Participants:
Series Code: MAT
Program Code: MAT000002S
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00:22 Shall we pray?
00:24 Father in heaven, as we open Your holy book, 00:27 we ask for the presence of Your Holy Spirit 00:30 to open our minds and hearts to receive Your message. 00:34 We pray this in the precious name of Jesus. 00:37 Amen. 00:38 Before we can understand 00:41 the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70, 00:43 we need to understand 00:45 the first destruction of Jerusalem 00:47 by Nebuchadnezzar in the year 586 BC. 00:53 But we need to go even further back 00:55 to the establishment of Israel 00:57 as God's covenant people at the time of the Exodus. 01:01 Israel was at the foot of Mount Sinai, 01:04 and God offered to make a covenant with them. 01:07 Let's read about this in Exodus 19:4-8. 01:13 God is speaking to Moses, 01:16 "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, 01:19 and how I bore you on eagles' wings 01:21 and brought you to Myself. 01:24 Now therefore, 01:25 if you will indeed obey My voice 01:28 and keep My covenant, 01:30 then you shall be a special treasure to Me 01:33 above all people, for all the earth is Mine. 01:37 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests 01:40 and a holy nation." 01:42 And then God says to Moses, 01:43 "These are the words which you shall speak 01:46 to the children of Israel." 01:48 God is offering to make a covenant with Israel. 01:52 And He says, "If you obey My voice 01:53 and keep My covenant, 01:55 then you will be My special people." 01:58 It continues. 02:00 "So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, 02:03 and laid before them all these words 02:06 which the Lord commanded him." 02:09 So it's laid before the elders, 02:11 then the elders lay it before the people. 02:13 And we notice in verse 8, 02:16 "Then all the people answered together and said, 02:19 'All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.'" 02:23 In other words, we accept the offer of the covenant. 02:27 And then, Moses relays the message back to God. 02:31 It says, "So Moses brought back 02:34 the words of the people to the Lord." 02:38 Now, God also asked Israel 02:40 to build a tabernacle in the wilderness, 02:43 so that He could dwell in their midst. 02:45 We find this in Exodus 25:8, 02:49 where it says, 02:50 "And let them make Me a sanctuary, 02:53 that I may dwell among them." 02:57 When the tabernacle was finished, 02:59 the glorious Shekinah presence of God 03:02 entered the tabernacle. 03:04 We read this in Exodus 40:34-35. 03:09 It says there, "Then the cloud 03:11 covered the tabernacle of meeting, 03:13 and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 03:17 And Moses was not able to 03:18 enter the tabernacle of meeting, 03:20 because the cloud rested above it, 03:22 and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." 03:27 A little later, Israel entered the Promised Land, 03:31 actually, it was 40 years later, 03:33 but compared to the timeframe that we're speaking of, 03:37 there was a short period of time. 03:39 Forty years later, 03:40 Israel entered the Promised Land. 03:42 And eventually, Solomon built a solid temple for the Lord. 03:47 It was no longer a tabernacle 03:48 that could be torn down and transported. 03:52 And when the temple was finished, 03:54 God once again entered the temple 03:57 as the Shekinah Glory. 03:59 We find that in 1 Kings 8:10-11. 04:04 It says there, "And it came to pass 04:06 when the priests came out of the holy place 04:08 that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 04:11 so that the priests could not continue ministering 04:14 because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord 04:18 filled the house of the Lord." 04:21 God wanted to dwell among His people, 04:24 and He wanted His people to be faithful 04:25 to the covenant and obey His voice. 04:28 However, 800 years of apostasy 04:33 followed after the Shekinah entered 04:37 the tabernacle in the wilderness. 04:39 In 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 04:44 we find a description of the unfaithfulness of Israel 04:48 to the covenant. 04:49 We find there these words. 04:51 "Moreover, all the leaders of the priests 04:54 and all the people transgressed more and more, 04:57 according to all the abominations," 04:59 don't forget that word, 05:01 "according to all the abominations 05:02 of the nations, 05:04 and defiled the house of the Lord 05:06 which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 05:09 And the Lord God of their fathers 05:10 sent warnings to them by His messengers, 05:13 rising up early and sending them, 05:15 because He had compassion on His people 05:17 and on His dwelling place. 05:19 However, they mocked the messengers of God, 05:22 despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, 05:26 until the wrath of the Lord arose 05:28 against these people till there was no remedy." 05:33 So the people transgressed the covenant, 05:35 they disobeyed God, 05:37 they practiced the abominations of the nations, 05:39 and they mocked the messengers of God. 05:43 And they scoffed at the prophets of the Lord. 05:47 Israel became a harlot, practicing the abominations 05:52 of the surrounding nations. 05:55 By the way, this is not happening 05:57 among the pagan nations. 05:58 This is happening among God's own professed people, 06:02 those who claim to serve the true God. 06:06 We find in Ezekiel 16:15, 06:11 and then verses 22 and verse 30, 06:14 how Israel apostatized from the Lord. 06:18 It says there in verse, 06:20 actually we'll begin with verse 21. 06:24 "But you trusted in your own beauty, 06:27 played the harlot because of your fame 06:30 and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing 06:34 by who would have it." 06:36 And now comes the key word. 06:38 "And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry, 06:44 you did not remember the days of your youth," 06:48 and it speaks figuratively, 06:50 "when you were naked and bare, 06:52 struggling in your blood. 06:55 How degenerate is your heart, says the Lord God, 06:59 seeing you do all these things, 07:01 the deeds of a brazen harlot." 07:05 Notice that God's people have become a harlot. 07:09 They were practicing 07:11 the abominations of the surrounding nations. 07:13 And these were those who had professed to enter 07:16 into a covenant with the Lord. 07:21 The Prophet Ezekiel in 16:2 once again repeats, 07:25 that the people were committing 07:27 the abominations of the nations. 07:30 This is what made Israel the harlot. 07:33 We find there in Ezekiel 16:2, "Son of man cause Jerusalem to 07:38 know her abominations." 07:41 Jeremiah and Ezekiel, both speak 07:44 about abominations in Jerusalem. 07:47 Jeremiah prophesied before 07:50 the first seeds of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 07:54 and Ezekiel was then taken to Babylon, 07:57 and he prophesied there in Babylon. 