Recall that in response to His prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple Jesus is answering His disciples’ request for a sign for when such things would take place, which they also associated with His coming and the end of the age (Mat 24:3). In addition to the false Christs and false prophets…
Recall that Jesus has warned His disciples that before His coming and the end of the age many false Christs would arise and mislead many looking for a more worldly leader to give them a more worldly kingdom. Because “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1Jo 5:19), those pledging loyalty…
Recall that just as Ezekiel saw God’s glory depart from Solomon’s temple and rest upon the mountain east of the city (Eze 11:23), so has the hidden glory of Christ forsaken Herod’s temple and repaired to the Mount of Olives which offered a panoramic view of all Jerusalem and especially the temple mount. Apart from…
Recall that Jesus is answering His disciples’ request for a sign that would precede His coming in judgment and the destruction of the Jewish temple that would mark the end of the Jewish age, and which also typifies His coming in judgment and the end of our present age. He has warned that false Christs…
Mat 24:10-11. In His Olivet Discourse after forsaking the temple and predicting its destruction, Jesus is answering His disciples’ request for a sign of when such things would take place, which they associated with His coming and the end of the age (Mat 24:3). After warning of the deception of false Christs who would appeal…
In addition to false Christs and the wars they would support in order to establish a more worldly kingdom, Jesus has warned His disciples of the tribulation such things would cause for His followers who keep His commandments. In standing for the kingdom of God they would be stigmatized as criminals against the kingdoms of…
Recall that Jesus is on the Mount of Olives on His return to Bethany after leaving the temple for the last time, forsaking it to those who would have their worldly spirit fill it rather than His Holy Spirit. In answer to His disciples’ request for a sign that would mark His coming and the…
Baptism and the Gospel of Our Salvation When celebrating baptism and/or the Lord’s Supper it is appropriate to remind ourselves of their significance and meaning in relation to the gospel of our salvation. For we understand that to be saved is not merely to just to say some words and then simply go about our…
The Earth is Polluted Whether as a result of the Exxon Valdez, Love Canal, Bhopal, Three Mile Island, the Kuwait oil fires, Fukushima, the BP oil spill, Chernobyl, or one of the many other environmental disasters that have smitten our planet, it is clear that the earth has been polluted by its inhabitants. Such calamites…
Along with the wars, rumors of wars, famines, plagues and earthquakes that Jesus gave as signs that would precede His coming and that He said were only the beginning of the birth pangs that would mark the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the end of the Jewish age, what additional signs does He…