{"id":8900,"date":"2024-01-24T07:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T06:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.versebyversebible.cz\/?p=8900"},"modified":"2025-07-04T10:04:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T08:04:38","slug":"matous-kapitola-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/matous\/matous-kapitola-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew - chapter 24"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1 Jesus went out of the temple, and departed. And his disciples came to him, and showed him the buildings of the temple.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus undoubtedly knew the temple - he visited it (annually?) as a child with his parents (maybe twenty times? in a truly annual pilgrimage, twenty-nine times) and then during various feasts during his three years of public ministry (maybe five times?).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So they did not show him the temple in the sense of \"guides to the monuments\", but when they were overwhelmed by the size and beauty of the building. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They were touched by a genius loci, perhaps by admiration for ancestors who had done such a thing, perhaps by a justified pride in their nation, or even by the spiritual power of the moment. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Even today, many people like to visit sacred buildings, so the \"power\" of sacred space has an effect on them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pride in the amazing structures people have built is fine, as long as: \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These are not \"towers of Babel\" - that is, buildings expressing proud independence from God: Look, God, what we humans can create.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We remember that there is nothing we have that is not a gift from God (according to 1 Cor. 4:7, \"What have you that you have not received? And if you have received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2 But he gave them&nbsp;<sup>(<\/sup>at that<sup>)<\/sup>&nbsp;He said: \"Do you see all this? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>[The fifth and last great speech of J. in Mt;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>[This was literally fulfilled in 70 AD when Titus completely destroyed Jerusalem and the temple];<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus was not impressed by this extraordinary sacred building? I guess you can't say that - after all, the temple was built and functioned at God's command and according to God's instructions, albeit often in a formal or piecemeal manner. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So why does Jesus tell the disciples this information? There could be many reasons:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>He simply wanted to tell them an \"interesting\" fact from the near future (the destruction occurred in less than forty years). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once again he confirmed his extraordinary \"prophetic\" authority.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He wanted to warn them to beware in the future and not to be in Jerusalem at the time in question (he gives such a warning explicitly a few verses later).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rather, Jesus is pointing out to the disciples that it is not healthy to fixate on the existence of the temple. The temple itself is just stones, and the worship services are just acts - the key is whether the Lord is present in the temple. And that was highly doubtful at the time - after all, the Jews were about to kill God Himself. In this context, the admiring \"gushing\" over the temple is completely out of place. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The goal of the temple and everything that happens in it is to \"get God into the temple.\" And when God does get there, I kill Him.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The important thing is that God has no sentiment towards His temple. In Jer. 22:24 something similar is written: <em>As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah be the signet ring on my right hand, yet will I pluck thee out of thence.&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>God speaks in terms of: I don't give a damn what people think about the importance of the temple, about it being My temple, etc. If you do not come to your senses and truly repent, I will not hesitate to have it destroyed to the ground. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Such an attitude is perfectly understandable - what good does it do for people to build me a mausoleum if they murdered my son at the same time? What's more important? Is such a mausoleum of the slightest value to me? Not only does it not, but it disgusts me to my soul as the height of hypocrisy and I will gladly have it demolished.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately, saying, \"Tell us when it will be, and what&nbsp;<em>1 \"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,\" says the LORD.<\/em>&nbsp;a sign of your coming and the end of the age?\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Expression&nbsp;<strong>parousia<\/strong>&nbsp;('presence\/coming') - Matthew 24:3.Matthew 24:27.Matthew 24:37.Matthew 24:39 does not occur in the other Gospels. It is, however, 14 times in Paul's letters (1Co 15:23 ... 1Th 2:19; 1Th 3:13 ...), then in Jas 5:7n; 2Pe 1:16; 2Pe 3:4.2Pe 3:12; 1Jn 2:28.&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to David Pawson (Understanding the Second Coming), the word parousia has two uses, both associated with royal power:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One refers to a foreign king who arrives with his army at the border of a country he intends to invade, conquer and occupy. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The second refers to a native king who comes with his court to visit one of his cities; in this case the citizens go out to meet him far beyond the city walls, so that they may honour him by passing through the gate with him. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These two images perfectly combine the twofold aspect of Jesus' return: unbelievers will see him as a foreign invader; believers will welcome and honor him as their ruler. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Another term for Christ's return is <strong>epiphanies<\/strong>: According to Pawson, it is best translated as a sudden \"appearance on the scene\". Again, it is used of a king appearing before his subjects. It is most prominently used in the context of a worship service where God visibly appears, e.g., when the glory of the shekinah descended upon the tabernacle or temple. God appears on the scene to help his people, especially in critical situations. Epiphany is used for both the first and second coming of Christ. It occurs mainly in Paul's letters. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4 Jesus answered and said to them, \"Take heed that no one deceives you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What, then, does Jesus consider essential to communicate concerning the time and circumstances of his return?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the first place, it warns against <strong>leads <\/strong>- which is surprising and certainly alarming. <strong>Seduction is one of the Church's biggest problems!<\/strong> That this was, is, and will be the case is evident from the epistles and the book of Revelation - for example, in the letters to the seven churches, succumbing to the seductions of false teachers is one of the main criticisms. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Throughout the history of the Church, heresies of all kinds have been rampant. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We are also witnessing a remarkable \"boom\" of strange views in the Church today. It is not at all clear where the world is going these days (especially since the second election of Donald Trump, written 5\/2025), which inevitably feeds the various \"seductions\". But deciding what is a seduction is not easy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5 For many will come.&nbsp;<sup>(<\/sup>in my name<sup>)<\/sup>&nbsp;and they will say, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>n~: based on my name; \u0159. epi t\u00f3 ...&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We learn, at least in part, what the seductions will consist of - that the <strong>there will be people claiming to be Christ.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These people <strong>will come in Jesus' name<\/strong> - so it's going to be Christians. While \"I am Christ\" could mean the universal \"I am the savior of the world who will solve all its problems\" (which all can hear), to come in Jesus' name is hard to imagine outside of Christianity. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A person who comes \"in Jesus' name\" must \"worship\" Jesus. Which makes no impression on non-Christians - so it's certainly about <strong>warning inside the church.<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But in that case it is incomprehensible how they can \"<strong>many<\/strong>\" Christians \"fall for\" something like this. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It seems to me that even the historical experience of the Church<sup data-fn=\"7fa943c9-df34-4ba5-bbeb-7b387ae7e4dc\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#7fa943c9-df34-4ba5-bbeb-7b387ae7e4dc\" id=\"7fa943c9-df34-4ba5-bbeb-7b387ae7e4dc-link\">1<\/a><\/sup> There were certainly some people who occasionally claimed to be Christ, but they were few and their influence was limited. (In more recent times, one might consider Moon or Koresh).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If someone came forward today claiming to be Christ, he wouldn't stand a chance of getting much attention, in my opinion. Even political, cultural or religious figures with extremely megalomaniacal egos usually do not signal Christ-like ambitions. They would look ridiculous. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So Jesus is talking about something that is yet to occur more immediately before His return.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I'm just pointing out that I believe we are already living in the end times - but from that point of view, they are probably not \"last\" enough yet, and there will be \"worse to come\".<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, the emergence of numerous \"conspiracies<sup data-fn=\"0bc18a73-419e-40d0-8f23-e7294ed386fe\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#0bc18a73-419e-40d0-8f23-e7294ed386fe\" id=\"0bc18a73-419e-40d0-8f23-e7294ed386fe-link\">2<\/a><\/sup>\" theories may indicate that people are already becoming more open to atypical or simplistic interpretations of reality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>6 You will hear of wars and&nbsp;<em>You will hear<\/em>&nbsp;rumors of war. Beware, don't be frightened.&nbsp;<em>All this<\/em>&nbsp;must occur, but&nbsp;<em>speech,<\/em>&nbsp;it's not over yet.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It may correspond with the seals of the Book of Revelation. For example, in the fourth seal, wars will affect a quarter of the earth. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So the reader does not have to live directly in the war-affected area, but learns from the news what is happening elsewhere on the ground.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Twice it is emphasized that it may not be about experiencing the war itself, but that the coming is to be known by the fact that wars will be talked about a lot. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This is probably a significant difference - there have always been wars, and probably on a larger scale than at present (there have been relatively few wars from WW2 until 2022).<strong> What has changed and expanded significantly is the news coverage.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Before, no one knew that someone was fighting somewhere, now we know about every \"rustle\". <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So maybe Jesus is not referring to the absolute or relative amount of<sup data-fn=\"aa53801f-0009-4d65-8f2b-6ac5db90a9d2\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#aa53801f-0009-4d65-8f2b-6ac5db90a9d2\" id=\"aa53801f-0009-4d65-8f2b-6ac5db90a9d2-link\">3<\/a><\/sup> war conflicts, but on <strong>continuous news \"massage\" with this disturbing information. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Meaning: When you hear nothing on the news but constant information about fighting here and there, pay attention. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and&nbsp; <em>countries<\/em>shaking in various places.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>So it will not be just rumours, but wars will be real and frequent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus surely means \"many nations against many nations\" and many kingdoms against each other. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wars often result in <strong>famines<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This may be the period of the breaking of the seals of the Book of Revelation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Earthquakes <\/strong>are, on the contrary, completely independent of anything in the uninfluenceable. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sarcastically, it could be said that this is one of the few disasters that is certainly not mankind's fault. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In Greek, the familiar word is used<sup data-fn=\"d02de504-cb5d-4791-9fdc-a1497f77845f\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#d02de504-cb5d-4791-9fdc-a1497f77845f\" id=\"d02de504-cb5d-4791-9fdc-a1497f77845f-link\">4<\/a><\/sup> <strong>\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03af<\/strong> <em>(seismoi)<\/em>, pl. From <strong>\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2<\/strong> <em>(seism\u00f3s)<\/em> with the meaning of <strong>tremor, earthquake, shaking, excitement<\/strong>. (It comes from the verb <strong>\u03c3\u03b5\u03af\u03c9<\/strong> <em>(sei\u00f3)<\/em> - shake, shudder, shake).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>So perhaps there could be tremors in the sense of societal tremors, not necessarily earth tremors. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But in Matt. 27:54 and Acts 16:26 it is clearly about the shaking of the earth (<em>\"When the centurion and those who were with him guarding Jesus saw the earthquake (\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03bd) and what was happening, they were very afraid...\"<\/em>, <em>\"Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the dungeon were shaken.\"<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the parallel passage in Luke 21:11 (<em>\"There shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences, and terrors, and great signs from heaven.<\/em>.\") are shocks of \"seismoi\" also. In addition, plagues, terrors and heavenly signs are added. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>8 But all this&nbsp;<em>1 \"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,\" says the LORD.<\/em>&nbsp;the beginning of labor pains.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>[this term (meaning: suffering) was used by the rabbis in connection with the coming of the Messiah];<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus' comparison of His imminent return to the pains of childbirth is very apt for many reasons. It occurs to me:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pregnancy and childbirth are difficult periods with a good ending - also the difficult history of humanity will turn out well in the end<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From conception to birth is a challenging period - like the history of humanity from Adam to Revelation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Childbirth cannot be rushed or delayed - God is in control of history and has no say in it<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contractions before childbirth and childbirth itself are painful - the closer to the end, the worse it will be<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The birth pains gradually intensify and become more frequent - the difficulties before Christ's coming will become greater and at shorter intervals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Birth contractions gradually open the cervix so that the newborn can eventually pass through it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The list of horrible catastrophes will only be the \"messengers\" (messengers are called the first hints of the coming birth contractions) of the coming of Christ.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can be concluded that <strong>the closer we get to Christ's return, the more difficult the situation in the world will be, the more disasters there will be, and they will get worse. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>9 Then shall they deliver you up to tribulation, and shall kill you: and all nations shall hate you for my name's sake.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In addition to the generally poor political and economic situation and natural disasters <strong>the general hatred of Christians will increase.<\/strong> This hatred will be widespread<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Christians will be persecuted, harmed and killed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Persecution of Christians is already commonplace today - Christians are the most persecuted group on the planet. But it is not widespread - it is particularly concentrated in the so-called \"Muslim world\". <strong>\"The 10\/40 Window.\"<\/strong>, which is the geographical strip between the 10th and 40th parallel of north latitude, i.e. <strong>the<\/strong>d of West Africa. through North Africa, the Middle East, India and surrounding areas, China, Indonesia and Southeast Asia. These areas are ruled by Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and Communist regimes. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to Open Doors and others, more than 80 % of the worst cases of persecution of Christians are found<strong> <\/strong>in this belt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During the birth pangs, persecution is likely to be much more general and widespread. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why should everyone hate Christians? This is not a rational reaction, but a spiritual issue. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The hatred will be irrational just as anti-Semitism is irrational (yet widespread). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The devil hates God's people of the Old and New Covenant, and he incites people to the same hatred.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We know well from history how easily hatred turns into persecution. The Jewish people in particular could tell us a lot about it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Somehow, people seem to conclude that Christians are the cause of the world's problems. In a way, this may be \"true\" - the devil and the Antichrist would like to unite the earth under their \"peaceful\" (albeit evil) rule, and Christians are \"throwing a pitchfork\" at them with their confession of God.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8222;<strong>For my name's sake\" <\/strong>is important - because religion does not bother the devil, on the contrary, it welcomes him. What is the problem is the belief in the crucified Christ the man and God - that is the stumbling block, that is why Christians are hated. If they were at ease believing in something or someone , nobody would mind - but to profess the crucified Christ as the only way to salvation, that is offensive and that arouses passions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>10 A then&nbsp;<sup>(<\/sup>it will be a stumbling block for many,<sup>)<\/sup>&nbsp;they will betray each other and hate each other.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u0159.: many will be offended;&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>r.: to issue<\/em>;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Christianity is going to be a big issue and problem. As we have said many times, <strong>Faith in Christ is offensive and provocative - in its brutality, exclusivity, binary, inconvenience, pressure on conscience, personal conviction, and overall \"weirdness.\"<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The pressures will be great, existential, often life will be at stake - and characters will clash. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>11 And many false prophets shall rise up, and shall deceive many.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To make matters worse, the situation will be confusing and confusing in the end times. It will not be easy to navigate the secular or \"religious\" realm. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>False prophets<\/strong> are people who claim divine authorship and authority for their message. There will be many such, and their messages will be numerous and confused. But they will be false.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moreover, they will be successful with a significant number of people. And it's not about success in seducing unbelievers, but they will be successful in seducing Christians. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Distinguishing between true and false prophecy will be possible, but not easy, even in the greatest confusion of the end times. <\/strong>If the false prophets' lies were stupid and easy to see through on the surface, no one would fall for them. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I dare say that at least in this respect we are already experiencing a \"foretaste\" of the last times - the information scene is extremely opaque and overwhelmed. With the advancement of technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult (sometimes even impossible) to navigate through information, find sources, etc. <strong>The devil not only \"misinforms\" but also overwhelms and confuses. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>12 And because lawlessness will increase,<sup> <\/sup>the love of many will grow cold.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>n.: iniquity;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not only will it be difficult to \"confess the prophets,\" but <strong>lawlessness will increase<\/strong>. So people will disobey the law en masse. Society will probably \"break down\" in some way - there will be no will and power to enforce the laws.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is quite possible that this trend will affect the church as well, where people will increasingly profess a \"non-profit\" Christianity of cheap grace. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In any case, the result will be that many Christians <strong>love grows cold. <\/strong>What love? Love for God and for people. The determination to follow Christ and be his servant in this world. The disintegration of society and probably superficial Christianity will cause many people to fall away from the faith. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>13 But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus used the same words in Matthew 10:22, where He gives His disciples instructions before sending them out and preparing them for the difficulties <em>(...) And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and put them to death. And all will hate you for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The meaning is clear: <strong>Transitional Christianity is worthless. <\/strong>It has no value in God's eyes if we have lived part of our lives as Christians. Faith must be carried to the finish line. Those who don't take it to the finish line.., <strong>rescued <\/strong>It won't.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In a marathon race, someone who has run 41 km but quit a kilometre before the finish line will not get a diploma. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I know many (desperately many) people for whom Christianity was only a period or episode in their lives. After a while (usually a few years, rarely a few decades) they decided to leave it and pursue something else. The run was too long, too hard, perhaps sometimes too uninteresting for them. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Several people left with all the \"pomp\" of \"officially\" announcing that they were leaving Christianity. But most just quietly slipped away<sup data-fn=\"f7a0284a-f3fe-4a14-b614-4243d38d57c4\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#f7a0284a-f3fe-4a14-b614-4243d38d57c4\" id=\"f7a0284a-f3fe-4a14-b614-4243d38d57c4-link\">5<\/a><\/sup>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations. And then shall the end come.