    Questions are good. They are critical parts of a discussion. It
helps us all identify areas of possible confusion
       and find ways to
clear things up according to what He has said, just as He said it. I
have learned a lot from
       really good questions being asked.

7.    Disagreement is just fine. Just keep it civil and clearly on the
point and offer clear explanations with scripture
       since that is what we
deem as valid here. Opinions are just that and carry no particular
weight. We are trying
       to learn here and we have no pretenses.

8.    Don’t come with your “private interpretations”. I promise you
that they will get no respect. Again, if God
       said it, then we consider
it. If it isn’t there or cannot be corroborated elsewhere in scripture,
then you should
       fully expect to not have your point considered. Not
only that, remember God has stern words for those who
       add or subtract
things to what He has said.

9.    “Blog snipers” are unwelcome and this is not tolerated. These
people come on your site and attempt to take it
       over by dominating the
discussion and branch off into “name calling” and other disagreeable
unsocial 
       behavior to get attention. If a person cannot get up the
courage to write their own pieces on their own blogs
       to express
themselves and then come to this blog to rant and rave and distract the
study, I promise that they
       will experience the finality of the delete
and/or block buttons. We have a “zero tolerance” policy about this. 
       We don’t mind having Xangan’s coming who are not prolific writers who simply want
to visit and participate
       but we all know what “blog sniping” is and
none of us like it.

10.    Participation is open to anyone that just simply wants to study
the Word without stress and a lot of
         argumentation and understands the
straightforward kind of process we take in understanding the scriptures.

11.    Be honest with your communications. Contentiousness is easily
seen through even flowery words. If you are
         really speculating, please
state that you are doing that because that means you are thinking and
that’s good.
         You will get respect for being diligently observant and
thinking toward solving a problem but haven’t quite
         got there yet. When
speculation becomes “truth” without foundation in a discussion, that’s
when we draw
         the line.

12.    Intelligent discussion with the intent that everyone wins when
we finally figure out something out that we
        didn’t know before is the
intent of this site. As such, the concept of “debate” here is not
considered
        appropriate when it becomes clear that it is a competitive
contest to see who wins the argument. If there is a
        winner and loser,
then such interaction is not welcome. There are other sites that do
this. We don’t do that
        here. We have no trophies for “competitive
winners” except the one called “loser”.

RYC Policy:

Responses to comments that lead to a discussion here will be placed on this site in its appropriate context. Doing otherwise often becomes confusing to others and clutters up others' blogs with comments that folks simply don't understand. I may RYC on another site if the impact of the answer is inconsequential to the other readers and does not disrupt their blog's activities. Just common courtesy here...

Let’s work with that for now. I’ll update it as I understand things
better but this should provide some guidance for those who are
wondering how we do things here.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude for all you Xangans who have
visited and have already practiced these things in the absence of this
list. It was your participation that helped me write it since I could
remember all the good things that came of our interaction. You all are
great and I appreciate you all. As long as the Lord permits us to do
this, we hope that we offer insights and help that really makes your
visit here worthwhile. That’s the least I can do for you graciously
spending your time here.

Mr.Vee

Biblical Eschatology Revisited



Precursors to His Coming: Part 2

This is the second in a series of posts where we are looking at Matthew
24 and how Christ answered His disciples’ three questions.

   1.    When will these things happen?
   2.    What will be the sign of Your coming?
   3.    What will be the sign of the end of the age?

In the first post, we found that He answered the third question first
and that there would be distinct things, signs, if you will, that would
happen before Christ’s Second Coming but these would not signify “the
end”. Then after that He clearly told them…

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.  Matthew
24:14 (NASB)


Now as we move forward, we find ourselves looking at the first
question. Now when Christ answers the first question… “when will these
things happen”, he answers them in reference to a comment He had made
to them earlier about the destruction of the temple. In essence, He
tells them what the starting milestone for the entire time period would
be… the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 AD. However, by
studying various scriptures, Daniel chapter 9 especially, since Christ
makes a direct reference to it, it becomes obvious that there is more
in this passage about this in Matthew 24 than first meets the eye.

The Sign of When “These Things” Will Happen (Matthew 24:15-22) (to keep the post shorter, please read from your Bible, thanks!)

Before we go too far, we should take a clue from the 15th verse where
the first word in the NASB is “therefore” which essentially means
“because of what was said before”. Now if we pay attention to the time
when Jesus and His disciples are discussing this, it is in reference to
the temple being torn down so completely that one stone would not be
left upon another. Obviously, since this did not happen on that day,
the Lord was speaking of what would happen in the future. However, we
can also discern that the Lord is beginning to reveal to us that other
things would follow this as well and even have a double fulfillment as
well. Surprised? Let’s determine how this might be possible.

