Shall we pray?
00:00:22.18\00:00:24.09
Father in heaven, as
we open Your holy book,
00:00:24.12\00:00:27.22
we ask for the
presence of Your Holy Spirit
00:00:27.26\00:00:30.29
to open our minds and
hearts to receive Your message.
00:00:30.33\00:00:33.96
We pray this in the
precious name of Jesus.
00:00:34.00\00:00:36.97
Amen.
00:00:37.00\00:00:38.90
Before we can understand
00:00:38.93\00:00:41.00
the destruction of
Jerusalem in the year 70,
00:00:41.04\00:00:43.91
we need to understand
00:00:43.94\00:00:45.74
the first
destruction of Jerusalem
00:00:45.77\00:00:47.84
by Nebuchadnezzar
in the year 586 BC.
00:00:47.88\00:00:53.08
But we need to
go even further back
00:00:53.11\00:00:55.85
to the establishment of Israel
00:00:55.88\00:00:57.49
as God's covenant people
at the time of the Exodus.
00:00:57.52\00:01:01.52
Israel was at the
foot of Mount Sinai,
00:01:01.56\00:01:04.23
and God offered to
make a covenant with them.
00:01:04.26\00:01:07.20
Let's read about
this in Exodus 19:4-8.
00:01:07.23\00:01:13.17
God is speaking to Moses,
00:01:13.20\00:01:16.40
"You have seen what
I did to the Egyptians,
00:01:16.44\00:01:19.37
and how I bore
you on eagles' wings
00:01:19.41\00:01:21.64
and brought you to Myself.
00:01:21.68\00:01:24.01
Now therefore,
00:01:24.05\00:01:25.88
if you will indeed obey My voice
00:01:25.91\00:01:28.15
and keep My covenant,
00:01:28.18\00:01:30.42
then you shall be a
special treasure to Me
00:01:30.45\00:01:33.72
above all people, for
all the earth is Mine.
00:01:33.76\00:01:37.69
And you shall be to
Me a kingdom of priests
00:01:37.73\00:01:40.16
and a holy nation."
00:01:40.20\00:01:42.16
And then God says to Moses,
00:01:42.20\00:01:43.93
"These are the words
which you shall speak
00:01:43.97\00:01:46.70
to the children of Israel."
00:01:46.74\00:01:48.34
God is offering to
make a covenant with Israel.
00:01:48.37\00:01:52.04
And He says, "If
you obey My voice
00:01:52.07\00:01:53.94
and keep My covenant,
00:01:53.98\00:01:55.31
then you will be
My special people."
00:01:55.34\00:01:58.61
It continues.
00:01:58.65\00:01:59.98
"So Moses came and called
for the elders of the people,
00:02:00.02\00:02:03.65
and laid before
them all these words
00:02:03.69\00:02:06.79
which the Lord commanded him."
00:02:06.82\00:02:09.22
So it's laid before the elders,
00:02:09.26\00:02:11.19
then the elders lay
it before the people.
00:02:11.23\00:02:13.56
And we notice in verse 8,
00:02:13.60\00:02:15.96
"Then all the people
answered together and said,
00:02:16.00\00:02:19.13
'All that the Lord
has spoken, we will do.'"
00:02:19.17\00:02:23.51
In other words, we accept
the offer of the covenant.
00:02:23.54\00:02:27.44
And then, Moses relays
the message back to God.
00:02:27.48\00:02:31.01
It says, "So Moses brought back
00:02:31.05\00:02:34.68
the words of the
people to the Lord."
00:02:34.72\00:02:38.79
Now, God also asked Israel
00:02:38.82\00:02:40.72
to build a
tabernacle in the wilderness,
00:02:40.76\00:02:43.26
so that He could
dwell in their midst.
00:02:43.29\00:02:45.79
We find this in Exodus 25:8,
00:02:45.83\00:02:49.26
where it says,
00:02:49.30\00:02:50.70
"And let them
make Me a sanctuary,
00:02:50.73\00:02:53.77
that I may dwell among them."
00:02:53.80\00:02:57.47
When the
tabernacle was finished,
00:02:57.51\00:02:59.47
the glorious
Shekinah presence of God
00:02:59.51\00:03:02.04
entered the tabernacle.
00:03:02.08\00:03:04.15
We read this in Exodus 40:34-35.
00:03:04.18\00:03:09.45
It says there, "Then the cloud
00:03:09.48\00:03:11.49
covered the
tabernacle of meeting,
00:03:11.52\00:03:13.86
and the glory of the
Lord filled the tabernacle.
00:03:13.89\00:03:17.29
And Moses was not able to
00:03:17.33\00:03:18.66
enter the tabernacle of meeting,
00:03:18.69\00:03:20.53
because the
cloud rested above it,
00:03:20.56\00:03:22.70
and the glory of the
Lord filled the tabernacle."
00:03:22.73\00:03:27.64
A little later, Israel
entered the Promised Land,
00:03:27.67\00:03:31.61
actually, it was 40 years later,
00:03:31.64\00:03:33.64
but compared to the timeframe
that we're speaking of,
00:03:33.68\00:03:37.05
there was a
short period of time.
00:03:37.08\00:03:39.05
Forty years later,
00:03:39.08\00:03:40.42
Israel entered
the Promised Land.
00:03:40.45\00:03:42.05
And eventually, Solomon built
a solid temple for the Lord.
00:03:42.08\00:03:46.99
It was no longer a tabernacle
00:03:47.02\00:03:48.96
that could be torn
down and transported.
00:03:48.99\00:03:52.23
And when the
temple was finished,
00:03:52.26\00:03:54.26
God once again
entered the temple
00:03:54.30\00:03:57.57
as the Shekinah Glory.
00:03:57.60\00:03:59.30
We find that in 1 Kings 8:10-11.
00:03:59.33\00:04:04.37
It says there,
"And it came to pass
00:04:04.41\00:04:06.14
when the priests
came out of the holy place
00:04:06.17\00:04:08.88
that the cloud filled
the house of the Lord,
00:04:08.91\00:04:11.41
so that the priests
could not continue ministering
00:04:11.45\00:04:14.22
because of the cloud,
for the glory of the Lord
00:04:14.25\00:04:18.29
filled the house of the Lord."
00:04:18.32\00:04:21.62
God wanted to
dwell among His people,
00:04:21.66\00:04:24.09
and He wanted His
people to be faithful
00:04:24.13\00:04:25.96
to the covenant
and obey His voice.
00:04:25.99\00:04:28.83
However, 800 years of apostasy
00:04:28.86\00:04:33.74
followed after
the Shekinah entered
00:04:33.77\00:04:36.97
the tabernacle
in the wilderness.
00:04:37.01\00:04:39.31
In 2 Chronicles 36:14-16,
00:04:39.34\00:04:44.61
we find a description of
the unfaithfulness of Israel
00:04:44.65\00:04:48.12
to the covenant.
00:04:48.15\00:04:49.48
We find there these words.
00:04:49.52\00:04:51.25
"Moreover, all the
leaders of the priests
00:04:51.29\00:04:53.99
and all the people
transgressed more and more,
00:04:54.02\00:04:57.63
according to all
the abominations,"
00:04:57.66\00:04:59.79
don't forget that word,
00:04:59.83\00:05:01.16
"according to
all the abominations
00:05:01.20\00:05:02.80
of the nations,
00:05:02.83\00:05:04.17
and defiled the
house of the Lord
00:05:04.20\00:05:06.27
which He had
consecrated in Jerusalem.
00:05:06.30\00:05:09.07
And the Lord
God of their fathers
00:05:09.10\00:05:10.54
sent warnings to
them by His messengers,
00:05:10.57\00:05:13.01
rising up early
and sending them,
00:05:13.04\00:05:15.31
because He had
compassion on His people
00:05:15.34\00:05:17.51
and on His dwelling place.
00:05:17.55\00:05:19.48
However, they mocked
the messengers of God,
00:05:19.51\00:05:22.65
despised His words, and
scoffed at His prophets,
00:05:22.68\00:05:26.32
until the wrath
of the Lord arose
00:05:26.35\00:05:28.46
against these people
till there was no remedy."
00:05:28.49\00:05:33.03
So the people
transgressed the covenant,
00:05:33.06\00:05:35.56
they disobeyed God,
00:05:35.60\00:05:36.97
they practiced the
abominations of the nations,
00:05:37.00\00:05:39.93
and they mocked
the messengers of God.
00:05:39.97\00:05:43.20
And they scoffed at
the prophets of the Lord.
00:05:43.24\00:05:47.91
Israel became a harlot,
practicing the abominations
00:05:47.94\00:05:52.95
of the surrounding nations.
00:05:52.98\00:05:55.32
By the way,
this is not happening
00:05:55.35\00:05:57.02
among the pagan nations.
00:05:57.05\00:05:58.79
This is happening among
God's own professed people,
00:05:58.82\00:06:02.86
those who claim to
serve the true God.
00:06:02.89\00:06:06.59
We find in Ezekiel 16:15,
00:06:06.63\00:06:11.20
and then verses 22 and verse 30,
00:06:11.23\00:06:14.80
how Israel
apostatized from the Lord.
00:06:14.84\00:06:18.47
It says there in verse,
00:06:18.51\00:06:20.41
actually we'll
begin with verse 21.
00:06:20.44\00:06:24.11
"But you trusted
in your own beauty,
00:06:24.15\00:06:27.02
played the harlot
because of your fame
00:06:27.05\00:06:30.95
and poured out your
harlotry on everyone passing
00:06:30.99\00:06:34.92
by who would have it."
00:06:34.96\00:06:36.83
And now comes the key word.
00:06:36.86\00:06:38.49
"And in all your abominations
and acts of harlotry,
00:06:38.53\00:06:44.50
you did not remember
the days of your youth,"
00:06:44.53\00:06:48.60
and it speaks figuratively,
00:06:48.64\00:06:50.57
"when you were naked and bare,
00:06:50.61\00:06:52.77
struggling in your blood.
00:06:52.81\00:06:55.01
How degenerate is your
heart, says the Lord God,
00:06:55.04\00:06:59.31
seeing you do all these things,
00:06:59.35\00:07:01.55
the deeds of a brazen harlot."
00:07:01.58\00:07:05.89
Notice that God's
people have become a harlot.
00:07:05.92\00:07:09.72
They were practicing
00:07:09.76\00:07:11.09
the abominations of
the surrounding nations.
00:07:11.13\00:07:13.70
And these were those
who had professed to enter
00:07:13.73\00:07:16.83
into a covenant with the Lord.
00:07:16.87\00:07:21.17
The Prophet Ezekiel in
16:2 once again repeats,
00:07:21.20\00:07:25.31
that the people were committing
00:07:25.34\00:07:27.74
the abominations of the nations.
00:07:27.78\00:07:30.05
This is what made
Israel the harlot.
00:07:30.08\00:07:33.28
We find there in Ezekiel 16:2,
"Son of man cause Jerusalem to
00:07:33.31\00:07:38.69
know her abominations."
00:07:38.72\00:07:41.26
Jeremiah and Ezekiel, both speak
00:07:41.29\00:07:44.53
about abominations in Jerusalem.
00:07:44.56\00:07:47.50
Jeremiah prophesied before
00:07:47.53\00:07:50.17
the first seeds of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar,
00:07:50.20\00:07:54.04
and Ezekiel was
then taken to Babylon,
00:07:54.07\00:07:57.27
and he
prophesied there in Babylon.
