Daniel 11, the rise of the king of the North. Verses 17-27

I hate making rookie mistakes, but I am prone to the same errors many of you have encountered; that is, as I was going through my notes I noticed Daniel 11:15, 16 were missing. That would mean that I might have skipped by them when I did the bible study; maybe not. So, for the sake of completion I quickly added them in the previous post; however, this is where I made the rookie error. Note my comments in red
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Daniel 11:16 NASB "But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

As you saw in verse fifteen, there will be no strength to make a stand.

• “ But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him;”

  Antiochus III – also known as Antiochus the Great, is a forerunner and interchangeable with the Antichrist that is coming.

• “he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.”

  The Revised Version translates the verse this way, “and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his hand shall be destruction.”
  This is indicative of what will happen to Israel by the hand of Antichrist.

It seems harmless enough, but the most direct descendant would be Antiochus Epiphanes (IV), for he is the one who desecrated the temple; and, he is the one scholars tend to agree, if they agree, is the pattern for the Antichrist that is coming. But, as I looked again at the descriptives I see in Antiochus the III, are there things here that fit the Antichrist? Yes. Are there exceptions? Yes. An example might be:

Daniel 11:42-45 RV He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43) But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44) But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. 45) And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet, he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

We will get to Daniel 11:42-45 eventually, but for the moment pay attention to the idea that "he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." One might say that this alone indicates that he is not invincible, and he isn't, but it is only the return of Jesus Christ to earth that puts a stop to this guy.

Look at the context of the verses I included and you can see things like Egypt shall not escape; he shall have power over the treasures; "and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps."
In case there is any doubt that this guy meets his end, I give you:

Revelation 19:19-20 RV And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. 20) And the beast was taken and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image: they twain were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone:

Yes, the Antichrist persona is also known as the beast.

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Let's continue on with Daniel 11; and yes, it actually took me four weeks to cover my notes, but I rushed through chapter 12 and I wish I had not done that.

Antiochus the Great and Ptolemy V come to terms. Antiochus gives Ptolemy his daughter who later helps her husband defeat the plans of Antiochus.

Daniel 11:17 NIV He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him.

He, is Antiochus the Great/AKA, Antiochus III.

• To set one’s face in any direction is to determine to go there. The meaning here is, that Antiochus, flushed with success, and resolved to push his conquests to the utmost, would make use of all the forces at his disposal to overcome the Egyptians, and to bring them into subjection to his sway. He had driven Scopas from Coelo-Syria, and from Sidon; had subjected the land of Palestine to his control, and now nothing seemed to prevent his extending his conquests to the utmost limits of his ambition. [Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible]

• From the IVPBBC - Antiochus III's defeat by the Roman, Scipio (191, 190). The increasing Roman control in Greece was established by a peace accord in 196. The Greeks who were unhappy with this new state of affairs made contact with Antiochus, urging him to come to their aid. 
  By this time, Antiochus, anticipating that he would need to neutralize Egypt, had entered a marriage alliance, sending his daughter, Cleopatra, to be Ptolemy V's bride. He expected her to also be a useful spy, but in this, he was disappointed as her loyalties turned to her new husband.

Daniel 11:18 NIV Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him.

Nevertheless, he made his move toward Greece in 192.

Constantly shifting alliances eventually worked against him, and he lost a large portion of his ten thousand troops at Thermopylae in 191.

Antiochus III then resorted to sea battle to try to keep the Romans out of Asia Minor but was again unsuccessful.

By 190 the larger Seleucid army of seventy-thousand men had arrived to reinforce Antiochus's positions. Roman troops under Scipio were only half this strength when the forces met at Magnesia (about fifty miles north of Ephesus). Yet due to lack of training and tactical errors on the part of the Seleucid army, Antiochus was defeated and much of his army slaughtered.

Daniel 11:19 NIV After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.

