Author Topic: Matthew 24  (Read 68566 times)

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Ed Sutton

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #120 on: June 09, 2013, 01:29:51 AM »
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The Lord is coming in power and great glory. It will then be his work to make a complete separation between the righteous and the wicked. But the oil cannot then be transferred to the vessels of those who have it not. Then shall be fulfilled the words of Christ, "Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left."The righteous and the wicked are to be associated together in the work of life. But the Lord reads the character, he discerns who are obedient children, who respect and love his commandments.  {SpTA04 5.3} 

     The looker-on may discern no difference, but there is One who said that the tares were not to be plucked up by human hands, lest the wheat be rooted up also. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then the Lord sends forth his reapers to gather out the tares, and binds them in bundles to burn, while the wheat is gathered into the heavenly garner. The time of the judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers his own from among the tares. Those who have been members of the same family are separated. A mark is placed upon the righteous. "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Those who have been obedient to God's commandments, will unite with the company of the saints in light; they shall enter in through the gates into the city, and have right to the tree of life. The one shall be taken. His name shall stand in the Book of Life, while those with whom he associated shall have the mark of eternal separation from God.  {SpTA04 6.1}
 
     The tares and wheat are now commingled, but then the one Hand that alone can separate them will give to every one his true position. Those who have had the light of truth, and heard the warning message, heard the invitation to the marriage supper, --farmer, merchant, lawyer, false shepherds who have quieted the
convictions of the people, unfaithful watchmen who have not sounded the warning or known the time of night,--all who have refused obedience to the laws of the kingdom of God, will have no right therein. Those who have sought an excuse to avoid the cross of separation from the world, will, with the world, be taken in the snare. They mingled with the tares from choice. Like drew to like in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. Men choose to stand with the first rebel, who tempted Adam and Eve in Eden to disobey God. The tares multiply themselves, for they sow tares, and they have their part with the root of all sin -- the devil.  {SpTA04 6.2}

The taking in Noah's day was by the ark on one hand and the flood waters on the other, one group lived the other died.   The taken in the Second Coming  are two groups - one group lives and is caught up to meet the Lord, the other group is taken by the burning light, taken to the ground a short journey from standing upright to lying down upon the ground in death and left behind as bird food and rottenness.

Quote
   John 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.   
Grateful for Psalms 32 and Titus 2:10 - The divinity of Christ is acknowledged in the unity of the children of God.  {11MR 266.2}

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #121 on: June 09, 2013, 05:20:05 AM »
Amen, Edward. Jesus speaks to us in language we can understand. What solemn inspired paragraphs you have contributed for our comprehension.

While reading further, I found this:

The parable of the wheat and the tares shows the mystery of the divine and the satanic agencies working in direct opposition, in vital conflict. The conflict continues till the close of this earth’s history. The incorruptible seed is the living Word of God, which works in the personal sanctification of the receivers, elevating them by bringing them into the participation of the divine nature.
 
Many matters need to be considered. Those who have all their lifetime been the servants of sin, desiring to act in direct opposition to the divine will, need to be most thoroughly converted. Otherwise the leaven of evil will work under cover, as Satan appearing like an angel of light tempted Christ to oppose the divine will. God’s great standard of righteousness is obnoxious to the tastes and appetites of sinful men and women. The active energy of the Saviour and that of the destroyer are in conflict.
 
The wheat is to be gathered for Christ’s garner. The tares have the appearance of wheat, but when the harvest comes they must be rejected. Yet there is an imitation of the wheat through a long period of time. Satan puts forth a determined effort to deceive and lead into strange paths those who have any connection with the Word of God, and he will devise every possible scheme to lengthen the period of his control. The Lord God of heaven gives no sanction to mix and corrupt church associations. The Lord would have His work in the preaching of the gospel so done that there will be no encouragement to evil workers, no toleration of evil associations in Christian assemblies.—Manuscript 7, 1900.