07:59 So they are within this historical context 08:03 of the destruction of Jerusalem 08:04 by Nebuchadnezzar in the year 586. 08:08 And so because of Israel's harlotry, 08:11 and because of practicing 08:13 the abominations of the nations, 08:15 God came to judge the people 08:19 in Jerusalem and Israel 08:22 in the entire realm. 08:24 We find in Ezekiel 1:4, 08:27 that God came from the north to judge His people. 08:32 We find in Ezekiel 1:4, these words, 08:36 "Then I looked, and behold, 08:38 a whirlwind was coming out of the north." 08:41 That's heaven. That's where God lives. 08:43 The sides of the north, according to Psalm 48, 08:46 is where God lives. 08:47 So it says, Then I looked, and behold, 08:49 a whirlwind was coming out of the north, 08:51 a great cloud 08:52 with raging fire engulfing itself, 08:55 and brightness was all around it, 08:57 and radiating out of its midst 09:01 like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire." 09:06 You see, God was now coming to judge Jerusalem, 09:09 which is really a word that represents all of Israel, 09:12 all of God's chosen people at that time. 09:16 Ezekiel Chapter 8 is called the abominations chapter. 09:20 The reason why is because 09:22 God shows Ezekiel an abomination 09:24 that is being committed among God's professed people. 09:27 And Ezekiel thinks, "Oh, that's terrible." 09:30 God says, "You haven't seen anything yet. 09:31 I'll show you a greater abomination than this." 09:34 And the process goes on. 09:36 And the chapter ends with the greatest abomination 09:39 that was being committed 09:41 among those who professed to be His own people. 09:45 We find in Ezekiel 8:16-18, 09:48 the culminating abomination that was being committed. 09:52 I'm going to read beginning with verse 16, 09:56 "So he brought me 09:57 into the inner court of the Lord's house, 10:00 and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, 10:03 between the parch and the altar, 10:05 were about 25 men with their backs 10:09 toward the temple of the Lord, 10:11 and their faces toward the east, 10:14 and they were worshipping the sun toward the east." 10:18 The worst abomination was practicing sun worship. 10:23 I want you to remember all of these details. 10:25 Verse 17, "Then he said to me, 10:28 'Have you seen this, O son of man? 10:31 Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah 10:33 to commit the," notice the word again, 10:35 "abominations that they commit here? 10:38 For they have filled the land with violence, 10:41 then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. 10:44 Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 10:47 Therefore I also will act in fury. 10:50 My eye will not spare nor will I have pity, 10:55 and though they cry in My ears 10:57 with a loud voice, I will not hear them. 11:01 So they were practicing the abominations, 11:02 the idolatry of the nations, 11:04 the greatest of them was turning their backs 11:07 to the temple of the Lord and worshiping the sun god. 11:12 Now how did the people fall into this condition? 11:15 It was because of their leaders. 11:19 Notice Jeremiah 5:31. 11:23 Remember, the Prophet Jeremiah lived 11:25 before Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon. 11:28 In the first stage of the captivity, 11:29 there were three stages, 605, 597 and 586. 11:34 Jeremiah 5:31, reads, "Then the prophets, 11:39 the prophets rather, 11:41 prophesy falsely, 11:44 and the priests rule by their own power, 11:48 and My people love to have it so. 11:52 However, what will you do in the end?" 11:56 So notice, the problem was that 11:57 the prophets prophesied falsely, 12:00 the priests ruled by their own power. 12:03 The people were not guilty that's because it says, 12:05 and My people love to have it so. 12:09 They surrounded themselves with priests and with prophets, 12:12 who told them what they wanted to hear. 12:16 So God promised that destruction 12:19 was going to come upon the four corners of the land. 12:22 This is found in Ezekiel 7:1-2, 12:26 "Moreover, the word of the Lord 12:28 came to me saying, 12:29 'And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God 12:33 to the land of Israel: 'An end! 12:36 The end has come upon the four corners of the land." 12:40 Don't forget that, four corners of the land. 12:43 All of these details we will meet again 12:46 later on when we speak about 12:48 the second destruction of Jerusalem, 12:51 and the final destruction of the world. 12:53 So it says, once again, an end, the end has come 12:57 upon the four corners of the land. 13:00 "Now the end has come upon you, 13:02 and I will send My anger against you, 13:04 I will judge you according to your ways, 13:07 and I will repay you for all your," 13:09 here's the word again, "for all your abominations." 13:12 However, not everyone in this city was in apostasy. 13:17 There were some faithful people within the city of Jerusalem. 13:21 In other words, there were two groups, 13:22 those who were truly faithful, 13:25 and those who were practicing the abominations of the nation. 13:29 And so before the destruction came, 13:31 it was necessary to do a work of separation, 13:35 to separate the righteous from the unrighteous, 13:38 to separate the sun worshipers 13:40 from those who worshiped the Creator God. 13:44 You see, in Jerusalem, 13:45 there was a people within the people, 13:48 there was a small faithful remnant within the city. 13:52 I want you to remember this. 13:53 I'll get ahead of myself a little bit. 13:55 In the Book of Revelation, 13:56 you also have a group that sigh and cry. 13:59 It's in Revelation Chapter 18, 14:01 because of the abominations 14:03 that the harlot of Revelation 17 14:05 is committing. 14:06 And then we're going to notice that destruction 14:09 is coming from the four corners of the earth. 14:12 And we're also going to notice that 14:13 it's the sealing work that takes place on the forehead 14:16 before the destruction comes. 14:18 Revelation picks up on what we're talking about here. 14:23 I want you to read. 14:24 I want you to read with me, Ezekiel 9:1-7, 14:28 where we find the description of the judgment of separation 14:32 of those who worship the Creator 14:35 from those who worship the sun god. 14:38 Ezekiel 9:1-7, "Then He called out 14:42 in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, 14:45 'Let those who have charge over the city draw near, 14:48 each with a deadly weapon in his hand. 14:50 And suddenly six men 14:52 came from the direction of the upper gate, 14:54 which faces north, 14:55 each with his battle-ax in his hand. 14:58 One man among them was clothed with linen 15:01 and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. 15:04 They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. 15:08 Now the glory of the God of Israel 15:09 had gone up from the cherub, 15:11 where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. 