The terms of surrender were humiliating, devastating and accepted without argument. IVPBBC

Daniel 11:20 AMPC+ Then shall stand up in his place or office one who shall send an exactor of tribute to pass through the glory of the kingdom, but within a few days, he shall be destroyed, [yet] neither in anger nor in battle.

Let's try reading it from the NIV.

Daniel 11:20 NIV "His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.

Who is this successor?

• Seleucus IV Philopator (187-175). This son of Antiochus III had a relatively peaceful reign and appeared to have maintained favorable relations with Jerusalem. The exception alluded to in this verse was when he dispatched one of his chief officials, Heliodorus, to Jerusalem to seize funds that were reported to be either in excess of what was needed or hoarded by anti-Seleucid factions. Before the high priest, Onias III could get to Antioch to appeal the decision and offer explanation,
• Seleucus was assassinated in a plot carried out by Heliodorus, with Antiochus IV suspected by historians of complicity. IVPBBC

Who gained the most from the murder of Seleucus IV's murder? Antiochus IV.

Antiochus Epiphanes and dealings with Israel are pictured in Daniel 11:21-34.

He obtains his rule by flattery.

Daniel 11:21 AMPC+ And in his place or office [in Syria] shall arise a contemptuous and contemptible person, to whom royal majesty and honor of the kingdom have not been given. But he shall come in without warning in time of security and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries, intrigues, and cunning hypocritical conduct. [Dan 8:9-12, Dan 8:23-25]

CJB "There will arise in his place a despicable man not entitled to inherit the majesty of the kingdom, but he will come without warning and gain the kingdom by intrigue.

a contemptuous and contemptible person – The NASB translated this as despicable. The Hebrew word is, bāzāh: A verb meaning to hold in contempt or to despise. The verb means to hold in disdain, to disrespect. It can mean to prefer something more than the thing despised,

• Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164). Antiochus IV, the brother of Seleucus, had been in Rome as a political hostage and was just returning (he had got as far as Athens) when the assassination of his brother took place.
• His goals included converting Jerusalem into a center for Greek culture and helping the Jews to make the transition to becoming Greek citizens with Greek ways.
• The intrigues that he became involved in were many, but certainly, the main one concerning Jerusalem was how he handled the high priesthood.
• The text calls him contemptible, and indeed he was. His title “Epiphanes” means “god manifest”—but the people preferred “Epimanes”—“madman.” While he was certainly a member of the royal line, the throne should have gone to Seleucus's son, Demetrius (who instead was taking Antiochus's place as a hostage in Rome). Another intrigue concerned the throne. He set up a coregency with his nephew (a minor), who a few years later was murdered. IVPBBC

Keep in mind that Antiochus IV Epiphanes is the forerunner for the false prophet of the end times.

Question? How many beasts are we talking about? The Antichrist gets that title, as does the false prophet, and then there are the four empires with lions heads and bears paws, and also that multi-headed beast that emerges from the sea and one of the heads sustains what seems to be a mortal wound. The point is that both characters, the Antichrist and the false prophet, have such similar and destructive characteristics, and, they are both called beasts.

He makes a league with the high priest; deals deceitfully and becomes strong.

Daniel 11:22 CJB Large armies will be broken and swept away before him, as well as the prince of the covenant.

I need to show you a contrasting version.

Daniel 11:22 KJV And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken,... That is, with the help of the forces of Eumenes and Attalus, which were like an inundation of water, the party that was on the side of Heliodorus the usurper were bore down, crushed, and destroyed; and thereby Antiochus had a peaceable settlement in the kingdom: or, "the arms of a flood shall be overflowed from before him, and be broken" (r); either the arms of Heliodorus, the forces he had got together; or the armies of the Egyptians, which, like an overflowing flood, had used to run over Judea, Coelesyria, Phoenicia, and other places, and carry all before them, now should be overflowed, and bore down themselves. [John Gill's commentary]

