As we begin our study,
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we want to ask for
the Lord's blessing.
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So I invite you to reverently
bow your head as we pray.
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Our Father and our God,
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what a privilege
it is now to open
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Your Holy book and
study a little bit of history,
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because we know that
history helps us learn lessons
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that will help us in the future.
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And so we ask
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that You will be with
us through the presence
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of Your Holy Spirit.
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Enlighten our minds.
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We pray in the
precious name of Jesus.
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Amen.
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The title of our third study
in this series is Matthew 24,
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the historical fulfillment.
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We're going to take a look
at the events that took place
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between the times
when Jesus ascended
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to heaven and the
destruction of Jerusalem.
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I'd like to begin by mentioning
some preliminary signs
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that are
mentioned in Matthew 24:5-8.
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And then we'll take a
look at each detail to see
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how each detail was
fulfilled in the events
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that took place
before the destruction
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of Jerusalem in the year 70.
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It reads like
this, Matthew 24:5-8,
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"For many will
come in my name, saying,
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'I am the Christ,'
and will deceive many.
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And you will hear a
wars and rumors of wars.
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See that you are not troubled,
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for all these
things must come to pass,
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but the end is not yet.
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For nation will
rise against nation
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and kingdom against kingdom.
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And there will be famines,
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pestilences, and
earthquakes in various places.
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All these are the
beginning of sorrows."
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So, the points
that we want to take
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a closer look at now is
many will come in My name,
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say I am the Christ,
wars and rumors of wars,
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nation against nation,
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kingdom against
kingdom, famines, pestilences,
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and earthquakes
in various places.
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We want to see if all of
these signs were fulfilled
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before the destruction
of Jerusalem in the year 70.
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So, let's talk first of
all, about false Christs.
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There were false Christs
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before the
destruction of Jerusalem.
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Two of these are mentioned
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in the Book of Acts 5:36-37.
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One of them is called
Theudas and the other one Judas,
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they sound pretty similar.
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I'm reading now from Acts 5:36,
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"For some time ago,
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Theudas rose up,
claiming to be somebody.
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A number of men,
about 400 joined him.
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He was slain and all
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who obeyed him were
scattered and came to nothing."
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Then you have the
mention of Judas of Galilee.
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"After this man,
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Judas of Galilee rose up
in the days of the census,
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and drew away,
many people after him.
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He also perished and all
who obeyed him were dispersed."
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So there you have
two false Christs Theudas
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and Judas of Galilee.
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You also have in the
Book of Acts, Simon Magus.
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In Acts 8:9-10, we
find that description,
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"But there was a
certain man called Simon,
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who previously
practiced sorcery in the city
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and astonished
the people of Samaria,
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claiming that he
was someone great
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to whom they all
gave heed from the least
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to the greatest, saying,
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'This man is the
great power of God.'"
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So you have three
false Christs mentioned
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in the Book of Acts
Theudas, Judas and Simon Magus.
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Ellen White also
describes false prophets
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that were in Jerusalem closer
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to the time of the
destruction of Jerusalem.
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In the book
Desire of Ages, page 628,
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we find these words.
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"Many false
messiahs will appear,
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claiming to work miracles,
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and declaring that the
time of the deliverance
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of the Jewish nation has come.
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These will mislead many.
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Christ's words were fulfilled.
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Between His death and
the siege of Jerusalem
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many false messiahs appeared."
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Josephus also
measured in on the fact
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that there were false messiahs
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before the
destruction of Jerusalem.
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In Antiquities of the
Jews, we find this statement.
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"Moreover,
imposters and deceivers
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called upon the mob to
follow them into the desert.
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For they said that they would
show them unmistakable marvels
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and signs that would be wrought
in harmony with God's design."
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In words of the Jews,
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He also stated "Deceivers
and imposters under pretense
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of divine inspiration,
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fostering revolutionary changes,
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they persuaded the
multitude to act like madmen,
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and led them out into the desert
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under the belief that God
would there give them tokens
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of deliverance.
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Once again, in Antiquities
of the Jews, Josephus wrote,
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"In Judea matters
were constantly going
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from bad to worse.
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For the country was again
infested with bands of brigands
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and imposters who
deceived the mob."
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So we find the Book of Acts,
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we find Ellen
White and Josephus all
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on the same page,
that false Christs,
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false delivers arose
to deceive many people.
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Now, the next sign
that is mentioned is wars,
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rumors of wars
and social unrest.
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So let's take a look at
wars and rumors of wars.
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Jesus was born in a
time of unparalleled peace
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in the Roman Empire.
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You see Augustus in
the year 17 BC signed
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the PAX Romania
or the Roman Peace,
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which lasted until the times
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of Nero in the year 67 AD.
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In that year Nero
commissioned Vespasian
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the Roman general to
quench the revolt of Israel.
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And this finally
ended up in the destruction
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of Jerusalem in the year 70.
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According to Josephus,
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Vespasian destroyed
everything in his path
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before he arrived in Jerusalem
because his strategy was,
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and now I quote Josephus,
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to leave nothing
outside of Jerusalem
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behind him that might
interrupt in the siege.
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Thus, there were many
wars outside of Jerusalem
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before the
destruction of the city itself,
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Ellen White wrote
in Desire of Ages,
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page 628,
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"Prior to the
destruction of Jerusalem,
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men wrestled for the supremacy.
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Emperors were murdered.
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Those supposed to be standing
next to the throne were slain.
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There were wars
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and rumors of wars.
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The Jews have battles
with many different nations
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during this period before
the destruction of the city.
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They warred
with the Ascalonians,
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with the Samaritans,
with the Alexandrians,
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with the Syrians leading up
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to the destruction of Jerusalem.
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Regarding this
period after Nero,
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after the year 67,
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Tacitus, the Roman historian
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who lived from
55 AD to one 117 AD
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wrote the following
about wars and rumors of wars.
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The history on
which I am entering
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is that of a
period rich and disasters,
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terrible in battles,
torn by civil struggles,
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horrible in peace,
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for emperors
failed by the sword.
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There were three civil
wars, more foreign wars,
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and often both at the same time.
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Quite impressive.
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So he says that there
were terrible battles,
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civil
struggles, three civil wars
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and more foreign wars.
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And often both at the same time.
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In other words,
civil wars and foreign wars
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at the same time.
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Josephus remarked and I quote,
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"All was in disorder
after the death of Nero."
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That's in his book Wars.
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Now the question is,
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were there also
famines during this period?
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Well, the Book of Acts
mentions one of those famines.
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Acts 11:28,
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speaks of an individual
called Agabus who predicted
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what is known as
the great famine.
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We find the
following words in Acts 11:28,
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"Then one of them, named Agabus,
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stood up and
showed by the Spirit
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that there was
going to be a great famine
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throughout all the world,
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which also happened in
the days of Claudius Caesar.
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Josephus referred to this famine
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in his book Antiquities,
as well as in his book Wars.
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And he called it
the great famine.
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Josephus mentioned
other famines leading up
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to the destruction
of Jerusalem as well.
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And you can find
these in his books,
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Antiquities and Wars.
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Ellen White also measured in.
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So you have Acts,
Josephus and Ellen White.
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Ellen white wrote the
following about famines
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and pestilence in the city.
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The Great Controversy, page 32,
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"Thousands perished
from famine and pestilence.
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Natural affection
seemed to have been destroyed.
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Husbands robbed their
wives, and wives their husbands.
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Children would be seen
snatching food from the mouths
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of their aged parents."
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So Ellen White confirms
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that there was
famine and pestilence.
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In fact, the pestilence
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became so bad that parents
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even ate their own
babies, their own children.
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God had already predicted
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this in Deuteronomy 28:56-57.
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And, of course,
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this is referring
to the first siege
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and destruction of
Jerusalem in the year 586,
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but the same
happened in the second siege.
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Deuteronomy
28:56-57 says the following,
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"The tender and
delicate woman among you,
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who would not
venture to set the sole
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of her foot on the ground
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because of her
delicateness and sensitivity,
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will refuse to the
husband of her bosom,
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and to her son
and to her daughter,
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her placenta which comes out
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between her feet
and her children,
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whom she bears,
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for she will eat them secretly
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for lack of
everything in the siege
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and desperate straits
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in which your
enemy shall distress you
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at all your gates."
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She will eat them secretly,
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mothers eating
their own children.
00:11:56.98\00:12:00.45
Lamentations 4:10
00:12:00.48\00:12:03.08
describes what
happened in the city
00:12:03.12\00:12:06.09
of Jerusalem during
its first destruction.
00:12:06.12\00:12:09.52
We find these words
in Lamentations 4:10,
00:12:09.56\00:12:13.09
"The hands of the
compassionate women
00:12:13.13\00:12:15.86
have cooked their own children,
00:12:15.90\00:12:18.80
they became food for them
00:12:18.83\00:12:20.80
in the destruction of
the daughter of my people."
00:12:20.84\00:12:23.41
Can you conceive
what kind of hunger
00:12:23.44\00:12:25.74
there was that
parents would kill
00:12:25.77\00:12:28.21
their own children to eat them?
00:12:28.24\00:12:30.48
Josephus confirms this.
00:12:30.51\00:12:32.58
We find the following
words in Wars of the Jews.
00:12:32.61\00:12:36.02
In the meantime,
00:12:36.05\00:12:37.65
countless thousands
of Jews died of hunger.
00:12:37.69\00:12:41.52
In every house
00:12:41.56\00:12:43.16
where there was the
least morsel of food,
00:12:43.19\00:12:46.33
relatives fought over
it gaping with hunger,
00:12:46.36\00:12:50.60
the outlaws prowled
around like mad dogs,
00:12:50.63\00:12:55.60
gnawing at anything, belts,
00:12:55.64\00:12:58.84
shoes, and even the
leather from their shields.