00:07:57.31\00:07:59.34
So they are within
this historical context
00:07:59.37\00:08:02.98
of the destruction of Jerusalem
00:08:03.01\00:08:04.91
by
Nebuchadnezzar in the year 586.
00:08:04.95\00:08:08.68
And so because of
Israel's harlotry,
00:08:08.72\00:08:11.82
and because of practicing
00:08:11.85\00:08:13.32
the abominations of the nations,
00:08:13.36\00:08:15.32
God came to judge the people
00:08:15.36\00:08:19.63
in Jerusalem and Israel
00:08:19.66\00:08:22.90
in the entire realm.
00:08:22.93\00:08:24.53
We find in Ezekiel 1:4,
00:08:24.57\00:08:27.47
that God came from the
north to judge His people.
00:08:27.50\00:08:32.47
We find in
Ezekiel 1:4, these words,
00:08:32.51\00:08:36.08
"Then I looked, and behold,
00:08:36.11\00:08:38.35
a whirlwind was
coming out of the north."
00:08:38.38\00:08:41.52
That's heaven.
That's where God lives.
00:08:41.55\00:08:43.52
The sides of the
north, according to Psalm 48,
00:08:43.55\00:08:46.39
is where God lives.
00:08:46.42\00:08:47.76
So it says, Then I
looked, and behold,
00:08:47.79\00:08:49.19
a whirlwind was
coming out of the north,
00:08:49.22\00:08:51.56
a great cloud
00:08:51.59\00:08:52.93
with raging fire
engulfing itself,
00:08:52.96\00:08:55.63
and brightness
was all around it,
00:08:55.66\00:08:57.87
and radiating out of its midst
00:08:57.90\00:09:01.07
like the color of amber,
out of the midst of the fire."
00:09:01.10\00:09:06.04
You see, God was now
coming to judge Jerusalem,
00:09:06.07\00:09:09.31
which is really a word
that represents all of Israel,
00:09:09.34\00:09:12.71
all of God's chosen
people at that time.
00:09:12.75\00:09:16.08
Ezekiel Chapter 8 is
called the abominations chapter.
00:09:16.12\00:09:20.79
The reason why is because
00:09:20.82\00:09:22.16
God shows Ezekiel an abomination
00:09:22.19\00:09:24.13
that is being committed
among God's professed people.
00:09:24.16\00:09:27.50
And Ezekiel thinks,
"Oh, that's terrible."
00:09:27.53\00:09:29.96
God says, "You
haven't seen anything yet.
00:09:30.00\00:09:31.77
I'll show you a
greater abomination than this."
00:09:31.80\00:09:34.64
And the process goes on.
00:09:34.67\00:09:36.64
And the chapter ends
with the greatest abomination
00:09:36.67\00:09:39.71
that was being committed
00:09:39.74\00:09:41.41
among those who
professed to be His own people.
00:09:41.44\00:09:45.01
We find in Ezekiel 8:16-18,
00:09:45.05\00:09:48.68
the culminating abomination
that was being committed.
00:09:48.72\00:09:52.82
I'm going to read
beginning with verse 16,
00:09:52.85\00:09:56.12
"So he brought me
00:09:56.16\00:09:57.49
into the inner
court of the Lord's house,
00:09:57.53\00:10:00.36
and there, at the door
of the temple of the Lord,
00:10:00.40\00:10:03.16
between the parch and the altar,
00:10:03.20\00:10:05.57
were about 25
men with their backs
00:10:05.60\00:10:09.20
toward the temple of the Lord,
00:10:09.24\00:10:11.91
and their faces toward the east,
00:10:11.94\00:10:14.38
and they were worshipping
the sun toward the east."
00:10:14.41\00:10:18.45
The worst abomination
was practicing sun worship.
00:10:18.48\00:10:23.25
I want you to
remember all of these details.
00:10:23.28\00:10:25.35
Verse 17, "Then he said to me,
00:10:25.39\00:10:28.19
'Have you seen
this, O son of man?
00:10:28.22\00:10:31.06
Is it a trivial
thing to the house of Judah
00:10:31.09\00:10:33.43
to commit the,"
notice the word again,
00:10:33.46\00:10:35.73
"abominations
that they commit here?
00:10:35.76\00:10:38.70
For they have filled
the land with violence,
00:10:38.73\00:10:41.00
then they have
returned to provoke Me to anger.
00:10:41.04\00:10:44.77
Indeed they put the
branch to their nose.
00:10:44.81\00:10:47.44
Therefore I also
will act in fury.
00:10:47.48\00:10:50.41
My eye will not
spare nor will I have pity,
00:10:50.45\00:10:55.18
and though they cry in My ears
00:10:55.22\00:10:57.19
with a loud voice,
I will not hear them.
00:10:57.22\00:11:01.02
So they were
practicing the abominations,
00:11:01.06\00:11:02.79
the idolatry of the nations,
00:11:02.82\00:11:04.33
the greatest of them
was turning their backs
00:11:04.36\00:11:07.30
to the temple of the Lord
and worshiping the sun god.
00:11:07.33\00:11:12.20
Now how did the people
fall into this condition?
00:11:12.23\00:11:15.90
It was because of their leaders.
00:11:15.94\00:11:19.07
Notice Jeremiah 5:31.
00:11:19.11\00:11:23.04
Remember, the
Prophet Jeremiah lived
00:11:23.08\00:11:25.08
before Daniel and his
friends were taken to Babylon.
00:11:25.11\00:11:28.08
In the first
stage of the captivity,
00:11:28.12\00:11:29.92
there were three
stages, 605, 597 and 586.
00:11:29.95\00:11:34.52
Jeremiah 5:31,
reads, "Then the prophets,
00:11:34.56\00:11:39.63
the prophets rather,
00:11:39.66\00:11:41.60
prophesy falsely,
00:11:41.63\00:11:44.10
and the priests
rule by their own power,
00:11:44.13\00:11:48.57
and My people
love to have it so.
00:11:48.60\00:11:52.21
However, what will
you do in the end?"
00:11:52.24\00:11:56.04
So notice, the problem was that
00:11:56.08\00:11:57.71
the prophets prophesied falsely,
00:11:57.75\00:12:00.22
the priests ruled
by their own power.
00:12:00.25\00:12:03.02
The people were not
guilty that's because it says,
00:12:03.05\00:12:05.49
and My people
love to have it so.
00:12:05.52\00:12:08.99
They surrounded themselves
with priests and with prophets,
00:12:09.02\00:12:12.19
who told them what
they wanted to hear.
00:12:12.23\00:12:16.56
So God promised that destruction
00:12:16.60\00:12:19.10
was going to come upon
the four corners of the land.
00:12:19.13\00:12:22.44
This is found in Ezekiel 7:1-2,
00:12:22.47\00:12:26.31
"Moreover, the word of the Lord
00:12:26.34\00:12:28.24
came to me saying,
00:12:28.28\00:12:29.94
'And you, son of man,
thus says the Lord God
00:12:29.98\00:12:33.65
to the land of Israel: 'An end!
00:12:33.68\00:12:36.79
The end has come upon the
four corners of the land."
00:12:36.82\00:12:40.69
Don't forget that,
four corners of the land.
00:12:40.72\00:12:43.26
All of these
details we will meet again
00:12:43.29\00:12:46.29
later on when we speak about
00:12:46.33\00:12:48.76
the second
destruction of Jerusalem,
00:12:48.80\00:12:51.20
and the final
destruction of the world.
00:12:51.23\00:12:53.54
So it says, once again,
an end, the end has come
00:12:53.57\00:12:57.44
upon the four
corners of the land.
00:12:57.47\00:13:00.11
"Now the end has come upon you,
00:13:00.14\00:13:02.28
and I will send
My anger against you,
00:13:02.31\00:13:04.48
I will judge you
according to your ways,
00:13:04.51\00:13:07.22
and I will repay
you for all your,"
00:13:07.25\00:13:09.52
here's the word again,
"for all your abominations."
00:13:09.55\00:13:12.65
However, not everyone in
this city was in apostasy.
00:13:12.69\00:13:17.83
There were some faithful people
within the city of Jerusalem.
00:13:17.86\00:13:21.03
In other words,
there were two groups,
00:13:21.06\00:13:22.80
those who were truly faithful,
00:13:22.83\00:13:25.00
and those who were practicing
the abominations of the nation.
00:13:25.03\00:13:29.64
And so before
the destruction came,
00:13:29.67\00:13:31.94
it was necessary to
do a work of separation,
00:13:31.97\00:13:35.64
to separate the
righteous from the unrighteous,
00:13:35.68\00:13:38.31
to separate the sun worshipers
00:13:38.35\00:13:40.88
from those who
worshiped the Creator God.
00:13:40.92\00:13:44.15
You see, in Jerusalem,
00:13:44.19\00:13:45.69
there was a
people within the people,
00:13:45.72\00:13:48.06
there was a small faithful
remnant within the city.
00:13:48.09\00:13:52.06
I want you to remember this.
00:13:52.09\00:13:53.43
I'll get ahead of
myself a little bit.
00:13:53.46\00:13:55.23
In the Book of Revelation,
00:13:55.26\00:13:56.80
you also have a
group that sigh and cry.
00:13:56.83\00:13:59.27
It's in Revelation Chapter 18,
00:13:59.30\00:14:01.20
because of the abominations
00:14:01.24\00:14:02.97
that the harlot of Revelation 17
00:14:03.00\00:14:05.31
is committing.
00:14:05.34\00:14:06.68
And then we're going
to notice that destruction
00:14:06.71\00:14:09.01
is coming from the
four corners of the earth.
00:14:09.04\00:14:12.41
And we're also
going to notice that
00:14:12.45\00:14:13.78
it's the sealing work that
takes place on the forehead
00:14:13.82\00:14:16.48
before the destruction comes.
00:14:16.52\00:14:18.55
Revelation picks up on
what we're talking about here.
00:14:18.59\00:14:22.99
I want you to read.
00:14:23.02\00:14:24.36
I want you to read
with me, Ezekiel 9:1-7,
00:14:24.39\00:14:28.23
where we find the description
of the judgment of separation
00:14:28.26\00:14:32.33
of those who worship the Creator
00:14:32.37\00:14:35.27
from those who
worship the sun god.
00:14:35.30\00:14:38.27
Ezekiel 9:1-7,
"Then He called out
00:14:38.31\00:14:42.71
in my hearing with
a loud voice, saying,
00:14:42.74\00:14:45.31
'Let those who have
charge over the city draw near,
00:14:45.35\00:14:48.35
each with a deadly
weapon in his hand.
00:14:48.38\00:14:50.79
And suddenly six men
00:14:50.82\00:14:52.55
came from the
direction of the upper gate,
00:14:52.59\00:14:54.46
which faces north,
00:14:54.49\00:14:55.96
each with his
battle-ax in his hand.
00:14:55.99\00:14:58.59
One man among them
was clothed with linen
00:14:58.63\00:15:01.36
and had a writer's
inkhorn at his side.
00:15:01.40\00:15:04.63
They went in and stood
beside the bronze altar.
00:15:04.67\00:15:08.10
Now the glory of
the God of Israel
00:15:08.14\00:15:09.94
had gone up from the cherub,
00:15:09.97\00:15:11.77
where it had been, to
the threshold of the temple.
00:15:11.81\00:15:14.54
And He called to the
man clothed with linen,
00:15:14.58\00:15:17.58
who had the
writer's inkhorn at his side,
00:15:17.61\00:15:20.22
and the Lord said to him,"
00:15:20.25\00:15:21.92
now comes the
judgment of separation.