15:14 And He called to the man clothed with linen, 15:17 who had the writer's inkhorn at his side, 15:20 and the Lord said to him," 15:21 now comes the judgment of separation. 15:24 See, before the destruction, 15:25 there's going to be 15:27 a separation of the sun worshipers 15:29 from those who worship the Creator. 15:31 So it says once again, verse 4, "And the Lord said to him, 15:34 "Go through the midst of the city," 15:36 that is where God's professed people were, 15:38 "through the midst of Jerusalem, 15:40 and put a mark on the foreheads of the men 15:44 who sigh and cry over all the abominations 15:48 that are done within it. 15:50 "Notice once again, the key word, abomination. 15:53 Verse 5, "To the others He said in my hearing, 15:56 'Go after him through this city and kill, 16:00 do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 16:04 Utterly slay old and young men, 16:07 maidens and little children and women, 16:09 but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark, 16:13 and begin at My sanctuary." 16:16 That is with the leaders, 16:17 "So they began with the elders who were before the temple. 16:21 Then he said to them, 16:22 'Defile the temple, 16:23 and fill the courts with the slain. 16:25 Go out!' 16:26 And they went out and killed the city.'" 16:30 But something happened before this took place. 16:33 I just read this passage, 16:34 because I want you to see that 16:36 before the destruction took place, 16:38 before God poured out His wrath, 16:40 there was a sealing work, 16:42 where a seal or a mark was placed on the forehead 16:45 to separate the righteous from the unrighteous, 16:48 so that when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city, 16:51 the righteous would survive the destruction, 16:54 just like in the Book of Revelation, 16:56 the 144,000 will survive the final destruction. 17:01 Before the city was destroyed, 17:03 the Shekinah that have entered the temple 17:06 now departed from the temple. 17:09 Ezekiel 10:18-19 describes the departure of the Shekinah. 17:15 You see in Chapter 1, God, the glory of God 17:17 is coming from heaven 17:18 from the north to enter the temple 17:20 to perform a work of judgment. 17:22 When that work of judgment is over, 17:24 then the Shekinah is going to leave 17:26 the temple desolate. 17:28 Notice Ezekiel 10:18-19, 17:32 "Then the glory of the Lord departed 17:34 from the threshold of the temple 17:36 and stood over the cherubim. 17:39 The cherubim lifted their wings 17:40 and mounted up from the earth in my sight. 17:43 When they went out, the wheels were beside them, 17:46 and they stood at the door of the east gate 17:49 of the Lord's house, 17:50 and the glory of the God of Israel 17:53 was above them." 17:55 So now they've left the sanctuary at the gate, 17:57 east gate of a temple, 18:00 and then the glory leaves a temple 18:02 and lingers for a few moments 18:05 upon the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. 18:09 Notice 11:22-23 of the Book of Ezekiel. 18:14 It says, "Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, 18:18 with the wheels beside them, 18:20 the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. 18:23 And the glory of the Lord went up 18:26 from the midst of a city." 18:28 In other words, it's left, 18:30 the Shekinah has left the temple. 18:32 And now it's going to stand for a few moments 18:35 on the Mount of Olives, east of the city. 18:37 It says in verse 23, "And the glory of the Lord 18:40 went up from the midst of a city 18:41 and stood on the mountain, 18:44 which is on the east side of the city." 18:47 So now the city has been forsaken. 18:50 The Shekinah has left the temple, 18:53 and the abominations will now lead 18:57 to the desolation of a city by Nebuchadnezzar. 19:01 But I want you to notice that there's a sealing, 19:04 when the sealing is finished, 19:06 the Shekinah leaves the temple, 19:10 lingers at the east gate, then leaves 19:13 and lingers on the Mount of Olives, 19:16 then goes back to heaven. 19:17 And the city is now forsaken, and the abominations 19:22 will lead to desolation. 19:26 So who was it that came against the city of Jerusalem? 19:30 It was actually King Nebuchadnezzar. 19:33 And do you know that 19:34 the Bible describes Nebuchadnezzar 19:36 coming like an eagle to destroy the city? 19:39 Let's read several verses that portray ancient Babylon 19:43 and Nebuchadnezzar as coming 19:46 as an eagle to destroy the city. 19:48 Jeremiah 4:13. 19:52 It says, "Behold, he shall come up like clouds, 19:56 and his chariots like a whirlwind. 19:59 His horses are swifter than eagles. 20:02 Woe to us, for we are plundered!" 20:06 Lamentations 4:19. 20:09 Once again, by the way Lamentations was sung, 20:13 when the Jews were being taken captive 20:17 from the city of Jerusalem to Babylon 20:19 and to the dispersion. 20:21 In fact, the Book of Lamentations 20:23 is written in what is known as Qinah metre. 20:27 Qinah metre was a literary style 20:29 that was used in funeral dirges. 20:32 And so the Book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah. 20:36 As the Jews were being taken captive to Babylon, 20:39 they were crying out as they sang this song. 20:43 Notice Lamentations 4:19, 20:46 "Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of heaven. 20:50 Notice once again, the Babylonian armies 20:53 that destroyed Jerusalem are compared to eagles. 20:56 "They pursued us on the mountains 20:58 and lay in wait for us in the wilderness." 21:01 Habakkuk 1:8, 21:04 once again compares the invasion of Babylon 21:06 with the coming of an eagle. 21:08 It says, "Their horses also are swifter than leopards 21:13 and more fierce than evening wolves. 21:15 Their chargers charge ahead, their cavalry comes from afar, 21:20 they fly as the eagle that hastens to eat." 21:25 I can't help but mention here Matthew 24:28, 21:29 where it says that where the carcass is, 21:31 there are the eagles gathered together. 21:34 I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit. 21:35 I want you to start thinking about typology. 21:37 What happened will happen again. 21:40 In Daniel 7:4, in fact, 21:43 Babylon is compared to a lion with eagle's wings. 21:46 It says there in Daniel 7:4, "The first was like a lion, 21:51 and had eagle's wings." 21:54 And for those who has excavated this ancient city of Babylon, 21:58 they found at the entrances, 22:00 sphinxes of lions with eagle's wings. 22:03 So, the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar of the city 22:06 because of its abominations is compared to an eagle. 22:12 Now the city when it was besieged 22:15 by King Nebuchadnezzar 22:17 suffered from three separate scourges or punishments. 22:23 Notice Jeremiah 32:24. 22:27 Jeremiah 32:24, "Look, the siege mounds! 22:32 They have come to the city to take it, 22:35 and the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans 22:39 who fought against it," 22:41 and now notice the three punishments, 22:43 "because of the sword, 22:44 that would mean war, and famine and pestilence." 