In beginning God created. Genesis 1:1

 Genesis 1:1 NASB In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

When it comes to Bible translations, I transitioned from the King James version long ago as I came to understand that the NASB was a bit more accurate in translating to English. Many years ago, while listening to Dr. Chuck Missler on the radio, I learned that he preferred the KJV because the problems with that translation were well known, while other, relatively new translations or transliterations, which, too, had issues but, in some cases, were not identified yet. Taking Dr. Missler's advice, I approach them all with a bit of skepticism. That being said, here is a translation that works for me when looking at Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 AFV
(AFV - A Faithful Version) Copyright © 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011; York Publishing Company.

What is so different about the AFV?

It is one of the few versions that puts the word "the" in an italicized format to affirm that it is an added word and used only for the sake of clarity. I do not think verse one needed any added clarity at this point. So verse one could and should be read "In beginning."

You might ask, what difference does it make?

To say, "In the beginning" denotes an emphasis on a specific point in time in which everything happened perfectly. The Hebrew word is rê'shı̂yth and means the first, in place, time, order, or rank (specifically a first fruit.) If you were to hold tightly to a specific point, why does scripture bother to point out other periods in which God/Jesus created? Almost as if the Hebrew is in opposition to a specific point, you should have noticed the reference in definition to this point in time being the first fruit. If there was a first of the fruit, then there were other fruits produced or gathered; none of which takes away from or diminishes the authority and power of God in creation, but it also does NOT limit His creative abilities. So, the more appropriate read of rê'shı̂yth would be "In beginning," as this expresses the idea that creation was a process.

If you feel you need to continue arguing that everything was created at once, with one word, then why wasn't Adam placed here on the earth at that moment? Notice that I did not mention Eve because she clearly came later, and we cannot define how much later she showed up.

What else can I learn from verse one?

That God created created the heavens and the earth.

Create is the Hebrew word bara, meaning to shape, bring about, make, or produce.

How do I look at this and not see a process?

I can, however, see why evolutionists think the way they do; the obvious is that they refuse to acknowledge or consider that there is an omniscient, eternal God that established our moral baseline and placed the knowledge and comprehension of that baseline within us through His Son, Jesus, who put Himself upon that cross in order to give us all salvation and a restored life with the Father. A life without problems or mistakes in it.

Does God have problems or make mistakes?

The answer is an emphatic NO, although someone lacking wisdom will throw in the creation of Lucifer/Satan and say, see, what about that?

Even the angels were given free will, and though we don't know when this Satanic rebellion took place, it was obviously after verse one and was prior to God putting the man in the garden.

This is so much easier on the brain when you can acknowledge that the creation was a process.

If God created the Earth, then it had to be perfect from the beginning. Want evidence?

“For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), "I am the LORD, and there is none else.”
Isaiah 45:18 NASB

Note the words formed and made; Formed is the Hebrew word yāṣar and means to form, fashion, or devise. In my book, this word alone demonstrates a process. Made is the Hebrew word ‛āśāh, meaning to do, make, accomplish, or complete. If it was complete from the moment He spoke it into existence, there would be no reason to complete it sometime later unless something cataclysmic took place.

So God, in making the earth and everything related to it, did it perfectly from the beginning. In other words, it was NOT formless and void unless you can handle a process that allows for the sun and planets to be created out of spinning, formless masses of matter that God had to fashion into something usable (trying to reason that out simply defies logical thought). If God made everything, then He also had to make the formless masses from which He may have formed the universe.

Most of the “Christian community” will adamantly renounce such talk because they believe it implies an agreement with evolution. For someone to suggest that the Creation of the earth, in the Genesis account, could have taken an indeterminate amount of time garners abrasive negativity and the idea that I am now an evolutionist, which I am not.

How do I know that the fall of Satan took place after verse one?

Because verse two declares that the earth is now destroyed.

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2 NASB

Perhaps you have never heard what Jesus said about Satan.

 “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”
Luke 10:18 KJV

Jesus, the creator – according to John's gospel, watched as Satan fell from heaven.

The word fall is the Greek word piptō and means to descend from a higher place to a lower or to be thrust down.

When I apply Jesus's eyewitness account, in which He compares Satan's fall to lightning, it is easy to see that Satan's departure from his heavenly position was fast and powerful.

