IF ONLY PEOPLE WOULD STUDY PROPHECY MORE CAREFULLY

IF ONLY PEOPLE WOULD STUDY MORE CAREFULLY

                There are things that we need to understand as events unfold in this end time world. Matthew chapter 24 is a good example of things that we need to understand. First of all we need to know exactly what Questions Jesus was answering when His disciples asked Him about the future.

1.       Jesus had just told them that their beloved temple was going to be destroyed and that not one stone would be left upon another. So first of all they wanted to know when this destruction of the temple would take place

2.       Secondly they wanted to know what would be the signs of His coming and the end of the age.

                Now chances are, Jesus’ disciples didn’t know whether these 2 events ( The destruction of the temple and His second coming) would occur at the same time or if they would happen as separate events and certainly they could not possibly have comprehended that His return would be some 2000 years later.

                But, at the same time Jesus could not say to them; “Don’t worry about it. This won’t happen in your lifetime and I will not come for 2000 years.” Such a statement would have killed Christianity before it even got started. Jesus knew that we need to live in anticipation of His imminent return or we would grow cold and forget about the whole thing…. and come to think of it, time really is short and always has been simply because our own personal life span is limited to the time that we live, so the coming of Jesus Christ is never more than 70 to 90 years away and we don’t even know when within that short period of time our own life will be cut short right?

                So Jesus begins by telling them that their temple will be destroyed and that was fulfilled in AD 70, but then He goes on to say in Mt. 24:15 that an abomination of desolation will take place, (the one spoken of by Daniel) that will involve someone standing in the temple claiming to be God.

                So while at the beginning of the chapter Jesus tells them that the temple will be completely destroyed, here in the middle of the chapter Jesus tells us that someone is going to stand up in the temple and claim to be God. This means that a temple has to be built in the end times ( At a time when the angel tells Daniel that His prophecies will be fulfilled) and as we look at other places in scripture describing this time, we can see that the antichrist, the coming global leader is going to do this and so it holds special meaning to us that plans for the rebuilding of the temple are underway and it also holds tremendous interest to us that all of the end time players from the globalists, the false Jews, the Vatican, the Masonic Lodge, the Jesuits and many Christians are all converging upon Jerusalem these days.

                2 Thess. 2:3, 4 show this great falling away and convergence that is making way for the man of sin to fulfill his role in prophecy and now Jews and Christians alike are participating in all of this simply because they have abandoned the study of Bible prophecy.

                And even among those who do study Bible prophecy; replacement theology has blinded them to what is going on in Jerusalem and how it is becoming the false kingdom of the antichrist right before our eyes. Satan wants to rule this world in the place of Christ and he is attempting to set up his kingdom right now.

                Now, before I go on to talk about where the Abomination of Desolation is spoken of in Daniel, let me first of all show you what huge liberties Christians take if they teach that God has no further dealings with the Jews and that we as Christians have replaced them.

                A good example of these liberties is found in what happens immediately after the Abomination of Desolation takes place. When it occurs, Jesus has warned His followers living in Judea at that time to flee to the mountains and don’t even go back for your hat. He even tells them to pray that this time of fleeing doesn’t happen on a Sabbath or in the winter, or when they are with child… all these are things that would make fleeing much more difficult for the Jews.

                Now, as for the liberties we take. Since we don’t believe that there is any meaning to the fact that the Jews are back in their land and planning to build this prophesied temple and since we believe that we replaced the Jews, the Abomination of Desolation has become allegorical, and the Jews living in Judea have been replace by Americans living in America where we will flee to the mountains. Really?

                And while there can be no doubt that our troubles will be on a global scale during the tribulation, it is nevertheless called the “time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) Trouble and we have taken the same liberties with that as well. Do you see what we have done? We have called ourselves Jews and then ignored the fact that these events actually take place in Judea and not in America or Japan or someplace.

                Another huge liberty we have taken is to somehow make the prince who is to come in Daniel 9:26, 27 Jesus, in spite of the fact that that He is the Messiah mentioned the One who comes after 62 weeks and is cut off, but the prince who is to come is of the people who destroyed the temple in AD 70, so this is a major clue. The antichrist will come from the same people who destroyed the temple in 70 AD and that means he will come from Rome, or at least from some part of the Roman Empire.

                Then Daniel 9:27 goes on to describe the abomination of Desolation that will take place when he ( the antichrist) puts an end to sacrifice for it is on the wings of that desecration that the antichrist will come (that is the  one who makes desolate and that is the same man of sin, the antichrist.

                Evidently this coming Abomination of Desolation is going to be a really big deal, not only for the Jews, but for Christians and for heaven itself. It was even spoken of in Daniel 8 and Daniel was told that the sacrifices would be cut off for 2300 evening and morning sacrifices and truth will be flung to the ground and the holy place trampled on. But when asked, the angel told Daniel at least three times that this vision pertains to the time of the end. Dan. 8:17… at the appointed time of the end Dan. 8:19 and many days in the future. Dan. 8:26. So Daniel was told to seal up the prophecies until a time when knowledge would increase and travel and global communication would make such events possible.

                After this vision, Daniel was sick for days. Can we imagine why? Daniel had thought that at the end of the 70 years of captivity in Babylon, when they came back into their own land, the millennial reign of Messiah would begin… but that was not God’s plan.