22:49 These are the very three things that are mentioned 22:52 in Matthew Chapter 24 with regards 22:55 to the second destruction of Jerusalem. 22:58 Now, I want you to notice 23:00 2 Chronicles 36:17-21, 23:05 where the actual destruction of a city is described. 23:10 It says, "Therefore he brought 23:13 against them the king of the Chaldeans, 23:15 who killed their young men," 23:16 this reminds us of Ezekiel 9, 23:18 very similar terminology, "who killed their young men 23:22 with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, 23:25 had no compassion on young man or virgin, 23:28 on the ages or the weak, 23:30 aged or the week, He gave them all into his hand. 23:34 And all the articles from the house of God, 23:36 great and small, 23:38 the treasures of the house of the Lord, 23:40 and the treasures of the king and his leaders 23:42 all these he took to Babylon. 23:44 They burned the house of God, 23:47 broke down the wall of Jerusalem, 23:50 burned all its palaces with fire, 23:52 and destroyed all its precious possessions. 23:54 And those who escaped 23:56 from the sword he carried away to Babylon, 23:58 where they became servants to him 24:00 and his sons 24:01 until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 24:03 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, 24:06 until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. 24:09 As long as she lay desolate, 24:11 she kept Sabbath to fulfill seventy years." 24:13 In other words, 24:15 after the destruction of Jerusalem, 24:16 there was a period of time 24:18 in which the city remained desolate. 24:22 You know, Flavius Josephus actually tells us that 24:26 the Book of Lamentations was sung, 24:28 as the people were agonizing over the destruction of a city 24:33 and they were being taken captive. 24:35 Now, I want you to notice also in Jeremiah 25, 24:39 that the abominations that God's people 24:42 were committing lead to desolation. 24:44 You remember that in Matthew 24, 24:46 you have the abomination of desolation. 24:49 The abomination is a sign. 24:51 It's a sign that desolation or destruction is coming. 24:55 I want you to notice Jeremiah 25, 24:58 we'll read verses 8 and 9, 25:00 and then we'll read verses 11, and we'll jump to verse 18. 25:05 It says in Jeremiah 25:8, 25:08 "Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: 25:10 'Because you have not heard My words, behold, 25:14 I will send and take all the families of the north," 25:17 this is talking about Babylon, 25:20 because Babylon came 25:21 to the Holy Land from the north. 25:23 "So therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: 25:25 'Because you have not heard My words, behold, 25:27 I will send and take all the families of the north,' 25:30 says the Lord and Nebuchadnezzar, 25:32 the king of Babylon, my servant, 25:34 and will bring them against this land, 25:36 against its inhabitants, 25:37 against these nations all around, 25:39 and will utterly destroy them, 25:41 and make them an astonishment, 25:43 a hissing, and perpetual," 25:46 notice the word, "desolations.'" 25:49 Verse 11, "And this whole land shall be a," 25:52 keyword again, "desolation and an astonishment, 25:56 and these nations shall serve 25:57 the king of Babylon seventy years." 25:59 Verse 18, "Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, 26:03 its kings and its princess, to make them," 26:05 here's the key word again, 26:06 "a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, 26:10 and a curse, as it is in this day." 26:14 So you notice, God comes up 26:16 from the north to judge Jerusalem. 26:20 When He judges Jerusalem, 26:22 He places a mark on the foreheads 26:24 of those who sigh and cried 26:26 because of the abominations that are being committed. 26:28 These are God worshippers, the worshipers of the Creator. 26:31 On the other hand, you have those individuals 26:33 who are worshipping the sun, 26:35 they are the wicked within the city. 26:37 And then the Shekinah leaves, 26:40 goes to the east gate of the sanctuary, 26:43 then goes and lingers on the Mount of Olives, 26:47 and then goes off to heaven. 26:48 The city is now abandoned of the glory of God. 26:52 The city is now ready for desolation, 26:57 because of the abominations, 26:58 now the city will suffer desolation. 27:01 Now why was this going to happen? 27:04 It's because they did not listen 27:06 to the voice of the true prophets. 27:09 We find in Jeremiah 25:3-4, you'll see the false prophets. 27:14 If you read Jeremiah, they were saying, 27:16 oh, there's not going to be any destruction. 27:18 God is with this city. 27:19 Don't listen to 27:21 what these prophets are saying, Jeremiah, 27:23 you know, Jeremiah ended up in the dungeon, 27:25 they hated him, his book was burned, and so on. 27:28 Notice what it says in Jeremiah 25:3-4, 27:32 "From a thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, 27:35 king of Judah, even to this day, 27:38 this is the twenty-third year 27:39 in which the word of the Lord has come to me, 27:42 and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, 27:45 God says to His people, but you have not listened. 27:48 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, 27:52 rising early and sending them, 27:55 but you have not listened 27:57 nor inclined your ear to hear." 28:02 Now, there's another thing that we need to take a look at 28:05 before we talk about the restoration of Israel 28:07 after the captivity. 28:10 One of the main reasons why this city was destroyed is 28:14 because the people were desecrating the holy Sabbath. 28:18 In fact, the main reason why the city was destroyed 28:21 is because they were trampling upon God's holy Sabbath. 28:26 You say, "Well, where does the Bible say that?" 28:28 Jeremiah Chapter 17, we'll read verses 24 and 25, 28:34 and then we'll go to verse 27. 28:37 God says to His people, 28:39 "And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully, 28:43 says the Lord, to bring no burden 28:45 to the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, 28:48 but hallow the Sabbath day," 28:50 that means sanctify that Sabbath day, 28:54 "to do no work in it, 28:55 then shall enter the gates of this city kings 28:58 and princes sitting on the throne of David, 29:01 riding in chariots and on horses, 29:03 they and their princess, 29:05 accompanied by men of Judah 29:07 and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 29:09 and this city shall remain forever." 29:11 God is saying, "If you keep the Sabbath, 29:13 if you hallow the Sabbath, 29:14 the city is going to remain forever." 29:16 But there's the other side of the coin. 29:18 Verse 27, "But if you will not heed Me 29:21 to hallow the Sabbath day, 29:23 such as not carrying a burden 29:24 when entering the gates 29:26 of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, 29:28 then I will kindle fire in its gates, 29:31 and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, 29:33 and it shall not be quenched." 