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The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 1

...all these signs did happen as foretold and are document in the historical record. Mark and Matthew are generally accepted to be the earliest Gospels written, probably somewhere between 50-55AD (Luke's Gospel about a decade later), both of which record Jesus' prophecy here (which would have been spoken even earlier) long before the actual events took place. Most, if not all, of the New Testament was written before 70 AD which is when the temple was destroyed, so we'll never read about the fulfillment of this prophecy in the Scriptures. For that, we need to turn to Josephus – a first century historian who was an eyewitness to the destruction, and was involved...

The Coming Kingdom of the Son of Man

..., and the signs leading up to this event for his followers to watch out for. Again, he tells them of the impending persecutions that will befall them because of this ("Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death"). The parallel account in Luke 21 words this persecution almost word-for-word with Matt 10:23 – "But before all this [the signs and destruction] occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name." Luke 21:12   Now, Jesus goes further with his explanation and shows how this ties in with Daniel's pro...

When Church History and Science Collide

...stars as signs in the heavens for important events. There’s plenty that speak about the stars in various ways and for different reasons signifying things God was doing, or events on the earth. The first main reference happens during the creation narrative: Genesis 1:14And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years Then also there’s the important one signifying the birth of Christ, which the magi saw and recognised as important: Matthew 2:1–2In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came t...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...e initial signs and “birth pangs” are finished – now it’s no longer about looking towards an event; now it’s about the event itself! The main show, as it were: the “desolating sacrilege!” Matthew 24:15-18 So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat.   Now Matthew’s Gospel is traditionally understood to have been written to a Jewish audience due to the writing style and lingu...

Did the Qumran community predict the coming of Jesus?

...will the signs of the true Messiah be? Jesus answers: Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the glad tiding preached to them (Luke 7:22-23 and Matthew 11:4-5). This reply is cast in the style of a precise formula. It reflects a very early Christian expectation of the signs of the messianic age and the marks for identification of the Messiah. One indication that we have here a very early Christian tradition is that these passages from Luke and Matthew come from the source scholars have designated as Q, from the German wo...

Four Blood Moons and everyone loses their minds

...God for "signs and for seasons" and as ways to track time, but I won't hold my breath for "Armageddon" or the Second Coming, as Hagee expects. This time, Hagee suggests that a Rapture will occur where Christians will be taken to heaven, Israel will go to war in a great battle called Armageddon, and Jesus will return to earth. Hagee planned a special televised event on Tuesday (April 15) on the Global Evangelism Television channel. But NASA does not consider tetrads as especially rare, saying in a statement that there will be eight sets of tetrads before the year 2100. The most unique thing about the upcoming tetrad is that they are visible from all or par...