00:15:21.95\00:15:24.02
See, before the destruction,
00:15:24.05\00:15:25.62
there's going to be
00:15:25.65\00:15:26.99
a separation of
the sun worshipers
00:15:27.02\00:15:29.52
from those who
worship the Creator.
00:15:29.56\00:15:31.49
So it says once again, verse
4, "And the Lord said to him,
00:15:31.53\00:15:34.93
"Go through the
midst of the city,"
00:15:34.96\00:15:36.43
that is where God's
professed people were,
00:15:36.46\00:15:38.33
"through the midst of Jerusalem,
00:15:38.37\00:15:40.34
and put a mark on
the foreheads of the men
00:15:40.37\00:15:44.41
who sigh and cry
over all the abominations
00:15:44.44\00:15:48.84
that are done within it.
00:15:48.88\00:15:50.41
"Notice once again,
the key word, abomination.
00:15:50.45\00:15:53.68
Verse 5, "To the
others He said in my hearing,
00:15:53.72\00:15:56.79
'Go after him
through this city and kill,
00:15:56.82\00:16:00.19
do not let your eye
spare, nor have any pity.
00:16:00.22\00:16:04.03
Utterly slay old and young men,
00:16:04.06\00:16:07.26
maidens and little
children and women,
00:16:07.30\00:16:09.50
but do not come near
anyone on whom is the mark,
00:16:09.53\00:16:13.20
and begin at My sanctuary."
00:16:13.23\00:16:16.10
That is with the leaders,
00:16:16.14\00:16:17.74
"So they began with the elders
who were before the temple.
00:16:17.77\00:16:21.18
Then he said to them,
00:16:21.21\00:16:22.54
'Defile the temple,
00:16:22.58\00:16:23.91
and fill the
courts with the slain.
00:16:23.95\00:16:25.51
Go out!'
00:16:25.55\00:16:26.88
And they went out
and killed the city.'"
00:16:26.92\00:16:30.29
But something happened
before this took place.
00:16:30.32\00:16:33.49
I just read this passage,
00:16:33.52\00:16:34.92
because I want you to see that
00:16:34.96\00:16:36.29
before the
destruction took place,
00:16:36.32\00:16:38.09
before God poured out His wrath,
00:16:38.13\00:16:40.63
there was a sealing work,
00:16:40.66\00:16:42.53
where a seal or a mark
was placed on the forehead
00:16:42.56\00:16:45.73
to separate the
righteous from the unrighteous,
00:16:45.77\00:16:48.70
so that when Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed the city,
00:16:48.74\00:16:51.07
the righteous would
survive the destruction,
00:16:51.11\00:16:54.58
just like in the
Book of Revelation,
00:16:54.61\00:16:56.31
the 144,000 will
survive the final destruction.
00:16:56.34\00:17:01.58
Before the city was destroyed,
00:17:01.62\00:17:03.69
the Shekinah that
have entered the temple
00:17:03.72\00:17:06.39
now departed from the temple.
00:17:06.42\00:17:09.96
Ezekiel 10:18-19 describes
the departure of the Shekinah.
00:17:09.99\00:17:14.96
You see in Chapter
1, God, the glory of God
00:17:15.00\00:17:17.47
is coming from heaven
00:17:17.50\00:17:18.83
from the north
to enter the temple
00:17:18.87\00:17:20.50
to perform a work of judgment.
00:17:20.54\00:17:22.20
When that work
of judgment is over,
00:17:22.24\00:17:24.14
then the
Shekinah is going to leave
00:17:24.17\00:17:26.41
the temple desolate.
00:17:26.44\00:17:28.41
Notice Ezekiel 10:18-19,
00:17:28.44\00:17:31.98
"Then the glory
of the Lord departed
00:17:32.01\00:17:34.52
from the threshold of the temple
00:17:34.55\00:17:36.85
and stood over the cherubim.
00:17:36.89\00:17:39.22
The cherubim lifted their wings
00:17:39.25\00:17:40.96
and mounted up from
the earth in my sight.
00:17:40.99\00:17:43.83
When they went out, the
wheels were beside them,
00:17:43.86\00:17:46.66
and they stood at
the door of the east gate
00:17:46.70\00:17:49.46
of the Lord's house,
00:17:49.50\00:17:50.83
and the glory of
the God of Israel
00:17:50.87\00:17:53.74
was above them."
00:17:53.77\00:17:55.10
So now they've left
the sanctuary at the gate,
00:17:55.14\00:17:57.07
east gate of a temple,
00:17:57.11\00:18:00.11
and then the
glory leaves a temple
00:18:00.14\00:18:02.54
and lingers for a few moments
00:18:02.58\00:18:05.81
upon the Mount of
Olives, east of Jerusalem.
00:18:05.85\00:18:09.35
Notice 11:22-23 of
the Book of Ezekiel.
00:18:09.38\00:18:14.42
It says, "Then the
cherubim lifted up their wings,
00:18:14.46\00:18:18.09
with the wheels beside them,
00:18:18.13\00:18:20.10
the glory of the God of
Israel was high above them.
00:18:20.13\00:18:23.80
And the glory
of the Lord went up
00:18:23.83\00:18:26.77
from the midst of a city."
00:18:26.80\00:18:28.74
In other words, it's left,
00:18:28.77\00:18:30.11
the Shekinah
has left the temple.
00:18:30.14\00:18:32.01
And now it's going to
stand for a few moments
00:18:32.04\00:18:34.98
on the Mount of
Olives, east of the city.
00:18:35.01\00:18:37.65
It says in verse 23,
"And the glory of the Lord
00:18:37.68\00:18:39.98
went up from the midst of a city
00:18:40.02\00:18:41.82
and stood on the mountain,
00:18:41.85\00:18:43.99
which is on the
east side of the city."
00:18:44.02\00:18:47.96
So now the city
has been forsaken.
00:18:47.99\00:18:50.79
The Shekinah
has left the temple,
00:18:50.83\00:18:53.80
and the
abominations will now lead
00:18:53.83\00:18:57.37
to the desolation of a
city by Nebuchadnezzar.
00:18:57.40\00:19:01.80
But I want you to
notice that there's a sealing,
00:19:01.84\00:19:04.77
when the sealing is finished,
00:19:04.81\00:19:06.91
the Shekinah leaves the temple,
00:19:06.94\00:19:10.35
lingers at the
east gate, then leaves
00:19:10.38\00:19:13.42
and lingers on
the Mount of Olives,
00:19:13.45\00:19:15.98
then goes back to heaven.
00:19:16.02\00:19:17.79
And the city is now
forsaken, and the abominations
00:19:17.82\00:19:22.12
will lead to desolation.
00:19:22.16\00:19:26.86
So who was it that came
against the city of Jerusalem?
00:19:26.90\00:19:30.50
It was actually
King Nebuchadnezzar.
00:19:30.53\00:19:33.57
And do you know that
00:19:33.60\00:19:34.94
the Bible
describes Nebuchadnezzar
00:19:34.97\00:19:36.60
coming like an
eagle to destroy the city?
00:19:36.64\00:19:39.94
Let's read several verses
that portray ancient Babylon
00:19:39.97\00:19:43.75
and Nebuchadnezzar as coming
00:19:43.78\00:19:46.01
as an eagle to destroy the city.
00:19:46.05\00:19:48.82
Jeremiah 4:13.
00:19:48.85\00:19:52.42
It says, "Behold, he
shall come up like clouds,
00:19:52.45\00:19:56.56
and his chariots
like a whirlwind.
00:19:56.59\00:19:59.36
His horses are
swifter than eagles.
00:19:59.39\00:20:02.76
Woe to us, for
we are plundered!"
00:20:02.80\00:20:06.67
Lamentations 4:19.
00:20:06.70\00:20:09.30
Once again, by the
way Lamentations was sung,
00:20:09.34\00:20:13.07
when the Jews were
being taken captive
00:20:13.11\00:20:17.41
from the city of
Jerusalem to Babylon
00:20:17.45\00:20:19.81
and to the dispersion.
00:20:19.85\00:20:21.75
In fact, the
Book of Lamentations
00:20:21.78\00:20:23.72
is written in what
is known as Qinah metre.
00:20:23.75\00:20:27.16
Qinah metre was a literary style
00:20:27.19\00:20:29.26
that was used in funeral dirges.
00:20:29.29\00:20:32.59
And so the Book of Lamentations
was written by Jeremiah.
00:20:32.63\00:20:36.00
As the Jews were being
taken captive to Babylon,
00:20:36.03\00:20:39.50
they were crying out
as they sang this song.
00:20:39.53\00:20:43.67
Notice Lamentations 4:19,
00:20:43.71\00:20:46.41
"Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles of heaven.
00:20:46.44\00:20:50.71
Notice once again,
the Babylonian armies
00:20:50.75\00:20:53.05
that destroyed Jerusalem
are compared to eagles.
00:20:53.08\00:20:55.98
"They pursued
us on the mountains
00:20:56.02\00:20:58.12
and lay in wait for
us in the wilderness."
00:20:58.15\00:21:01.39
Habakkuk 1:8,
00:21:01.42\00:21:04.23
once again compares
the invasion of Babylon
00:21:04.26\00:21:06.70
with the coming of an eagle.
00:21:06.73\00:21:08.76
It says, "Their horses
also are swifter than leopards
00:21:08.80\00:21:13.17
and more fierce
than evening wolves.
00:21:13.20\00:21:15.84
Their chargers charge ahead,
their cavalry comes from afar,
00:21:15.87\00:21:20.31
they fly as the
eagle that hastens to eat."
00:21:20.34\00:21:25.91
I can't help but
mention here Matthew 24:28,
00:21:25.95\00:21:29.35
where it says that
where the carcass is,
00:21:29.38\00:21:31.55
there are the
eagles gathered together.
00:21:31.59\00:21:34.06
I'm getting ahead
of myself a little bit.
00:21:34.09\00:21:35.62
I want you to start
thinking about typology.
00:21:35.66\00:21:37.96
What happened will happen again.
00:21:37.99\00:21:40.56
In Daniel 7:4, in fact,
00:21:40.60\00:21:43.30
Babylon is compared to
a lion with eagle's wings.
00:21:43.33\00:21:46.84
It says there in Daniel
7:4, "The first was like a lion,
00:21:46.87\00:21:51.77
and had eagle's wings."
00:21:51.81\00:21:54.21
And for those who has excavated
this ancient city of Babylon,
00:21:54.24\00:21:58.51
they found at the entrances,
00:21:58.55\00:22:00.18
sphinxes of lions
with eagle's wings.
00:22:00.22\00:22:03.28
So, the conquest of
Nebuchadnezzar of the city
00:22:03.32\00:22:06.82
because of its abominations
is compared to an eagle.
00:22:06.86\00:22:12.56
Now the city
when it was besieged
00:22:12.59\00:22:15.36
by King Nebuchadnezzar
00:22:15.40\00:22:17.87
suffered from three separate
scourges or punishments.
00:22:17.90\00:22:23.84
Notice Jeremiah 32:24.
00:22:23.87\00:22:27.08
Jeremiah 32:24,
"Look, the siege mounds!
00:22:27.11\00:22:32.11
They have come to
the city to take it,
00:22:32.15\00:22:35.72
and the city has been given
into the hands of the Chaldeans
00:22:35.75\00:22:39.05
who fought against it,"
00:22:39.09\00:22:41.19
and now notice
the three punishments,
00:22:41.22\00:22:43.02
"because of the sword,
00:22:43.06\00:22:44.66
that would mean war,
and famine and pestilence."
00:22:44.69\00:22:49.73
These are the very three
things that are mentioned
00:22:49.76\00:22:52.83
in Matthew
Chapter 24 with regards
00:22:52.87\00:22:55.17
to the second
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:22:55.20\00:22:58.74
Now, I want you to notice
00:22:58.77\00:23:00.44
2 Chronicles 36:17-21,
00:23:00.48\00:23:05.71
where the actual destruction
of a city is described.
00:23:05.75\00:23:10.42
It says, "Therefore he brought
00:23:10.45\00:23:12.99
against them the
king of the Chaldeans,
00:23:13.02\00:23:15.42
who killed their young men,"
00:23:15.46\00:23:16.89
this reminds us of Ezekiel 9,
00:23:16.93\00:23:18.73
very similar terminology,
"who killed their young men
00:23:18.76\00:23:22.30
with the sword in the
house of their sanctuary,
00:23:22.33\00:23:25.17
had no compassion
on young man or virgin,
00:23:25.20\00:23:28.84
on the ages or the weak,
00:23:28.87\00:23:30.77
aged or the week, He
gave them all into his hand.
00:23:30.81\00:23:34.48
And all the articles
from the house of God,
00:23:34.51\00:23:36.85
great and small,
00:23:36.88\00:23:38.21
the treasures of
the house of the Lord,
00:23:38.25\00:23:40.32
and the treasures of
the king and his leaders
00:23:40.35\00:23:42.72
all these he took to Babylon.
00:23:42.75\00:23:44.82
They burned the house of God,
00:23:44.85\00:23:47.76
broke down the
wall of Jerusalem,
00:23:47.79\00:23:49.99
burned all its
palaces with fire,
00:23:50.03\00:23:52.06
and destroyed all
its precious possessions.
00:23:52.09\00:23:54.90
And those who escaped
00:23:54.93\00:23:56.26
from the sword he
carried away to Babylon,
00:23:56.30\00:23:58.73
where they
became servants to him
00:23:58.77\00:24:00.10
and his sons
00:24:00.14\00:24:01.47
until the rule of
the kingdom of Persia,
00:24:01.50\00:24:03.44
to fulfill the word of the
Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah,
00:24:03.47\00:24:06.64
until the land had
enjoyed her Sabbaths.
00:24:06.68\00:24:09.31
As long as she lay desolate,
00:24:09.34\00:24:11.08
she kept Sabbath to
fulfill seventy years."
00:24:11.11\00:24:13.68
In other words,
00:24:13.72\00:24:15.05
after the
destruction of Jerusalem,
00:24:15.08\00:24:16.82
there was a period of time
00:24:16.85\00:24:18.42
in which the city
remained desolate.
00:24:18.45\00:24:22.82
You know, Flavius
Josephus actually tells us that
00:24:22.86\00:24:26.19
the Book of
Lamentations was sung,
00:24:26.23\00:24:28.76
as the people were agonizing
over the destruction of a city
00:24:28.80\00:24:32.97
and they were
being taken captive.
00:24:33.00\00:24:35.54
Now, I want you to
notice also in Jeremiah 25,
00:24:35.57\00:24:39.54
that the
abominations that God's people
00:24:39.57\00:24:42.31
were committing
lead to desolation.
00:24:42.34\00:24:44.58
You remember that in Matthew 24,
00:24:44.61\00:24:46.11
you have the
abomination of desolation.
00:24:46.15\00:24:49.45
The abomination is a sign.
00:24:49.48\00:24:51.82
It's a sign that desolation
or destruction is coming.
00:24:51.85\00:24:55.56
I want you to
notice Jeremiah 25,
00:24:55.59\00:24:58.09
we'll read verses 8 and 9,
00:24:58.13\00:25:00.70
and then we'll read verses
11, and we'll jump to verse 18.
00:25:00.73\00:25:05.67
It says in Jeremiah 25:8,
00:25:05.70\00:25:08.17
"Therefore thus
says the Lord of hosts:
00:25:08.20\00:25:10.71
'Because you have not
heard My words, behold,
00:25:10.74\00:25:14.24
I will send and take all
the families of the north,"
00:25:14.28\00:25:17.81
this is talking about Babylon,
00:25:17.85\00:25:20.48
because Babylon came
00:25:20.52\00:25:21.85
to the Holy Land from the north.
00:25:21.88\00:25:23.69
"So therefore thus
says the Lord of hosts:
00:25:23.72\00:25:25.49
'Because you have not
heard My words, behold,
00:25:25.52\00:25:27.92
I will send and take all
the families of the north,'
00:25:27.96\00:25:30.13
says the Lord
and Nebuchadnezzar,
00:25:30.16\00:25:32.09
the king of Babylon, my servant,
00:25:32.13\00:25:34.10
and will bring
them against this land,
00:25:34.13\00:25:36.16
against its inhabitants,
00:25:36.20\00:25:37.87
against these
nations all around,
00:25:37.90\00:25:39.93
and will utterly destroy them,
00:25:39.97\00:25:41.87
and make them an astonishment,
00:25:41.90\00:25:43.91
a hissing, and perpetual,"
00:25:43.94\00:25:46.71
notice the word, "desolations.'"
00:25:46.74\00:25:49.24
Verse 11, "And this
whole land shall be a,"
00:25:49.28\00:25:52.58
keyword again,
"desolation and an astonishment,
00:25:52.61\00:25:56.08
and these nations shall serve
00:25:56.12\00:25:57.65
the king of
Babylon seventy years."
00:25:57.69\00:25:59.79
Verse 18, "Jerusalem
and the cities of Judah,
00:25:59.82\00:26:02.99
its kings and its
princess, to make them,"
00:26:03.02\00:26:05.39
here's the key word again,
00:26:05.43\00:26:06.76
"a desolation, an
astonishment, a hissing,
00:26:06.80\00:26:09.96
and a curse, as
it is in this day."
00:26:10.00\00:26:14.50
So you notice, God comes up
00:26:14.54\00:26:16.60
from the north
to judge Jerusalem.
00:26:16.64\00:26:20.48
When He judges Jerusalem,
00:26:20.51\00:26:22.21
He places a
mark on the foreheads
00:26:22.24\00:26:24.81
of those who sigh and cried
00:26:24.85\00:26:26.21
because of the abominations
that are being committed.
00:26:26.25\00:26:28.22
These are God worshippers,
the worshipers of the Creator.
00:26:28.25\00:26:31.42
On the other hand,
you have those individuals
00:26:31.45\00:26:33.92
who are worshipping the sun,
00:26:33.96\00:26:35.49
they are the
wicked within the city.
00:26:35.52\00:26:37.33
And then the Shekinah leaves,
00:26:37.36\00:26:40.53
goes to the east
gate of the sanctuary,
00:26:40.56\00:26:42.96
then goes and lingers
on the Mount of Olives,
00:26:43.00\00:26:47.00
and then goes off to heaven.
00:26:47.04\00:26:48.74
The city is now
abandoned of the glory of God.
00:26:48.77\00:26:52.94
The city is now
ready for desolation,
00:26:52.97\00:26:57.18
because of the abominations,
00:26:57.21\00:26:58.85
now the city will
suffer desolation.
00:26:58.88\00:27:01.85
Now why was
this going to happen?
00:27:01.88\00:27:04.19
It's because they did not listen
00:27:04.22\00:27:06.72
to the voice of
the true prophets.
00:27:06.76\00:27:09.32
We find in Jeremiah 25:3-4,
you'll see the false prophets.
00:27:09.36\00:27:14.26
If you read
Jeremiah, they were saying,
00:27:14.30\00:27:16.33
oh, there's not going
to be any destruction.
00:27:16.36\00:27:18.40
God is with this city.
00:27:18.43\00:27:19.77
Don't listen to
00:27:19.80\00:27:21.14
what these prophets
are saying, Jeremiah,
00:27:21.17\00:27:23.07
you know, Jeremiah
ended up in the dungeon,
00:27:23.10\00:27:25.37
they hated him, his
book was burned, and so on.
00:27:25.41\00:27:28.94
Notice what it
says in Jeremiah 25:3-4,
00:27:28.98\00:27:32.91
"From a thirteenth year
of Josiah the son of Amon,
00:27:32.95\00:27:35.62
king of Judah, even to this day,
00:27:35.65\00:27:38.45
this is the twenty-third year
00:27:38.49\00:27:39.92
in which the word of
the Lord has come to me,
00:27:39.95\00:27:42.36
and I have spoken to you,
rising early and speaking,
00:27:42.39\00:27:45.23
God says to His people,
but you have not listened.
00:27:45.26\00:27:48.63
And the Lord has sent to you
all His servants the prophets,
00:27:48.66\00:27:52.03
rising early and sending them,
00:27:52.07\00:27:55.10
but you have not listened
00:27:55.14\00:27:57.34
nor inclined your ear to hear."
00:27:57.37\00:28:02.34
Now, there's another thing
that we need to take a look at
00:28:02.38\00:28:05.28
before we talk about
the restoration of Israel
00:28:05.31\00:28:07.88
after the captivity.
00:28:07.92\00:28:10.42
One of the main reasons
why this city was destroyed is
00:28:10.45\00:28:14.96
because the people were
desecrating the holy Sabbath.
00:28:14.99\00:28:18.73
In fact, the main reason
why the city was destroyed
00:28:18.76\00:28:21.83
is because they were trampling
upon God's holy Sabbath.
00:28:21.86\00:28:26.13
You say, "Well, where
does the Bible say that?"
00:28:26.17\00:28:28.84
Jeremiah Chapter 17,
we'll read verses 24 and 25,
00:28:28.87\00:28:34.41
and then we'll go to verse 27.
00:28:34.44\00:28:37.45
God says to His people,
00:28:37.48\00:28:39.38
"And it shall be, if
you heed Me carefully,
00:28:39.41\00:28:43.08
says the Lord,
to bring no burden
00:28:43.12\00:28:45.35
to the gates of this
city on the Sabbath day,
00:28:45.39\00:28:48.42
but hallow the Sabbath day,"
00:28:48.46\00:28:50.39
that means
sanctify that Sabbath day,
00:28:50.43\00:28:54.00
"to do no work in it,
00:28:54.03\00:28:55.73
then shall enter the
gates of this city kings
00:28:55.76\00:28:58.80
and princes sitting
on the throne of David,
00:28:58.83\00:29:01.30
riding in
chariots and on horses,
00:29:01.34\00:29:03.81
they and their princess,
00:29:03.84\00:29:05.27
accompanied by men of Judah
00:29:05.31\00:29:07.14
and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem,
00:29:07.18\00:29:09.11
and this city
shall remain forever."
00:29:09.14\00:29:11.41
God is saying, "If
you keep the Sabbath,
00:29:11.45\00:29:13.01
if you hallow the Sabbath,
00:29:13.05\00:29:14.38
the city is going
to remain forever."
00:29:14.42\00:29:16.35
But there's the
other side of the coin.
00:29:16.38\00:29:18.19
Verse 27, "But if
you will not heed Me
00:29:18.22\00:29:20.99
to hallow the Sabbath day,
00:29:21.02\00:29:23.22
such as not carrying a burden
00:29:23.26\00:29:24.79
when entering the gates
00:29:24.83\00:29:26.16
of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day,
00:29:26.19\00:29:28.90
then I will
kindle fire in its gates,
00:29:28.93\00:29:31.27
and it shall devour
the palaces of Jerusalem,
00:29:31.30\00:29:33.94
and it shall not be quenched."