29:37 In other words, the trampling on the Sabbath 29:40 was one of the main reasons 29:41 for the destruction of Jerusalem. 29:45 After the captivity and Nehemiah 29:47 had to rebuke the Jews once again 29:50 because they were doing what they did 29:51 before the captivity 29:52 that led to the destruction of Jerusalem. 29:54 Notice Nehemiah 13:15-18. 29:59 Here Nehemiah writes, 30:00 "In those days I saw people in Judah, 30:03 treading wine presses on the Sabbath," 30:05 they were working on the Sabbath, 30:07 "and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys 30:10 with wine, grapes, figs, 30:12 and all kinds of burdens 30:13 which they brought into Jerusalem 30:15 on the Sabbath day. 30:18 And I warned them about the day 30:20 on which they were selling provisions. 30:23 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought fish 30:26 and all kinds of goods, 30:28 and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, 30:32 and in Jerusalem. 30:34 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah 30:36 and said to them, 30:37 'What evil thing is this that you do, 30:40 by which you profane the Sabbath day?'" 30:44 And then he goes back, 30:45 and he talks about the reason for their captivity. 30:48 "Did not your fathers do thus, 30:51 and did not our God bring all this disaster on us 30:55 and on this city? 30:57 Yet you bring added wrath on Israel 31:00 by profaning the Sabbath." 31:03 How interesting, the Sabbath is involved. 31:07 Now, the captivity was only going to last 31:10 for a period of 70 years. 31:12 By the way, this begins in 605 31:15 and ends in the year 536 BC. 31:20 I want to read that in Daniel 9:1-2, 31:23 where Daniel understood that the desolation of Jerusalem 31:27 was going to last a period of 70 years. 31:29 It says there in Daniel 9:1-2, "In the first year of Darius, 31:34 the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, 31:37 who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. 31:40 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, 31:44 understood by the books 31:46 the number of the years specified 31:48 by the word of the Lord 31:49 through Jeremiah the prophet, 31:51 that He would accomplish seventy years 31:55 in the desolations of Jerusalem." 31:58 So the desolation of Jerusalem 32:01 was going to last for a period of 70 years. 32:05 And then prophecy said that 32:07 God was going to restore Israel to the land. 32:11 They would rebuild the temple, they would rebuild the wall, 32:14 they would rebuild the city, 32:16 and they would reestablish their state, 32:18 civil and religious government. 32:21 In other words, they would be restored, 32:23 and they would be given another chance. 32:27 But Daniel also prophesied that 32:30 there would be a second apostasy, 32:32 second abominations 32:33 that would lead to a second desolation 32:36 and destruction of a city of Jerusalem. 32:40 This is described in Daniel 9:25-27, 32:44 which I'm going to read now. 32:46 And once again, you have the keywords, 32:48 abominations and desolate. 32:50 This is speaking not about 32:51 the first destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 32:54 but the second destruction of Jerusalem 32:56 by another pagan general 32:58 by the name of Titus with the Roman legions. 33:02 It says there in Daniel 9:25, 33:05 "Know therefore and understand that 33:06 from the going forth of the command to restore 33:09 and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, 33:11 there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, 33:14 the street shall be built again and the wall, 33:16 even in troublous times." 33:17 After the 62 weeks, that it's understood that 33:21 it's after the 62 and the seven, which is 69. 33:25 And we use the year day principle, 33:27 69 weeks is 483 years. 33:31 In other words, after 483 years, 33:34 the Messiah will come. 33:37 And then it says in verse 26, "After this sixty-two weeks, 33:41 Messiah shall be cut off, 33:42 but not for Himself," 33:44 and then it speaks about 33:45 a second destruction of Jerusalem. 33:48 It says, "And the people of the Prince 33:50 who is to come shall destroy the city 33:53 and the sanctuary." 33:55 This is not the first destruction, 33:57 this is the second destruction. 33:59 So it says here, "The people of the prince 34:01 who is to come shall destroy the city 34:03 and the sanctuary." 34:05 Now, who are the people of the Prince? 34:07 The people of the Prince are the Jew? 34:10 Who is the Prince? 34:12 The prince is Jesus. 34:13 Now you say, "Wait a minute, you're saying that the Jews, 34:17 the people of the Prince, in other words, 34:20 the people of Jesus, the Jews would destroy 34:23 their own city and sanctuary?" 34:25 Yes. 34:26 I wish I had time to go into this 34:27 and prove from Scripture 34:29 that really God destroyed Jerusalem 34:33 for the second time. 34:34 But there are also texts that says that God sent His armies. 34:38 This is a parable in Matthew Chapter 22. 34:41 And then we are told also that 34:44 because of the sins and abominations of the Jews, 34:47 they brought destruction upon their own city, 34:49 so it's God using armies to destroy 34:53 those who had broken the covenant. 34:56 It continues saying, Verse 26 again, 35:00 "After sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, 35:03 but not for Himself. 35:04 And the people of the Prince 35:06 who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, 35:09 the end of it, that is the city 35:11 and the sanctuary shall be with a flood, 35:13 and until the end of the war," 35:15 here's the keyword, "desolations are determined." 35:19 Verse 27, "Then he shall confirm a covenant 35:21 with many for one week." 35:23 This is week number 70. 35:24 "And in the middle of the week, 35:26 He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering." 35:28 This is the death of Christ 35:29 that ended the sacrificial system, 35:31 and now notice the keywords. 35:34 Verse 27 again, 35:35 "Then he shall confirm a covenant 35:36 with many for one week, 35:38 but in the middle of the week, 35:39 He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering 35:42 and the wing of abominations 35:45 shall be one who makes" what? 35:47 "Desolate," here you have abomination, desolation. 35:51 So this is speaking about the Roman armies, 35:53 it says, "Shall come one who makes desolate, 35:57 even until the consummation, 35:59 which is determined, 36:01 which is determined is poured out on the," 36:04 and here's the keyword again, "desolate. 