Read this text or watch the video by going to this link https://youtu.be/3gWyVyT6-Yw.

 As Jesus traveled throughout Israel urging people to repent and believe the gospel, “Follow me” was a constant refrain in his message. At the beginning of his ministry, he called his first disciples with the terse command, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” As his ministry progressed, he told the crowds, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). At the end of his earthly ministry, he recommissioned the repentant Peter with the words, “Follow me” (John 21:19). Have you ever probed the meaning of this phrase? If not, you should, because it can lead to a profound, transforming change in how you think about and live the Christian life. Perhaps this article can help get you started.
 What does it mean to follow Jesus? Following Jesus begins when we respond to his call to repent and believe the gospel. The Good News that God loves us and has taken the initiative to reconcile us to himself by giving his Son to atone for our sins awakens us to God’s grace and moves us to want to live for Christ and follow him. The Bible shows us about how to actually follow Jesus in daily life, two things stand out immediately: understanding and obeying his teaching and following his example. 
                       READ JOHN 21:19-23

19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me”
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”)y 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return,z what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
For his first disciples, hearing and obeying Jesus’ teachings were fundamental to following him. This is evident in the fact that soon after calling them, Jesus gave his disciples the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), an extensive in-depth teaching on life in the kingdom of God – what we might call basic principles of discipleship or the Christian life. At the conclusion of this sermon, Jesus emphasized with striking clarity the profound importance of hearing and obeying this teaching: Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it (Matt. 7:24–27).
The point Jesus is making in these words is that building one’s life on obedience to his teaching is wise and will sustain his disciples in the challenges they will inevitably encounter in life, just as building one’s house on a foundation of rock will secure it against the forces of nature that will assault it. Disobedience to his Word is folly and leads to ruin, as surely as building a house on sand will result in utter catastrophe when those same storms come. If we want to follow Jesus, then, we will certainly want to begin where the first disciples did, with understanding and obeying the foundational teaching in this sermon.
Following Jesus, then, entails both obeying his teachings and imitating his example. But this is not the sum of the matter. For obeying and imitating are not ends in themselves but are means to a greater end. That end or goal of discipleship is to become like Jesus himself: to think as he thought, to feel as he felt, to act as he acted, desire what he desired. As John puts it, “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6). Because Jesus is the image of God in human form (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1: 3), as we become more and more like him, the image of God is increasingly restored in our lives. A key part of this process is gaining a clearer knowledge of Jesus as he is presented to us in Scripture. And a time-honored way of doing this is to consistently and prayerfully read the Gospels and reflect on the life and teaching of Jesus. As we immerse our minds and hearts in the gospels, two major defining characteristics of his life stand out with striking clarity: faith and love. Secure in the love of God and his own sonship, Jesus lived with an unshakable trust in his heavenly Father and wholehearted love for God and others. If we want to become like Jesus, faith and love must become defining characteristics of our lives, too.
Let’s turn now to a brief look at faith in the life of Jesus. The picture of Jesus that emerges in the Gospels is of a man who lived his daily life in conscious, trusting dependence on his Father in heaven. Consider, for example, how his resistance to the Devil’s temptations in the wilderness reveals an unshakable faith in God and his Word (Matt. 4:1–11). Or his dependence on the Father in the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:40–43). Or his confidence that his Father would raise him from the grave (Mark 8:31). In each instance, Jesus has absolute trust in his Father. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than when he agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane, wanting to be spared but submitting to his Father’s will on the cross.
Jesus not only lived a life of faith before his disciples, but he also called them to live a life of faith as well. First and foremost, he called them to put their trust in him as Messiah and Son of God. But he didn’t stop there. He called them to an active, living faith in their heavenly Father in the affairs of everyday life. Whether for daily bread or power to heal the sick and cast out demons or to overcome the perils of nature, they were to live by faith and to grow in faith.
Each challenge they encountered was an opportunity for growth. They were slow to learn the lessons of faith, and most of us probably identify with them and give them a pass. But Jesus never did. When the disciples were in danger of drowning in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus upbraided them for their fear and lack of faith (Mark4:35–41). When they were unable to cast out a demon, he told them it was due to their lack of faith (Matt. 17:14–21). Growing in faith was a very important part of maturing as a disciple. He expected them to grow in faith as they saw his mighty deeds, and he expected them to trust God to answer their prayers—even to “move mountains” to advance his kingdom. It could rightly be asked, what is the value of simply following an example? Can’t that lead to a kind of external, work-oriented mentality? It can, if we are doing nothing more than external imitation. The key is our motive. If we are earnestly seeking to please Jesus out of love, it can awaken a new understanding and deeper appreciation of the act we are performing. We all know that our thoughts can lead us into taking action, and our feelings can lead into action as well. But we often don’t realize that our actions can lead us into a different way of thinking or feeling. Consider, for example, the suburbanite who volunteers in an inner-city soup kitchen out of a sense of duty or maybe guilt. Through the experience of getting to know the poor and their problems, a deep and genuine compassion can emerge that changes the volunteer’s motive for serving and transforms that person into a true servant of the poor. So, it is with following the example of Jesus. It can change us inwardly and help us become in our hearts what we are doing with our hands.
The other major defining characteristic of Jesus’ life was love. Jesus lived a life of love. He loved his Father with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. And he loved others and sought their good. This may sound commonplace to those who have been in church for a while. And we may wrongly assume that we know what it means. Our ideas about love may be shaped by unrecognized cultural assumptions and may be far from correct. Thus a brief examination of Jesus’ teaching on love may prove helpful. The cornerstone of Jesus’ teaching on love is found in the Great Commandment:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 22:34–40).
The first of these two commands, found originally in Deuteronomy 6:5, lies at the heart of the Old Testament’s teaching about how God’s people are to relate to him. Before they ever knew him, God loved Israel and chose them to be his special people. He demonstrated his love by rescuing them from slavery, giving them land flowing with milk and honey and promising them great blessings in the future. In return, he asked for wholehearted love and devotion, to be expressed in obedience to his covenant. Jesus teaches that God still seeks the wholehearted love of his people and that responding to his love is to be our highest priority. Thus, we should spare no effort in seeking to grow in love. But what is love? Have you ever pondered that question? In pop culture and contemporary usage, the word love is closely associated with feeling and sentiment; this tends to color our thinking. It is easy for us unconsciously to sentimentalize the call to love God and reduce it to a matter of feeling.
But while feeling is certainly a part of loving God, it is not the heart of the matter. In the Bible the essence of loving God is to give ourselves fully to him who first loved us, to surrender to his love and devote ourselves to him. That is the point of “all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength.” Just as a woman gives herself to a man who deeply loves her and asks her hand in marriage, so we are called to give ourselves to the God who loves us and has redeemed us at the price of his own dear Son. Far from being an arbitrary demand, this command is an entreaty of love.
You may wonder how you could possibly love God this way. To be sure, it is not a natural human ability. Paul tells us that “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5). And this love grows as we continue to live a gospel-centered life, meditating on and reminding ourselves daily of God’s love for us and Christ’s sacrifice for us. Assurance that God loves you deeply evokes an answering love for him that increases over time and is essential to living the Christian life. What does this kind of love look like in daily life? The answer may surprise you: obedience to God’s will as be found in Scripture. According to the Bible, obedience is the acid test of true love for God. Jesus makes this clear when he says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15 NIV). So does the apostle John, who says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3 ESV). If we love God, his commands will not be burdensome or irksome to us. Rather, we will desire to obey him. Do you desire to obey God and bring him pleasure through your obedience? The more we ponder and marvel at the good news of the gospel, the more we will want to please him.
READ MARK 8:31-34
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Then Jesus began to tell [the disciples] that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. Jesus will be killed, but he will also rise again (Mark 8:31). Furthermore, those who lose their lives for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel will save it (Mark 8:35). But at this time the disciples would not have known how those promises would come true. To deny yourself means to forget your own self-interest. It doesn’t mean to abandon worldly comforts like a monk or to strictly control one’s actions via spiritual disciplines, but to refuse rights and privileges that get in the way of God’s kingdom. What, specifically, we will have to deny depends on our situation.
Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their Jesus outlines the cost for us in verse 34. Anyone wishing to come after Me – to follow Me – that is, be a disciple, must do the following three things: he must deny himself, he must bear his cross and he must follow Christ. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. Jesus’ attempts to teach the disciples God’s plan for the Messiah. Jesus has not come for the religious Phari Jesus speaks of losing our lives for his sake, and for the sake of the gospel. Taking up our cross means being willing to suffer the consequences of following Jesus faithfully, whatever those consequences might be. It means putting Jesus’ priorities and purposes ahead of our own comfort or security.
MARK 8:31-38 in the Bible is about following Jesus and being willing to risk one’s life for the sake of others:
• Jesus’s example
Jesus invites his disciples to follow his example and be willing to risk their lives for the sake of others.
• Taking up the cross
Taking up the cross means being willing to suffer the consequences of following Jesus faithfully, whatever those consequences might be. It means putting Jesus’ priorities and purposes ahead of one’s own comfort or security.
• Following Jesus in this life
Jesus calls people to follow him not just for the future, but in this life. Following him now means a life “more abundant”.
Denying oneself Jesus says, “deny yourself” in contrast to the permissive, commercialized society that says “indulge yourself”.
• Losing one’s life
Losing one’s life is not about seeking martyrdom or victimhood, but rather about renouncing the attempt to secure life for oneself and spending it in the service of God and others
The key to meaning here is “for the sake of the gospel” and Jesus is the exemplary model. Jesus invites his disciples to follow his example, to be willing to risk our lives for the sake of others. I can think of many heroes of the faith who lived and died for the sake of others; their names are well-known.
It was Jesus’ way of helping them begin to understand that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” It was a bitter pill for the disciples to swallow! But it was necessary that they understand, otherwise they would miss the whole point of Jesus’ ministry, i.e., that he came to give his life for the salvation of them and us.
By human nature we want to be prosperous, strong, successful and influential. Jesus has other priorities. He, on the other hand, came to serve, not to be served. His ways are not our ways, yet he invites us to follow him and his ways.
