Postscript: A rebuttal of the excuse that we shouldn’t worry the signs of the Lord's coming because no man knows the day or hour of the Lord’s return.

Introduction as to why I wrote this postscript
⦁ This postscript is going to focus on how the verses from Matthew 24, where Jesus says that no one knows the day or hour of the Son of man’s return.
As well as the verses in Acts 1 where Jesus tells the disciples that the times and seasons are not for them to know except the Father alone.
I am going to write about how these two verses are used as an excuse not to be aware of the signs of the times or to worry about prophecy.
I will put this post into two parts.
Part 1 will be on the verse from Matthew 24 That no one knows the day or hour of the Son of Man's return.
Part 2 will be on the verse from Acts 1 where the disciples were not to know the time or the seasons except the Father alone.
⦁ I have already dealt with the signs of the coming of the Lord and how to be good watchmen and watch women in the seven part series of that name.
Some of the things I have written in this article that I am posting will overlap, repeat what I have already written in depth in the series on the end times. It is a summary of what I have written at length in the other posts.
This postscript is for those who are still sceptical about why we should need to concern ourselves about knowing the signs of the times of the Lord's coming.

So here are the verses that people use as an excuse not to know the times we are in.
Matthew 24:35-36
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
And
Acts 1:6-8
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

⦁ In Matthew chapter 24 people look at these verses ahead of this particular verse but they don’t look at the verses that follow this verse. Which talk about the days of Noah and Lot and the difference between the good and bad stewards and those who will be taken and those who are left.
⦁ People forget that Jesus gives a very stern warning that we are to be awake, alert and watching for His return. For this very reason we don’t know when He will be coming but we must be awake and taking care of His people feeding them good food and preparing them for His return.
⦁ They also forget the reason why Jesus told the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem to receive power from heaven to be His witnesses.
⦁ In this post I will deal with these verses from both Mathew 24 and Acts 1. In depth.

Now let’s look at these verses beginning with the one in Matthew in the context it is placed in.
Matthew 24: 27-51
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.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
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:
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.
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.
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:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
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,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
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.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
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?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
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,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

1 Matthew 24 in comparison to Mark and Luke
⦁ It is interesting that in Mark there is reference to no man knowing the time of Heaven and earth passing away and the words of the Lord not passing away. Yet looking at the same passage in Luke there are some differences and no mention of no man knowing the time that these things will take place.
⦁ I will put Luke’s passage here starting from Jerusalem being taken captive till the end of the discourse.
⦁ When people teach on these verses from Matthew 24 about no man knows the hour or the day of the Lord’s coming that it is the actual coming of the Son of man that people are referring to that people won’t know.
⦁ Whereas I feel it is more to do with the verse preceding that verse; the verse saying about heaven and earth passing away no one knows when that will happen.
⦁ Luke mentions that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand and for us to look up for our redemption draws near in this is different to the verses of Matthew 24.
Luke 21:20-36
20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

⦁ Now what I will do is put the verses from Matthew 24 and Luke 21 together, first I will place a verse from Matthew 24 then under that verse I will put the verse from Luke 21 so that you can see the difference I will start from where Jesus speaks about armies surrounding Jerusalem and end with Him warning us to watch.
Luke does speak about the days of Noah and Lot in another chapter whereas Matthew puts Jesus saying about Noah and Lot in Matthew 24.

I will highlight the verses of interest that are similar between the two in bold crimson.
Matthew 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:)(Not found in Luke.)
Luke 21:20
20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
Matthew 24:16
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Luke 21:21
21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
Matthew 24:17
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Luke 21:22
22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (not found in Matthew 24)
Matthew 24:18 -19
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Luke 21:23
23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
Matthew 24:20
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
(from this verse on it is different to Matthew 24)
Luke 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Matthew 24:21
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.
Luke 21:25
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Matthew 24:22
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.
Luke 21:26
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Matthew 24:23-31
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
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.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
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.
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.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
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:
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.
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.
Luke 21:27-28
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Matthew 24:32-36
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:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Not found in Luke 21)
Luke 21:29-36
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