Why is this important?

Because of the potential damage involved with Satan's impacting the earth, the fall could have had a greater impact than some meteorites, such as those that struck the Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago. An understanding like this makes it far easier to understand that the heavens sustained tremendous violence.

We have another piece of evidence concerning Satan's plummet.

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Revelation 12:7-9 NKJV

Who is the dragon?

Repeatedly, we learn that Satan is the dragon. One of the problems we seem to have is that the Book of Job renders Satan, in heaven, walking among the Sons of God. This gave Satan the opportunity to pursue a course of action against Job. So obviously, Satan did not receive complete destruction with his punishment, or he would not have been able to tempt Jesus nor offer Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth when he tried to tempt Him. His day will come.

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.' "

Matthew 4:8-10 NKJV

Having been thrown down to earth, did God bestow him with authority and power?

No, but Adam did, and that was an aspect of the deception and willing participation in eating the fruit, in opposition to the ONLY rule God placed against the only two humans walking and dominating the earth. And yet, there it is, Satan is offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew ...”.
Genesis 3:5-7 NKJV

They knew they had undone the life and pattern that God had laid out before them, and they knew they had just handed it over to Satan.

Did you see Jesus calling Satan a liar or reminding him that he had been thrown down to earth, stripped of power?

You did not see that because even Jesus knew that Adam had given Satan all this power. This is an interesting way of stating a fact, and it is interesting because Jesus had voluntarily set aside all that HE was to become a human – and He is still a human today.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV

If that is the case, and it is, then how did Jesus come to know and understand that Satan had been given his power through Adam's betrayal?

The most substantial clue we have is a sparse statement about Joseph.

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.”
Matthew 1:18-19 NKJV

Just is the Greek word dikaios and means that he was one that observed divine laws. In a wider sense, Joseph was upright, righteous, and one who kept the commands of God. (Thayer's Definitions)

This title of being righteous was not one you gave yourself but was assigned by a watchful community – in other words, Jews. Because Mary stood her ground and maintained that this baby was implanted by the Holy Spirit, she was considered a tramp, worthy of nothing more than a stoning, and the baby was deemed an illegitimate child – a mumzer and He (the young Jesus) was excluded from entering the synagogue or learning from the rabbis. It may have been possible that Joseph was very capable of teaching the young Jesus.

Obviously, somebody taught Him and taught Him well because, without us having to discuss it, it is clear that He knew the intimate details of the events that happened in the garden on the day that Adam handed the world over to Satan.

Lawlessness will abound, and the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12

When I left off our study in Matthew 24, we were looking at verse 11. The context goes like this: the disciples asked when will these things – the destruction of the temple and His return as the warring Messiah. Jesus began to answer, but the first thing out of His mouth was that they do not allow themselves to be deceived. He then went on to tell them briefly what was coming.

• “For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.”

  Christ is indicative of the Messiah but also the anointed one. This word anointed opens the door to self-appointment.

• “...you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

  Why would this be important in a world where conflict is always going on?

  The statement lends itself to something much larger than local skirmishes.

• For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

  Do names like Ukraine and the Soviet Union sound familiar? How about Israel and Hamas?

• And there will be famines,

  All of which are man-made.

• pestilences,

  This is the Greek word pharmakeia, from which we Americans get our word pharmacy. But it also applies to the neighbor that manufactures meth in his garage and the big businesses pushing their vaccines.

• And earthquakes in various places.

  In case you haven't noticed, earthquakes are popping off all over the globe and are frequently associated with volcanic activity. Read Matthew 24:5-7 NKJV.

“All these are (merely) the beginning of sorrows.”

Verse eleven tells us that during this time, “...many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” Matthew 24:11 NKJV

Rise up? The Greek word egeirō comes from the idea of collecting one's faculties: to waken; to rouse - literally from sleep, and in the extreme, to rouse from death. Now it is getting really dark - To raise again.

Imagine that while driving your car, your mind decides to go to some vivid, white sand beach where you had a great vacation. Suddenly you panic, collect your faculties, and realize that you cannot remember the last quarter mile of driving. It might also apply to the boxer who momentarily gets knocked out while fighting and gets awakened from a blow to the head.

Deceive many?