The Christian church at the time of the Renaissance was riding high. It dominated the personal, social and political lives of Europeans. The landscape was dotted with its magnificent cathedrals. The church could command armies to do its will. Its leaders lived like princes, surrounded by wealth and pomp. In its return to the Bible, the Reformation rejected this “theology of glory” in favor of a “theology of the cross.” To follow Jesus is to live lives of service to others, to serve rather than to control and dominate. It means the opposite of being proud of the station and status for ourselves at the expense of others. The “theology of the cross” or “to deny oneself” does not mean a contrived kind of humility. We do not follow Jesus by demeaning ourselves. We are called upon to do the very best we can with the talents and abilities God has given us. To “deny oneself” means to keep one’s priorities in harmony with what Jesus told us in the two “great commandments” — love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:28-31).
There was, to be sure, a ray of hope in what Jesus said that day, although the disciples may not have heard it. Jesus will be killed, but he will also rise again (Mark 8:31). Furthermore, those who lose their lives for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel will save it (Mark 8:35). But at this time the disciples would not have known how those promises would come true. Jesus gives us this hope for the future, but in this text we are called upon to follow him not just for this future, but in this life. Furthermore, to follow him now means a life “more abundant,” as he said (John 10:10). As one pastor said, “we follow Jesus not just to be saved or to go to heaven; we follow Jesus because it’s worth it.”

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Do you know what it means by the “End Times”? Are you aware of what occurs then? Does the Bible have all the answers? The answer to that is “YES”, if you can find and understand the details. The true “End Times” is the Second Coming of Jesus. It is described in several places in the Bible, where Jesus comes to establish His kingdom in the new Heaven and new Earth for eternity. There is another event called the Rapture that is associated with the “End Times. Unlike the Second Coming there are no defined signs to signal its happening. My published book completely describes Rapture in great detail and identifies all of the many places where it is described. So, I have chosen to detail the Second Coming and selected the Book of Matthew to present his view of the blessed event. This is a different outlook from the one I wrote on the Second Coming and put on my RonaldRobbins.net website that made it to many countries all over the world. I was told that version was really loved by a couple in Iran. Matthew’s account details, from Jesus’, the alarming destruction that led to the “End Times”.
READ MATTHEW 24:3-14
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because
of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:1–14 follows Jesus and the disciples out of the temple. This comes after His devastating criticism of the scribes and Pharisees in chapter 23. Christ predicts a moment when the temple will be destroyed without one stone left on another. The passage that begins with this verse is often called the Olivet Discourse. Christ is sitting on the Mount of Olives as He teaches. From His position, Jesus can see the entrance to the temple. In the previous verse, He predicted that the temple would be fully and utterly destroyed, without one stone being left on top of another. This sad prophecy would come true in AD 70 when the Roman Empire attacks Jerusalem, dismantling the entire temple in the process. Later, His disciples ask for more information about these future events. Part if what Jesus says is that there is and will be hate in the world that leads to attacks on those who live the law of love God and love people. Christians are said we will be known by the world by our love for one another. False teachers will come (they have, they are, and they will.) again we are not to be deceived. An otherwise-unexplained “sign of the Son of Man” will appear. As Jesus sends angels to gather His chosen ones, the rest of the world will mourn (Matthew 24:23–31). Jesus next says that when people see these signs, they will know that His return is truly, immediately upon the world. Jesus prophesied that when the gospel had been proclaimed to all nations, the end would come, meaning that He would return as king and judge. This was His partial answer to His disciples about a sign that the end of the age was near.
In response to a question about the timing of judgment against Jerusalem and the end of the age, Jesus has listed several ideas. However, these are explained as occurrences which should not be read as signs that the end has come. He has mentioned false Messiahs, which Christians are warned not to follow (Matthew 24:4–5) as well as various news about violence, natural disaster, international conflict, and so forth (Matthew 24:6–8). Now Jesus uses a metaphor to describes these catastrophic events. They are “the beginning of the birth pains.” They are not the birth itself, or even the much-worse pains of labor, itself. In this metaphor, the delivery of the baby would represent the actual end of the age. A woman having birth pains, or contractions, may still be far from delivering the baby. Those pains contribute to the eventual time of birth, but they don’t mean the child has actually arrived. Many interpreters believe Jesus is speaking here about the first half of the time period known as the tribulation, a seven-year stretch just before Jesus returns to establish His millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4)
In response to a question about signs of the end times, Jesus has begun to describe what will happen to them after He is gone (John 16:5–7). His followers will be persecuted, put to death, and hated because of their association with Him (Matthew 24:9). Another notable part of this series of events will be that many who once claimed to be followers of Jesus will no longer do so. Their commitment to Christ will be revealed as weak, since they are unwilling to pay the high cost which comes with it. Some will even deceive and turn traitor to former friends, perhaps to escape persecution. Though they may once have seemed to love Christians, such people will act in hate. As with other statements in this passage, there is uncertainty about what exact time frame Jesus has in mind. The closing remark of the passage, however, seems to suggest this a depiction of the world immediately before Jesus’ second coming.
In line with that same series of warnings, Jesus describes the rise of false prophets who will succeed in distracting people away from the truth about Jesus. False prophets are those who claim to speak for God, or even specifically for Christ, but who distort the truth. These liars may help bring credibility to the false messiahs Jesus described earlier in this passage. They will be convincing. Believing them will not bring the high costs associated with the name of Jesus. Those who only want to avoid hardship, and are not committed to truth, will want to believe these liars. Now Jesus adds that one result of this false teaching will be disorder: a rejection of standards of goodness and morality. Those who follow the distorted vision offered by false prophets will abandon truth. They will rebel against virtue or submitting to God. The ultimate result of that self-serving, self-following lawlessness will be the loss of love. The imagery of love becoming “cold” evokes a corpse: not merely unmoving, but dead and lifeless. As humanity falls further away from the teachings of Christ, it will become less loving. Famously, Jesus taught that God’s entire message to humanity hung on two commands of Scripture: to love God with everything one is and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self (Matthew 22:37–40). It’s not surprising that rejection of God’s law correlates to a loss of love for God and for others.
That leads to one of Christ’s most hotly debated statements: His connection between enduring and being saved. As with any statement of Scripture, taking this verse out of context leads to misinterpretation. The immediate context of Christ’s remark is the state of the world immediately prior to His second coming. Given the end-times context of this passage, the most likely meaning is that those who survive the tribulation will be “saved” in the sense of being “spared,” and will continue to live in the millennial kingdom. The idea that apostasy disproves earlier claims to faith is biblical (1 John 2:18–19) but does not seem to be the point of this exact verse. The concept that one could lose or walk away from eternal life is contrary to other teachings of both Christ and the apostles.
Jesus has described difficult times to come for those who follow Jesus after He leaves the earth (John 16:5–7). He has pointed to an era of intense persecution, death, and hatred for any associated with His name. Many who seem to be true believers will fall away in response to the teaching of false prophets. Lawlessness will increase, and many will grow coldly unloving (Matthew 24:3–13). Still, none of this will stop the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom. The word “gospel” means “good news.” The good news Jesus has been preaching about the kingdom of heaven is that it is coming and will soon be here. He Himself is the king, and He will reign forever (Matthew 4:17; 13:43; 26:29).
Letters written by apostles such as John, Peter, and Paul, will give more specific details about the astounding kingd of God. The message Jesus’ disciples preached to the world was that all who put their faith in Jesus will receive the grace of God (Acts 4:12). God will take Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for the sins of those who believe (Romans 6:23) and will give them credit for the perfectly righteous life Jesus has lived (2 Corinthians 5:21). In short, the good news is that all who accept Christ are welcome in the kingdom of heaven through faith in the Son of God (Ephesians 2:8–9). Aside from Judas, the men to whom Jesus speaks (Matthew 24:3) did indeed remain faithful through persecution. They succeeded in launching the delivery of the gospel throughout the world as a testimony to all nations. They did not complete that work, however. Bible teachers debate when and if the whole world has been reached with the gospel of the kingdom, though all agree that this good news has reached the vast majority of the earth. The question matters, because Jesus prophesied that when the gospel had been proclaimed to all nations, the end would come, meaning that He would return as king and judge. This was His partial answer to His disciples about a sign that the end of the age was near.
READ MATTHEW 24:15-29
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken
Jesus addressed the second question from the disciples, explaining the state of the world during the end times. Here, Jesus continues to speak on that subject. He points to a moment that marks the onset of the worst possible calamities. This instance is the same one referred to by the prophet Daniel as the “abomination of desolation.” Daniel speaks of this several times (Daniel 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). It’s interesting that Matthew adds a footnote here directly encouraging “the reader” to understand that reference. Mark, as well, includes the same advice when describing Jesus’ words
Jesus has warned of a moment when His followers will see something called “the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place” (Matthew 24:15). This imagery comes from the prophet Daniel (Daniel 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Speaking in response to questions about the end times (Matthew 24:3), Jesus has pointed to this event as one of the clearest signs. The meaning of this and its connection to Old Testament prophecy is not immediately obvious, which is why both Matthew (Matthew 24:15) and Mark (Mark 13:14) add a footnote encouraging future readers to clearly understand it.
The disciples have asked Jesus when certain events will happen (Matthew 24:3). In part, they are asking about His prediction of a destroyed temple (Matthew 24:2), as well as the moment in time when He will return to set up His earthly kingdom. Part of His answer involved a terrible moment, referred to in the prophecies of Daniel (Daniel 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Some terrible violation of God’s holiness and law, an abomination, would be brought into the temple and the desolation of the temple would follow.
With startling language, Jesus is describing how quickly those in Jerusalem will need to flee when the temple is desecrated in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy (Matthew 24:15; Daniel 9:27). The picture He paints suggests an army closing quickly on Jerusalem or about to begin a siege. Jesus has said that those on their rooftops should make a run for it without even going back into their homes to grab some possessions (Matthew 24:17). Now He adds that a person in the field should not run first toward the city to grab his cloak. There won’t be time. When the sign predicted by Daniel (Matthew 24:15) finally happens, those in Jerusalem should run for their lives (Matthew 24:16–19). He has spoken urgently, saying that those on their rooftops should not go back into their homes for supplies and those in the fields should not go back for their cloaks. They should simply run—just get away. Later, Jesus will comment that the danger triggered by this event will be enough to threaten the entire human race (Matthew 24:21–22). Christ added a note of sadness for the vulnerable people who will be caught up in those days. Keeping with that theme, He commands His disciples to pray that they won’t have to try to make the journey in winter or on a Sabbath day.