00:12:58.87\00:13:02.44
Others devoured wisps of hay
00:13:02.48\00:13:04.91
and then there was
the incredible horror
00:13:04.95\00:13:07.78
of Mary of Bethezuba.
00:13:07.82\00:13:11.29
I'm not going to read the
story of Mary of Bethezuba,
00:13:11.32\00:13:15.39
but Josephus describes it
vividly in Wars of the Jews.
00:13:15.42\00:13:19.49
And he describes how Mary
of Bethezuba ate her own baby
00:13:19.53\00:13:25.33
because of the
hunger that she had.
00:13:25.37\00:13:28.04
Ellen White also wrote
00:13:28.07\00:13:29.67
about the mothers
eating their children
00:13:29.70\00:13:33.41
and people
suffering of terrible hunger.
00:13:33.44\00:13:36.51
We find in Great
Controversy, page 31,
00:13:36.54\00:13:39.51
"So fierce were
the pangs of hunger
00:13:39.55\00:13:43.25
that men would gnaw
the leather of their belts
00:13:43.28\00:13:46.89
and sandals and the
covering of their shields.
00:13:46.92\00:13:50.43
Great numbers of the
people would steal out
00:13:50.46\00:13:53.56
at night to gather wild plants
growing outside the city walls,
00:13:53.60\00:13:58.73
though many were seized and
put to death with cruel torture,
00:13:58.77\00:14:04.01
and often those are
returned in safety were robbed
00:14:04.04\00:14:08.68
of what they had
gleaned at so great peril."
00:14:08.71\00:14:13.35
What a description.
00:14:13.38\00:14:15.58
And then we have
pestilence in the city.
00:14:15.62\00:14:17.15
You know, when there's famine,
00:14:17.19\00:14:19.02
the result of the
famine is pestilence.
00:14:19.05\00:14:21.16
People get sick.
00:14:21.19\00:14:23.02
The only other
passage in the New Testament
00:14:23.06\00:14:25.73
that uses the word
pestilence is Acts 24:5.
00:14:25.76\00:14:31.37
Actually this word
can be translated epidemic
00:14:31.40\00:14:35.47
or pandemic.
00:14:35.50\00:14:36.91
It's a disease that
spreads far and wide.
00:14:36.94\00:14:40.24
In Acts 24:5, it's
using it metaphorically.
00:14:40.28\00:14:44.65
The Apostle Paul is accused
00:14:44.68\00:14:47.05
of teaching
pestilential doctrines
00:14:47.08\00:14:50.32
that cover the whole world.
00:14:50.35\00:14:51.85
I want to read that, Acts 24:5.
00:14:51.89\00:14:55.72
These are the accusers of Paul.
00:14:55.76\00:14:58.06
"For we have found this
man, a pestilent fellow,"
00:14:58.09\00:15:02.66
same word pestilence
that used in Matthew 24.
00:15:02.70\00:15:06.17
"For we have found this man,
00:15:06.20\00:15:07.54
a pestilent fellow and a
mover of sedition among all
00:15:07.57\00:15:11.47
the Jews
throughout the whole world,
00:15:11.51\00:15:15.54
and a ringleader of
the sect of the Nazarenes."
00:15:15.58\00:15:19.01
So the word
pestilence that is used
00:15:19.05\00:15:21.45
in Matthew 24
refers to a disease
00:15:21.48\00:15:24.39
that proliferates
across the entire world.
00:15:24.42\00:15:27.09
Today in the midst of
this Coronavirus crisis,
00:15:27.12\00:15:30.23
it's called a pandemic.
00:15:30.26\00:15:33.06
Ellen White
confirms this as well.
00:15:33.09\00:15:35.56
We find in
Desire of Ages, page 32,
00:15:35.60\00:15:39.33
that she stated
thousands perished
00:15:39.37\00:15:42.64
from famine and pestilence.
00:15:42.67\00:15:46.41
Now what about earthquakes
and supernatural phenomenon?
00:15:46.44\00:15:51.05
Well, Tacitus,
the Roman historian
00:15:51.08\00:15:54.05
in his annals
00:15:54.08\00:15:55.92
describes earthquakes
before the destruction
00:15:55.95\00:15:59.25
of Jerusalem in Crete,
Rome, Apamea, Phrygia, Campania,
00:15:59.29\00:16:04.96
Laodicea, and Pompeii.
00:16:04.99\00:16:07.36
This was just before the
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:16:07.40\00:16:10.77
Tacitus described a series
00:16:10.80\00:16:12.83
of earthquakes during the period
00:16:12.87\00:16:14.84
of the Emperor Claudius.
00:16:14.87\00:16:17.87
This is what he wrote in annals.
00:16:17.91\00:16:20.18
"Houses were flattened
by repeated earthquakes
00:16:20.21\00:16:24.41
and as terror spread,
00:16:24.45\00:16:26.11
the weak were trampled to
death by the panic stricken."
00:16:26.15\00:16:30.69
Seneca, the Roman philosopher
00:16:30.72\00:16:33.05
and diplomat also measured
in stating in his epistles
00:16:33.09\00:16:38.43
that there were
earthquakes in Asia, Acadia,
00:16:38.46\00:16:41.73
Syria and Macedonia.
00:16:41.76\00:16:44.93
The Bible commentator Ellicott
wrote this about that period
00:16:44.97\00:16:49.64
of history in his commentary.
00:16:49.67\00:16:52.27
"Perhaps no period
in the world's history
00:16:52.31\00:16:55.61
has ever been so
marked by these convulsions,
00:16:55.64\00:16:59.21
that is earthquakes,
00:16:59.25\00:17:00.82
as that which intervenes
between the crucifixion
00:17:00.85\00:17:04.62
and the
destruction of Jerusalem."
00:17:04.65\00:17:08.46
During the first phase
of the Jewish war with Rome,
00:17:08.49\00:17:12.26
Josephus
explained the following.
00:17:12.29\00:17:15.53
This is in his
book Wars of the Jews.
00:17:15.56\00:17:18.53
"There broke out
00:17:18.57\00:17:19.90
a prodigious storm in the night,
00:17:19.93\00:17:22.74
with the utmost
violence and very strong winds,
00:17:22.77\00:17:26.68
with the
largest showers of rains
00:17:26.71\00:17:29.61
and continual lightnings,
00:17:29.64\00:17:31.68
terrible thunderings
and amazing convulsions
00:17:31.71\00:17:34.85
and bellowings of the earth
that was in an earthquake."
00:17:34.88\00:17:40.06
So Josephus describes
vividly an earthquake.
00:17:40.09\00:17:44.19
We find also in his book wars
the following a description.
00:17:44.23\00:17:48.86
"These things were
a manifest indication
00:17:48.90\00:17:52.77
that some destruction
was coming upon men."
00:17:52.80\00:17:55.77
See, Josephus
recognized that these things
00:17:55.80\00:17:59.01
that were
happening between the death
00:17:59.04\00:18:00.48
of Christ and the
destruction of Jerusalem,
00:18:00.51\00:18:02.94
they were not
naturally, it was supernatural,
00:18:02.98\00:18:05.88
all of these
earthquakes and pestilences,
00:18:05.91\00:18:08.72
and famines that existed
during this period intensify.
00:18:08.75\00:18:12.69
He realized that it announced
00:18:12.72\00:18:14.12
something great
that was going to happen.
00:18:14.16\00:18:16.66
So he wrote,
00:18:16.69\00:18:18.03
"These things were
a manifest indication
00:18:18.06\00:18:20.43
that some
destruction was coming upon men,
00:18:20.46\00:18:24.07
when the system of the world
was put into this disorder,
00:18:24.10\00:18:29.14
and anyone would guess
00:18:29.17\00:18:30.84
that these wonders foreshadowed
00:18:30.87\00:18:33.38
some grand
calamities that were coming."
00:18:33.41\00:18:36.38
And, of course we know
what these things announced.
00:18:36.41\00:18:39.28
They announced
the coming destruction
00:18:39.31\00:18:41.78
of the city of Jerusalem.
00:18:41.82\00:18:45.22
in the book War,
we find once again,
00:18:45.25\00:18:49.29
Josephus writing
this, "Jesus ben Ananias,
00:18:49.32\00:18:53.80
a foolish peasant predicted
00:18:53.83\00:18:56.20
the coming
destruction four years
00:18:56.23\00:18:58.73
before the
outbreak of the revolt."
00:18:58.77\00:19:01.44
And these are the words
of this Jesus ben Ananias
00:19:01.47\00:19:05.67
predicting that
Jerusalem was going to fall.
00:19:05.71\00:19:07.88
"A voice from the
east, a voice from the west,
00:19:07.91\00:19:11.78
a voice from the four winds,
00:19:11.81\00:19:13.95
a voice against
Jerusalem and the holy house,
00:19:13.98\00:19:17.12
a voice against the
bridegrooms and the brides,
00:19:17.15\00:19:20.42
a voice against
this whole people."
00:19:20.46\00:19:25.59
Now, there is another sign
00:19:25.63\00:19:27.13
that is not
mentioned in Matthew 24.
00:19:27.16\00:19:30.40
It is mentioned in
the parallel passage
00:19:30.43\00:19:32.73
in Mark 13:8.
00:19:32.77\00:19:35.97
And this is in the
King James Version.
00:19:36.00\00:19:38.47
It says the
following in Mark 13:8,
00:19:38.51\00:19:41.84
"For nation will
rise against nation,
00:19:41.88\00:19:44.31
and kingdom against kingdom.
00:19:44.35\00:19:46.61
And there will be
earthquakes in various places,
00:19:46.65\00:19:50.79
and there will be famines,"
00:19:50.82\00:19:53.19
and now comes the word
that is not in Matthew,
00:19:53.22\00:19:56.66
"and troubles.
00:19:56.69\00:19:58.69
These are the
beginning of sorrows."
00:19:58.73\00:20:03.06
So you have to add
the word troubles here.
00:20:03.10\00:20:05.33
What does the
word troubles mean?
00:20:05.37\00:20:08.20
Basically it means
turmoil in society,
00:20:08.24\00:20:12.11
internal turmoil in society,
00:20:12.14\00:20:14.18
not external wars,
but unrest in society.
00:20:14.21\00:20:18.41
This word is used for example,
00:20:18.45\00:20:20.12
in John 5:4 or
very similar word,
00:20:20.15\00:20:23.45
same route to
speak about the waters
00:20:23.49\00:20:26.69
of the pool of Bethesda
that were troubled or stirred.
00:20:26.72\00:20:30.89
It's also used in Acts
12:18, to refer the stir up,
00:20:30.93\00:20:35.56
to refer to the stirring among
the soldiers of the Romans.
00:20:35.60\00:20:40.50
And it's used in Acts 19:23,
00:20:40.54\00:20:43.14
to describe a
disturbance over the way
00:20:43.17\00:20:46.74
that is over Christians.
00:20:46.78\00:20:49.28
We find a tremendous
increase during this period
00:20:49.31\00:20:52.51
of messianic movements
in the Judean wilderness.
00:20:52.55\00:20:56.69
For example, Josephus
wrote under the reign of Felix,
00:20:56.72\00:21:01.16
that there was a succession
of deceivers and imposters,
00:21:01.19\00:21:06.33
who, and now I quote,
00:21:06.36\00:21:08.20
fomented revolutionary
changes under the pretext
00:21:08.23\00:21:12.93
of divine inspiration.
00:21:12.97\00:21:14.44
In other words, they said,
there's going to be a major
00:21:14.47\00:21:17.84
uproar in society.
00:21:17.87\00:21:20.21
Sounds very much
like what we see happening
00:21:20.24\00:21:23.21
in the United States
and in the world today.
00:21:23.24\00:21:26.11
Ellen White also measured in.
00:21:26.15\00:21:28.08
She wrote in Great
Controversy, page 28,
00:21:28.12\00:21:31.42
"Satan aroused the fiercest
00:21:31.45\00:21:33.96
and most debased
passions of the soul."
00:21:33.99\00:21:36.86
This is speaking
about within the city.
00:21:36.89\00:21:38.99
"Men did not reason,
they were beyond reason,
00:21:39.03\00:21:43.53
controlled by
impulse and blind rage.
00:21:43.57\00:21:47.44
They became
satanic in their cruelty.
00:21:47.47\00:21:50.67
In the family and in the nation,
00:21:50.71\00:21:53.64
among the highest and
the lowest classes alike.,
00:21:53.68\00:21:56.98
there was
suspicion, envy, hatred,
00:21:57.01\00:22:00.72
strife, rebellion, murder.
00:22:00.75\00:22:04.22
There was no safety anywhere.
00:22:04.25\00:22:06.82
Friends and
kindred betrayed another.
00:22:06.86\00:22:09.56
Parents slew their children
and children, their parents."
00:22:09.59\00:22:13.33
Terrible social unrest.
00:22:13.36\00:22:15.60
That's what Mark 13:8
00:22:15.63\00:22:17.70
means when it says
that there was going
00:22:17.73\00:22:19.23
to be troubles.
00:22:19.27\00:22:22.17
So you say, wow,
00:22:22.20\00:22:23.84
this was a terrible period
between the death of Christ
00:22:23.87\00:22:26.74
and the
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:22:26.78\00:22:28.98
Could it get any worse?
00:22:29.01\00:22:31.28
Well, you noticed in the
text that we read that Jesus
00:22:31.31\00:22:35.68
after mentioning
wars and rumors of wars,
00:22:35.72\00:22:38.49
nation against nation,
kingdom against kingdom,
00:22:38.52\00:22:41.82
pestilences,
famine, earthquakes.
00:22:41.86\00:22:46.26
Jesus said in verse 8,
00:22:46.29\00:22:48.06
"These all are the
beginning of sorrows."
00:22:48.10\00:22:54.00
Now the question is,
00:22:54.04\00:22:55.97
why did these terrible upheavals
00:22:56.00\00:22:59.57
in society and
wars, pestilences, hunger,
00:22:59.61\00:23:04.91
earthquakes, why
did this take place?
00:23:04.95\00:23:08.42
Who caused it?
00:23:08.45\00:23:10.05
Well, there's
no doubt that Satan
00:23:10.09\00:23:12.22
was causing these things.
00:23:12.25\00:23:13.72
God allowed Satan
to cause these things.
00:23:13.76\00:23:16.06
But the question is,
00:23:16.09\00:23:17.43
why did Satan
caused all of these things?
00:23:17.46\00:23:21.56
Well, you might
say it's because Satan
00:23:21.60\00:23:23.33
hates human beings,
00:23:23.37\00:23:25.00
but there's more to
the story than this.
00:23:25.03\00:23:27.34
You see, Satan had an agenda
00:23:27.37\00:23:29.57
and that agenda
was to blame believers,
00:23:29.60\00:23:34.18
to blame those who had
accepted Christ as Savior
00:23:34.21\00:23:37.71
for all of the convulsions
that were taking place.
00:23:37.75\00:23:40.82
You say, how do we know this?
00:23:40.85\00:23:42.62
We know this because
00:23:42.65\00:23:43.99
of the very next
verse after verse 8,
00:23:44.02\00:23:48.22
it says there, and
remember the little word then,
00:23:48.26\00:23:51.19
we noticed in our
first presentation
00:23:51.23\00:23:53.86
that Matthew 24 is
in chronological order.
00:23:53.90\00:23:58.10
And one of the evidences
is the use of the word then.
00:23:58.13\00:24:01.07
In other words,
this and then this,
00:24:01.10\00:24:02.90
and then this.
00:24:02.94\00:24:04.27
So immediately after speaking
about wars and rumors of wars
00:24:04.31\00:24:07.71
and speaking about
nation against nation,
00:24:07.74\00:24:09.94
kingdom against kingdom,
00:24:09.98\00:24:11.35
and speaking of
pestilences and famines
00:24:11.38\00:24:13.65
and earthquakes everywhere.
00:24:13.68\00:24:15.98
We find what the
hidden agenda of Satan is.
00:24:16.02\00:24:20.32
It says in Matthew 24:9,
00:24:20.36\00:24:22.49
the very next verse,
00:24:22.52\00:24:24.03
then, this is the next point.
00:24:24.06\00:24:27.30
"Then they will deliver you up
00:24:27.33\00:24:30.20
to tribulation and kill you,
00:24:30.23\00:24:33.77
and you will be
hated by all nations
00:24:33.80\00:24:35.74
for My name's sake."
00:24:35.77\00:24:37.11
He speaking to His
disciples, His followers.
00:24:37.14\00:24:39.24
He's saying, and as a result
00:24:39.27\00:24:40.61
of all of these disasters
and problems in society,
00:24:40.64\00:24:43.75
this social unrest,
00:24:43.78\00:24:46.41
eventually
they're going to blame you
00:24:46.45\00:24:48.58
and they are going to
cause a great tribulation
00:24:48.62\00:24:51.95
and they will
even kill some of you.
00:24:51.99\00:24:55.12
Let me ask you, did this happen
between the death of Christ
00:24:55.16\00:24:58.29
and the
destruction of Jerusalem?
00:24:58.33\00:25:00.26
Absolutely.
00:25:00.30\00:25:01.63
You know, that Nero
blamed the Christians
00:25:01.66\00:25:04.33
for the burning of Rome.
00:25:04.37\00:25:06.43
Now, there are other examples
00:25:06.47\00:25:08.04
that we find in
scripture itself.
00:25:08.07\00:25:10.34
Acts 5:41,
00:25:10.37\00:25:13.98
here the Jewish
Sanhedrin beat Peter
00:25:14.01\00:25:17.45
and John for the
sake of the name of Jesus.
00:25:17.48\00:25:20.72
You'll notice that it says here,
00:25:20.75\00:25:22.08
for My name's
sake in Matthew 24.
00:25:22.12\00:25:24.99
Now notice Acts 5:41,
00:25:25.02\00:25:27.56
"And they departed
00:25:27.59\00:25:28.92
from the
presence of the council,
00:25:28.96\00:25:30.56
that is Peter and John,
00:25:30.59\00:25:32.23
rejoicing that
they were counted worthy
00:25:32.26\00:25:35.06
to suffer shame
for," what reason?
00:25:35.10\00:25:37.80
"Shame for his name."
00:25:37.83\00:25:41.44
And then, of
course, we have the stoning
00:25:41.47\00:25:42.94
of Stephen by
the Jewish Sanhedrin.
00:25:42.97\00:25:46.27
In Acts 7:59,
00:25:46.31\00:25:48.81
we find these words,
00:25:48.84\00:25:50.41
"And they stoned Stephen
00:25:50.45\00:25:52.68
as he was calling on
God and saying, 'Lord Jesus,
00:25:52.71\00:25:56.72
receive my spirit.'"
00:25:56.75\00:25:59.65
In Acts Chapter 1,
00:25:59.69\00:26:01.09
you have a description
of the great persecution
00:26:01.12\00:26:04.39
in Jerusalem for the
sake of the name of Jesus.