• prince of the covenant. Onias III was detained by Antiochus, and in the interim Jason, his brother conspired to usurp his position. He (Jason) paid a considerable sum to Antiochus and offered to be cooperative in the Hellenization of Judea (promotion of Greek culture at the expense of Jewish practices).
• Three years later Menelaus, with the probable support of the Tobiads, paid a larger sum and, the precedent having been established, was awarded the office over Jason.
• According to 2 Maccabees, Onias was murdered about 171.
• Many identify him as the prince of the covenant referred to in this verse, but others attach that title to Ptolemy VI (see below). The overwhelming army in some way represents the opponents to Antiochus's reign. This could include internal political opponents, Jewish antagonists or foreign opposition such as that which develops in Egypt. IVPBBC

Daniel 11:23 CJB Alliances will be made with him, but he will undermine them by deceit. Then, although he will have but a small following, he will emerge and become strong.

“The meaning of this seems to be, that at first, his own forces would be small; that he would go up in such a way as not to excite suspicion, but that, either by an increase of his forces there, by uniting himself to confederates, by alluring the people by the promise of rewards, or by gradually taking one town after another and adding them to his dominions, he would become strong. Jahn (Heb. Commonwealth, p. 263) says, “with a small body of troops he made himself master of Memphis, and of all Egypt as far as Alexandria, almost without striking a blow.” IVPBBC

Daniel 11:24 NET. In a time of prosperity for the most productive areas of the province, he will come and accomplish what neither his fathers nor their fathers accomplished. He will distribute loot, spoils, and property to his followers, and he will devise plans against fortified cities, but not for long.

“into tranquillity, and the fattest places of the province" (s); that is, into such places as were in great tranquillity, and men thought themselves safe and secure, and had no suspicion of his designs upon them, and which abounded in wealth and riches: these were either the principal cities in the kingdom of Syria, which he visited in order to establish himself in their good opinion of him; or the chief places of the province of Phoenicia, where he endeavoured to make himself acceptable by his munificence; or it may be the best parts of the kingdom of Egypt are meant, the richest of them, such as Memphis, and the places about it; where, as Sutorius in Jerome says, he went; and which places being fat, producing a large increase, and abounding in wealth, invited him thither; and which wealth he took, and scattered among his friends and soldiers, as in the following clause: "and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers;" none of his ancestors, more near or more remote; not Antiochus the great, nor Seleucus Ceraunus, nor Seleucus Callinicus, nor Antiochus Theos, nor Antiochus Soter, nor Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Syrian empire; for, however greater these might be in power or riches, they were inferior to him in success; though they all, or most of them, however, had their eye upon Egypt, and would gladly have been masters of it; yet none of the kings of Syria prevailed over it, as Antiochus did; and this may also refer to what follows: "he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches;" which he took from the places or rich cities he entered into; and these he plentifully and liberally dispersed among his followers, his soldiers, "the small people" he became strong with, Dan_11:23, whereby he gained their affections and attached them to his interest; and in this his liberality and munificence he is said to abound above all the kings that were before him, in the Apocrypha: John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Makes war against Ptolemy of Egypt who is betrayed and killed and his army defeated.

Daniel 11:25 NIV "With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.

First Egyptian War, 169. Antiochus's dreams of adding Egypt to his kingdom were finally acted on in 169. His invasion was prompted by Egypt's growing animosity and may even have been in response to Egypt's military action, since the first encounter (November 170) was between Pelusium and Gaza. Nonetheless, Antiochus succeeded in capturing the city of Memphis and securing the surrender of Ptolemy VI. IVPBBC

Daniel 11:26 NIV Those who eat from the king's provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle.

Ptolemy VI Philometor (181-146). Ptolemy VI was young when he came to the throne and was aided by two officials, Eulaeus and Lenaeus, who stirred up antagonism against Syria. The humiliation of Ptolemy in the First Egyptian War is thought to have been the result of bad advice given by his two advisors with the intention of undermining him. IVPBBC

Daniel 11:27 NIV The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail because an end will still come at the appointed time.

