Keep Watch!
It
was the 1st day of the final week of Jesus earthly ministry. The Triumphal entry into Jerusalem had been
completed and the shouts of Hosanna filled the air. The cries of Hosanna to the
Son of David. Was Messianic adoration of Jesus. They are looking to Him for
salvation, a political leader to save them from the brutal Roman rule. They
expected Him to be a warrior king in the shadow of King David. The
prophets had long ago spoken of the Lamb of God, but they simply did not have
ears to hear.
As
Jesus approached Jerusalem for the last time with His Disciples, we see a
considerable contrast to His previous pattern of avoiding publicity. He went
boldly into the courts of the Temple to fulfill prophecy. Daniel pinpoints this
day in the prophecy of Seventy Weeks, found in Daniel 9:24-27.
Daniel
is one of the most important prophetic books in the Bible. In Daniel, God
reveals the history of Daniel’s people the Jews with absolute accuracy.
The confirmation by history of the things revealed to Daniel by God leave the
serious student simply in awe of who our God really is! How sovereign He is,
Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient.
He knows the end from the beginning. In Daniel’s day and in our own!
Remember
that Daniel is written to the Jews. In fact, all prophecy puts Israel and
the Jews in the central position. Daniel is the head bookend of prophecy, with
the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John closing prophecy. Revelation is written
for believers. All the other major and minor prophets fill in and confirm.
Combined, they prepare us for the end of the age and the birth of new Kingdom,
ruled by Christ.
In
Daniel’s prophecy, a week is equal to 49 years. God’s calendar is based on 360
days. By God’s command, the 50th year was a Shemitah year, a year of
rest and restoration! Daniel 9 speaks of seven weeks and then sixty-two
weeks. Jesus is crucified, and there is a gap., but when the time of the
Gentiles is fulfilled, another week will take place. There is a gap when the
Jews are disbursed throughout the world. But the Bible teaches us that in God’s
perfect plan, they will be regathered. And then a 70th and final
week will begin. This is a horrible week, but through it, Israel will cry out
to Christ, and He will come to save them. Daniel says:
“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your
holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make
reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there
shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and
the wall, even in troublesome times. This command came by King Xerses to Nehemiah after the Babylonian
captivity.
“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off,
but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the
end of the war desolations are determined. The word flood here in the original text means
overwhelming deluge as the march against Jerusalem by Rome.
And
oh, how good is our God! With the
perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God, a pathway opened for us to be adopted
into the family of God! In that gap we talked about, a new nation was birthed.
Neither Jew nor Gentile, but People of the Way, who would begin to be called
Christians in Antioch! But the Bible
also tells us that the time of grace to the Gentiles will come to an end. At
that time, Daniel’s 70th week will begin.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the
consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”
Preceding
scripture tells us that as He came into Jerusalem, all of the city was affected
or moved. Jesus knows that the chief priests and Pharisees are plotting to kill
Him, but He comes boldly and without fear. His very first act was not that of a
passive, peace at all cost Messiah. Instead, what does He do? He starts kicking
cages and tossing people out of the Temple! What was the problem? Why was he so
angry? As David Duzik writes in his Enduring Word commentary, Profiteers, in
cooperation with the priests, robbed visitors to Jerusalem by forcing them to
purchase “approved” sacrificial animals and currencies at inflated prices. They
did this in the outer courts of the temple, the only area where Gentiles could
come and pray. In essence, this place of prayer was made into a swap meet, and
a dishonest one at that!
Guzik goes on to say, “This ruins our conception of the
“Sunday School Jesus” whose only quality is a bland love. In truth, Jesus was
more than a man of compassion - He was also a man of bold action. In contrast
to His work of tearing away evil, Jesus proceeds to carry on God’s
compassionate work in the temple. Then the blind and the lame came to Him and He
healed them. After driving out the moneychangers and the merchants from the
temple courts, He did not organize “The Society for the Cleansing of the
Temple.” He got back to doing the business of the Messiah - showing the power
of God in the context of compassion and mercy.
