Signs of the Times

By Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

One common thing that most Christians think about and discuss amongst each other is when the end will come. The disciples were no different for “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. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:1-3 NKJV). Jesus was telling them about the end of the temple. That might have been somewhat disconcerting to them considering it was their church, before Jesus came, where they went to synagogue every Saturday and paid their tithes to and followed the priests thereof. If Jesus came to you and said I am going to destroy your church system including the church headquarters, all the church buildings, and the priesthood and end all of your sacraments, then said follow me, what would you do? What would you say? The people of His hometown “were offended at Him” (Mark 6:3 NKJV) and said “He is out of His mind” (Mark 3:21 NKJV).

Jesus went on to explain to them about the end “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:4-14 NKJV). We can see the following:

1. Many will come in the name of Christ saying that they are Christ or in place of Him. This has clearly happened which I will not explain in this article, but it has been explain in other articles on sharingtheway.com
2. Wars and rumors of wars. That has clearly been going on for the last 1980 years.
3. Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. These also have been going on. We read about them often in the news.
4. Tribulation, persecution, betrayal, hate, murder between those called Christians has been going on for 1900 years. You can read about those in the “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs”.
5. Many false prophets predicting the end and other things have come and gone.
6. Lawlessness. Any person, Christian or not, can see that society is becoming more and more lawless every day. Evil people are often not punished for their deeds. Often they are acquitted of their crimes on technicalities of the law and set free encouraging more evil. Other kinds of lawlessness include putting all forms of sexual immorality on TV and unlimited violence in movies and video games. These things instruct the people and the children that they are okay to do. This causes the “love of many” to grow cold. In other words people do not see instant punishment so they partake of these things moving them further and further away from Christ.
7. The gospel of the kingdom preached in all the world as a witness has not been completed. Jesus is the witness and testimony that is to be preached in all the world. Those He sends out will do it, but it is not yet complete. It has been done partially. In a world where 1 billion out of 7 billion claiming to be Christian shows us that it is not yet complete. Not all will convert, but all must be witnessed to and know that God is real.

Jesus started out talking about the destruction of the temple and then went into the things that would happen before the end of the temple which was a type of the destruction of another temple at the end of the age of man. Josephus wrote about many of the things that occurred just before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD by Titus a general in the Roman army. Realize that the former rains in Joel 2:23 had been poured out, which is described in Acts 2 and the true gospel had been witnessed throughout all Judea for 40 years. Josephus said:

Signs before the fall of Jerusalem – Wars of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3. Thus were the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself; while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation, but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them. Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year. Thus also before the Jews‘ rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus, [Nisan,] and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day time; which lasted for half an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it. At the same festival also, a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple. Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner [court of the] temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these publicly declared that the signal foreshowed the desolation that was coming upon them. Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius [Jyar], a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, ―Let us remove hence.‖ But, what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the son of Ananus, a plebeian and a husbandman, who, four years before the war began, and at a time when the city was in very great peace and prosperity, came to that feast whereon it is our custom for everyone to make tabernacles to God in the temple, began on a sudden to cry aloud, ―A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!‖ This was his cry, as he went about by day and by night, in all the lanes of the city. However, certain of the most eminent among the populace had great indignation at this dire cry of his, and took up the man, and gave him a great number of severe stripes; yet did not he either say anything for himself, or anything peculiar to those that chastised him, but still went on with the same words which he cried before. Hereupon our rulers, supposing, as the case proved to be, that this was a sort of divine fury in the man, brought him to the Roman procurator, where he was whipped till his bones were laid bare; yet he did not make any supplication for himself, nor shed any tears, but turning his voice to the most lamentable tone possible, at every stroke of the whip his answer was, ―Woe, woe to Jerusalem!‖ And when Albinus (for he was then our procurator) asked him, Who he was? and whence he came? and why he uttered such words? he made no manner of reply to what he said, but still did not leave off his melancholy ditty, till Albinus took him to be a madman, and dismissed him. Now, during all the time that passed before the war began, this man did not go near any of the citizens, nor was seen by them while he said so; but he every day uttered these lamentable words, as if it were his premeditated vow, ―Woe, woe to Jerusalem!‖ Nor did he give ill words to any of those that beat him every day, nor good words to those that gave him food; but this was his reply to all men, and indeed no other than a melancholy presage of what was to come. This cry of his was the loudest at the festivals; and he continued this ditty for seven years and five months, without growing hoarse, or being tired therewith, until the very time that he saw his presage in earnest fulfilled in our siege, when it ceased; for as he was going round upon the wall, he cried out with his utmost force, ―Woe, woe to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!‖ And just as he added at the last, ―Woe, woe to myself also!‖ there came a stone out of one of the engines, and smote him, and killed him immediately; and as he was uttering the very same presages he gave up the ghost.

