What Shall be the Sign... Part 10

X.                  Son of Man coming in the clouds, the day of the Lord (Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:26-27, Luke 21:27)

Matthew 24:30	Mark 13:26-27	Luke 21:27
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.	And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.	And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

 

a.       Two witnesses precede the coming of the son of man (Their coming corresponds to the 2^nd Woe, which corresponds to the 6^th Trump)

§         Acts 1:9-11 – And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; 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.

§         Revelation 11:3-12-And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecyⁱ: and have power over waters to turn them to bloodⁱⁱ, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.  And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

1.      1 Kings 17:1 -And Elijah the Tishbite, [who was] of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, [As] the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

2.      Exodus 7:20 -And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that [were] in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that [were] in the river were turned to blood.

§         Zechariah 4:1-3 - And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all [of] gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which [are] upon the top thereof: And two olive treesby it, one upon the right [side] of the bowl, and the other upon the left [side] thereof.

§         Zechariah 4:11-14 -Then answered I, and said unto him, What [are] these two olive trees upon the right [side] of the candlestick and upon the left [side] thereof?  And I answered again, and said unto him, What [be these] two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden [oil] out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these [be]? And I said, No, my lord.  Then said he, These [are] the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

§         Malachi 4:4-6 –Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, [with] the statutes and judgments.  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

b.      Sign of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:30) The 7^th Seal

§         Answers the original question posed by the disciples in Matthew 24:3.

§         Revelation 8:1-2 -And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

§         Joshua 6:10 - And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall [any] word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

§         Luke 11:29-30 - And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.  For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

c.       Mourning of the tribes of the land (Matthew 24:30) The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3-12)

§         Zechariah 12:10-11 -And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.  In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

o       Hadadrimmon - a place in the valley of Megiddo where a national lamentation was held for the death of King Josiah

-         King Josiah was a righteous king of Judah, the nation of Judah mourned his death

o       Who is mourning? The house of David, David was of the tribe of Judah, Judah is the representative tribe of the Jews who remain in Jerusalem and do not recognize Ye’Shuah as the Messiah, they will!

§         The two witnesses precede the coming of the son of man

o       So we have the son of perdition and the two witnesses both make their appearance before the return of Ye’Shuah

d.      2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 – That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

§         We are in the midst of a falling away now, but the “man of sin” has yet to be revealed

e.       Matthew 24:37-42 – But as in the days of Noe were so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.  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, and knew not until the flood came, and tookthem all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

§         Later in Chapter 24 of Matthew we see Jesus providing greater detail about His coming in that it will be a repeat of conditions that were present in Noah’s day before the flood.

§         We see the pronoun they used to describe those who were oblivious to the coming flood and the flood came and took them all away.

§         Likewise Jesus tells us of the two in the field and the two at the mill, one taken and the other left.  Often we here that the one taken is taken by Christ, but that is not consistent with what He is saying here because the ones taken by the flood were those that were destroyed by the flood.  So the ones taken here at the coming of the Son of Man are taken to their destruction.

§         This is consistent with Matthew 13:30 where it states: Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

f.        Isaiah 26:20-21 – Come, My People, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.  For behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

§         God states the purpose of His return is to punish evildoers

§         He is not coming to punish His people, but those who do iniquity

§         When the Lord returns, why would he tell His people to enter into their houses if they have already been evacuated via the rapture?

o       Are not the servants of God also “inhabitants of the earth” yet there is no distinction made between righteous and unrighteous “inhabitants of the earth”

o       It’s quite possible that at this time, all of God’s servants have been killed and the chambers mentioned by Isaiah references the place that Ye’shuah had gone to prepare for us according in John 14:2.

g.       1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 – But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say “Peace and safety;” then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But ye, brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.  Ye are all the children of the light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

h.       2 Peter 3:10 -But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

i.         Daniel 7:13-14 – I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.  And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

§         According to Dr. Michael Heiser, a renowned Bible scholar, this particular verse was outlawed by the Sanhedrin to be read without a Rabbi present.  

§         Matthew 26:63b-64 – And the high priest answered and said unto Him, “I adjure Thee by the living God that thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus saith unto him, “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

§       By Jesus stating this Jesus was disregarding their proclamation initiating the highly dramatic response from the high priest.

o       Matthew 26:65 -Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

o       Blasphemy? Against who? Against their proclamation against this passage

§         Revelation 1:7 – Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.  Even so, Amen.

j.        Obadiah 1:15-16 -For the day of the LORD [is] near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, [so] shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

k.      Zephaniah 2:3 -Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

l.         Zechariah 14:1-5 -Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.  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.  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.  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.  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 LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.

§       Another indication that all the saints (except the 144,000 sealed) have been killed, they return with Ye’shuah to vanquish the despots.

What Shall be the Sign...Part 7

V.                  Endure to the END (Matthew 24:13, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17-19)

Matthew 24:13	Mark 13:13	Luke 21:17-19
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.	And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.	And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake.  But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.

 

a.       Why would Jesus state that those that endure to the end would be saved, if He planned on evacuating them?

