Matthew 24: 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed her light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken. 30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the land will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

I just hope it’s not on Twitter.  Truly, I do. I am not (currently) Twitterpated myself…

Every day, I see it somewhere.  Somewhere online, someone is saying, like the Apostle John, “Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!”

Hey, I’m there with that. I am. Really. But I say so in my heart, with trepidation and hope that I will be ready.  Ready to meet him? Oh, of course.  The Apostle Peter says that THAT should be our top priority!

But also, I have to be ready to live through the time of tribulation, for my Lord, my Savior, my dearest Friend and Master has SAID so.

Please note, again, that Jesus does not equivocate in the above passage.  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,” he says.  “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear,” he goes on.  And finally, “”He will send his angels..and they will gather his elect…”

People.  Read it.  Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, has told us the order of things, here.  He is not being secretive. He WANTS us to know what will happen.

So please, prepare.  Like the virgins in Matthew 25. The wise ones.  Get your lamps ready.  Have extra oil.  We do not know how much time we may have to wait.

And you know what?  The way our world is spiraling right now, I am not giving us all that many years.

Tags: End of the Age, Jesus Christ, prepare, rapture, second coming, tribulation

Jesus, of course, did not go around bandying the term “Antichrist.”  When the apostle John used it, years after Christ’s death and resurrection, it was never intended to be a term associated with the End of the Age as he (John) and his friends had asked the Lord concerning, “back in the day.”

Why not?

Because, Jesus had already told them whom to look for, and it wasn’t an antichrist.  It was someone else. The Abomination that Causes Desolation, as spoken of by the prophet Daniel.

Matthew 24:15 “So when you see the abomination that causes desolation , spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! 17 A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house. 18 And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes. 19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! 20 Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great tribulation, the kind that hasn’t taken place since the beginning of the world until now, and never will again! 22 Unless those days were cut short, no one would survive. But because of the elect those days will be cut short.

Jesus’ friends asked what they should look for, at the End of the Age.  He says “when you see the Abomination that Causes Desolation….”  So, Jesus says there will be one person in particular to look for.  And when that man is seen standing in the holy place, everyone needs to clear out of civilization, really.  There is going to be a great tribulation, the Lord says.  And his people — the elect! — will have to live through it.  God will be merciful and cut the days shorter than they might otherwise be, but even the people of God will have to meet this tribulation.

What did Daniel say, anyway?

Daniel 9:27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”

Daniel 11:31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation. 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action. 33 Those who are wise among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will die by sword and flame, and be captured and plundered for a time.

Next time…  We’ll take a look at that.  Jesus referred to it, so it HAS to be good!

Tags: abomination, Daniel, desolation, End of the Age, Jesus, prophecy, tribulation