Matthew
21 tells us of another very significant even. In the morning He arose
early. He was hungry, and on the way, He came to a fig tree with no
fruit. The tree, full of leaves, had no fruit? It wasn’t natural. Fig
trees without fruit, by their very nature, also had no leaves. To quote
again David Guzik’s commentary … In this “acted-out-parable,” Jesus warns of
coming judgment upon an unfruitful Israel. God doesn’t want a people who are
all leaves and no fruit.
He
was beginning to tell them things they couldn’t understand. They had some tough
questions, but the Master continued to teach them in parables and answer them
in ways that they and we would understand soon enough. After the time of His
sacrifice was complete. These faithful ones were confused. How could they understand
what was ahead of them or that soon enough, they would be empowered in a way
they could not imagine carrying out the Great Commission.
The
Passover Feast was at hand, and Jesus was an observant Jew. On that
night, however; His followers didn’t know that He Himself would become the
ultimate Passover Lamb. The innocent blood He would soon shed, meant that no
innocent blood would ever again be required to reconcile man to God. Life is in
the blood. It is in His blood that the price of sin was paid, and eternal life
became a reality for all who choose to receive the gift of all gifts. Nor
could His loved ones understand they were spending their last night on earth
with Him as their teacher, their friend … the one they had come to depend upon.
After
the betrayal, they crossed the Kidron Valley over to the Mount of Olives to
spend the night. As they were leaving the Temple area; Jesus would talk to them
of the destruction of the Temple telling them no stone would remain unturned. They
must have been in shock, minds spinning! What was He saying?
Today
we know that is precisely what happened. This prophecy was fulfilled literally.
There was a real temple, and it was really destroyed. The literal fulfillment
of this prophecy establishes the tone for the rest of the prophecies in the chapter,
indeed those already fulfilled, those in process, and those yet to be
fulfilled. We should expect a literal fulfillment for the ones in process now
and those very near to being fulfilled as well. And what happens next for them
in the narrative is critical to understand. Because even as He fulfilled the
promise of His first coming, He is about to fulfill the promise of his soon
return. So many questions they had, but 2 in particular. The Bible tells us
that they came to Him privately and asked him:
- Matthew 24:3 When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?
The
last days were birthed at the crucifixion, and that at this point in history,
the baby is about to crown. In this chapter, Jesus is leaving them and us a
lesson, a mandate, a warning, an encouragement. As Jesus answers, He addresses
the time of the Disciples but as with all prophecy there are layers that point
to our time as well. In Matthew 16, He tells the Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites!
You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs
of the times”. Sadly, I am not so sure that America is not
in the same dilemma today. So, what does Jesus tell them? What are the things
He told them to watch for? The very first thing He said was…
- Matthew 24:4-5 “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
The
deceivers were active even as the faithful went forth out of Jerusalem. They’ve
been active throughout history, and they remain with us today. Our world,
especially our nation, is ripe with many coming in the name of Christ, misusing
it, and taking bits and pieces that corrupt The Bible’s counsel to support
their own blurred vision, appropriating literally the strength of the name
which belongs to Him alone. Only those strong in the Word of God can discern
the false prophets, the false teachers.
We
need to guard our own hearts. Sadly, professors of Christ can engage in
“headliners” in the church to the point that we don’t do our own diligent
study. It is similar to the anchors on the news. If they say it, it must
be right? The only way to know Christ fully is to know His Word and to develop
relationship with Him. He is the Word. He is the Spirit of Prophecy. In
Revelation 19:10 as John bows down to the angel to worship him, the angel says
to John “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of
your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
It
is easy to inadvertently slip into pastor worship, church worship, big name
ministry worship, retreat and feel good worship, gift worship, and lots of other
kinds of idol worship without even knowing it. But be sure of this …Our God is
a jealous God and will not share His glory. Are you kidding me you say? So,
then what does worship really mean? Worship centers on the motivation of
the heart.
