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Being Prepared For
Messiah’s Return
This is
the Son of God’s last week on Earth before His
death and resurrection, and He knew it. He also
knew that He would leave the planet, return to
Heaven, which is a very real place, and then return
to Earth at just the right time to establish the
Kingdom of God on Earth.
Far from
being impossible to know when He is about to return,
or discouraging us from wanting to know when He
will return, Messiah wants His followers to know
the general time when He will come back. Not the
day or the hour - but the knowledge that we are
very close.
Israel’s
greatest Prophet gave us signs - indicators that
will increase in frequency and intensity and let
us know that His return is near.
- False Messiahs and very serious religious
deception.
- Wars.
- Great earthquakes, famines and plagues.
- Persecution of Messiah’s followers.
- Signs in the heavens - the sun, moon and
stars.
- Extreme dismay and fear among the people
of the world.
When we
see these things increasing in frequency and intensity,
like a woman about to give birth, the Lord’s oppressed
and down-trodden followers are to straighten up
and look up with confidence and expectation and
hope, because Messiah will very shortly return,
bringing us vindication and salvation, peace and
great joy!
Messiah
wants His followers to be well-aware of the general
time of His return - not the specific day or the
hour - and so He reinforces this message on the
signs of His return with a parable. Then He
told them a parable: Behold the fig tree and all
the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you
see it and know for yourselves that summer is
now near. So you also, when you see these things
happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is
near. There are similarities between the natural
world and the spiritual world. The Creator has
designed both, and so similar principles are found
in each. The natural realm can teach us valuable
lessons how the Creator works in the spiritual
realm. That is one reason why we want to develop
an interest in learning about the natural world
around us.
The Son
of God was a keen observer of nature. He knew
that just as nature teaches us that summer follows
spring, and that the sprouting of new leaves on
trees means that summer is near, so when we see
the specific signs He mentioned taking place and
increasing in frequency and intensity, we are
to know that His glorious return from Heaven to
Earth with power and honor, accompanied by resurrected
righteous men and women, will take place very
shortly. And, it seems to me and many others that
these things are increasing in frequency and intensity,
and I would not be surprised if Messiah returned
in my lifetime.
Now that
Messiah has taught us how to recognize the general
time of His return, He wants us to know some things.
First, He wants us to know that no matter how
bad things get, the people of Israel will be preserved.
Truly I say to you, this generation will not
pass away until all things take place. The
Greek word usually translated “generation” can
also mean “race”. Messiah had told us that because
the majority of the Jewish people did not recognized
the time when Immanuel visited us, and we rejected
the Son of God, God’s righteous anger would be
released against the faithless majority of the
nation, and there would be great distress for
the land and people of Israel. Jerusalem would
be surrounded by armies and destroyed, the magnificent
temple completely torn down, the nations devastated
and the people taken captive and sent into exile
among the nations until the times of Gentile world
power would come to an end. But, that would not
be the end of the story for the Jewish people.
The Lord would preserve us until all of the things
connected to the Last Days would take place. Then
Israel would be gloriously saved, and we will
fulfill our purpose and be the source of blessing
to all of the nations of the world.
Messiah
is assuring us about the preservation of Israel
- in spite of our frequent unfaithfulness and
the Lord’s discipline of us - even at times very
severe discipline. This is not a new teaching.
It is the same thing the Lord said through the
prophet Jeremiah 600 year earlier. The faithful
God is totally committed to Israel, and to our
survival in spite of our frequent lack of faithfulness.
Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light
by day and the fixed order of the moon and the
stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar; Adonai Tz’vaot - the
Lord of armies is His name: Only the great
Creator God, who is amazingly powerful and wise,
is able to create the vast universe with its fixed
order and amazing design, and keep it and all
of its forces under control. And, this Supreme
Being is as committed to preserving the nation
of Israel as He is committed to continue upholding
the entire universe! If this fixed order departs
from before Me", declares the Lord, "then
the offspring of Israel also will cease from being
a nation before Me forever".
The Almighty
wants to further reinforce this important truth
about His total commitment to Israel’s survival.
Thus says the Lord, "If the heavens above
can be measured and the foundations of the Earth
searched out below - in other words, not until
weak, puny mortal men and women are able to travel
to the very ends of the universe and measure it,
and also travel to the center of the Earth - things
we are very far from being capable of doing -
only then will the Lord, who is committed
to His Jewish people, also cast off all the
offspring of Israel for all that they have done",
declares the Lord.
No matter
how great the hatred against us; no matter how
hot the fires of anti-Semitism burn; no matter
how many biased UN resolutions are decreed against
us; no many how many biased reports of the mainstream
media are produced; no matter if Gog and Magog
and their Iranian and Middle-Eastern and European
coalition try to destroy us; no matter how much
the anti-Christ tries to annihilate us; no matter
if all the nations of the world gather together
fight against us and destroy us; no matter if
Satan and his hosts fight against us, little Israel
will be preserved!
God is
committed to preserve and restore and save Israel.
