Do you think in your heart that the Lord is delaying His return, or do you believe that He is longsuffering, not wanting to lose any?
This is an important question.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of
2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
I imagine there were some who one year after Jesus' ascension, were thinking He was taking too long to return. Now, some 1990 years later I imagine there are A LOT of people who believe He's taking just a little bit too long to return.
What has to happen before Jesus returns? So many Bible scholars through the years have believed all prophecy was fulfilled - in its own incomprehensible -for the most part- way. Because if they did comprehend the all of prophecy they'd know the historic timeline that has unfolded throughout time, and that it hasn't been completed as of yet. So much of prophecy has found completion though, did you know that? Were you aware that the great prophecy of the book of Daniel has occurred for the most part? That huge statue, do you remember that in your Bible lessons? Your pastor's sermons? Do you recall the more famous history of Daniel in the Lion's Den? That same king who had Daniel thrown into the Lion's den, had much earlier had become acquainted with Daniel through the revealing of a dream he'd had. Have you read that part of the Bible, it's truly fascinating.
'And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar ,Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.'
The king had a dream and because of that strange, far from ordinary dream, he couldn't sleep.
'Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.'
The very important king had lots and lots of very special people on his payroll, and these special people were called magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and such… seriously, the king had these people under his command and they weren't without powers. NO, this isn't fiction, this is fact, BIBLICAL fact, you'd do well to realize this as truth. Too many people dismiss those who claim to be magicians, soothsayers, sorcerers etc. The thing is, they get their power from Satan and this is where some people who do believe in them veer off and claim that there is no way they're all satanically influenced, God would say otherwise. Satan deceives and he's done a fantastic job of deceiving the masses. A good witch? God would say there is no such thing. He may have prophets, prophetess', but God does not use witches, warlocks, sorcerers etc, Satan does. God has ministering angels to His will by their own choosing. The evil angels possess men and women to use them as sorcerers, witches, etc all through Satan's influence. You can say you're a good witch, but you can't be of God and say that. You can say you're a healer, a prophet of God, but not the other, not if you're God's child. I digress, the king called his masses of Satanically ruled men, but God would not allow Satan to give them the answers the king was looking for, and Satan didn't have the answers himself to give them.
'Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.'
They wanted to hear what the dream was about so they could spin their tales about its possible meanings, but it wasn't going to be so easy this time.
'The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. '
Ha! The king forgot his dream! How many times have you know you've had a dream and it nags at you that you can't quite remember it, but you want to? I know it's happened to me. The king had a troublesome dream that slipped from his recall, but he knew the dream was very troublesome enough to that he just couldn't go back to sleep until he knew what it had been. Surely all his wise people had that ability, they were supposed to be special, right? They were supposed to have powers to do things like this. In fact, if they couldn’t, what good were they to the king? If they couldn't help the king in his great hour of need, he had no use for them and told them as much- he was going to kill them and their families.
'They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.'
Obviously they weren't listening the first time, they told the king once more that he had to tell them the dream so they could interpret it, that they couldn't interpret what they didn't know. How could he expect them to know the king's dream? They didn't dream it, he did. The king was being unreasonable, right?
'The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. '
No, the king wasn't haven't any of it! He knew they were stalling for time. He reiterated that the dream was gone from his mind, he had no memory of it. And if they did not tell him what he forgot, he had only one things to say- that which he'd already said. He told them yet again, that he knew they were trying to lie to him hoping he would just forget everything, but he wanted them to tell them his dream and then and only then he'd know they could tell the interpretation of that dream. He wanted them to prove their worth, live up to their hype.
'The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. '
Finally a Chaldean spoke the truth of the matter- without any stalling or trickery with words. That man answered and said there isn't ANY man on earth that could do what the king was asking. No one! No other king, no lord, no rulers dared to ask for such a thing because they ALL knew it was in impossible thing. Only the gods, who aren't living among them, could do what the king wanted. And yes, the Babylonians had their false gods a plenty- there were idols for them, temples for them, but no one ever really communicated with those supposed gods. The truth was now out there, the king would not get any answers from his people.
'For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.'
FURIOUS, yep, that's what he was, the king was furious and ordered ALL his wise men in all his kingdom be destroyed!
Among those wise men- were the slaves from Jerusalem, and among those slaves- Daniel, a man of God.
(More tomorrow, just know that the prophecy Daniel interprets shortly HAS almost all come to pass, and is our REAL HISTORY!
God be with us all, by the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever!!!!!!! Amen!
(Excerpt)
An Exposition of Matthew Twenty Four on the Second Coming of Christ
"What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"–DISCIPLES.
"When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.–JESUS.
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO.,
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NO truth of Inspiration is more clearly stated than that God reveals his designs to his prophets, so that men and nations may be warned of coming events before their accomplishment. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7. Before visiting the world with judgments, God has uniformly sent forth warnings sufficient to enable the believing to escape his wrath, and to condemn those who have not heeded the warning. This was the case before the flood. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world." Heb. 11:7.
In the days of Lot, when the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had become so sunken in idolatry and crime that the destruction of these cities was determined, the Lord revealed to
Abraham, his righteous servant, what he was about to do. Gen. 18:17-33. Lot also was warned, that he might escape. And through Lot the ungodly inhabitants of Sodom were warned, but they made light of the warning. Gen. 19:14.
Thus also when the Lord determined to overthrow Nineveh, he sent Jonah with a message of
warning. The people in this great city took an opposite course to that of the men of Sodom. They humbled themselves before God, and repented of their wickedness; therefore the Lord spared them, and their city was not destroyed until a later time, when the people had returned to their wicked ways.
John the Baptist was raised up by a special providence, at the first advent of Christ, to announce his immediate coming, and thus prepare the way before the Lord. The righteous in
that generation were not only expecting him to come soon, but they knew that that generation would not pass away till he did come. Read Luke 2:25, 26, 36-38.
Before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, its inhabitants were warned, and the way of escape was pointed out. Jesus had said, "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." And, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of "desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand), then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains." Luke 21:20; Matt. 15, 16. All who accepted the warning, and gave heed to the sign given them by Christ, improved the opportunity given them for escape by the providential withdrawal of the Roman army, after it had for some time surrounded the city, and fled in haste to a place of safety.
Such has been the dealing of God in past ages, in reference to all important events; and so has he promised to deal with his people. Then we may inquire, Can anything be learned from the
Bible relative to the time of the second advent? This is a grave inquiry, and, from the very nature of the subject, is worthy of close and candid investigation. We accept the Bible as a revelation from Heaven. What God has made known in that book ceases to be a mystery. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever." Deut. 29:29. If the Sacred Scriptures have revealed nothing concerning the time of the coming of our Lord, then we can know nothing concerning it. But if they have definitely informed us that we may know when "it is near, even at the doors," then these things belong to us and to our children. Believing that he has given all the Holy Scriptures for a wise purpose,–for our learning and benefit,–we consider it not merely our privilege, but our duty, to search the Scriptures, with an earnest desire to know the whole revealed will of God.
By careful and prayerful attention to the prophetic discourse of the Son of God, given in answer to the inquiry of the disciples, the reader will, we trust, receive light upon this important question. And as he reads the following pages, may the Holy Spirit open to his mind the beautiful harmony of the subject in its several parts, as fulfilled in the experience of the church from the time of the first advent of Christ to the close of human probation. (End Excerpt- To be continued)
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