Isaiah 2:1
"1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2 In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD , to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. "
If these truly are the last days then the largest dispute which requires settling is who should be ruling the world. Those with even a basic scriptural knowledge and faith should know that it is Jesus. Is he ruling now though, and if not when? This is one of the most contended issues in Christianity. If we are to assume he is now ruling then why all the disputes? Certainly the bible was divinely inspired in such a way that his rulership could not be disputed with continued success.
So, what is missing or has been overlooked?
In regards to foremost matters it must be something contained in scripture referencing the presence and manifestation of our King and Lord Jesus Christ. Will this dispute be set straight before, during or after the day belonging to God starts. Certainly the day of the Lord is the start of the tribulation and judgement, so the matter should have opportunity to be set straight immediately before this. In Matthew Chapter 24 our King tells us what to look for in regard to "signs of his presence".
Have we seen them all?
This is an important question.
Why?
Matthew 24: 33 "Likewise also YOU, when YOU see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. "
Who is it that is at the doors?
James 5:9 "Look! The Judge is standing before the doors. "
For this reason I believe the tribulation (judgement) will start during the generation which sees all the things recorded in Matthew 24 prior to verse 29. Why? Here is Matthew CH 24 verse 29;
Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."
Everything up to that point the Judge is still "near at the doors". Once that door opens the tribulation (judgement) starts. Jesus Christs is no longer just "present" but will stand up and begin judging. It is the generation which sees those things recorded prior to verse 29 which Matthew 24:34 refers to:
Matthew 24:34 "Truly I say to YOU that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur. "
So the generation which sees "all" will be the one that endure the entire course of Jesus Christ's Judgement from begining to end. That is unless an individuals judgement is adverse.
The immediate question to ask then is; "has all these things been seen"? My examination of the scriptures and also historical events will show that of those things recorded prior to Matthew 29 the events described in verse 27 have now been seen. Here is what Matthew Chapter 24 verse 27 says;
Matthew 24:27 "For just as the lightning comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the presence of the Son of man will be. "
Our King is not talking about an ordinary manifestation of lightning here. If it is lightning which comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts then it must be an extraordinarily powerful manifestation of lightning. If he was refering to ordinary lightning it would make no difference. If these scriptures are to be fullfilled then, this lightning also must be one of those things that we should see. If I am able to completely reveal all I have found, you also will see "all these things" and be confident that you are in the generation which will endure Jesus Christ's righteous and long awaited Judgement!
If you now want to "see" this lightning please read the following very important blog entry:
http://ablebodiedman.blogspot.com/2004/10/while-researching-something-entirely.html
If you have just finished reading the above mentioned blog entry it would now be a good time to review this entry as it will now progress to the point of identifying when the Judgement should start and the examination of Matthew Chapter 24 should be carefully considered as it now relates to the following:
First of all, it should be understood that we will not know the exact date.
Why?
Matthew 24:42
42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
We are however, admonished that some may have a good idea about the timeframe during which Jesus should arrive in judgement. This is alluded to in the following verse:
Matthew 24:43
"43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into."
Athough we do not know the exact time of day or night that Jesus is coming the scriptures indicate that we should at least be aware of the watch during which this event will take place.
If we are admonished to keep on the watch we should at least be aware of the length of the watch period and also the time the watch starts.
In the above scripture it is referring to a night watch.
During ancient times a night was divided up into intervals of time each of these was a watch.
Here is the Merriam-Webster definition
2 a : any of the definite divisions of the night made by ancient peoples b : one of the indeterminate intervals marking the passage of night -- usually used in plural
In order to "keepn the watch" the watchman would have to know at what time the watch:
1/ Started
2/ The Duration the watch would be.
We have already determined above that the watch starts when "you see all these things" - Mt 24:33
From the discussion of events in Matthew it is not possible to determine the length of the watch .
I hope you agree these scriptures in Matthew Ch 24 do in fact infer that it should be possible to determine the length of the watch.
In a similar manner to many other scriptural revelations it is very likely that a scripture exists elsewhere in the bible which will give us the required information.
Are there any scriptures with similar expressions or parallels to Matthew Chapter 24?
The best way to do this is with a bible concordance which very quickly reveals that Daniel Chapter 12 not only has some startling similarities to Matthew Chapter 24, it also has the actual length of many different times periods recorded within it's same verses. Are these the "watch's" being reffered to in Mathew Ch 24?
The very first verse of Daniel alludes to a period of Judgement or action being taken:
Daniel 12:1
1 "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress
such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered.
There also seems to be a large separation between the faithfull and the evil or the righteous and the wicked as brough out by Daniel 12:10
Daniel 12:10
10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
This is much like Matthews' reference to the Faithfull and Evil Slave. in Matthew 24:45-51.
Notice also the reference to the breaking in pieces of the Holy people in both Daniel and Matthew as follows:
Daniel 12:7 - ASV
" 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the
waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. "
Matthew 24:50-51
50The master of that servant will come on a day when he
does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Certainly these scirptures are reffering to the things which are to happen during the same "watch", breaking or cutting the holy people, servants of God to pieces.
If you are satisfied with the parallel, then we can then apply the time period mentioned in Daniel to the length of the "Watch" in Matthew.
The period in Daniel is said to be "a time, times and a half."
It is interesting to contemplate that the length of a "time" can not be understood until it was revealed by the Apostle John in Revelation chapter 12.
So now, how long is 'a time' so that we can calculate the length of this "watch".
Revelation 12:6
"The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for
her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days."
Revelation 12:14
"The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach."
Therefore:
time, times and half a time = 1260 days
That times must equal 2 times is a rationale whose conclusion must be carefully contemplated.
If you try to make times equal to anything else but 2 times it does not seem to make sense.
So the "watch" we should be concerned with is 1260 days long or about 3 and 1/2 years.
An astute reader should now be able to discern that on the date of my writing this we must be already well within this "watch"!
So when did the watch actually start?
I strongly suspect that the start date of this "watch" can be determined within a period of about 2 weeks.
The rationale for this will follow at a later date.
Regards
ablebodiedman
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