Indeed, the Lord was correct. During the destruction of Jerusalem in
70AD, this very thing did occur and it is indeed found in Daniel in the
very place that Jesus told us that we would find the prophecy
concerning this… Daniel 9:24-27. The curious thing here is that there
are two particular prophetical outcomes predicted in that passage
instead of one. Let’s take a look at the passage, one of the most
amazing prophecies of the entire Bible in that it is so definitive that
if it were wrong it could be easily discounted, yet it was absolutely
correct according to history all the way up to and through the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD:

"Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to
finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for
iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and
prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and
discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in
times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be
cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come
will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a
flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the
middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;
and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even
until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the
one who makes desolate."  Daniel 9:24-27 (NASB)

Most of us already know the thing about the “weeks” or “heptads”
meaning sevens or a series of sevens (as in the number “seven”) however
for those who don’t, it is clear from the text that Daniel is being
told about a length of time. Through understanding that a temple
couldn’t be built in seven days or seven months using their methods of
construction at the time, we understand that the time units for these
weeks had to be longer than that. It turns out that in the testimony of
history and through much study by others that “years” is the proper
time unit to consider here so one “week” is 7 years and 70 “weeks” are
490 years and so forth. Did you ever wonder how the wise men knew when
to look for the sign for the Messiah? You might remember in Matthew 2 when the magi came and Herod inquired of them about the time of His star appeared. This is how they knew. How so? Remember Daniel had been in authority over all the wise men of Babylon. They would have known about this hundreds of years before He was born. So from their own ability to
know this from the scriptures, we can have confidence that these
particular “weeks” are meant to be periods of 7 years. Its even rather
interesting that we are alerted to when the Lord changes the time units
back for us in Daniel 10:2-3 and we learn that Daniel had been mourning
for three entire weeks and hadn’t eaten. So we are notified that from
then on we are speaking of normal “weeks” of seven days. Its amazing
how detailed the Lord is in handling His Word.

Let’s make sure we understand the purpose for the prophecy. So whatever
we get from this prophecy must come in line with the following purposes:

   1.    It dealt with Daniel’s people, Israel and Jerusalem (the focal point of the prophecy)
   2.    The end of transgression and sin
   3.    Atonement made for iniquity
   4.    Everlasting righteousness is to be brought in
   5.    Sealing up vision and prophecy
   6.    Anoint the most holy place

So all that this prophecy refers to has to do with these six purposes.

So now let’s see what is to happen… in order… right from the text.

   1.    A decree would be issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. This
occurred historically under Cyrus the   
          Persian after the Babylonian
Captivity.
   2.    This restoration would last until Messiah the Prince would come.
   3.    This restoration would entail even the fine detail that the disciples marveled at even during times of distress.
  
4.    The period of time from that decree to Messiah being “cut off and
have nothing” (historically, crucified)
          would be the sum of two time
periods, 7 weeks (49 years) and 62 weeks (434 years) for a total of 483

          years.
   5.    At some point after this, a group of people (the people of the
prince who is to come) would destroy the city
          and sanctuary. This
historically happened in 70 AD.
  
6.    This destruction would come with a “flood” which in this case
came historically as an overwhelming force
          (the Roman army) to
completely wipe out Jerusalem and the temple.
  
7.    We have a reference to “the end”… that there would be war and
other desolations that were already 
          determined. Jesus said that there would
be “wars and rumors of war” earlier in Matthew 24, precisely in
           line
with the prophecy here.

Now we begin to consider things beyond the destruction of Jerusalem…

  
8.    Someone referred to as “he” will make a covenant with the many
for one “week” but in the middle of the
          “week” he will put a stop to
sacrifice and grain offering. Two possibilities exist here and each
have their
          strengths.
         
a.    One of these possibilities uses the closest antecedent for the
word “he” as the “prince” of the people
                 who is to come “referred to
elsewhere as the Beast, man of lawlessness, and the man of sin”.
                 i.    This outcome has the man of lawlessness, the Beast making a
covenant with Israel and apparently 
                       there will be a temple in this
scenario and three and a half years after this covenant it will be 

                       broken and this person will stand up in the rebuilt temple and declare
himself to be god. Then what
                       is recorded in Revelation 13-19 occurs and
this fellow and his cohort are destroyed at Christ’s
                       return.
          b.    The other possibility here is that “he” refers back to the
Messiah who stops sacrifices and grain 
                 offerings since He took care of
that on the cross. And after the cross, abominations will come that

                 make desolate (acts of abomination of desolation) that will lead to a complete
destruction of the one
                 who makes desolate (The actual person known as
The Abomination of Desolation). In other words,
                 Christ returns and
destroys the Beast and False Prophet in Revelation Chapter 19