Not long after these signs did the rebellion against the Romans start by the Jews. God gave them many signs, but instead they listened to their leaders and ignored those signs thinking that they were signs that good things were coming. Men have created temples over the last 1900 years since the apostles died out and have led many to serve in those temples thinking that they do God a favor. Jesus said “follow me” (Matt. 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 10:38; 16:24; 19:21) so why do men strive to get people to follow them. God gave men spiritual gifts so that they could lead men to God, but after a while some of these men got confused thinking that men should follow them. Paul said “Brothers, join in imitating [do as he does] me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us” (Philippians 3:17 ESV). He was showing that as long as he followed Christ that people should follow his example and imitate his works (see also 2 Thess. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:16; 1 Tim. 4:12). God gives men gifts so that they can lead the body by example and their gifts “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12 ESV). Every person is to have a job in the ministry and that is a spiritual job. Yet people are led astray because they follow men and are doing the works of men and not of God. If a man gives you a job and you do not hear the Spirit of Christ speaking through that man then you are doing the work of a man. Jesus said His sheep hear His voice. To do the works of God we must have the Holy Spirit with gifts that He gave us and then we must be able to hear His voice to receive the tasks and works that He gives us. Otherwise, we are just doing what men want and we build up kingdoms of men and not the kingdom of God. The Jews were ignoring the signs and warnings of God because they did not have a relationship with Him and instead were following the high priest of the temple and the leaders of Jerusalem. They completely missed the visitation of God which came through the Son of Man for the 40 years before Jerusalem was destroyed.

Their rebellion against the Romans brought on the might of the Roman Empire which God had given control of the earth to rule over men. The Romans did not want to destroy Jerusalem because it was a profitable city and brought much tax to Rome, but they could not tolerate rebellion in a state of the empire. The Romans repeatedly tried to bargain with the Jews, but they refused to submit. And so after years of war the Romans, under the general Titus, destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD including the temple, and all the priests, leaders and people were killed. I share some of the words of Josephus who was witness to the whole thing and God had him record what he saw for our admonition today. So Titus besieged the city in order to starve them out. He also had them start to build the various means to breach the walls, but had great difficulty in doing this. Eventually, he built a wall all the way around Jerusalem so that the people could not sneak out and get food (see Book 5 chapter 12 for the details). The people were dying of starvation in droves for “Then did the famine widen its progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and families; the upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine, and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged; the children also and the young men wandered about the market-places like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead, wheresoever their misery seized them.” Yet, the leaders of the Jews would not surrender to Titus and continued to fight amongst themselves for control over the city. They were all about to die either from starvation or to Titus when he was able to breach the walls, but they seemed to ignore it all. In fact they killed anyone who tried to escape the city and surrender to the Romans. Insanity ruled the day. As the siege wore on people died in droves for Josephus said “And, indeed, why do I relate these particular calamities? while Manneus, the son of Lazarus, came running to Titus at this very time, and told him that there had been carried out through that one gate, which was intrusted to his care, no fewer than a hundred and fifteen thousand eight hundred and eighty dead bodies, in the interval between the fourteenth day of the month Xanthieus [Nisan], when the Romans pitched their camp by the city, and the first day of the month Panemus [Tamuz]. This was itself a prodigious multitude; and though this man was not himself set as a governor at that gate, yet was he appointed to pay the public stipend for carrying these bodies out, and so was obliged of necessity to number them, while the rest were buried by their relations; though all their burial was but this, to bring them away, and cast them out of the city. After this man there ran away to Titus many of the eminent citizens, and told him the entire number of the poor that were dead, and that no fewer than six hundred thousand were thrown out at the gates, though still the number of the rest could not be discovered; and they told him further, that when they were no longer able to carry out the dead bodies of the poor, they laid their corpses on heaps in very large houses, and shut them up therein; as also that a medimnus of wheat was sold for a talent; and that when, a while afterward, it was not possible to gather herbs, by reason the city was all walled about, some persons were driven to that terrible distress as to search the common sewers and old dunghills of cattle, and to eat the dung which they got there; and what they of old could not endure so much as to see they now used for food.”