⦁ These last few verses in Luke 21 are different to Matthew 24 and no mention of no one knows the hour of the Son of coming except the Father in Luke 21 at all. However Luke warns us not to be overcome by these dark days by drunkenness and cares of life so that day comes upon us unawares. He also tells us that this day will come upon all those on the earth like a snare and warns us to watch.
⦁ I believe that the Lord Jesus could very well be referring in the verse about no one knows the hour of His coming save His Father alone not even the angels that He is referring to heaven and earth passing away that no one knows the hour or the day.
This could very well be referring to the passing away of heaven and earth at the end of His earthly reign on the earth after His millennial reign.
Jesus is saying that Heaven and earth will pass away but His words will not pass away.
That at the end of His millennial reign on earth. Satan will be let loose from the pit into which he is imprisoned to go upon the earth to deceive the nations.
We don't know how long that will take it could be a short while or a few centuries there is no time given. Other than when satan has deceived the nations and these are the sheep nations not the goat nations for they have been cast out into the outer darkness at the beginning when the Lord returns to the earth and He separates the nations into two groups of sheep and goats in the Valley of Decision. The sheep nations go into the kingdom with Him that is the millennial reign of Christ on the earth and the goats go into outer darkness.
So when satan deceives the nations he is deceiving the sheep nations who are on the earth at the time.
By this time after a thousand years of peace, perfect rule of God on the earth through His Son and Jerusalem / Israel becoming wealthy and the head of the nations. There could be disgruntled people within the nations who are resentful of God ruling the earth with a rod of iron and jealous of Israel's prominence over the nations. So when satan is released he will play on the discontent and offer a false hope that the combined nations under God and Magog could overthrow Jesus and the Israeli people to rule the earth in their place.
Those who do not want to take place in this rebellion will leave the nations and come and camp outside of Jerusalem under God's protection.
Revelation 20:6-15

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

When satan and the nations come against the camp of God around Jerusalem God will destroy these rebellious nations and then heaven and earth will pass away to give place to the Great White Throne judgment after which will come the New Heaven and Earth of Revelation 21 & 22.
Revelation 21:1-10

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

You can read the rest of Revelation 21 & 22 for yourselves I'll only give the first ten verses of Revelation 21 to give you the idea. That the New heavens and the new earth occurs after the Great White Throne judgment.
So Jesus could be saying that after His reign on the earth for a thousand years and after the rebellion of the nations then heaven and earth will pass away.
When that time will come no man will know not even Himself but only His Father does.
Also Jesus was saying that heaven and earth will pass away and no one will know when that will happen but the Father alone. He is saying along with this that His words will never pass away. He is saying that though heaven and earth may pass away His words will not pass away because they are eternal, they are living words, they will never die or pass away.
Jesus is the living word of God made flesh so He and His words will never pass away they are here for eternity and those who belong to Him live for eternity because He lives and has given to them His eternal life in exchange for their lives.
Here is another verse from Matthew 5 about heaven and earth passing away but the law not passing away. Also this too is the words of Jesus for He gave the Israelites the law through Moses on Mt Sinai.
Matthew 5:17-19

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (All will be fulfilled at the return of Christ Jenny's comment)