Jesus has been describing the need for those in Jerusalem to run for the hills—to flee immediately—when the sign of the abomination of the temple takes place (Matthew 24:15). There won’t be time for grabbing supplies. Pregnant and nursing mothers will suffer enormously. He has told His disciples to pray that they will not need to run in winter or on the Sabbath (Matthew 24:16–20). Here, Christ refers to the era marked by this act of violation as a “great tribulation.” He says the horrors of this time will be the worst of all human history.
Some scholars point to Daniel 12:1, suggesting that Jesus is speaking of Daniel’s 1,260 days. This is three-and-a-half years and is often linked to the “great tribulation” Jesus mentioned (Matthew 24:21). Jesus is saying that the time of great suffering will be ended in order to spare those who belong to God and in order that some human beings should be saved. It seems best to read this as describing a period of great trouble that will come right at the end of the age before the return of Christ (Matthew 24:14) to the earth as Judge and King (Revelation 19:11–15).
In essence, there are two main points being made. Jesus is assuring the disciples that He is the one and only Messiah, the Christ. Anyone else who makes that claim is absolutely, clearly false. Second, when Jesus returns there will be absolutely zero doubt in anyone’s mind what has happened. They won’t learn of it by hearing a rumor that the Christ is here or there. Any such gossip or news can be dismissed immediately. The second coming of Christ will be emphatic and unmistakable.
In the future, after Jesus has gone (John 16:5–7), liars claiming to be the Messiah will arise, and so will deceptive people pretending to be prophets of God. The specific context of this warning is the end times—the days on earth just prior to Christ’s triumphant second coming (Revelation 19:11–15). During that time, the ability of these frauds will be enhanced through their ability to perform great signs and wonders. They will hope to deceive even those chosen by God who believe that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus adds “if possible,” since the true elect cannot possibly be lost by God. However, they may be diverted for a time.
Jesus wants His disciples to remember that He warned them about these unique things which would happen. This forewarning serves several different purposes. First it makes hardships easier to endure. Simply knowing that there is a plan, an end, and a victory at the end of suffering makes it much easier to “hold fast” under stress (John 16:1–4; Hebrews 10:23). Another advantage is that as prophesied events come to pass, Jesus’ followers will be confirmed in their faith (Hebrews 12:1). There is great encouragement in being able to read the words of Christ, and to say, “He told us this would happen, and now it has.” Third, Jesus’ words will help to keep the disciples from falling for ungodly lies and manipulations. Those who listen to Christ’s predictions, and warnings (Matthew 24:4–5, 11, 24) won’t be drawn in by displays of power from false saviors or other impostors. Instead, they will remember Jesus’ words. He is equipping them to defeat the lies of tomorrow with truth in the present. Jesus echoes Isaiah 48:5, speaking about one purpose of prophesy: “I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.
READ MATTHEW 24:30-36
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[e] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father.
The moment of Christ’s end-times return to earth will not be subtle, in any sense of the word. In this passage, He is reassuring His followers they need not worry they will miss it somehow. It will be obvious to everyone on earth (Matthew 24:23–29). This sign is only vaguely described in the text, but will be extremely obvious to those who see it. “The sign of the Son of Man” can be interpreted in several ways. Jesus often used the prophetic title “Son of Man” (Daniel 7:13) in reference to Himself (Matthew 9:6; 16:27; 20:18). Some scholars believe this sign might simply be the appearance of Jesus. Others read it to mean some heavenly banner or standard which will be unfurled and viewable to all as Christ’s symbol in the sky.
How will the world respond to this? Jesus says every nation of the world will mourn. To “mourn” implies grief and regret, but not necessarily repentance. It’s possible some who have survived the tribulation to that point will “mourn” in honest repentance. The vast majority, however, will not (Revelation 9:20–21). In some way, shape, or form, everyone on earth will see Jesus, the Son of Man, coming down to earth on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Some commentators suggest these clouds are made up of the host of heaven’s angels, mentioned in the next verse. Others believes these clouds to contain somehow the power and glory of God the Father mentioned here. Whatever aspect this all takes, it will be unmissable, unmistakable, and a clear cause for the people of earth to begin mourning now that the end of the age has arrived.
Jesus is describing the great and terrible moment of His return to earth. This is commonly called the second coming of Christ (Revelation 19:11–15). This will be a drastic contrast to Jesus’ first arrival on earth (Hebrews 9:28). Instead of being born in obscurity, to a young girl, in a small town, in a small nation, the Son of Man (Matthew 9:6; 16:27; 20:18) will return in the sky with power and glory. Every single person alive on earth will be aware of His arrival. The nations will begin to mourn (Matthew 24:29–30).
By that time, the gospel will be proclaimed through the whole world (Matthew 24:14). Now His angels will travel to every corner of the world where people have believed in Jesus. As He arrives, Jesus will dispatch angels with the same kind of signal used by a military leader. The angels will gather His elect from everywhere on earth. The phrase “four winds” resembles expressions like “the four corners of earth,” as a symbolic reference to “everywhere.” The four winds represent the four points on the compass. Believers will be found by the angels “under heaven” from one end of the sky to the other. They will each be gathered to Jesus as He returns to the earth. The elect are true believers: those who submit to Jesus as the Messiah and Savior, who trust Him for the forgiveness of their sins, counting on His righteousness to make them acceptable to God. To be “elect” is to be chosen, and these people are chosen by God to be His children forever.
There is considerable debate over exactly how these signs will be accomplished. All that’s clear is that when they are fulfilled, no one on earth will have the slightest doubt about what is happening (Matthew 24:23–31). Here, Christ compares the signs He has described to the budding leaves of a fig tree in the spring. People in that region would have learned by experience that tender branches and new leaves mean summer is near. Jesus wants His followers to understand that when the things He has described as signs of His return begin to happen, His arrival will also be near.
Now Jesus says that when “all these things” happen, His followers should see it the same way as budding leaves on a fig tree pointing to the arrival of summer. They will know He is near, that He has arrived at the gates and will soon come into view. In the exact context of this verse, there are different views on what Jesus means by “all these things.” Jesus has already stated that His return will be perfectly obvious and not hidden to anyone (Matthew 24:23–27). It’s fair to say that if His return is part of “all these things,” it would be like saying “when I return, then I will return.” More likely, the events He says are indicators of His immediate return are the spectacular events of the end times
The natural areas described by biblical phrases such as “the heavens and the earth” are the most permanent structures human beings can imagine. From our perspective, they seem unchanging and indestructible. They are not, of course. God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), and God can end them. Thus, for Jesus to say that His words are more unchanging, solid, trustworthy, and permanent than the heavens and the earth is one of His strongest claims yet to be an eternal being (John 8:58). Christ is declaring His ability to speak directly for the eternal God in heaven (John 8:38). Jesus was there when they began (John 1:1), and He will oversee their future state (Revelation 22:1–5). After describing difficult-to-understand events of the future, Jesus is reassuring His followers that His words are absolutely reliable and cannot be thwarted in any way. We should never attempt to dismiss the words of Christ by saying, “yes, but that was back then…” What Jesus said would happen, did happen, and will happen (Revelation 19:11–15).

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The name “Israel” first appears in the Hebrew Bible as the name given by God to the patriarch Jacob (Genesis 32:28). Deriving from the name “Israel”, other designations that came to be associated with the Jewish people have included the “Children of Israel” or “Israelite” The name Israel is given to the patriarch Jacob after he wrestles with a man in the wilderness. The name is a combination of the Hebrew words for “struggle” and “God”. Jacob’s descendants are known as the Israelites. The House of Israel Are God’s Covenant People Because Jacob was faithful, the Lord gave him the special name of Israel, which means “one who prevails with God” or “let God prevail” Following a severe drought in Canaan, Jacob and his twelve sons fled to Egypt, where they eventually formed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. As the ultimate mark of His blessing, God chose Israel to be the human line of the Messiah. Through the Old Testament, we read detailed prophecy, down to the Messiah’s birthplace and gender, that confirm Jesus as the promised Savior. One of God’s purposes for Israel was that they would be a people who would obey him and keep his covenants. By doing this they would be God’s representatives in the earth. Israel would be a model of God’s way of living to the nations around them.
READ DEUTERONOMY 28:1-14
28 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. 12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
• In the book of Deuteronomy, God outlined the blessings that would come upon Israel if they obeyed His commandments. This passage (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) is known as the Blessings of Obedience, where God promised prosperity, abundant crops, and victory over enemies to the people who remained faithful to Him. God’s Chosen Land of the Bible . . . Land of Faith . . . the Holy Land, revered throughout recorded history as the cradle of monotheistic religion. For a person of faith whose beliefs are rooted in the Bible, there is no place on earth like the Holy Land. God instructed the Children of Israel to be holy. As followers of the Messiah, our desire should be like the desire of my son who wanted to be like his father; we ought to desire to be like our Heavenly father who is Holy and has commanded us to be Holy like Him. Choosiness was invariably linked to a mission. As Yehezkel Kaufmann noted, Isaiah and Jeremiah viewed God’s loving choice of Israel as a means to teaching monotheism, combatting idolatry, curbing human arrogance, ending violence, lust, greed, extreme chauvinism and warfare, and ushering in a new society.
• Jesus’ ministry was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel precisely, because he is the good shepherd come to gather the renewed Israel around himself and to launch their trajectory into the world with the healing grace God always intended to flow through his chosen people. Jesus is considered the true Israel, succeeding where the old covenant Israel failed. He came out of Egypt, passed through the waters, and was tested in the wilderness, but he passed the test. The Holy Land for Christians, Israel is the Holy Land because it is where Jesus lived and died. Regardless of how one interprets the evangelists’ different accounts of the same event, it is clear that Jesus’ focus was on reforming Israel, not bringing his kingdom message to the rest of the world. His focus on Israel can be seen in his prophecies and pronouncements of judgment on the nation. We know Jesus lived in Israel (Matthew 4:13), taught there and did miracles (Matthew 8:14). He also delivered people (Mark 1:21) and healed both body and spirit of those willing (Mark 2:11). The town of Capernaum must have held a special place in Jesus’ heart.