§         Enduring persecution requires discipline and courage, and above all faith

§         2 Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

o       Fear – cowardice or the opposite of courage

o       Sound mind - Discipline

§         Why would God give us this power, love and discipline only to carry us away? Why would he equip us with spiritual armor only to flee the battlefield?

o       Ephesians 6:10-13 – Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

o       It is by His power and His power alone that we are strong.  He equips us with armour to do what? To flee? Heaven forbid! We are to put on the armour of God so that we can stand against the enemy in the evil day.

b.      This passage in Luke appears to be in contradiction to the previous verse, for here he states that: “…there shall not an hair of your head perish…” , In the previous verse we see that the servants of Christ shall be delivered up to be afflicted, and caused to be put to death.  Is this a contradiction or does it refer to our Spirit bodies not being subjected to the second death? This seems to be the only logical conclusion, why else would Luke contradict himself within the same paragraph?

§         Matthew 10:28 - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

o       Destroy - ἀπόλλυμι apollymi, verb which can be a metaphor meaning to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell, to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed

-         In Luke 21:16 the word death is θανατόω thanatoō which is a verb meaning  to put to death

-         Luke 21:18 is ἀπόλλυμι apollymi, used above in reference to being lost.        

-         The passage in Luke seems to be emphasizing that though we may be persecuted and some of us may even be killed for our faith in Jesus, we have nothing to worry about for we are not in danger of being lost, or destroyed in the fires of hell.

§         Luke 9:24 – For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

§         “In your patience posses ye your souls” à “Whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it”

§         This word patience could probably be better translated as steadfastness, constancy, endurance or a patient enduring, sustaining perseverance.

§         In our sustaining perseverance in Christ Jesus (even through death) we shall posses our souls or save our lives

c.       To what end is Jesus referring?  The end of the age or the end of our lives?  Could it refer to both? For every generation other than the last it could mean endure until the end of your life, but for the last generation this could refer to the end of the present age.

d.      Matthew 13:30 – Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

§         Key verse that provides the order in which end times events transpire, no “rapture” could take place prior to the removal of the wicked without contradicting this parable.

e.       Matthew 13:39 – The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

§         World - αἰώνaiōn, 1) for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity 2) the worlds, universe 3) period of time, age

f.        Matthew 13:47-50 – Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

§         We see the same story given in another way the catch contains both good and bad fish just as the harvest contains both wheat and tares.  The tares and the bad fish are cast “away” alluding to the destruction of the wicked in the furnace of fire mentioned here.

g.       Both the good seed and the bad seed grow together until the harvest, which is defined by Christ Himself as the end of the world, aion or age.  In this parable Jesus specifically states that the tares are gathered first.

§         Without contradicting Christ how do we reconcile a pre-tribulation rapture or gathering of the church when Jesus clearly states that the wicked will be removed before the children of the kingdom?  Are the children of the kingdom and the church separate groups or one in the same? If they are the same then this verse eliminates the possibility of a pre-tribulation rapture.

§         It appears from these verses that we are to stand through the tribulation, relying on the provision and power of God.  It is only by His power that we are preserved, for all of the wicked face destruction.

VI.               Gospel preached to the nations (Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10)

Matthew 24:14	Mark 13:10
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.	And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

a.       Notice that in Mark it is mentioned that the gospel going forth is in the midst of the delivering up and is out of sync with Matthew on this point.

§         Clearly the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been going forth in the world since His death and resurrection, does this indicate that the delivering up is an ongoing phase (rather than a one time future event) and that martyrs down through history have served this pivotal role in expanding the gospel?

§         What purpose would it serve for the gospel to be preached immediately before the end of the age? It would lead to salvation for many but these last minute converts would miss out on building a relationship with the Lord.

§         The preaching of the gospel message has been going forth into the world for the past 2000 years; Christians have been “delivered up” to persecution and death for that same length of time.  Stephen was delivered up and he being filled with the Holy Spirit gave a testimony of faith. 

b.      Many hear this gospel message through the persecuted Christian.  Persecution provides credibility; people will not normally endure persecution for something they do not believe.  God allows His children to suffer for the purpose of saving the lost and expanding His kingdom to the hearts of unbelievers

c.       Foxe’s Book of Martyrs indicates that all of the apostles except for John were put to death for their faith in Christ.  Their testimony and sacrifice has saved the souls of millions.

§         John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

o       This is what Jesus did, and what His followers do, not for themselves, but for the promotion of the gospel.

§         1 John 3:16 - Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.

o       Jesus received no benefit in sacrificing Himself for us; He was already God and had no obligation, other than His Word, to save us.

o       The disciples, likewise, received no earthly benefit through the sacrifice of their bodies, the benefit was passed on to the following generation of believers that these men who sat at the feet of Jesus believed what He taught them, so much that they would endure excruciating deaths.

§         Romans 5:6-8 - For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

o       While we were still dead in our sin, Christ died for us

o       Therefore, being raised out of our sin by the sacrifice of Christ, we may in turn be required to die so that others might believe in His Word.