                Likewise John the revelator thought that the coming of the Lord would be in his day, but when he ate the book it became bitter in his stomach. This book must have contained the same secret of God’s timing that made Daniel sick, because the angel had to tell him that he must prophesy again concerning many nations. (See Rev. 10:2-11) But verse 7 tells us that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel the mystery of God will be completed just as God has preached it to His servants the prophets.

                Well, I have stated these things here in brief not as doctrine, for we should never make doctrine out of prophetic interpretations or we will find ourselves stuck  and locked into a certain time frame and understanding and we will cease to grow in our understanding of these things as they unfold. Neither do I present them as arguments in which I must be right.

                My purpose for saying these things is so that we might take a closer look at what is happening in Israel and in Jerusalem today and as we do, maybe some of these prophecies will suddenly click and become imminently relevant to us in the here and now, for indeed, they are being fulfilled even as we speak and it is very possible that some of the major players in these end time events are people like Donald Trump, and Jared Kushner, certainly Pope Francis, certainly the Masonic lodge and the members of the secret societies with their secret handshakes since their plots go all the way back to Solomon’s temple and the Knights Templar and to a determined group of secret members that desire to place Lucifer on the throne of this world.

                So, let me put Daniel 9: 24-27 in plain English. In Daniel 9:24 the angel gives Daniel and his people 490 years or 70 weeks of years to complete  6 mandates. But it is obvious from the list that Israel cannot complete these mandates without their Messiah. So Jesus their Messiah comes to Israel during the end part of 70 weeks. In fact 7 weeks and 62 weeks have transpired and there is only one week left, the 70^th week. But it tells us that at the end of 62 weeks (7+ 62=69 weeks) Messiah is cut off and has nothing.

                So now let us ask ourselves what it is that Jesus didn’t have when He was cut off. Well, within the context of the 6 mandates given to Daniel in verse 24, it tells us that Jesus, the Messiah is cut off and rejected so that He cannot help them to fulfill the 6 mandates. Actually Messiah’s death made possible the fulfillment of some of the mandates , like making atonement for iniquity… but as we can see in the world around us, transgression as not yet been stopped… everlasting righteousness is not yet ruling this planet…vision and prophecy have not yet been sealed up since prophecy is still being fulfilled in our day.

                So Messiah is cut off having not completed the mandates even though His death is necessary to bring these mandates to completion at a future time. (but remember that these mandates were given to Daniel and His people. Israel can’t do it alone and Jesus couldn’t do it alone. They must do it together.

                So Jesus was cut off after 69 weeks and one week yet remains to be fulfilled, but when will it be fulfilled? To answer this question Daniel 9:26 and 27 introduces another character. He is the prince who is to come, but who is this prince?  It clearly tells us that he is of the people that destroyed the city and the sanctuary in AD 70. And it is said of him, that he will make a covenant with the people for one week. (There is your 70^th week) and it involves not Jesus the Messiah, but an imposter, someone who makes a covenant with Israel for one week, but in the middle of the week he breaks his covenant with them, puts an end to their sacrifices and commits the abomination of desolation that Jesus talks about in Mt. 24:15.

                This event happens at the end of time and so that places the final 70^th week at the end of time. It involves the Jews and it is called the time of Jacob’s trouble. It will be a time of trouble such as the world has never seen and it will bring the world to an end and usher in the true Messiah, but it will also result in the Jews looking upon Him whom they have pierced (Zech. 12:10) and they will be reconciled to their Messiah at that time and so the 6 mandates of Daniel 9:24 will finally be completed and the end will come.

                This is why it is so important to understand Romans 11. There it tells us that God’s covenants with Israel are irrevocable and so that when the times of the Gentiles is complete, we will enter into that 70^th week and that 70^th week will be Jewish time and not Gentile time and Jesus will then join Israel in finishing the mandates so that the end can come.

                Some believe that the rapture, or resurrection and catching away of the saints will bring Gentile time to an end, while others believe that we, the Gentile church will go through this time of Jacob’s trouble along with the Jews. This is a hard one to prove one way or the other, but that is because Jesus wants us to be ready at all times for His coming… not setting dates, or getting involved in idle speculation. And even though no one knows the day or the hour of His coming, we can certainly see that the temple is about to be rebuilt, Israel is back in their land, the antichrist (The prince who is to come) is most certainly in the wings and these end time events are now taking place right before our eyes.

                All of these end time players and events are converging upon our day and we need to set aside our traditions long enough to see if we are missing something important.  I hope this helps those who want to understand what is happening in our world. We are racing toward Daniel’s 70^th week known as “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” Jesus placed these events at the end of time in Mt. 24 saying that the Abomination of Desolation mentioned by Daniel the Prophet would happen just prior to His return. Think about it.

                An imposter is coming to set up a global kingdom and he will pose as Christ, but he is not the Christ and he will deceive many. (Mt. 24:4, 5.) Even now there is a great falling away taking place that will make it possible for the man of sin (The antichrist: AKA the prince who is to come) to set up his false kingdom… and we see parts of the church going to Rome to join the Pope in his global religion right now! And that global religion will become the religion of the antichrist and it is sickening… because all of this could be avoided if people only studied and understood Bible Prophecy as we should.

                Let me put this in the most practical terms that I can. The antichrist’s global kingdom is being formed, the Pope is gathering the religions together to worship the antichrist and Donald trump and people in his administration are presently working on a “covenant with the many” that will clear the way for the building of the temple and may actually be the covenant that the antichrist will confirm. We should be wide awake right now.