The modern Jewish state is not only the “Promised Land” for Jews, but the only country in the world where they form a majority of the population. For Christians, Israel is the “Holy Land,” because it is the place where Jesus’ life and death unfolded .As the ultimate mark of His blessing, God chose Israel to be the human line of the Messiah. Through the Old Testament, we read detailed prophecy, down to the Messiah’s birthplace and gender, that confirm Jesus as the promised Savior. God chose the Israelites (the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) for a special purpose. He offered them an opportunity to become the model nation of His way of life for all nations, so that all people could have His blessings. Why is Israel so special to Christians? From the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, and the Church of Annunciation in the north, it is clear that the Land of Israel is important to Christianity due to the fact that many important events in the religion’s history took place here, including the What did God want Israel to do? One of God’s purposes for Israel was that they would be a people who would obey him and keep his covenants. By doing this they would be God’s representatives in the earth. Israel would be a model of God’s way of living to the nations around them. There were difficult and dark days in Israel’s history. They were under the control of Rome and the tyrannical rule of the puppet king known as Herod. The fact is that 6 BC was a lousy time to live in Judea. The people hadn’t heard from God for 400 years. This set the stage for Israel to prepare for their modern days. It really began with Moses.
READ EXODUS 2:1-10
2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” 8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,[b] saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses’ story begins in the Book of Exodus, which finds the Israelites enslaved in Egypt by a new pharaoh after they had gone to Egypt to escape famine during Joseph’s story in the Book of Genesis. His story ends in the Book of Deuteronomy, the last book of the Torah, with his death. Moses was the leader of the Israelites and lawgiver to whom the prophetic authorship of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) is attributed. After the Ten Plagues, Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, after which they based themselves at Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses died on Mount Nebo at the age of 120, within sight of the Promised Land. In the story, Yahweh appeared in a bush that was on fire but never burned up. This story functioned as Moses’ prophetic call, and Yahweh told him he would lead the Israelites out of slavery. On the way back to Egypt with his family, Moses’ brother Aaron, who later became the first Israelite priest, met them. According to the biblical account, Moses’ parents were from the tribe of Levi, one of the groups in Egypt called Hebrews. Originally the term Hebrew had nothing to do with race or ethnic origin. It derived from Habiru, a variant spelling of Ḫapiru (Apiru), a designation of a class of people who made their living by hiring themselves out for various services. The biblical Hebrews had been in Egypt for generations, but apparently they became a threat, so one of the pharaohs enslaved them. Unfortunately, the personal name of the king is not given, and scholars have disagreed as to his identity and, hence, as to the date of the events of the narrative of Moses. One theory takes literally the statement in I Kings 6:1 that the Exodus from Egypt occurred 480 years before Solomon began building the Temple in Jerusalem. This occurred in the fourth year of his reign, about 960 BCE; therefore, the Exodus would date about 1440 BCE.
God directed and planned for Moses to lead and form Israel from when he was a baby. One of the measures taken by the Egyptians to restrict the growth of the Hebrews was to order the death of all newborn Hebrew males. According to tradition, Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed (whose other children were Aaron and Miriam), hid him for three months and then set him afloat on the Nile in a reed basket daubed with pitch. The child, found by the pharaoh’s daughter while bathing, was reared in the Egyptian court. While many doubt the authenticity of this tradition, the name Moses (Hebrew Moshe) is derived from Egyptian mose (“is born”) and is found in such names as Thutmose ([The God] Thoth Is Born). Originally, it is inferred, Moses’ name was longer, but the deity’s name was dropped. This could have happened when Moses returned to his people or possibly even
earlier, because the shortened form Mose was very popular at that time.
Since Jesus is God The Son, and is one with God The Father, it can be said that He knew Moses.. In the Bible, Jesus is joined by Moses and Elijah during the transfiguration, when the three men appear in glory and speak with Jesus. Peter and his companions see the men and Jesus’ glory after waking up from sleep.
In the New Testament, Jesus is quoted as citing Moses by name, so he must have believed/known Moses to be a real person. Furthermore, during the event Christianity describes as the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah.Moses carried the law and pointed to the gospel. Jesus fulfilled the law and IS the gospel. The Israelites experienced 400 dark years of bondage to Egypt until Moses was born and came to rescue them. The nation of Israel experienced 400 dark years of silence from God until Jesus was born and came to save them. For Christians, then, Moses is a crucial figure because Jesus fulfills the Law that Moses brought down from the mountain. It is no coincidence that, when Jesus’ is transfigured on the mountaintop, Moses and Elijah appear with him. Moses symbolizes the Law and Elijah symbolizes the prophets. Jesus regularly called the Pharisees out for not following the Law of Moses. When asked about the Law, Jesus summarized it by saying it’s loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength and loving our neighbors as ourselves” When the Israelites were bitten by snakes, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and to put it on a pole. Anyone who looked at the bronze serpent would be healed. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who was lifted up on the cross so that anyone who looks to him in faith may be saved. . Moses, still full of life at 120 years of age, hears God’s promise to Abraham, surveys the Promised Land, dies, and is buried by God. He never did die. So we know how he got to Heaven. If you go to the book of Jude, it tells us that Michael the Archangel resurrected Moses. Moses received a special resurrection.
READ 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever.18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
This scripture, among others, tells us of the first time Jesus (the Messiah) comes after His birth and His time as both God and human, until His Second Coming. It tells of a special event for all Christians that are alive on earth and those that have already “fallen asleep”. It is called the Rapture where all believers are snatched up in the air to meet Jesus and go to heaven. Various verses in the Bible tells us about the Rapture and says that it happens prior to Tribulation, which begins the End Times as described in Revelations. It sets the situation for Eternity that as complete believers in Jesus will enjoy God’s Golden Age.
The Rapture is an eschatological position held by Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still alive, together will rise “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” Dr. David Jeremiah Pastor, TV Broadcaster, and author has stated he believes the Rapture will happen while he is still on this earth. He recntly turned 83 years old and knows there is no sign that he will see before it occurs. The origin of the term extends from the First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the Bible, which uses the Greek word harpazo (Ancient Greek: ἁρπάζω), meaning “to snatch away” or “to seize”. This view of eschatology is referred to as dispensational premillennialism, a form of futurism that considers various prophecies in the Bible as remaining unfulfilled and occurring in the future. While this Scripture is among many that clearly identify Jesus’ return to earth that is completely different than described in Revelation 19 which defines accurately In the Second Coming of Jesus. In Revelation it states believers from Heaven follow Jesus to the earth and Jesus stays here to establish His future kingdom. Thessalonians states dead Christians and those still alive meet Jesus in the air and go with Him back to Heaven. This follows what Apostle John states that Jesus takes believers to His home in Heaven- not that they stay on earth like in the Second Coming. While the word Rapture is not in the Bible, the Greek word Harpazo is in the Bible, and it means to snatch away or to seize like happened to Elijah. By the way the word “Trinity” is also not in the Bible, but the equivalent word is.
Pretribulationism distinguishes the rapture from the second coming of Jesus Christ mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation. This view holds that the rapture would precede the seven-year Tribulation, which would culminate in Christ’s second coming and be followed by a thousand-year Messianic Kingdom.[3][4] This theory grew out of the translations of the Bible that John Nelson Darby analyzed in 1833. Pretribulationism is the most widely held view among Christians believing in the rapture today, although this view is disputed within evangelicalism. All printed versions of the Bible write and record the End Times Events this way. There are other examples of Bible characters besides Elijah that “raptured” without dyeing. The rapture concept where believers are “snatched away” to heaven can be seen in Revelation. Chapter 4 and beyond of Revelation indicate that no true believers remain on earth- which describes the status after the Rapture takes believers to heaven with Jesus. The country of Israel and Jerusalem is being prepared for Jesus’ Second Coming. For many years Israel had been under the control or divided by many foreign countries. They needed to be established as the state of Israel.
The State of Israel declared its establishment on 14 May 1948. The armies of neighboring Arab states invaded the area of the former Mandate the next day, beginning the First Arab–Israeli War. Subsequent armistice agreements established Israeli control over 77 percent of the former Mandate territory.[26][27][28] The majority of Palestinian Arabs were either expelled or fled in what is known as the Nakba, with those remaining becoming the new state’s main minority.[29][30][31] Over the following decades, Israel’s population increased greatly as the country received an influx of Jews who emigrated, fled or were expelled from the Muslim world.[32][33] Following the 1967 Six-Day War Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and Syrian Golan Heights. Israel established and continues to expand settlements across the illegally occupied territories, contrary to international law, and has effectively annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in moves largely unrecognized internationally. After the 1973 Yom Kipbebe ar, Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt—returning the Sinai in 1982—and Jordan. In the 2020s, it normalized relations with more Arab countries. However, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict after the interim Oslo Accords have not succeeded, and the country has engaged in several wars and clashes with Palestinian militant groups. Israel’s practices in its occupation of the Palestinian territories have drawn sustained international criticism—along with accusations that it has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people—from human rights organizations and United Nations officials.
So now Israel, became officially the state of Israel a country in Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon and Syria to the north, the West Asia. Biblical Israel and Modern Israel are not considered the same. Ancient Israel’s people were known as Israelites while people of Israel today are called Israelis. No, modern day Israel is not the same as biblical Israel.
• Government
Ancient Israel was a theocratic monarchy, while modern Israel is a secular liberal democracy.
• Laws
The Torah, the Law of Moses, was the basis of ancient Israel’s laws, but modern Israel’s laws are not based on the Torah.
• Language
The word “Israel” in Aramaic, the language of the Bible, means “House of God” and refers to a family or group of followers of God, not a physical building.
• Location
The map of biblical Israel in the book of Numbers shows the land spanning from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, but the northern and southern boundaries don’t match up.
• Jerusalem
The modern Old City of Jerusalem is based on the layout of the city during the Late Roman Period and has been influenced by many other cultures since then.
• Creation
The United Nations created the State of Israel in 1948, while ancient Israel existed long before that.
Although modern and ancient Israel are different civilizations, they do share some religious and historical connections.
