Matthew 24:32-33 is by no means the only place in the Gospels
where Jesus uses this approach (using something familiar from
nature) to emphasize a point. Just as He uses the example of
the sprouting fig tree to impress upon us how important it is
to watch for the signs which will precede His Second Coming,
and to know without a doubt that He is coming, eight chapters
earlier, Jesus also uses the weather to expose the spiritual
blindness of His Jewish enemies. In the following verses, the
style is exactly the same as what He uses in Matthew 24:

"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting
desired him 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 to day: for the sky is red
and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the
sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there
shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet
Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
Matthew 16:1-4, KJV

Once again, we see Jesus using something that was obviously
very familiar to everyone who lived in Israel: the weather.
Jesus is basically saying to them, "Look; everyday you can
look at the sky and decide by its appearance if the weather
will be fair or rainy; yet are you so spiritually blind that
you cannot even interpret the dangerous signs that are all
around, which are signaling your own demise?". Exactly what
signs was Jesus referring to? Well, as we saw in part one,
Israel was a nation subjugated by the powerful Roman Empire,
and the Romans were slowly growing weary of the Zealots and
their rebellion. While most were blind to the danger, a few
were not, such as the Jewish High Priest, Caiaphas. This is
why we find the following scene in the Gospel of John:

"And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that
same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor
consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should
die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that
year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather
together in one the children of God that were scattered
abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together
for to put him to death."
John 11:49-53, KJV

While the Roman occupation was a clear omen of things yet to
come, Jesus' own presence in Israel at that time was an even
greater sign that the harsh, unforgiving, self-righteous rule
of the Scribes and Pharisees would soon be brought to an end.
Why? Because Jesus would free the Jews, and in fact, all men
everywhere, through His own Blood which He would freely shed
upon the Cross. As I explain elsewhere, in order for the New
Covenant, (or New Testament), to become effective, Jesus had
to die; and the Old Covenant, which revolved around the Jews'
temple worship and vain traditions, had to be destroyed. As
Jesus stated in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Luke:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister,
and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the
synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto
them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."
Luke 4:18-21, KJV

Even though the Scripture was fulfilled that very day before
their very eyes; even though they had the truth standing in
front of them, many of the old-school Jewish Elders were not
able to see it. The above event occurred in Nazareth, Jesus'
own boyhood town, where He grew up, and where everyone knew
Him; and yet, they rejected Him, and in fact, tried to throw
Him over a cliff, as we see here:

"And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these
things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him
out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill
whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down
headlong."
Luke 4:28-29, KJV

It is for this very reason that Jesus also stated in the
Gospel of Matthew:

". . . A prophet is not without honour, save in his own
country, and in his own house."
Matthew 13:57b, KJV

The Apostle John was likewise inspired to write in the first
chapter of his Gospel:

"He came unto his own, and his own received him not."
John 1:11, KJV

And in the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah, foreseeing the
rejection and sufferings of Christ, wrote the following:

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from
him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."
Isaiah 53:3, KJV

This series continues in part three. I trust that you will
join me.


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Sorry . . . Jesus Is Not Coming At Any Moment! : Part 3

Copyright 1994 - 2009 Endtime Prophecy Net

Published On : January 23, 2008

Last Updated : January 23, 2008

70 A.D. - Titus Destroys Solomon's Temple, A Third Temple?,
Kingdom Of Heaven Taken From The Jews, Rejected Cornerstone,
Violent Spiritual Warfare, "Harpazo" Force And The Rapture,
Dark Times Of The Great Tribulation, A "Lovey-Dovey" Jesus?,
God's Displeasure Was Revealed Through The Torn Temple Veil,
Theories Regarding Lost Ark Of The Covenant, Mercy Seat And
A Dead Hollow Religion, Blind Leaders Of The Blind, Purpose
Of Parables, More On Parable Of Fig Tree And 1948 Doctrine,
Defining A Biblical Generation, Blindly Trusting Preachers,
Seminary Doctrines, Pro-Israel Religious Right In America,
Isaiah 66:8 The Diaspora Jacob's Trouble And 1948 Doctrine,



Of course, as we now know, and as we discussed earlier in
this series, the Israelites would not feel the full weight
of Jesus' words, and the wrath of Rome, until almost forty
years later, when General Titus would march into Jerusalem,
and utterly destroy it, along with Solomon's Temple. You may
recall that in part two, I shared the following verse with
you from Matthew chapter twenty-four, where Jesus clearly
told His Disciples:

". . . 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."
Matthew 24:2b

As I have pointed out before, according to my research, the
Romans were not content with just burning down the temple.
Precisely as Jesus prophesied in Matthew chapter twenty-four,
they also tore the temple remains apart, block by block, in
order to recover all of the gold which had melted down into
the cracks; and there was apparently plenty of it, based on
the descriptions found in the Old Testament. To our current
time, the temple has never been rebuilt, and it is also my
understanding that those blocks remain untouched by the
Jews, due to their fear of offending God.

Imagine how shocked the Apostles must have been to find out
that the beautiful building which they so admired, would be
destroyed. So their first inquiry was answered by Titus in
70 A.D.; but please note that this event may not necessarily
have been the complete fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy. As I
mentioned earlier in this series, and explain more fully in
other articles, there is Scriptural evidence which suggests
that a third temple may be built on the Temple Mount in East
Jerusalem, sometime in the near future, after the Israelis
and the Palestinians have resolved the various issues which
exist between them. Will this third temple also be destroyed
by the enemies of Israel? Please refer to the aforementioned
articles for more details.


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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