Unsuccessful siege of Alexandria. After his successful siege of Memphis, the citizens of Alexandria defied him by making Ptolemy's younger brother king. Antiochus took immediate steps to break their revolt but was unable to take the city. As soon as he had returned to Syria, Ptolemy VI disavowed any loyalty to Antiochus and his coregency with his brother was reinstated. IVPBBC

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End times wars of the Bible. Part one.

Almost all my blogs originate from horrific teachings or conversations which demonstrate how little we know or understand. The Wars of the End Times is no exception.

There are a number of wars connected with the end times. Names associated with these wars include God and Magog; Armageddon. Locations are the mountains of Israel and the Megiddo valley.

The Gog/Magog war of Ezekiel 38 and 39

What are the questions that concern us as we try to answer when this battle takes place and who is involved?

Where does this person or army come from?

Ezekiel 38:15 NASB "You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army;

Magog is considered to be in the North, and it is often defined as Moscow, the capital of Russia. However, there are other nations that lie directly north of Israel, and they are Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

Ezekiel 38:2 NASB "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him

Although traditional generalizations point to Moscow, there is another city, which fits in many compelling ways, called Ankara; this just happens to be the capital of Turkey. Because they are a Muslim nation, they may easily exceed Russia in their hatred for Israel.

So when does this war take place?

All we seem to have is a logical assumption. Verses 19 and 20 may give us some clues, though.

Ezekiel 38:19-20 NASB "In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. (20) "The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground.

Because these events sound much like the events we find in Great Tribulation - God's wrath, it is easy to assume that they take place within this time period.

There are some considerations we have to entertain:

The temple must be rebuilt, and as yet, there is no clear decision where to put it. There may be a solution for that, and we find it in Ezekiel 39:1-6

Look at phrases like:

• “I am against you and will bring you against the mountains of Israel.”
• “I will strike your bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand. And, I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety;”
• On that day I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block off those who would pass by.

The strongest potential for a war like this would be now or right after the rapture of the church. And yet, if you apply logic to scripture, where you see the Antichrist crying peace peace, you know must be a reason. Just look around you, and all you see is an escalation of violent talk and actions. As I pointed out, Magog will descend upon the mountains of Israel when the fire from God comes down. The potential for that fire destroying the Mosque that sits there is good, and, this may allow for immediate action in building the third and final temple.

All these considerations have a time frame, and therefore it makes sense that this Gog Magog war is poised to happen quickly and soon.

Do yourself a favor and read Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Another contender for last days Wars is Psalm 83

When you read this, you have to ask, is this present tense or a future event. This question is one of the main reasons why people will say that understanding the Bible is so difficult. The question, however, is necessary; will prompt you to study further, and, give you a greater understanding, should you pursue the answer.

Psalms 83:1-18 NASB A Song, a Psalm of Asaph. O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. (2) For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exalted themselves. (3) They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. (4) They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more." (5) For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant: (6) The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; (7) Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; (8) Assyria also has joined with them; They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah. (9) Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon, (10) Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became as dung for the ground. (11) Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, (12) Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God." (13) O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind. (14) Like fire that burns the forest And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, (15) So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm. (16) Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. (17) Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish, (18) That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.

The common assumption is that Psalm 83 is segregated from all other wars; but is it?

Ezekiel 38:8-10 NASB "After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. (9) "You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you." (10) 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan,

Does the following statement, extracted from the paragraph above, have the potential for demonstrating that Israel will be surrounded?

"You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you."

Certainly, it does; the problematic aspect is the lack of mountains in the Southern regions of Israel and the idea that Gog would be brought down upon the mountains of Israel - in the north. But we ignore verses like:

Ezekiel 39:5-6 NASB "You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken," declares the Lord GOD. (6) "And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.

This verse also speaks of God's wrath falling upon those in the fields and the coastlands. Many see the coast lands as the islands of the Mediterranean. If that is the case, then the scene has been expanded far beyond the limitations of the mountains of Israel.