The Bible states that an Anti-Christ will be identified and take control after the Rapture and in the Tribulation. Israel will sign a peace agreement, and the Anti-Christ will break it and begin a terrible time for all who are alive and on earth. We are told that the Anti-Christ will not be identified until the Tribulation begins or who signs the agreement. However, we may be closer to an agreement since the leader of Hamas has been killed and our current government is trying to get a peace agreement worked out. While this may be an indication that this agreement and Tribulation is getting close, we are not told when or for sure what will indicate the End Times are coming. We are told by Jesus to get prepared and be ready. Moses, the law giver through God’s commandment’s, said to follow them and stay ready. Israel will be where the Messiah returns (Second Coming) to set-up His “kingdom” and where the New Heaven and New Earth will come for eternity. I believe this makes Israel the most important country and Jerusalem a very key city. However, in the Bible’s 21 chapter we read that after the Tribulation and Millennium periods the New Heaven and New Earth will come down and Jerusalem will be replaced. While the Bible does not say exactly where it comes, there are many philosophers who belief it will be centered in Israel.
For three thousand years, Jerusalem has been at the forefront of geopolitical struggles, biblical history, and prophetic aspirations. Even today, it is the centerpiece of the world’s three major religions and ground zero for international political maneuvering. It has been a place of pilgrimage pillaging, mistakes and mayhem. Perhaps no piece of land has been as revered, disputed, or disputed. Dr. Jeremiah has deemed it a Conflicted City. However, God has chosen Jerusalem as the Chosen City for its role in the history of Israel, specially in the life of Jesus. So, it has become a Christ-loved City. Then in the Millennium Jerusalem will become the Capital City in the chosen land of Israel and will become a Continuing City. In David Jeremiah’s book he says we all should learn to love Israel and be determined to learn from Israel and the original people of God- our Jewish friends.

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“I can’t wait for Christmas. This is a universal statement that we may hear at this of the year. There are many things that people today forward for in December: great meals, family time, reunions, worship, decorating, and the coming of Christmas morning. Why is that? It is a joyous time of the year, and the season promotes HOPE. We all need hope. We all experience hurt in some areas of our lives. Sometimes mistakes happen and we feel shame or regret over things in our past. We have tried to fix these things in our lives, and maybe we have failed. That causes us to lose hope. The problem is we are looking in the wrong direction. There is sure hope for all of us. And that hope comes from God. At this time of year, we are reminded of Jesus’ birth. We must never forget that our God is with us and our Savior is here. It is good news of great joy to all people. So, celebrate this season for the hope it brings.
READ ISAIAH 40:1-2
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
This chapter treats of the comforts of God’s people; of the forerunner and coming of the Messiah; of his work, and the dignity of his person; of the folly of making idols, and of the groundless complaints of the church of God. The message of Isaiah 40 was meant to encourage them during the coming captivity, during their time of waiting. Isaiah reminded them that this was a time of “waiting on the Lord.” This was not the idling away of time that marks the summer breaks for schoolchildren. It was to be a time of active anticipation, of looking for what will happen next. It has been defined as “strong enough to hold out. Solid endurance as a stiff piece of oak that never bends under pressure.” Waiting on the Lord is never wasted time. It is when we cultivate our faith through the reading and study of God’s Word, when we learn the lessons of how we ought to pray, when we employ our gifts and efforts in the service of God and others.
Why is waiting even necessary? Because God’s timing is not our timing. Our wanting something so badly we cannot wait has no bearing on God’s decision on when and how He will move. There is no better time to learn about God’s sovereignty than when we are waiting on Him. Over our interests are the interests of the Kingdom and God’s desire to conform us to His own image. Waiting is part of that. When finally, the waiting is over God promises renewed strength. To illustrate this, Isaiah gives us pictures of an eagle, a runner and pedestrian travel. In chapter 40, the word “faint” or a related term is used five times. He knows that the reader may feel exhausted under the burden of Babylonian exile and during this prolonged period of waiting. But the promise is given that they will “renew their strength” by mounting up with “with wings as eagles.” The term “mount up” literally means to rise to another level. As the eagle is able to soar to spectacular heights on wind currents, the child of God will gain new heights by being uplifted by the Spirit of God.
The previous 39 chapters of Isaiah certainly had passages of comfort and hope, but there was a strong tone of judgment and warning throughout the section. Now, beginning with Isaiah 40, the tone shifts to being predominantly full of comfort and blessing, full of the glory of God.
Remember where Isaiah 39 just ended: announcing the coming Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and the exile of the nation. “The announcement that the Babylonians would someday capture Jerusalem and take the people into exile was a bitter blow. How could Judah celebrate the downfall of Assyria when everyone knew that a more powerful invader was on the way?” Isaiah knew what it was to warn and instruct God’s people, but the LORD also wanted His people to receive His comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3 speaks of our Lord as the God of all comfort; God wants His messengers to speak comfort to His people.
In any group waiting to hear God’s word, there are any number of hidden hurting hearts. It is important for those hurting hearts to hear a word of comfort from God’s messenger. As one preacher put it, “Preach to broken hearts and you will never lack an audience. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem: This means that Jerusalem needed a word of comfort. This means that God had comfort to give them. God’s comfort is not a hollow, positive-thinking, “There’s-a-silver-lining-behind-every-cloud” kind of message. God always gives His people reasons for comfort. The comfort comes with tender words, spoken to the heart. Speak comfort is literally, “‘speak to the heart’, like a young man wooing his girl (Genesis 34:3).”It is important for God’s messengers today to speak to the heart.
It is in this same sense that God speaks to us and tells us we can be more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). The battle still looms, but as far as it concerns the believer in Jesus Christ, her warfare is ended, because You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). That her iniquity is pardoned: At the moment Isaiah spoke this, Jerusalem was well aware of her sin – Isaiah had made them aware of it! Yet, the prophet speaks of a day when comfort can be offered because her iniquity is pardoned. This is real comfort; to be recognized as a sinner – as one having iniquity – yet knowing just as much that our iniquity is pardoned. This was a reason for comfort.
For she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins: This declares the basis for the pardon of iniquity – the sin has been completely paid for. Isaiah, speaking in Old Covenant terminology, speaks of Jerusalem bearing the curse for disobedience described in passages like Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. But the same principle applies to the believer under the New Covenant; our iniquity is pardoned because our sin has been paid for. This is a reason for comfort.
Does it seem unfair that God would have a double payment for sin? “Double means ‘to fold over, fold in half’ (Exodus 26:9)…. When something is folded over, each half corresponds exactly with the other half, and this would yield the thought of exact correspondence between sin and payment.” A payment has been made, and it was exactly the payment that was needed. Our iniquity (sin) is never pardoned because God has simply decided to “let us off the hook.” That would make God an unrighteous, wicked judge, something He could never be. But under the New Covenant, it is not we who have received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins; it is our sin-bearing Savior Jesus Christ, who received the cup of wrath from the LORD’s hand double for all our sins.
READ ISAIAH 40:3-5
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Here, Isaiah speaks for the LORD’s messenger, who cries out to the barren places.
b. Prepare the way of the LORD: The idea is that the LORD is coming to His people as a triumphant King, who has the road prepared before Him so He can travel in glory and ease. Every obstacle in the way must be removed: every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth. Whatever was wrong in the road must be corrected. The problems were not the same everywhere. Sometimes, the road in the valley needed to be lifted up; other times a road had to be cut through a passage in the mountains. The idea of preparing the way of the LORD is a word picture because the real preparation must take place in our hearts. Building a road is very much like the preparation God must do in our hearts. They are both expensive, they both must deal with many different problems and environments, and they both take an expert engineer.
The glory of the LORD shall be revealed: His glory is revealed to the prepared hearts described in the previous verses. And it is revealed without regard to nationality; all flesh shall see it together. This glory of the LORD is not revealed only to Jerusalem or Judah, but to every prepared heart. The certainty of this word is assured because the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Prepare the way of the LORD: This passage of Isaiah 40:3-5 has a direct fulfillment in the New Testament, in the person and ministry of John the Baptist. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, knew this at the birth of his son (Luke 1:76). And three gospels directly relate this passage to the ministry of John (Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, and Luke 3:3-6). Jesus was the coming Messiah and King, and John the Baptist’s ministry was to be one crying in the wilderness, and through his message of repentance, to prepare the way of the LORD. We often fail to appreciate how important the preparing work of the LORD is. Any great work of God begins with great preparation. John wonderfully fulfilled this important ministry.
Isaiah 40:3-5 is a passage in the Bible where God speaks through the prophet Isaiah. It calls for comfort for His people, indicating that their hard service has been completed and their sins have been paid for. The passage also foretells the coming of the Lord and the need to prepare the way for Him1. Additionally, it speaks of receiving double for the cure of sins and separating from idolatry2 This is also a passage that describes John the Baptist as the harbinger of Christ, and the effects of his work, which will result in the humiliation of some and the exaltation of others, and in the revelation of the glory of Christ12. The passage also encourages the audience that the time of Yahweh’s long absence from Jerusalem has come to an end, and that Yahweh will return to his holy city and again be accessible2.
Every valley shall be exalted, verse 4 – That is, every valley, or low piece of ground, shall be filled up so as to make a level highway, as was done in order to facilitate the march of armies. This verse is evidently designed to explain what is intended in Isaiah 40:3, by preparing the way for Yahweh. Applied to the return of the Jews from Babylon, it means simply that the impassable valleys were to be filled up so as to make a level road for their journey. If applied to the work of John, the forerunner of the Messiah, it means that the nation was to be called on to put itself in a state of preparation for his coming, and for the success of his labors among them. Vitringa, and others, have endeavored to specify what particular moral qualities in the nation are meant by the ‘valley,’ by the ‘mountain and hill,’ and by the ‘crooked’ and ‘rough places.’ But the illustrations are such as cannot be demonstrated to be referred to by the prophet. The general sense is plain. The language, as we have seen, is taken from the march of a monarch at the head of his army. The general idea is, that all obstructions were to be removed, so that the march would be without embarrassment. As applicable to the work of John also, the language means in general, that whatever there was in the opinions, habits, conduct, in the pride, self-confidence, and irreligion of the nation that would prevent his cordial reception, was to be removed.
