“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him (Jesus) that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning , It will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”
Matthew 16:1-3
Here you have the two of the three main religious Jewish “parties” of the day, the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the Essenes were the third) tempting Jesus to give them more specific signs of the End Times which would then allow them to accuse Him of being a “fraud” and find Him guilty of blasphemy, a sentence that would result in His death. But in Christ’s infinite wisdom He told the priests the information they sought was ALREADY available to them! They could tell what kind of weather they were due for by the color of the sky in the morning and the evening but were unable to ascertain those signs of which the Bible spoke, i.e. their long promised Messiah was standing right there in front of them!
The Sadducees were identified at the time by the Jewish historian Josephus as being part the upper social and economic hierarchy of Jewish society. Basically, they fulfilled various political, social, AND religious roles, including maintaining the Holy Temple. On the other hand, the Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought in the Holy Land during the time of the Second Temple. What this indicates to me is 2 of the 3 most important groups of Jewish leaders were elitists MORE interested in bringing Christ down than recognizing Him for who He was. They were supposedly knowledgeable regarding the events prophesied in the Bible but didn’t see it!
Today Christians are ridiculed and severely persecuted for their faith while other religions are glorified AND absolved from the horrible sins they regularly commit against both Jews and Christians. Even in the United States, founded on Judeo-Christian traditions but open to all peoples and religions, there is a current trend by the political left, a liberal media and, yes, some religious elites to minimize Christianity based purely on their firm belief in Jesus Christ and His soon Second Coming at Armageddon. For these beliefs we are frequently belittled, but when it is explained Muslims are also awaiting the soon coming of their Twelfth Imam (the Mahdi), who will set up their global caliphate and establish sharia law, nothing is said! As Jesus said in Matthew 16:23:
“But he (Jesus) turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
In other words, Satan is obviously behind what we see going on in the world today. The world does not follow what the Bible says but instead follows the words of man, who is led by Satan! As I have said before, it is estimated the Bible is basically one third prophetic. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament describe numerous things that would happen leading up to the birth of Jesus; His death and resurrection for the sins of mankind; and, also those numerous things foretold to happen in the End Times. It is so obvious we are today living in the End Times! Why don’t we see it? Why are our eyes so blinded to what the Bible says will happen and yet as we see those things exactly occurring with increasing frequency in our generation, we DO see them in the same way that the Pharisees and the Sadducees witnessed miracle after miracle performed by Jesus; saw the EXACT way He fulfilled Biblical prophecy; and yet, were unable and/or unwilling to accept He was standing in front of them as Biblically prophesied?
Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:33-34, “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” If we believe in the Bible and what Jesus prophesied would happen, what should we be looking for? “…wars, rumors of wars”? “…nation rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”? “…famines”? “…pestilences”? “…earthquakes in diverse places?” (Matthew 24:6-7). These things have been around as long as sinful mankind has been on the earth. Jesus said, “…for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” – Matthew 24:6. We are told some of the things which will happen but it still won’t be the End.
If Jesus said certain things must happen and yet He also said it was not yet time for the End, what exactly are we still waiting for?
- The rebirth of the nation of Israel – DONE (this is what started the countdown in OUR generation!!!!
- The “falling away” of the Church – been going on for 30-40 years
- Moral and cultural depravity – almost as bad as the Days of Sodom and Gomorrah
- Christian persecution – seems like something started only 10-15 years ago (in U.S.)
- The Rapture – not yet
- War of Gog and Magog – not yet
- A 7 year “peace treaty” for Israel aka The Tribulation – not yet
- The rebuilding of their 3rd Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – not yet, but close!
- The Abomination of Desolation – not yet
- Rise of the anti-christ and false prophet – not yet
- One world religion worshipping the anti-christ – not yet
- 144,000 Jewish Witnesses – not yet
- Mark of the beast – not yet
- Numerous very BAD things as listed in the 7 Seals, the 7 Trumpets and the 7 Vials – not yet
- Total destruction of both Damascus AND Babylon – not yet
- Armageddon and Second Coming of Jesus Christ – not yet
If the rebirth of Israel happened in ONE DAY (May 14, 1948) and it shook the entire world to its core after 2,000 years of seemingly unfulfilled Promises and against ALL odds ridiculed by many for a long time, what would be the statistical significance of ALL these other things then happening in the lifetime of a SINGLE GENERATION and that generation being the one that saw the rebirth of Israel? And yet Jesus said “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” I believe Jesus was telling us that there would be a lot of calamities which would encourage men to say the End HAS come when He specifically says those bad things would happen but even worse and more identifiable events would transpire giving us a clearer and surer indication of His soon Coming. We have never had the Rapture. We have not seen the 3rd Temple rebuilt. We have never had a global government with a global financial system. The list goes on and on! At what point in time will mankind look at these prophecies and admit, “It DOES look like the end is coming soon?” They won’t!
While life on earth appears to be getting worse by the day and will eventually culminate in Christ’s Second Coming, I do believe the one event we should be waiting for to happen which would then prove the 100% accuracy and truthfulness of what the Bible said would happen is the Rapture. Unfortunately for those who have not accepted Christ or asked for His forgiveness of their sins, they will witness the Rapture but will also be left behind to then witness all the other horrible things ordained for this world. They will personally endure trials and tribulations unmatched since the beginning of the world. Why? Because they did not believe the prophecies of the Bible EVEN when those events happened right in front of their nose EXACTLY as the Pharisees and Sadducees refused to believe what they saw even though they knew about it with Jesus standing right in front of them.
“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
2 Corinthians 6:1-2
We all have choices. That is the gift we received from God being made in His image. Since we are basically sinful in our thoughts and actions, it is sometimes much easier to bypass the Word of God and assume our choices are right regardless of what God or the Bible says. It is so comforting to know that God has given us a very simple way out of these coming troublesome times. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and honestly ask for forgiveness of your sins. If you do this, you will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus by your side! If you find that as comforting as I do, share it with your friends and family, either through encouraging them to subscribe to this blog or Liking it and/or Sharing it on Facebook and/or LinkedIn. After all, the Bible very specifically tells us ALL to “…comfort one another with these words.” Will we listen to the Bible telling us that?
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