Most
church goers today confuse worship with music that surges the emotions, raised
hands and loud expressions of our love. None of these are bad in themselves,
but it is important the focus of our worship recognizes the Holiness of our
God, that we aren’t so engaged in bright colorful lights and entertainment that
we forget the One we worship. As the
church has attempted to draw the lost in, to be seeker friendly, my concern is
that instead of bringing the lost to Jesus, we’ve brought the world to the
church.
The
truest definition of worship is obedience. It is surrender. It is a
constant working out of our salvation or being made more like Christ through
what the Jews term, “Teshuva” or turning away from those things Holy Spirit
convicts of as sin and trusting Him to help us overcome them. It is spending regular
one on one time with the Lord: in study, in prayer, and in practice. We are
saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Apart from Him, we
are capable of no good thing. Jesus told us that many would mislead
us. The Word of God must always be our standard of measure! The angels
before the Throne of God cry Holy! Holy! Holy unceasingly. They bow down before
Him.
We’re
human and will struggle. The good news is that throughout the Bible, God continuously
used ordinary people, with all kinds of warts and moles, to do extraordinary
things. Our holiness is also in Christ alone. But if we love Him,
we are determined to become more like Him. And God alone knows the intention of
the heart. To borrow an old phrase, our hearts should be transformed beyond
what God can do for us into becoming, “Lord, what can I do for you?”
- And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must occur; but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Throughout
recorded history, the world has never been a peaceful place, indeed man has
always warred against his fellow man. Dominion and Power have always been the
insatiable lust that powers the wicked. In the past 100 years plus a few, we’ve
experienced 2 World Wars, and many are concerned that we sit on the cusp of a 3rd.
Some say numbers of those killed in war are decreasing since 1945, but the way
we war has changed drastically. Hand to hand combat is a thing of the past.
Supersonic stealth aircraft and submarines, nuclear capabilities and modern
technology have become today’s methodology of war. We have drones with
incredible ability and computers that generate strategies. Science is close to
perfecting a robotic super soldier, fitted with artificial intelligence,
capable of things unthought of just a few years ago. Scientists even work on
weather warfare Our enemies no longer necessarily dress in uniform. In fact, in
many scenarios, we have no idea who our enemies are until the attack.
By
some reports, it would seem things are a little better??? The art of war is always
dependent upon destruction. What you do not see recorded in the statistics are
the multitudes of simple citizens who become collateral damage. Military/Jihadi?
One factual example is that in the Middle East, Christians have been rooted in
minority communities since the birth of the Church. The Times of Israel reports
that their numbers are rapidly dwindling amid conflict and jihadist attacks.
Today they make up only four percent of the entire region’s population, down
from 20% before the First World War. The Middle Eastern Church is going
underground.
Syria
is another perfect example. Having once had a strong Christian
population, Syria is now being used as a pawn against Israel by Russia and
Turkey… Could it be that the Oracle of Damascus (Isaiah 17) will soon take
place? North Korea, China? I
challenge you to look at world news (try to stay away from American Media
Propaganda) and then read Ezekiel 38 and Psalm 83. Always, my friends, keep
your eyes on Jerusalem. She is God’s timeclock.
- For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Verse
8 says nation will rise against nation. In the original that is ethnos against
ethnos, tribe against tribe, family against family. Think on that. What is happening in our families today? We
know that famines, diseases and earthquakes have happened throughout history.
But today, the earth is incredibly challenged. While the USGS may deny
it, scientific study is showing significant increase in both number and
intensity of earthquakes. In February alone, there were 410 earthquakes
>1.8. Globally, there were 589 > 4.0.
Volcanic
activity triggering massive tsunamis, tornadoes in Indonesia, Ice in warm
places, warmth in icy places … Even something strange happening with the
earth’s north pole. Seems there is a bit of a wobble. An Australian newspaper
recently reported. A weird thing is
happening to Earth’s ‘shield’. As ice retreats, ocean currents are changing
course. New shipping lanes are being opened to Canada’s north. The salinity of
the surrounding sea is being reduced. But it now appears there is more going
on. Greenland isn’t as heavy as it was. This means the pressure it applied to
the veins of magma pulsing deep below the Earth’s surface has reduced. This
could account for the highly erratic shift in the position of magnetic north.