And the glory of the Lord – The phrase here means evidently the majesty, power, or honor of Yahweh. He would display his power and show himself to be a covenant-keeping God, by delivering his people from their bondage, and reconducting them to their own land. This glory and faithfulness would be shown in his delivering them from their captivity in Babylon; and it would be still more illustriously shown in his sending the Messiah to accomplish the deliverance of his people in later days. And all flesh – All human beings. The word ‘flesh’ is often used to denote human nature, or mankind in general Genesis 6:12; Psalm 65:3; Psalm 145:21. The idea is, that the deliverance of his people would be such a display of the divine interposition, so that all nations would discern the evidences of his power and glory. But there is a fullness and a richness in the language which allows that it is not to be confined to that event. It is more strikingly applicable to the advent of the Messiah – and to the fact that through him the glory of Yahweh would be manifest to all nations. This probably should be translated: And all flesh shall see together That the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it.
READ ISAIAH 40:9-11
Go up on a high mountain Zion, messenger of good news, Raise your voice forcefully, Jerusalem, messenger of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord [a]GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His compensation is with Him, And His reward before Him. 11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in the fold of His robe; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
You who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain: Isaiah speaks of a message so great – tidings so good – that they must be spread as widely as possible. From on top of the high mountain, the messenger can proclaim this great message to as many people as possible. It is a message that should be shouted out, so the messenger is told, Lift up your voice with strength. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God”: What is the great message, that should be shouted so loud? It is an invitation to behold your God. There is nothing greater for a believer to do than to study and to know their God. The message isn’t to give God a passing glance. No; we are invited to behold your God. It speaks of a study, of a long-term mission to know thereatness and the character of our God. It also shows how important it is for the message of God’s preacher to focus on God. After every sermon, a preacher should ask, “Did I help the people to behold your God?”
A great philosopher named Alexander Pope once wrote, “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; the proper study of mankind is man.” In one sermon, Spurgeon replied to that famous statement: “It has been said by someone that ‘the proper study of mankind is man.’ I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.
” Behold your God! –The words have, in one sense, only an ideal fulfilment; but the prophet contemplates the return of the exiles and the restoration of the Temple worship, as involving the renewed presence of Jehovah in the sanctuary which He had apparently abandoned. He would come back with His people and abide with them. Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand: One aspect of our God we should behold is the fact of His return. Our God will return to this earth, and He will come with power (a strong hand…His arm shall rule). The Lord GOD shall come: When the LORD comes back, He comes to reward His people (His reward is with Him). He comes to inspect His work (and His work before Him). This is something important for us to know about our God.
With invincible strength, to deliver his people from their most powerful enemies; and his arm shall rule for him — His own power shall be sufficient, without any other help, to overcome all opposition. His reward is with him — He comes furnished with recompenses, as well of mercy and blessings for his friends and followers, as of justice and vengeance for his enemies: or, “the reward and the recompense which he bestows, and which he will pay to his faithful servants, he has ready at hand with him, and holds out before him to encourage those who trust in him, and wait for him; and his work before him — He is ready to execute what he hath undertaken; or, he carries on his work effectually; for that is said in Scripture to be before a man which is in his power. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, &c. — He shall perform all the offices of a tender and faithful shepherd toward his people, conducting himself with great wisdom, condescension, and compassion to every one of them, according to their several capacities and infirmities. And shall gently lead those that are with young — Or, those that give suck, as the word עלות, may be rendered. The nursing ewes shall he gently lead; observing, that “it is a beautiful image, expressing, with the utmost propriety, as well as elegance, the tender attention of the shepherd to his flock.
He will feed His flock like a shepherd: Another aspect of our God to behold is His loving care as a shepherd. The first thing a shepherd must do for his sheep is feed them, and the LORD feeds us like a shepherd feeds his flock. Sheep must be directed to the good pasture and must be moved on to new pasture when they have stripped the grass bare. We need as much carefully directed feeding as sheep! “No creature has less power to take care of itself than the sheep; even the tiny ant with its foresight can provide for the evil day, but this poor creature must be tended by man or else perish.” God loves to identify Himself with a shepherd. Many of the greatest men of the Bible were shepherds, and their character as shepherds’ points to Jesus Christ.
·Abel is a picture of Jesus, the sacrificed shepherd.
·Jacob is a picture of Jesus, the working shepherd.
·Joseph is a picture of Jesus, the persecuted and exalted shepherd.
·Moses is a picture of Jesus, the calling-out-from-Egypt shepherd.
·David is a picture of Jesus, the shepherd king.
He will gather the lambs with His arm: Our LORD shows special care for the lambs. The youngest, the weakest, are not despised – they are given special care by the LORD who first actively gathers them and will carry them in His bosom. He doesn’t cast the weak lambs over His shoulder, as a shepherd might carry a sheep. Instead, He lovingly cradles them in His bosom, close to His heart. That is both a safe place and a tender place.” To carry is kindness, but to carry in the bosom is loving-kindness. The shoulders are for power, and the back for force, but the bosom is the seat of love.” “I see the Lord of angels condescending to personal labor. Jesus Christ himself gathers with his own arm and carries in his own bosom the lambs of his flock. He doth not commit this work to an angel, nor does he even leave it to his ministers; but he himself, by his Spirit, still undertakes it.” And gently lead those who are with young: The shepherd carries a rod and a staff and knows how to use them, but He also knows how to gently lead those who are with young. He knows exactly when to be gentle, and when more severe guidance should be used.
Like a shepherd: Jesus is given three great titles regarding His work as a shepherd.
i. Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-15). He is good in His care and sacrifice for the flock.
ii. Jesus the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20). He is great in His glorious triumph over every enemy.
iii. Jesus the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). He is the Chief over all His people in His return. At His return, Jesus also exercises another aspect of His role as Shepherd: He divides the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-33). “Did you ever notice that the same Shepherd who saves the lost, will curse the finally impenitent? He shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, ‘Depart ye cursed.’ What lips are those which pronounce those dreadful words? The Shepherd’s lips.” This is the hope we all should look forward to as we are His sheep and He will be there for us – always.
ROMANS 8:24-25 4 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Paul expands on the situation of the believer. He declares that “in hope we were saved.” This is the only time Paul speaks in his letters of being saved as a past event. But it is possible for him to do so, for God’s saving action in Christ has taken place already.

Read this text or watch the video by going to this link https://youtu.be/-t69_uH1QGU.

“FOR ONE DAY, WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO SEE THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE? WAR ZONES TURNED INTO CEASEFIRE ZONES. POLITICIANS MAKING GODLY DECISIONS. CRIME NONEXISTENT. LAUGHTER FILLING OUR HOMES. WORSHIPERS FILING OUR CHURCHES. CAN YOU PICTURE IT? FOR JUST ONE DAY, WOULDN’T YOU LOVE TO BE ON A PLANET WITHOUT A SINGLE NATURAL DISASTER? IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO HAVE A ONE DAY SUPENSION OF THE DEVIL’S POWER.OF EVIL’S GRIP. OF TEMPTATIONS PULL. OF ANXIETY’S TORMENT.”
This is a quote from Dr. David Jeremiah’s new book, where he asks his readers to “IMAGINE” He describes this as the Golden Age and God describes it as the Millennium. I will pull a few key thoughts and comments from this book, but I will not copy them. As always, the article and video will be originally written with many sources from this book. I have selected this topic to continue my fascination for biblical prophecy. I have written on the End Times- which covered Jesus’ Second Coming and Moses to the Messiah mainly about the Rapture but how Israel was prepared for God’s plans for Jesus.
The Bible tells us that the Millennium is the 1,000 years that begins immediately after the Second Coming of Jesus where He takes care of the evils in our world and ends Tribulation’s seven years of disaster. Revelation chapter 19 writes that all believers in Jesus follow Him to earth.
READ REVELATION 19:11-21
11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies (believers) which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will [e]rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the [f]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16And on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
17Then I saw [g]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.”19And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army.
20And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs [h]in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with [i]brimstone. 21And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
The final judgment will take place when Christ comes again—he died once as an offering for the sins of many, and he will appear a second time in judgment, when he will save his followers. those who are eagerly waiting for him. This clear anticipation of Christ’s return. At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus Christ will return with the hosts of heaven as well as the Church to establish the Messianic Kingdom on earth. His Kingdom will last for a thousand years. At this Second Coming, the Antichrist will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Satan will be bound for a thousand years.
• SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING:
• Wickedness, War, and Turmoil. Many of the signs are terrifying and dreadful. …
• The Restoration of the Gospel. …
• The Gospel Preached to All the World. …
• The Coming of Elijah. …
• Lehi’s Descendants Will Become Great People. …
• Building of the New Jerusalem.
At the time of His Second Coming, Jesus will return as a mighty warrior King who will destroy His enemies. Jesus at His first coming was peaceful and gentle; however, at the Second Coming, Jesus will return with His army from heaven- it does not call them His angels The day of Christ’s return is the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. On that day, the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire and be burned up The day of Christ’s return is the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. On that day, the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire and be burned up When the Savior comes again, He will come in power and glory to claim the earth as His kingdom. His Second Coming will mark the beginning of the Millennium.
The Second Coming will be a fearful, mournful time for the wicked, but it will be a day of peace for the righteous. “That day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed.” So I could list this event along with the coming of the man of lawlessness as another. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. After revealing the signs, Jesus cautioned: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. … “… Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh”
What are the steps Jesus says to do prior to the Second Coming. The first step is to confess your sins and amend your life.
The second step is to spend more time in prayer, ideally before the Blessed Sacrament, listening to the Lord in order to learn what he wants of you.
The third step is to then go do it. Then comes the Millennium!
READ REVELATION 20:1-15
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. 7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
The main message of chapter 20 is:. The binding of Satan represents the victory of Christ over the powers of darkness accomplished at the cross. (Meaning, Satan was bound at the cross. Further, Satan’s binding was not complete, since he is obviously still active, but is bound or limited in regard to his ability to deceive the nations. It is clear from verse 15 that only the presence of a person’s name in the Lamb’s book of life keeps them from being cast into the lake of fire. God keeps accurate records. Those who died without faith in Christ, through all of history, are resurrected to face the great white throne judgment. There, they are sentenced for sin and consigned eternally to the lake of fire. The dead are judged by their deeds and those whose names are not found in the book of life are thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. Revelation 20:12-15, there are two sets of books. The name and deeds of everyone, small or great, are in the first books, and each is judged by what he or she has done in life. The second book is called the “book of life.” It contains only the names of those who are not thrown into the lake of fire the God of heaven shall open three books for each of us. One of those books God is writing about us right now. that when we stand before God He will open books, 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.
