Which “End” Did Jesus Mean When He Said, “And Then the End Shall Come?” Mt 24:14

Let’s Not Portray Jesus as a Fuzzy Thinker

The phrase used by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, “And Then the End Shall Come,” cannot in any way be a reference to the end of the world. To interpret it that way is to commit several errors: Such an interpretation misreads the prophetic word of Jesus by taking it out of context, denies the sovereignty of God in His omniscient plan for history, overemphasizes evangelism, imposes misplaced guilt on people for not evangelizing, and creates a truncated view of our calling and purpose in the kingdom of God. Perhaps most deleterious of all, such an interpretation creates fuzzy and unethical thinking about the word of God and, therefore, all of life.

August 9, 2017August 6, 2017

“Left Behind” – The Discrediting of a Theological System

There was a series of books published in the “Left Behind” series. At least two movies have now been made based on those books. They are the source of ridicule from the unbelieving world, and the authors of the ideas presented in those books and movies think the unbelievers are proving the point of their stories. What if their ideas are simply unbiblical and foolish? What does that do for the reputation of the Christian faith, when unbelievers think such ideas are what all Christians believe? What if the theology of those stories is a recent invention that perverts the words of Jesus and the prophets? Thankfully, such theologies typically die over time, but the damage done during that time can be great.

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August 5, 2017August 6, 2017

Apocalypse

The Greek word translated as The Revelation in Revelation 1:1 is apocalypse.

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: . . . .”

The Greek word, apokalypsis, means:

1. laying bare, making naked

2. a disclosure of truth, instruction

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July 31, 2017April 20, 2021

The Book of Esther Played Out in Acts

In Acts 4, Peter continues the accusation that Jesus began. He accused the Sanhedrin and the High Priest of killing the “Blessed One.” The Apostles’ message of comfort for all who would listen changed once they appeared before the Sanhedrin & that leadership began their attempt to stop the message. Peter turned to accusation because he had made his choice – Christ, the King. It was either Christ or the establishment. The apostles and other of Christ’s followers, like Stephen, clearly thought Christ would be victorious over the establishment of that day. The establishment thought they would survive somehow within the Roman system or escape it in the future somehow. Christ and His apostles focused on God and his judgment of who should succeed and prosper into future generations; the establishment relied upon political power, negotiation, gamesmanship, waiting the Romans out, as they had waited out the other empires that had taken Israel captive. In that waiting, however, the establishment ignored Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the other visions Daniel saw. See the post, “Daniel – The Key Timing Prophecy.” Continue reading “The Book of Esther Played Out in Acts”

July 27, 2017August 6, 2017

Coming in the Clouds of Heaven

“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.” Matthew 24:30. See also Mark 13:26 (“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”) and Luke 21:27 (“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”). What are the clouds of heaven? Literal clouds? Clouds of angels? Clouds of other believers already in heaven? Why clouds? Why not groups, if he’s writing about groups of people? Why not armies? Why is the word cloud important?

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July 24, 2017August 6, 2017

Matthew 26:64 – The Right Hand of Power

There is much to be said about the right hand of God, some of which I’ve mentioned in another post about the throne of David. In Matthew 26:64, and after being silent before the High Priest and others at His trial, Jesus responds to the High Priest’s legal challenge: “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Matthew 26:63. His response is singular in the words He uses in the New Testament. “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.” Matthew 26:64. See also Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69 also.

There are many ways to look at and study this statement, but I want to focus on one aspect of it. Here’s a question: With respect to speaking about who He Continue reading “Matthew 26:64 – The Right Hand of Power”

July 20, 2017August 6, 2017

Matthew 24 part 10 – The Abomination Resulting in Desolation

So which abominations were Daniel or Jesus speaking about regarding the end of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.? I don’t know of any specific raising of a false idol in the actual holy place of the temple by the Romans. There is an assertion that the Romans set up one of their banners with the Roman eagle, but I don’t know where or when. If it was in the temple area, that would have to have taken place after the Romans entered and took over the temple area. That would have been too late to act as a warning.

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July 17, 2017July 9, 2017

Matthew 24 part 9 – The Abomination Resulting in Desolations

Matthew 24 – The Abomination Resulting in Desolations

“And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, ‘O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.’ ” Daniel 9:22-7.

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July 13, 2017August 6, 2017

Dominion – Whose? When?

Dominion – An Inevitable Concept

“For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Hebrews 2:5-10.

Who is Psalm 8 talking about? Depends on when you read it. Before Christ, it’s talking about man, humanity, the Adamic creation, but after Christ, it’s clearly talking about Christ. But it couldn’t do away with the general reference to man, could it? No, it also refers to man in Christ, the new creation, the second Adam. Continue reading “Dominion – Whose? When?”

July 10, 2017August 6, 2017

Daniel – The Key Timing Prophecy

I’d like to take a break and talk about Daniel, a key timing book in the Old Testament. So many get Daniel wrong, yet it is so simple. Think about Daniel 2 and the simplicity of the history predicted: There will be 4 kingdoms, Babylon through Rome, and then the kingdom of God shall replace all of them and grow to fill the earth. So simple. Yet, the so-called literalists do all they can to obscure the meaning by claiming its fulfillment is yet future. So futile, so overly complicated, so un-literal, so unfaithful, so perverse. Yet they claim to be the ones faithful to scripture. Yet, they deny Daniel his due. Nay, more importantly, they deny Christ, the stone the builders rejected, the stone cut out without hands, the stone that is the foundation, the cornerstone of God’s kingdom, His due. They deny Him His great work on the cross. They deny its full efficacy, they deny Him the full honor of His first coming and what He accomplished.

Notice the timing so clearly stated, yet overlooked by the interpreters:

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