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Human
beings like to know what is in the future. Many
try to use dangerous, forbidden, occult techniques
to see into the future. The Lord knew our desire
to know where we are going, and so He sent us
prophets who told us what God wants us to know.
Yeshua is the greatest of the prophets, and at
the end of His earthly life, He told His disciples,
and us, what lies ahead.
The
destruction of the Temple: It is right before
Passover, and Yeshua was in Jerusalem, and still
in the Temple. 13:1 As He was going out of
the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him,
“Rabbi, behold what wonderful stones and what
wonderful buildings!”
Herod
the great began renovating the Temple to try to
win the hearts of his Jewish subjects, who had
little love for him. He was an evil king, but
a master builder, and allocated huge amounts of
money and manpower to enlarge the Temple. That
construction took 46 years of labor. When it was
finished, the Second Temple was immense and magnificent.
It did have wonderful stones. Some of the huge
stones can still be seen today in what is known
as the "Rabbi's Tunnel," the recently excavated
area that runs along the base of the Western Wall.
Some of those foundation stones for the outer
retaining wall of the ancient Temple area are
forty feet long and five feet high, weighing multiplied
tons.
The Temple
was the most important place on Earth for Israel.
The Temple was the equivalent of a national religious
center, as well as the White House, the Capitol
Building, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress
and the Federal Reserve Bank combined into one!
It was the place where the Sanhedrin met, where
the sacrifices were offered, and where God dwelt
among His people. It was one of the greatest and
most beautiful structures of the ancient world.
It was the heart of the Jewish nation. Nevertheless,
Yeshua Ha-Navee (Jesus the Prophet) predicts that
something dramatic would soon affect this beautiful
and important structure.
And
Yeshua said to him, “Do you see these great buildings?
Not one stone will be left upon another which
will not be torn down.” And, it was totally
destroyed, about 40 years later, in 70 AD. To
a first-century Jewish person, saying that the
Temple would be destroyed was like announcing
the end of the world. It's not surprising that
Yeshua's inner circle of disciples asked Him more
about the cataclysmic events that will take place
at the end of this age:
13:3-4
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite
the Temple (and which overlooks the Temple
Mount), Peter and James and John and Andrew
were questioning Him privately, “Tell us, when
will these things be, and what will be the sign
when all these things are going to be fulfilled”?
The destruction of the Temple became the jumping
off point for Yeshua to talk about a series of
events leading to His Second Coming. Ten signs
are given which Yeshua wants us know that indicate
that we are getting close to His Return.
Sign
#1 False Messiahs: 5-6 And Yeshua began
to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads
you. Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am
He!' and will mislead many.” The first thing
we are to watch out for are religious leaders
who mislead us. False religion is so terribly
dangerous, because if the truth sets you free,
then error keeps you in your sins, and damns you
to Hell, especially the truth about the Messiah.
It is the Person of Yeshua of Nazareth, who is
our salvation. He Himself, He alone, makes salvation
possible.
There
have been some seventy or eighty false Messiah's
in Israel's history. Right now a majority of the
Lubavitch Chassidic Jews proclaim that their dead
rabbi who died a few years ago, is Israel's messiah,
and that he has in some way been raised from the
dead, and that we are to pray to him! Outside
of the Jewish world, there are many false messiahs
who claim to be God's messenger, or even God Himself.
We must
be careful to only follow and pay attention to
the Yeshua of the Bible, the true Messiah, the
unique Son of God, who is fully God and fully
Man, who came to Earth, taught us what is recorded
in the Apostolic writings, died, rose from the
dead, ascended into Heaven, and from there He
will one day return in His glorified body to rule
over Israel and the nations. We are not to misrepresent
Him or distort or twist His holy teachings.
While
there has been spiritual deception since the Garden
of Eden, we are forewarned that spiritual deception
will reach its zenith in the Last Days. Make absolutely
sure that you are not part of it! Your well-being,
your life, your future, depend on it!
Sign
#2 Increase in wars: 13:7 When you hear
of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened;
those things must take place; but that is not
yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom. In spite of professions
that we like peace, mankind likes war. There has
hardly been a year in human history when some
war has not been fought. The 20th century was
the bloodiest century in the world. Don’t be surprised
if the 21st is even bloodier, especially with
our technological advances with weapons of war.
Right before the Second Coming we can expect an
increasing numbers of wars - not peace.