My thoughts lean toward a mass hypnosis, but that seems too much like something from a comic book, and yet, since October 7th, there is evidence of a mass deception. If you paid attention to the crowds wrapped up in this mass hysteria, most are younger, and I doubt they were ever disciplined for misconduct and, therefore, think that there are no rules. The college campuses where much of this riotous activity is birthed actively feed deception to the young and easily manipulated students through their professors, who arouse pitiful behavior in their students.

With all this in mind, comprehending a mass deception is not so difficult. However, the deception that Jesus speaks of has everything to do with a context; that context leans toward the Orthodox Jewish leadership in Israel.

• First, give this some thought, if you can deceive the leadership, then you should be able to easily deceive the blind followers.

  How is that possible?

Because, by their domineering tactics, they inform the followers what they can read or not read. For the most part, the Jews do not read the Torah for themselves but rely solely on the Rabbis reading it to them. The congregants are NOT, for example, permitted to read the prophet Daniel or Isaiah 53. It sounds like most of the people you sit beside are in Christian churches.

• Secondly: The third temple, which is, at this point, not been built, has a chosen high priest, Rabbi Baruch Kahane. If the priesthood thinks this man is just a fine, young man, with outstanding qualifications, then there is nothing to take note of or to be alarmed.

  Maybe this will help you understand.
  I sat down at the after-service taco fest to eat lunch with a couple from that church that I only knew by face and began one of my random conversations. I did this because I am prone to be an introvert and I need to fight that, and my calling in life is to be a teacher of God's Word.
  I said to the man, did you know that the scripture says nothing about Jesus's occupation except two verses. We assume that He was a carpenter, as His earthly father (a good man, by the way) is understood to have been a carpenter, and it is expected in this ancient culture that a young son would follow in the trade of His father.

  The passages that reflect this are:

  "When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  55  Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?"
  Matthew 13:54-55 NKJV 

  The other passage is:

  “Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him.”
  Mark 6:3 NKJV

  Since Mark's gospel makes no mention of Joseph, the husband of Mary, we can only assume that he has been dead for quite some time.

  In either case, the Greek word translated as carpenter is tekton. This word means a skilled craftsman or artisan) and can include a producer of fabrics, wood articles, and a carpenter. It means to produce, bear, bring forth, and could have included a person who lathed stone pots or wrote poetry.

  An interesting thing happened about a quarter mile outside of Nazareth several years ago. A family owned a plot of land and wished to install a gas station. Well, you don't make a move without the Israeli Antiquities department getting involved, and they discovered an artisan's shop where they had been producing granite articles, such as large stone pots, by lathe. The intriguing thing is that Jesus seemed to know that the home where this wedding in Cana was taking place had such pots. History records that an entrepreneurial Jew realized that granite was not mentioned in the list of things that could be polluted, making that article unusable; therefore, it must always be ceremonially clean. The fact that the craftsman's shop was so close to Jesus's home may imply that He, too, worked there as a craftsman.

  I pointed out how absurd the man's assertion that we should only pay attention to scriptural references, and yet he was wholly given over to Jesus being a carpenter when nothing in scripture upholds his assertion. Now, picture a nation where the majority lives their lives this way.

  So, a piece of information you won't find in the Bible is the Islamic prophetic belief that our false prophet will descend Aaron and will function as the high priest in the new temple. They are also wholeheartedly given to the idea that this false prophet will give himself over to Islam, follow the Mahdi (a man who may well be the antichrist), and that our false prophet will be the enforcer of Sharia law on a global scale. This man, the false prophet, will be the Islamic version of Jesus.

  Just something to think about.

How would you perceive this phrase “rise up” if it applied to one being "wakened" from the dead?

That only happens when God speaks a word over the dead. (Read John 5:21 NAS95. If you must have two witnesses, then look at Deuteronomy 32:39 NAS95)

But didn't the witch of Endor call Samuel up from the dead? (Read 1 Samuel 28)

That is the show that she intended to put on for King Saul, but she screamed because Samuel arose, and he was not too happy about it. That day, Saul was stripped of his kingdom at Samuel's word.

What if this "rising up again" has more to do with something comparable to those fallen angels chained up in the Euphrates? Read Revelation 9:13-15)

Dear Lord, NO, as 1/3 of the earth will die because of their release!