Since we like to see parallel evidence, then let's consider some other examples that demonstrate multiple nations arising against Israel.

Ezekiel 30:3-6 NASB "For the day is near, Even the day of the LORD is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations. (4) "A sword will come upon Egypt, And anguish will be in Ethiopia; When the slain fall in Egypt, They take away her wealth, And her foundations are torn down. (5) "Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword." (6) 'Thus says the LORD, "Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall And the pride of her power will come down; From Migdol to Syene They will fall within her by the sword," Declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 38:4-5 NASB "I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; (5) Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;

Jeremiah 46:7-10 NASB 7 Who is this that comes up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? 8 Egypt rises up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he says, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. 9 Come up, all of you horses; and rage, all of you chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. 10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

A quick overview of potential nations are:

• Persia (Modern day Iran, however, the range was must larger encompassing all of the Assyria.)
• Ethiopia, Put (Most associate Put with Libya)
• Lydia “along with Caria, Mysia, and Phrygia, a part of the Roman province of Asia (see ASIA). Chief among its cities were Smyrna and Ephesus, two of the most important in Asia Minor, and Smyrna is still the largest and wealthiest city of that part of Turkey.” (Morrish)
• Lud, Ludim [Lu'dim] and the Lydians are one and the same. They are said to have inhabited northwest Africa. This may align with the Sudan.

Nations that come against Israel and where they come from.

If it helps with understanding a look at genealogies will clear things up.

And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. (Gen 10:6)

If this sounds familiar, that is because Ham was one of Noah's sons, and, he was the one who “saw” his father's nakedness and was cursed for it.

Son of Mizraim

Gen 10:13 (UKJV) And Mizraim brings forth Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

1 Chronicles 1:11-12 NASB (11) Mizraim became the father of the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, (12) Pathrus, Casluh, from which the Philistines came, and Caphtor.

Mizraim's descendants are mentioned with Phut and are held to have inhabited the northwest of Africa. Isa. 66:19; Ezek. 27:10. The same district is called LYDIA (though the Hebrew is simply Lud) and its inhabitants, LYDIANS, in Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 30:5. (From a commentary by Moresh)

The Sons of Shem. Gen. 10:22; 1 Chr. 1:17. See SHEM.

Shem had five sons:

• ELAM — originally settled in the province of Persia, of which Susa was the capital.
• ASSHUR — strictly Assyria, but in an extended sense may have included Babylonia and the land of the Chaldees.
• ARPHAXAD — recognized by Josephus and others as the father of the Chaldees. The name is supposed to have been preserved in the province Arrapachitis in northern Assyria.
• LUD — said by Josephus to have been the father of the Lydians of Asia Minor (these are distinct from the Lud and Ludim in Africa).
• ARAM — the name of Syria, but more especially, referring to the high land of Lebanon. Gen. 5:32; Gen. 9:18-27; Gen. 10:21-31; Gen. 11:10, 11; 1 Chr. 17:24. In Luke 3:36 the same name is called SEM.

All of these have had deadly results upon Israel and played various roles in their captivity and dispersion among the nations.

So, we have one decisive battle, the Gog/Magog war, and one possibility, an unnamed war in which Israel is surrounded; however, Israel is and always has been surrounded by enemies. The descriptions we see in Psalm 83 could easily apply to the Gog/Magog war.

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What are some of the signs that tell us we are in the last days?

 Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey (Photo credit: Duckgo AI)

The Monday morning “bible” study initiated with the topic: “What are some of the signs that tell us we are in the last days?” 

I love introductions like this because they can be filled with hope. However, that was not the case this day. Immediately, we were introduced to the following scriptures: Matthew 24:14; Matthew 24:33; and Matthew 24:42-44.

Let's start where the group leader started.

Matthew 24:14 EMTV And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Try to imagine where your thoughts go when you have this verse thrown in your face by some legalistic “brother”, trying to prove that Jesus cannot come back because "we know with certainty" that there are 114 people groups that do not have Bibles in their language. That is what I heard about 17 years ago. 