Sign
#3 Earthquakes and Famines: 13:8 There
will be earthquakes in various places; there will
also be famines. Earthquakes are a sign of
His return. Expect the Earth to shake more and
more. The Earth itself is not very stable. Every
day there are many earthquakes. Right before the
end of this age, the Earth will become increasingly
less stabile, so that people won’t be able to
trust the ground they stand on - hopefully causing
them to trust in the Rock of our salvation. There
will also be famines. There were terrible famines
in the 20th century. There aren’t many famines
right now, but food will be scarce in many places
prior to the Lord’s return.
Birth
Pangs: Some may wonder, “haven't we always
had earthquakes and famines? Haven't there always
been wars, false prophets and messiahs?” How can
these be signs of Yeshua’s Second Coming? Yeshua
gives us the key to understand these signs when
He compares them to a woman in labor. These
things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
A woman's labor pains increase in frequency and
in intensity. The labor pains become more intense
and the contractions come closer and closer together
until the very end, when the pain is most agonizing,
and the contractions almost continuous, one right
after the other, and then the child is born. Rabbi
Yeshua is telling us that the world is going to
go through more troubles and disasters, which
will increase in frequency and intensity, until
the very end, when they are almost unbearable,
and nearly continuous, one coming right after
the other. Then He will return, birthing the Millennial
Kingdom - a delightful new time in history.
Signs
#4-5 The persecution of God's people,
and the advancement of the Good News: 9-13
But be on your guard; for they will deliver
you to the courts, and you will be flogged in
the synagogues, and you will stand before governors
and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.
The Good News must first be preached to all the
nations. When they arrest you and hand you over,
do not worry beforehand about what you are to
say, but say whatever is given you in that hour;
for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy
Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death,
and a father his child; and children will rise
up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of My name, but
the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
Yeshua predicted the time before His return would
be a difficult time for all of His followers.
Believers will be persecuted by deceived religious
leaders (Yeshua-rejecting synagogues), as well
as worldly political leaders. Family members will
betray one another. We will be arrested and some
will be put to death. This period of time will
be so difficult that only genuine believers will
endure to the end and be saved (the perseverance
of the saints) because it is the true believers
who have faith and the grace to endure persecution,
hatred and shame. Those who fall away because
of persecution and difficulties, or the seductions
of the world, show that they never were true believers.
In spite of persecution or betrayal, if we are
genuine children of God, we must hold out to the
end.
In the
last century there was an unprecedented level
of persecution against Christians, especially
in Moslem and Communist countries. Much of Western
Civilization, the bedrock of Christianity, is
becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity.
At the
same time that hostility against Yeshua's followers
increases, the Good News about the salvation that
God and the Messiah have made possible will finally
be preached to all the nations. This has not happened
in 2,000 years of history. Prior to 1800, the
Christian Faith was primarily limited to Europe,
the U.S. and parts of the Middle East. Today there
are Christians all over the world. The Church
is growing in Third World countries in Africa
and Asia. There are more true Christians in China
than in any other country on Earth. The Message
Jewish movement is growing among God's Chosen
people.
By 1800
there were 66 languages with some portion of Scripture,
40 with the whole Bible. Beginning in 1804 Bible
societies were formed for the translation, publication
and distribution of the Scriptures, and translation
became a worldwide effort to reach people who
had never heard the Good News. Efforts in our
twentieth century have resulted in giant leaps
in Bible translation. Today there are whole Bibles
in about 300 languages, and portions of the Bible
in more than 2,000! Finally, we are in sight of
translating the Bible into every known language!
Signs
#6, 7, 8, 9 include the rise of anti-Christ, rebuilding
the Temple, the restoration of Israel and the
rise of anti-Semitism: 14-18 But
when you see the Abomination of Desolation standing
where it should not be (let the reader understand),
then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
The one who is on the housetop must not go down,
or go in to get anything out of his house; and
the one who is in the field must not turn back
to get his coat. But woe to those who are pregnant
and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
But pray that it may not happen in the winter.
Sign
#6 The rise of the anti-Christ: Yeshua reminds
us of the book of Daniel, which describes a disgusting
and terrible event that causes devastation which
will defile the Temple. Paul refers to that same
desecration when he speaks of the “man of sin”
who will appear, who will take his seat in the
Temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is
God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-5). The anti-Christ will
be a powerful political, economic and religious
leader. He will rule over a one world political
and economic system. He will also claim to be
God, and demand that everyone on Earth worship
him. Those who don’t will be persecuted. It seems
to me that the world is being prepared now for
his rise to power. We can already see the trends
toward a global government, a global economy and
global religion.