I hope you can begin to understand that this has nothing to do with God's voice. The mere fact that many will be misled is a major part of the puzzle.

Now we look at verse twelve, where it says, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

“All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:8-12 NKJV

Although the hatred for Israel and the Jews has been ongoing since Abraham, this malicious and deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the hatred of Israel and the Jews has been dominating the internet and the news on a daily basis.

Do you want examples of lawlessness?

How about organized mobs that overtake high-end stores and clean them out. What about Antifa, BLM, or the effects of pro-Hamas “parades” or the takeovers of our highways on our “democratic” society? That and more are a part of this lawlessness.

“And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity,” Matthew 24:12 AMPC+

If it is not merely mass hypnosis, then it is like-minded, uneducated people who, with a minimal amount of motivation, are willing to kill some older Jewish man because he verbally withstood your cries to not punish Hamas and its pathetic followers. Here is one of the many headlines about the incident.

AP News – Man involved in confrontation with Jewish protester who died called 911 and cooperated with police

https://apnews.com › article › jewish-man-died-israel...

Nov 8, 2023 — California authorities are seeking help as they investigate the death of a 69-year-old Jewish man after a confrontation at a pro-Palestinian …

The Guardian reported,

“Posts circulated on social media included video of Kessler injured and lying on a sidewalk as people tend to him. The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles reported that Kessler was struck in the head with a megaphone by a pro-Palestinian protester before he fell, which the sheriff’s office has not yet confirmed. An autopsy found Kessler died from a blunt force head injury and that his injuries were consistent with a fall, Dr Christopher Young, the Ventura county medical examiner, said at a news conference on Tuesday. He also had “non-lethal” injuries to the face, Young said. The manner of death was homicide, Young said, but that does not reflect whether a crime occurred.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/07/california-police-man-death-protests-israel-palestine

Matthew 24 was directed at the Jewish people who were following Him. So, when He is talking about a great body, who is He talking about?

The nation of Israel and the Jews.

Could He be talking about the church?

It seems easy to say yes, especially when a quick look around indicates that much of the church has grown cold. But the context presses the knowledgeable to keep our focus on Israel.

So, as you look at the news coming out of Israel, do you see lawlessness and the love of many growing cold?

No doubt about it, and the lawlessness and iniquity do not necessarily have to be coming out of the Israelis. This should be obvious as you watch the reactions of the so-called Palestinians.

The environment associated with Israel removing an entire community that has a driven goal to eradicate Israel is clearly associated with Jesus's prophetic words concerning the time right before His return for His church. 

“We are to know” what is going on around us. A different way to think about Eschatology. Matthew 24.

Thanks to a change in the atmosphere, I am jumping out of our study on Matthew once again.

If I did not say it before, let me say it now. I have been struggling with mild depression. Some would say it is a demonic attack, and I don't doubt it, as Satan would love to stop anyone who has a sincere heart and wants to share the Word and Love of God with others. I feel as if my primary purpose in life is to do just that: share the Word, so it does not take a genius to imagine where this attack has hit me; yep, I lost interest in doing Bible studies, but I will add that there has been a tremendous amount of family-oriented activities taking place and I frequently stop what I am doing and take care of my wife, Doctor appointments, and grandparent duties. Well, sometimes you just have to dig yourself out of the pit, and that is what I am doing now.

Is it merely a strange circumstance that Israel would be attacked in the midst of my spiritual battle on the Sabbath (October 7, 2023), filling the nation of Israel with death, confusion, and war?

I don't think so. What I do believe is that Satan, who knows his time is short, has released his demon hordes upon the earth, and we, who are followers of Jesus Christ, will experience attacks on many levels.

Oh, by the way, though I cannot legitimately claim that I am a Jew, even though I did have a Jewish grandfather who died when I was around 12, because of this, I have progressively turned my heart toward Jerusalem. This attitude makes me feel a bit aggressive when someone attacks my nation.

With our eyes on the Holy Land, we should be hearing messages from Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and 1 Thessalonians, to say the least. I know I can't get enough of intelligent messages about Eschatology – end times events.

With that said, I want to talk about the idea that “we are to know” what is going on around us.

A common verse used to berate those who are excited about the return of Jesus Christ for His bride is this.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”
Matthew 24:36 NKJV

First off, there is a context to this verse, and it has everything to do with Jesus talking exclusively to a Jewish audience.

