84th Post Jesus Prophecy Concerning the Anti-Christ.

Most of the things Jesus prophesied about are in the Olivet Discourse, Matthew Chapter 24 & 25.  The disciples did not believe it when Jesus told them that the Temple would be destroyed so completely that not one stone would be left on another.  I believe that when this came true in 70 A.D. (Anno Domini - The year of our Lord.) the disciples took this to also mean that Jesus would return very soon.  This has been shown, by the way Christians in each generation believe they would see the end of the world.  The ones who have read the Bible with more discernment, have come to understand that this was just one sign and not to be included with End Times Prophecy, as being the pivotal time link, starting End Times Prophecy as shown in Revelation as started.  Jesus said something else in this discourse that most people play down.  In verse 15 of Matthew 24, Jesus talks about the "Abomination of Desolation".  This is the same term used by Daniel to describe the anti-christ of the third kingdom of his vision, Daniel 8: 9 - 14).   This prophecy has already taken place in 168 B.C.  In your Bibles, this occurs between Malachi and Matthew.  When Jesus uses this term in Matthew,  He is also talking about a "Little Horn" that is to come but not of the third kingdom, but from the fourth kingdom, Daniel 7: 8.  No one teaches about the "Little Horn" of the third kingdom, to understand the "Little Horn" of the fourth kingdom, knowledge of the third kingdom is very helpful.  Now when you look at Matthew Chapter 24: 15, this takes on a whole new perspective.  "When you see the abomination of desolation, standing in the Holy Place."  Not only did Jesus prophesy that the Temple would be destroyed, but that it would be rebuilt.  Look at the beginning of Chapter 24, verse one.  The temple will be destroyed, then in verse 15, Jesus is talking about the anti-christ standing in the "Holy Place", the Word of God does not lie, and the Lord can not contradict Himself.  This means that both verses have to be true.  Usual interpretation, ties these verses together, this works until you get to the part of the anti-christ standing in the "Holy Place".  This was fulfilled exactly by Antiochus Epiphanes IV in 163 B.C.  This had already happened, so why would Jesus say this again??  The only way it makes sense, is that it will happen again, by a different person in a different Temple, but on the same site.  With the Dome of the Rock, standing on the Temple Mount now, this makes this prophecy just as fascinating as it must have been to the people who heard it the first time.   

83rd Post What Easter Sunday Accomplished.

This blog deals with prophecy, and we have looked at Old Testament and New Testament prophecy, and I have been trying to include the life of Jesus Christ and how this Life impacted Old and New Testament prophecy. We looked at Jesus' passion and death, and how they were foretold in Old Testament prophecy. Jesus had to suffer and die, and be raised from the dead in order to become the perfect sacrifice. When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, be brought sin into the world. The world needed a perfect Adam to take the sin out of the world that the first Adam allowed in. The perfect sacrifice, was Jesus Christ. When He died on the cross, He paid the price owed by the human race for Adam's sin. The Bible tells us "The wages of Sin is death." Jesus proved that He was without sin, when He rose from the dead. No one else has done this! Good Friday, would be just another day if Jesus had not Risen on Easter! The fact that death could not hold Jesus Christ, proves that He was sinless. These are facts. Since it has been a long time since Jesus rose from the dead, many are saying this never happened. This is not true. If you believe that Christ did not rise, you are deceiving yourself. The end of the world will come just as the Bible predicted, you saying it won't, can not change this fact. What do you believe??

82nd Post On Prophecy - Is Jesus the Messiah - Con't.

When Jesus walked the earth, many people did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth could be the promised Messiah. The people of Nazareth knew Jesus as the son of Mary and Joseph, not that Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. When they came to live in Nazareth, they did not come from Bethlehem, but from Egypt. The Holy Family had to flee from Bethlehem and go to Egypt to escape King Herod the Great's decree to kill every male child two years old and younger. This also is a fulfillment of prophecy, "out of Egypt will I call My Son." The Holy Family returned from Egypt and settled in Nazareth. Jesus when He started His earthly ministry, went to the Synagogoue in Nazareth, and as an adult male of that town took His place to read and comment on the Scriptures. Jesus read from the Book of Isaiah 61: 1 - 2a; and after He finished reading the text, told the people there that this Scripture was fulfilled in your hearing. The people in attendance, knew that Scripture to be a Messianic prophecy, so they understood fully what Jesus meant when He said this has been fulfilled in your hearing. Jesus was telling them that He was the Promised Messiah. They rejected this and tried to throw him off a cliff. Jesus was able to move through the crowd without being touched. His time had not come, yet. Jesus being called a Nazarene, fulfilled the prophecies that the Messiah would be rejected.

81st Post Bible Prophecy Continued - Is Jesus the Messiah?