00:26:04.43\00:26:07.80
It says there in Acts 8:1,
00:26:07.83\00:26:10.73
"Now Saul was
consenting to his death."
00:26:10.77\00:26:14.17
That is to Stephen's death.
00:26:14.20\00:26:16.24
"At that time a
great persecution
00:26:16.27\00:26:19.27
arose against the
church which was at Jerusalem,
00:26:19.31\00:26:22.98
and they were all scattered
00:26:23.01\00:26:24.35
throughout the
regions of Judea and Samaria,
00:26:24.38\00:26:27.22
except the apostles."
00:26:27.25\00:26:28.68
The apostles, in other words,
00:26:28.72\00:26:30.05
stayed in Jerusalem,
00:26:30.09\00:26:31.59
but the others had to spread out
00:26:31.62\00:26:33.25
because of a great
persecution against Christians.
00:26:33.29\00:26:38.29
And, of course,
we all know of Saul,
00:26:38.33\00:26:40.80
the persecutor who persecuted
not only in Jerusalem,
00:26:40.83\00:26:45.13
he persecuted in foreign cities.
00:26:45.17\00:26:48.17
We're told in Acts 9:4.
00:26:48.20\00:26:51.24
This is when Saul of Tarsus
was on the way to Damascus.
00:26:51.27\00:26:55.14
You know, he was
knocked to the ground
00:26:55.18\00:26:57.11
and he heard a voice that said,
00:26:57.15\00:27:00.62
"Saul, Saul, why
are you persecuting Me?"
00:27:00.65\00:27:05.79
So in persecuting, the people,
00:27:05.82\00:27:07.82
Saul was persecuting
00:27:07.86\00:27:10.23
none less than
Jesus Christ Himself.
00:27:10.26\00:27:13.86
In John 16:1-2.
00:27:13.90\00:27:16.83
Once again, we find a
description of God's people
00:27:16.87\00:27:20.04
being persecuted
during this period,
00:27:20.07\00:27:22.27
just like Jesus said,
00:27:22.30\00:27:24.14
they will deliver you up
to tribulation and kill you,
00:27:24.17\00:27:27.68
and you will be hated
00:27:27.71\00:27:29.04
by all nations
for My name's sake.
00:27:29.08\00:27:32.55
In John 16:1-2, we
find these words of Jesus,
00:27:32.58\00:27:37.29
"These things I
have spoken to you
00:27:37.32\00:27:39.75
that you should
not be made to stumble.
00:27:39.79\00:27:42.32
They will put you out
of the synagogues, yes,
00:27:42.36\00:27:46.39
the time is
coming that whoever kills
00:27:46.43\00:27:49.16
you will think that
he offers God service."
00:27:49.20\00:27:54.54
You know, the
Roman historian Tacitus
00:27:54.57\00:27:57.17
wrote the
following in his annals.
00:27:57.21\00:28:00.88
"First,
00:28:00.91\00:28:02.24
Nero had self-acknowledged
Christians arrested."
00:28:02.28\00:28:06.01
So what Nero would do
00:28:06.05\00:28:08.02
is he would
arrest the Christians,
00:28:08.05\00:28:10.22
and he continues,
"Then on their information,
00:28:10.25\00:28:13.82
large numbers of
others were condemned."
00:28:13.86\00:28:16.89
So in other words,
they snitched on others
00:28:16.93\00:28:19.26
when they were arrested by Nero.
00:28:19.29\00:28:21.76
The tribulation
mentioned in verse 9
00:28:21.80\00:28:25.97
is not the great tribulation.
00:28:26.00\00:28:28.87
Did you notice?
00:28:28.90\00:28:30.24
Then they will deliver you
up to tribulation and kill you.
00:28:30.27\00:28:34.94
But this is not
the great tribulation.
00:28:34.98\00:28:36.78
Later on in Matthew 24:21,
00:28:36.81\00:28:41.22
you have a great tribulation
after those in the city,
00:28:41.25\00:28:46.25
see the sign of the
abomination of desolation.
00:28:46.29\00:28:50.53
So we need to keep in mind
that there was a small time
00:28:50.56\00:28:54.76
of trouble early in Matthew 24,
00:28:54.80\00:28:57.47
and then there was a
great tribulation later on.
00:28:57.50\00:29:01.77
We also find that the
Romans crucified Peter
00:29:01.80\00:29:04.71
with his head upside down
and they decapitated Paul.
00:29:04.74\00:29:08.91
Certainly this verse
was fulfilled that says,
00:29:08.94\00:29:11.88
then they will deliver you
up to tribulation and kill you,
00:29:11.91\00:29:15.28
and you will be hated
00:29:15.32\00:29:16.65
by all nations
for My name's sake.
00:29:16.69\00:29:20.89
Now what Matthew 24
00:29:20.92\00:29:22.89
doesn't mention is that
00:29:22.92\00:29:24.53
when this
persecution would come,
00:29:24.56\00:29:26.63
many would have to
testify before rulers and kings.
00:29:26.66\00:29:31.13
Mark 13:9 tells us this,
00:29:31.17\00:29:34.80
"But watch out for yourselves,
00:29:34.84\00:29:37.17
for they will
deliver you up to councils,
00:29:37.21\00:29:40.88
and you will be
beaten in the synagogues.
00:29:40.91\00:29:43.65
You will be
brought before rulers
00:29:43.68\00:29:45.81
and kings for My sake,
for a testimony to them."
00:29:45.85\00:29:50.62
In other words,
those who were persecuted,
00:29:50.65\00:29:52.85
many of them were to
be taken between rulers
00:29:52.89\00:29:55.02
and kings to give
witness of their faith.
00:29:55.06\00:29:58.76
This happened in Acts 24:24-25.
00:29:58.79\00:30:03.50
We find Paul
testifying before Felix.
00:30:03.53\00:30:07.60
I want to read that verse.
00:30:07.64\00:30:08.97
Acts 24, those
verses and verses 24 and 25.
00:30:09.00\00:30:13.78
"And after some days,
00:30:13.81\00:30:15.38
when Felix came
with his wife Drusilla,
00:30:15.41\00:30:18.55
who was Jewish,
00:30:18.58\00:30:19.91
he sent for Paul and heard him
concerning the faith in Christ.
00:30:19.95\00:30:23.92
Now as he reasoned
about righteousness,
00:30:23.95\00:30:26.25
self-control and
the judgment to come,
00:30:26.29\00:30:29.32
Felix was afraid and answered,
00:30:29.36\00:30:31.99
'Go away for now, when
I have a convenient time,
00:30:32.03\00:30:35.63
I will call you.'"
00:30:35.66\00:30:37.50
Ellen White describes
that this was his last chance.
00:30:37.53\00:30:40.87
There was no other
call for Felix after this.
00:30:40.90\00:30:44.91
Also we know that Paul
appeared before King Agrippa.
00:30:44.94\00:30:49.34
Acts 26:1-3 describes it.
00:30:49.38\00:30:52.85
"Then Agrippa said to Paul,
00:30:52.88\00:30:55.25
'You are permitted
to speak for yourself.'
00:30:55.28\00:30:58.45
So Paul stretched out his
hand and answered for himself.'"
00:30:58.49\00:31:04.26
This is his speech.
00:31:04.29\00:31:05.86
"I think myself
happy, King Agrippa,
00:31:05.89\00:31:09.40
because today I
shall answer for myself
00:31:09.43\00:31:11.83
before you
concerning all the things
00:31:11.87\00:31:14.27
of which I am
accused by the Jews,
00:31:14.30\00:31:17.31
especially because you
are expert in all customs
00:31:17.34\00:31:20.98
and questions which
have to do with the Jews.
00:31:21.01\00:31:24.28
Therefore, I beg you
to hear me patiently."
00:31:24.31\00:31:27.82
And then the Apostle
Paul gives a beautiful speech
00:31:27.85\00:31:30.55
before King Agrippa.
00:31:30.59\00:31:34.12
Paul also
testified before Festus,
00:31:34.16\00:31:37.53
the procurator of Judea.
00:31:37.56\00:31:40.00
And Ellen White in the
book Acts of the Apostles,
00:31:40.03\00:31:43.67
page 492-497
00:31:43.70\00:31:46.33
states that Paul
even went before Nero
00:31:46.37\00:31:50.27
and testified before Nero,
00:31:50.31\00:31:52.31
and Nero trembled at the
words of the Apostle Paul.
00:31:52.34\00:31:55.81
But then after a while,
he returned to his old self.
00:31:55.84\00:32:00.42
So this sign was fulfilled.
00:32:00.45\00:32:02.42
Matthew doesn't mention it,
00:32:02.45\00:32:04.02
but the Gospel of Mark
00:32:04.05\00:32:07.09
definitely
mentions the appearance
00:32:07.12\00:32:09.26
before rulers and
kings when this tribulation
00:32:09.29\00:32:12.99
or persecution occurred.
00:32:13.03\00:32:15.30
Now, what would happen
00:32:15.33\00:32:16.87
when the faithful were
taken before kings and rulers?
00:32:16.90\00:32:20.77
Well, folks,
00:32:20.80\00:32:22.14
they would have to
know very well the message
00:32:22.17\00:32:26.24
that they were going to impart.
00:32:26.27\00:32:28.24
Notice in the
Book of Mark 13:11,
00:32:28.28\00:32:32.01
this is also a detail
that is not found in Matthew.
00:32:32.05\00:32:35.28
You remember that,
00:32:35.32\00:32:36.65
I said that we need to take
into account all three gospels,
00:32:36.69\00:32:40.09
because they
complement one another.
00:32:40.12\00:32:42.26
You see the Gospel of Matthew
does not mention the idea
00:32:42.29\00:32:45.86
of appearing
before kings and rulers.
