Word of Jesus Part 21
Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples
came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be
thrown down.
I don't want to add anything to what the Lord is saying here but my feeling is
that He was telling us that we are not to look to temples, buildings and outward
organizations for salvation. This temple was destroyed by the Roman army in 70
AD. Jesus came to fulfill the law and usher in salvation by faith in His power
to save. The temple now is to dwell within each and every believer. The
Holy Spirit will abide in all who become "born again" by that same spirit and
yield to the Holy Spirit from then on. The temple is within us after we are born
again. While its
okay to have buildings to worship in, the building itself has no power to save.
Its not the place, the organization or even the minister, pope, priest,
preacher, prophet but the gospel of Jesus Christ that saves the soul of mankind.
I will say here that repenting of sin is a very necessary part of true
salvation. When we are willing to turn from sin and turn to Christ for
salvation, we become "born again" by the Holy Spirit. There is a change.
Something happens that it invisible to the eye but very real. We are not getting
just religion but are becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus.
Faith that saves comes by hearing the word. If we begin to neglect the teaching
and preaching of the word, then we are not going to have any saving faith, we
will have just another religion. This is why the old temple had to come down.
Religion, out. Christ, in. One day the actual temple will be rebuilt but Christ
will reign supreme. We don't have to wait until the time, the temple of God can
be within us. We are to be a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive
you.
Take heed that no man deceive you. We are fast forgetting this in the name of
unity, touch not my anointed, and out of fear of being an accuser of the
brethren. Please, let us not forget the warnings of Jesus as we attempt to be of
the same mind and one accord with other believers. I think it is wonderful that
we do not demonize fellow brothers and sisters of other denominations that
disagree with us on trivial issues. In saying that however, we must not join
ourselves with false teachers and doctrines that are not the gospel of Jesus
Christ or that twist scriptures to deceive.
If we doubt something, wait before jumping into it. It doesn't hurt to wait. God
doesn't want us to be of the same mind and one accord with lies and false
doctrine. Some go so far as to abandon all doctrine to avoid division. If we
throw out the word of God, what are we going to base any truth on? We don't have
to have a large one global church to preach the gospel. There is nothing wrong
with The Church of God preaching the gospel in one part of the city and the
Baptists in another. The main thing is the gospel is preached. We don't have to
demonize each other either if both preach the gospel and do not preach any false
doctrine that takes away from the true way of salvation through Jesus Christ,
but we don't have to join any group that want to have a one world church either.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many.
Some surely will claim to be Christ. I've even heard of some
recently claiming to be Christ. I wonder if this also could include those who
come in the name of Christ but preach false teachings. We could say, I am of
Christ or I represent Christ and teach falsely.
Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
This is already happening.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and
ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
If the Lord is speaking to the Jewish people here then they surely have been
hated and killed for centuries. They still are hated. If this includes believers
in Jesus Christ then it is being done also in many countries. This will increase
as the days of the Second coming approaches. If we become part of any group that
persecutes and kills another group for what they believe, than we will be on the
wrong side. Better to be on the side that is persecuted than to be part of a
religious body that persecutes someone for their faith.
I read where one teacher says the the ones persecuted the most will be Jews and
true believers in Jesus Christ.
The bible says that the godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Never lift up a hand against any Jew or true bible believer follower of Jesus
Christ or you may be part of this false religion or anti-christ spirit of the
latter days.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and
shall hate one another.
This goes along with my previous comments. Offenses will occur but we must make
sure we do not hurt, kill or persecute anyone for their faith. This doesn't mean
that we don't expose error by the light of the word of God. We must do this but
we must not be part of killing, persecuting or hurting any person.
I emphasis these things because of what the so-called church has done in past
history. We who are true to the word of God must never allow ourselves to be
part of any religious system that tortures, kills or forces any belief system
upon any other person. It is a waste of time. True salvation by faith cannot be
forced on anyone. No one can be saved by forced conversion. It can't be done. If
the heart remains unchanged, the conversion is not real. This is why the church
must stay separate from the state government. The only one qualified to run a
church and state type of government would be Jesus Christ Himself. Not any one
claiming to represent Him. We cannot set up His kingdom for Him. We are to
preach the gospel only. We are not to take over governments. We tried that in
the past and it had horrible consequences. No. No. No. We must not be tempted to
take over governments with any religion no matter how good we think it is.