This hits us on many fronts and in a few short words, lays out the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Richard Myers

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #122 on: June 09, 2013, 12:34:25 PM »
Too many have become accustomed to having sin in the camp. Too many turn a blind eye to simple truths that have been rejected. God does not miss anything. And, there is a perfect record being made in the books of heaven. Because He is long-suffering does not mean that He will never act. We praise our God that He is long-suffering and that He gives us that same patience with the erring.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

JimB

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #123 on: June 09, 2013, 12:40:30 PM »
Because He is long-suffering does not mean that He will never act. We praise our God that He is long-suffering and that He gives us that same patience with the erring.

Interesting timing as I just read the following this morning.

Ecc 8:11  Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Ecc 8:12  Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
Ecc 8:13  But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest.  {DA 291.1}

Richard Myers

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #124 on: June 09, 2013, 05:10:44 PM »
Amen, Jim! We need not be deceived. God is not mocked. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:7,8.

The Bible is clear. The day will soon come when mercy will fold her wings and there shall be no more forgiveness of sin. Then the impenitent can only look for justice to be poured out. There will be fire and brimstone, no matter what the false teachers teach.  God is perfectly just. Not one bit of pain will be inflicted that is beyond what is due. But, justice will come. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Romans 12:19. The destruction of those who reject God's salvation, will be by fire. "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." Revelation 14:10.

Let us today heed the warning given by Jesus in Matthew 24. Today is the day of salvation while Jesus is still calling.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #125 on: June 10, 2013, 06:07:34 PM »
Here are the closing solemn verses in Matthew 24. Any comments?

Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

wigina

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #126 on: June 11, 2013, 07:12:13 PM »
many of your former brethrrn shall separate from you. They shall despise you and accuse and betray you! They shall accuse you in precepts and the word as they have misrepresented it. But your Lord cometh and will surely recompense.

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #127 on: November 11, 2013, 04:42:05 PM »
Matthew 24 is one of the most amazing prophetic chapters in Scripture. Jesus, Himself, gave us these prophecies.

Reviewing the chapter, can you discover where we are in this prophetic timeline? It is November 2013. We see what has gone before and what is occurring in the world at this very moment. The Philippines have been leveled by a horrendous typhoon. The world financial markets are in disarray as men try to place them on a more sure footing. Children are disrespectful to parents and parents choose to break up families because of lust that lives in their hearts. We know the list is very long. We see it every day.



This is what Bible Prophecy indicates will happen when the end is near:

In the Physical World:

    Earthquakes, calamities, and disasters. Luke 21:11
    Signs in the sun, moon, and stars. Matthew 24:29


In the Business World:

    Fear, distress, and perplexity everywhere. Luke 21:25, 26
    An all-out preparation for war. Joel 3:9, 10, 14
    A peace union of the nations. 1 Thessalonians 5:3
    Trouble and uprisings throughout the earth. Revelation 13:12-17


In the Social World:

    An increase in crime. Matthew 24:37; Genesis 6:13
    A craze for pleasure. 2Timothy 3:1-4
    Laxity in the marriage tie. Genesis 6:2; Matthew 24:37
    A tide of immorality. Luke 17:28-30; Genesis 19:1-9


In the Religious World:

    A decline of real spirituality. 2Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:12
    A general disregard for the will of God while doing religious work. Matthew 7:21-23
    Widespread scoffing against the message of the nearness of the coming of Christ. 2Peter 3:3-5
    A rebellion against the straight truth of God's Word. 2timothy 4:3,4
    A demand for the preaching of smooth things. 2Timothy 4:3, 4; 1Thessalonians 5:1-3
    A widespread prevalence of false religions. Matthew 24:24
    A restoration of neglected truths. Isaiah 58:12-14
    A widespread turning to Spiritism. 1Timothy 4:1
    A worldwide movement for proclaiming the message of Christ's soon coming. Revelation 14:6-14
    A calling out by this message of God's remnant, who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. Revelation 12:17; 14:12.


