A layman's commentary on John chapter 3. Nicodemus and the incredible assertion.

 Previously, in John's gospel, we watched as Jesus chased the sellers out of the court of the Gentiles. I imagine that the word Gentiles is hard for many of you to understand, as you seem to refuse to apply a Jewish understanding to it.

In scripture, you won't find a reference to the court of the Gentiles, but you will find this:

Revelation 11:2 NASB "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.

Nations is the Greek word ethnos and is interchangeable with gentiles.

We also talked about Jesus' genealogy, or bloodline, and how that in Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph both came from, Mary did something no one had ever done before, she stuck to her “story” of how this pregnancy was God's baby; and by the way, we already know His name, Yeshua.

It is easy to be negative and say, " We have nothing in prophetic scriptures that would validate your having God's baby". But they did have an announcement of this very thing.

Isaiah 7:14 NASB "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

How easy it would have been to say, " Okay, Joseph and I gave in to sexual desire," but that did not happen.

Matthew 1:21 TLV “She will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.”

If Mary told those gossips, who would have gladly stoned her for her sins, that they would refer to this baby as Yeshua, it would have been another reason to stone her.

Look at the predictive words in the Prophet Micah, and think about the fact that when the scribes and chief priests were brought before Herod and questioned concerning this prophesied King of the Jews, a two-year-old child at this point.

Micah 5:2-4 NASB "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." 3) Therefore, He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel. 4) And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth.”

Notice that scribes and chief priests did not deny that scripture spoke of Yeshua, but they would NOT recognize or acknowledge Him. It is interesting that the wise men from another nation, who had followed His star, came to see this child King.

In the world of theatrics, there is a team of people who set the stage for the next scene. We are not given a time frame, and so neither can I tell you how much time has passed between the cleansing of the temple, the confrontations with the scribes and chief priests, and Nicodemus emerging onto the stage. When we watched the Chosen Nicodemus was clearly understood to be a strong presence, but as He comes to Jesus, we find a touch of humility.

John 3:1 NASB “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;”

The NET Bible commentary simply tells us that Nicodemus was "a ruler of the Jews" (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

Finis Dake's commentary makes this unusual statement: “a)[There was a man] One would be as justified to make this a parable, or any other passage where 'there was a man' is used (Mat_12:10; Mrk_3:1.

While there are numerous scriptural references, Dake ends this paragraph by simply stating, All these passages are plain historical ones.

Within Dake's commentary is a piece of information that I was not aware of,
“b)[Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews] A Jewish Rabbi, member of the Sanhedrin, and one of the three richest men in Jerusalem.

I had no idea of his wealth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Bible informs us that this leader, Nicodemus, was frequently mentioned as “Nicodemon ben Gorion", the brother of Josephus ben Gorion (p), the writer of the Wars and Antiquities of the Jews; and there are some things which make it probable, that he was the same with this Nicodemus; for the Nicodemon the Jews speak so much of, lived in this age; as appears, not only from his being the brother of Josephus, but also from his being contemporary with R. Jochanan ben Zaccai, who lived in this time, and until the destruction of the temple; since these two are said (q) to be together at a feast, made for the circumcision of a child. Moreover, he is represented as very rich, and is said to be one of the three rich men in Jerusalem (r), and who was able to have maintained a city ten years

The verse (John 3:1) testifies that Nicodemus was of the Pharisees.

Did you forget that Paul, who used to be called Saul, was, too, a Pharisee?

Philippians 3:4-5 BSB “though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5) circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;”

“A ruler of the Jews.” Ruler is the Greek word archōn, and according to the Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary, this word means that Nicodemus carried any one of these titles: one invested with power and dignity, chief, ruler, prince, magistrate.

Considering that Nicodemus was this powerful, it is puzzling that he came to Jesus in humility and that he could not understand what Jesus was trying to tell him.

As I sit here pondering my statement above, I am reminded that the scribes and Pharisees, for the most part, wanted Jesus and anyone who followed Him dead. There is no way that Nicodemus would have been unaware of such emotions among his subordinates, and what would have stopped them from killing Nicodemus?

John 3:2 NLT “After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Just moments ago, I posed the question, why did such a powerful man come to Jesus in humility?

As you should see from the New Living Translation, Nicodemus waited until it got dark. The majority of translations casually proclaimed, “The same came to Jesus by night.” To point out that Nicodemus waited demonstrates apprehension and planning.

If you watched The Chosen, a Television series that elaborates on situations, such as the meeting between Nicodemus and Jesus, with details that the Bible does not give us, you would have seen two things: 1.) The disciples, generally, did not know where Jesus was as He would go off by Himself, to pray until He was done. That type of communication leads to scheduling problems. It seemed as if, knowing that Nicodemus wanted to have a talk with Jesus, one of the disciples was fortunate enough to make contact with Jesus, and, therefore, made the arrangements, such as setting up the location, some lovely candles, and a table with two chairs. 2.) Note what Nicodemus said: “ Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Nicodemus declared Jesus a Rabbi.
Pause for a moment because that is an incredible assertion.

What did the thief on the cross say to Jesus?