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The bible is a living book it is not a a dry dusty old volume as some false teachers like to make you think it is. The life of God is in that book because His Spirit has inspired that book and moved upon men called prophets to write it in the Old Testament and apostles in the New Testament.
The book lives because God's Spirit can breathe upon a verse to bring correction, conviction, truth and teaching and prophecy to life.
So never, ever let anyone tell that the bible is a dead, dry, dusty old book it is not for the life of God through His Son the word by the Holy Spirit lives and breathes in that book.
It is a living book and interesting enough Jesus read from the book of Isaiah when he taught in the Synagogue in Nazareth and guess which prophet's book they found in full from the Dead Sea Scrolls?
It is the book of Isaiah in its entirety and this scroll is in the Museum of the Book in Jerusalem.
I believe that book was kept in its complete state because it is about the death and resurrection of Jesus and the restoration of Jerusalem. When God through His Son comes to rule on the earth and maybe because also Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah about Himself fulfilling Isaiah 61 the year of favor of God in His hometown Synagogue.
I am not saying that the scroll that was found was the one He read from but the fact He read from the book of Isaiah and it is about Him in full that is why God preserved the entire scroll of Isaiah because it is the truth about WHO Jesus is. It gives a prophetic declaration of His role as the suffering servant who took the sins of mankind and Israel upon Himself.
This book /scroll also speaks about God's restoring of Zion to full glory and changing her and raising her up to be His city.
Remember Jesus as God and the Son of God is the glory of Israel and God Himself says many times in Isaiah He is the redeemer of Israel and the glory of Israel.
⦁ Here are the final verses in Matthew 24 these verses speak about the days of Noah and Lot to watch and speak about being a good steward in bringing forth good food until the coming of the Lord.
Just some extra things to consider.
Matthew 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
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,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
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.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
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?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
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,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⦁ In fact if Jesus didn’t want His disciples to know the signs leading up to His coming He wouldn’t have answered their question about this.
This was not just for His current disciples but for the generation who will be alive on the earth at the time of His second coming.
Also in Luke chapter 21 it states very clearly that these times will affect everyone who live on the earth at that time including believers in Jesus.
⦁ Jesus goes to great length to warn about false prophets, false christs He warns us not to be deceived for great deception will be one of the signs leading up to His return.
He said that even the very elect would be deceived if possible, He tells us not to be taken in by signs and wonders nor to go out to where a person may be pretending to be Christ whether in the inner room or out in the desert.
⦁ He could even be cryptically referring to the Antichrist the one who comes falsely in His name.
For Jerusalem is a city in the desert and also the inner room could be referring to the inner Holy of holies of the temple. So Jesus could be saying don’t go to Jerusalem don’t go to worship at the temple when the false Christ comes on the scene, don’t go near there nor go seeking it if they are saying the kingdom of God has come meaning the messiah has come and is in Jerusalem in the temple.
⦁ In fact Jesus says to flee Jerusalem when you see the armies surrounding it not to even go down from the house to get anything from within it or to come into the city from the fields for the armies will invade the city and invade houses and rape the women see Zechariah 14:1-2.
⦁ When this happens the people living in Jerusalem and Israel will have to flee the land to go to other places in exile to fond safety this will be during the reign of terror of the antichrist.
This is where those who believe in Jesus on the earth need to have things in readiness to help these exiles from Israel to save the lives of the remnant who may be the ones to call for the Lord to come and save them.
⦁ Jesus also tells us that there will be natural disasters such as earthquakes, famines and plagues,
He also says there will be great violence on the earth in the form of wars, rumours of wars and nations going against each other. He also said that great persecution will come upon believers through family members and through friends and also by the world in general for we will be hated by all men because we bear His name.
He said the love of many will grow cold due to lawlessness being on the rise which is rebellion against God and the things of God this will increase.
⦁ There will be signs in the heavens but this will not take place until just before the appearing of Jesus in the clouds in His and His Father’s glory and majesty and His holy angels. This is when the sun will turn dark and the moon red and the stars falling from the sky because of the great shaking that God will bring about at this time.
⦁ Jesus speaks about the time before His actual coming as being the Great Tribulation that has never taken place since time began nor will it be seen again.
As Jesus who is God the Son and God said these things we should pay attention to them for He is not lying He says there will be a great Tribulation then there will be one on the earth and we have never experienced times like it.
Yet yes we have had two world wars and numerous wars since the second world war but not even they will come close to what the Great Tribulation will be like.
⦁ Jesus tells us not to be drunk or weighed down with the cares of the world but to overcome in Him to be found worthy to stand before Him.
⦁ He says in Matthew 24 that these days will be like the days of Noah and Lot combined not just in the rise of wickedness like in those days on the earth and people going about their lives not expecting God’s Day of Judgment to come.
He is probably referring to the rise in flooding and earthquakes or volcanic eruptions that caused the destruction of the earth through flood Noah and the destruction of two cities Lot possibly through volcanic fire and brimstone. Or by a great meteorite falling from heaven or both.
⦁ Jesus says we are to watching, to be awake and alert and to keep our house in order to be good stewards.
We are not to slack off get lazy or be cruel to our fellow believers we are to feed them good food from the word. If we mistreat our fellow believers especially those who are in authority should pay attention to this warning of Jesus. For if those in leadership mistreat those in their care by being abusive towards them.
If they should be doing this when Jesus returns and finds these people doing just that He will cut them asunder, whip them and put them in the place where hypocrites go that is hell.
⦁ No one may know the day heaven and earth will pass away but Jesus does give us the clear signs of what His coming would look like. It would be in the season of the Autumn Feasts on God’s calendar for Feasts on heaven’s time table not ours.
⦁ Jesus will come back at the Autumn harvest time (what year we don’t know) that is He will gather His own at the Feast of trumpets those who are asleep in Him and those who are alive in Him at His actual appearing.
That is our blessed hope His physical coming in the clouds with His angels and in His kingly and His Father’s kingly glory.
⦁ Jesus will stand on the Mt of Olives on the actual Day of Atonement the solemn Day of repentance where Israel is to fast and pray as a nation.
Jesus did say to pray that their flight from Jerusalem will not be in winter or on a Sabbath for it will be unlawful for Jews to travel on that day and winter will be hard for women who are pregnant and with young children.
⦁ God gave the Feasts to the Israelites to observe but they had no idea that these Feasts had anything to do with God becoming a man and dwelling among them in His Son Jesus that connect with His two comings.

