I am wondering if this will slowly become a regular thing.
Luke 21
7They questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?"
8And He said, "See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, '(F)I am He,' and, 'The time is near ' (G)Do not go after them.
9"When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately."
Things to Come
10Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.12"But before all these things, (H)they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.
13"(I)It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
14"(J)So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
15for (K)I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
16"But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
17and you will be hated by all because of My name.
18"Yet (L)not a hair of your head will perish.
19"(M)By your endurance you will gain your lives.
20"But when you see Jerusalem (N)surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.
21"Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and (O)those who are in the country must not enter the city;
22because these are (P)days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
23"Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for (Q)there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;
24and they will fall by (R)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and (S)Jerusalem will be (T)trampled under foot by the Gentiles until (U)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Return of Christ
25"There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.27"(V)Then they will see (W)THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.
28"But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because (X)your redemption is drawing near."
29Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
30as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and (Y)know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31"So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that (Z)the kingdom of God is near.
32"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
33"(AA)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
34"(AB)Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
35for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
36"But (AC)keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to (AD)stand before the Son of Man."
Mark 13
5And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 6"Many will come in My name, saying, '(E)I am He!' and will mislead many.
7"When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.
8"For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9"But be on your guard; for they will (F)deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged (G)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.
10"(H)The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.
11"(I)When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
12"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
13"(J)You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14"But (K)when you see the (L)ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
15"(M)The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house;
16and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
17"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
18"But pray that it may not happen in the winter.
19"For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred (N)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.
20"Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
21"And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ'; or, 'Behold, He is there'; do not believe him;
22for false Christs and (O)false prophets will arise, and will show (P)signs and (Q)wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
23"But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.
The Return of Christ
24"But in those days, after that tribulation, (R)THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, 25(S)AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.26"Then they will see (T)THE SON OF MAN (U)COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.
27"And then He will send forth the angels, and (V)will gather together His elect from the four winds, (W)from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.
28"Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
29"Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
30"Truly I say to you, this [b]generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
31"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
32"(X)But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
33"Take heed, (Y)keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
34"(Z)It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.
35"Therefore, (AA)be on the alert--for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or (AB)when the rooster crows, or (AC)in the morning--
36in case he should come suddenly and find you (AD)asleep.
37"What I say to you I say to all, '(AE)Be on the alert!'"
Matthew 24
3As He was sitting on (D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of (E)Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 4And Jesus answered and said to them, "(F)See to it that no one misleads you.
5"For (G)many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.
6"You will be hearing of (H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
7"For (I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be (J)famines and earthquakes.
8"(K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9"(L)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and (M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10"At that time many will (N)fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
11"Many (O)false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
12"Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.
13"(P)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14"This (Q)gospel of the kingdom (R)shall be preached in the whole (S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Perilous Times
15"Therefore when you see the (T)ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in (U)the holy place ((V)let the reader understand), 16then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.17"Whoever is on (W)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.
18"Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
19"But (X)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20"But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.
21"For then there will be a (Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
22"Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for (Z)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
23"(AA)Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him.
24"For false Christs and (AB)false prophets will arise and will show great (AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even (AD)the elect.
25"Behold, I have told you in advance.
26"So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them.
27"(AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the (AF)coming of the (AG)Son of Man be.
28"(AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Glorious Return
29"But immediately after the (AI)tribulation of those days (AJ)THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND (AK)THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30"And then (AL)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see (AM)the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.31"And (AN)He will send forth His angels with (AO)A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His (AP)elect from (AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Parable of the Fig Tree
32"Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right (AR)at the door.34"Truly I say to you, (AS)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
35"(AT)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36"But (AU)of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37"For the (AV)coming of the Son of Man will be (AW)just like the days of Noah.
38"For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, (AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (AY)Noah entered the ark,
39and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the (AZ)coming of the Son of Man be.
40"Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41"(BA)Two women will be grinding at the (BB)mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42"Therefore (BC)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43"But be sure of this, that (BD)if the head of the house had known (BE)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.44"For this reason (BF)you also must be ready; for (BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45"(BH)Who then is the (BI)faithful and (BJ)sensible slave whom his master (BK)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
46"Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
47"Truly I say to you that (BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48"But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,'
49and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
50the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
51and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be (BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
People love to focus on one or two verses - usually to back up their claims. Context will always destroy their arguments.
The people who have been led astray, lately - will need our prayers. They will need to be shown that their faith is not wrong, that it was the prophet, who was wrong. Matthew 24:45 - 51, right above, explains what *his* fate will be.
But his followers, they will need much grace, and forgiveness. And good teaching. I fear, in their despair and disgrace, they will turn their backs on God entirely... and so Satan laughs all the harder. So yes, I spend a great amount of time in prayer, pleading that those around them, will be wise.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
My list of complaints against the "Organized Church" is long, and filled with personal ... bitterness, I suppose. Today though, I would love to address one issue that I feel is very important to this situation.
The church as a people, and as an institution, has lost its sense of purpose, it seems to me.
Christians gather, not to do outreach, or to bring in members, but to strengthen themselves. The "seeker friendly" church, is... well its despicable, honestly. It is the individuals job, the *persons* responsibility - to reach out to their community and neighbors. The things they do and the say, are to reflect the light of Christ, and draw people to them.
The church, as a building, is supposed to *teach* us, feed us, point us in a collected direction.
But it is not meant, for the unbeliever. *We* are.
Now, we have the "church" reaching out to the unknown masses, and it gives us leave - to sit on our asses, and become complacent.
And worse, it forces the Pastors of these churches, into a solid repetitive cycle of preaching. He cannot feed his flock meat, cannot get into the heart of scriptures, because they are continually attempting to placate those who may or may not walk in, who would not understand.
Only the most simple, basic teachings, get thrown from the pulpit - those carefully tended to not offend, to not challenge, to not upset any young Christian, or unbeliever. And on this milk, those with stronger appetites, starve.
And through this, these places grow less and less a "Fellowship of the Saints" and more and more a social club. Unable to understand the wealth, the joy, and the strength that is under the surface of the river they are barely skimming. God and scripture become something that is relegated to Sunday, and the people largely remain inoculated to any real concept of forgiveness, of grace, or of any deep theological study... like the end times, and how fully they *are* laid out in scripture.
From the verses above, I think its inescapable - we must recognize that there is tribulation, *before* the rapture. We will be hated, and killed, and be a true mystery, to the unsaved, long before He comes to us. But that those days be cut *short* none would survive. That's fairly clear.
I do not welcome this. I look at my children, and fear.
But their lives, as mine, are in the hands of God.
But, with all that is happening, - I do have to admit - we *are* in the beginning stages now. Our destruction, the hatred, is slowly being fanned into flames, and all too soon, we will see it boils over. Fear of the future, however, is pointless, and an exercise in stupidity, as well. All I can do, and all indeed that is asked of me, is a deep thankfulness, and grace, in this moment, right now, when all is well. (Comparitively Speaking, of course)