00:32:45.89\00:32:48.36
And it does not mention
the aid of the Holy Spirit
00:32:48.40\00:32:51.27
when God's people are taken
before the kings and rulers.
00:32:51.30\00:32:54.84
So in Mark
13:11, we are told this,
00:32:54.87\00:32:58.67
"But when they arrest
you and deliver you up,"
00:32:58.71\00:33:02.28
which is Matthew 24:9,"
00:33:02.31\00:33:04.98
do not worry
beforehand or premeditate
00:33:05.01\00:33:08.72
what you will speak.
00:33:08.75\00:33:10.45
But whatever is
given you in that hour,
00:33:10.49\00:33:12.95
speak that, for in
is not you who speak,
00:33:12.99\00:33:17.16
but the Holy Spirit.
00:33:17.19\00:33:18.73
Of course, the Holy
Spirit was poured out
00:33:18.76\00:33:20.46
on the day of Pentecost.
00:33:20.50\00:33:22.06
And on the day of Pentecost,
00:33:22.10\00:33:23.63
the disciples
started giving testimony
00:33:23.67\00:33:26.23
to Jesus preaching
about Jesus Christ.
00:33:26.27\00:33:28.87
So when the apostles were
taken before kings and rulers,
00:33:28.90\00:33:34.61
the Holy Spirit
brought to their minds
00:33:34.64\00:33:37.41
the things that
they needed to say.
00:33:37.45\00:33:39.81
Now here's a
very important point.
00:33:39.85\00:33:42.28
Don't think that
before, because, you know,
00:33:42.32\00:33:45.55
the Holy Spirit
is going to help us
00:33:45.59\00:33:47.32
when we are taken
at the end of time
00:33:47.36\00:33:49.32
before kings and rulers,
and legislators and judges,
00:33:49.36\00:33:52.33
et cetera,
00:33:52.36\00:33:53.70
that if we've
never studied the Bible,
00:33:53.73\00:33:55.30
suddenly the Holy
Spirit is going to say, okay,
00:33:55.33\00:33:57.50
I'm going to plug
in all the information
00:33:57.53\00:33:59.17
that you need to speak.
00:33:59.20\00:34:00.70
No, we need to be
studying God's Word.
00:34:00.74\00:34:04.47
We need to know what we believe.
00:34:04.51\00:34:06.98
We need to know how to defend
our teachings and doctrines
00:34:07.01\00:34:10.28
and, you know, Ellen
White states that thousands upon
00:34:10.31\00:34:14.02
thousands accepted the
message through the testimony
00:34:14.05\00:34:17.85
of the apostles.
00:34:17.89\00:34:19.22
And that is going
to happen once again.
00:34:19.25\00:34:22.02
You know, the parallel passage
in Luke 21:14-15 tells us
00:34:22.06\00:34:27.76
also some things
about how God's people
00:34:27.80\00:34:31.33
were going to witness.
00:34:31.37\00:34:32.70
It says there,
00:34:32.73\00:34:34.14
"Therefore
settle it in your hearts
00:34:34.17\00:34:37.17
not to meditate beforehand
on what you will answer.
00:34:37.21\00:34:41.48
In other words, don't
prepare your speech beforehand.
00:34:41.51\00:34:44.71
The information is up there.
00:34:44.75\00:34:46.58
The Holy Spirit is going
to be able to bring it out.
00:34:46.61\00:34:49.12
But Jesus says,
00:34:49.15\00:34:50.85
"Don't premeditate
what you're going to speak."
00:34:50.89\00:34:52.72
In other words, don't prepare
00:34:52.75\00:34:54.16
a handwritten
sermon if you please,
00:34:54.19\00:34:56.93
but whatever...
00:34:56.96\00:34:58.29
But then he says,
00:34:58.33\00:34:59.66
"For I will give you a mouth
00:34:59.69\00:35:02.16
and wisdom which
all your adversaries
00:35:02.20\00:35:05.50
will not be able to
contradict or resist."
00:35:05.53\00:35:10.67
Another thing that Matthew
doesn't mention regarding
00:35:10.71\00:35:13.01
this persecution or
this tribulation in verse 9
00:35:13.04\00:35:17.55
is who is going to
betray God's people?
00:35:17.58\00:35:21.52
Who are the ones that are
going to arise to even attempt
00:35:21.55\00:35:24.65
to kill the faithful of God?
00:35:24.69\00:35:27.46
Well, the Gospel of Mark
00:35:27.49\00:35:29.22
and the Gospel
of Luke add details
00:35:29.26\00:35:32.09
that we don't find in
the Gospel of Matthew.
00:35:32.13\00:35:35.16
Let's notice Mark 13:12.
00:35:35.20\00:35:38.77
We're told who is
going to persecute who?
00:35:38.80\00:35:42.27
It's not, you know, the pagans,
00:35:42.30\00:35:44.74
those with whom we
have no relationship
00:35:44.77\00:35:46.81
that are going to
persecute God's people.
00:35:46.84\00:35:49.08
Those who
persecuted the apostles
00:35:49.11\00:35:51.15
were from their own
household many times.
00:35:51.18\00:35:54.52
Mark 13:12,
00:35:54.55\00:35:56.58
"Now brother will
betray brother to death."
00:35:56.62\00:36:00.36
See, Matthew
doesn't mention this detail.
00:36:00.39\00:36:03.06
"And a father his child,
00:36:03.09\00:36:05.49
and children will
rise up against parents
00:36:05.53\00:36:10.10
and cause them
to be put to death."
00:36:10.13\00:36:12.37
So in Matthew, the text
that we read in Matthew says,
00:36:12.40\00:36:15.70
"Then they will deliver you
up to tribulation and kill you."
00:36:15.74\00:36:19.91
Who is they?
00:36:19.94\00:36:21.38
Mark says, "Brother
will betray brother,
00:36:21.41\00:36:26.05
father, child,
00:36:26.08\00:36:28.18
children will rise
up against their parents
00:36:28.22\00:36:30.79
and cause them
to be put to death."
00:36:30.82\00:36:34.12
Luke 21:16,
00:36:34.16\00:36:35.59
the parallel passage ads.
00:36:35.62\00:36:37.53
"You will be betrayed
even by parents and brothers,
00:36:37.56\00:36:40.53
relatives and friends,
00:36:40.56\00:36:42.23
and they will put
some of you to death."
00:36:42.26\00:36:46.43
Jesus had already
predicted what would happen
00:36:46.47\00:36:48.84
when a person accepted
Him as Savior and Lord.
00:36:48.87\00:36:52.11
He spoke some very strange words
00:36:52.14\00:36:54.28
because the Bible says
00:36:54.31\00:36:55.64
that Jesus is
the Prince of Peace.
00:36:55.68\00:36:58.21
We're also told, you
know, that when Jesus was born,
00:36:58.25\00:37:01.82
the angels sang peace
on earth, goodwill to men.
00:37:01.85\00:37:05.92
So Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
00:37:05.95\00:37:07.86
But these verses that I'm going
to read are kind of strange.
00:37:07.89\00:37:11.63
It says in Matthew 10:34-36,
00:37:11.66\00:37:15.03
"Do not think that I
came to bring peace on earth.
00:37:15.06\00:37:18.93
I did not come to
bring peace, but a sword."
00:37:18.97\00:37:23.20
Well, now wait a minute.
00:37:23.24\00:37:24.57
Jesus didn't come to
bring peace, but a sword.
00:37:24.61\00:37:28.11
What is he talking about?
00:37:28.14\00:37:29.88
Verse 35,
00:37:29.91\00:37:31.41
"For I have come to set
a man against his father,
00:37:31.45\00:37:34.95
a daughter against her mother,
00:37:34.98\00:37:37.52
and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law,
00:37:37.55\00:37:40.46
and a man's enemies
00:37:40.49\00:37:42.32
will be those of
his own household."
00:37:42.36\00:37:46.63
You know, I taught theology
00:37:46.66\00:37:48.00
for six years in our university,
00:37:48.03\00:37:49.80
in the city of Medellín Colombia
00:37:49.83\00:37:51.27
in South America.
00:37:51.30\00:37:53.44
And one day I was talking
to one of my female students.
00:37:53.47\00:37:56.44
Her name was Josephina,
00:37:56.47\00:37:58.44
and she told me her testimony.
00:37:58.47\00:38:02.04
She lived in a very staunch
Roman Catholic household,
00:38:02.08\00:38:07.08
but she heard about
some evangelistic meetings
00:38:07.12\00:38:09.32
that were going to take
place there in her city.
00:38:09.35\00:38:11.82
So she decided to attend.
00:38:11.85\00:38:13.82
She attended on a
regular basis and she embraced
00:38:13.86\00:38:17.39
the Seventh-day
Adventist message
00:38:17.43\00:38:19.16
because it was the truth.
00:38:19.19\00:38:20.83
So she went home
and she told her parents
00:38:20.86\00:38:23.00
that she wanted to be baptized
00:38:23.03\00:38:24.53
and she wanted to
become a Seventh-day Adventist.
00:38:24.57\00:38:27.37
Her parents
looked at her and said,
00:38:27.40\00:38:29.94
if you joined that
church, if you're baptized,
00:38:29.97\00:38:33.84
we are going to totally
get rid of you as our daughter.
00:38:33.88\00:38:38.45
We are going to
disown you as our daughter.
00:38:38.48\00:38:42.85
Well, she had a
hard decision to make,
00:38:42.88\00:38:46.29
but she made the right decision.
00:38:46.32\00:38:48.42
She actually
said to her parents,
00:38:48.46\00:38:51.56
you know, I need to
obey God rather than man.
