Preparation for the Last Days

[HeraldtheNews]

Salvation first came to the Jews, right? Historically, Israel was God's chosen people, His "bride." They rejected Him repeatedly and they rejected His Son. Thus judgment came to Israel all at once in 70 AD at the conclusion of that age (the Law/Mosaic Age). The wicked Jews alive were gathered into one basket - Jerusalem and slaughtered there during the great tribulation. The righteous Jews were spared and they fled to Pella (gathered into the barn). Thus God passed judgment on His people.

The new age (Messianic) began and we are in that age now. Salvation is for everyone who accepts Jesus. As you pointed out in Mat 12 and in Heb 6, there was to be an "age to come" and we are in that age now. Some call it the Millennium without realizing we are already in it. Others call our age, "the new age." Regardless, Heb 9:27 makes clear, we get our judgment individually upon death.

I heard a great passionate teaching today on the radio as I drove past the area where a prophetic quake had occurred that was confirmed in a dream shortly before it happened, by an African-American pastor who was teaching on Grace-- very moving and inspiring, my life having been spared miraculously a few days ago after passing by on the same winding highway when a bolt that holds the front end of my car together failed right after I drove off the highway--300 feet or so from my destination--come on, how amazing is that?! I walked back 50 feet and found the bolt and tied the front-end together with rope and a screwdriver, and pushed my car into the driveway and was able to put it back together with a lot of sore-muscles... i shouldn't have really, at my age, but you know how us guys are with our cars and asking for directions-- I knew I could fix it, but was still surprised when the drive-shaft and bolt popped back in and the car drove! This should give hope to people who are in the midst of trials which was also on the radio, and which Christian brothers and sisters talk about all the time in this forum and chat rooms-- don't give up hope! A miracle might just be right around the corner! And certainly God's amazing help!

I read recently something St. Francis of Assisi said (those who see all Christians as saints, which is fine too, would say "brother Francis") who said: (from memory) [one way to see the world is that nothing is a miracle--another way is to see that everything is a miracle]. A day or so before the front end of my car failed, I was driving down the same highway and came upon a squirrel in the road.

The squirrel stopped in the middle of the highway and hesitated--frozen up by the oncoming vehicle, not knowing quite what to do, and going forward a few steps, then back a few, forward and back, by the time I reached it, my brakes were locked and I skidded over the squirrel, which managed to make up it's mind and skitter to the side of the road at the last second, to the relief of the driver. The message of this modern encounter with nature, not too distant from Francis of Assisi, is never hesitate once we choose to follow Jesus--never look back; Full-speed ahead; "Point of no return!" Straight into the sun--life or death. Jesus said the same thing-- don't look back, once you "take up the plow," or begin to plow the field-- in order to be truly saved and confirmed and "fit for the Kingdom of Heaven." Most Christians understand that following Christ is a life or death decision-- if threatened with death, as Christians we are not supposed to hesitate even a second, rather than renounce Jesus.

What this is all leading to, if anyone is still reading, is that I believe that the "math works" for these to be approaching the last days, even this spring-- I believe it is in keeping with the Bible to be "on-alert" until after the world's second observance of the Resurrection this weekend (Julian Calendar) and through this spring in the Northern hemisphere.
One confirmation of this was the African-American preacher on the radio today here, just as I passed the area where the prophetic earthquake was in 2016, who was preaching about Jerusalem and the New Millennium, and how Christians would be able to travel between the New Jerusalem and the Old Jerusalem for 1,000 years. So I believe that this New Millennium will be a radically different life, and based on dreams and signs, I believe may be upon us!

As the preacher taught-- there are three kinds of grace:
1) Justification grace (becoming a child of God as a free-gift; past.
2) Sanctification grace (becoming more like Jesus day by day, like a covenant vow to Heaven, like a marriage vow; present.
3) Glorification grace--glorifying God in our lives in amazing, miraculous ways; future rewards in Heaven and/or this life?

(he just taught, justification grace: past; sanctification grace: present; glorification grace: future--the rest is my interpretation).

When you put it all together: quake, hesitating squirrel, miraculous survival of a mechanical failure, all in the same area--
we should learn from the hesitating squirrel-- it's time to cross the road; "today is the day of salvation!" --John the Baptist

"The Kingdom of Heaven is upon us!"--Jesus of Nazareth

[FONT=&quot]t the end of this period (according to Jordanus, on February 24, 1209), Francis heard a sermon on the [/FONT]Gospel of Matthew[FONT=&quot] 10:9 that changed his life. In this gospel, [/FONT]Christ[FONT=&quot] tells his followers that they should go forth and proclaim that the [/FONT]Kingdom of Heaven[FONT=&quot] is upon them, and that they should take no money with them, that they should take no walking stick for the road, and that they should wear no shoes. This made such an impression on Francis that he decided to devote himself wholly to a life of [/FONT]apostolic[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]poverty[FONT=&quot].--Francis of Assisi--from wikipedia[/FONT]

 

[tanakh]

Was there a "falling away" of Jewish people in Jerusalem before Titus was revealed? They were getting paid to offer sacrifices to Rome in the temple. People were paying money to be priests who were not of Levi. The tyrants slaughtered priests and the people in the temple. They burned the food supply and slaughtered their own countrymen. They dressed up as priests too and ate with the sacred temple utensils and drank wine from the holy cups. They turned the temple into a fort and carried out raids into the city, raping, killing and stealing from the people. They dressed up as women and had gay orgies in the temple. Many claimed to be the Messiah and led people astray promising freedom which resulted in death for those who followed these false prophets. So I ask again, could this be considered a falling away of the Jewish people (to be punished) before Titus appeared and was worshipped in the temple?

If so, where is it stated that there will be another falling away, another man of sin and another temple?

The falling away Paul spoke of was connected to the members of the Churches he wrote and preached to not the Jewish nation who rejected their Messiah. You cant fall away from something you had no part of to begin with. He warned of those who falling away from Christ and the truth of the Gospel he was preaching. The destruction of the temple and City was Gods judgement on the nation for rejecting Christ and to put an end to the old covenant system.

Titus was never worshipped in the Temple. Actually he wanted to preserve it but Edomite mercenaries set fire to it in order to extract the Gold from it before he could stop them. It was Nero who wanted to be worshiped there. He planned to have a statue of himself set up in it but died before he had the chance to carry out his plans.

After the revolt led by Simon Bar Kokhba (132-136) under Emperor Hadrian a city named Aelia Capitolina was built over the Jerusalem ruins and a Temple dedicated to Jupiter was constructed on the Temple mount. Jews were banned from the city and Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina in an attempt to wipe out any memory of Judea.