Jesus says, "...when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Matthew 24:33

"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matthew 24:44


Again, here is Matthew 24 in its entirety. Where are we today and are we ready for what is to come?

Mat 24:1  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Mat 24:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #128 on: November 11, 2013, 04:48:30 PM »
I cannot quite leave this until the following is given to you in whole. The setting is Jerusalem. Jesus and His disciples were on The Mount of Olives. Jesus had something very important to teach the men He had chosen to give His message to all of the world. This is that account that is recorded in Matthew 24:




On the Mount of Olives

     Christ's words to the priests and rulers, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Mat_23:38), had struck terror to their hearts. They affected indifference, but the question kept rising in their minds as to the import of these words. An unseen danger seemed to threaten them. Could it be that the magnificent temple, which was the nation's glory, was soon to be a heap of ruins? The foreboding of evil was shared by the disciples, and they anxiously waited for some more definite statement from Jesus. As they passed with Him out of the temple, they called His attention to its strength and beauty. The stones of the temple were of the purest marble, of perfect whiteness, and some of them of almost fabulous size. A portion of the wall had withstood the siege by Nebuchadnezzar's army. In its perfect masonry it appeared like one solid stone dug entire from the quarry. How those mighty walls could be overthrown the disciples could not comprehend.  {DA 627.1} 
     As Christ's attention was attracted to the magnificence of the temple, what must have been the unuttered thoughts of that Rejected One! The view before Him was indeed beautiful, but He said with sadness, I see it all. The buildings are indeed wonderful. You point to these walls as apparently indestructible; but listen to My words: The day will come when "there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  {DA 627.2} 
     Christ's words had been spoken in the hearing of a large number of people; but when He was alone, Peter, John, James, and Andrew came to Him as He sat upon the Mount of Olives. "Tell us," they said, "when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Jesus did not answer His disciples by taking up separately the destruction of Jerusalem and the great day of His coming. He mingled the description of these two events. Had He opened to His disciples future events as He beheld them, they would have been unable to endure the sight. In mercy to them He blended the description of the two great crises, leaving the disciples to study out the meaning for themselves. When He referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, His prophetic words reached beyond that event to the final conflagration in that day when the Lord shall rise out of His place to punish the world for their iniquity, when the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. This entire discourse was given, not for the disciples only, but for those who should live in the last scenes of this earth's history.  {DA 628.1}
     Turning to the disciples, Christ said, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Many false messiahs will appear, claiming to work miracles, and declaring that the time of the deliverance of the Jewish nation has come. These will mislead many. Christ's words were fulfilled. Between His death and the siege of Jerusalem many false messiahs appeared. But this warning was given also to those who live in this age of the world. The same deceptions practiced prior to the destruction of Jerusalem have been practiced through the ages, and will be practiced again.  {DA 628.2} 