Luke 23:39-43 NKJV Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." 40) But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41) And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." 42) Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." 43) And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

Nicodemus also professed that Jesus was a “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

If Nicodemus had the briefings about Jesus, then he would have understood that the gossips in Nazareth would have declared that Jesus was a Mumzer; and according to Levitical law, he would have been banned from access to the temple, and Sabbatical schooling. There would have been questions about where and how He was educated. The problem with all this was undone by a portion of Nicodemus' assertion, “Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Jesus was not the son of an undeclared father; He was the Son of God, by declaration of the angel Gabriel.

Luke 1:26-33 NAS95 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27) to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28) And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29) But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30) The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31) "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32) "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33) and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

Joseph, a good man, that statement alone carries more weight than pastors or bible teachers care to communicate, was also informed, in a dream, that this was God's baby.

Matthew 1:18-24 NASB Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19) And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20) But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21) "She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22) Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23) "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." 24) And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,

Is it possible that Joseph could not have understood the concept of a Holy Wind from God?

Let's falsely assume for a moment that this concept of the Holy breath of God is a new thing to Joseph's ears.

First, I must tell you I was told, by multiple speakers over the years, that Hebrew had been banned during the era of Roman rule. Apparently, that was not the case. A website entitled, Why did Jesus primarily speak Aramaic instead of Hebrew? gives us this information:

“Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew, emerged as a lingua franca in the Near East long before the time of Jesus. Its rise to prominence can be traced back to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. When the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE, they brought with them their administrative language, Aramaic. The subsequent Babylonian Exile in the 6th century BCE further entrenched Aramaic in Jewish life, as the Jewish people were taken to Babylon, where Aramaic was widely spoken. Upon returning from exile, the Jews brought Aramaic back to Judea and its surrounding regions. Over time, Aramaic became the common spoken language among the Jewish population, while Hebrew remained the language of religious texts and liturgy.”

In “The Chosen,” there was the logical implication that the Romans, by mandate, only spoke Greek. “The Chosen” even had Jesus speaking to some travelers in Egyptian; when questioned about that, He merely replied that He spent some time in Egypt; we know that is true because the angel warned Joseph to flee Bethlehem and go to Egypt when Jesus was around two years old. Having been told that Hebrew was banned and “printed documents – scrolls were destroyed, you would think that this would clearly have a detrimental impact on education. If anyone should have had problems getting educated, it would have been Jesus, and yet “The Chosen” showed Jesus, on several occasions, in Synagogues, where, in one case, the scroll of Isaiah was read from.

Honestly, I am not sure what to believe.
Secondly, even if these scrolls were not banned, the expense of having a scroll copied would have been such a large expenditure that the only copies would have been kept in the Synagogues. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that impoverished communities, like Nazareth, might have been able to only afford one scroll; since Deuteronomy played a significant role in Jesus' conversations and responses, this could have been the primary option for a large, expensive purchase.

What does any of this have to do with Bible study?

Because our “Bible teachers” incessantly make foolish assertions that imply they all had individual Bibles, which borders on the impossible. If I could imply that the disciples would go and grab their Bibles, it would have been the Old Testament only, and they certainly would not have called it that. The “New Testament” was being written in their daily lives.

Holy is the Greek word hagios, and has meanings (according to Mounce) like this: dedicated. Luk_2:23; hallowed; used of things, τὰ ἅγια, the sanctuary; and of persons, saints, e.g., members of the first Christian communities; pure, righteous, ceremonially or morally; holy.

Spirit is the Greek word pneuma and has meanings (according to the NASEC) along the line of: wind, spirit: — breath (3), Spirit (239), spirit (103), spirits (32), spiritual (1), wind (1), winds (1).

The following information comes from a Website called “Hebrew Name for God – The Holy Spirit. It is sub-titled, The Holy Spirit as revealed in the Brit Chadashah.

Their website can be found here by clicking Hebrew Names for God - Ruach HaKodesh.

Ruach Ha-Kodesh is the Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew version, found when I did a translation comparison, reads, Ruach HaKodesh.

Note: HaKadosh is a substantive that means "The Holy One" (as in Ha-Kadosh baruch hu, "the Holy One, blessed be He").

The accent falls at the end: ha-ka-DOSH.

Ruach HaKadosh (Note the spelling,) would mean "the spirit of the holy one" (as in a saint).

It is NOT used for the Holy Spirit... Ruach HaKo'desh means "the holy Spirit," just like har ha-ko'desh means "the holy mountain," admat ha-ko'desh means "the holy land," ir ha-ko'desh means "the holy city," and so on.

So, the virgin girl, Mary, has now been impregnated by the spirit of the holy one; and it is a term that was familiar to the Jewish community.

If it were not for the uneducated, willing to give the new family, with Joseph playing the role of step-dad, a dreadful time, the revulsion of how Joseph and Mary felt would not be known to us. Jesus intentionally placed Himself into the earth's atmosphere, where some would say He had no hope. And yet, the young Jesus, at an age just before He would be brought into manhood, stood His ground, exercising His apologetic with the scribes and Pharisees in the temple at Jerusalem.

“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.