Bible Study 9
- What question did the disciple ask concerning Christ’s second coming?
Matthew 24:3 - What were some of the signs He mentioned?
Matthew 24: 7, 14 - How did He foretell the destruction of Jerusalem?
Matthew 24:15-20
Luke 21:20
In AD 60 Paul carried the Gospel to Rome. In AD 64 he wrote of the ‘saints’ in the emperor’s household (Philippians 4:22); and the same year he said that the Gospel had been ‘preached to every creature which is under heaven.’ Colossians 1;23. In October , AD 66, Cestius began to besiege Jerusalem. In a mysterious manner he suddenly withdrew from the siege, and the Christians fled, believing that this was the sign given by Christ. Three and a half years later Titus laid siege to the city, overwhelming it in AD 70, and during the five months of the siege 1,100,000 Jews perished. - What tribulation was foretold?
Matthew 24:21-22
The early persecutions against Christians were waged by pagan Rome. For nearly three centuries the church was terribly harassed, Christians being given to wild beasts, smeared with pitch and lashed to poles to serve as torches for the arena, and martyred in other ways till 3,000,000 perished. This was followed by the more terrible persecutions during the time of papal supremacy, extending from about AD 538 to 1776, and exacting a toll of more than 100,000,000 lives. (See Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13: 5-7) - What great signs were to follow this period of persecution?
Matthew 24:29
Mark 13:24
Revelation 6:12-13
‘I refer to the dark day of AD 1780, May 19. That was a day of supernatural darkness. It was not an eclipse of the sun; for the moon was nearly at the full; it was not owing to a thickness of the atmosphere; for the stars were seen. The darkness began about 9am and continued through the day. Such was the darkness that work was suspended in the field and shop; beasts and fowls retired to their rest; and the houses were illuminated at dinner time. The sun was super-naturally darkened.’ – Josiah Litch in ‘Prophetic Expositor.’
On the night of November 12-13, 1833, a tempest of falling stars broke over the earth. North America bore the brunt of its pelting. From the gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight with some difficulty put an to the display, the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated with majestic fireballs.’ – Agnes M Clerke in ‘History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century.’ - What are some of the other signs of Christ’s coming?
James 5:1-8
2 Timothy 3:1-5
‘This is an age of great spiritual crisis,’ asserts Lord Hugh Cecil. ‘All around can be seen the marks of great anxiety, with, in some countries, great apostasy…. We see the beginnings and in some countries the full realization of great tribulation, and many people feel that this is now the time foreshadowed in the New Testament. - What will be the condition in the world just before Christ comes?
Matthew 24:37-39
Luke 17:28-30
Luke 21: 25-28 - What world movement precedes the coming of Christ?
1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 - What admonition did Christ leave for this generation?
Matthew 24:32-35, 44