(continued in the following series of posts)
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #129 on: November 11, 2013, 04:48:58 PM »
    "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, men wrestled for the supremacy. Emperors were murdered. Those supposed to be standing next the throne were slain. There were wars and rumors of wars. "All these things must come to pass," said Christ, "but the end [of the Jewish nation as a nation] is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." Christ said, As the rabbis see these signs, they will declare them to be God's judgments upon the nations for holding in bondage His chosen people. They will declare that these signs are the token of the advent of
                                                                           629
the Messiah. Be not deceived; they are the beginning of His judgments. The people have looked to themselves. They have not repented and been converted that I should heal them. The signs that they represent as tokens of their release from bondage are signs of their destruction.  {DA 628.3} 
     "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." All this the Christians suffered. Fathers and mothers betrayed their children. Children betrayed their parents. Friends delivered their friends up to the Sanhedrin. The persecutors wrought out their purpose by killing Stephen, James, and other Christians.  {DA 629.1} 
     Through His servants, God gave the Jewish people a last opportunity to repent. He manifested Himself through His witnesses in their arrest, in their trial, and in their imprisonment. Yet their judges pronounced on them the death sentence. They were men of whom the world was not worthy, and by killing them the Jews crucified afresh the Son of God. So it will be again. The authorities will make laws to restrict religious liberty. They will assume the right that is God's alone. They will think they can force the conscience, which God alone should control. Even now they are making a beginning; this work they will continue to carry forward till they reach a boundary over which they cannot step. God will interpose in behalf of His loyal, commandment-keeping people.  {DA 630.1}
     On every occasion when persecution takes place, those who witness it make decisions either for Christ or against Him. Those who manifest sympathy for the ones wrongly condemned show their attachment for Christ. Others are offended because the principles of truth cut directly across their practice. Many stumble and fall, apostatizing from the faith they once advocated. Those who apostatize in time of trial will, to secure their own safety, bear false witness, and betray their brethren. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the unnatural, cruel course of those who reject the light.  {DA 630.2} 
     Christ gave His disciples a sign of the ruin to come on Jerusalem, and He told them how to escape: "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea 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. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." This warning was given to be heeded forty years after, at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Christians obeyed the warning, and not a Christian perished in the fall of the city.  {DA 630.3}
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #130 on: November 11, 2013, 04:49:29 PM »
    "Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter; neither on the Sabbath day," Christ said. He who made the Sabbath did not abolish it, nailing it to His cross. The Sabbath was not rendered null and void by His death. Forty years after His crucifixion it was still to be held sacred. For forty years the disciples were to pray that their flight might not be on the Sabbath day.  {DA 630.4} 
     From the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ passed on rapidly to the greater event, the last link in the chain of this earth's history,--the coming of the Son of God in majesty and glory. Between these two events, there lay open to Christ's view long centuries of darkness, centuries for His
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church marked with blood and tears and agony. Upon these scenes His disciples could not then endure to look, and Jesus passed them by with a brief mention. "Then shall be great tribulation," He said, "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." For more than a thousand years such persecution as the world had never before known was to come upon Christ's followers. Millions upon millions of His faithful witnesses were to be slain. Had not God's hand been stretched out to preserve His people, all would have perished. "But for the elect's sake," He said, "those days shall be shortened."  {DA 630.5} 
     Now, in unmistakable language, our Lord speaks of His second coming, and He gives warning of dangers to precede His advent to the world. "If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. 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." As one of the signs of Jerusalem's destruction, Christ had said, "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." False prophets did rise, deceiving the people, and leading great numbers into the desert. Magicians and sorcerers, claiming miraculous power, drew the people after them into the mountain solitudes. But this prophecy was spoken also for the last days. This sign is given as a sign of the second advent. Even now false christs and false prophets are showing signs and wonders to seduce His disciples. Do we not hear the cry, "Behold, He is in the desert"? Have not thousands gone forth into the desert, hoping to find Christ? And from thousands of gatherings where men profess to hold communion with departed spirits is not the call now heard, "Behold, He is in the secret chambers"? This is the very claim that spiritism puts forth. But what says Christ? "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."  {DA 631.1} 
     The Saviour gives signs of His coming, and more than this, He fixes the time when the first of these signs shall appear: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
                                                                           632
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 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 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."  {DA 631.2} 
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #131 on: November 11, 2013, 04:50:02 PM »
    At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven. And He says, "Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors." Mat_24:32-33, margin.  {DA 632.1} 
     Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." These signs have appeared. Now we know of a surety that the Lord's coming is at hand. "Heaven and earth shall pass away," He says, "but My words shall not pass away."  {DA 632.2} 
     Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1Co_15:52. A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us "faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Jud_1:24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."  {DA 632.3} 
     But the day and the hour of His coming Christ has not revealed. He stated plainly to His disciples that He Himself could not make known the day or the hour of His second appearing. Had He been at liberty to reveal this, why need He have exhorted them to maintain an attitude of constant expectancy? There are those who claim to know the very day and hour of our Lord's appearing. Very earnest are they in mapping out
