SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/13/2023 10:14 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The Intense Compassion”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matt. 23:37-38
Message of the verses: “37 "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to
her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers
her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is
being left to you desolate!”
It is hard for me to believe how long that I have
been studying this section of Matthew’s gospel, now I am not complaining, but
if some of you who read these Spiritual Diaries for a while remember that this
section began when Jesus came into Jerusalem on what is called Psalm Sunday,
even though MacArthur has stated that he believes it was on a Monday that Jesus
entered into Jerusalem. That was good
for a while, and then it changed when the people who really thought that He was
their Messiah, and celebrated it on that day when He came into Jerusalem, but
because He was not the “kind” of Messiah that they were looking for it went downhill
from there. Jesus cleansed the temple
and then came back and began to teach the people and also confront the Jewish
leaders, and in chapter 23 this all ends as seen in the title that John
MacArthur gives this last section of chapter 23: “Jesus’ Last Words to Israel.”
I
want to look at Luke 19:41-42 “41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw
the city and wept over it, 42 saying, "If you had known in this day, even
you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.” This section in Luke’s gospel shows us
something similar to what is seen in Matthew’s gospel, and what is similar is
the compassion that Jesus has for the people of Israel. Notice “How often I wanted to gather your
children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” Those two highlighted sections in these
verses are very sad words spoken by our Lord, and it shows that even though
there was coming a time when the Jewish people would be scattered around the
world for two thousand years that the Lord still loved them very much. I suppose it is like one of your children
whom you love very much does something very wrong and then you have to
discipline that child that you love, and you do it because you love them and
know that this is the best thing that you can do for them at that time.
I
am thinking about the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel, a chapter that is
one of the most important chapters in the entire Bible as it speaks of what was
going to happen to Israel for the rest of their entire existence in just a few
short verses at the end of that chapter.
These verses speak of 490 Biblical years that are given to Israel and the
first 483 years have come and gone, but there is a pause when the children of
Israel did not accept their Messiah and that is where we are in this section of
Matthew’s gospel as they have rejected their Messiah and this time clock of 483
years has stopped with seven years left on it.
The gap between the end of the 483 years and the beginning of this last
seven years is what is called the church age.
God stopped dealing with Israel like He was in the Old Testament and is
dealing with the church, and this will end when the church is raptured from
planet earth. In the last seven years God
will once again focus in on Israel in what is called the tribulation period
which begins after the rapture when the Antichrist will sign a treaty with
Israel for seven years, but will break it in the middle of those seven
years. These will be the most difficult
time in the history of planet earth for people living on it, but at the end of
those seven years we see in Revelation 19:11-21 that the Lord Jesus Christ will
the armies of heaven, which include the raptured saints, will come back to
earth with the Lord in order to stop the greatest battle earth has ever had. In
order to get the picture I will now quote these verses from Revelation
19:11-21.
“11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a
white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire,
and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him
which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped
in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are
in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on
white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike
down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the
wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on
His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." 17
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice,
saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the
great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of
commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who
sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and
great." 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies
assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20
And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the
signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of
the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into
the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with
the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the
birds were filled with their flesh.”
This
event ends the last seven years of Daniel’s prophecy, the tribulation period,
and after a short time the Millennial Kingdom will begin, a kingdom promised to
the children of Israel. I realize that I
did not get to far in our verses from Matthew, but there are times when the
Spirit of the Lord directs me in a different direction, which is what happened today.
11/13/2023 10:52 AM
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