00:29:33.97\00:29:37.27
In other words, the
trampling on the Sabbath
00:29:37.31\00:29:40.28
was one of the main reasons
00:29:40.31\00:29:41.91
for the
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:29:41.94\00:29:45.31
After the captivity and Nehemiah
00:29:45.35\00:29:47.38
had to rebuke
the Jews once again
00:29:47.42\00:29:50.02
because they were
doing what they did
00:29:50.05\00:29:51.39
before the captivity
00:29:51.42\00:29:52.75
that led to the
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:29:52.79\00:29:54.72
Notice Nehemiah 13:15-18.
00:29:54.76\00:29:59.46
Here Nehemiah writes,
00:29:59.49\00:30:00.83
"In those days I
saw people in Judah,
00:30:00.86\00:30:02.96
treading wine
presses on the Sabbath,"
00:30:03.00\00:30:05.40
they were
working on the Sabbath,
00:30:05.43\00:30:07.20
"and bringing in
sheaves, and loading donkeys
00:30:07.24\00:30:10.07
with wine, grapes, figs,
00:30:10.11\00:30:12.27
and all kinds of burdens
00:30:12.31\00:30:13.78
which they
brought into Jerusalem
00:30:13.81\00:30:15.51
on the Sabbath day.
00:30:15.54\00:30:18.08
And I warned them about the day
00:30:18.11\00:30:20.52
on which they were
selling provisions.
00:30:20.55\00:30:23.25
Men of Tyre dwelt
there also, who brought fish
00:30:23.28\00:30:26.79
and all kinds of goods,
00:30:26.82\00:30:28.36
and sold them on the Sabbath
to the children of Judah,
00:30:28.39\00:30:32.46
and in Jerusalem.
00:30:32.49\00:30:34.20
Then I contended
with the nobles of Judah
00:30:34.23\00:30:36.23
and said to them,
00:30:36.26\00:30:37.60
'What evil thing
is this that you do,
00:30:37.63\00:30:40.94
by which you
profane the Sabbath day?'"
00:30:40.97\00:30:44.37
And then he goes back,
00:30:44.41\00:30:45.74
and he talks about the
reason for their captivity.
00:30:45.77\00:30:48.84
"Did not your fathers do thus,
00:30:48.88\00:30:51.88
and did not our God
bring all this disaster on us
00:30:51.91\00:30:55.82
and on this city?
00:30:55.85\00:30:57.19
Yet you bring
added wrath on Israel
00:30:57.22\00:31:00.16
by profaning the Sabbath."
00:31:00.19\00:31:03.46
How interesting,
the Sabbath is involved.
00:31:03.49\00:31:07.80
Now, the captivity
was only going to last
00:31:07.83\00:31:10.37
for a period of 70 years.
00:31:10.40\00:31:12.73
By the way, this begins in 605
00:31:12.77\00:31:15.20
and ends in the year 536 BC.
00:31:15.24\00:31:20.08
I want to read
that in Daniel 9:1-2,
00:31:20.11\00:31:23.31
where Daniel understood
that the desolation of Jerusalem
00:31:23.35\00:31:27.02
was going to last
a period of 70 years.
00:31:27.05\00:31:29.95
It says there in Daniel 9:1-2,
"In the first year of Darius,
00:31:29.98\00:31:34.12
the son of Ahasuerus, of
the lineage of the Medes,
00:31:34.16\00:31:37.93
who was made king over
the realm of the Chaldeans.
00:31:37.96\00:31:40.70
In the first year of
his reign, I, Daniel,
00:31:40.73\00:31:44.40
understood by the books
00:31:44.43\00:31:46.30
the number of
the years specified
00:31:46.33\00:31:48.24
by the word of the Lord
00:31:48.27\00:31:49.60
through Jeremiah the prophet,
00:31:49.64\00:31:51.51
that He would
accomplish seventy years
00:31:51.54\00:31:55.08
in the
desolations of Jerusalem."
00:31:55.11\00:31:58.91
So the desolation of Jerusalem
00:31:58.95\00:32:01.35
was going to last
for a period of 70 years.
00:32:01.38\00:32:05.29
And then prophecy said that
00:32:05.32\00:32:07.46
God was going to
restore Israel to the land.
00:32:07.49\00:32:11.36
They would rebuild the temple,
they would rebuild the wall,
00:32:11.39\00:32:14.63
they would rebuild the city,
00:32:14.66\00:32:16.20
and they would
reestablish their state,
00:32:16.23\00:32:18.40
civil and religious government.
00:32:18.43\00:32:21.44
In other words,
they would be restored,
00:32:21.47\00:32:23.94
and they would be
given another chance.
00:32:23.97\00:32:27.51
But Daniel also prophesied that
00:32:27.54\00:32:30.05
there would be
a second apostasy,
00:32:30.08\00:32:32.28
second abominations
00:32:32.31\00:32:33.95
that would lead to
a second desolation
00:32:33.98\00:32:36.72
and destruction of
a city of Jerusalem.
00:32:36.75\00:32:40.02
This is described
in Daniel 9:25-27,
00:32:40.06\00:32:44.59
which I'm going to read now.
00:32:44.63\00:32:46.33
And once again,
you have the keywords,
00:32:46.36\00:32:48.20
abominations and desolate.
00:32:48.23\00:32:50.43
This is speaking not about
00:32:50.47\00:32:51.80
the first destruction of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar,
00:32:51.83\00:32:54.30
but the second
destruction of Jerusalem
00:32:54.34\00:32:56.44
by another pagan general
00:32:56.47\00:32:58.14
by the name of Titus
with the Roman legions.
00:32:58.17\00:33:02.31
It says there in Daniel 9:25,
00:33:02.34\00:33:04.98
"Know therefore
and understand that
00:33:05.01\00:33:06.68
from the going forth
of the command to restore
00:33:06.72\00:33:09.28
and build Jerusalem
until Messiah the Prince,
00:33:09.32\00:33:11.65
there shall be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks,
00:33:11.69\00:33:14.02
the street shall be
built again and the wall,
00:33:14.06\00:33:16.12
even in troublous times."
00:33:16.16\00:33:17.96
After the 62 weeks,
that it's understood that
00:33:17.99\00:33:21.63
it's after the 62 and
the seven, which is 69.
00:33:21.66\00:33:25.63
And we use the
year day principle,
00:33:25.67\00:33:27.54
69 weeks is 483 years.
00:33:27.57\00:33:31.44
In other words, after 483 years,
00:33:31.47\00:33:34.34
the Messiah will come.
00:33:34.38\00:33:37.01
And then it says in verse
26, "After this sixty-two weeks,
00:33:37.05\00:33:41.15
Messiah shall be cut off,
00:33:41.18\00:33:42.72
but not for Himself,"
00:33:42.75\00:33:44.35
and then it speaks about
00:33:44.39\00:33:45.72
a second
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:33:45.75\00:33:48.19
It says, "And the
people of the Prince
00:33:48.22\00:33:50.83
who is to come
shall destroy the city
00:33:50.86\00:33:53.90
and the sanctuary."
00:33:53.93\00:33:55.50
This is not the
first destruction,
00:33:55.53\00:33:57.27
this is the second destruction.
00:33:57.30\00:33:59.47
So it says here,
"The people of the prince
00:33:59.50\00:34:01.54
who is to come
shall destroy the city
00:34:01.57\00:34:03.74
and the sanctuary."
00:34:03.77\00:34:05.11
Now, who are the
people of the Prince?
00:34:05.14\00:34:07.24
The people of the
Prince are the Jew?
00:34:07.28\00:34:10.75
Who is the Prince?
00:34:10.78\00:34:12.31
The prince is Jesus.
00:34:12.35\00:34:13.95
Now you say, "Wait a minute,
you're saying that the Jews,
00:34:13.98\00:34:17.72
the people of the
Prince, in other words,
00:34:17.75\00:34:19.99
the people of Jesus,
the Jews would destroy
00:34:20.02\00:34:22.99
their own city and sanctuary?"
00:34:23.02\00:34:24.99
Yes.
00:34:25.03\00:34:26.36
I wish I had
time to go into this
00:34:26.39\00:34:27.73
and prove from Scripture
00:34:27.76\00:34:29.50
that really God
destroyed Jerusalem
00:34:29.53\00:34:32.97
for the second time.
00:34:33.00\00:34:34.67
But there are also texts that
says that God sent His armies.
00:34:34.70\00:34:38.44
This is a parable
in Matthew Chapter 22.
00:34:38.47\00:34:41.61
And then we are told also that
00:34:41.64\00:34:44.08
because of the sins and
abominations of the Jews,
00:34:44.11\00:34:47.72
they brought
destruction upon their own city,
00:34:47.75\00:34:49.75
so it's God
using armies to destroy
00:34:49.78\00:34:53.79
those who had
broken the covenant.
00:34:53.82\00:34:56.62
It continues
saying, Verse 26 again,
00:34:56.66\00:35:00.60
"After sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off,
00:35:00.63\00:35:03.16
but not for Himself.
00:35:03.20\00:35:04.63
And the people of the Prince
00:35:04.67\00:35:06.20
who is to come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary,
00:35:06.23\00:35:09.10
the end of it, that is the city
00:35:09.14\00:35:11.27
and the sanctuary
shall be with a flood,
00:35:11.31\00:35:13.88
and until the end of the war,"
00:35:13.91\00:35:15.71
here's the keyword,
"desolations are determined."
00:35:15.74\00:35:19.25
Verse 27, "Then he
shall confirm a covenant
00:35:19.28\00:35:21.82
with many for one week."
00:35:21.85\00:35:23.18
This is week number 70.
00:35:23.22\00:35:24.82
"And in the middle of the week,
00:35:24.85\00:35:26.25
He shall bring an end
to sacrifice and offering."
00:35:26.29\00:35:28.59
This is the death of Christ
00:35:28.62\00:35:29.96
that ended the
sacrificial system,
00:35:29.99\00:35:31.86
and now notice the keywords.
00:35:31.89\00:35:34.00
Verse 27 again,
00:35:34.03\00:35:35.36
"Then he shall
confirm a covenant
00:35:35.40\00:35:36.80
with many for one week,
00:35:36.83\00:35:38.17
but in the middle of the week,
00:35:38.20\00:35:39.53
He shall bring an end
to sacrifice and offering
00:35:39.57\00:35:42.24
and the wing of abominations
00:35:42.27\00:35:45.17
shall be one who makes" what?
00:35:45.21\00:35:47.51
"Desolate," here you
have abomination, desolation.
00:35:47.54\00:35:50.98
So this is speaking
about the Roman armies,
00:35:51.01\00:35:53.58
it says, "Shall come
one who makes desolate,
00:35:53.62\00:35:57.39
even until the consummation,
00:35:57.42\00:35:59.25
which is determined,
00:35:59.29\00:36:01.12
which is determined
is poured out on the,"
00:36:01.16\00:36:04.69
and here's the
keyword again, "desolate.
00:36:04.73\00:36:07.66
So after the
restoration of Jerusalem,
00:36:07.70\00:36:12.90
and of the Jewish
nation, after the captivity,
00:36:12.93\00:36:15.94
there was going to
be a period of 490 years
00:36:15.97\00:36:19.94
where grace was going to
be given to the Jewish nation
00:36:19.97\00:36:22.98
to shape up if we might say,
00:36:23.01\00:36:26.58
and they would not.
00:36:26.61\00:36:27.95
And so finally, destruction
would come upon the city
00:36:27.98\00:36:31.22
because of the
abominations for a second time.
