SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/21/2023 8:28 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-3 “The Abomination of Desolation”
Bible Reading & Mediation Reference: Matthew 24:15
Message of the verse: “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),”
I will begin to quote from MacArthur’s commentary in
order for us to better understand what our Lord is saying in Matthew
24:15. That is the goal of my Spiritual
Diaries to understand the Word of God better, and that is why I put them on my
blogs.
“People have a natural longing for a better day, a time
of peace and harmony among nations, of greater economic stability, and of
decreased crime, disease, and discord.
But Scripture is clear that, despite temporary times of improvement,
things are destined to become much worse before they permanently become better. Human society faces a time that is going to
be more calamitous than any every experienced before. ‘Then there will be great
tribulation,’ Jesus said, ‘Such as not occurred since the beginning of the world
until now, nor ever shall’ (Matt. 24:21).
The Tribulation will encompass the entire world but will focus on the
nation and people of Israel. It will
mark the end of mans day and the coming of God’s.
“The prediction of the time of trouble did not originate in the Olivet discourse or in Jesus’ previous teaching but in the prophetic teaching of the Old Testament. As Isaiah looked forward to that day the day of the Lord, the day of great judgment, and the day of Messiah’s establishing His kingdom on earth, he wrote: ‘Now it will come about in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel’ (Isa. 10:20).
“A time is coming when most of the people of Israel will be massacred by an enemy they thought was their friend, and only a remnant will elude the slaughter. At the time of the very end, just before the time of judgment, Israel will suffer vicious betrayal by one they trusted and they will be subjected to a holocaust from which few will escape. Those who are spared will turn back to the Lord and be saved. They will no longer trust in themselves or in any human ally but will henceforth trust only in the Lord. ‘A remnant will return,’ the prophet says ‘the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant within them will return; a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness (Isa. 10:21-22).
“Jeremiah envisioned the same terrible time and
presents additional dimensions:
5 “For thus says the LORD, ‘I have heard a
sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace. 6 ‘Ask now, and see If a male
can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a
woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale? 7 ‘Alas! for
that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s
distress, But he will be saved from it. 8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’
declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and
will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.
9 ‘But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will
raise up for them.
“Excruciating
pain, like that of a child birth without anesthetic, will be experienced by all
of mankind. Even men will be on their
knees as if in labor, holding themselves as they writhe in agony. Yet out of that suffering will come the
deliverance, repentance, and salvation of Israel.
“Daniel
foresaw that the archangel ‘Michael, the treat prince who stands guard over the
sons of your people, will arise. And
there will be a time and at that time your people, everyone who is found
written in the book, will be rescued’ (Dan. 12:1).’
Zechariah wrote,
"It will come about in all the
land," Declares the LORD, "That two parts in it will be cut off and
perish; But the third will be left in it. 9 “And I will bring the third part
through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My
people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’"1 Behold, a day is
coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For
I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be
captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled,
but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.’”
With
that I close this section from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew 24:15.
12/21/2023 9:00 AM
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