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the future. But the Lord has warned them off the ground they occupy. The exact time of the second coming of the Son of man is God's mystery.  {DA 632.4} 
     Christ continues, pointing out the condition of the world at His coming: "As the days of Noah 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 Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Christ does not here bring to view a temporal millennium, a thousand years in which all are to prepare for eternity. He tells us that as it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of man comes again.  {DA 633.1} 
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #132 on: November 11, 2013, 04:50:51 PM »
     How was it in Noah's day? "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Gen_6:5. The inhabitants of the antediluvian world turned from Jehovah, refusing to do His holy will. They followed their own unholy imagination and perverted ideas. It was because of their wickedness that they were destroyed; and today the world is following the same way. It presents no flattering signs of millennial glory. The transgressors of God's law are filling the earth with wickedness. Their betting, their horse racing, their gambling, their dissipation, their lustful practices, their untamable passions, are fast filling the world with violence.  {DA 633.2} 
     In the prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction Christ said, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 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." This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to "every creature which is under heaven." Col_1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Rev_14:6, Rev_14:14. God "hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world." Act_17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2Pe_3:12, margin. Had
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the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.  {DA 633.3} 
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #133 on: November 11, 2013, 04:51:14 PM »
    After He had given the signs of His coming, Christ said, "When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." "Take ye heed, watch and pray." God has always given men warning of coming judgments. Those who had faith in His message for their time, and who acted out their faith, in obedience to His commandments, escaped the judgments that fell upon the disobedient and unbelieving. The word came to Noah, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me." Noah obeyed and was saved. The message came to Lot, "Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city." Gen_7:1; Gen_19:14. Lot placed himself under the guardianship of the heavenly messengers, and was saved. So Christ's disciples were given warning of the destruction of Jerusalem. Those who watched for the sign of the coming ruin, and fled from the city, escaped the destruction. So now we are given warning of Christ's second coming and of the destruction to fall upon the world. Those who heed the warning will be saved.  {DA 634.1}
     Because we know not the exact time of His coming, we are commanded to watch. "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching." Luk_12:37. Those who watch for the Lord's coming are not waiting in idle expectancy. The expectation of Christ's coming is to make men fear the Lord, and fear His judgments upon transgression. It is to awaken them to the great sin of rejecting His offers of mercy. Those who are watching for the Lord are purifying their souls by obedience to the truth. With vigilant watching they combine earnest working. Because they know that the Lord is at the door, their zeal is quickened to co-operate with the divine intelligences in working for the salvation of souls. These are the faithful and wise servants who give to the Lord's household "their portion of meat in due season." Luk_12:42. They are declaring the truth that is now specially applicable. As Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses each declared the truth for his time, so will Christ's servants now give the special warning for their generation.  {DA 634.2} 
     But Christ brings to view another class: "If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him."  {DA 634.3} 
     The evil servant says in his heart, "My lord delayeth his coming." He does not say that Christ will not come. He does not scoff at the idea of His second coming. But in his heart and by his actions and words he declares that the Lord's coming is delayed. He banishes from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming quickly. His influence leads men to presumptuous, careless delay. They are confirmed in their worldliness and stupor. Earthly passions, corrupt thoughts, take possession of the mind. The evil servant eats and drinks with the drunken, unites with the world in pleasure seeking. He smites his fellow servants, accusing and condemning those who are faithful to their Master. He mingles with the world. Like grows with like in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. With the world he is taken in the snare. "The lord of that servant shall come . . . in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites."  {DA 635.1}
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #134 on: November 11, 2013, 04:51:37 PM »
    "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Rev_3:3. The advent of Christ will surprise the false teachers. They are saying, "Peace and safety." Like the priests and teachers before the fall of Jerusalem, they look for the church to enjoy earthly prosperity and glory. The signs of the times they interpret as foreshadowing this. But what saith the word of Inspiration? "Sudden destruction cometh upon them." 1Th_5:3. Upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth, upon all who make this world their home, the day of God will come as a snare. It comes to them as a prowling thief.  {DA 635.2} 
     The world, full of rioting, full of godless pleasure, is asleep, asleep in carnal security. Men are putting afar off the coming of the Lord. They laugh at warnings. The proud boast is made, "All things continue as they were from the beginning." "Tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant." 2Pe_3:4; Isa_56:12. We will go deeper into pleasure loving. But Christ says, "Behold, I come as a thief." Rev_16:15. At the very time when the world is asking in scorn, "Where is the promise of His coming?" the signs are fulfilling. While they cry, "Peace and safety," sudden destruction is coming. When the scorner, the rejecter of truth, has become presumptuous; when the routine of work in the various money-making lines is carried on without regard to principle; when the student is eagerly seeking knowledge of everything but his Bible, Christ comes as a thief.  {DA 635.3} 
     Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord's appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.  {DA 636.1}
     The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation's hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut.  {DA 636.2} 
     Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: "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." "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."  {DA 636.3} 