2 What is the key signs just before the actual return of Jesus?
⦁ What are the key things that point to the actual return of Jesus?
One of the key things that point to the return of Jesus I believe it is to do with Jerusalem when the armies once more surround Jerusalem that is a sure sign that Jesus is on His way. For Jerusalem is the jewel in God’s crown she is His bride and God will stir Himself up again like a warrior He will stir up His jealousy and will fight for her.
⦁ He will cause the world’s armies to come against Jerusalem so that she Zion will go into travail to birth the man child from heaven to call the man child to come from heaven to save them. For Jesus is the man child of Revelation 12 and Isaiah 66 speaks of Jerusalem or Zion going into travail and before her pains come upon her she is delivered of a man child and that is Jesus He is the man child who was taken up to heaven and is in heaven waiting for Zion to travail and bring Him forth.
⦁ Even Jesus is travailing in prayer as our High Priest and He is praying for His people to repent and turn to Him He weeps and wails like a travailing woman Isaiah 42:13-15.
⦁ It is necessary for God to bring about the Great Tribulation on the earth for this is His judgment leading up to His Day of Vengeance / Atonement to break the power of the leaders of Jerusalem over the people. To cause those leaders both civil and religious the descendants of the ones who rejected His Son to call for Him to come forth out of heaven to save them.
⦁ So Jerusalem is the key sign of Jesus coming, yes she has been invaded numerous times before but not like how it will be after the Great Tribulation God will gather the world’s armies against Jerusalem.
⦁ Also the key give away is the sign of the desolation of Abomination which Daniel speaks of this is the sign of the rule of the Antichrist who will set himself up in the Third Temple to be worshiped as God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
⦁ Due to this evil person’s rule over the earth in the place of God there will be great wrath on the people Luke 21:22-23. This could be referring to the wrath of God coming upon the people through His righteous judgments. This will be the time of God’s vengeance on His enemies and especially His vengeance upon those who follow and worship satan the beast who will be ruling from the temple in Jerusalem in God’s place.
⦁ Also Luke speaks about the fullness of the times of the Gentiles this will be the sign of the Lord’s return too that the times of the Gentiles their rule and favour in God is coming to an end.
⦁ God will return in His Son to turn the way of things the right way up that being Israel will once again be the head nation under God when He brings the Kingdom of heaven to earth to establish His throne in Jerusalem and to make of Abraham’s people a great nation out of them through his seed who is Christ.
⦁ So Israel will become an eternal nation a great nation under God and Jerusalem an eternal city with her God dwelling in the midst of her once more.
⦁ It will be all about Israel and Jerusalem the final signs of the times leading up to the return of Christ and we should know these signs so that we can recognize them when they start to happen on the earth.
⦁ As time draws closer to the Lord Jesus’s return to Jerusalem we should know the prophecies that God speaks about in the scriptures concerning Israel, Jerusalem and His redemption of them which will be His Son. These prophecies being found in the Old Covenant prophets and some epistles, gospels and the book of Revelation in the New Testament.
⦁ We should expect that the Holy Spirit will quicken these things to us from the word or visions and dreams that line up with the word that He will show us from His throne John 16:13-15.
⦁ Some key scriptures to show that the final sign leading up to our Lord’s return being the sign of Jerusalem being invaded by the world’s armies.

From Matthew and Luke.
Matthew 24:15
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:)
Luke 21:20
20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
Matthew 24:16
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Luke 21:21
21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
Matthew 24:17
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Luke 21:22
22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (not found in Matthew 24)
Matthew 24:18 -19
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Luke 21:23
23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
Matthew 24:20
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day
(from this verse on it is different to Matthew 24)
Luke 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Matthew 24:21
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.
Luke 21:25
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Matthew 24:22
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.
Luke 21:26
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Matthew 24:23-31
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
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.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
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.
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.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
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:
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.
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.
Luke 21:27-28
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Matthew 24:32-36
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:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Luke 21:29-36
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Revelation 16:13-14
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Zechariah 12:2-3
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Zechariah 14:1-16
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lordmy God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Isaiah 42:13-14
13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.
Revelation 12:1-5
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Isaiah 66:6-16
6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies.
7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.
8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:
11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
12 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
15 For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many