36:07 So after the restoration of Jerusalem, 36:12 and of the Jewish nation, after the captivity, 36:15 there was going to be a period of 490 years 36:19 where grace was going to be given to the Jewish nation 36:23 to shape up if we might say, 36:26 and they would not. 36:27 And so finally, destruction would come upon the city 36:31 because of the abominations for a second time. 36:35 Let's read 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, 36:38 where we have the command to rebuild the temple 36:41 by Cyrus king of Persia. 36:44 "Now in the first year of Cyrus, 36:45 king of Persia, 36:47 that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah 36:49 might be fulfilled, 36:50 the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, 36:53 king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation 36:55 throughout all his kingdom, and also put in writing, 36:58 saying, Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 37:01 All the kingdoms of the earth, 37:03 the Lord God of heaven has given me. 37:07 And He has commanded me to build Him a house 37:09 at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 37:11 Who is among you of all His people? 37:14 May the Lord his God be with him, 37:16 and let him go up!" 37:18 So Cyrus is saying, "Go back to your land, 37:20 and rebuild your temple." 37:22 The temple where the Shekinah had left some time before. 37:28 So now, a second temple is built. 37:32 By the way, the second temple 37:33 was finished in the year 515 BC. 37:38 It took a period of about five years 37:40 to rebuild the temple. 37:42 Now, when the temple was finished, 37:44 it was not even the shadow of what the temple built 37:47 by Solomon was like. 37:49 In fact, in Haggai 2:6-9, 37:53 we find that those who had seen 37:55 the temple built by Solomon, 37:57 and I don't say Solomon's temple, 37:58 because it was the Lord's temple, 38:00 those who had seen the temple that was built by Solomon, 38:03 they said, "Oh, is this temple after captivity, 38:06 nothing in comparison with the temple 38:08 that Solomon built." 38:10 You see there were some of the elder statesman 38:12 that were still alive that had seen the temple 38:15 that was built by Solomon. 38:16 We find in Haggai 2:6-9, 38:21 "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 38:23 'Once more, it is a little while, 38:25 I will shake heaven and earth, 38:27 the sea and dry land, and I will shake all nations, 38:31 and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations." 38:35 You know, this is actually the basis 38:38 for the name of the book that 38:39 Ellen White wrote the Desire of Ages. 38:43 So it's speaking about 38:44 the coming of the Desire of All Nations, 38:47 and then God promises, 38:49 "And I will feel this temple with glory, 38:53 says, the Lord of hosts. 38:54 The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, 38:58 says the Lord of hosts." 38:59 And then God makes a prediction 39:02 that the Jews today are still trying to understand. 39:06 It says in verse 9, 39:08 "The glory of this latter temple 39:11 shall be greater than the former, 39:14 says the Lord of hosts. 39:15 And in this place, I will give peace, 39:18 says the Lord of hosts." 39:21 The Jews are still waiting 39:22 for the fulfillment of this prophecy, 39:24 because that second temple was nothing compared in glory 39:28 with the temple that Solomon built. 39:31 What is meant here by 39:32 the desire of all nations will come, 39:34 will fill this temple with glory? 39:37 And this temple will be greater than the temple 39:40 that was built by Solomon. 39:42 Jesus said, "One greater than the temple is here." 39:45 Well, that Shekinah Glory is Jesus Christ Himself, 39:49 who came and ministered in that second Jewish temple. 39:53 Notice John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh 39:57 and dwelt among us and we beheld His" what? 40:02 "His glory, the glory 40:04 as of the only begotten of the Father, 40:06 full of grace and truth." 40:08 You see Jesus Christ Himself ministered in that temple, 40:12 He was the Shekinah Glory. 40:14 That's what made the second temple 40:15 more glorious than the first. 40:18 But the people rejected the message of Christ. 40:22 We find this sad story in the gospels. 40:26 So Jesus now descends from the east, 40:29 and He comes to the temple for the last time. 40:31 The story is in Luke 19:37-38, 40:34 "Then, as He was now drawing 40:38 near the descent of the Mount of Olives, 40:41 the whole multitude of the disciples 40:43 began to rejoice and praise God 40:45 with a loud voice for all the mighty works 40:48 they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King 40:51 who comes in the name of the Lord! 40:53 Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 40:57 For now, Jesus descends from the east, 40:59 the Mount of Olives, 41:00 and He comes through the east gate, 41:02 to the Golden Gate, and He enters the temple. 41:06 Notice Matthew 21:12-13. 41:10 This is going to be His final ministration 41:12 in the Jewish temple, the second Jewish temple. 41:14 It says there in Matthew 21:12-13, 41:17 "Then Jesus went into the temple of God," 41:20 notice the terminology, it was still the temple of God, 41:24 "and drove out all those who bought 41:26 and sold in the temple, 41:28 and overturned the tables of the money changers 41:31 and seats of those who sold doves. 41:34 And He said to them, 'It is written, 41:36 My house shall be called a house of prayer, 41:39 but you have made it a den of thieves.'" 41:42 So notice, when He enters the temple, 41:44 it's the temple of God. 41:46 And Jesus refers to it as My house. 41:50 Then Jesus tells some parables 41:52 from Chapter 21 through Chapter 23. 41:57 One of those parables was the parable of fig tree. 42:00 The fig tree was a symbol of Israel. 42:02 He saw fig tree in the distance. 42:04 So He said to His disciples, 42:05 "Let's go get something to eat," 42:07 because the fig tree had leaves and if it had leaves, 42:09 it was supposed to have fruit. 42:11 But when He arrives at the fig tree, 42:12 it has absolutely no fruit. 42:16 And so Jesus curses the fig tree, 42:19 a symbol of Israel. 42:21 It says there in Matthew 21:18, 42:24 as well as verse 19. 42:26 "Now in the morning, 42:28 as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 42:30 And seen a fig tree by the road, 42:31 He came to it and found nothing on it 42:34 but leaves, and said to it, 42:36 'Let no fruit grow on you ever again.' 42:40 And immediately the fig tree withered away.'" 42:44 Jesus also told the parable of the vineyard workers. 42:48 So what was Jesus saying 42:50 when the fig tree withered and died away? 42:53 The fig tree was a symbol of the Jewish nation. 42:56 That is a way in which Jesus was saying that 42:59 God's plan for the Hebrew theocracy 43:01 was going to come to an end. 43:03 And by the way, the gospel of Mark says that 43:06 the fig tree was dried up by the roots. 43:10 And Jesus said, "Never again will you be 43:12 the chosen nation to bear the fruit." 43:16 Now, the parable of vineyard workers 43:18 is very interesting. 43:19 It's found in Matthew 21:33-43. 