END
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Richard Myers

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #135 on: November 12, 2013, 09:12:18 AM »
"Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord's appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win. 

     The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place."


"crisis is stealing gradually upon us."  Yes, it is gradually getting worse. Even many who have studied and know this is a sign of the end are complacent.  But, God does not allow the carnal mind to be at peace if He can help it. He loves the sinner and He either allows or causes disturbances in the life that the sinner might see his peril.

" 12:5   And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 
  12:6   For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 
  12:7   If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 
  12:8   But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 
  12:9   Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 
  12:10   For they verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness. 
  12:11   Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 
  12:12   Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 
  12:13   And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 
  12:14   Follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 
  12:15   Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled." Hebrews
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #136 on: December 18, 2014, 11:31:02 AM »
Jesus loves us so very much!  And, He does not want us to be taken by surprise as bad things happen all around us. There is much trouble in the world today, everywhere we look we see pain and suffering. More trouble is coming as we have been reading the warnings given by Jesus. In the Bible, God gives us a symbol that illustrates trouble is coming. What is that symbol? And do we find it anywhere being used in Scripture to warn of trouble coming upon apostate Christianity?  Line upon line, precept upon precept. Matthew 24 speaks of trouble coming, but not all is spelled out. There are other warning signs that sinners might be given opportunity to turn from their sin.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #137 on: December 18, 2014, 11:38:01 AM »
I immediately thought of judgments in the land but those are not symbols.

What is on your mind, Richard? Tell us of the symbol. 
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 

Richard Myers

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #138 on: December 18, 2014, 05:49:14 PM »
Mimi, today we have great technology, so we are notified via radio, television, cell phones, and in many other ways when disaster is approaching. But in older times, there was no such technology. If I were standing on a wall that protected many cities, how could I have alerted the people therein of approaching danger?
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Mimi

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Re: Matthew 24
« Reply #139 on: December 19, 2014, 04:13:08 AM »
With a trumpet.

    It is the privilege of the watchmen on the walls of Zion to live so near to God, and to be susceptible to the impressions of His Spirit, that He can work through them to tell men and women of their peril and point them to the place of safety. Faithfully are they to warn them of the sure result of transgression, and faithfully are they to safeguard the interests of the church. At no time may they relax their vigilance. Theirs is a work requiring the exercise of every faculty of the being. In trumpet tones their voices are to be lifted, and never are they to sound one wavering, uncertain note. Not for wages are they to labor, but because they cannot do otherwise, because they realize that there is a woe upon them if they fail to preach the gospel. Chosen of God, sealed with the blood of consecration, they are to rescue men and women from impending destruction.  {AA 361.2}
  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89