Day 124 – The Destruction of the Temple and The Great Tribulation!!!

The Destruction of the Temple and The Great Tribulation!!! 
Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.  “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together……. Matthew 24:15-28 
In our previous studies, We see Jesus giving answers to the questions they asked Him saying, “When Will the Temple be destroyed?, what will be the signs of Your Second Coming?, and when will be the end of the Age?” And we have seen How Jesus warned us to be careful of Deceptions and that we will go through the Great Tribulations and only those who endured to the End will be saved. It must be noted that Jesus was providing answers to the three questions they asked Him together. 
Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),“: Here He speaks about the Destruction of the Temple which is one of the questions that they asked(Vs 3). He was talking about the Holy Place which was the Inner part of the Temple. He was referring to the Jewish time here. There is no Temple or Holy Place for the Church. Jesus was here speaking about the destruction of the Temple. The Temple will be destroyed when You see the abomination of Desolation in the Holy Place of the Temple. And History says that a Pig was sacrificed on the Altar in the most Holy Place by the Roman Solider to pollute that Place in the eyes of the Jews. This is probably the abomination of Desolation that happened in that  time the Temple was destroyed. We cannot be dogmatic about what the abomination of Desolation really means. And it was noted “Let the reader understand”. Jesus was speaking about something that would happen to the Jewish people and He was saying to them, You will understand this abomination of Desolation when it happens. 
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.: Notice again that He mentioned Judea specifically to show that He was speaking to the Jewish People. This is not the answer to the second question about the Signs of the Second coming of Christ. It was the answer to when the Temple would be destroyed which took place 40 years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Those who are in Judea should just run to the Mountains when they see that abomination of Desolation in the Temple. Those in the House top should not come down to take anything and those in the field should not bother coming back home to get clothes. Because it was going to be a real terrible time for the Jewish People. We can apply these verses to our lives as Christians though it was addressed to the Jewish people. These verses seems to indicate that at all times, we must be in a state of readiness as we see the signs of the coming of the Lord around us. There should be no need to come down from the House top or Come back from the field when the Lord comes. There should never be a time in our lives where we have to set something right before we are ready to be taken up to meet the Lord or ready to leave this earth. We should be in a constant state of readiness. We should not have to go back to our field or office to settle something. If we have done something wrong, it should be settled immediately at the first opportunity so that we live in a constant state of readiness. My attachments when I am on the House top should not be to the things that are in my house. There should be a detachment in my spirit from the things of Earth to be ready for the coming of the Lord. 
But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath: He continues here with His address to the Jewish people. Those that are pregnant and have nursing babies will find it very difficult to run when the Roman Soldiers comes to destroy the Temple. It would be a very tough time for them. He also charged to Pray that that day shall not fall during winter for winter will make it difficult to run. He spoke about the Sabbath day again showing that this was referring to the Jews. If you flight was on the Sabbath day, You will be easily detected by the Roman Soldiers when they see people running because all the Jews don’t go out on the Sabbath. 
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.: Now Jesus goes back to answer the second Question which is, “What will be the signs of Your Coming?” There will be a great Tribulation that has never been occurred and Christians are going to go through it. But the Tribulation will not be endless. For the sake of God’s Children who are the elect, the days will be shortened. This means that the Elect will be on Earth during the Tribulation. The Elect are the Children of God whom the Lord has purchased with His Blood. The Lord will never allow us to be tempted beyond our abilities even at such time of great Tribulation. I remember when the Lord was speaking to one of the Churches in Revelation, He told the Church at Smyrna that they were going to have Tribulation for Ten days only(Rev 2:10). This is a great comfort we have in every tribulations that we may go through in Life that there is a fixed period determined by God before it starts. We as Humans don’t know when it will end but God knows and when the end comes, one way or the other, God will put it to an end. Many Christians have accepted the teachings that we would not go through the Great Tribulations but if you read through the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, You will find out that it is God’s will that we go through it together. So we need to ask ourselves if it is not our Love for comfort and ease which has made us absorb such a Doctrine. 

