In response to Jesus' prophecy that the Temple would be destroyed, the disciples asked when this would occur and how they would know it was about to happen. Because it was recorded in the Old Testament that the disciples/apostles believed that the Temple would be destroyed at the end of the world, when among other things, Christ Jesus would return/come. [Second Coming]

That is why, in the New Testament, the apostles, Matthew, apostle Mark, apostle Luke, and apostle Paul, apostle James, apostle Peter records the questions of the destruction of the Temple, and what will be the sign of the Lord Jesus Christ return, [Second Coming] and of the end of the age/end of the world/end time. Apostle John affirmed it in the Book of Revelation.

Apostle John has written down everything he saw and swears it is the Word of God guaranteed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, this is the 'Revelation' given by God, the Father to Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, so that He could tell His apostles, disciples, believers, followers, and all those who love God, the Lord Jesus Christ with all their soul, heart, strength, and mind, about the things which are to take place.

What makes the discourse a little difficult to comprehend is that the Lord Jesus Christ intermingles His answers to these questions.

By mentioning these words, that is, Take care, Take heed, and Be warn, Be on your guard, Be on the alert, Do not be alarmed, and going into details, the Lord Jesus Christ provides a conclusion to the answer. Thus, we must be prepared for the Lord Jesus Christ return/coming and must not be taken by surprise.

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to make these revelations to you for the sake of the churches. I am David's line, the root of David and the bright star of the morning. The One, Who guarantees these revelations repeats His promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; Come, Lord Jesus Christ. - Rev. 22:16, 20 -

Jesus left the Temple, and as He was going away His disciples came up to draw His attention to the Temple buildings. Jesus said to them in reply, "You see all these? I tell you solemnly, not a single stone here will be left on another: everything will be destroyed." And when Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives the disciples came and asked the Lord Jesus Christ privately, "Tell us, when is going to happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming/returning and of the end of the world?"

And Jesus answered them, "Take care that no one deceives you; because many will come using My name and saying, "I am the Christ" [The Messiah, The Anointed One] and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars; do not be alarmed, for this is something that must happen, but the end will not be yet.

For nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes here and there. All this is only the beginning of the birth-pangs.

Then, they will hand you over to be tortured and put to death; and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And then, many will fall away; men/women will betray one another and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise; they will deceive many, and with the increase of lawlessness, love in most men/women will grow cold; but the man/woman who stands firm to the end will be saved.

"This Good News of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the whole world as a witness to all the nations. And then the end will come."

So when you see the disastrous abomination, of which the prophet Daniel spoke, set up in the Holy Place (let the reader understand) then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains; if a man/woman is on the housetop, he/she must not come down to collect his/her belongings; if a man/woman is in the fields, he/she must not turn back to fetch his/her cloak. Alas, for those with child or with babies at the breast, when those days come! Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath.

For then there will be great distress such as, until now, since the world began, there never has been, nor ever will be again. And if that time had not been shortened, no one would have survived; but shortened that time shall be, for the sake of those who are chosen.

If anyone says to you, then, "Look, here is the Christ" [The Messiah, The Anointed One] or "He is there" Do not believe it; for false Christs and false prophets will arise and produce great signs and portents, enough to deceive even the chosen, if that were possible. There; I have forewarned you.

If then, they say to you, "Look, He is in the desert" do not go there; "Look, He is in the hiding place" do not believe it; because the coming/returning of the Son of Man/Son of God will be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far into the west. Wherever the corpse is, there will the vultures gather.

Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man/Son of God will appear in heaven; then too all the peoples of the earth will beat their breasts; and they will see the Son of Man/Son of God coming/returning on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet to gather His chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. So with you when you see all these things: know that He is near, at the very gates. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things have taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. But as for that day and hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father only.

As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of Man/Son of God comes/returns. For in those days before the "Flood" people were eating, drinking, taking husbands/wives, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the "Flood" came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man/Son of God comes/returns.

Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he/she would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his/her house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man/Son of God is coming/returning at an hour you do not expect. - Matt. 24:1-44 - Mark 13:1-37 - Luke 21:5-36 - 1 Thes. 5:1-3 - 2 Peter 3:1-18 -

Now, be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming/returning. Think of a farmer; how patiently he/she waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains and the spring rains! You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord's [Lord Jesus Christ] coming/returning will be soon. - James 5:7-8 -

To turn now, brothers and sisters, to the coming/returning of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round Him; please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in this way.

It cannot happen until the Great Revolt has taken place and the Rebel, the Lost One, has appeared. This is the Enemy, the one who claims to be so much greater than all that men/women call 'god', so much greater than anything that is worshipped, that he enthrones himself  in God's sanctuary and claims that he is God.

Surely you remember me telling you about this when I was with you? And you know, too, what is still holding him back from appearing before his appointed time. Rebellion is at work already, but in secret, and the one who is holding it back has first to be removed before the Rebel appears openly. The Lord Jesus Christ will kill him with the breath of His mouth and will annihilate him with His glorious appearance at His coming/returning. [Second Coming]

But when the Rebel comes, Satan (creature) will set to work: there will be all kinds of miracles and a deceptive show of signs and portents, and everything evil that can deceive those who are bound for destruction because they would not grasp the love of the truth which could have saved them. The reason why God is sending a power to delude them and make them believe what is untrue is to condemn all who refuse to believe in the truth and chose wickedness instead. - 2 Thess. 2:1-12 -

But there is one thing, my friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord, 'a day' can mean a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. - 2 Peter 3:8 -

Since everything is coming to an end like this, you should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of the Lord to come/return, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is His promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home.

So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to lives without spot or stain so that He will find you at peace. Think of our Lord's patience as your opportunity to be saved: our brother Paul, who is dear to us, told you this when he wrote to you with the wisdom that is his special gift. He always writes like this when he deals with this sort of subject, and this makes some points in his letter hard to understand; these are the points that uneducated and unbalanced people distort, in the same way as they distort the rest of Sacred Scripture - a fatal thing for them to do.

You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen. - 2 Peter 3:11-18 -

The redeemed will be evaluated and judged by God, the Father, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and will receive their reward of 'Eternal Life' and live in eternal fellowship with God, the Father, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

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Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -