Make Ready a People

Luke 1:1-25

I am really encouraged by this message. I hope it brings you a spiritual blessing this morning.  I think it will be different than you expect and so I hope the Holy Spirit just really moves your heart to be encouraged by this message this morning.  The Christmas message really starts off about 400 years before the first Christmas in the book of Malachi chapter 4.

Malachi 4:1-6

“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Malachi's prophesies were made between 432 BC and 425 BC.  Then there were approximately 400 years of Prophetic Silence. Malachi is the last book in the Bible.  During that 400 years things happened, prophecy didn't happen, but things happened:

Septuagint written – the Septuagint was a translation of the Old Testament. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek by a group of 70 Jewish scholars. This marked the first known translation of the Old Testament.

Sects of Jews developed--Pharisees were the largest of these groups. They believed the oral teachings about the law, or traditions, were just as important as the law itself.

The Sadducees were made up mostly of wealthy and powerful Jews.  They controlled the temple functions and the Jewish court system. They accepted only the first 5 books of the Old Testament as Law. They denied the existence of angels. They also did not believe in a resurrection.

Other Jewish groups developed during this time were the Essenes.  These were the people who wrote the Dead Sea scrolls. They held to communal property and refrained from marriage. The Essenes numbered about 4,000 during the days of Jesus.

The Herodians, were a political group that supported Herod’s dynasty.

The Zealots, were Jewish revolutionaries who tried to overthrow Roman rule.

Synagogues established – Many prominent cities in the New Testament had synagogues. These were gathering places for Jews to read and discuss the Old Testament. Jesus and the apostle Paul often taught in synagogues. Unlike the one temple in Jerusalem, there were many synagogues. In the temple the priests offered sacrifices. This did not happen in the synagogues. The synagogues had chief seats (Mt. 23:6) and rulers (Mk.5:22; Acts 18:17). The synagogues became a place of religious activity for the Jews.

Sanhedrin – The Sanhedrin was the Jewish supreme court. Sometimes it was called “council”. It was made up mostly of Sadducees. There were 71 members of the Sanhedrin (the high priest, plus 70 who were appointed).  Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin before he was sent to Pilate to be crucified.

Samaritans – The Samaritans are a prominent part of Jesus’ teaching (good Samaritan – Lk. 10:30-37; thankful leper who was healed – Lk 17:12-19; woman at the well – Jn 4:7-9). The Samaritans had a Jewish heritage.  They were Jews who had married into other nations. By the time of the New Testament, the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews was so bad the Jews would have nothing to do with the Samaritans (Jn. 4:9). Many of the Samaritans became Christians (Acts 8:12).

Secular Writings – A group of Jews wrote a series of books between the Old Testament and the New Testament. They are called, “the Apocrypha books.”  There are 14 books such as “I & II Maccabees”, and “Baruch.” Some Bibles will include these books between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Catholic council of Trent (1545) made these books a part of the Bible. Some consider these books inspired. They are never quoted by Jesus or the apostles. They make no claims of inspiration. The early church rejected them.  They contain errors of history and are inconsistent with other Bible passages. For these reasons they are not considered a part of God’s word by most Christians today.

So, we start our series in the book of Luke.

Luke 1:1-20

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”

It is interesting to note here that Gabriel told him that God had answered his prayer.  And that he would have a son, that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son.  Apparently Azchariah forgot that he prayed this because he got old and just gave up and  quit believing that God could answer this prayer.  And yet his prayer was answered.  I think I have shared this with you saints before, that our prayers are never forgotten by God.  They never go away.  They are in heaven and I shared a verse that says they took off the covering of this thing and the prayers of the saints came up.  God remembered Zahariah's prayer.  Just like he remembered Abraham and Sarah.  He doesn't forget our prayers.  He reads our hearts, He sees our hearts, He doesn't forget.  He remembers.

Continuing in Luke 1:21-25

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

You have to wonder why Elizabeth felt disgraced among the people.  Was she persecuted by the other priests wives or the population because she didn't have children, she wasn't fruitful?  Or did she just feel that on her own?  I don't know that we will know that until we can speak to her personally.  But, the fact is that this prophecy by Malachi came true in her child.  Jesus also confirmed that this baby was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophesy in Matthew 11:13.

Matthew 11:7-15

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

So John was the prophet that came to proclaim to God's people make ready for the day of the Lord is coming.  Jesus also prophesied to make ready a people for His second coming.

Matthew 24:1-51

Signs of Christ’s Return

Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

“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),  then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains;  Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.  Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.  For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. “Behold, I have told you in advance. “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or,’Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’  and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If you look in Mark 13 you will see a repeat of many of these prophesies.

Mark 13:1-37

Things to Come

As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said* to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”  And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. “Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

“But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. “The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. “When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

“But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “the one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house;  and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that it may not happen in the winter. “For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. “Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. “And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him;  for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. “But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.

The Return of Christ

“But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. “Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory. “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

“Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. “ It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. “Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows in the morning— in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”

So since that time, when Jesus made these prophecies, there's been almost 2000 years of prophetic silence, just like there was 400 years of prophetic silence from the time Malachi made the prophecies until John the Baptist. Think about it--almost 2000 years of silence.  There is one passage that really struck me about this, it speaks of the coming day of the Lord.

2 Peter 3:1-18

Purpose of This Letter

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

It was this statement “that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” that really struck me.  And so I was looking in my study Bible, and I noted that in the extended edition, in the commentary, they had it broken up the Old Testament, up to the time of Christ, in thousands of years.   They said Adam was created in the year 4000 and it went all the way down with each thousand years having something significant happen.

So I wondered just how accurate it was, so I set about adding up all the ages of the main characters and events starting with Adam to when they were born. I noted that Adam was created, not born, on day 6 but his son Seth was the first man whose birth was recorded on the timeline. God's Son Jesus was the last man to be born that had a date that I could easily calculate. I won’t bore you with all the details and the dates. If you are interested you can read them online when my notes are upload to our church website. It is simple straight addition.  Now the dates that I found the most significant were the following birth dates:

Seth Born 3990 BC - 4000 BC

Noah Born 3064 BC - 3000 BC

Jacob (Israel) Born 2007 BC - 2000 BC

Solomon Born 1002-984 BC - 1000 BC*

Jesus Son of God Born -4 -0 BC - 0 AD

New Jerusalem Born - X000 AD ?

* Per II Samuel 5:4-5 David became King over Judah in Hebron at age 30 and he reigned there 7.5 years. Therefore David became King over all of Israel in the year 1041- 37.5 = 1003.5 BC. Due to gestation period of 9 months for Bathsheba and David’s first child and at least 9 months for their second child, Solomon would have been born at least 1.5 years after David became King over all of Israel in Jerusalem i.e., no earlier than 1003.5- 1.5 = 1002 BC. Solomon began building the house of the Lord in his fourth year of reign. Historians agree this was in the year 967 BC. Therefor Solomon began his reign in the year 971 BC. Solomon probably would not have begun his reign as King before he turned 13. Counting back 13 years from the year 971 BC would yield 971 + 13 = 984 BC. Solomon could not have begun his reign when he was older than 1002- 971= 31 years old. So he was born sometime between the years 1002 BC and 984 BC. See also the answer below to the question of “according to the Bible what year BC was Adam created?

Malachi prophesy 432-425 BC

Approximately 425 years of silence

Jesus Born -4BC-0 AD

Jerusalem Destroyed 70 AD

Approximately 2000 years of Biblical silence

Nation of Israel Born 1948 via United Nations Declaration

Between 1917 and 1922 there was a Balfour declaration because the Jews had helped Great Britain fight in WW1.  They agreed to let the scattered Jews have a national home.  So they drew this map. It was supposed to be the Jewish State or the Jewish Nation, Israel.  But what turned out to be by political ruse is that they had also promised the Palestinians their own state.  And so the state was split between Palestine and the Muslims in Jordan which they called trans-Jordan.  So it was split right down the center.  That was in 1923 by a British mandate.

The funny thing about that split was that trans-Jordan had control of Jerusalem.  Even though the Jewish nation had their own state they didn't have Jerusalem.  And so, the Muslims were not content with that.  They had their holy Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and they only allowed the Jews to come visit the temple once a year.  A time to mourn the destruction of their holy place.  The Muslims had built their Dome of the Rock right on the same sight of the temple, Solomon's temple.  They still weren't content because they felt they got ripped off because the whole area should have been Palestine and should have been in the control of the Muslims. 

In 1967 they decided to take back what they had been promised and were ready to attack Israel, but the Israel struck first and they moved their boundaries out farther because they had all these nations Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Syria mounting an offensive and they had information that they were going to attack and annihilate Israel. 

The Israelite attack June 5th through June 11th 1967, known as the Six Day War.  Now you can't imagine how significant this is in Biblical history.  It is likened to the parting of the Red Sea.  The following map shows the expansion of the boundaries.  They took the whole Sinai Peninsula.

So as before, now they had not only recaptured Jerusalem, but they had expanded their boundary and were in a position to protect their state.  They were vulnerable on all sides Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, but now they were able to expand their territory so they could have early defense system set in place so if they were attacked they could push back their enemies.

This was a significant time in my life.  The year 1967, was the year my brother was killed in Vietnam.   He was killed shortly before that Six Day War.  Therefore I didn't pay much attention to the news broadcast at the time concerning Israel. I have since gone back and researched the history of this so called six day war.  I found that after the Six Day War Egypt was totally crushed, Syria was crushed, Jordan was crushed and they begged the UN to orchestrate a peace agreement. The UN had been, from 1967 to 1973, trying to get  peace in Israel, in that land, and give back the territory that Israel expanded out to back to the former borders.  Not content to wait, Egypt and Syria along with Russia decided to build a missile defense system so that Israel couldn't develop air superiority. 

Syria and Egypt ,on October 6th 1973, on Israel’s Yom Kippur Holy day, was emboldened because they now had the air space protection because of the Russian Land to Air Missile Defense System it had purchased and installed.  Therefore, Syria and Egypt decided to launch a surprise attack to invade and conquer Israel.  Yet with all the missiles and all the tanks, and all weapons and man power supported by Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Egypt they were driven back again.  And this time Israel captured the Golan Heights.  Which was a constant source of irritation because they kept launching mortars from the higher position over into Israel and killing civilians.  Since that time Israel has maintained the West Bank and is in a state of armistice.  Israel later gave back the Gaza strip to Palestinians, but Israel has since put up borders around it because Egypt was sending arms and terrorists through the Gaza Strip to kill Israeli civilians.

October 6th thru October 24 1973 Yom Kippur War Israel Survives

This is the map today.

This next slide is to put Israel in perspective.  Israel and New Jersey are just about the same size. If we had the state of New Jersey being attacked by Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria,  and Libya with all their weapons and missile systems and New Jersey survived and thrived it would be no less than a miracle.  It is nothing shy of God acting miraculously to protect Jerusalem.  Yet Jerusalem still is in Muslim hands.  There is an armistice and the Jews can come and go to the temple freely now which they couldn't do before.

This map shows the perspective of the size of Israel to the other countries, Egypt, Syria, Iraq.   This should encourage you.  This is nothing short of a modern day miracle.  And still is today.  We have the president of the United States today wanting to move the borders back to the 1967 borders.  What does that do for Christianity?  What does that do Judaism?  That gives back Jerusalem to the Muslims. 

All nations will be gathered to do battle

 Zechariah 14:1-2

A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you.

I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

What do we call the group of people on the demilitarized zone there?  The UN, United Nations, which we are a part of.  And which we were allied with Israel for the longest time.  And now we are moving in a direction where we may be allied, via the UN, to oppose what God has decided was never going to happen.  Those countries want nothing less than total destruction of the Jewish and Christian faith there.  They will settle for nothing less. The Lord will fight against those nations.  Continuing in Zechariah14:3-11

Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.  On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter.  The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.  The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

As I was doing research on this, I came across information about how the Muslims destroyed all the synagogues in this whole area.  And all the Christian churches they either destroyed them or confiscated them.  When I was in Turkey with the NATO forces, I went to the St. Lucia Cathedral and it was confiscated and it is a masc today.  It was a church of God .  They burned The Church of the Holy Resurrection there is Jerusalem, destroyed it.  They put their mount up there, their monument, their flag, if you have played capture the flag, "This is my flag.  I'm here.  We've conquered."  And yet they have been begging to get their land back that the Israelis conquered and captured when they planned to attack them  and when they did attack them.  They have been begging for that, and that won't happen.  God's Word says Jerusalem will be inhabited never again will it be destroyed.  Jerusalem will be secure.  And the name, that day, it says will be One Lord and His name the only name.

They didn't call Him Jesus in Zachariah because that would have spoiled the story.  Jesus was to come in secret.  To be born in secret, to be raised in secret and then to suffer and die in secret.  But now His name is proclaimed and has been proclaimed for the past 2000 years.

Next, those who have not taken the mark of the beast will reign with Christ for one thousand years.

Revelation 20:4-6

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. 

The New Jerusalem, if it is to be born in the events of our times, it is looking like that time will be 2000AD, if not it could be any day.  But for certain your King is coming.  He is coming.  You can rejoice on that.  There is going to be tribulation, there's going to be destruction, there's going to be devastation, your King is coming.  He's been silent for 2000 years but prophecies are being fulfilled and He is coming.  Rejoice Christian.  Encourage yourselves, encourage one another and proclaim Him.  

Proclaim the gospel while there's still time.  He's not slow about His promises, He's patient with you not wishing for any to perish but for us all to come to repentance.  His slowness is counted as salvation the Bible says.  He tarried for more souls for His kingdom.  Proclaim Him. 

Proclaim Him, your King is coming proclaim Him.  Proclaim Him in your schools.  Proclaim Him in the market place.  Proclaim Him in the work place.  Your King is coming.  I hope this message encouraged you as much as it encouraged me.

Here is the timeline if you would like to check the math.

According to the Bible, what year BC was Adam created? 

God created Adam from dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Genesis 2:7

Counting from Creation at year 0 AAC (or 4120 BC taken from result below) where AAC = After Adam created:

Genesis 5: Adam lived 130 and became the father of Seth at year 0 + 130 = 130 AAC or 4120 -130 = 3990 BC

105 years later Seth became the father of Enosh at year 130 + 105 = 235 AAC or 4120 – 235 = 3885 BC

90 years later Enosh became the father of Kenan at year 90 + 235 = 325 AAC or 4120-325 = 3795 BC

70 years later Kenan became the father of Mahalalel at year 70 + 325= 395 AAC or 4120-395 = 3725 BC

65 years later Mahalalel became the father of Jarad at year 65 + 395 = 460 AAC or 4120-460 = 3660 BC

162 years later Jarad became the father of Enoch at year 162 + 460 = 622 AAC or 4120-622 = 3498 BC

65 years later Enoch became the father of Methuselah at year 65 + 622 = 687 AAC or 4120-687 = 3433 BC

187 years later Methuselah became the father of Lamech at year 187 + 687 = 874 AAC or 4120-874 = 3246 BC

182 years later Lamech became the father of Noah at year 182 + 874 = 1056 AAC or 4120-1056 = 3064 BC

Per Genesis 7:11 the flood came when Noah was 600 years old i.e., 600 + 1056 = 1656 AAC or 4120-1656 = 2464 BC

Per Genesis 11:10-32

Noah’s son Shem was 98 years old when the flood came and 2 years after the flood at the age of 100 he became the father of Arpachashad at year 1656 + 2 = 1658 AAC or 4120-1658 = 2462 BC

35 years later Arpachashad became the father of Shelah at year 35 + 1658 AAC = 1693 AAC or 4120-1693 = 2427 BC

30 years later Shelah became the father of Eber at year 30 + 1693 = 1723 AAC or 4120-1723 = 2397 BC

34 years later Eber became the father of Peleg at year 34 +1723 = 1757 AAC or 4120-1757 = 2363 BC

30 years later Peleg became the father of Reu at year 30 + 1757 = 1787 AAC or 4120-1787 = 2333 BC

32 years later Reu became the father of Serug at year 32 + 1787 = 1819 AAC or 4120-1869 =2251 BC

30 years later Serug became the father of Nahor at year 30 + 1819 = 1849 AAC or 4120-1849 =2271 BC

29 years later Nahor became the father of Terah at year 29 = 1849 = 1878 AAC or 4120-1878 = 2242 BC

70 years later Terah became the father of Abram at year 70 + 1878 = 1948 AAC or 4120- 1948 = 2172 BC

Per Gen. 21:5 Abraham 100 became father of Isaac at year 100 + 1948 = 2048 AAC or 4120-2048 = 2072 BC

Per Gen. 25:26 Isaac 65 became father of twins Jacob & Esau at year 65 + 2048 = 2113 AAC or 4120-2113 = 2007 BC

Per Gen. 47:9 Jacob 130 moved to Egypt at year 130 + 2113 AAC = 2243 AAC or 4120-2243 = 1877 BC

Per Exodus 12:40-41 Israelites in Egypt 430 years so they left at year 430 + 2243 AAC = 2673 AAC or 4120-2673 = 1447 BC. It should be noted that in commentary of my NASB open bible Study Edition the commentator dates the early date of the Exodus to be the in the year 1445 BC. So this 0.1382% difference or 2 year difference over 1447 year time period appears negligible. In other words they are in virtual agreement with each other.

Per I Kings 6:1 480 years after the sons of Israel came out of Egypt in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign he began to build the house of the Lord. So that would be the year 480 + 2673 = 3153 AAC or 4120-3153 = 967 BC

Per the Answers in Genesis Website and other websites the secular and non-secular historians agree that the foundation of the temple was laid in the year 967 BC.

So 967 years after the fourth year of Solomon’s reign this would be 967 BC -967 = 0 BC or the year 0 BC or at year 3153 AAC + 967 years = 4120 AAC of course this is plus or minus 1 year for every person listed above because they could have father their sons the day after their birthday or the day before. So this number would be +/- 20 years

Since Solomon began the house of the Lord in his fourth year of his reign then Solomon’s reign would have started in the year 4 + 967 = 971 BC

Per II Samuel 5:4 David was 30 years old when he became King and he reigned for 40 years. He reigned 7.5 years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. So he would have been 30 + 40 = 70 years old when Solomon started his reign.

Therefore David would have been born in the year 70 + 971 = 1041 BC.

Per II Samuel 5:4-5 David became King over Judah in Hebron at age 30 and he reigned 40 years. He reigned 7.5 years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem.

Therefore David became King over all of Israel in the year 1041- 37.5 = 1003.5 BC and began his reign in Jerusalem.

Solomon was not born until after David moved to Jerusalem after he became King of all of Israel and took Bathsheba as a wife. Due to gestation period of 9 months for Bathsheba and David’s first child and at least 9 months for their second child, Solomon would have been born at least 1.5 years after David became King over all of Jerusalem i.e., no earlier than 1003.5- 1.5 = 1002 BC.

David would have been 1041- 1002 = 39 years old that year at this earliest date that Solomon could have been born.

So Solomon could be no older than 31 years old when he started his reign i.e., 1002(earliest he could have been born)-971 (the year that he actually started his reign) = 31 years old max this would.

And David age at the end of his reign was 39(David’s age at the earliest date that he could have been born + 31(Solomon’s maximum age that in the year that he began his reign) = 70. This is in agreement with II Samuel 5:4

According to Jewish tradition of manhood started at age 13 it is likely Solomon would have been at least 13 years old when he became king. If Solomon were only 13 years old in the year 971 BC that would mean that the latest Solomon could have been born was in the year 971 + 13 = 984 BC and that would make David his father 1041 -984 = 57 years old when Solomon was born. This would be the oldest that Solomon’s father David could be when Solomon was born. This would make David 70 years old when Solomon began to reign and this is in agreement with the verses in II Samuel 5: 4-5 that states that David was 30 years old when he began to reign and that he reign for 40 years i.e., until he was 70.

This also agrees with Psalm 90 verse 10 that states “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,

or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away.”

So David age was between 39 and 57 years old when Solomon was born and Solomon was between the age of 13 and 31 when he first became king and began to reign.

This also agrees with Isaiah 23:15 15Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

I wanted to make just a side note concerning the year that Moses was born. Per Exodus 7:7 Moses was 80 years old when he spoke to Pharaoh. If this was the same year as the Exodus i.e., 1447 BC then Moses would have been born in the year 80 + 1447 BC = 1527 BC. This is approximately 1500 BC. This is also in agreement with the commentators’ dates in my NASB Open Bible Extended Edition.