43:24 So let's go through this parable of Jesus 43:26 and see what is the reason 43:29 for the destruction of Jerusalem 43:30 for the second time. 43:32 It says there in verse 33, "Hear another parable: 43:36 There was a certain landowner," the landowner's God the Father, 43:39 "who planted a vineyard," 43:41 the vineyard is the world, 43:44 "set a hedge around it, 43:47 dug a winepress in it and built a tower." 43:49 The tower is the temple. 43:51 "And he leased it to vinedressers 43:53 and went into a far country. 43:56 Now when vintage-time drew near, 43:59 he sent his servants 44:00 to the vinedresser, vinedressers, 44:02 that they might receive its fruit." 44:04 By the way, these are the messengers 44:06 that were sent to Israel, 44:08 before the first captivity, 44:10 before they were taken into Babylonian captivity. 44:14 So he sent his servants to the vinedressers that 44:16 they might receive its fruit. 44:18 What did they do with these messengers? 44:20 Well, we already noticed that 44:22 when we studied about them 44:24 not paying attention to the prophets, 44:26 and not obeying the Lord's voice. 44:29 It says, "And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, 44:32 killed another, and stoned another." 44:34 So after the captivity, more messengers are sent out. 44:37 It says in verse 36, 44:39 "Again he sent out 44:40 other servants more than the first, 44:42 and they did likewise to them." 44:45 And then notice this, "Then, last of all, he sent his son," 44:51 who is that son? 44:52 Jesus, that sounds like pretty final, 44:55 "Last of all He sent His Son to them, saying, 45:00 'They will respect my son.' 45:02 But when the vinedressers saw the son, 45:04 they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. 45:07 Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' 45:11 So they took him 45:12 and cast him out of the vineyard." 45:14 Jesus died outside Jerusalem and killed Him. 45:19 This is the death of Christ at the hands of His own people. 45:22 What could be a greater abomination than this? 45:25 And then we find in verse 40, 45:27 these words, "Therefore," Jesus asked the question, 45:29 "when the owner of the vineyard comes, 45:31 what will he do to those vinedressers? 45:34 Oh, they said to him, 45:36 'He will destroy those wicked men miserably, 45:40 and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers 45:42 who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." 45:45 They're pronouncing their own doom in other words. 45:48 Verse 42, "Jesus said to them, 45:50 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: 45:52 The stone which the builders rejected 45:54 has become the chief cornerstone. 45:57 This was the Lord's doing, 45:58 and it is marvelous in your eyes? 46:00 Therefore I say to you, 46:03 the kingdom of God will be taken from you 46:06 and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.'" 46:10 And that nation is the Gentiles. 46:14 Now the Gentiles will become 46:16 the way in which God will share the message 46:20 with the world. 46:22 The Jewish theocracy came to an end 46:24 as God's instrument to take the gospel to the world. 46:29 And then Jesus, we're told in Chapter 23, 46:34 Jesus leaves the temple for the last time, 46:37 and a very important word is used 46:39 when He forsakes the temple for the last time, 46:42 when the Shekinah leaves. 46:44 It says in Matthew 23, 46:45 and let's just read verse 37 and 38, 46:48 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 46:50 the one who kills the prophets 46:52 and stones those who are sent to her!" 46:54 He's talking about the prophets 46:55 that were sent before the captivity, 46:57 more prophets after the captivity. 47:00 Jesus continues, 47:01 "How often I wanted to gather your children together, 47:04 as a hen gathers her chicks under his wings, 47:08 but you were not willing!" 47:11 And now come the awesome words. 47:14 "See! 47:15 Your house is left on to you desolate." 47:19 A keyword that we've been noticing in Matthew Chapter 24, 47:24 your house is left desolate, in other words, 47:26 and then Jesus walks out of the temple. 47:30 He has abandoned, the Shekinah 47:32 has abandoned the temple for the last time. 47:35 And eventually, it will lead to the desolation of the city 47:39 and the people in the year 70 AD. 47:43 Notice Matthew 24:1-2, 47:46 immediately after leaving the temple, 47:51 we find these words, 47:53 "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, 47:56 and His disciples came up to show 47:58 Him the buildings of the temple. 48:00 And Jesus said to them, 48:03 'Do you not see all these things? 48:05 Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be 48:08 left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 48:12 And now notice here, 48:14 the Shekinah has departed the temple, 48:16 just like we noticed in the Book of Ezekiel. 48:19 Now Jesus leaves the temple desolate, 48:22 which means that the city is going to be destroyed, 48:24 because they did not know the hour of their visitation. 48:28 And then where does Jesus sit? 48:30 He sits on the Mount of Olives, just like the Shekinah, 48:33 before the destruction of Jerusalem 48:35 in the Old Testament. 48:37 It says in verse 3. 48:40 "Now, as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, 48:44 the disciples came to Him privately saying, 48:47 'Tell us, when will these things be, 48:50 and what will be the sign of Your coming 48:52 and of the end of the age?'" 48:54 Interesting. 48:56 So Jesus here is doing exactly 48:59 what the Shekinah did in the Old Testament. 49:01 He has come as a Shekinah to the temple, 49:05 by the way to perform a work of judgment, 49:07 because after He cleansed the temple, 49:09 the poor and the maimed 49:10 and the needy were there in the temple, 49:11 and all the hypocrites had left. 49:14 Very, very interesting. 49:15 You can read this in the other gospels. 49:18 But anyway, so you see that 49:20 what happened in the first destruction of Jerusalem 49:22 also would happen in the second destruction of Jerusalem. 49:27 Now, let's go to Matthew 24:15. 49:30 Matthew 24:15. 49:34 We're moving now forward to the time 49:37 when Jerusalem was under siege, 49:40 and the Roman legions 49:44 were going to surround the city. 49:47 And they were at the point 49:49 where they were going to attack the city, 49:51 everything looked like the city was going to fall. 49:53 And then suddenly, 49:55 we're going to study this a little more later. 49:57 Suddenly Cestius and the Roman troops 50:00 went away from the city. 50:02 And the Jews who were inside of the city 50:04 that said, see God is protecting us. 50:05 And they went after the Roman legions. 50:07 Many soldiers in the Roman legions 50:11 were actually killed, 50:15 but those inside the city, 50:17 who knew what Jesus had said 50:19 in Matthew Chapter 24, said, "We've seen the sign. 50:23 We've seen the sign outside Jerusalem. 