It is clear that chapter 20 describes the Millennium, but it does not go into many details. There are several other sources that gets into the details and does project what we can expect during this period. David Jeremiah’s book gives and explains three golden truths about the period. 1) The length of the Millennium is recorded by John 7 times as 1,000 years. 2) It will be an extension of God’s kingdom here on earth, and 3) Satan will be completely removed from our world. However, the Bible does detail the most fundamental and important issues about the period. Probably the biggest question is what believers will do during these 1,000 years. During His time on earth before His crucifixion Jesus said He will have people help Him in the Millennium. There will be two great works for members of the Church during the Millennium: temple work and missionary work. Temple work involves the ordinances that are necessary for exaltation. The book of Isaiah gives a lot of information about the Millennium, which prepares us for God’s Golden Age.
READ REVELATION 21:1-27
21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[c] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits[d] thick.[e] 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[f] 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
GOD’S GOLDEN AGE
In Revelation 21, people do not go to heaven as most people have been taught but rather God comes down to earth to dwell with mortals — “the new Jerusalem descends from heaven,” and God makes a home among mortals . This describes a future when God will return and dwell with humanity, wiping away tears and ending mourning, crying, and pain. It can be interpreted as a message of hope that God is opening a new future for humanity, and that evil will eventually come to an end. Some say that the passage can be read as a celebration of God, and that it can lead people to praise the Lord. The biblical message is that in the midst of all fearful events of our day, God is opening up a new future for us. He has given us this hope in Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation is about this hope — the hope for the future which God is bringing about. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. God will make everything new: a new heaven and earth and a new freedom from sin.
Although New Jerusalem’s gates are always open, not a single trace of evil can enter the city. No uncleanness can pass through the gates and mar the city’s pure, spotlessly clean environment. What a joyful expectation this revelation must have brought to the apostle John. What is the application: Do not get too attached to this world! This world will fade away, but His words last forever. He is the giver of life. And not just physical life, but our spiritual life is from Him. The New Earth is our final destination—our forever home. It is the place humanity will live forever. The New Earth will be your home, made brand new in God’s time. And the Bible tells us exactly what to expect. The Bible says, “for the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV). Part of Heaven’s glory is that our bodies will be transformed, and we will become like Jesus Christ in His perfect resurrected body.
Our family relationships in heaven are with all other believers. We will recognize our earthly family in heaven and meet new family–believers–who lived during a different time. We’ll pick up where we left off, and we will know even as we are known. We will recognize Him and others, even as they recognize us. In fact, the Bible indicates we will know each other more fully than we do now. The Apostle Paul declared, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). It’s true that our appearance will change, because God will give us new bodies, similar to Jesus’ resurrection body. While marriage is a gift from God, our relationships will be different in heaven than what we are used to right now. Our relationships in this life are limited by time, death, and sin. In eternity, none of those things will exist. Our intimacy will be with God and He will satisfy our every need. Soulmates will reunite in heaven, and we will find our true partners, whether we found them on earth, or not. Everyone’s journey to genuine and eternal marriage love will be unique, and God is watching over it all. You can trust that God wants the highest joy for you and for everyone! The idea of working in heaven is foreign to many people. Yet Scripture clearly teaches it. When God created Adam, he “took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). Work was part of the original Eden. What will we do in heaven? We will worship, we will fellowship, we will serve, we will work, we will rest, and we will rule. We read in Genesis 1:28 about the first man and woman: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

   John completes Revelation, and the final words of the New Testament, by including another reassurance from Christ that these are His words, and His testimony. John appeals to readers to accept the offer Christ makes for salvation, echoing other such pleas in the New Testament. In David Jeremiah’s book, he points out that God always keeps His promises. Then Jeremiah states that God’s promises fit into two major categories: the coming King and His coming Kingdom. John completes his message with a final statement from Jesus proclaiming His imminent return, and a prayer for grace. We, as true believers, will live in God’s Golden Age- forever. In the Millennium, Jerusalem becomes the Golden City where our Lord will make it His home and headquarters. For a thousand years the greatest cities in the world will not be Rome, Paris, Beijing, or Washington DC. David Jeremiah calls Jerusalem the Capital City of eternity. 

Read the following text or go to this link https://youtu.be/_zUb3QqeOt0 to watch the video!

Christmas is widely considered the foremost Christian holiday- the beautiful celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. But how does Jesus really look at it? Would He join in the festivity, receiving the observance in His honor? Or is His actual assessment quite different? Christmas is a great time, and it should be observed but for the right reasons, and of course the greatest individual- Jesus. And just as Jesus does, we need to worship God the Father and give Him all the credit. Let’s look at some scriptures that tell us about Jesus’ comments, His thoughts and positions, and His time as a human while also100% God.
READ JOHN 10:24-30
24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Jesus claimed that He and His Father are one (John 10:30), and that He is equal with the Father (John 5:17-18). Not only did He claim to be God, but He also claimed to have the power of God. He said He has the authority to judge the nations If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” See the hired hands, the wolves and the leader of the pack himself, the devil – they’re everywhere seeking the destruction of God’s people. And that brings us to…the sheep. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. During his lifetime, Jesus himself didn’t call himself God and didn’t consider himself God, and … none of his disciples had any inkling at all that he was God. You do find Jesus calling himself God in the Gospel of John, or the last Gospel.
God and Jesus are also separate beings in that Jesus is the Son and God is the Father. As persons of the Trinity, they are separate, yet with the Holy Spirit, they are united and interdependent. Although God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one, they do play different roles in our prayer life. Like I said, we pray to God. But since we are imperfect speaking to a holy God, we need an intercessor to cover for us you could say. Jesus is that someone that vouches for us.
In Christianity, when you pray to “God” you are typically addressing God the Father, while praying to “Jesus” means you are directing your prayer specifically to Jesus Christ, considered the Son of God; essentially, you are still praying to the same divine being, but through the mediation of Jesus, often expressed by saying “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer, signifying that you are approaching God through Jesus’ sacrifice and authority. We want to make very clear that we are not worshiping Jesus Christ as God, but rather as God’s Son whom God highly exalted. So how then does God feel if we obey His command to worship Christ? We also read there that it is “to the glory of God the Father.”
However, back to the question about whether Jesus would observe Christmas- His human birthday? It’s unlikely that Jesus would have celebrated Christmas as it’s celebrated today, but he would have participated in other holidays that were part of his Jewish culture: Christmas as a holiday did not exist until centuries after Jesus was born. Moreover, people did not celebrate birthdays in the first century, so Jesus certainly did not celebrate Christmas. The New Testament, however, does describe Him participating in one winter holiday. In the Gospel of John, Yeshua (Jesus) visited the Temple during “the Feast of Dedication” (Jn 10:22), which is another term for Hanukkah. Without Hanukkah, there would be no Christmas. If God had not intervened during the historical events of that first Hanukkah by helping His people overcome the powerful Persians, the Jewish people and Judaism would not have survived to set the context for Jesus’ birth. A Jewish virgin would not have given birth to a child who would be raised as Jewish. The Messiah would not have died and rose again to atone for our sins. While Hanukkah practices have changed significantly since the time of Yeshua, His celebrating this holiday highlights His connection to Jewish traditions. Yeshua lived a Jewish life, which naturally included observing the holidays. Moreover, it is during this festival that Yeshua identifies Himself as the Messiah and as God. It is important to acknowledge Jesus’ connection with the Jewish people. Novelist Howard Jacobson writes, “Jesus was a Jew. Everyone knows that, don’t they?”[1] The answer, as Jacobson points out, is not a simple yes or no. Jesus’ parents were certainly Jewish as they “had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord” (Luke 2:39). His extended family was also observant (Luke 1:6). However, there are many—both Christians and Jews—who actively or passively reject Jesus’ Jewishness. Many, perhaps without knowing what they are doing, use “Christ” as if it were Jesus’ last name instead of a title meaning “Jesus the Messiah
Jesus would love the nativity plays and cherished Christmas music occurring in churches across the world. He must delight in the children learning the Christmas story of the birth of Christ and their excitement and anticipation as Christmas morning draws near. The Scripture is silent on the issue of celebrating Christmas and gives no reason for Christians to not celebrate it. It does however mention a number of annual celebrations that the Jewish people were supposed to remember. And that, in general, was what they were – times of remembrance of what God had done for them. Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God. The name ‘Christmas’ comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. The Bible doesn’t tell us to celebrate Christmas, nor does it forbid it. Nothing in the Bible says we can only observe holidays God prescribes. I’m going to introduce a two-thousand-year-old saying that is as true now as it was the first time it was written. Does it betray a lack of creativity? Perhaps, but I can’t think of a better way to say what it says. Does it get overused? Maybe some people think so, but it only gets repeated during this time of the year. And is it true? It absolutely is, which is why it has stood the test of time and will stand the test of time until the end of the age. You probably have guessed the cliché I’m talking about: Jesus is the reason for the season. I can’t think of a better way to summarize what is most important about the season we are entering. It’s short, it’s memorable, and it’s true—just what we need to stay focused. There are so many religious customs we take for granted. Just because they are ancient or popular doesn’t make them right. But it takes courage to stick to the ones that are biblically sound.
The Bible says: “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 “I [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18 “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people. God has provided the only way… Each person must make a choice… We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive Him by personal invitation
Here is how you can receive Christ: Admit your need. (I am a sinner.) Be willing to turn from your sins (repent) and ask for God’s forgiveness. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior)
READ JOHN 5:31-46
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. 33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. 36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[d]? 45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.
(John 5:31-32) Jesus tells of testimony beyond His own regarding himself. Here Jesus says that He does not testify about Himself so, He clearly would not celebrate or observe His birth or Christmas.
A) If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true: Like anyone else, it was not enough for Jesus to simply claim things about Himself. There had to be outside and independent witness to His true identity and nature.
B) This principle is established by Deuteronomy 19:15, which says by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. Jesus explained to the religious leaders that He was God, but His testimony alone was not enough.
C) There is another who bears witness of Me: In the following passage, Jesus brought forth three trustworthy witnesses who will testify that He is equal to the Father. Jesus found it important to give them reason to believe beyond what He said about Himself.