3 Should we concerned about prophecy in the bible and teach on it?
⦁ People say we shouldn’t be concerned about prophecy and signs of the second coming of Jesus and just get on with preaching the gospel and yes in the past they would have been right.
⦁ However looking at the times we are living in I am saying that they are wrong very wrong for we are the last generation leading up the Lord’s return.
⦁ Have you thought about why we are called generation X if we are baby boomers, our children generation y and our grandchildren generation Z?
⦁ That Z is the last letter on the alphabet and Jesus says He is the Alpha the beginning and the Omega the end and He is the beginning of the world for He created and He is descended from the first man Adam through His human side being of the seed of woman through Mary. He is also the creator of / the beginning of the world as well as the nation of Israel Abraham through to Jacob who was renamed Israel by God Himself.
He is the end bringing this time period to its end. He will bring all things of the age of man to an end leading into His glorious reign on earth the kingdom of heaven on earth in the land of Israel from Mt Zion high and lifted up.
⦁ Jerusalem is His city of choice His city that is His seat of power and authority the throne of David upon which throne God will sit in the person of His Son Jesus who will have a new name when He comes back forever.
⦁ That we have not seen so many disasters which are happening around the world at a rapid pace or wars or famines or disease or persecution against believers or floods or volcanic upheavals or such wickedness and rebellion against God as we are now seeing on the earth today.
⦁ Also there is such hatred against Israel and Jerusalem by all nations on the earth and even the church has turned against her to a large extent, nor do these same people recognize that the times we are living in are pointing to the soon return of Christ. Nor do they believe in the Great Tribulation, the rebuilding of the Third Temple or a single man being the antichrist they dismiss bible prophecy as being picture language / fairy tales not to be taken seriously.
Those who support what God is doing on the earth in regards to Israel and the second coming of Christ are few in number compared to the numbers of so called Christians who are against Israel in the many churches around the world of different denominations that are making up the apostasy and joining with Rome.
That those who believe that Jesus is coming back and who do not support the growing apostasy is few in number indeed and they will make up the remnant of the believing Gentiles who will join the remnant of the Jewish people who will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven on earth when Jesus returns.
⦁ Before Jesus’s return first the Great Tribulation must take place with satan ruling the earth from Jerusalem’s Third temple that this temple will be built.
With the two witnesses of Revelation 11 standing in front of this temple complex, proclaiming the Lord’s return by the Holy Spirit and praying and speaking forth judgments upon the earth. Not many Christians believe that this will take place or that God literally means what He says in regards to bringing judgment upon the earth.
Yet these judgments will take place whether or not people believe they will. For God is sovereign and He will do what He pleases on the earth in these last days.

Part Two

1 We are to be aware of the times we are in.
For example during the reign of King David the tribe of Issachar understood the times
1 Chronicles 12:32
32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
Matthew 2:1-23
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

⦁ At the actual birth of Jesus God brought wise men from the East to come and worship His Son as king and to bring to His parents things they would need to live off when they had to flee Judea to go to Egypt until Herod was dead by that time Jesus may have been four or six years of age when they came from Egypt to Nazareth. He would have been nearly two years of age when they fled Judea to go to Egypt. Their gifts befitted a king and one who was born to die too, gold for a king, myrrh for burial and yes priestly anointing along with Frankincense of divinity and purity as well.
⦁ These wise men knew the times and they were watching the skies they may have been astrologers or astronomers either way they saw a great star that heralded the birth of a great king the king of Israel. That was why they came looking for the one who was born king of the Jews.
⦁ Herod was an Edomite, he was a Roman puppet he was put on the throne of David which belonged to the tribe of Judah and he had no lawful right to this throne and he knew it.
⦁ That was why he felt threatened when the wise men arrived in Jerusalem wanting to find the one who was born king of the Jews- Jesus had the right to this throne however His coming the first time was not to take the kingdom as a King.
⦁ He came the first time as a peace offering a sacrificial offering a lamb to take away the sins of the world to bring peace in reconciliation between man and God.
⦁ He came in a priestly role a sacrificial role the second time Jesus comes will be as a king to take up His kingdom His inheritance on the earth. This is why He will be coming back in warfare and why He and His Father will be bringing judgment upon the world before He comes physically upon the earth.
⦁ Getting back to the passage in Matthew. The religious leaders should have been watching for the birth of Jesus they should have been expecting God to bring about this event that God will be born among men but they didn’t believe the scriptures they weren’t expecting God to fulfil what He said He would do.
⦁ Israel was apostate the leaders were very worldly they were following Roman or Greek ways they didn’t want God to interfere with their plans.
⦁ So they were not looking out for the birth of a man child a divine child to be born among men among the people of the tribe of Judah the ruling tribe.
⦁ No prophet had spoken either for four hundred years so God was silent but before His Son’s birth things started to happen, angels visited the father of John the Baptist from the tribe of Levi and Mary who was to give birth to Jesus from the tribe of Judah.
The two key women that gave birth to two very important children. One woman was called Elizabeth and she was a daughter of Aaron of the priestly tribe. She gave birth to John the cousin of Jesus who was to be His prophetic forerunner to prepare the way of the Lord.
⦁ Mary the woman chosen by God to give birth to Jesus was a woman from the tribe of David through his son Nathan. Jesus was to be born in fulfilment of the promise God gave to Eve in the Garden of Eden that salvation will come through seed of woman.
⦁ Also at His birth angels announced His birth to shepherds, and to prophetic people see account of Jesus in the temple as a babe two prophets came and saw Him and proclaimed about Him to people around Him. These key events surrounding the birth of Jesus can be read in Luke chapters 1 & 2 and Matthew chapters 1 & 2.
So only a few people were aware of His coming mostly among the common people not the rich or learned ones.
⦁ Likewise today the church is the one which is apostate and asleep and not looking out for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are becoming very worldly and this time the Lord God is waking up the Israeli people calling them to Himself but still He has to deal with their leaders hence the reason for the Great Tribulation. Hence Jerusalem being a key sign of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ King of Glory.