00:38:51.59\00:38:55.40
I respect you.
00:38:55.43\00:38:56.77
I love you as my parents,
00:38:56.80\00:38:58.13
but my loyalty to God is greater
00:38:58.17\00:39:00.70
than my loyalty to you.
00:39:00.74\00:39:02.74
So she went to the
evangelistic meeting,
00:39:02.77\00:39:04.91
got baptized.
00:39:04.94\00:39:06.27
When she returned home,
00:39:06.31\00:39:08.08
all of her personal
belongings were at the entrance
00:39:08.11\00:39:10.78
of the home.
00:39:10.81\00:39:12.15
And her parents met her
00:39:12.18\00:39:13.52
at the entrance
and said, "Leave,
00:39:13.55\00:39:15.22
you're not our
daughter anymore."
00:39:15.25\00:39:18.52
And that's how she
ended up at our university
00:39:18.55\00:39:21.22
in the city of Medellín.
00:39:21.26\00:39:23.16
She came there
00:39:23.19\00:39:24.53
because she had
no other place to go.
00:39:24.56\00:39:25.99
She studied to
be a Bible worker.
00:39:26.03\00:39:27.80
And then later on,
00:39:27.83\00:39:29.40
married an individual
who was studying theology
00:39:29.43\00:39:33.03
and became a
Seventh-day Adventist pastor.
00:39:33.07\00:39:36.54
Ellen White wrote in
Desire of Ages, page 629,
00:39:36.57\00:39:40.61
regarding Jerusalem,
00:39:40.64\00:39:42.01
"Fathers and mothers
betrayed their children.
00:39:42.04\00:39:44.85
Children betrayed their parents.
00:39:44.88\00:39:46.98
Friends
delivered their friends up
00:39:47.02\00:39:49.08
to the Sanhedrin.
00:39:49.12\00:39:50.82
The persecutors
wrought out their purpose
00:39:50.85\00:39:53.19
by killing Stephen,
James and other Christians."
00:39:53.22\00:39:57.96
Now we've spent a
lot of time in verse 9.
00:39:57.99\00:40:02.00
We need to go to verse 10.
00:40:02.03\00:40:04.47
What happens when
persecution comes?
00:40:04.50\00:40:07.50
When persecution comes,
00:40:07.54\00:40:09.20
you know who is a true believer
00:40:09.24\00:40:12.37
and who is not a true believer.
00:40:12.41\00:40:15.34
Persecution weeds out
00:40:15.38\00:40:17.51
the hypocrites from the church.
00:40:17.55\00:40:19.65
I want you to notice
00:40:19.68\00:40:21.02
what happens
according to the Bible
00:40:21.05\00:40:22.98
in verse 10, verse 10.
00:40:23.02\00:40:27.09
And then that is
when persecution comes,
00:40:27.12\00:40:29.69
many are delivered
up to death by friends
00:40:29.72\00:40:31.93
and relatives
and family members.
00:40:31.96\00:40:34.83
It says, then
many will be offended.
00:40:34.86\00:40:38.10
That's a way of
saying that people
00:40:38.13\00:40:39.50
are going to forsake the
faith to save their skin.
00:40:39.53\00:40:42.44
"And then many will be offended,
00:40:42.47\00:40:44.51
will betray one another,
and will hate one another."
00:40:44.54\00:40:48.61
So many people are
going to forsake the truth
00:40:48.64\00:40:51.65
as a result of the persecution.
00:40:51.68\00:40:54.85
The New Testament shows
that there were individuals
00:40:54.88\00:40:57.12
who once embraced the
message and then went astray.
00:40:57.15\00:41:01.02
2 Timothy 4:10,
00:41:01.06\00:41:03.02
the Apostle Paul
mentions one called Demas.
00:41:03.06\00:41:07.36
He stated, "For
Demas has forsaken me,
00:41:07.40\00:41:10.87
having loved this present world,
00:41:10.90\00:41:12.97
and has departed
for Thessalonica."
00:41:13.00\00:41:16.14
When the Apostle
Paul was in prison
00:41:16.17\00:41:18.91
during his second imprisonment,
we find that he was by himself.
00:41:18.94\00:41:23.21
Nobody came to stand with him.
00:41:23.24\00:41:25.78
2 Timothy 4:16,
00:41:25.81\00:41:27.55
we find these words,
"At my first defense,
00:41:27.58\00:41:31.52
no one stood with
me, but all forsook me.
00:41:31.55\00:41:35.72
May it not be
charged against them."
00:41:35.76\00:41:38.86
So many who had loved
Paul when he was preaching,
00:41:38.89\00:41:42.43
but now when he was in prison
00:41:42.46\00:41:44.20
and if people came
to visit him in prison,
00:41:44.23\00:41:46.70
they would be
associated with Paul
00:41:46.74\00:41:48.84
and they might
suffer the same as him.
00:41:48.87\00:41:51.17
They forsook him.
00:41:51.21\00:41:52.94
1 John 2:19,
00:41:52.97\00:41:55.34
describes many who
were among the Christians,
00:41:55.38\00:41:58.61
but were not
really of the Christians.
00:41:58.65\00:42:00.62
It says there in verse
19, "They went out from us,
00:42:00.65\00:42:04.75
but they were not of us,
for if they had been of us,
00:42:04.79\00:42:08.89
they would have
continued with us,
00:42:08.92\00:42:10.96
but they went out
that they might be
00:42:10.99\00:42:13.16
made manifest that
none of them were with us."
00:42:13.19\00:42:18.33
And then Matthew 24:11,
00:42:18.37\00:42:21.10
speaks about many
false prophets rising
00:42:21.14\00:42:24.97
and deceiving many.
00:42:25.01\00:42:27.18
It says there in Matthew 24:11,
00:42:27.21\00:42:30.68
then many false prophets
00:42:30.71\00:42:32.61
will rise up and deceive many.
00:42:32.65\00:42:37.42
What were the characteristics
of these prophets?
00:42:37.45\00:42:39.99
Well, we need to understand
00:42:40.02\00:42:42.19
these prophets in the
light of the prophets,
00:42:42.22\00:42:44.76
the false
prophets that prophesied
00:42:44.79\00:42:46.90
before the destruction
of the first Jerusalem
00:42:46.93\00:42:50.00
in the year 586.
00:42:50.03\00:42:51.90
Jeremiah has a lot to
say about false prophets.
00:42:51.93\00:42:55.97
And he states that before
the destruction of Jerusalem
00:42:56.00\00:42:58.61
by Nebuchadnezzar,
00:42:58.64\00:42:59.97
many false prophets
arose saying, peace, peace.
00:43:00.01\00:43:04.01
This city will never fall.
00:43:04.05\00:43:05.61
It'll never be destroyed.
00:43:05.65\00:43:07.22
This is God's city.
00:43:07.25\00:43:08.65
Don't worry about it.
00:43:08.68\00:43:10.82
And, of course,
00:43:10.85\00:43:12.19
they were proved false prophets
00:43:12.22\00:43:13.66
because the city was
eventually destroyed.
00:43:13.69\00:43:17.56
So the false prophets
00:43:17.59\00:43:18.93
that are
mentioned here are false
00:43:18.96\00:43:20.70
prophets that are predicting
that Jerusalem will not fall,
00:43:20.73\00:43:23.87
everything will be all right.
00:43:23.90\00:43:25.77
Peace, peace.
00:43:25.80\00:43:27.90
Ellen White wrote
in Desire of Ages,
00:43:27.94\00:43:29.77
page 631,
00:43:29.80\00:43:31.84
"False prophets did
rise, deceiving the people,
00:43:31.87\00:43:36.41
and leading great
numbers into the desert.
00:43:36.44\00:43:39.51
Magicians and sorcerers,
claiming miraculous power,
00:43:39.55\00:43:43.79
drew the people after them
into the mountain solitudes."
00:43:43.82\00:43:49.09
In Great Controversy,
page 29, she wrote that,
00:43:49.12\00:43:52.13
"The religious leaders bribed
false prophets to proclaim,
00:43:52.16\00:43:56.93
even while Roman legions
were besieging the temple
00:43:56.97\00:44:00.77
that the people were to
wait for deliverance from God."
00:44:00.80\00:44:05.84
In other words, they were saying
00:44:05.87\00:44:07.21
just like in the
Old Testament, ah,
00:44:07.24\00:44:08.64
this city is
never going to fall.
00:44:08.68\00:44:10.38
Nebuchadnezzar is not going
to be able to conquer the city.
00:44:10.41\00:44:13.35
We can continue just the way
00:44:13.38\00:44:14.85
we are and
everything will be okay.
00:44:14.88\00:44:17.99
Josephus adds in his
book Wars of the Jews.
00:44:18.02\00:44:21.49
"Now it came to pass while Fadus
00:44:21.52\00:44:24.03
was procurator in Judea,
00:44:24.06\00:44:26.23
that a certain magician
whose name was Theudas,"
00:44:26.26\00:44:29.06
we already noticed that
this is in the Book of Acts,
00:44:29.10\00:44:31.47
"persuaded a
great part of the people
00:44:31.50\00:44:34.17
to take their effects with them,
00:44:34.20\00:44:36.60
and follow him
to the river Jordan,
00:44:36.64\00:44:38.91
for he told them
that he was a prophet
00:44:38.94\00:44:41.81
and that he would
by his own command,
00:44:41.84\00:44:44.21
divide the river,
00:44:44.25\00:44:45.58
and afford them passage over it,
00:44:45.61\00:44:47.52
and many were
deluded by his words."