Know that! Believe that! Act on that! Tell others
that! Be supportive of the little nation of Israel,
partially regathered from our long exile among
the nations of the world! Be loving and supportive
of the Jewish people throughout the world. Reject
all forms of anti-Semitism! Stand with God and
with us! Pray for us. Tell us these truths, and
tell us the truth about the Messiah, who is still
committed to us, in spite of our rejection of
Him!
Second,
Messiah wants us to know that not only will Israel
be preserved, but His words will also be preserved.
Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words
will not pass away. This universe is not perfect
and will not last forever. The entire universe
has been very seriously damaged by sin. The creation
is flawed. It is in a state of decay. It is enslaved
and frustrated and suffering. The good news is
that after Messiah returns, and after His wonderful
1,000 year rule from Jerusalem, this entire universe
and everything in it will be destroyed. The heavens
will pass away with a roar and the elements will
be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth
and everything on it will be burned up. Then the
Lord will create new Heavens and a new Earth -
an entire new and perfect and flawless and wonderful
and eternal universe for us to live in forever
and ever!
This universe
is seriously flawed and will not last. But, the
Son of God wants us to know that His words will
last. His teachings will outlast the universe!
Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words
will not pass away. Imagine a Jewish carpenter
saying that! Unbelievable! What arrogance! Pride
bordering on insanity! Unless it is true! Unless
His words are more perfect, more trustworthy and
more enduring than this universe. And they are!
And, so far this has been proven to be true. Yeshua’s
words have already endured for a very long time
- 2,000 years. The words of most of the great
leaders of the nations who were so influential
in their day have been long forgotten, but the
words of the Carpenter from Nazareth are more
quoted, studied and discussed, and sung more often
than the words of any other human being who has
ever lived. Amazing!
And, I
believe that His teachings will continue to endure
even beyond this world, because they are absolute
truth; flawless, timeless truth. And, if you embrace
His perfect and timeless words, and are faithful
to His words, you too will outlast this universe!
You will have a successful life in this world
and eternal life in the world to come.
You won’t
be able to take much with you when you leave this
life - not things like money and wealth. You will
be able to take non-physical things with you -
like good character, and faithful service. And,
you can also take with you Messiah’s words. So,
grab hold of Messiah’s words in this life, because
they are one of the only things that you can carry
with you into the life to come!
You need
to know Messiah and His teachings, and understand
them, and treasure them, and live by them, and
make your decisions by them, and arrange your
goals and priorities according to them! Consistent
study and application of Messiah’s words over
a lifetime is what is called for.
Messiah
is returning, and we need to know that. And, we
can know the general time of His return. Things
will get very difficult, for Israel and for the
Messianic believers. But, Israel will be preserved.
Messiah’s words will be preserved. Third, Yeshua
wants His followers to know how they are to be
preserved. Be on guard, so that your hearts
will not be weighted down with dissipation (frivolous,
wasted living based on the constant pursuit of
fun and pleasure and amusement and entertainment)
and drunkenness and the worries of life, and
that day will not come on you suddenly like a
trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell
on the face of all the Earth.
Life has
many legitimate joys and pleasures that we can
enjoy, but the followers of the Messiah are not
to be focusing on fun, and pursuing pleasure.
Like Messiah, we are on a mission. We are involved
with important things. We are people of great
purpose. We need to be serious men and women.
Time is short. Life is like a morning mist that
evaporates before noon. We have to stay focused
on serving the Lord, on telling people the Good
News about the salvation that is only possible
through the Messiah who has come, on building
up Messiah’s Community!
We need
to guard our hearts. Each one of us needs to be
aware of what is going on at the core of our being
- if we are putting God first, or if the pleasure
and worries and fears of life are getting us off
the proper course that we need to stay on. Are
you guarding your heart? Are you focused on the
right things? Are your priorities in order?
But
keep on the alert at all times. Stay alert
like a good soldier in a dangerous area, who must
remain alert the entire time he is on guard duty.
If you find yourself not alert, do things that
will bring you back into a state of spiritual
alertness! Turn away from the distractions. Re-engage
in the basic spiritual disciplines.
Especially,
start praying. Really start talking to the Lord
with renewed sincerity, praying that you may
have strength to escape all these things that
are about to take place, and to stand before the
Son of Man.
Many human
beings won’t have the strength to endure all the
pleasant distractions of the world that will send
their life careening off course, and all the fears
and dismay and confusion that a fallen world and
wicked men and fallen angels can cause.
But, you
have a Great Ally they don’t have. Pray to Him
for strength to escape the dangers. Ask the Lord
for strength to know the dangers and successfully
overcome them, so that you will able to stand
before the Son of God, who will be your judge,
and be acceptable to Him. The Lord likes those
kinds of prayers, and will respond to those kinds
of prayers, and give you the strength you need
to escape and stand!
Chapter
21 concludes with Luke telling us the normal pattern
of events that happened during these final days
of Yeshua’s life. Now during the day He was
teaching in the temple, but at evening He would
go out and spend the night on the mount that is
called Olivet. And all the people would get up
early in the morning to come to Him in the temple
to listen to Him.
That brings
us to chapter 22, which is the final day of Yeshua’s
life on Earth, when the pattern of events will
dramatically change.
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