I know we are tired of the ACLU and many organizations that succeeded in ruining
our schools by removing prayer and bible reading. I know those kids need the
Lord and His word. I'm tired too of the abortions, the lack of moral restraints
and the evil of Hollywood. Yes, I'm tired of it all. But we can't be tempted to
set up the kingdom of Jesus Christ ahead of time by getting rich, big and strong
then taking over the governments of the world. Only Jesus Christ can do that
properly. If we try, we will make a mess of it just like the church in the
Middle Ages did.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Losing love and compassion is the first sign of false religion. Increased
iniquity is another sign. Teaching moral purity but living differently in our
private lives is another sign of just having an outward religion. True religion
overcomes sin and seeks the righteousness of Jesus which takes the "Want to
sin" out of our lives. We become new creatures who desire to please the one who
saved us from sin. Sin will not longer have dominion over us if we continue to
yield to the Holy Spirit that is given to all who obey the Lord.
Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for
a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Notice that He says the gospel is to be preached to all in every nation before
the end comes. We are not to force it upon people by taking over any
governments. That was a mistake that happened in the days of Constantine of the
Roman Empire. He forced baptism on all in his empire and then joined the church
with the paganism of Rome to unite his kingdom. We see from history what a
mess that became.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him
understand:)
A false leader is coming who will kill and destroy false religion, the Jewish
people, true believers who may still be on the earth and anyone that opposes
him. He will claim to be God. The Holy place may be the rebuilt temple in
Jerusalem. There have been forerunners of this anti-christ who did similar
things.
Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed
till the time of the end.
Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked
shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall
understand.
Dan 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and
the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two
hundred and ninety days.
Dan 12:12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred
and five and thirty days.
Dan 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in
thy lot at the end of the days.
Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out
of his house:
Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days!
Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
These days are yet to come and have not yet happened. It couldn't have happened
before this time as some teach because Jesus mentions many coming claiming to be
Christ. There have always been false religions claiming to be the only way to
God. We will see this increase. There will be some claiming to be the Messiah
some Jews are still waiting for. There will some that will claim to be the
Messiah we believe in, Jesus Christ.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;
believe it not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall
shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect.
That is why our faith cannot stand in signs and wonders.
That does not mean that the all signs and wonders that we hear of are false. We
should however, not base doctrine or judge people's spiritual lives by the signs
and wonders. When someone is healed, we should praise the Lord for it but we are
not to accept the person of the one claiming to be the healer if he or she does
not teach the truth of the word of God or live according to the standards of
God's word. Our faith and doctrine should be judged by the word of God, not by
any person doing miracles, no matter how great they may be.
We are not to follow the signs. The bible says that signs follow the believers.
They are to point people to Jesus and edify the church, They are not to put on an
show, draw followers after a person or be a tool to draw lots of financial gain.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go
not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Christ already came the first time humbly as a babe in the manger. He will not
come that way a second time. He will not come as a natural man that is to be
born or is already alive somewhere on the earth. He will come from the heavens
and every eye will see Him. When He comes there will be no doubt of who He is.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other.
This is the only time the good, the believers and the holy will take over any
governments. I repeat, we are not to do this ahead of time.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender,
and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is
near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these
things be fulfilled.
All these signs and wonders, tribulation etc. will happen in one generation.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven,
but my Father only.
Date setting has proven pointless and embarrassing. We must avoid it.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be.
As people were going about their daily lives ignorant of the work of God so it
will be when Jesus returns. As soon as we think He isn't coming, He will come.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into
the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be.
It will be sudden and without warning.
That is why we must live every day, like He is coming today.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other
left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and
the other left.
Whether this means that one will be taken in the rapture and the other left or
whether it means one will be taken in judgment and the other left is really not
worth arguing about. We need to be ready no matter which is true of this
statement Jesus makes. Be ready for His coming. Have our sins under the blood of
Jesus and our lives in tune with Him by walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling
the lust of the flesh. Be spiritually awake and not asleep.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what
watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered
his house to be broken up.
Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the
Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler
over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so
doing.
Be busy being obedient to the word of God and the work that God calls one to do
for Him.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his
goods.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth
his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with
the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for
him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This is what happens in a backslidden church. We begin to allow sin to enter,
become cruel to those who disagree with us, lord over people, take over
governments, commit sexual immorality etc. We either become too harsh and add to
the commandments or we become too lenient and allow any sin just as long as
people keep coming, giving their offerings and please the leaders. Either one is
just as bad.
A faithful church teaches truth, stands up for truth, is compassionate for those
who have not yet learned the truth and desires to see people find the Lord as
savior and get victory over the sin that destroys them. There thoughts are more
on what they can do to serve, give and help others rather than what they can
fleece from the innocent followers.