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand. “ : Again He speaks about the Elect who are going to be attacked by Devil through Deceptions. And the Deception will take the form of Signs and wonder done in the name of Jesus but which does not lead people to a Godly Life. We have seen the beginning of that even today. A ministry of Signs and wonders which does not lead others to overcoming Sin is a suspect. Because Jesus says, ” Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!(Matt 7:22-23)” what will be important on the Final day is whether You practice Sin or not. If we are taken up with a Ministry because it shows Signs and wonder, then you are immature. What is Important is does the Ministry leads You to be free from Sin? Sickness can never send a Man to Hell. Lameness, blindness or deafness does not break our fellowship with the Lord. It is sin that separates us from God. Beware of False Prophets and False Christs  who because of their signs and wonder you may be deceived in believing that “This Man is a Man of God” One of the greatest Sign of Immaturity among Christians is when they call someone a Man of God because He does Many Signs and wonders in Jesus name. Jesus healed Multitudes but His teachings were to lead people into a Godly Life. We need to be careful to compare any Man’s Ministry with that of Jesus. If He does Signs and wonders but does not preach what Jesus and His Apostles preached, then you can be sure that there is a deception in it. If you are not careful, You will be deceived. For Jesus says, “Even the Elect may be deceived if possible”. And Jesus says, “Behold I have told you in advance”. You will have no excuse that You were not told about the Deceptions in Signs and wonders. I can also say to You as Jesus said, “Behold I have Told you beforehand, I have pointed the Scriptures to You” so if you are still deceived, You have yourself to blame. 
Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.: The Coming of the Lord is not going to be in some secret way. He is not going to come privately into anyone’s room. The Coming of the Lord shall be like Lighting. Every eyes shall see it. There is not going to be a secret rapture. The Holy Spirit said through Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 that, ” Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ” not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.  Let no one deceive you by any means; for THAT DAY WILL NOT COME UNLESS THE FALLING AWAY COMES FIRST , AND THE MAN OF SIN IS REVEALED , THE SON OF PERDITION ,  who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Read this verse carefully. It shows that there would be no rapture unless the Anti-Christ comes first. This teaching of Rapture before Tribulation is totally against what the Bible teaches. The Early Apostles never taught it. The Early Christians never believed it. Countries that have gone through Tribulations never proclaimed it. This teaching came from Countries that have never faced Tribulation in their whole life. In the Acts of Apostles, the Apostles says, ” We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God(Acts 14:22). Peter said in His letter,” Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy(1 Peter 4:12)” Paul Told Timothy,” Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution(2 Timothy 3:12)”. Jesus Himself prayed to the Father saying, ” I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one(John 17:15)”

For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together: Having taking time to show you verses that Points to Us that Christians are going through Great tribulations, and having ready through the Bible. If You still don’t understand or believe it, it is an indication of what kind of Teachings attracts You. You will always find Eagles wherever there are carcass. Because Eagles is attracted to it. And Your attitude towards Tribulation before Rapture shows what really attracts You. If you accept it, It will only make You a better Christian who is prepared to suffer for Christ. But if You reject it and prefer a teaching that says, “Rapture before Tribulation”, then You will be a weak Christian who is only interested in the Comfort and ease in Christian Life and not willing to walk the Narrow Way. 

Dear Friend, Be prepared for the Great Tribulation and You will never Miss Rapture. It is dangerous expecting a Secret Rapture before Tribulation. If the Apostles had believed these, then why didn’t God Rapture them before most of them were killed? Don’t be babes in understanding!!! Be wise. The Day of Rapture will not take place unless the Anti-Christ is revealed. Now is the time to prepare. Be faithful in Little things now and when that day comes, you will be able to stand by the Grace of God. Remember God will never allow you to be tempted beyond Your abilities. May the Grace of God give us Power to stand firm in the coming days(Amen). God bless you. Have a blessed day. 
#Everyday with Jesus.