00:36:31.25\00:36:34.99
Let's read 2
Chronicles 36:22-23,
00:36:35.02\00:36:38.29
where we have the
command to rebuild the temple
00:36:38.33\00:36:41.36
by Cyrus king of Persia.
00:36:41.40\00:36:44.13
"Now in the first year of Cyrus,
00:36:44.17\00:36:45.80
king of Persia,
00:36:45.83\00:36:47.17
that the word of the
Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
00:36:47.20\00:36:49.20
might be fulfilled,
00:36:49.24\00:36:50.71
the Lord stirred up
the spirit of Cyrus,
00:36:50.74\00:36:52.97
king of Persia, so
that he made a proclamation
00:36:53.01\00:36:55.71
throughout all his kingdom,
and also put in writing,
00:36:55.74\00:36:58.31
saying, Thus says
Cyrus, king of Persia:
00:36:58.35\00:37:01.78
All the kingdoms of the earth,
00:37:01.82\00:37:03.79
the Lord God of
heaven has given me.
00:37:03.82\00:37:06.99
And He has commanded
me to build Him a house
00:37:07.02\00:37:09.06
at Jerusalem which is in Judah.
00:37:09.09\00:37:11.43
Who is among you
of all His people?
00:37:11.46\00:37:14.30
May the Lord
his God be with him,
00:37:14.33\00:37:16.77
and let him go up!"
00:37:16.80\00:37:18.40
So Cyrus is saying,
"Go back to your land,
00:37:18.43\00:37:20.87
and rebuild your temple."
00:37:20.90\00:37:22.80
The temple where the Shekinah
had left some time before.
00:37:22.84\00:37:28.54
So now, a
second temple is built.
00:37:28.58\00:37:32.05
By the way, the second temple
00:37:32.08\00:37:33.45
was finished in the year 515 BC.
00:37:33.48\00:37:38.02
It took a period
of about five years
00:37:38.05\00:37:39.99
to rebuild the temple.
00:37:40.02\00:37:42.56
Now, when the
temple was finished,
00:37:42.59\00:37:44.43
it was not even the
shadow of what the temple built
00:37:44.46\00:37:47.76
by Solomon was like.
00:37:47.80\00:37:49.76
In fact, in Haggai 2:6-9,
00:37:49.80\00:37:53.00
we find that those who had seen
00:37:53.03\00:37:55.44
the temple built by Solomon,
00:37:55.47\00:37:57.14
and I don't say
Solomon's temple,
00:37:57.17\00:37:58.54
because it was
the Lord's temple,
00:37:58.57\00:38:00.04
those who had seen the temple
that was built by Solomon,
00:38:00.08\00:38:03.35
they said, "Oh, is
this temple after captivity,
00:38:03.38\00:38:06.41
nothing in
comparison with the temple
00:38:06.45\00:38:08.82
that Solomon built."
00:38:08.85\00:38:10.75
You see there were
some of the elder statesman
00:38:10.79\00:38:12.69
that were still alive
that had seen the temple
00:38:12.72\00:38:15.02
that was built by Solomon.
00:38:15.06\00:38:16.76
We find in Haggai 2:6-9,
00:38:16.79\00:38:21.00
"For thus says
the Lord of hosts:
00:38:21.03\00:38:23.03
'Once more, it
is a little while,
00:38:23.06\00:38:25.77
I will shake heaven and earth,
00:38:25.80\00:38:27.47
the sea and dry land,
and I will shake all nations,
00:38:27.50\00:38:31.81
and they shall come to
the Desire of All Nations."
00:38:31.84\00:38:35.18
You know, this is
actually the basis
00:38:35.21\00:38:38.28
for the name of the book that
00:38:38.31\00:38:39.65
Ellen White wrote
the Desire of Ages.
00:38:39.68\00:38:42.98
So it's speaking about
00:38:43.02\00:38:44.35
the coming of the
Desire of All Nations,
00:38:44.39\00:38:47.02
and then God promises,
00:38:47.06\00:38:49.09
"And I will feel
this temple with glory,
00:38:49.12\00:38:53.09
says, the Lord of hosts.
00:38:53.13\00:38:54.80
The silver is Mine,
and the gold is Mine,
00:38:54.83\00:38:58.07
says the Lord of hosts."
00:38:58.10\00:38:59.80
And then God makes a prediction
00:38:59.83\00:39:02.84
that the Jews today are
still trying to understand.
00:39:02.87\00:39:06.47
It says in verse 9,
00:39:06.51\00:39:08.08
"The glory of this latter temple
00:39:08.11\00:39:11.15
shall be
greater than the former,
00:39:11.18\00:39:14.08
says the Lord of hosts.
00:39:14.12\00:39:15.65
And in this
place, I will give peace,
00:39:15.68\00:39:18.82
says the Lord of hosts."
00:39:18.85\00:39:21.26
The Jews are still waiting
00:39:21.29\00:39:22.62
for the
fulfillment of this prophecy,
00:39:22.66\00:39:24.49
because that second temple
was nothing compared in glory
00:39:24.53\00:39:28.66
with the temple
that Solomon built.
00:39:28.70\00:39:31.43
What is meant here by
00:39:31.47\00:39:32.80
the desire of all
nations will come,
00:39:32.83\00:39:34.44
will fill this
temple with glory?
00:39:34.47\00:39:37.01
And this temple will
be greater than the temple
00:39:37.04\00:39:40.14
that was built by Solomon.
00:39:40.18\00:39:42.48
Jesus said, "One greater
than the temple is here."
00:39:42.51\00:39:45.88
Well, that Shekinah
Glory is Jesus Christ Himself,
00:39:45.91\00:39:49.18
who came and ministered
in that second Jewish temple.
00:39:49.22\00:39:53.12
Notice John 1:14,
"And the Word became flesh
00:39:53.15\00:39:57.76
and dwelt among us
and we beheld His" what?
00:39:57.79\00:40:02.13
"His glory, the glory
00:40:02.16\00:40:04.73
as of the only
begotten of the Father,
00:40:04.77\00:40:06.63
full of grace and truth."
00:40:06.67\00:40:08.27
You see Jesus Christ Himself
ministered in that temple,
00:40:08.30\00:40:12.17
He was the Shekinah Glory.
00:40:12.21\00:40:14.31
That's what made
the second temple
00:40:14.34\00:40:15.88
more glorious than the first.
00:40:15.91\00:40:18.91
But the people
rejected the message of Christ.
00:40:18.95\00:40:22.38
We find this sad
story in the gospels.
00:40:22.42\00:40:25.99
So Jesus now
descends from the east,
00:40:26.02\00:40:29.02
and He comes to the
temple for the last time.
00:40:29.06\00:40:31.63
The story is in Luke 19:37-38,
00:40:31.66\00:40:34.73
"Then, as He was now drawing
00:40:34.76\00:40:38.37
near the descent of
the Mount of Olives,
00:40:38.40\00:40:41.50
the whole
multitude of the disciples
00:40:41.54\00:40:43.51
began to rejoice and praise God
00:40:43.54\00:40:45.41
with a loud voice
for all the mighty works
00:40:45.44\00:40:48.14
they had seen,
saying, 'Blessed is the King
00:40:48.18\00:40:51.01
who comes in the
name of the Lord!
00:40:51.05\00:40:53.31
Peace in heaven and
glory in the highest!"
00:40:53.35\00:40:57.32
For now, Jesus
descends from the east,
00:40:57.35\00:40:59.55
the Mount of Olives,
00:40:59.59\00:41:00.92
and He comes
through the east gate,
00:41:00.96\00:41:02.29
to the Golden Gate,
and He enters the temple.
00:41:02.32\00:41:06.66
Notice Matthew 21:12-13.
00:41:06.70\00:41:10.10
This is going to be
His final ministration
00:41:10.13\00:41:12.20
in the Jewish temple,
the second Jewish temple.
00:41:12.23\00:41:14.80
It says there in
Matthew 21:12-13,
00:41:14.84\00:41:17.41
"Then Jesus went
into the temple of God,"
00:41:17.44\00:41:20.64
notice the terminology, it
was still the temple of God,
00:41:20.68\00:41:24.08
"and drove out
all those who bought
00:41:24.11\00:41:26.41
and sold in the temple,
00:41:26.45\00:41:28.18
and overturned the
tables of the money changers
00:41:28.22\00:41:30.99
and seats of
those who sold doves.
00:41:31.02\00:41:34.06
And He said to
them, 'It is written,
00:41:34.09\00:41:36.16
My house shall be
called a house of prayer,
00:41:36.19\00:41:39.56
but you have made
it a den of thieves.'"
00:41:39.59\00:41:42.60
So notice, when
He enters the temple,
00:41:42.63\00:41:44.53
it's the temple of God.
00:41:44.57\00:41:46.13
And Jesus refers
to it as My house.
00:41:46.17\00:41:50.04
Then Jesus tells some parables
00:41:50.07\00:41:52.84
from Chapter 21
through Chapter 23.
00:41:52.87\00:41:57.01
One of those parables
was the parable of fig tree.
00:41:57.05\00:42:00.08
The fig tree was
a symbol of Israel.
00:42:00.12\00:42:02.78
He saw fig tree in the distance.
00:42:02.82\00:42:04.19
So He said to His disciples,
00:42:04.22\00:42:05.69
"Let's go get something to eat,"
00:42:05.72\00:42:07.06
because the fig tree had
leaves and if it had leaves,
00:42:07.09\00:42:09.52
it was supposed to have fruit.
00:42:09.56\00:42:11.19
But when He
arrives at the fig tree,
00:42:11.23\00:42:12.93
it has absolutely no fruit.
00:42:12.96\00:42:16.87
And so Jesus
curses the fig tree,
00:42:16.90\00:42:19.00
a symbol of Israel.
00:42:19.03\00:42:20.97
It says there in Matthew 21:18,
00:42:21.00\00:42:24.94
as well as verse 19.
00:42:24.97\00:42:26.64
"Now in the morning,
00:42:26.68\00:42:28.01
as He returned to
the city, He was hungry.
00:42:28.04\00:42:30.15
And seen a fig tree by the road,
00:42:30.18\00:42:31.88
He came to it and
found nothing on it
00:42:31.91\00:42:34.02
but leaves, and said to it,
00:42:34.05\00:42:36.42
'Let no fruit grow
on you ever again.'
00:42:36.45\00:42:40.26
And immediately the
fig tree withered away.'"
00:42:40.29\00:42:44.19
Jesus also told the
parable of the vineyard workers.
00:42:44.23\00:42:48.33
So what was Jesus saying
00:42:48.36\00:42:50.00
when the fig tree
withered and died away?
00:42:50.03\00:42:53.30
The fig tree was a
symbol of the Jewish nation.
00:42:53.34\00:42:56.30
That is a way in
which Jesus was saying that
00:42:56.34\00:42:59.34
God's plan for
the Hebrew theocracy
00:42:59.37\00:43:01.71
was going to come to an end.
00:43:01.74\00:43:03.85
And by the way, the
gospel of Mark says that
00:43:03.88\00:43:06.75
the fig tree was
dried up by the roots.
00:43:06.78\00:43:10.35
And Jesus said,
"Never again will you be
00:43:10.39\00:43:12.92
the chosen nation
to bear the fruit."
00:43:12.95\00:43:16.66
Now, the parable
of vineyard workers
00:43:16.69\00:43:18.49
is very interesting.
00:43:18.53\00:43:19.86
It's found in Matthew 21:33-43.