50:26 We've seen the abomination of desolation, 50:29 the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies, 50:31 and that is a sign that we are supposed to flee." 50:35 Let's read Matthew 24:15. 50:39 Jesus said, "Therefore when you see 50:42 the abomination of desolation, 50:44 spoken of by Daniel the prophet," 50:46 this is what we read in Daniel Chapter 9, 50:49 the city was going to be restored, 50:51 the religion was going to be restored, 50:53 the temple was going to be rebuilt, 50:55 the Shekinah was going to serve in that temple, 50:58 we already noticed that. 50:59 And so clearly here it says, 51:01 "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, 51:05 spoken of by Daniel the prophet," 51:06 that's what we read from Daniel 9, 51:08 "standing in the holy place," 51:11 those are the Roman armies, 51:12 by the way, "whoever reads, let him understand." 51:15 You say how do we know that this is talking about 51:18 the Roman legions or the Roman armies? 51:21 Because the parallel passage 51:22 in Luke 21:20, tells us as much, 51:27 instead of saying, when you see the abomination of desolation, 51:30 spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 51:32 it says in Matthew, in Luke 21:20, 51:36 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, 51:39 then know that its desolation is near." 51:43 So the city was besieged by the Romans, 51:46 there was no escape. 51:48 So how could God's people see the sign 51:51 and then flee according to what the next verse says, 51:54 in verse 16 of Matthew 24? 51:57 Well, because the Roman legions left, 52:01 according to Josephus, for no explainable reason. 52:03 We know that there was an explainable reason, 52:06 Jesus Himself said that this was going to happen. 52:10 And when those inside the city saw the sign, 52:12 they would flee the city, 52:14 and not one of them would perish. 52:15 So once again, 52:17 you have two groups within the city, 52:19 you have the apostate individuals in the city 52:22 that will be destroyed by the Romans. 52:24 And you have on the other hand, 52:26 those Christians who were faithful to God 52:29 that are going to flee from the city 52:31 before its destruction. 52:34 Now, what was the reason 52:35 for the destruction of Jerusalem? 52:38 Well, in the year 70 AD, 52:41 a pagan king by the name of Titus 52:44 came with eagle's standards. 52:48 And he surrounded the city of Jerusalem. 52:51 This time, there would be no retreat. 52:55 All of the Christians in the city, 52:57 the true believers had fled. 52:59 In the city were only those who were in apostasy, 53:04 who were living an abominable life. 53:07 Once again, we're going to find that within the city, 53:11 there was hunger, pestilence and the sword. 53:17 And Josephus gives us a very interesting detail. 53:20 He says that the Book of Lamentations 53:22 was sung as well by the Jews 53:25 who are being led into captivity 53:27 after the second destruction of Jerusalem. 53:31 So Josephus saw a link 53:33 between the first destruction of Jerusalem 53:35 and the second destruction of Jerusalem. 53:38 And it's notable that as Nebuchadnezzar 53:42 is spoken of as coming like an eagle, 53:44 and Babylon is compared with a lion with eagle's wings. 53:48 You have also the Romans coming with their eagle standards. 53:52 And it's no coincidence that in Matthew 24:28, 53:56 it says, for where the eagle is, 53:59 that "Where the bodies are, 54:02 there will be the eagles as well." 54:06 It's speaking about the Eagles of Rome 54:08 destroying the city of Jerusalem. 54:10 Now, why was the city of Jerusalem destroyed? 54:13 We've already mentioned it, 54:15 it's because they rejected their Messiah. 54:18 We find in Luke 19:41-44, 54:22 a clear description of the reason 54:25 why the city was destroyed. 54:28 It says there in Luke 19:41, "Now as He drew near," 54:33 that is Jesus is drawing near to the city," 54:36 He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 54:40 'If you had known, even you, 54:42 especially in this your day, 54:44 the things that make for your peace!'" 54:47 He's saying, I wish you knew how you could experience peace. 54:51 "But now they are hidden from your eyes. 54:55 For days will come upon you when your enemies, 54:58 speaking about the Roman legions, 55:00 will build an embankment around you," 55:03 this is the siege, "surround you, 55:07 and close you in on every side, 55:11 and level you and your children within you." 55:15 Notice, only those within the city. 55:18 And then it says, "Level you, and your children within you, 55:23 to the ground, 55:24 and they will not leave in you one stone upon another," 55:30 and now is the reason 55:32 "because you did not know 55:34 the time of your visitation." 55:38 The Messiah came and you did not recognize Him. 55:43 He came to His own and His own received Him not. 55:47 What could be a greater abomination than that, 55:52 the rejection of the Messiah? 55:55 You say, "Well, we don't reject the Messiah. 55:57 We're Christians." Yes. 56:00 But as we noticed in our first presentation, 56:03 the sin of the Jews 56:04 and the sin of the Christian world 56:05 at the end of time is very similar. 56:08 The Jews rejected Christ, 56:11 whereas the Christian world is going to reject the law. 56:14 You say, "Well, those are two different sins." 56:16 No, they're not. 56:17 They're the same sin. 56:19 How do we explain it? Very simple. 56:23 The Jews rejected Christ, the world will reject the law, 56:28 which is a reflection of the character of Christ. 56:32 So is it okay to reject 56:34 the reflection of the character of Christ 56:37 while you claim to serve Christ? 56:40 Absolutely not. 56:42 If you love Jesus, you will keep His commandments. 56:46 His commandments are reflection of who He is. 56:49 They describe His character. 56:51 So you can't reject 56:54 the description of His character 56:56 and claim that you are serving Him. 57:00 Now in our next study together, 57:02 we're going to look at the historical fulfillment 57:05 of Matthew 24 in the events that 57:08 led up to the destruction of Jerusalem. 57:11 We're gonna study, Lord willing, 57:12 Matthew 24:1-14. 57:17 And we're gonna dedicate 57:18 and entire lecture to the fulfillment 57:21 of the abomination of desolation literally 57:23 with Jerusalem 57:25 between the year 66 and the year 70. 57:28 But in our next study together, 57:30 we're gonna look at the historical fulfillment 57:33 of Matthew Chapter 24 in the events 57:36 that led up to the destruction of Jerusalem 57:39 and the destruction of the city itself. 57:42 So the first destruction of Jerusalem 57:45 becomes a pattern 57:47 for the second destruction of Jerusalem, 57:49 and both of those destructions 57:51 become patterns or types 57:53 or illustrations of what will happen in the world 57:57 at the end of time with those who claim Christ 58:02 and those who are true followers of Christ. |
Revised 2021-06-20