2 What about the verse in Acts 1 where Jesus tells His disciples not to be concerned about when the kingdom will come?
Let’s look at these verses to understand what Jesus was really saying.
Acts 1:2-12
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

⦁ So in the first chapter of Acts the disciples were asking the risen Jesus when was He going to restore the Kingdom to Israel.
⦁ The reason why they would have asked this was that for forty days leading up to His departing from them He was speaking to them of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
⦁ Israel equals the Kingdom of God. For God was their king until they threw Him over to have a human sit on the throne to rule them. Israel was to be like heaven on earth under the rule of God.
⦁ Hence the Covenant and the Laws that God gave to the nation of Israel through Moses. God gave Israel a New Covenant and that New Covenant is the person of His Son Jesus.
⦁ If Jesus wasn’t speaking about the Kingdom of God the disciples would not have asked about when it was going to come about in Israel.
⦁ They understood that the kingdom of God equalled the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel that they were one and the same thing as mentioned above
⦁ For God promised David a man to sit on the throne forever to rule over the House of Israel and for David to have a man forever on the throne to rule over Israel then the Kingdom has to be God’s kingdom and the man had to be a divine man. In other words He had to be God in the form of a man to sit on the throne to rule over Israel for eternity.
⦁ So it wasn’t a silly question it was a good question to ask for they thought now that Jesus is alive, He is God the Son and He is the risen Christ surely He will be overthrowing the Romans and setting things to their proper order and bringing about His kingly rule on the earth with the twelve apostles ruling on twelve thrones over the House of Israel in His kingdom.
⦁ Naturally they would think this and perhaps when Peter spoke on the Day of Pentecost telling people to repent that Jesus is in heaven until people repent and times of refreshing would come from heaven even Jesus Himself.
⦁ Perhaps even then the apostles thought that Jesus would come back if their religious leaders and tribal elders repented of rejecting Jesus once they see how He is working by His Holy Spirit through the apostles.
⦁ Not so they persecuted the apostles and disciples of the Lord they put them in prison and to death and no they didn’t repent hence God poured out His wrath on them for rejecting His Son.
⦁ He sent His armies against them the Romans and had them scattered upon the earth and the temple destroyed the House of which they were so proud of. This is the mortal wounding that God wounded them with the wounds of an enemy a cruel one.
Jeremiah 30:7-16
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
9 But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
12 For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.
13 There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.
14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.
15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.