00:43:19.89\00:43:24.37
So let's go through
this parable of Jesus
00:43:24.40\00:43:26.84
and see what is the reason
00:43:26.87\00:43:29.10
for the destruction of Jerusalem
00:43:29.14\00:43:30.91
for the second time.
00:43:30.94\00:43:32.54
It says there in verse
33, "Hear another parable:
00:43:32.57\00:43:36.08
There was a certain landowner,"
the landowner's God the Father,
00:43:36.11\00:43:39.65
"who planted a vineyard,"
00:43:39.68\00:43:41.38
the vineyard is the world,
00:43:41.42\00:43:44.75
"set a hedge around it,
00:43:44.79\00:43:47.09
dug a winepress in
it and built a tower."
00:43:47.12\00:43:49.62
The tower is the temple.
00:43:49.66\00:43:51.49
"And he leased
it to vinedressers
00:43:51.53\00:43:53.73
and went into a far country.
00:43:53.76\00:43:56.63
Now when vintage-time drew near,
00:43:56.67\00:43:59.13
he sent his servants
00:43:59.17\00:44:00.50
to the
vinedresser, vinedressers,
00:44:00.54\00:44:02.94
that they might
receive its fruit."
00:44:02.97\00:44:04.87
By the way, these
are the messengers
00:44:04.91\00:44:06.37
that were sent to Israel,
00:44:06.41\00:44:08.34
before the first captivity,
00:44:08.38\00:44:10.88
before they were taken
into Babylonian captivity.
00:44:10.91\00:44:14.18
So he sent his servants
to the vinedressers that
00:44:14.22\00:44:16.69
they might receive its fruit.
00:44:16.72\00:44:18.59
What did they do
with these messengers?
00:44:18.62\00:44:20.96
Well, we already noticed that
00:44:20.99\00:44:22.62
when we studied about them
00:44:22.66\00:44:24.69
not paying
attention to the prophets,
00:44:24.73\00:44:26.73
and not obeying
the Lord's voice.
00:44:26.76\00:44:29.16
It says, "And the vinedressers
took his servants, beat one,
00:44:29.20\00:44:32.37
killed another,
and stoned another."
00:44:32.40\00:44:34.70
So after the captivity,
more messengers are sent out.
00:44:34.74\00:44:37.67
It says in verse 36,
00:44:37.71\00:44:39.21
"Again he sent out
00:44:39.24\00:44:40.58
other servants
more than the first,
00:44:40.61\00:44:42.24
and they did likewise to them."
00:44:42.28\00:44:45.35
And then notice this, "Then,
last of all, he sent his son,"
00:44:45.38\00:44:51.12
who is that son?
00:44:51.15\00:44:52.59
Jesus, that
sounds like pretty final,
00:44:52.62\00:44:55.46
"Last of all He sent
His Son to them, saying,
00:44:55.49\00:45:00.30
'They will respect my son.'
00:45:00.33\00:45:02.26
But when the
vinedressers saw the son,
00:45:02.30\00:45:04.03
they said among
themselves, 'This is the heir.
00:45:04.07\00:45:07.40
Come, let us kill him
and seize his inheritance.'
00:45:07.44\00:45:11.11
So they took him
00:45:11.14\00:45:12.47
and cast him out
of the vineyard."
00:45:12.51\00:45:14.64
Jesus died outside
Jerusalem and killed Him.
00:45:14.68\00:45:18.98
This is the death of Christ
at the hands of His own people.
00:45:19.01\00:45:22.35
What could be a
greater abomination than this?
00:45:22.38\00:45:25.09
And then we find in verse 40,
00:45:25.12\00:45:27.46
these words, "Therefore,"
Jesus asked the question,
00:45:27.49\00:45:29.82
"when the owner of
the vineyard comes,
00:45:29.86\00:45:31.43
what will he do to
those vinedressers?
00:45:31.46\00:45:34.50
Oh, they said to him,
00:45:34.53\00:45:36.40
'He will destroy
those wicked men miserably,
00:45:36.43\00:45:39.97
and lease his
vineyard to other vinedressers
00:45:40.00\00:45:42.57
who will render to him
the fruits in their seasons."
00:45:42.60\00:45:45.11
They're pronouncing
their own doom in other words.
00:45:45.14\00:45:48.04
Verse 42, "Jesus said to them,
00:45:48.08\00:45:50.68
'Have you never
read in the Scriptures:
00:45:50.71\00:45:52.55
The stone which
the builders rejected
00:45:52.58\00:45:54.78
has become the
chief cornerstone.
00:45:54.82\00:45:57.02
This was the Lord's doing,
00:45:57.05\00:45:58.55
and it is
marvelous in your eyes?
00:45:58.59\00:46:00.76
Therefore I say to you,
00:46:00.79\00:46:03.26
the kingdom of God
will be taken from you
00:46:03.29\00:46:06.80
and given to a nation
bearing the fruits of it.'"
00:46:06.83\00:46:10.77
And that nation is the Gentiles.
00:46:10.80\00:46:14.40
Now the Gentiles will become
00:46:14.44\00:46:16.91
the way in which God
will share the message
00:46:16.94\00:46:20.74
with the world.
00:46:20.78\00:46:22.11
The Jewish
theocracy came to an end
00:46:22.14\00:46:24.91
as God's instrument to
take the gospel to the world.
00:46:24.95\00:46:29.62
And then Jesus,
we're told in Chapter 23,
00:46:29.65\00:46:34.36
Jesus leaves the
temple for the last time,
00:46:34.39\00:46:37.66
and a very
important word is used
00:46:37.69\00:46:39.56
when He forsakes the
temple for the last time,
00:46:39.59\00:46:42.53
when the Shekinah leaves.
00:46:42.56\00:46:43.97
It says in Matthew 23,
00:46:44.00\00:46:45.73
and let's just
read verse 37 and 38,
00:46:45.77\00:46:48.20
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
00:46:48.24\00:46:50.44
the one who kills the prophets
00:46:50.47\00:46:52.17
and stones those
who are sent to her!"
00:46:52.21\00:46:54.11
He's talking about the prophets
00:46:54.14\00:46:55.94
that were sent
before the captivity,
00:46:55.98\00:46:57.78
more prophets
after the captivity.
00:46:57.81\00:47:00.28
Jesus continues,
00:47:00.32\00:47:01.65
"How often I wanted to
gather your children together,
00:47:01.68\00:47:04.95
as a hen gathers her
chicks under his wings,
00:47:04.99\00:47:08.42
but you were not willing!"
00:47:08.46\00:47:11.06
And now come the awesome words.
00:47:11.09\00:47:13.96
"See!
00:47:14.00\00:47:15.33
Your house is left
on to you desolate."
00:47:15.36\00:47:19.87
A keyword that we've been
noticing in Matthew Chapter 24,
00:47:19.90\00:47:24.57
your house is left
desolate, in other words,
00:47:24.61\00:47:26.71
and then Jesus
walks out of the temple.
00:47:26.74\00:47:30.41
He has abandoned, the Shekinah
00:47:30.45\00:47:32.31
has abandoned the
temple for the last time.
00:47:32.35\00:47:35.05
And eventually, it will lead
to the desolation of the city
00:47:35.08\00:47:39.49
and the people
in the year 70 AD.
00:47:39.52\00:47:43.89
Notice Matthew 24:1-2,
00:47:43.93\00:47:46.59
immediately after
leaving the temple,
00:47:46.63\00:47:51.10
we find these words,
00:47:51.13\00:47:52.97
"Then Jesus went out and
departed from the temple,
00:47:53.00\00:47:56.64
and His
disciples came up to show
00:47:56.67\00:47:58.51
Him the buildings of the temple.
00:47:58.54\00:48:00.91
And Jesus said to them,
00:48:00.94\00:48:03.01
'Do you not see
all these things?
00:48:03.04\00:48:05.48
Assuredly, I say to
you, not one stone shall be
00:48:05.51\00:48:08.78
left here upon another,
that shall not be thrown down."
00:48:08.82\00:48:12.89
And now notice here,
00:48:12.92\00:48:14.26
the Shekinah has
departed the temple,
00:48:14.29\00:48:16.32
just like we noticed
in the Book of Ezekiel.
00:48:16.36\00:48:19.26
Now Jesus leaves
the temple desolate,
00:48:19.29\00:48:22.00
which means that the
city is going to be destroyed,
00:48:22.03\00:48:24.80
because they did not know
the hour of their visitation.
00:48:24.83\00:48:28.40
And then where does Jesus sit?
00:48:28.44\00:48:30.81
He sits on the Mount of
Olives, just like the Shekinah,
00:48:30.84\00:48:33.78
before the
destruction of Jerusalem
00:48:33.81\00:48:35.44
in the Old Testament.
00:48:35.48\00:48:37.25
It says in verse 3.
00:48:37.28\00:48:40.68
"Now, as He sat
upon the Mount of Olives,
00:48:40.72\00:48:44.69
the disciples came
to Him privately saying,
00:48:44.72\00:48:46.99
'Tell us, when
will these things be,
00:48:47.02\00:48:50.13
and what will be
the sign of Your coming
00:48:50.16\00:48:52.23
and of the end of the age?'"
00:48:52.26\00:48:54.56
Interesting.
00:48:54.60\00:48:56.63
So Jesus here is doing exactly
00:48:56.67\00:48:59.23
what the Shekinah
did in the Old Testament.
00:48:59.27\00:49:01.47
He has come as a
Shekinah to the temple,
00:49:01.50\00:49:05.37
by the way to
perform a work of judgment,
00:49:05.41\00:49:07.48
because after He
cleansed the temple,
00:49:07.51\00:49:09.14
the poor and the maimed
00:49:09.18\00:49:10.51
and the needy were
there in the temple,
00:49:10.55\00:49:11.91
and all the hypocrites had left.
00:49:11.95\00:49:14.28
Very, very interesting.
00:49:14.32\00:49:15.65
You can read this
in the other gospels.
00:49:15.68\00:49:18.55
But anyway, so you see that
00:49:18.59\00:49:20.46
what happened in the
first destruction of Jerusalem
00:49:20.49\00:49:22.89
also would happen in the
second destruction of Jerusalem.
00:49:22.92\00:49:27.10
Now, let's go to Matthew 24:15.
00:49:27.13\00:49:30.53
Matthew 24:15.
00:49:30.57\00:49:34.30
We're moving now
forward to the time
00:49:34.34\00:49:37.34
when Jerusalem was under siege,
00:49:37.37\00:49:40.41
and the Roman legions
00:49:40.44\00:49:44.85
were going to surround the city.
00:49:44.88\00:49:46.98
And they were at the point
00:49:47.02\00:49:49.32
where they were
going to attack the city,
00:49:49.35\00:49:51.02
everything looked like
the city was going to fall.
00:49:51.05\00:49:53.96
And then suddenly,
00:49:53.99\00:49:55.32
we're going to study
this a little more later.
00:49:55.36\00:49:57.39
Suddenly Cestius
and the Roman troops
00:49:57.43\00:50:00.53
went away from the city.
00:50:00.56\00:50:02.56
And the Jews who
were inside of the city
00:50:02.60\00:50:04.13
that said, see
God is protecting us.
00:50:04.17\00:50:05.83
And they went
after the Roman legions.
00:50:05.87\00:50:07.70
Many soldiers in
the Roman legions
00:50:07.74\00:50:11.01
were actually killed,
00:50:11.04\00:50:15.04
but those inside the city,
00:50:15.08\00:50:17.25
who knew what Jesus had said
00:50:17.28\00:50:19.88
in Matthew Chapter 24,
said, "We've seen the sign.
00:50:19.91\00:50:23.72
We've seen the
sign outside Jerusalem.