What importance does that knowledge play in such a bold and rather blatant statement by Jesus?

They were not Christians as yet, for Jesus had not gone back to the Father; therefore, Jesus would not have spoken to them about things that pertained to anyone but Jews. So, everything we see in Matthew's account was directed to Jewish ears and understanding alone.

As for understanding the idea of being the bride, many were Galileans, and Jesus first recorded “miracle” was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Several of the newly chosen disciples were in attendance there. If anyone could understand the depth and meaning of being the bride, it would be a Galilean. If you are having trouble grasping what I mean by the depth of the Galilean wedding, it was bathed in tradition and Jewish understanding and held together by a contractual agreement, which the bride had every right to reject.

Another translation of Matthew 24:36 may give you more understanding.

“But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Matthew 24:36 AMP

The Amplified Bible added words that provide us with alternative understandings, while other [italicized] words provide “synonyms and explanations in brackets and parentheses within the text […] The strength of this version is that it acknowledges that no single English word or phrase can capture precisely the meaning of the Hebrew or Greek.” The quotation is from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplified_Bible#:~:text=is%20unique%20among%20Bible%20versions,of%20the%20Hebrew%20or%20Greek.

So, if you must be one that holds to tradition because this is the way we have always been taught, and, therefore, agree that NO ONE can know the day or the hour, then knowing that we can't know the precise timing, we may easily be able to place ourselves within the season and what we are living in is the Baseball World Series, which we, in America, just experienced.

Let's talk about this phenomenon called the World Series for a moment.

• Do we have an idea when this series of games will take place?

  Yes, it happens on a yearly basis, in September, after a prescribed number of games have been played by every team. That is not the case with Christ's return, as He is first coming to collect His bride. Evidence, in every way, shape, and form, is pointing to Jesus's soon return. We like to refer to this evidence as signs.

• Once the World Series begins, are there things that we can absolutely know about the event?

  The series will be controlled by rules.

  In baseball, three outs bring about changes in the inning and the side as the home team now gets their opportunity at bat and a chance to score.

  There will be a prescribed number of games played within the series to determine the winner. It is not mandatory, however, that the series includes the entirety of the seven games as it is a best-of-seven series, meaning that one team could win the first four games and, therefore, win the series.

  And though each game has nine innings, there can be no tie games, and some games have gone on for well over 12 hours. Typically, the games last about two hours.

  So, as in Jesus coming for His church, there are variables that affect the length of the period we are looking for and at.

The point of this was not to have a discussion of baseball, which may mean little depending on where you live and the restrictions you live under, but to make a point that we can know the timing of the rapture just as we can talk with understanding about the World Series. Since we have established that Baseball has variables, then we must surely know that the rapture or snatching away of the church is filled with variables. Consider this: the game belongs to God, and the rules, though set in scripture, are His as well.

Most translations entitle this next section of the Bible

“Signs of the End of the Age.”

This is how it played out. Having ridden the young colt into Jerusalem, the crowd welcomed Him with wild enthusiasm.

“And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"
Matthew 21:8-9 NKJV

Where do we find the Jewish context of what Matthew conveys?

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.”
Psalms 118:26 NKJV

Leviticus elaborates on the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths.

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.”
Leviticus 23:34 JPS

And there are specific instructions associated with the Feast of Tabernacles.

“And on the first day you shall take the fruit of pleasing trees [and make booths of them], branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick (leafy) trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.”
Leviticus 23:40 AMPC+

The excited crowd anticipated the warring Messiah because all the signs pointed to Yeshua as being that Messiah.

But what did Jesus do?

“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.”
Matthew 21:12-14 KJV

This verbal onslaught went on for days.

“And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.”
Matthew 21:17 KJV

The next day, He went back to the temple.

“Now, when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?" But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'”
Matthew 21:23-25 NKJV

We have records that indicate that He delivered the parable of the two sons, the tenants (which was directed at the Jewish leadership); the wedding feast, and more. He cursed the fig tree because it had no fruit on it; He spoke about paying taxes to Caesar as a rebuttal against those who tried to trap Him; the Sadducees asked Him about the resurrection; and He berated the leadership over the demands that they placed on the people but would not follow themselves.