Both scenarios seem to ultimately end up in the same place with some
differing details in between. I tend to favor the first because what we
find in Matthew 24:15 i.e. that he stands in the holy place. Also, in II
Thessalonians 2 we find corroborating evidence…

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the
apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son
of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called
god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of
God, displaying himself as being God.  II Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NASB)

Since this man of lawlessness is said to take his seat in the temple of
God displaying himself as being God, I tend to figure that there has to
be a temple that arises from some sort of covenant since a temple for
the God of Israel is not standing today (unless we consider the current
structure on the same place to serve as replacement.). Also this is the
same fellow that is described as the one who the Lord will slay at His
coming. So this could not be referring to the Roman army in 70 AD. 
Here’s what it says further in II Thessalonians 2…

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the
breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His
coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of
Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the
deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not
receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. II Thessalonians
2:8-10 (NASB)

Now that we’ve established the history leading up to Jesus’ time and that
this character called the “Abomination of Desolation” which will appear
just before Christ’s return, we might find ourselves with a huge time
disparity in Matthew 24:15-22. Given what we know about history and
what we know is to come, we see that the Roman armies (the people of the prince to come) did indeed come
after Christ’s crucifixion, (70 AD, nearly 40 years later) and leveled Jerusalem. If I’m not
mistaken Josephus, the Jewish historian for the Romans, records for us
that indeed those in Judea had to flee and not come back just as Jesus
prophesied and the Christians had left the city because of Christ’s
warning here in Matthew 24. The rest of the people of the city were decimated.

So there is a historical
element in 70AD (and also a prince to come later) and we can see a future element in the arrival of the
Abomination of Desolation. I might be guessing here but I wonder if the
destruction of Jerusalem was simply a foreshadowing of what is to come…
only on a larger scale. It would seem so.

Now its also interesting to note that the tribulation that Christ spoke
of earlier in verses 4-14 was indeed that, tribulation. That
tribulation is even with us now. However, those who have read
Revelation and have some acquaintance with these matters, even this is
going to get worse. In fact, this final portion of the entire time of
tribulation will be so bad that the magnitude of difficulty will be so
high that no life would be saved unless the days were shortened … Jesus
described its magnitude as “such as has not occurred since the
beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.” Matthew 24: 21(b)
(NASB)  So much for being optimistic about the world getting better and
better… Make no mistake, we are living in a tribulational time and for some, it is very severe for them. Yet the entire world will know this tribulation in greater measure as it grows to horrendous proportions that will just about decimate the planet.

This continues this “dual time track” sort of idea unless, of course,
one chooses to consider that everything was fulfilled in 70 AD. I don’t
hold to that since verse 14 could not have been fulfilled at that point
and is one of the reasons that we need to pay attention to what Jesus
said there in order to keep things straight. And if Christ isn’t here
at this point, it strongly argues for not adopting the idea that everything was
fulfilled in 70AD. While we can't explore it now simply due to keeping this post as short as possible, so much of what God had said concerning prophetic events would have to be ignored, minimized, or deleted from the scriptural record to square it with reality.

While this portion has been long, it was necessary as we had to refer
back to Daniel in order to get our bearings on this portion of
scripture because Christ referred to it Himself. A lot of interesting stuff here and we've now explored the first question's answer.

Our next stop… What will be the sign of His coming?  Blessings, Mr.Vee

Commentary

Just a quick insert here... some time back I posted a commentary on whether a political platform declaring change was enough to get elected. In that post, I had expressed my concern that Barak Obama was a man without a plan and that he had not told us what he really stood for. As a man who aspires to be our president, I'd hope that he'd have some decent idea of what is good and appropriate for our country. Maybe I was more correct than I actually realized. Perhaps he's a man without anything... a man who doesn't even own his own words and thoughts in order to be successful in his campaign. I just happened to be checking on my various news sources today and ran across this article that has an interesting You-tube video concerning Barak Obama and his speeches and their connection to other speeches in history and who actually wrote them. Credit goes to:

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2008/02/obamboozled_did.html

The title of the story reads "Did B Hussein O Steal Speeches From
Racist Spike Lee Movies?" Now I don't know much about that sort of
thing but even as painful as it is to watch You-Tube on a slower internet
connection, it was absolutely amazing.  Can this man be real or is he
just a robot for somebody? Folks, now this is getting scary and I'm getting really concerned for our country. We'd better start praying and hoping that the Lord will show us what to do next. The video itself should be found below. (my first time trying this) Mr.Vee