00:44:47.55\00:44:52.45
WE find in the New
Testament during this period,
00:44:52.49\00:44:55.69
false prophets
mentioned, you have Acts 13:6,
00:44:55.72\00:44:59.83
speaking about a false prophet
00:44:59.86\00:45:01.76
whose name was
Bar-Jesus or son of Jesus.
00:45:01.80\00:45:04.77
It says there,
00:45:04.80\00:45:06.13
"Now when they had gone
through the island of Paphos,
00:45:06.17\00:45:09.44
they found a certain
sorcerer, a false prophet,
00:45:09.47\00:45:12.77
a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus.
00:45:12.81\00:45:16.71
2 Peter 2:1 also mentions
00:45:16.75\00:45:19.65
false prophets
and false teachers
00:45:19.68\00:45:21.48
there in this period.
00:45:21.52\00:45:22.98
It says, "But there were
also false prophets among
00:45:23.02\00:45:25.75
the people,
even as there will be
00:45:25.79\00:45:28.22
false teachers among you,
00:45:28.26\00:45:29.99
who will secretly bring
in destructive heresies,
00:45:30.03\00:45:33.36
even denying the
Lord who bought them,
00:45:33.40\00:45:35.43
and bring on
themselves swift destruction."
00:45:35.46\00:45:39.03
And in 1 John 4:1,
00:45:39.07\00:45:41.84
John predicted
that there would be
00:45:41.87\00:45:44.61
false prophets
during this period.
00:45:44.64\00:45:46.98
It says, "Beloved, do
not believe every spirit,
00:45:47.01\00:45:50.08
but test the spirits,
whether they are of God,
00:45:50.11\00:45:53.78
because many false prophets
have gone out into the world."
00:45:53.82\00:45:59.39
So there were false prophets.
00:45:59.42\00:46:01.12
We're just
following Matthew Chapter 24,
00:46:01.16\00:46:03.73
beginning with verse 4,
all the way through verse 14,
00:46:03.76\00:46:07.20
to see if all of these
things were fulfilled leading up
00:46:07.23\00:46:10.57
to the destruction
of literal Jerusalem
00:46:10.60\00:46:12.80
in the year 70.
00:46:12.83\00:46:14.17
See, this prophecy
has a twofold fulfillment.
00:46:14.20\00:46:17.07
It was fulfilled
with literal Jerusalem
00:46:17.11\00:46:19.71
leading up to the year 70,
00:46:19.74\00:46:21.68
but we're going to
notice in future lectures
00:46:21.71\00:46:24.25
that it has a
broader application
00:46:24.28\00:46:26.82
to what is going
to happen in the world
00:46:26.85\00:46:28.88
before the world is destroyed.
00:46:28.92\00:46:32.15
Now, Matthew 24:12
00:46:32.19\00:46:34.46
is the next
verse in the sequence.
00:46:34.49\00:46:37.69
You find here in Matthew 24:12.
00:46:37.73\00:46:41.13
Once again, it's
speaking about a shaking out
00:46:41.16\00:46:44.47
of people from the church.
00:46:44.50\00:46:46.00
People who were once hot
in their spiritual experience
00:46:46.03\00:46:49.64
with Jesus and they
are going to grow cold.
00:46:49.67\00:46:53.14
It says there in Matthew 24:12,
00:46:53.17\00:46:57.15
"And because
lawlessness will abound,
00:46:57.18\00:47:00.48
the love of
many will grow cold."
00:47:00.52\00:47:05.32
Now that word
lawlessness is very interesting.
00:47:05.35\00:47:08.96
I'm reading from
New King James Version.
00:47:08.99\00:47:11.49
I like that King
James Version better.
00:47:11.53\00:47:14.73
1 John 3:4,
00:47:14.76\00:47:16.33
in the King James Version states
00:47:16.36\00:47:19.70
that sin is the
transgression of the law.
00:47:19.73\00:47:24.24
That's one word in Greek
transgression of the law.
00:47:24.27\00:47:26.98
It's the same word
00:47:27.01\00:47:28.34
that is
translated here, lawlessness.
00:47:28.38\00:47:31.38
I want you to notice
something interesting.
00:47:31.41\00:47:33.82
It says that
because of lawlessness,
00:47:33.85\00:47:36.35
the love of many will grow cold.
00:47:36.38\00:47:38.79
Now something cannot grow
cold unless it was hot before.
00:47:38.82\00:47:42.79
And so this
speaks of individuals
00:47:42.82\00:47:44.96
who were once believers,
00:47:44.99\00:47:46.63
but their spiritual experience
with Jesus now grows cold,
00:47:46.66\00:47:52.47
because of
transgression of the law of God.
00:47:52.50\00:47:57.37
Makes me think
of another passage
00:47:57.41\00:47:58.94
that we find in the
Book of Matthew 7:21-23,
00:47:58.97\00:48:03.65
that uses the
very same word anomias.
00:48:03.68\00:48:07.15
Matthew 7:21-23.
00:48:07.18\00:48:10.02
You see there's
got to be many people
00:48:10.05\00:48:11.42
during this period
that claim to be believers.
00:48:11.45\00:48:14.22
They say, oh
yeah, I'm with Jesus.
00:48:14.26\00:48:16.59
And yet Jesus
refuses to recognize them.
00:48:16.62\00:48:19.16
Why?
00:48:19.19\00:48:20.53
Because they
claimed to love Jesus,
00:48:20.56\00:48:22.46
but they practiced lawlessness.
00:48:22.50\00:48:24.63
Notice Matthew 7:21,
00:48:24.67\00:48:27.24
Jesus speaking, "Not everyone
who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
00:48:27.27\00:48:31.54
shall enter the
kingdom of heaven,
00:48:31.57\00:48:33.27
but he who does the will
of my father in heaven.'"
00:48:33.31\00:48:36.98
So notice, not
everyone who says,
00:48:37.01\00:48:39.45
Lord, Lord, these people,
00:48:39.48\00:48:41.22
you know, Jesus said,
these people, you know,
00:48:41.25\00:48:44.29
they follow Me with their lips,
00:48:44.32\00:48:46.09
but their
hearts are far from Me.
00:48:46.12\00:48:48.76
The passage
continues in verse 22,
00:48:48.79\00:48:50.96
"Many will say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord,"
00:48:50.99\00:48:54.76
these are Christians
'cause they're calling Jesus,
00:48:54.80\00:48:56.46
Lord, "Lord, Lord,
00:48:56.50\00:48:58.37
have we not
prophesied in Your name,
00:48:58.40\00:49:02.17
cast out demons in Your name
00:49:02.20\00:49:05.51
and done many
wonders in Your name."
00:49:05.54\00:49:07.44
Notice that these individuals,
00:49:07.48\00:49:09.44
they prophesied,
they cast out demons,
00:49:09.48\00:49:12.48
and they did many
miracles and wonders.
00:49:12.51\00:49:15.62
So these things are not proof
00:49:15.65\00:49:17.85
that a person is truly with God.
00:49:17.89\00:49:20.99
Why does Jesus now say
00:49:21.02\00:49:23.29
that He does not
know these people?
00:49:23.32\00:49:25.39
Let's read verse 23,
00:49:25.43\00:49:27.40
"And then I
will declare to them,
00:49:27.43\00:49:30.67
'I never knew
you, depart from Me,
00:49:30.70\00:49:34.37
you who practice lawlessness.'"
00:49:34.40\00:49:37.24
A better translation would be,
00:49:37.27\00:49:38.87
you who transgressed the law.
00:49:38.91\00:49:43.35
Now, was everybody going
00:49:43.38\00:49:46.51
to be shaken out of the church?
00:49:46.55\00:49:49.68
No, absolutely not.
00:49:49.72\00:49:52.29
There's a call
made in Matthew 24:13.
00:49:52.32\00:49:57.26
This is what Jesus stated,
00:49:57.29\00:49:59.29
"But he who endures to
the end shall be saved."
00:49:59.33\00:50:03.50
In other words, in contrast
00:50:03.53\00:50:04.90
with those whose love grows cold
00:50:04.93\00:50:07.54
because they
practice lawlessness.
00:50:07.57\00:50:10.41
There is a group that is
going to endure until the end
00:50:10.44\00:50:15.21
or persevere until the end.
00:50:15.24\00:50:18.85
Now, if you look at
the previous context,
00:50:18.88\00:50:21.55
you're gonna see that
there are three things
00:50:21.58\00:50:24.49
that are going
to lead individuals
00:50:24.52\00:50:27.16
to forsake the truth
before the destruction
00:50:27.19\00:50:30.73
of Jerusalem and
also at the end of time.
00:50:30.76\00:50:33.46
First, persecution
by friends and kindred.
00:50:33.50\00:50:37.50
That's going to weed
out a good number of people
00:50:37.53\00:50:40.57
who claim to be
followers of Jesus.
00:50:40.60\00:50:42.94
Second, this is in verse
11, deception by false prophets.
00:50:42.97\00:50:47.78
That's going to
take some others out.
00:50:47.81\00:50:49.88
And three, love growing
cold because of lawlessness.
00:50:49.91\00:50:54.78
But in contrast, there is
going to be a group that endures
00:50:54.82\00:50:58.99
or perseveres until the end.
00:50:59.02\00:51:02.76
You know, Luke 21:19
adds an interesting detail.
00:51:02.79\00:51:07.63
Jesus stated, "By your patience,
00:51:07.66\00:51:11.77
possess your souls."
00:51:11.80\00:51:14.37
Now there's one other sign
00:51:14.40\00:51:16.27
that I want to
mention that was fulfilled
00:51:16.30\00:51:19.44
before the destruction
of Jerusalem in the year 70.
00:51:19.47\00:51:23.45
That sign is
found in Matthew 24:14.