(John 5:33-35) The testimony of John the Baptist.
A) You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth: Jesus noted that the religious leaders knew of and heard John the Baptist for themselves. They needed to think of and believe what John said about Jesus.
B) He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light: The religious leaders accepted the work of John the Baptist for a time. They needed to continue to believe John regarding Jesus the Messiah.
C) The expression of lamp our Lord took from the ordinary custom of the Jews, who termed their eminent doctors the lamps of Israel.
D) “He said that John was the lamp which burns and shines. That was the perfect tribute to him. (1) A lamp bears a borrowed light. It does not light itself; it is lit. (2) John had warmth, for his was not the cold message of the intellect but the burning message of the kindled heart. (3) John had light. The function of light is to guide, and John pointed men on the way to repentance and to God. (4) In the nature of things a lamp burns itself out; in giving light it consumes itself. John was to decrease while Jesus increased. The true witness burns himself out for God.” (Barclay)
E) To rejoice: To jump for joy, as we would express it. They were exceedingly rejoiced to hear that the Messiah was come, because they expected him to deliver them out of the hands of the Romans; but when a spiritual deliverance, of infinitely greater moment was preached to them, they rejected both it and the light which made it manifest.
(John 5:36) The testimony of the works of Jesus.
A) A greater witness than John’s . . . the very works that I do: Jesus claimed another witness regarding His identity and deity: the very works that He did. This present controversy started with a remarkable healing of a man paralyzed for 38 years. This was one of many works that testified to the deity of Jesus.
B) The very works that I do; bear witness of Me: The majority of the miraculous works of Jesus were simple acts of compassion and mercy, done for simple and needy people. In this, these works . . . bear witness to the heart of God. The Jews looked for a miraculous Messiah, but they did not look for One who would express His miraculous power in simple acts of compassion and mercy. They looked for the Messiah to use miraculous power to bring military and political deliverance to Israel.
C) Because Jesus’ miraculous works didn’t fit in with what they thought the Messiah would do, they didn’t receive this witness of Jesus’ works.
(John 5:37-38) The testimony of the Father.
A) The Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me: In virtually every work and word of Jesus, God the Father testified to Jesus status as the Son of God. But specifically, the Father testified of the Son in Old Testament prophecy and at the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:22).
B) But you do not have His word abiding in you: They will not receive the testimony of the Father, because they do not have His word abiding in them. They can’t hear God the Father audibly, or see Him, but they have His word. They are guilty because they do not abide in the word that God gave them.
(John 5:39) The testimony of the Scriptures.
A) You search the Scriptures: In theory the religious leaders in Jesus’ day loved and valued the Scriptures (here used in the sense of the Old Testament). They studied and memorized and thought upon them continually, correctly thinking eternal life was found in God’s revelation.

1. They read them with a wooden and superstitious reverence for the letter, and never penetrated into the great truths to which they pointed.
2. They read it not to search for God but to find arguments to support their own positions. They did not really love God; they loved their own ideas about him.
   B) Search the Scriptures: The verb itself (eraunao) implies keen scrutiny, tracking down the message of the Scriptures. The tragedy was that these people, for all their painstaking exploration of the sacred writings, had never found the clue which would lead them to their goal.
   C) These are they which testify of Me: If their study of the Scriptures was accurate and sincere, they would see that they spoke of the Messiah, God the Son. Their recognition of and belief upon Jesus was a measure of their true understanding of the Scriptures.
   (John 5:40-44) The reason for their unbelief.
   A) But you are not willing to come to Me: The religious leaders were not willing, even though they had all the testimony one could have wanted. They were concerned with man’s honor, not the honor that comes from God (do not seek the honor that comes from the only God).
   B) Jesus made it clear that having life is found in fulfilling the command “come to Me.” Christ is a person, a living person, full of power to save. He has not placed his salvation in sacraments, or books, or priests, but he has kept it in himself; and if you want to have it you must come to him.
   C) Their refusal to come to Jesus was despite their searching of the Scriptures (John 5:39).
   D) I do not receive honor from men: I do not stand in need of you or your testimony. I act neither through self interest nor vanity. Your salvation can add nothing to me, nor can your destruction injure me: I speak only through my love for your souls, that you may be saved.
   E) That you do not have the love of God in you: The reasons for their rejection were fundamentally reasons of the heart, not of the mind. These religious leaders could hide behind supposedly intellectual excuses, but their real lack was love and desire for the honor that comes from God.
   F) If another comes in his own name, him you will receive: Jesus prophesied the coming day when the descendants of these religious leaders would embrace a false Christ, an Antichrist, who comes in his own name. The rejection of Jesus left them open to terrible deception.
   G) The words are perhaps spoken primarily of the false or Idol/Messiah, the Antichrist, who shall appear in the latter days (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12); whose appearance shall be according to the working of Satan (their father, John 8:44), 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God., 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
   H) Though this will ultimately be fulfilled in the very end times, there were lesser fulfillments through history. “An outstanding fulfillment of this prediction came about in ad 132, when one Simeon ban Kosebah claimed to be the Messiah of David’s line, and led a revolt against Rome…Simeon’s messianic pretensions involved himself, his supporters and the people of Judea in the most fearful ruin.
   I) How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? The fatal error of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day (and ever since) is pride. They longed for prestige and honor from one another and were willing to sacrifice the honor that comes from God alone for the sake of man’s honor.
   J) The grand obstacle to the salvation of the scribes and Pharisees was their pride, vanity, and self-love. They lived on each other’s praise. If they had acknowledged Christ as the only teacher, they must have given up the good opinion of the multitude; and they chose instead to lose their souls than to forfeit their reputation among men!
   K) Seeking credit as religious men from one another, they necessarily got used to themselves to current ideas, and blotted out Divine glory from their mind.
   L) They had accused Jesus of acting independently of God; He now accuses them of displaying that independence. The motive of their actions is not love for God but the approval of their peers.
   (John 5:45-47) The testimony of Moses.
   A) If you believed Moses, you would believe Me: These religious leaders rejected Jesus because they rejected God’s word through Moses. Moses accuses them, because Moses wrote about Jesus, and they would not receive the testimony of Moses.
   B) For he wrote about Me: Jesus said of the Scriptures that they testify of Me (John 5:39). The words and writings of Moses fulfill this, prophetically speaking of the Messiah in many places.
   C) The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. (Deuteronomy 18:15)
   D) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9)
   E) Jesus was typified in the rock that gave Israel water in the wilderness (Numbers 20:8-12 and 1 Corinthians 10:4).
   F) The ministry of Jesus was shown in almost every aspect of the seven different kinds of offering that God commanded Israel to bring (Leviticus 1-7).
   G) Jesus and His ministry were shown in the Tabernacle and its service. One place where the New Testament makes this connection is with the word propitiation in Romans 3:25, which speaks of the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant.
   H) The law of the bondservant speaks of Jesus (Exodus 21:5-6 and Psalm 40:6-8).
   I) No wonder Jesus could say Behold, I come; in the scroll of the Book, it is written of Me (Psalm 40:7). He could teach a Bible study where beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).
   J) Thus, cthe writings of Moses were prophetic. In them nothing was completed. They pointed on to other things, which came to pass when Jesus came. So in this word we find at once the authority and limitation of Moses.
   K) This is an important testimony by the Lord to the subject of the whole Pentateuch; it concerns Him. It is also a testimony to the fact – and of Moses having written those books, which were then, and are still, known by his name.
   L) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? Jesus did not call these religious leaders to a new or a different faith. He called them to believe what Moses, what the Scriptures, what His works, what John the Baptist each testified about Jesus: that He is the Messiah, the Son of God and God the Son. If they refused to believe this overwhelming testimony, it was unlikely they would believe Jesus’ own words.
   Moses’ testimony of the coming Savior, Messiah, is the prediction that says all should believe and celebrate Him. Would Moses observe Christmas as we do? NOT LIKELY!!! Today’s celebration by many includes some pagan participation (Santa and others). Moses would also have nothing to do with those, just like Jesus! Jesus tells us to believe in Moses’ words and His words, not any variations. What is the key that John’s Gospel gives us? John 4:54
   “This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.” Jesus saved the man’s son in this scripture. This was one of Jesus’ many signs of who He was and is and what He came to do. He did not “celebrate” any of these miracles and He would not observe today’s holiday that is designed for His birth. He calls us to remember His miracles only for the power of His Father.
   READ MARK 7:7-9
   They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[b] your own traditions!
   God specifically warned that His people were not to adopt pagan religious practices in honor of Him and that He would not accept such worship. And Jesus did not do away with God’s law in this regard. Jesus warned people about thinking they were honoring God while keeping human commandments and traditions in place of what God has commanded, declaring: “In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men…All too well you reject the commandments of God, that you may keep your tradition” Does that mean we should not celebrate Christmas? I don’t believe so! I think Jesus is saying to observe Christ’s birth by not including pagan customs and by honoring God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit with commandments and instructions from the Bible. This seems clear in what Jesus warned: “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord; shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Christ was always careful to obey the Father’s commandments. He said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Then He said to go and make disciples of all nations.
   We do not see in the New Testament that the apostles celebrated Christ’s birth. That certainly was not one of Jesus’ teachings, nor did His apostles teach it. Later Paul warned the Christians in Colossae against following traditions and commandments of men (Colossians 2:20-22). There was a biblical festival Jesus and His followers did observe. It was and is the Passover- but not Christmas or any form of Jesus’ birth. Luke 22:15-16 “15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Jesus told His disciples to observe the Passover “in remembrance of me.”(Luke 22:19). Jesus took an old symbol and filled it with new meaning. The meaning of Jesus’ words and actions is rooted in His command to remember. As today’s disciples, we observe the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Christ.
   The Scripture is silent on the issue of celebrating Christmas and gives no reason for Christians to not celebrate it. It does however mention a number of annual celebrations that the Jewish people were supposed to remember. It’s striking that the most prominent celebration associated with Christianity is totally absent. Nobody—not Jesus, not Peter, not John, not Paul—gives any hint that he had ever celebrated Jesus’ birth in December (or any month). Dec. 25 is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus’s birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The earliest Christians did not celebrate his birth.