God had already come in the form of Jesus Christ and had made the changes that He wanted. Yet, all these people who were of the house of God including both priest and lay person missed the visitation and did not know why this was happening to them. Regarding Jesus we see that “when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:41-44 ESV). God was visiting them in the form of a man and they did not see it because it was hidden from them. Jesus wept because Jerusalem was the house of His wife and it was going to be destroyed because she did not believe in Him. True that it happened forty years later in 70 AD, but this was so that they would have time to repent. They did not and Josephus describes what happened:

But as for that house [the temple], God had, for certain, long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month Lous [Ab], upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus‘s retiring, the seditious [insurrection against the established order] lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded the holy house fought with those that quenched the fire that was burning the inner [court of the] temple; but these Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the holy house itself. At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered anything to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard about it.

Now although any one would justly lament the destruction of such a work as this was, since it was the most admirable of all the works that we have seen or heard of, both for its curious structure and its magnitude, and also for the vast wealth bestowed upon it, as well as for the glorious reputation it had for its holiness; yet might such a one comfort himself with this thought, that it was fate that decreed it so to be [that is the spoken word of God], which is inevitable, both as to living creatures, and as to works and places also. However, one cannot but wonder at the accuracy of this period thereto relating; for the same month and day were now observed, as I said before, wherein the holy house was burnt formerly by the Babylonians. Now the number of years that passed from its first foundation, which was laid by king Solomon, till this its destruction, which happened in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, are collected to be one thousand one hundred and thirty, besides seven months and fifteen days; and from the second building of it, which was done by Haggai, in the second year of Cyrus the king, till its destruction under Vespasian, there were six hundred and thirty-nine years and forty-five days.

You can see the Jews running around desperately trying to keep the temple from being destroyed not knowing that the system they were running had already ended, in God’s eyes, 40 years earlier. The temple system with its priests, church headquarters, sacraments, and laity was destroyed by the hand of God through Titus and the Roman army. God said it would happen and all those who had ears to hear and converted to the changes that God instituted through Jesus Christ and then those He sent, the disciples, were spared from this devastating end.