But it also could give the whole planet an unexpected shake-up.
Our
food has been genetically modified, and with any wide spread disaster, the
ability to plant and grow could disappear but for a few. Consider, that in
spite of all of our wealth and technology, there are still people starving
throughout the world, people starving in America. New deadly diseases
spring up while old enemies like polio or antibiotic resistant infections resurface.
And always with us is the threat of delivery of chemical warfare or deadly
chemicals inserted in our water or food supplies.
Wars,
disease, and famines attach to each other. Weather warfare and artificial
intelligence are nothing less than frightening! China has robotic weather
forecasters that look completely human. Two days ago, I read about a robot with
the headline, Japan's robot deity delivers Buddha's teaching. Think on that! Elon
Musk, Tesla President, recently warned about Artificial Intelligence. Robots
learning who we are through social media and incorporating computerized data to
the nth degree, with the capability to think. In the same way that the computer
has revised our lifestyle, could this same electronic brain someday make man
obsolete and unnecessary? Fortunately, the answer is no. Jesus is coming!
- Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
The
Disciples were about to undergo persecution as they never imagined. The
believers were a persecuted people totally dependent upon God for all things.
Romans put believers of Christ in what they called “circuses”. Men, women, and
children were the entertainment of the day as they were torn apart by lions or human
predators. Believers were soaked in oil and their clothing lit on fire to
become a streetlight for the night.
The
Jewish Hierarchy wanted the People of the Way gone! And this forever problematic
Jesus forgotten. Rome despised all Jews. Believers went underground. They cared
for each other in common community, and sisters…if the Lord tarries and the
rapture takes a while …that’s where true believers are headed today too.
Once
strong nations of faith like Europe and the United States are increasingly
abandoning the Biblical definition of Christianity. Coexistence and lack of
solid Biblical discipleship and teaching has resulted in welcoming foreign gods
and false teaching into our churches. Social justice has replaced the Gospel.
We have stood by silently while enemies of God have successfully removed the
name of Jesus from every one of the pillars of our society.
But
that is nothing compared with slaughter of our brothers and sisters throughout
the Middle East, in Africa, in China, in Indonesia and various places
throughout the earth. We see the handwriting on the wall, but do we understand
what it is saying? Do we have eyes to see or ears to hear?
Never
before have I seen the hatred and hostility openly targeting people of faith,
sometimes within the communities of faith! Bring up politics and see how ugly
it gets. Those same folks raising hands and shouting hallelujah, without
developing strong and solid Biblical roots will point to their church mates in
accusation if pressure comes. Those weak in faith will fall away and deliver
their friends to persecution. It happened during the first coming of Christ,
and it will happen again.
- Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
We’ve
already addressed false prophets to a degree. But I challenge you... How much
time are you spending in the Word? Who are you looking to for answers? What
teachers draw your attention? The spirit of Babylon said, “I am and there is no
one but me.” That pretty much describes modern day America doesn’t it? How
about our spiritual focus? Is it on us? Or is it on Jesus? Are we looking for
signs and wonders to prove God? Are we looking for power? Or are we in
submission to His? Good questions for a self-examination check for all of us.
- And because lawlessness shall abound, the love of many will become cold.
This
verse speaks to society’s sinfulness. But a lost and sick society is a natural
outcome of a lost and sick populate. Our society represents who we are! Our
values and core beliefs. Each of us will one day give account to Jesus face to
face. So then … how will my values align with His teachings? How will my vote
align with His teachings? How will the way I parent or love my spouse align?
How will the things I choose to feed my mind align? Will my respect for
authority align?
I
am literally sickened by the breadth and depth of lawlessness in our country,
and I personally cannot think of anything that justifies it. It is simply sin.
Matthew 6:24 tells us, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon is money, possessions, fame,
status, or anything that is valued above the Lord.