Fascinating how Iran made the bible illegal. ever since 1979, and yet Jesus himself still shows up at people's doors, in their dreams, and they know who he is. In the case of one man, Jesus showed up over the course of eight years. That man, finally got his family out of Iran and into Rome, was handed a Bible in Persian. The first thing he read when he opened it was Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and I am knocking. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come into him and I will dine with him, and he with Me.” That man told me that this is exactly what Jesus had done all those years, and yet I would not receive him because I was a Muslim. Well, he did come to know and accept Jesus, and he is now an evangelist for God. 

It was not a physical Bible that spoke to him; however, it served as a witness. It was Jesus himself doing the evangelism.

What does this do to our demand that every man gets a printed bible in their hand before the Lord can come back?

Are you not aware that an angel, or angels, will preach the gospel around the globe?

Revelation 14:6 KJV And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

And though Revelation 1:7 does not specifically infer that an angel will spread the gospel, it is clear that every eye will see Him. We foolishly assume that those who witness this event will immediately be slaughtered; that does not appear to be the case.

Revelation 1:7 KJV Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

And although it does not speak about the angels spreading the gospel message, in Colossians Paul tells us this:

Colossians 1:23 KJV If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Paul unquestionably did not go to every creature, and there had not been enough time for the disciples to reach the ends of the earth by the time this letter was written. There is the possibility of an exponential explosion in the number of salvations since the day of Pentecost, but we don't see that. What then does this say about personal responsibility, for every man has the knowledge of good and evil. 

What does that mean; does that imply that God has imprinted his life and character in every man? 

It does, but sometimes it seems as if we "humans" are only a shade above rocks on the evolutionary scale, because - having both been made by God - we humans have the ability, with our free choice, to worship. Yet, we reject Him. The rock, on the other hand, fully understands that man corrupted the existence God put it in, and can and does cry out to God for its redemption.

Look at what we see in Romans 1:18-20:

Romans 1:18-20 KJV For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; (19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. (20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

We hold the truth unrighteousness? 

That statement has nothing to do with a bible; it is what we are doing with an internal truth. 

Did Cain, one of Adam's sons, have a bible? 
No, and yet he had a responsibility to hold the truth in righteousness. 

Did he do that? 
No, he acted out of selfishness and jealousy and killed his brother Abel. 

So, whether you have a printed copy of the scriptures in your hand or not, you will be without excuse.

The second verse that was tossed at us was this:

Matthew 24:33 ESV So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

This is great, but we never touched the signs or anything else that would have established us in this amazing hope, even though we have been looking at this Revelation for several weeks. 

Let's do a quick breakdown.

• Who is the “you” Jesus was talking to?
  The disciples. He is, of course, also speaking to us. Remember, all Scripture is given for our benefit. 2 Timothy 3:16
• And they were what?
  Jews first, disciples second.
• What was their motive for asking the questions that prompted the answers?
  The context begins in Matthew 22 where Jesus had entered triumphantly into Jerusalem, riding on the colt. (Hence the picture.) The people were shouting Hosanna, and the hope was that this would be the time He would show Himself as the Messiah they had longed for. However, He did not do that; instead, He intentionally made a whip of cords and threw the vendors out of the court of the Gentiles. He also raged at the Chief priests and elders about how they had defiled his house. This "verbal" battle lasted for two days until finally, they were all leaving toward the Mount of Olives. It seems the disciples were a little undone by it all. Not sure what to say, one of the disciples points out the temple's structure and the massive stones on which it was built. Thus begins Jesus' responses. Matthew 24:2 ESV But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."

There are definite signs, and Jesus spells out almost all of them, but I will get to that later.

The third verse the group leader threw out that morning was Matthew 24: 42-44 (EMTV).

 "Watch therefore, for you do not know in what hour your Lord is coming. (43) But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have kept watch, and he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. (44) For this reason, you also must be ready, for, at an hour that you think not, the Son of Man comes."