⦁ They were not yet prepared to repent of the blood guilt of shedding the blood of His Son and having Him thrown over the wall of the vineyard which is Israel and have the Gentiles kill Him on a cross a tree which will make Him cursed for cursed is every man that hangs on a tree.
⦁ It was not time yet for the restoration of the kingdom Jesus was not going to come back shortly from heaven. The disciples didn’t know this they didn’t understand that Israel had to be set aside temporarily. So that the gospel could go out to the nations to allow the Gentiles to come into the House of God aka House of Israel through the light of Jesus through His atoning work on the cross. That God wanted all men to believe and be saved both Jew and Gentile.
⦁ That is why Jesus said it was not for the disciples to know the times or epochs that were in the Father’s hands in His power that He has control over. God the Father has set times for His purposes to be fulfilled and soon very soon will be the time of His Son’s appearing to restore all things to Israel.
⦁ At the time of the apostles after the resurrection of Christ it was only the beginning of His building the House and nation of Israel in the spiritual there were a lot more things to be achieved before He could come back.
⦁ If the disciples knew that it will take nearly two thousand years for the gospel to go forth to all nations there was no way that they would have waited in Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them.
They would have high tailed it out of there and gone back to their old lives they would have said it is so far off into the future why wait.
⦁ No God in His wisdom did not disclose the final date or day of His Son’s coming to restore all things to bring the kingdom of God to Israel again. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them so that they could be witnesses of the Lord upon the earth, beginning with Jerusalem and going to all places in the known world to spread the gospel to the Gentiles.
So that they could come to the light of Christ and for the Israelis scattered in the world to come to the Covenant of the Lord who is Jesus through the preaching of the gospel.
⦁ They needed the power of the Holy Spirit to do this to be His witnesses and to lead holy lives unto God the Father.
As well as for the Holy Spirit to write the gospels and some of the epistles through a few of them. Bringing back key things Jesus said and did to their remembrance, plus writing about His crucifixion and resurrection to have these things as a written record for future generations to prove that Jesus is indeed the one the Old Testament prophets wrote of.
⦁ However two thousand years later we are nearly at the time of the fullness of the Gentiles the toes of clay and iron of the vision of King Nebuchadnezzar.
He was the one who began the times of the Gentiles through His invading Jerusalem and destroying the first temple and the Romans destroyed the second temple at the fullness of time when Christ came to redeem Israel and mankind through His cross.
⦁ The Third temple will not be destroyed but Jesus will cause His people to call for Him but He will rule from this temple after cleansing it from sin this will be the temple of Ezekiel’s vision.
⦁ If we don’t know that we are in the last days we are in a sorry state indeed and the events leading up to Jesus coming from heaven will be centred in Israel and in particular Jerusalem when the armies surround her and invade her.
⦁ This will be the catalyst for Christ to be birthed as the man child from heaven in Him coming out from heaven by rending the heavens and coming down to rescue His people at their call for Him to save them and saying blessed is He Jesus who comes in the name of the Lord His Father.
⦁ It has been nearly two thousand years or two days since the Lord wen to heaven and on the third day He will heal His people and will raise them up to newness of life and He will pour out His Spirit on the House of Israel and will be the God of all the families of Israel.
Hosea 5:13-15
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Hosea 6:1-3
1 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Ezekiel 39:21-29
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.
23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
25 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
28 Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
Jeremiah 31:1-17
1 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
2 Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.
6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.
7 For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
11 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.
15 Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
16 Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

Here is the end of this postscript I hope it will make you think about these things in a new way and may the Lord open your eyes to these truths.

I will be moving onto to a new series of called the Significance of Jesus in connection to Israel.

This new series will be about the significance of Jesus in connection to Israel or to put it another way the significance of Israel in the setting up of the millennial kingdom of Christ or kingdom of heaven come to earth.

As to what is happening now, we have had more disasters in the US, Europe, the UK with such fierce storms with heavy snows, and rains which has brought death and destruction in some places.

A volcano coming to life that had no record of its coming to life before this was in Papua New Guinea.

A meteorite has crashed into Russia breaking up as it entered the atmosphere and causing a huge flash of light with an explosion shaking the ground.

There was another big earthquake in the Caribbean.

You can read about these things on the Watchers.
https://watchers.news/

People have been made ill through contaminated food or coming into contact with someone who had Hepatitis A in the US.

You can watch these things on Mary Greeley's Youtube news channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPGJXgbwBmkIp291W0PCMw

China now says it is ready for war but doesn't mention who it will be going to war against. Most nations have a military display on their special national days but don't say that they are ready for war. Yet China says that they are ready for war.

China signals readiness for war with mass military drills

https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_5704804943001

Russia is still in Syria yet they are supposed to have left Syria but they haven't.
I read about this in the Christchurch Press last weekend on the 6 Jan 2018. So Russia has a military presence still in Syria but maybe keeping a low profile for some reason.

The Arabs are having a meeting in Egypt with the UN members to discuss what to do about Trump's announcement about Jerusalem being the capital of Israel.