Sign
#7 Rebuilding the Temple: In order for there
to be an abomination that causes desolation, there
must be a Temple in Jerusalem. The Second Temple
was destroyed in 70 AD, as the prophet Yeshua
predicted, and it has never been rebuilt... yet.
Thirty years ago, when I came to know the Lord
and His Word, there was almost no interest in
rebuilding the Temple. Now there are several Jewish
organizations actively involved in this process.
Some are preparing instruments and vessels for
worship; others are training Jewish priests and
Levites to serve in the Temple. There are even
preparations underway for breeding special animals
for sacrifice.
Sign
#8 The restoration of Israel: Then those
who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
This implies the existence of Jewish people living
in the land of Israel in the Last Days. According
to Yeshua and the prophets, many of the Jewish
people would be exiled from Israel, scattered
around the world, but in the Last Days would return
to our ancient homeland, where we would be the
focal point of the world’s anti-God hostility.
Although there always were some Jewish people
who remained in Israel, in the past one hundred
years we have seen the miraculous return of the
Jewish people to the land of Israel from more
than seventy countries. In spite of great
opposition by vastly superior forces, we have
seen God's miraculous protection of the state
of Israel. We have witnessed the amazing restoration
of the Hebrew language, something unheard of in
the history of man. We have seen much of our ancient
capital, Jerusalem, once again under Jewish control.
We have seen the dramatic blossoming of the desert.
Sign
#9 The rise of anti-Semitism: Anti-Semitism
has been with us since the time of Pharaoh, but
anti-Semitism will reach its height during the
End Times. Yeshua warned us that right before
He returns, there will be a time of unprecedented
troubles for Israel. Anti-Christ will launch a
persecution against those living in Jerusalem
and the surrounding area. Satan, working through
anti-Christ, will try one last time and with all
of his power, to destroy the Jewish people. Yeshua's
advice, when anti-Christ defiles the Temple, and
launches a persecution against those Jews living
in Israel, is to immediately head for the hills.
In the meantime, we are to pray that it may
not happen in the winter, when it will be
more difficult to be a refugee.
Sign
# 10 World-wide destruction: Trouble
won't be limited to Israel, Christians and Messianic
Jews. 19-20 For those days will be a time of
tribulation such as has not occurred since the
beginning of the creation which God created until
now, and never will. Unless the Lord had shortened
those days, no life would have been saved; but
for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened
the days. This will be a time of unprecedented
trouble for the entire world. There will be natural
disasters and supernatural judgments. Wars will
take place, maybe using nuclear, biological and
chemical weapons of mass destruction. There will
be famines, earthquakes and persecutions that
will bring humanity to the brink of destruction.
Thank
God, He will intervene, and limit the duration
of the time of these terrible troubles - otherwise
no human life on Earth would survive.
These
2,000 year-old words are amazing! Everything is
falling into place, like the pieces of a puzzle.
Yeshua is a true prophet. He heard from the One
who is beyond time, in charge of history, who
knows the end from the beginning. Not just his
prophecies, but all of the Bible is divinely inspired,
true and accurate, faithful and trustworthy.
History
is under the control of the God of Israel.
History
is moving in a direction.
History
is coming to a climax.
The world
is in rebellion to God.
Human
rebellion is coming to a climax.
Sin is
coming to a climax.
Anti-Semitism
is coming to a climax.
Persecution
against Christians and Messianic Jews is coming
to a climax.
God will
not tolerate our sin, and our rebellion against
His good rule and laws, to continue forever. He
will bring it to an end, at the right time.
At the
end of this age, the world will be very deserving
of judgment.
Judgment
is coming to a climax.
This age
is coming to a destructive end. If life as we
know it is coming to an end in this way, then
it is foolish to live for this world. This should
lessen our interest in the world and the things
of the world.
The Lord’s
judgment accomplishes two things - it punishes
the wicked, and redeems where possible.
The proclamation
of the Good News is coming to a climax. Many will
get saved during this time.
Salvation
is coming to a climax. This is given to give us
hope amidst our difficult circumstances. Something
better, something from God, something connected
to our wonderful Messiah, is on the way. Help
is on the way! And, after that help arrives, we
will be completely victorious, and be at rest,
and rewarded for our faithful efforts, and our
suffering, and all the injustices perpetrated
against us.
We are
on the right side! We will be victorious!
What should
we do in light of these signs that indicate that
Yeshua's Second Coming is near? Come back next
week, as we continue!
I am indebted
to Ray Stedman and David Reagan for parts of this
article.
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