The group leader focused on this for a moment and asked, why does God not want us to know the exact day, time, or hour? 
This kind of thinking is comparable to living in the Dark Ages, and we are no longer in the Dark Ages.

• First, the question is filled with false beliefs and assumptions.
  It is filled with assumptions because even our modern leaders will not take the time to find out if there is something that contradicts their inference; and then, false beliefs, because when confronted with the truth (and I have confronted them on multiple occasions), they refuse to listen to the truth and try to make a workaround so that they can keep their beliefs intact.
• Secondly, if this is really the way God feels, then the most likely reason is that we have a natural tendency to be slackers. This is also the most likely reason the church cannot handle talking about the freedoms we have in Christ. Think about it. If I told you how very simple it is to have this life in Christ, and that you have already been forgiven, you might choose to live an untamed life with no restraints, and perhaps not go to church. What is the problem with all that? Well then, just how is religion supposed to control you, and you are looked at as a source of tomorrow's funding.
  The morning's “discussion” even included a loud rant about how there is not enough preaching on sin and personal responsibility these days.

In light of this, why do we foolishly take passages like Matthew 24:36 NASB: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” A passage that was meant to explain to the disciples what the end-time salvation of the Jews would look like, and apply it to ourselves?

There is a direct answer to this fallacy:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 ESV (1) Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. (2) For you, yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (3) While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (4) But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. (5) For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

Darkness is the Greek word skot'-os and means shadiness, obscurity (literally or figuratively), and darkness.

We are capable of knowing, and we are not in the dark. As a matter of fact, we are not even in the shadows. 

Jesus himself gave us two huge clues, or signs, if you will, about when we might expect him.

Matthew 24:32-34 ESV "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. (33) So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. (34) Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

Israel is that fig tree, and it was transplanted in 1948. A generation has no firm understanding of the time-frame, so we turn to the dictionary, which states: A single succession in natural descent, as the children of the same parents; hence, an age. Thus we say, the third, the fourth, or the tenth generation. But it also applies to the people of the same period or living at the same time. 

So a child born in 1948 would today be 78 and would have lived out all their acknowledged years. Fortunately, or not, God does not seem to be too wrapped up in precise time frames (We have lived in Daniel's seventieth week for over two thousand years). I suppose since God created time, He can do what he wants with it, including making it fit His scheme of things.

If you really want to understand Matthew 24 and 25, then you need to think context.

• Jesus was talking directly to Jews/his disciples, but He was also speaking toward a future audience, and we are that audience.
  In talking to Jewish ears, he said things that their training in the synagogue would have immediately caused them to associate with scripture. Therefore, it was not all mystery as we think. We just need to adjust our thinking.
  You also need to understand that prophecy to a Jew meant that they were looking for a pattern, and therefore Jesus told them things that the prophets like Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Jeremiah had already declared.

You, as a believer, should be aware of what "all these things" are.

• Matthew 24:5 False messiahs will come.
• Matthew 24:6 Wars and rumors of wars
• Matthew 24:7 Nations will rise against nations, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes in various places, and famines.
• Matthew 24:9 ..they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you (the Jews and Israel) will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
• Matthew 24:10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
• Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

  false prophets comes from two words pseudoprophētēs and means: a spurious prophet, a pretended foreteller, or a religious impostor

  
  
• Matthew 24:12 ... lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

This is a shortlist, but you should get the idea. 

One aspect that keeps coming up is the idea of apostasy. 

It means an abandonment of what one has professed, or a total desertion or departure from one's faith or religion. This can apply to the government as well. 

Look around you; can you see this happening? I can.

If you have a desire to know this Jesus that I speak of, merely and sincerely ask him into your life. 

He gave his life so that you could have a restored relationship with him again, and we have the promise that we will spend eternity with Him, in the presence of the Father forever. 
If you ask him, he will come into you and wash you, heal you, and fill you with the power of his Holy Spirit. All you have to do is ask.

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