00:51:23.48\00:51:28.62
It has to do with the
preaching of the gospel.
00:51:28.65\00:51:32.85
It says there in Matthew 24:14,
00:51:32.89\00:51:36.39
"And this gospel of the kingdom
00:51:36.42\00:51:39.06
will be
preached in all the world
00:51:39.09\00:51:41.86
as a witness to all the nations,
00:51:41.90\00:51:44.03
and then the end will come."
00:51:44.07\00:51:45.93
The word world here
is very interesting.
00:51:45.97\00:51:48.54
You know, there's a
world, a word for world,
00:51:48.57\00:51:50.81
which we know
it's the word cosmos
00:51:50.84\00:51:52.84
in Greek, cosmos.
00:51:52.87\00:51:54.91
That basically is
referring to the planet
00:51:54.94\00:51:58.51
or the inhabitants
that are within the planet.
00:51:58.55\00:52:00.82
But this word world that is used
00:52:00.85\00:52:02.88
here is oikoumene,
00:52:02.92\00:52:05.99
basically it means
the inhabited world.
00:52:06.02\00:52:09.12
And at that time we
find that Jesus is speaking
00:52:09.16\00:52:13.56
about the inhabited
world of the Roman Empire.
00:52:13.60\00:52:17.00
So in other words, this
word refers to the Roman Empire.
00:52:17.03\00:52:20.74
Incidentally, the same
word is used in Luke 2:1,
00:52:20.77\00:52:26.57
where we are told
that since Caesar Augustus
00:52:26.61\00:52:29.31
gave a decree that
00:52:29.34\00:52:30.85
the whole world should be taxed.
00:52:30.88\00:52:34.15
Well, the whole
world at that time
00:52:34.18\00:52:36.22
was the Roman Empire.
00:52:36.25\00:52:38.85
You can find this same
word oikoumene in Acts 17:6,
00:52:38.89\00:52:43.56
Revelation 3:10,
00:52:43.59\00:52:45.76
also Revelation 12:9
and Revelation 16:14,
00:52:45.79\00:52:50.13
the word oikoumene,
00:52:50.17\00:52:52.13
which refers to
the inhabited world
00:52:52.17\00:52:54.57
in Matthew 24.
00:52:54.60\00:52:56.17
And its first
application it refers
00:52:56.20\00:52:58.31
to those who
populate the Roman Empire.
00:52:58.34\00:53:03.98
And then the question is,
00:53:04.01\00:53:06.41
did this message go
out to all the world
00:53:06.45\00:53:10.45
in that time period before
the destruction of Jerusalem,
00:53:10.49\00:53:13.42
all of the inhabited
world, all of the Roman Empire?
00:53:13.46\00:53:16.32
The answer is yes.
00:53:16.36\00:53:18.79
In Colossians 1:23.
00:53:18.83\00:53:21.40
Colossians 1:23,
00:53:21.43\00:53:23.16
we find the Apostle
Paul saying that the gospel
00:53:23.20\00:53:26.40
had gone to the entire world.
00:53:26.43\00:53:28.30
You know, the Apostle Paul
made many missionary journeys
00:53:28.34\00:53:31.77
to all of the
realms of the Roman Empire.
00:53:31.81\00:53:34.64
And he established churches
everywhere that he went.
00:53:34.68\00:53:37.51
It says in Colossians 1:23,
00:53:37.55\00:53:40.12
"If indeed you
continue in the faith,
00:53:40.15\00:53:42.92
grounded and steadfast,
00:53:42.95\00:53:45.45
and are not moved away
from the hope of the gospel,
00:53:45.49\00:53:48.22
which you heard,"
now listen to this,
00:53:48.26\00:53:51.26
"which was preached
00:53:51.29\00:53:53.60
to every creature under heaven,
00:53:53.63\00:53:57.93
of which I, Paul
became a minister."
00:53:57.97\00:54:02.24
So Paul is saying,
00:54:02.27\00:54:03.84
the gospel has gone
00:54:03.87\00:54:05.57
to every creature under heaven.
00:54:05.61\00:54:09.98
In Romans 1:8,
00:54:10.01\00:54:12.51
we find another text that refers
00:54:12.55\00:54:15.02
to this
proliferation of the gospel
00:54:15.05\00:54:19.72
in the first century.
00:54:19.75\00:54:21.49
It says in Romans 1:8,
00:54:21.52\00:54:23.43
"First, I thank my
God through Jesus Christ
00:54:23.46\00:54:26.56
for you all, that
your faith is spoken
00:54:26.59\00:54:29.86
of throughout the whole world."
00:54:29.90\00:54:33.67
In other words,
the faith of the Romans
00:54:33.70\00:54:35.54
was discussed and
was described and talked
00:54:35.57\00:54:39.37
about all across
the Roman Empire.
00:54:39.41\00:54:43.55
So Matthew 24:4-14
00:54:43.58\00:54:49.42
were literally
fulfilled with what occurred
00:54:49.45\00:54:53.56
between the death of
Christ and the destruction
00:54:53.59\00:54:56.73
of Jerusalem in the year 70.
00:54:56.76\00:55:00.66
Now, you're probably wondering
about the rest of Matthew 24.
00:55:00.70\00:55:05.83
Well, you know, you
have next in this chapter,
00:55:05.87\00:55:10.14
the abomination of desolation,
was that also fulfilled?
00:55:10.17\00:55:15.18
And the flight of Christians
00:55:15.21\00:55:17.65
from the city
when they saw the sign,
00:55:17.68\00:55:20.25
and this terrible
period of tribulation
00:55:20.28\00:55:23.22
where Jesus says,
00:55:23.25\00:55:25.35
woe to the
women who are pregnant
00:55:25.39\00:55:29.16
at that time or who have
little babies at that time,
00:55:29.19\00:55:32.59
because that's going
to be a terrible time
00:55:32.63\00:55:34.56
where people have to flee
00:55:34.60\00:55:36.30
from the city when
they see this sign.
00:55:36.33\00:55:39.23
And what about
the great tribulation
00:55:39.27\00:55:41.57
that is spoken
of in Matthew 24:21.
00:55:41.60\00:55:46.57
This is a
subject that we are going
00:55:46.61\00:55:48.84
to discuss in our
next study together.
00:55:48.88\00:55:51.95
We are going to take a
look at what the abomination
00:55:51.98\00:55:56.18
of desolation was before
the destruction of a city
00:55:56.22\00:56:00.62
of Jerusalem in the year 70.
00:56:00.66\00:56:03.26
Actually, the abomination
of desolation was set up
00:56:03.29\00:56:06.90
before the city was destroyed.
00:56:06.93\00:56:10.20
We're reminded of the
use of the words abomination
00:56:10.23\00:56:13.57
and desolation with regards
00:56:13.60\00:56:15.84
to the first
destruction of Jerusalem.
00:56:15.87\00:56:17.87
It was because
of the abominations
00:56:17.91\00:56:19.94
of the people
that God eventually
00:56:19.97\00:56:22.58
caused the desolation of
the city and of the land.
00:56:22.61\00:56:26.41
In the same way we
find in Matthew 24,
00:56:26.45\00:56:29.92
the two words, two key
words, abomination, desolation.
00:56:29.95\00:56:34.49
What is the abomination
and what is the desolation?
00:56:34.52\00:56:38.69
Well, the desolation
is the actual destruction
00:56:38.73\00:56:42.90
of the city of Jerusalem.
00:56:42.93\00:56:44.27
It is left desolate.
00:56:44.30\00:56:45.63
But what is meant
by the abomination
00:56:45.67\00:56:48.10
that leads to desolation?
00:56:48.14\00:56:50.27
Well, we need to go
to Luke where it says,
00:56:50.31\00:56:53.07
"When you see the
city of Jerusalem,
00:56:53.11\00:56:54.91
surrounded by armies,
00:56:54.94\00:56:56.95
then know that its
desolation is near."
00:56:56.98\00:57:02.12
That shows that
we need to compare
00:57:02.15\00:57:05.25
the Gospel of Luke Chapter 21
00:57:05.29\00:57:07.66
with Chapter 24 of Matthew,
00:57:07.69\00:57:09.39
because they
compliment one another.
00:57:09.42\00:57:11.59
In other words, what
we don't find in Matthew,
00:57:11.63\00:57:13.60
we find in Mark and Luke,
00:57:13.63\00:57:15.03
what we don't
find in Mark and Luke,
00:57:15.06\00:57:16.73
we find in the
Gospel of Matthew.
00:57:16.77\00:57:19.87
So our next study
would be the abomination
00:57:19.90\00:57:23.41
of desolation in history.
00:57:23.44\00:57:25.97
And we will
study about the siege
00:57:26.01\00:57:29.74
of the Romans of the city,
00:57:29.78\00:57:31.45
their departure from the
city without any expected cause,
00:57:31.48\00:57:35.32
and then how the
Roman legions came back,
00:57:35.35\00:57:38.59
besieged the
city and destroyed it.
00:57:38.62\00:57:41.12
More than a
million Jews perished
00:57:41.16\00:57:43.49
in the destruction of the city.
00:57:43.53\00:57:45.39
But the Christians
who had seen the sign
00:57:45.43\00:57:47.63
of which we'll speak
of in our next program
00:57:47.66\00:57:50.60
escape from the city
00:57:50.63\00:57:52.57
and when the city was destroyed,
00:57:52.60\00:57:54.94
not a single Christian
was destroyed in the siege
00:57:54.97\00:57:59.84
and destruction of
the city of Jerusalem.
00:57:59.87\00:58:01.81
So don't miss the
next exciting episode.
00:58:01.84\00:58:04.65