I should have posted this sooner, but I have remembered to post it now. The Old Testament points to a Savior, Redeemer to come to save us from our sins. No other person living before Jesus Christ, or after has fulfilled more prophecies, than Jesus did. Jesus fulfilled 100 Old Testament prophecies during his lifetime on earth. This blog was started to explain that the Bible is the true word of God, and to point out the signs of the End Times, that will take place. There are more prophecies yet to be fulfilled that Jesus will do when He comes again. The evidence will become even stronger, when these open prophecies start to be fulfilled. The posts that dealt with "The Cup", and "The Cross"; show that Jesus was the one who was promised. They have explained how Jesus became our Redeemer. It has been 2,000 years since Jesus walked the earth, and many say that was a long time ago, and He will not come back. God the Father picked the time to send His Son to live on the earth; and God the Father will pick the time for Christ's return. All of these things were printed as part of the Old Testament. Jesus said when He walked the earth, that He is the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end, "No one comes to the Father, except through Me." Jesus is our Redeemer, but I have yet to blog on His resurection, to complete the whole meaning of Redeemer.

80th Post Prophecy and the Cross Discussed - Con't.

Why does the Cross hold the power that it does. I have been trying to explain what the "Cross" and the "Cup" are and why they are important. How could Jesus use a "Cross" a symbol of his death, into a symbol of triumph. When God gave us free choice, it set in motion a situation where God could not fail. For God to be God, He had to be over everything. If God failed just one time, He would cease to be God. This means He could not fail, not now, not ever! If God is not perfect, He is not God! Jesus being the Son of God, has to have these same attributes, or He is not God! Man not being God, brought sin into the world because he disobeyed the Laws of God. Man was tricked by Satan into disobeying God. In order to reestablish man's position to what it was before sin was introduced, God would have to restore man. This required paying the sin debt that was owed; and conquering the trickster that caused man to fail. That meant Satan had to be brought down. The cross is the vehicle God used to accomplish both these things. Jesus died for all man's sins. He raised Himself on Easter to prove that He had conquered death! When Jesus rose, He conquered death. The wages of sin is death, because Jesus had no sin, death could not keep Him. When He rose on Easter, He conquered death and Satan. This is why Jesus can say "I am the Way the Truth and the Life; No one comes to the Father except through Me." There is no other God, but this God!!

79th Post Full Power of the Cross Investegated.

We learned from our study of the "CUP" that there was more to this than just a cup filled with wine. The same is true for the "CROSS". The cross was the vehicle used to grant us forgiveness of sins, this is True. But there is another part of forgiving of sins that we forget to include. This has to do with the getting rid of the sins once they are forgiven. To better understand this, we have to go to Leviticus Chapter 16, Hebrews Chapters 9 & 10, and 13:12. Hebrews 13:12, is the one that says that Jesus had to die outside the camp. If you look at the Temple, the Altar of Burned Sacrifice was inside the Temple walls but outside in the courtyard. So why is it so important that Jesus was to die outside the camp (city walls)? The sin had to get outside the city walls. In the Old Testament, this was accomplished through the use of a scapegoat. Lambs were used to cover the sins of the people, Bulls (priests) and Goats were used to cover the sins of the people as a nation. This was done as part of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). In the Old Testament, it required two days to try to accomplish what Jesus actually did in one. The Old Testament sacrifices, only covered the sins they did not atone for them. This is the reason, they had to be performed every year. Jesus' sacrifice, was complete, He only had to do it once and Jesus got rid of the sin, not just covered it. I will go into more detail concerning the scapegoat in next post.

78th Post Jesus and the "CUP" Discussion Continued.

In the previous posts concerning the "CUP". We have looked at the complex mixture the "CUP" contained. Now we will be looking at the complex way the Lord used that "CUP" as a way to reconcile us back to God. By us, I mean all humanity; to be reconciled you must believe that Jesus died and rose again for your sins. We will be looking at the resurrection and what that all entailed. A clue is found in the last part of Jesus' prayer in the upper room on Maundy Thursday night, before He was to be betrayed. The prayer is found in John Chapter 17, but we are concentrating on the last verses of this prayer. Jesus uses the word "sanctify" twice, and consecrate once. Remember that Jesus is perfect, without sin. Jesus was not guilty to die for our sins, so why was it necessary for Him to be consecrated? When Jesus died, He not only satisfied God's Sin requirement, but He also satisfied the Right to be called our High Priest. Just like Jesus was baptized before He could teach the people, Jesus also had to be consecrated to become eligible to be Our High Priest. Remember Jesus is not of the line of Aaron, so He was establishing a new form of Priesthood, along the lines of King Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20). Like King Melchizedek, Jesus holds the title of King & High Priest. Jesus not only paid the sin debt, but He also became the One who has the authority to forgive sin. When Jesus forgives, you are completely forgiven! I hope this post has helped you to understand more of what the "Cup" did for you and why it was important for Jesus to drink all of it. Praise God!