I imagine that the disciples imagined that they would be killed during this process. After two long days, they left the temple and headed to the Mount of Olives, and this was the best they could come up with.

“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said to them,
"Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
Matthew 24:1-2 NKJV

Jesus, finally seated on the Mount of Olives, begins to answer the question below.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us,
when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
Matthew 24:3 KJV

While the answer to the questions has great depth, Jesus's first response was this.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”
Matthew 24:4 KJV

How many different ways can you be deceived?

Look up the Greek word for deceived, and you get planaō. It means don't let anyone (cause you to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue): - [don't let anyone make you] go astray, deceive, [don't allow yourself to be] seduce[d], to wander, or be [taken] out of the way.

“For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.”
Matthew 24:5 NKJV

This doesn't even make sense to me. Since I know that Jesus will first come in the clouds and gather His church, it doesn't make sense that people would try to portray themselves as the Messiah.

“My name” is the Greek word onoma; it means authority or character. The Word Study Dictionary tells us they will come using the name, title, character, reputation, or the person of Jesus.

An example can be seen in Jeremiah.

“Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own minds”
Jeremiah 14:14 NASB

Deceive? We already covered this. It is the Greek word planaō. It means don't let anyone (cause you to) be [taken] out of the way.

I can remember Jim Jones and David Koresh. The latter managed to tell these fools that he was entitled to have other men's wives. Try that line on me, and you are probably going to get hurt.

So, fools will cause you to go astray from God's truth, which is His Word, and to be taken out of the way – the way is God's way and not what Allah or some guru says. But wait, there is a context, and it is Jesus responding to their Jewish-oriented questions in a manner that they would understand.

So, even if you think you can stay committed to “the truth,” why can't we understand what Jesus or the scripture is saying?

We can, but most will choose not to perceive that the Bible is a Jewish book written to a Jewish audience that somehow applies to us now because we were adopted into the family.

So, how many questions did the disciples ask Jesus?

Their questions covered three distinct events.

• When will these things be?

  This had more to do with the destruction of the temple, which was a relatively short few years away. The immediate destruction happened in 70AD. The future sign and destruction have a specific timing once the antichrist comes into power, and that only happens after the church is removed from the earth.

• “What will be the sign of Your coming?

  The NLT translates this portion in this manner: “What sign will signal your return.” As Jews, they were NOT asking about the church, as the church did not exist yet, and to be honest, filled with Gentiles, they would not have considered those attending to be worthy of the kingdom of God.

  • The first thing to take note of, although since sin made time notable, there have been wars.

    “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...”
    Matthew 24:6-7a NLT

  • Secondly,

    “...There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”
    Matthew 24:7-8b NLT

    I cannot remember a time when some third world nation wasn't suffering famine. Now it is a common conversation pertaining to hunger and our streets here in America. And earthquakes, though common, are now incessantly in excess of 6 and 7s in terms of magnitude.

  • Thirdly,

    “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.”
    Matthew 24:9 NLT

    While we were able to sit unrestrained, in many of our churches, the Spirit of the Lord – the Holy Spirit, had spoken through me, saying, the time is coming when you, too, shall experience persecution, and you will NOT be able to handle it.

    With the war in Israel and heated conversations about abortions, the hatred toward Jews and Christ-followers is growing more each day.

  • Fourth,

    “...Many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.”
    Matthew 24:10 NLT

    I have watched this happen, and if you were paying attention, you would agree.

  • Fifth

    “Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe things that are wrong.”
    Matthew 24:11 ERV

    Who is doing this?

    I honestly cannot imagine such a thing, but there are plenty of highly driven people, like those in the Faith movement, who are trying to act and speak in the authority of the name of Jesus. Consider that Jesus emphasized that deception would be great.

    Who was he talking to?

    Jews, and so our focus is on a Jewish impact.

    Did you know that a Rabbi was picked to be the high priest in the new Jewish temple once it gets built?

    It was reported by Israel 365 News, several years ago that his name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane. Although he did not feel it was the right time for such a declaration to be made, however, in 2022, he was front and center when a preparation to sacrifice on the temple mount was performed. When I showed this man to some friends of mine, they made comments like, he looks like a fine young man; why would you think that he might be the one to cause such a deception? That's my point; such a trusted man would cause such an uproar.