00:50:23.75\00:50:26.79
We've seen the
abomination of desolation,
00:50:26.82\00:50:29.36
the surrounding of
Jerusalem by armies,
00:50:29.39\00:50:31.89
and that is a sign that
we are supposed to flee."
00:50:31.93\00:50:35.16
Let's read Matthew 24:15.
00:50:35.20\00:50:39.33
Jesus said,
"Therefore when you see
00:50:39.37\00:50:42.40
the abomination of desolation,
00:50:42.44\00:50:44.61
spoken of by
Daniel the prophet,"
00:50:44.64\00:50:46.88
this is what we
read in Daniel Chapter 9,
00:50:46.91\00:50:49.91
the city was
going to be restored,
00:50:49.94\00:50:51.95
the religion was
going to be restored,
00:50:51.98\00:50:53.92
the temple was
going to be rebuilt,
00:50:53.95\00:50:55.78
the Shekinah was going
to serve in that temple,
00:50:55.82\00:50:57.99
we already noticed that.
00:50:58.02\00:50:59.69
And so clearly here it says,
00:50:59.72\00:51:01.96
"Therefore when you see
the abomination of desolation,
00:51:01.99\00:51:05.13
spoken of by
Daniel the prophet,"
00:51:05.16\00:51:06.86
that's what we
read from Daniel 9,
00:51:06.90\00:51:08.80
"standing in the holy place,"
00:51:08.83\00:51:11.43
those are the Roman armies,
00:51:11.47\00:51:12.80
by the way, "whoever
reads, let him understand."
00:51:12.83\00:51:15.77
You say how do we know
that this is talking about
00:51:15.80\00:51:18.57
the Roman legions
or the Roman armies?
00:51:18.61\00:51:21.28
Because the parallel passage
00:51:21.31\00:51:22.91
in Luke 21:20, tells us as much,
00:51:22.94\00:51:27.68
instead of saying, when you see
the abomination of desolation,
00:51:27.72\00:51:30.75
spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
00:51:30.79\00:51:32.95
it says in
Matthew, in Luke 21:20,
00:51:32.99\00:51:36.22
"But when you see
Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
00:51:36.26\00:51:39.93
then know that its
desolation is near."
00:51:39.96\00:51:43.16
So the city was
besieged by the Romans,
00:51:43.20\00:51:46.74
there was no escape.
00:51:46.77\00:51:48.60
So how could God's
people see the sign
00:51:48.64\00:51:51.77
and then flee according
to what the next verse says,
00:51:51.81\00:51:54.78
in verse 16 of Matthew 24?
00:51:54.81\00:51:57.05
Well, because the
Roman legions left,
00:51:57.08\00:52:00.98
according to Josephus,
for no explainable reason.
00:52:01.02\00:52:03.52
We know that there
was an explainable reason,
00:52:03.55\00:52:06.02
Jesus Himself said that
this was going to happen.
00:52:06.05\00:52:10.03
And when those inside
the city saw the sign,
00:52:10.06\00:52:12.93
they would flee the city,
00:52:12.96\00:52:14.30
and not one of
them would perish.
00:52:14.33\00:52:15.90
So once again,
00:52:15.93\00:52:17.27
you have two
groups within the city,
00:52:17.30\00:52:19.00
you have the apostate
individuals in the city
00:52:19.03\00:52:22.27
that will be
destroyed by the Romans.
00:52:22.30\00:52:24.17
And you have on the other hand,
00:52:24.21\00:52:25.97
those Christians
who were faithful to God
00:52:26.01\00:52:29.08
that are going to
flee from the city
00:52:29.11\00:52:31.61
before its destruction.
00:52:31.65\00:52:34.45
Now, what was the reason
00:52:34.48\00:52:35.82
for the
destruction of Jerusalem?
00:52:35.85\00:52:38.39
Well, in the year 70 AD,
00:52:38.42\00:52:41.26
a pagan king by
the name of Titus
00:52:41.29\00:52:44.43
came with eagle's standards.
00:52:44.46\00:52:48.30
And he surrounded
the city of Jerusalem.
00:52:48.33\00:52:51.60
This time, there
would be no retreat.
00:52:51.63\00:52:55.74
All of the
Christians in the city,
00:52:55.77\00:52:57.44
the true believers had fled.
00:52:57.47\00:52:59.81
In the city were only
those who were in apostasy,
00:52:59.84\00:53:04.25
who were living
an abominable life.
00:53:04.28\00:53:07.95
Once again, we're going
to find that within the city,
00:53:07.98\00:53:11.85
there was hunger,
pestilence and the sword.
00:53:11.89\00:53:17.03
And Josephus gives us a
very interesting detail.
00:53:17.06\00:53:20.13
He says that the
Book of Lamentations
00:53:20.16\00:53:22.66
was sung as well by the Jews
00:53:22.70\00:53:25.50
who are being led into captivity
00:53:25.53\00:53:27.80
after the second
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:53:27.84\00:53:31.17
So Josephus saw a link
00:53:31.21\00:53:33.11
between the first
destruction of Jerusalem
00:53:33.14\00:53:35.34
and the second
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:53:35.38\00:53:38.85
And it's notable
that as Nebuchadnezzar
00:53:38.88\00:53:42.12
is spoken of as
coming like an eagle,
00:53:42.15\00:53:44.29
and Babylon is compared
with a lion with eagle's wings.
00:53:44.32\00:53:48.22
You have also the Romans coming
with their eagle standards.
00:53:48.26\00:53:52.46
And it's no coincidence
that in Matthew 24:28,
00:53:52.49\00:53:56.20
it says, for where the eagle is,
00:53:56.23\00:53:59.40
that "Where the bodies are,
00:53:59.43\00:54:02.34
there will be
the eagles as well."
00:54:02.37\00:54:06.64
It's speaking
about the Eagles of Rome
00:54:06.68\00:54:08.61
destroying the
city of Jerusalem.
00:54:08.64\00:54:10.61
Now, why was the city
of Jerusalem destroyed?
00:54:10.65\00:54:13.82
We've already mentioned it,
00:54:13.85\00:54:15.18
it's because they
rejected their Messiah.
00:54:15.22\00:54:18.72
We find in Luke 19:41-44,
00:54:18.75\00:54:22.22
a clear
description of the reason
00:54:22.26\00:54:25.26
why the city was destroyed.
00:54:25.29\00:54:28.26
It says there in Luke
19:41, "Now as He drew near,"
00:54:28.30\00:54:33.47
that is Jesus is
drawing near to the city,"
00:54:33.50\00:54:36.24
He saw the city and
wept over it, saying,
00:54:36.27\00:54:40.08
'If you had known, even you,
00:54:40.11\00:54:42.78
especially in this your day,
00:54:42.81\00:54:44.95
the things that
make for your peace!'"
00:54:44.98\00:54:47.35
He's saying, I wish you knew
how you could experience peace.
00:54:47.38\00:54:51.52
"But now they are
hidden from your eyes.
00:54:51.55\00:54:55.02
For days will come
upon you when your enemies,
00:54:55.06\00:54:58.76
speaking about
the Roman legions,
00:54:58.79\00:55:00.90
will build an
embankment around you,"
00:55:00.93\00:55:03.70
this is the
siege, "surround you,
00:55:03.73\00:55:07.37
and close you in on every side,
00:55:07.40\00:55:11.34
and level you and
your children within you."
00:55:11.37\00:55:15.88
Notice, only
those within the city.
00:55:15.91\00:55:18.51
And then it says, "Level you,
and your children within you,
00:55:18.55\00:55:23.22
to the ground,
00:55:23.25\00:55:24.65
and they will not leave in
you one stone upon another,"
00:55:24.69\00:55:30.19
and now is the reason
00:55:30.23\00:55:31.99
"because you did not know
00:55:32.03\00:55:34.50
the time of your visitation."
00:55:34.53\00:55:38.17
The Messiah came and
you did not recognize Him.
00:55:38.20\00:55:43.07
He came to His own and
His own received Him not.
00:55:43.10\00:55:47.94
What could be a
greater abomination than that,
00:55:47.98\00:55:52.05
the rejection of the Messiah?
00:55:52.08\00:55:54.98
You say, "Well, we
don't reject the Messiah.
00:55:55.02\00:55:57.89
We're Christians." Yes.
00:55:57.92\00:56:00.36
But as we noticed in
our first presentation,
00:56:00.39\00:56:03.16
the sin of the Jews
00:56:03.19\00:56:04.53
and the sin of
the Christian world
00:56:04.56\00:56:05.89
at the end of
time is very similar.
00:56:05.93\00:56:08.53
The Jews rejected Christ,
00:56:08.56\00:56:11.20
whereas the Christian world
is going to reject the law.
00:56:11.23\00:56:14.24
You say, "Well, those
are two different sins."
00:56:14.27\00:56:16.54
No, they're not.
00:56:16.57\00:56:17.94
They're the same sin.
00:56:17.97\00:56:19.94
How do we
explain it? Very simple.
00:56:19.97\00:56:23.95
The Jews rejected Christ,
the world will reject the law,
00:56:23.98\00:56:28.28
which is a reflection
of the character of Christ.
00:56:28.32\00:56:32.79
So is it okay to reject
00:56:32.82\00:56:34.92
the reflection of
the character of Christ
00:56:34.96\00:56:37.63
while you claim to serve Christ?
00:56:37.66\00:56:40.60
Absolutely not.
00:56:40.63\00:56:42.66
If you love Jesus, you
will keep His commandments.
00:56:42.70\00:56:46.84
His commandments are
reflection of who He is.
00:56:46.87\00:56:49.64
They describe His character.
00:56:49.67\00:56:51.37
So you can't reject
00:56:51.41\00:56:53.98
the description of His character
00:56:54.01\00:56:56.31
and claim that
you are serving Him.
00:56:56.34\00:57:00.35
Now in our next study together,
00:57:00.38\00:57:02.48
we're going to look at
the historical fulfillment
00:57:02.52\00:57:05.82
of Matthew 24 in the events that
00:57:05.85\00:57:08.62
led up to the
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:57:08.66\00:57:11.03
We're gonna study, Lord willing,
00:57:11.06\00:57:12.89
Matthew 24:1-14.
00:57:12.93\00:57:17.57
And we're gonna dedicate
00:57:17.60\00:57:18.93
and entire
lecture to the fulfillment
00:57:18.97\00:57:21.04
of the abomination
of desolation literally
00:57:21.07\00:57:23.81
with Jerusalem
00:57:23.84\00:57:25.17
between the year
66 and the year 70.
00:57:25.21\00:57:28.41
But in our next study together,
00:57:28.44\00:57:30.28
we're gonna look at
the historical fulfillment
00:57:30.31\00:57:33.48
of Matthew
Chapter 24 in the events
00:57:33.52\00:57:36.62
that led up to the
destruction of Jerusalem
00:57:36.65\00:57:39.09
and the
destruction of the city itself.
00:57:39.12\00:57:42.49
So the first
destruction of Jerusalem
00:57:42.52\00:57:45.53
becomes a pattern
00:57:45.56\00:57:47.23
for the second
destruction of Jerusalem,
00:57:47.26\00:57:49.46
and both of those destructions
00:57:49.50\00:57:51.93
become patterns or types
00:57:51.97\00:57:53.87
or illustrations of
what will happen in the world
00:57:53.90\00:57:57.94
at the end of time
with those who claim Christ
00:57:57.97\00:58:02.04
and those who are
true followers of Christ.
00:58:02.08\00:58:04.98