SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/1/2024 9:57 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “Severe Calamity”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
24:21-22
Message of the verses: “21 for then there
will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of
the world until now, nor ever shall. 22 “And unless those days had been cut
short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut
short.”
I
have mentioned in earlier SD’s that the tribulation period will last for seven
years of 360 day years, and that the first part of it will be rather peaceful,
but in the middle of it comes the abomination of desolation which has been
discussed in earlier SD’s. This marks
the beginning of what is called “The Great Tribulation” and Jesus talks about
the severity this by saying “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would
have been saved.” Now once again
remember that chapters 24-25 are speaking about what is going to happen during
the tribulation period, and not the church age as that will be over once the
rapture takes place. To learn more about
what will be going on during the tribulation period read Revelation 6-19 as it
goes into details by describing 21 judgments that will happen during this time
period, and in the first judgment, called the seal judgments we see the
Antichrist take control of the world. I
believe that the remaining judgments begin after the abomination of desolation,
and once they begin they move fast and in the end when we see the bowl judgments
they could be over in days or weeks with the return of the Lord Jesus to planet
earth at that time to make sure that mankind does not destroy itself or the
world they live in. On my other blog I
am putting Spiritual Diaries from 2013 when I studied the book of Daniel and in
Daniel there is much written about this time period too.
John
MacArthur writes ““And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have
been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.” Koloboo
(cut short) can carry the idea of stopping instantly, and that could be the
meaning in this context. Since the
length of the Great Tribulation is repeatedly stated as being divinely ordained
at three and one half years, its length could not be reduced without God’s contradicting
His own Word. The idea would therefore
be that God has predetermined that those days of calamity will stop short of
total destruction.
“But
since Jesus spoke of those days rather than the more general eschatological
phrase ‘that day,’ it seems that His reference was probably to twenty-four-hour
days. In that case, God will
supernaturally shorten the daylight hours in order to give His fleeing people
the added protection of more darkness.”
MacArthur
gets his reasons for stating what he stated above by looking at the different
judgments found in the book of Revelation.
Let us look at the sixth seal judgment 12 I looked when He broke the
sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as
sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the
stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when
shaken by a great wind. 14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is
rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15
Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the
commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and
free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16
and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us
from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” I included
the entire sixth seal judgment but what MacArthur is speaking of has to do with
and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made
of hair, and the whole moon became like blood.
There are also other judgments which cause the world to be dark, which
causes food to not grow thus starvation will take place.
In
the next SD, Lord willing, I want to talk about the word elect which is seen in
verse 22.
1/1/2024 10:24 AM
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