A
teacher whose work I value greatly, Dr. David Reagan, Founder of Lamb &
Lion Ministries, says, “Jesus said that society will become increasingly
lawless and immoral as the time approaches for His return. In fact, He said it
would become as evil as it was in the days of Noah
Paul
paints a chilling picture of end time society in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. He says it
will be characterized by three loves the love of self (humanism), the love of
money (materialism), and the love of pleasure (hedonism). He then points out
that the payoff of this carnal lifestyle will be what the philosophers call
nihilism that is, a society wallowing in despair. Men’s minds will become
depraved (Romans 1:28), and people will call evil good and good evil (Isaiah
5:20).
We
see these prophecies fulfilled before our eyes today as we watch our society
reject its Christian heritage and descend into a hellish pit of lawlessness,
immorality, and despair. Even worse, we are exporting our nihilism around the
world through our immoral and violent movies and television programming. May I
add pornography, child trafficking, vile organizations and more!
The Bible
tells us that we are going to suffer, but oh, our precious promises. Jesus
said:
- But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Did you know that the gospel has now been delivered to every continent?
This
scripture refers back to the prophet vision of a King (Antiochus the 4th
Epiphanes) descended from the Greek rule, who would forbid the Jews to worship
their God and slay a pig on the altar of their temple. Antiochus insisted they
worship him or die. It is in Daniel, that we learn much about an Antichrist to
come, who will also occupy the Temple and insist that all worship him. Today,
with the move of the US Embassy back to Jerusalem, and everything ready for
Temple worship, I am not at all surprised about the talk of rebuilding and the
expectancy behind it.
Israel,
and not the United States of America, is the core and center of all Bible
prophecy. Those who have a problem with Israel, have a problem with God. It is
not suggested but rather commanded that we pray for her. Those who bless her
are still blessed, and those who curse her, still cursed.
She
is the centerpiece of the current age. Miraculously fulfilling Biblical
prophecy through her declaration as a Nation after nearly 2000 years of
Diaspora on May 14, 1948, God brought her people from the North, the South, the
East and the West and put them back in their own land. He restored their
language, the only time ever in recorded history. Through the horrors of the
Holocaust, He put the flesh back on the dry bones. She just celebrated 70
years! That’s a pretty significant number in God’s calculations! Oh, what a
time we live in! The prophets yearned to see this day.
- “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
“But of that day and hour no one
knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But
as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as
in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know
until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son
of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other
left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other
left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But
know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would
come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore,
you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
- Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
From
the beginning our Father God knew the precise timing of the end of this age and
the establishment of a new government ruled by King Jesus. He doesn’t give us
every detail in the Bible, but He gives us everything we need to know. There
are 2 scriptures I especially value. They are:
That which has been is what will be, that which is done is
what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 and It is
the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a
matter. Proverbs 25:2
You
were created to be both a king and a priest in the Millennial Kingdom. But no
matter who you are or where you are in life right now, your most important
assignment is simply this.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:18
Discipleship
reaches far beyond a Bible study or sitting in sanctuary on Sunday. It is an
investment in eternity! It is an investment in the lives of others. It is
living the principles Jesus taught with others. It’s rejoicing with those
appointed by God in our lives when they rejoice, weeping with them when they
weep, and praying through with them until the answer comes. It is about sharing
the good news of Christ Jesus whenever and wherever we have opportunity. It’s
about sharing Abba’s desire that no man would perish but that all would come to
the knowledge and saving grace of Christ.
There
is no greater journey than the journey of faith with our amazing God! There is
no greater blessing than to be networked with likeminded believers. I pray we
never get weary in doing good. I want to encourage you to discipline yourself
to the Word and to prayer. You’ll never be sorry. I want to encourage you to
recognize what your gifting is and use it! Wherever you can, whenever you can.
Dig deep to understand the full counsel of God! Ask your Father to lead you in
greater depth and understanding. Seek to understand the Big Picture! And know
this… Jesus is coming again … Sooner than we think! Keep watch! Keep your lamps
filled! Be ready! Love God and keep loving each other well!
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