I love how prophetic some of Jesus' teachings were. While he was at the temple in Jerusalem, some of his disciples acted like tourists. Like an omnipotent tour guide, Jesus said the temple would be destroyed. You know what's creepy? The temple was destroyed, just like Jesus said it would be, I think somewhere around 60AD.
Surprised, his followers asked when it was going to happen.
As Jesus often did, he answered indirectly. He warned them a lot of posers would appear, claiming to be Jesus, the one and only Prince of Peace.
Gee, I think there have been Jesus wanna-bes pretty much since he went up to heaven, am I right?
Jesus also advised them not to be frightened if they heard about some war or revolution going on because they had to happen first, and the end would follow eventually.
War, revolution, weren't these words tossed around on the news lately?
Jesus talked about massive earthquakes and various diseases and generally fearful events and also some great big signs from heaven.
Hmm...I'd be willing to bet those "great signs from heaven" he mentioned were probably his second coming, but that's just me. When it comes to apocalyptic prophesy, there's a lot of stuff that has to go down, so I could be wrong about this particular example.
Here's the part that fascinates me. Lots of people say we're in the end of times right now, and while we may be in the middle of a world with a surplus of Jesus-fakers, war-fighters, earthquakes, and diseases, followers of Christ are not being brought into churches or courthouses to be persecuted for our faith.
Please understand that just as the temple was torn down after Jesus said it would be, there were a lot of Christians persecuted for their faith soon after he went to heaven. In many parts of the world, there still are in fact, but I personally feel we're not yet in those dark days Jesus talked about.
Don't get me wrong, we're not far off. At the rate the world is spiraling downward, I wouldn't be surprised if our grandkids saw those days. Just look at how many people believe the Bible is old fashioned.
Jesus said that when we stand trial for our faith, we will be witnesses to the people there also.
As if we weren't already concerned enough about the whole dying for his name thing, we're going to have the added pressure of sharing the good news with our killers.
Yet, Jesus knew we might be a little nervous in that situation so he told us not to worry about making a rock solid defense before it all happens. He's got our backs, and if I had to guess, I'd say our Advocate looks pretty glorious in a suit and tie.
Get this, we're not just going to be arrested because some punk saw our faces on a wanted poster. Our own parents, brothers, relatives and friends will betray us, even to the point of having us killed. Talk about tough love.
Frankly, we'll get to know a lot of haters.
Either Jesus thought his followers had a snazzy hairdo, or he was serious about the whole eternal life thing.
I would guess the latter.
Jesus said Jerusalem would be a pretty sucky place to live during that time, at least until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.
To demonstrate how important everything he'd said was, Jesus gave them an illustration. Apparently, when fig trees sprout leaves, summer is near. Likewise, when all this stuff goes down, the kingdom of God is close at hand.
You know what? It's going to happen one day.
In the meantime, don't get too involved in the practices and issues of the world. If you spend all your time worrying about the anxieties of life, the coming of the kingdom of God will snap your ankle like a bear trap. If you live on the planet Earth, there's a good chance you'll see it happen.
Be always on the watch, and pray that you might escape what's about to happen, and also that you'll be able to stand before Jesus when that day comes. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I don't want to be ashamed in front of Jesus because I didn't stand firm in the face of adversity to my faith.
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