Arab League aims to nullify Trump's Jerusalem move

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/arab-league-aims-nullify-trump-jerusalem-move-180107101530055.html

Arab FMs to meet in February to discuss Trump’s Jerusalem declaration

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/arab-fms-to-meet-in-february-to-discuss-trumps-jerusalem-declaration/

North Korea has made a temporary band aid peace with South Korea so that they can send Athletes to the winter games in South Korea.

North Korea to send Olympic team to South Korea

https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_5706600314001

Pope calls for global backing of Korean peace talks

https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_5705171602001

I for one don't trust this band aid peace of North Korea with the South. I feel that the North Korean Athletes going into South Korea to compete at the winter Olympics is like the Trojan horse that was a decoy sent by those attacking Troy as a means to get into Troy to attack it from within and let those outside the walls in.

I feel that something of like nature may take place too an attack of some sort will possibly I say possibly may take place at the games. Or the North Korean Athletes / their trainers or some other officials that accompany the athletes may be spies sent by North Korea to spy out the land of South Korea to spy out their weaknesses and attack them after the games.

Or they may attack the US or other nations athletes.

Something is going to take place with North Korea and the Middle East this year so it is just a matter of watching, waiting, keeping alert and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, being in prayer and being in the word. So that when things do happen we won't be taken by surprise or frightened.

Remember Jesus did say that when He told His disciples on the night of His betrayal of things happening to Him or to them in the future. He would say I told you these things beforehand so that you will not be offended.
John 16:1-4

1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

I will leave one more article to look up the importance of Bible prophecy for 2018 from Prophecy Newswatch,

Why Study Bible Prophecy In 2018?

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1910

I felt in the Lord today to add one more insight from Luke 17 about these last days and I did put these verses down in Part 6 about the Days being like Noah and Lot but I didn't write in depth about them so before I finish this postscript I will add them.

Matthew 24:37-42
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

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,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Luke 17:26-37
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

32 Remember Lot's wife.

33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

These verses about two people being at work in the field or at the grindstone making flour for bread or being in bed. They could be taken two ways one way is when the Lord is revealed from heaven He will send His angels to gather those who are His to Himself and this could be at any time day or night.

Or you can take it to be judgment too that one person will be taken and one left alive leading up to the day of the Lord's revealing from heaven.

For a lot of strange things have been happening today. With freak accidents taking people like recently in New Zealand two men were involved in a car accident the car ran off the road into a ditch. The men got out only slightly hurt then as they were standing by the road possibly thinking what to do next a car came along and killed one of the men outright leaving one man alive.

A woman in another part of New Zealand goes swimming with her children and she drowns and the children survive by being rescued in a lagoon that up until now had no problems nor was there bad weather or any other reason why they should get into difficulties.

A car accident on the South Coast of NSW Australia wipes out a close knit family and one person is still hanging on for life being the actress in Home and Away.

Then in America the fires that ravaged parts of California left very burned landscapes that have become rivers of mud and debris that have taken away homes and cars due to heavy rain. Again one person has been taken and one has been left behind.

So I feel that these verses in Luke are beginning to be fulfilled and this is a form of judgment leading up to the return of Christ as one person is being taken through disaster, or a freak accident. Notice it says in Luke two men are in a bed strange to have two men in a bed not a man or a woman being in a bed is this referring to the rise of homosexual marriage in the last days. One man will be taken through judgment and the other left?

These judgments are not going to lessen off they are going to get worse and more intense right up until the revealing of the Son of Man the Lord Jesus Christ at His second appearing. For when He comes back it will be the Day of Vengeance of Our God as is spoken of in Isaiah the other half of the verse that Jesus didn't read out in the Synagogue of Nazareth.

When Jesus returns He will indeed comfort all those who mourn in Zion and will give them wedding garments of praise for heaviness.

Isaiah 61:1-11

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

A Voice of one crying in the wilderness Preparing the way of the Lord

Thursday 11 January 2018

Postscript: A rebuttal of the excuse that we shouldn’t worry the signs of the Lord's coming because no man knows the day or hour of the Lord’s return.

Postscript: A rebuttal of the excuse that we shouldn’t worry the signs of the Lord's coming because no man knows the day or hour of the Lord’s return.

China signals readiness for war with mass military drills

Arab League aims to nullify Trump's Jerusalem move

Arab FMs to meet in February to discuss Trump’s Jerusalem declaration

North Korea to send Olympic team to South Korea

Pope calls for global backing of Korean peace talks

Why Study Bible Prophecy In 2018?

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The gap between the two resurrections and the two judgments of Christ judging the living and the dead

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