My friends God said “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” (Hosea 6:3 KJV). The former rains came unto His disciples and is described in Acts 2 – the pouring out of His Spirit. The latter rains have not yet come. But they will as surely as the morning comes each day. What came before the rains? John the Baptist! First the people are prepared to receive the rains for John said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” and Matthew goes on to say “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight’” (Matthew 3:2-3 NKJV) and Luke wrote “he will turn many [but not all] of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16-17 NKJV). Why prepare the way for the Lord? John said “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He [Jesus] who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11 NKJV). John was there to prepare the way for those who would listen to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Who did not listen? Matthew shows us for “when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10 NKJV). The people who would not listen were the church leaders and all those who are religious. They claimed to be of Abraham. Do not the church leaders of today claim to be of the “church fathers” all the way back to the apostles? They use this reasoning to capture the people and bring them under their rule. They are a brood of vipers (a poisonous snake). Was not Satan in the form of a snake when He deceived Eve? Satan subtly used the truth of God to get her to follow him. Do not all church leaders use the scriptures to get people to follow them and fill up their church buildings? John said that the ax is laid to the root of these trees. Note that trees in the Old Testament were used to represent God’s people. Today these church leaders call themselves Christian and make themselves God’s people and leaders of God’s people. Is it possible that the very ministers and church leaders of your local church follow in the traditions of men and are only serving themselves? Can the deception be this bad? If not, why then would Jesus say “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things” (Mark 9:12 NKJV)? If the church systems have it right then what needs to be restored? Not only did Elijah come in the form of John the Baptist, but he is prophesied to come again by Jesus’ words and from Malachi for “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5 NKJV). The day of the Lord is almost here – the one thousand year reign here on earth (Rev. 20). We are minutes away in biblical terms. The cry is going out by the servants of God during a period of great darkness for while “the bridegroom was delayed, they [the church] all slumbered and slept. And at midnight [a time of darkness] a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” (Matthew 25:5-6 NKJV). Who do you think sent out the cry to the church? Jesus said “There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard [the church] and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress [the communion] in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers [people to help lead the church – see Ephesians 4:7-13] and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time [time of harvest] drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them” (Matthew 21:33-36 NKJV). Jesus also said “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king [God] who arranged a marriage for his son [Jesus], and sent out his servants to call those [people in the church] who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them” (Matthew 22:2-6 NKJV). Surely we can see from these verses that in this last hour God is sending out his servants to the churches to let them know that Jesus is here – at the door. The time for the wedding is at hand. The end of all things is here.

While this is happening we see Jesus also say “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” (Matthew 24:32-33 NKJV). Jesus also said “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:36-44 NKJV). The Jews did not recognize the signs happening all around them before Jerusalem was destroyed. So things are going on normally as they have for two thousand years since Jesus died. Today we see hurricanes wiping out cities like New Orleans, Tsunamis wiping out whole towns and regions, earthquakes in many places, birds dropping out of the skies, fish suddenly dying by the millions in rivers and oceans, huge wild fires surrounding cities, and terrorist strikes on American soil. Scientists and leaders explain all these things away just as the leaders of the Jews did when the Romans were near. The Jews continually expected the God’s kingdom to be set up in them not knowing that it had already passed them by. This included the religious leaders as well as the civil leaders. This is being repeated today. Why are the church leaders afraid to tell the people filling their pews to repent? Why do they approve of abortion, homosexuality and divorce? Paul said “do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10 NKJV). I remember right after 9/11 a certain church leader said that 9/11 occurred because the people were not serving God. He was right, but the outcry of people forced him to recant. He was more afraid of what men thought than what God was having him say to the country. We cannot serve God and man. Jesus said of the church leaders “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat [that is the church leadership]. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers [creating all form of works for the church like missionary trips, soup kitchens, etc.]. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi [teacher], Rabbi.’ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ [see I Cor. 2:10-16; 1 John 2:27; Rom. 8:9], and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ” (Matthew 23:2-10 NKJV). How many churches teach this? The concept that the people are too stupid to read the scriptures and learn them themselves is of Satan! The Word of God clearly shows us that we are to trust in Him and His Spirit that is in us to teach us all things. Do we not believe the words that He says? I tell you the truth that the time for the Fall of all these Temple systems is at hand! All the church systems are nothing but the daughters of the great whore in Rome. That universal church is about to be visited by the Lord and He will smash it. The signs are all around us and it is time for those who have ears to hear to come outside the camp – that is the church system – to find Christ (Hebrews 13:13). My friends think not that all the signs you see around you are coincidence as the scientists and leaders would have you believe. Time is short. The six thousand years are at an end. Prepare yourselves for the visitation of the Lord so that you may be able to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is represented by the latter rains for God is in the rains! REPENT NOW and believe in the Word of God which is the Bible and scriptures written in it and do them. Follow men no more, but if they follow Christ then follow their example! FOLLOW CHRIST or be destroyed just like the Jews were in 70AD which was just a short time after the former rains were poured out!

In Christ Name,

Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

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