\"&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Another sign of the approaching end will be the notoriety or availability of <strong>of the gospel of the kingdom. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Absolute quantifiers are used \"<strong>throughout<\/strong>\" a \"<strong>to all<\/strong>\": So there should be no nation or region on the planet where the kingdom has not been proclaimed. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is a response to Christ's Great Commission (Go to all nations). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This task has been done slowly over the centuries, but recently it has been progressing at a very accelerated pace (I have seen a graph where the curve of new Bible translations has been rising exponentially in recent years).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some statistics are available on the Wicliffe Bible Translators website, e.g. here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wycliffe.net\/resources\/statistics\/\">https:\/\/www.wycliffe.net\/resources\/statistics\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This indicator is fairly easy to grasp and measure (how many nations, how many languages, where the Bible is and is not available) - and the acceleration of this proclamation in recent years suggests that we are living in the end times. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>15 And when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let him that readeth understand.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>i.e., an abomination wreaking havoc;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>n.: reads;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>First, what the prophet Daniel says:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Yes 9.27 <em>And he will enforce the covenant to many for one seven years, but in the midst of the seven years he will put an end to the sacrifice and to the additional sacrifice. Then on the wing of abominations shall the desolator be desolate, until destruction and judgment shall be poured out upon the desolate.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Yes 11.31 <em>Then forces will arise from him and desecrate the sanctuary - the fortress. They will also remove the regular worship and put in that desolating abomination.&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Yes 12.11 <em>And from the time of the removal of the continual worship, and the giving up of the abomination of desolation, one thousand two hundred and ninety days shall elapse.&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is <strong>the abomination of desolation<\/strong> or <strong>ravaging abomination<\/strong>, <strong>an abomination that ravages<\/strong>?\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>English the abomination of desolation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>U <strong>abominations<\/strong> it is certainly something disgusting, ugly, probably associated with an idol or idolatry.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u03b2\u03b4\u03ad\u03bb\u03c5\u03b3\u03bc\u03b1, [bdelygma] abomination, 6 occurrences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Devastate <\/strong>in the common sense means to destroy, to ruin, to devastate (a city). The word supposedly can also mean to disgust, to shock, to impress negatively. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u1f10\u03c1\u03ae\u03bc\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2, \u03b5\u03c9\u03c2, \u1f21 [er\u00e9m\u00f3sis], desolation, depopulation, 3 occurrences (once in the sense of the desolation of Jerusalem). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to the Jewish concept, it is the placing of an idol in a Jewish temple.<sup data-fn=\"76bf6339-778c-4349-a81b-5294471a042e\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#76bf6339-778c-4349-a81b-5294471a042e\" id=\"76bf6339-778c-4349-a81b-5294471a042e-link\">6<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to some, it was the desecration of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD under Emperor Titus.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eschatologically, it may be about placing the statue of the Antichrist in the third temple (yet to be built). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Symbolically, it may be some form of perverted worship in the Christian church, the introduction into the church of something totally idolatrous. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to 2Te 2,4 <em>Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the falling away comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who sets himself against everything, and proudly exalts himself above everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sits down as God in the sanctuary of God, and sets himself up as God.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That the interpretation of this place is not elementary is evident from Jesus' addition: <strong>He who reads, let him understand. <\/strong>Understanding is not easy, but we should strive for it. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alternatively, it could be a matter of meaning: <strong>He who reads, let him read<\/strong>that is, that these words should be made public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>16 then those who&nbsp;<em>will<\/em>&nbsp;in Judah, let them flee to the mountains.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This seems to be an instruction to the inhabitants (or visitors) of Judah at the time the abomination enters the temple. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do they have to run away in a hurry? And when exactly? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mark, in a parallel passage in chapter 13, also speaks of fleeing when an abomination appears in the temple. Luke 21 does not mention the abomination, but recommends immediate flight when the city is surrounded.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is believed that these are instructions for the year 70, when Jerusalem was surrounded by the Romans. This Roman encirclement was \"double\" so that Christians who knew and took seriously the words of Jesus had the opportunity to leave the city. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The problem is that nothing is known about anything particularly blasphemous happening in the temple before the year 70. (Such as in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes two hundred years earlier<sup data-fn=\"306fc7dd-1185-4164-b13c-476a1a354296\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#306fc7dd-1185-4164-b13c-476a1a354296\" id=\"306fc7dd-1185-4164-b13c-476a1a354296-link\">7<\/a><\/sup>). The very encirclement of Jerusalem by the Romans is regarded as an abomination in such a case.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But the interpretation can also be eschatological - that is, Jesus is speaking of the end times through His second coming (both interpretations can be true at the same time). In that case, it would be a warning to Christians and\/or Jews in Jerusalem for when the Antichrist sits in the newly built temple.<sup data-fn=\"f40555c4-4d8d-4615-aa31-642b73bc39a7\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#f40555c4-4d8d-4615-aa31-642b73bc39a7\" id=\"f40555c4-4d8d-4615-aa31-642b73bc39a7-link\">8<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In general, perhaps, it can be said that if we anticipate the imminent outbreak of war, it is not advisable to delay escape. It is better to remain destitute, but above all alive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>17 Who&nbsp;<em>1 \"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,\" says the LORD.<\/em>&nbsp;on the roof, tell him not to come down to get his stuff from his house. 18 And whoever&nbsp;<em>1 \"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,\" says the LORD.<\/em>&nbsp;in the field, don't let him go back to get his cloak. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is an image of extreme urgency - the escape is so rushed that any delay, even in picking up the bare necessities or clothes, can prove fatal and cost a person his life.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Getting the essentials out of the house is a matter of five minutes! It takes an hour or two to return from work. <strong>So there may be situations where it is literally a matter of seconds - the advantage of those who listen to Jesus is that they know, not that they have more time than others. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is better to save your life \"in overalls\" and with your bare hands than to risk death.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can escape be so urgent? It may be a brief window of opportunity to slip away from encirclement or the need to escape a bombing or perhaps a nuclear blast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>19 Woe to the pregnant and nursing in those days!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pregnant and breastfeeding women are always the most vulnerable groups in crisis situations. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This case will be no different.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It's terrible, but it's true. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>20 Pray that your flight may not take place in the winter, or on the Sabbath day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why? Because winter is always a more difficult time for refugees in every way - the need for warm clothing and sheltered accommodation or a less accessible route is added to all the existential worries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And Saturday? Why does Saturday matter? \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Because of the Sabbath commandments (<em>\"Sabbath journey\"<\/em> = about 1 km; no loads)? Would observant Jews hesitate to flee for breaking the Sabbath?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Closed gates? Non-functioning public transport?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus says: <strong>\"Pray that it doesn't happen\"<\/strong>: It seems, then, that to some extent we can influence these recent catastrophic events by our prayers. When we see war brewing, we can pray, for example: Lord, please not today; let the war not break out today. Or: May war break out when the weather warms up, when the rain stops, etc. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sometimes when I am laid up with a bad cold, I am truly grateful to God that I can stay in bed and not have to travel anywhere, let alone run away. Everyone is in a condition at some time when the necessity of sudden transport might not survive. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evacuating a hospital, for example, is a matter of extreme desperation.<sup data-fn=\"1cf97bec-3061-404c-a711-79b87dd7d8a0\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#1cf97bec-3061-404c-a711-79b87dd7d8a0\" id=\"1cf97bec-3061-404c-a711-79b87dd7d8a0-link\">9<\/a><\/sup>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, neither shall be again.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I've often wondered what could be <strong>great tribulation<\/strong> incomparably worse than all the tribulations of the past. There have been so many horrors in the history of the world and of the Church that it is hard to imagine anything that has not been done before. Men have always been extremely ingenious in inventing mutual torment. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>22 And if the days had not been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake the days shall be shortened.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u0159. kolob\u00fan ('to shorten');&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Hebraism kol - poet, i.e. no man;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In what way, then, could the final great tribulation be so extraordinary that no one, but no one, could really endure it? Is there anything that hasn't been done before? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The only thing that is completely different now from the whole of human history is the new technology. New technologies are taking the possibilities of tribulation to a new, hitherto impossible and unprecedented level. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Especially the monitoring and control of people can, with today's possibilities, achieve \"Orwellian<sup data-fn=\"2cf5c298-0646-4c5c-8d5a-eb8ca2e7db74\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#2cf5c298-0646-4c5c-8d5a-eb8ca2e7db74\" id=\"2cf5c298-0646-4c5c-8d5a-eb8ca2e7db74-link\">10<\/a><\/sup>\" dystopian levels.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We are witnessing this in China, for example, where the combination of a massive network of cameras, artificial intelligence and biometrics has enabled the monitoring and control of citizens' behaviour, including the so-called social credit system<sup data-fn=\"fa336ea3-aa93-4691-b387-275dde0d0265\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#fa336ea3-aa93-4691-b387-275dde0d0265\" id=\"fa336ea3-aa93-4691-b387-275dde0d0265-link\">11<\/a><\/sup>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These technologies are already being deployed to an extreme degree against minorities such as the Uighurs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If it wasn't physical pressure, but pressure to drop out, I can still imagine a complete general confusion of concepts and values due to technology. Systematic devil's pressure (possibly using AI) is already causing extreme information overload and confusion. Verifying facts is becoming increasingly difficult and navigating information is already sometimes almost impossible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>artificial intelligence-assisted <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do we understand that these days will be <strong>Abridged<\/strong>? God had some idea, some plan for the duration of this tribulation, but He had to modify it? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rather, perhaps, the point is that nothing is out of God's hands - that He is strictly careful that the degree of pressure does not exceed our \"human\" tolerance<sup data-fn=\"9027d403-11bf-4337-b9a0-36aff210c7b2\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#9027d403-11bf-4337-b9a0-36aff210c7b2\" id=\"9027d403-11bf-4337-b9a0-36aff210c7b2-link\">12<\/a><\/sup>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Surely there can be no doubt that if the devil had wanted to (and if God had allowed it), it would not have been the least problem for Him to cause pressure that would have caused every believer to fall away.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No body would have been saved<\/strong> - why the body? In the sense of no human would survive? (We humans are \"mere bodies\").\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The meaning could be: all Christians would fall away from the faith.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But it can also be meant that all Christians or all people would be killed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In any case, Jesus would have had \"no one to come back for\" - everyone would have been either dead or fallen away. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These days will be shortened <strong>for the sake of the chosen ones<\/strong> - therefore, because some believers survive and keep the faith according to God's decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>23 Then, if someone says to you, 'Behold, here.&nbsp;<em>\"I have<\/em>&nbsp;Christ!', or: '<em>\"For<\/em>&nbsp;here!', don't believe it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In a situation of utter chaos and despair, there will certainly be a demand for \"messiahs\". <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Christianity is challenging, the world is complicated and the life of believers in rich societies and totalitarian regimes is difficult. <\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We are already in some (especially communist or Muslim) countries (North Korea, China, Russia, Muslim countries,<sup data-fn=\"516ed6d2-fca7-4f24-b01e-1b08fde82a43\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#516ed6d2-fca7-4f24-b01e-1b08fde82a43\" id=\"516ed6d2-fca7-4f24-b01e-1b08fde82a43-link\">13<\/a><\/sup>) witnessed great physical pressure on Christians.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the West we now see more indirect pressure - through consumption, entertainment, (dis)information overload and confusion, through pornography, etc. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is not surprising that a person (including Christians) in such a situation <strong>he longs for short-cut solutions, for someone who will offer him clear answers and easy ways out. <\/strong>And there will be a considerable supply of such people. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, the warning is clear: No one will be able to offer any real solutions. All offers will be false.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>24 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise up, and shall shew great signs and wonders, that if&nbsp;<em>it was<\/em>&nbsp;possible, they seduced the chosen ones.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u0159.: to give;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Supply will respond to demand - it will be varied and numerous. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not only the fake ones will rise up <strong>Messiahs<\/strong>that is, people seeking followers, offering to follow, but also false <strong>prophets<\/strong>that is, those who offer false answers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The key information is that <strong>Their authenticity cannot be discerned by the degree of supernatural power they exhibit. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This will be very significant - the presented<strong> signs and wonders<\/strong> will <strong>Great<\/strong>. Miracles are things that are not normal and arouse wonder; signs are supernatural confirmations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So the fact that someone can do strange and supernatural things is not indicative of anything - how is that possible? <strong>Because the supernatural can come from sources other than God<\/strong> (i.e. from the devil). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How come <strong>to seduce the chosen ones<\/strong> isn't possible? This is very \"Calvinistic\" information from Jesus - those whom God has chosen for salvation are resistant to the seductions of false messiahs and prophets, they will not succumb to them. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The discussion of \"Calvinism\" can be complex to the point of being endless - it is a mystery that has no clear answer. There are places that point clearly toward election and places that point toward free will. Both are true at the same time, and we must learn to live with this tension without taking shortcuts. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, in a way, it is nothing \"special\" - we all know (and experience daily) that God is watching over and in control of His children.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Of course, we can't rely on being chosen and therefore \"not having to try\" - we are obligated to look around us and seek maximum spiritual discernment. For some will be deceived - and we do not know in advance who will be deceived and who will not.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>25 Behold,&nbsp;<em>everything<\/em>&nbsp;I told you in advance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus considers the information so far sufficient for the disciples (and the readers of His words) to be able to orient themselves to future events. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It doesn't seem so obvious to us. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is said that the Christians were able to flee the city in time during the Roman invasion in the year seventy on the basis of these words. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will we be able to discern the imminent return of Christ? And if so, of what use will this information be to us? To strengthen us in the sense of: Count on the fact that there is a tough climb before the end of the marathon - so gather the rest of your strength, give it your all, because then the finish line is coming? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To escape in time? But to where? Is there anywhere to run? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That <strong>Jesus wants us to know that His return is \"imminent\"<\/strong>but it can be said with certainty. What we do with this information is up to us. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>26 If they say to you, 'Behold, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; 'Behold, he is in the hiding places,' do not believe.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u0159. tameion zn. an inner room of a house;&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Apparently, this is a warning not only against false messiahs, but also against leaving their hiding places prematurely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Christians will probably live in hiding or in conspiracy, and the enemies will try to lure them out by spreading rumors of Christ's imminent return. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Something along the lines of: Christ is already returning to Jerusalem, we need to follow Him on the road. Christians give themselves away by starting to \"buy tickets\" and get arrested. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>27 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.obohu.cz\/bible\/index.php?styl=CSP&amp;k=Mt&amp;kap=24&amp;v=27#v27\">7<\/a>For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and is seen as far as the west, so shall&nbsp;<em>.<\/em>&nbsp;the coming of the Son of Man.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Apparently in the sense of: My return will be unmissable worldwide. You don't have to worry about missing it, about the information about my return not reaching you. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It will be extremely significant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>28 Wherever there is a corpse, there the vultures will gather.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The word \u1f00\u03b5\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2, [aetos] can mean both eagle and vulture. Commonly rendered as eagle, here it is translated as vulture because of the context (eagles do not eat corpses, vultures do).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who's the dead and who's the vultures? \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The corpse may be the world, a world already definitely corrupted, persecuting Christians, antichristically depraved, already definitely ripe for judgment. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The vultures would then be angels or other executors of God's judgment. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Roman legions had an eagle on their standards, so it may also be a picture of the destruction of corrupt Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Perhaps more understandable is this statement in the parallel passage in Luke 17, where Jesus seems to be talking about the destruction of Jerusalem: In verse 37, Jesus speaks of the dead and the vultures in response to the disciples' inquiry, \"Where will it be?\" \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the sense of: Destruction occurs where total spiritual death and decay is already present. And that will be before 70 A.D. in Jerusalem. The city has already been abandoned by all Christians and corruption is universal. Then the Romans will come in and totally destroy the city. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus sometimes speaks on multiple levels - so the interpretation could also be eschatological in the sense of<strong>that when the spiritual death and decay on the planet are \"sufficiently\" advanced, Christ will return and destroy the old sinful world for good.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her brightness, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We seem to be returning to the time of the Great Tribulation, a situation of persecution of Christians and general deception. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the end of it, there will be celestial phenomena - eclipses of the sky (e.g. volcanic explosions with the ejection of a lot of dust into the atmosphere) and possibly meteor bombardments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Shaking of the Heavenly Powers<\/strong> can point to changes in the sky, but it can also point towards a change in the spiritual situation - changes on earth are always preceded by changes in heaven.<sup data-fn=\"643e7b41-8904-4e31-9133-943ac697bbd2\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#643e7b41-8904-4e31-9133-943ac697bbd2\" id=\"643e7b41-8904-4e31-9133-943ac697bbd2-link\">14<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>30 Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall they be afraid.&nbsp;<em>in the breast<\/em>&nbsp;all the tribes of the land. And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>n.: Then<\/em>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>n.: families (\/ nations); the n. phyle is used in the NT mainly to refer to the twelve tribes of Israel;&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What will be <strong>the sign of the Son of Man in heaven<\/strong>? Something significantly visible in the sky before Christ's actual coming? Or perhaps the very appearance of Christ.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus' return (in contrast to the first inconspicuous coming) will be as conspicuous as possible:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It will take place (like the departure) under \"increased cloud cover\". In the departure Jesus ascended until a cloud covered him, now he may emerge from the clouds or have clouds under his feet in his descent.    <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>With the power<\/strong> means that no one will be able to prevent Jesus' return. All obstacles to His return will be swept away.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turnover \"<strong>s<\/strong> <strong>great glory\" <\/strong>highlights the stark contrast to the arrival of the first.  But also the fact that it will be the biggest event in world history. Its glory will be incomparable to anything else (Christ's death on the cross was probably more glorious in heaven, but on earth it was inconspicuous).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>31 And he shall send his angels with a mighty&nbsp;<em>sound<\/em>&nbsp;trumpets and&nbsp;<em>I will<\/em>&nbsp;gathers his chosen ones from the four winds, from <em>he saw<\/em>&nbsp;the uttermost reaches of heaven to their&nbsp;<em>To the other<\/em>&nbsp;to the end.\"&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>i.e., world parties;&nbsp;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So Jesus arrives \"from above\" on the Mount of Olives. Somehow it will be visible to all. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This is followed by a loud \"sound signal\" (apparently also audible throughout the planet) and the sending out of angels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They will comb the entire country, not missing even the most isolated village and solitude on any continent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The goal is to find all the elect, that is, Christians. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To find them and then \"transport\" them to Jerusalem. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So all living Christians will be gathered in one place. Jerusalem will suddenly be crowded. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Christians will still be \"normal people\" at that time, i.e. they will have their old bodies. The children will be children, the elderly will be elderly. It is possible that people sick at that time will be strengthened and uplifted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>32 \"Learn a parable from the fig tree: 'When its branches have become tender and are putting forth leaves, you know that the summer&nbsp;<\/strong> <strong><em>\"I have<\/em>&nbsp; 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is&nbsp;<em>speech,<\/em>&nbsp;close by, outside the door.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The information about his coming and the events preceding it is now considered sufficient by Jesus.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It goes back to the general guidelines. He gives the disciples (including us readers) the fig tree as an example. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are we to learn from the fig tree? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The fig tree is a tree, sometimes shrubby, 3 to 10 metres tall. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By observing it (branches and leaves), the season can be reliably determined. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And that's the point: By closely observing the events around us, we are similarly reliably able to determine what stage of history the world is in. So: \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Softening of branches and leaves = approaching summer. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>False Christs, rumors of wars, international conflicts, famines, earthquakes, persecution of Christians, false prophets, spiritual coldness, universal preaching = the imminent coming of Christ. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Abomination of desolation = time to flee immediately.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Extreme tribulation, false christs with power = don't be deceived, endure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Heavenly signs = just before the return. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The return itself will no longer need a sign - it will be significant enough. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, except all these things be done.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus underscores the meaning of his words with a double \"amen.\"<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are quite mysterious: Generation in the common understanding means generation or contemporaries. We can already say with certainty that the return of Jesus did not take place in the lifetime of the disciples and their contemporaries. What is the explanation?\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At least some of Jesus' words (false messiahs, wars, persecution, hasty flight) were probably about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Contemporaries may have lived to see these events. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD can be seen as \"Jesus returning in power\" - He made it clear from heaven that He was able to enforce what He said.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The word tribe (genea) can also mean something else, e.g., people who reject Christ (there are enough of them and there will be enough of them to the end. Cf. \u017d 78,8 \"<em>This is a rebellious and stubborn generation.\"<\/em>). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Jews as an ethnic group can be considered a generation - they will certainly see Christ's coming. The devil, despite all his efforts, has never succeeded and will never succeed in exterminating this people of God. (But the word ethnos is usually used for nation).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is an interesting understanding that Jesus would have in mind a generation of people in whose lives the signs of the last days would begin to be fulfilled. That is, in the sense of: when the last prophecies begin to be fulfilled, <strong>everything will be completed very quickly - within one generation.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Those who experience the fulfillment of the first signs of the end will also experience His return.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to understand generation? \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, it can be people \"born after XY\". For example, I have repeatedly heard prophecies (first by John McFarlain) that people born after 1968 will experience revival in our country.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nowadays, generations are named by letters - for example, it could be: The signs of Jesus have begun to be fulfilled and the people of Generation Z will witness His return.<sup data-fn=\"7a92e623-a68c-4ea1-a9ab-46266938f2bd\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#7a92e623-a68c-4ea1-a9ab-46266938f2bd\" id=\"7a92e623-a68c-4ea1-a9ab-46266938f2bd-link\">15<\/a><\/sup> and younger.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We can now recall that Jesus is speaking shortly before His death. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So everything he says has an even greater urgency than usual. The last words are often a summary of the most important things we would like to pass on to our descendants. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Here Jesus reminds us of the absolute binding and permanent validity of everything He has ever said. Surely he is not merely speaking of his present description of the meaning of his return: What I have just said to you has lasting validity - you don't have to take what I said before so seriously.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus never spoke \"into the wind.\" It is possible that he sometimes had only \"casual\" conversations with his disciples or dealt with short-term technical matters. Most of His words are not even recorded. <strong>However, we can be sure of the permanence of what we have recorded. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is interesting to note that the created universe has a shorter shelf life compared to Jesus' words.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Information (word) was in the beginning and information will persist after the end of the created universe. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The materialists are deeply mistaken. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That He is the eternal God is clear. What is interesting in this context is that man is also an eternal being. He will exist even after the earth and the universe are \"rolled up\" like a carpet. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Again: None of Jesus' information is transitory, limited, or temporary. Everything is permanently valid. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>36 No one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels of heaven,&nbsp;<sup>[<\/sup>nor the Son,<sup>]<\/sup>&nbsp;only the Father himself.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Another extremely interesting piece of information - Jesus reveals interesting facts about His \"family life\". <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We have a very vague, if any, idea of how things work among the persons of the Trinity. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Trinity of God is generally a rather mysterious concept that makes Christianity even more complex and difficult to understand. We have no precedents for the idea of the Trinity of God, where three persons of God are at the same time one God, and we have nothing to go on in thinking about it. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Here, \"in between the talk\" (Jesus primarily speaks of his return), we learn that there is no absolute unity of thought among the persons of the Trinity. It is not that what the Father knows, the Son automatically knows. If the Son is to know something, the Father must communicate it to Him. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Many questions arise from this information: \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This is a theological problem because the Son loses one attribute of divinity (omniscience). The explanation may be e.g.:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\"My son knows, but he doesn't say\", or <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\"The Son-man does not know, but the Son-God knows\", or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\"My son might know, but he doesn't want to know out of humility or because of purposeful self-limitation\", etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But these are rather skeletal constructions. The son's divinity is still sufficiently unquestionable. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does it work the other way around? I mean, are there things the Son knows that the Father does not know? Probably not - the Father is omniscient, whereas Jesus is human and therefore has a limited thinking capacity. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What about the Holy Spirit - does He know the date or not? In this he might be more like the Father. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is this a temporary \"measure\"? That is, doesn't the Father only communicate this information to the Son while He is on earth and tell Him when He returns to heaven? It's hard to say, but I'd say the Son doesn't know the exact date even now. (Jesus retains His humanity in eternity). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why is that? Why does the Father keep this information exclusively for Himself? Does the Father not trust the Son's secrecy? Is he concerned that Jesus will reveal this important matter to the people? That he would speak out? Hardly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is he worried that the Son's enormous compassion would lead him to warn people and they would snap out of it at the last minute (which would not be fair on higher principle)? This explanation is the most likely, though difficult to imagine - it would imply that the Father is \"harsher\" in his approach to people than the extremely empathetic Son, that the Son could \"spoil\" the Father's plan of salvation by his compassion, undermining absolute justice, etc. Any of this is difficult to conceive of, but there is a reason for this \"inter-trinitarian secrecy\".<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus says to the disciples: I could not tell you, even if I wanted to. Sometimes it is better not to know. If I don't know, I can't reveal anything, I don't have to talk or think about the possibility, I'm not even \"tempted\" to reveal anything. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus may be saying to the disciples: Don't push me, don't try to pry this information out of me - I just don't know it. He is ending, \"shutting down\" the discussion on the topic.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It is important for us humans not to know the exact date of the return - on the one hand, we are purposely given clues to be able to discern that the return is imminent, but only \"roughly\", not precisely. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If we knew the exact date, we would concentrate on preparation, which is not what God wants. <strong>Father wants us in a state of readiness <strong>lived permanently. <\/strong> <\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What would happen if we knew the specific date is nicely shown in the film \"Tell the World\" (2015) about Ellen White, the founder of Adventism<sup data-fn=\"59b4344f-52f2-490f-83a8-bd15bf08a3aa\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#59b4344f-52f2-490f-83a8-bd15bf08a3aa\" id=\"59b4344f-52f2-490f-83a8-bd15bf08a3aa-link\">16<\/a><\/sup>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><strong>Martin Luther reckoned on 1636, John Wesley thought of 1874; both were wise enough to choose a year well in advance without having to live with their mistakes<\/strong><sup data-fn=\"341fa093-0dfc-4cee-959b-d4f76fd1768a\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#341fa093-0dfc-4cee-959b-d4f76fd1768a\" id=\"341fa093-0dfc-4cee-959b-d4f76fd1768a-link\">17<\/a><\/sup><strong>. Not so William Miller, the founder of the Seventh-day Adventists, who chose 1844, or Charles Russell, the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, who chose 1914. More recent proposals have emphasized 1988 (as the fortieth year after the flowering of the \"fig tree\", the State of Israel). <\/strong>(quote from David Pawson: Understanding the Second Coming)<br><br><strong>In more recent times, Sergej Mih\u00e1l expected Christ's return on September 23, 2017. It was based on the position of Jupiter in the constellation Virgo according to Revelation 12, etc.<\/strong><sup data-fn=\"754c434a-3c5d-47bb-9204-ba32f7c8828a\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#754c434a-3c5d-47bb-9204-ba32f7c8828a\" id=\"754c434a-3c5d-47bb-9204-ba32f7c8828a-link\">18<\/a><\/sup><strong> <\/strong><br><br><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Interestingly, we don't know the date and won't know the date, but it is quite likely that Christ will return in the fall. For God has written a foretaste of His later redemptive work into the Jewish feasts. <\/mark><\/strong><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><br>The three main feasts when the people gathered in Jerusalem were:<br>- Passover (March\/April in our country), when a lamb was killed at 3 p.m., followed a few days later by the presentation of the first fruits of the harvest. This is a clear picture of Jesus' death and resurrection.<br>- Pentecost (May\/June) in thanksgiving for the Law given at Sinai fifty days after the first Passover (exodus from Egypt). These were fulfilled in the giving of the Holy Spirit seven weeks after the Passion (and brought salvation to three thousand penitents).<br>- Tabernacles (September\/October) is the third major holiday when Jews commemorate the manna supply in the desert by living in shelters for a week and celebrating the final harvest.<\/mark><\/strong> <br><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Christians celebrate both Easter and Pentecost, but not Tabernacles, because they see no connection to Christ in this feast.<br><\/mark><\/strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">(Jesus was probably not born on Christmas, another major Christian holiday; it is a time of pagan solstice celebration. But it is possible that he was conceived on December 25.)<\/mark><br><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Zechariah had a temple service in the fourth Jewish month. The Feast of Tabernacles falls in the seventh Jewish month, which is roughly our September. For a more detailed discussion of why Jesus may have been born during Sukkot, see the commentary on 2 Chronicles 24:10<\/mark><\/strong>. <br><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">The real fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles will not be until the second coming of Christ. Every Jew knows that. It was foretold by the prophets, e.g., Zech. 14:16 says, And it shall come to pass, that all the remnant of all the nations that came up against Jerusalem shall come year by year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. The Jews pray at this time each year so that the Gentiles can greet the Messiah (which will surely happen at Christ's return). <\/mark><\/strong><br><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">This is confirmed by other facts:<\/mark><\/strong><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">The Feast of Tabernacles is preceded by the Feast of Trumpets.<\/mark><\/strong><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">On the eighth day of the holiday, Jews hold a wedding ceremony where they marry the Torah under a canopy. After Christ's return, the marriage of the Lamb takes place. <\/mark><\/strong><br><br><br><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>37 For as&nbsp;<em>it was under<\/em>&nbsp;the days of Noah, so&nbsp;<em>will<\/em>&nbsp;1 \"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,\" says the LORD.&nbsp;<sup>[<\/sup>.<sup>]<\/sup>&nbsp;<em>At<\/em>&nbsp;the coming of the Son of Man.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus expands on the idea of not knowing the exact date of His return.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He compares his return to a flood, a nighttime theft, and a caretaker. In what sense?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In pre-Flood times, thanks to Noah's activities (he built a boat on the hill), it was common knowledge that at least some people were counting on the coming of the Flood and preparing for it. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People took different attitudes to this information (reacting with ignorance or even ridicule), but there was no one who took it seriously enough to ask for a place on the ship or to lend a hand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In this, the \"pre-flood\" times were similar to ours - a kind of awareness of Christ's imminent return exists among people today, but it is usually not so strong as to lead them to make concrete preparations. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>38 For as in the days that were before the flood they did eat, and drink, and marry, and were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus does not emphasize any sinfulness in human actions before the flood (He does not say, \"They drank, fornicated, stole, and killed\") - all of these activities are legitimate and good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These are ordinary activities, generally good or neutral. <strong> So what was and is the problem? Ignorance. Ignoring the impending flood, or Christ's return.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The problem with people was and is that <strong>because of their normal activities, they don't have the space to think about real threats.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>39 a&nbsp;<em>from<\/em>&nbsp;they didn't know until&nbsp;<em>No<\/em>the flood came and all&nbsp;<em>No<\/em>swept away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They knew nothing - but they should have. There were and are enough signals and indications. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In Noah's day, the ship was nearing completion after a hundred years of construction<sup data-fn=\"8b4f4329-426d-4822-857b-f2cc797a718c\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#8b4f4329-426d-4822-857b-f2cc797a718c\" id=\"8b4f4329-426d-4822-857b-f2cc797a718c-link\">19<\/a><\/sup> to a conclusion - and signs of Christ's imminent return are multiplying today, as we are reading about them now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>40 Then shall there be two in the field, one shall be taken, and the other left.<\/strong> <strong>41 Two will grind on&nbsp;<em>Grain<\/em>&nbsp; of the mill, one will be taken and the other will be left.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is thought that at Christ's return all Christians from every corner of the planet will be gathered to Him on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They will be \"picked up\" by angels from wherever they happen to be. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The doctrine of the rapture of the church before the great tribulation is a fallacy<sup data-fn=\"b08e1f62-e51a-4600-b6b2-f12192fb5a53\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#b08e1f62-e51a-4600-b6b2-f12192fb5a53\" id=\"b08e1f62-e51a-4600-b6b2-f12192fb5a53-link\">20<\/a><\/sup>, however, the rapture movies can help us get an idea of what it will be like when the angels transport the Christians to Jerusalem (only the garments will not remain in place).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The selection will be strict - Christians will be removed from their workplaces, non-Christians will remain. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>42 Watch therefore, for you do not know,&nbsp;<em>.<\/em>&nbsp;which day your Lord will come.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>var: which hour;<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Again we come to the reasons why Jesus does not want to give the exact date of his return - he wants Christians to <strong>staying awake.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We are to be permanently prepared for the possibility of leaving. Figuratively speaking: the \"evacuation bag\" is to be always at hand. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>The arrival will be unexpected and there will be no time to start preparing for the departure - confessing sins, apologizing to others, forgiving, putting relationships in order.<\/strong> <\/mark><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>By the time the trumpets sound and the Christians begin to disappear into Jerusalem, it will be too late to \"run to the church to see the pastor\" to confess my sins and be baptized.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Another \"all-important\" fact must be emphasized: we must watch regardless of what we think about the urgency of Christ's second coming. Even if Christ's return is still a thousand years away (it probably isn't, but that doesn't matter in this context), my death is certainly not a thousand years away. And for most people (especially older people), it is much, much more likely that they will die before Christ returns. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">For the same reasons (to stay awake) that we may not know the exact time of Christ's return, we do not know the exact time of our death.  <\/mark><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After death (or after a temporary sojourn in the \"in-between\" state of Sheol), Christians will be resurrected and encounter Christ on the Mount of Olives just as living Christians are transported from their homes and workplaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>43 But know this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the thief would come, he would have stayed awake, and would not have allowed&nbsp;<em>He<\/em>&nbsp;dig into the house.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Comparing your return to the arrival of a thief is strange at first glance. What are and are not the parallels of this comparison?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Firstly, it is certainly about unexpectedness: the thief does not wish the owner to be prepared for his arrival - he tries to arrive at the least likely and expected time. At a time when the owner is most likely to be asleep. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The owner on the contrary: In a way, he anticipates the possibility of robbery and tries to be prepared for thieves. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus does not act like a thief; on the contrary, He spends this entire chapter warning the disciples by what they will recognize the time of His imminent return. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who is the householder and who is the thief, and other aspects of the parable are explained by Jesus in the next verse: <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>44 Therefore be ye also ready, because ye know not the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.\"&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The explanation of the parable of the thief is clear - it is about being ready for Christ's return, even though we do not know the exact time of His return. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fortunately, being ready to return doesn't mean cutting back on sleep. Due to the rotation of the earth, a significant portion of Christians will find the voice of the angel trumpets in (physical) sleep, which is not at all a bad thing. Jesus is not talking about physical wakefulness, but spiritual wakefulness. If my relationship with Christ is solid, open, if I have confessed all my sins before sleeping, I can sleep without worry - the angels will simply wake me up before transporting me to Jerusalem.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What it means to be and not to be ready, to be and not to be awake, Jesus elaborates further: <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>45 Who then is a faithful and wise slave, whom his lord hath set over his household to give them food in due season?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Christians are expected to be <strong>Faithful <\/strong>. <strong>sensible<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Faithful <\/strong>is one who maintains a relationship or keeps a given word over the passage of time; faithfulness is manifested over time: whether I am married, am someone's friend, or am an employee, faithfulness is manifested by keeping the relationship and its obligations over time. Faithful spouses or friends support each other until death; faithful employees do not leave their positions for years. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sensible<\/strong> is the one who acts rationally, thinks about what is right and what is worthwhile. In this case, to persevere in one's commitments to the Lord is very rational and not to be foolish. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As we shall see, the slave in this case acted very irrationally when he traded short-term gratification for remaining in service. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What was the purpose of a slave? He had control over his subordinates <strong>to exercise authority and take care of them. <\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It's a well-known combination<strong> authority and responsibility<\/strong> - These two attributes often go hand in hand: if I am entrusted with authority, I am given responsibility along with it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the one hand, the slave leader could give orders to his subordinates, on the other hand, he was responsible for ensuring that they were taken care of. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>46 Blessed is the slave whom his lord shall require.&nbsp;<em>its<\/em>&nbsp;coming, he will find that he does.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We are still talking about the imminent return of Christ.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In this parable, who is the slave who has been entrusted with the office? At first glance, one might think of a \"pastor\" or other \"church worker\" (or a leader in general). They are responsible for their \"sheep in the congregation\" - they \"lord it over\" them to some degree and are obligated to bring them the nourishment of God's Word.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Did Jesus really mean it that way? It could be that he is speaking to his disciples - and they are \"somehow\" expected, because of their experience after the church is established, to lead and be responsible for the others.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But Jesus could have spoken more broadly - and<strong> a slave would then mean any Christian<\/strong>. No Christian (not even the most isolated) lives in a vacuum, only for himself; each has a significant responsibility for people and for the world around him. We are obliged to be light and salt. Salt that does not exhibit saltiness is useless and will be discarded. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Both interpretations are relevant.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Either way, the warnings about the need to watch are relevant to everyone ... and there are many in Scripture (the ten bridesmaids are probably the most famous).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>47 Verily I say unto you, that he shall set him over all his goods.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus says with all emphasis that the Lord highly values such slave\/master behavior. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Lord understands the difficulty of the task: he knows that his return took time, that the wait was long, that the temptations were considerable. The servant's faithfulness is all the more precious. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The reward will be significant - the servant will be promoted to one of the highest positions. His responsibility will continue to be much greater than it has been. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That God is about to entrust Christians (in His kingdom or in the Millennium) with significant \"posts\" we know, for example, from the parable of the sackcloth. Here we are told that they will be entrusted with \"everything\" - so it is quite possible that God is going to \"delegate\" most of His authority in the future. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>48 But if that wicked slave shall say in his heart, 'My lord.&nbsp;<sup>(<\/sup>long time coming<sup>)<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>n.: lingers [to come]<\/em>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Christianity is frighteningly real, and the \"happy ending\" is not at all obvious. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A slave has the freedom of choice and does not have to behave faithfully and reasonably at all. Or he may think \"reasonably\" in the opposite way - from the fact that nothing happens for a long time, the logic of his thinking may lead him to the conclusion that the probability of the master's return is generally slim. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This is not at all incomprehensible - if nothing has happened for ten years (let alone two thousand years), the probability that nothing will happen in the eleventh year (or the first two thousand years) is, logically speaking, quite considerable. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintaining loyalty even during a long period of waiting requires strong convictions and strong moral integrity. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So what did the evil slave conclude from his master's long absence? What did he say to himself? <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>49 And he would begin to beat his fellow slaves, and to eat and drink with drunkards,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>He told himself that he could treat his subordinates shabbily and alone, that he could socialize and get drunk with the \"rabble.\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>50 the master of that slave shall come in the day when&nbsp;<em>speech,<\/em>&nbsp;he doesn't expect, and at an hour he doesn't know.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Such an approach was fatally flawed for the slave - the master of course learned of his actions and returned. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whether he hastened his return because of it, we don't know, but it doesn't matter. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The important thing is that he decided to keep the date of his return a \"conspiracy\", that is, not to disclose it in advance, not to warn the servant. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If he had announced his return in advance, the evil slave would have had time to put everything in order - he would have sobered up, put everything in order, and by the time of his master's return the whole \"ensemble\" of servants would be standing at attention in \"shiny uniforms\". <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The master's unexpected return, on the other hand, reveals everything in all its nakedness - the drunken \"chauffeur\" is shouting with his cronies in the pub, the economy is in chaos and starving, the dominated and stressed slaves are cowering in a corner.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus, of course, will not stand for any \"Potemkin villages\" or insincere \"welcoming dances\" when He returns. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In this context, one cannot but recall the Red Cross \"visitations\" to German concentration camps or Maxim Gorky's visit to the Gulag (described in Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Files).<sup data-fn=\"db42d4f3-f195-4e83-98f1-1a1a289a82dc\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#db42d4f3-f195-4e83-98f1-1a1a289a82dc\" id=\"db42d4f3-f195-4e83-98f1-1a1a289a82dc-link\">21<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is a scene in The Gulag Archipelago that sticks in my mind when, after Gorky has seen the \"fancy\" camp (including the children's section), a 14-year-old boy comes up to him and says: \"Listen, Gorky! Everything you see is not true. Do you want to know the truth? Shall I tell it to you?\" The boy talks for an hour and a half - describing mosquitoes, staying in the snow at night, throwing children down the stairs and other cruelties. Gorgij then allegedly cries, but gets on a boat and sails away. He leaves the boy behind, and he is then shot immediately after the writer's departure.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is it any wonder the gentleman reacts indignantly afterwards?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>51 He shall separate him, and appoint him a portion with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>n.: cut in two; \u0159. dichotomein ('to cut in two');<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The word separate or cut up indicates a decisive action: the wicked steward is immediately separated from the other servants by the angry master, arrested and condemned. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The punishment is uncompromising - he is cast into hell.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus repeatedly refers to hell as a place where <strong>weeping and gnashing of teeth<\/strong>a place of despair and hopelessness. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In this case (as in the parable of the talents), the person who was originally a Christian (in the beginning he was the master's slave, which Christians undoubtedly are) ends up in hell.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the parable of the talents, the slave was brought to hell by laziness, sloth, or whatever made him bury the talents entrusted to him. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">This is the second extremely serious warning for all believers - it is not enough to \"sign up for ministry\" with Jesus, but to do ministry well, actively, and persevere to the end. <\/mark><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why is it mentioned that he will end up in hell <strong>hypocrites<\/strong>? Because the evil slave\/master is one of them - outwardly he appears to be a good servant of the master, but the reality is quite different. Hypocrisy is a bigger problem than sin itself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.<\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-footnotes\"><li id=\"7fa943c9-df34-4ba5-bbeb-7b387ae7e4dc\">It is different with the Jews, where claiming to be the Messiah is quite \"common\", which is surely due to the fact that the Jews are still waiting for their Christ. <a href=\"#7fa943c9-df34-4ba5-bbeb-7b387ae7e4dc-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 1\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"0bc18a73-419e-40d0-8f23-e7294ed386fe\">I don't go deeper into the question of conspiracies here - what is called conspiracies includes a wide range of views - from downright crazy (in my opinion, chem-trails or flat earth) to relatively possible, albeit non-standard, explanations of the events taking place.  <a href=\"#0bc18a73-419e-40d0-8f23-e7294ed386fe-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 2\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"aa53801f-0009-4d65-8f2b-6ac5db90a9d2\">Both are hard to quantify: How many people in absolute numbers and what percentage of humanity is currently involved in wars is hard to determine. As we said, the relative numbers may well have been much worse in history.  <a href=\"#aa53801f-0009-4d65-8f2b-6ac5db90a9d2-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 3\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"d02de504-cb5d-4791-9fdc-a1497f77845f\">Cf. seismology, seismologist. <a href=\"#d02de504-cb5d-4791-9fdc-a1497f77845f-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 4\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"f7a0284a-f3fe-4a14-b614-4243d38d57c4\">Some have also found other, less demanding religions - they have become \"Zen Christians\", for example. Others \"regressed\" to Judaism.  <a href=\"#f7a0284a-f3fe-4a14-b614-4243d38d57c4-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 5\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"76bf6339-778c-4349-a81b-5294471a042e\">As, for example, in the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who placed an idol of Zeus in the Temple of Jerusalem in 167 B.C. (1 Maccabees 1:54) <a href=\"#76bf6339-778c-4349-a81b-5294471a042e-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 6\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"306fc7dd-1185-4164-b13c-476a1a354296\">Antiochus placed a statue of Zeus in the temple and sacrificed pigs, which sparked the Meccabean revolt.  <a href=\"#306fc7dd-1185-4164-b13c-476a1a354296-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 7\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"f40555c4-4d8d-4615-aa31-642b73bc39a7\">The building of another temple in Jerusalem is commonly assumed among interpreters of eschatology. Indeed, Orthodox Jews are systematically preparing for it, cf. e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/templeinstitute.org\/\">https:\/\/templeinstitute.org\/<\/a> <a href=\"#f40555c4-4d8d-4615-aa31-642b73bc39a7-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 8\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"1cf97bec-3061-404c-a711-79b87dd7d8a0\">Woe betide those who trigger a hospital evacuation with a hoax phone call about a bomb being planted.  <a href=\"#1cf97bec-3061-404c-a711-79b87dd7d8a0-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 9\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"2cf5c298-0646-4c5c-8d5a-eb8ca2e7db74\">George Orwell: the novel 1984. Big Brother is watching you.  <a href=\"#2cf5c298-0646-4c5c-8d5a-eb8ca2e7db74-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 10\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"fa336ea3-aa93-4691-b387-275dde0d0265\">China reportedly has 700 million cameras, which equates to approximately one camera per two inhabitants. These cameras are often equipped with facial recognition technology as well as clothing or behavioural recognition. <br>The social credit system assesses the \"trustworthiness\" of individuals, on the basis of which sanctions are set, e.g. in the form of restrictions on access to finance, travel, etc. <br>Systems can be somewhat 'predictive' with the ability to estimate potentially dangerous behaviour and intervene 'pre-emptively'. <a href=\"#fa336ea3-aa93-4691-b387-275dde0d0265-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 11\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"9027d403-11bf-4337-b9a0-36aff210c7b2\">Which we know also from 1Co 10:13 No temptation hath overtaken you but that of man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to try more than ye can bear; but with the trial will give you a way out, that ye may be able to bear it. <a href=\"#9027d403-11bf-4337-b9a0-36aff210c7b2-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 12\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"516ed6d2-fca7-4f24-b01e-1b08fde82a43\">Christians are clearly the most persecuted group in the world - cf. the so-called \"persecution map\" - available in many forms on the Internet. <a href=\"#516ed6d2-fca7-4f24-b01e-1b08fde82a43-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 13\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"643e7b41-8904-4e31-9133-943ac697bbd2\">Just like in our country when communism fell in 1989.  <a href=\"#643e7b41-8904-4e31-9133-943ac697bbd2-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 14\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"7a92e623-a68c-4ea1-a9ab-46266938f2bd\"><strong>Generation Z<\/strong> is the name given to the demographic cohort of people born approximately between the mid-1990s and 2010.  <a href=\"#7a92e623-a68c-4ea1-a9ab-46266938f2bd-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 15\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"59b4344f-52f2-490f-83a8-bd15bf08a3aa\">In short: When the emphasis on the exact calculation of Christ's return \"failed,\" Adventists turned their attention to the Sabbath and a healthy lifestyle. <a href=\"#59b4344f-52f2-490f-83a8-bd15bf08a3aa-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 16\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"341fa093-0dfc-4cee-959b-d4f76fd1768a\">Martin Luther lived 1483 - 1546, John Wesley 1703 - 1791. <a href=\"#341fa093-0dfc-4cee-959b-d4f76fd1768a-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 17\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"754c434a-3c5d-47bb-9204-ba32f7c8828a\">Michael Buban responded to Mihalov's book in a great way. But I can't find the article. <a href=\"#754c434a-3c5d-47bb-9204-ba32f7c8828a-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 18\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"8b4f4329-426d-4822-857b-f2cc797a718c\">Approximate estimate - the exact length of the ship's construction is not known. <a href=\"#8b4f4329-426d-4822-857b-f2cc797a718c-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 19\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"b08e1f62-e51a-4600-b6b2-f12192fb5a53\">We will deal with this in the appropriate places.  <a href=\"#b08e1f62-e51a-4600-b6b2-f12192fb5a53-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 20\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"db42d4f3-f195-4e83-98f1-1a1a289a82dc\">For example, the Nazis presented Terez\u00edn as a \"model Jewish ghetto\". Before the visit of the Red Cross delegation, the camp was artificially beautified, concerts and cultural events were staged for the visitors. In reality, conditions in the camp were harsh, with people dying of malnutrition, disease and stress; it was an intermediate station before the transports to the extermination camps.<br>The writer Maxim Gorky, an icon of Bolshevik culture, visited some Soviet labour camps in 1929. Here, too, prisoners were forced to pretend that the conditions of their lives were good. <a href=\"#db42d4f3-f195-4e83-98f1-1a1a289a82dc-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 21\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1 Je\u017e\u00ed\u0161&nbsp;vy\u0161el z chr\u00e1mu a odch\u00e1zel. Tu p\u0159istoupili jeho u\u010dedn\u00edci,&nbsp;aby mu&nbsp;uk\u00e1zali&nbsp;na chr\u00e1mov\u00e9 stavby.&nbsp; 2 Ale on jim&nbsp;(na to)&nbsp;\u0159ekl:&nbsp;\u201eVid\u00edte to v\u0161echno? Amen, prav\u00edm v\u00e1m, jist\u011b zde nez\u016fstane k\u00e1men na kameni,&nbsp;kter\u00fd nebude str\u017een.\u201c 3 Kdy\u017e&nbsp;sed\u011bl na Olivov\u00e9 ho\u0159e,&nbsp;v soukrom\u00ed k n\u011bmu p\u0159istoupili u\u010dedn\u00edci a \u0159\u00edkali: \u201e\u0158ekni n\u00e1m, kdy to bude&nbsp;a jak\u00e9&nbsp;bude&nbsp;znamen\u00ed tv\u00e9ho p\u0159\u00edchodu&nbsp;a skon\u00e1n\u00ed v\u011bku?\u201c 4 Je\u017e\u00ed\u0161 [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"U \\u017eid\\u016f je tomu jinak - tam je prohla\\u0161ov\\u00e1n\\u00ed se za Mesi\\u00e1\\u0161e pom\\u011brn\\u011b \\\"b\\u011b\\u017en\\u00e9\\\", co\\u017e je jist\\u011b d\\u00e1no t\\u00edm, \\u017ee \\u017eid\\u00e9 na sv\\u00e9ho Krista st\\u00e1le \\u010dekaj\\u00ed.\",\"id\":\"7fa943c9-df34-4ba5-bbeb-7b387ae7e4dc\"},{\"content\":\"Hloub\\u011bji zde ot\\u00e1zku konspirac\\u00ed ne\\u0159e\\u0161\\u00edm -  to, co je naz\\u00fdv\\u00e1no konspiracemi, zahrnuje \\u0161irok\\u00e9 spektrum n\\u00e1zor\\u016f - od vylo\\u017een\\u011b bl\\u00e1zniv\\u00fdch (dle m\\u00e9ho n\\u00e1zoru t\\u0159eba chem-trails nebo ploch\\u00e1 zem\\u011b) a\\u017e po relativn\\u011b mo\\u017en\\u00e9, i kdy\\u017e nestandardn\\u00ed vysv\\u011btlen\\u00ed prob\\u00edhaj\\u00edc\\u00edch ud\\u00e1lost\\u00ed. \",\"id\":\"0bc18a73-419e-40d0-8f23-e7294ed386fe\"},{\"content\":\"Oboj\\u00ed je t\\u011b\\u017ek\\u00e9 kvantifikovat: Kolik lid\\u00ed v absolutn\\u00edch po\\u010dtech a kolik procent lidstva je aktu\\u00e1ln\\u011b vta\\u017eeno do v\\u00e1lek, je t\\u011b\\u017eko stanovit. Jak u\\u017e jsme \\u0159ekli, relativn\\u00ed \\u010d\\u00edsla dost mo\\u017en\\u00e1 b\\u00fdvala v historii mnohem hor\\u0161\\u00ed. \",\"id\":\"aa53801f-0009-4d65-8f2b-6ac5db90a9d2\"},{\"content\":\"Srv. seismologie, seismolog.\",\"id\":\"d02de504-cb5d-4791-9fdc-a1497f77845f\"},{\"content\":\"N\\u011bkte\\u0159\\u00ed si tak\\u00e9 na\\u0161li jin\\u00e9, m\\u00e9n\\u011b n\\u00e1ro\\u010dn\\u00e9 n\\u00e1bo\\u017eenstv\\u00ed - stali se nap\\u0159. \\\"zenov\\u00fdmi k\\u0159es\\u0165any\\\". Jin\\u00ed \\\"regredovali\\\" k \\u017eidovstv\\u00ed. \",\"id\":\"f7a0284a-f3fe-4a14-b614-4243d38d57c4\"},{\"content\":\"Jako nap\\u0159. prob\\u011bhlo za doby Antiocha IV. Epifana, kter\\u00fd um\\u00edstil v r. 167 p\\u0159. Kr. do jeruzal\\u00e9msk\\u00e9ho chr\\u00e1mu modlu Dia (1. Makabejsk\\u00e1 1,54)\",\"id\":\"76bf6339-778c-4349-a81b-5294471a042e\"},{\"content\":\"Antiochos um\\u00edstil do chr\\u00e1mu sochu Dia a ob\\u011btoval prasata, co\\u017e vyvolalo povst\\u00e1n\\u00ed Mekabejsk\\u00fdch. \",\"id\":\"306fc7dd-1185-4164-b13c-476a1a354296\"},{\"content\":\"Vybudov\\u00e1n\\u00ed dal\\u0161\\u00edho chr\\u00e1mu v Jeruzal\\u00e9m\\u011b se mezi vyklada\\u010di eschatologie b\\u011b\\u017en\\u011b p\\u0159edpokl\\u00e1d\\u00e1. Ostatn\\u011b ortodoxn\\u00ed \\u017eid\\u00e9 se na n\\u011b systematicky p\\u0159ipravuj\\u00ed, srv. nap\\u0159. <a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/templeinstitute.org\\\/\\\">https:\\\/\\\/templeinstitute.org\\\/<\\\/a>\",\"id\":\"f40555c4-4d8d-4615-aa31-642b73bc39a7\"},{\"content\":\"B\\u011bda t\\u011bm, kdo vyvolaj\\u00ed evakuaci nemocnice fale\\u0161n\\u00fdm telefon\\u00e1tem o um\\u00edst\\u011bn\\u00ed bomby. \",\"id\":\"1cf97bec-3061-404c-a711-79b87dd7d8a0\"},{\"content\":\"George Orwel: rom\\u00e1n 1984. Velk\\u00fd bratr t\\u011b sleduje. \",\"id\":\"2cf5c298-0646-4c5c-8d5a-eb8ca2e7db74\"},{\"content\":\"\\u010c\\u00edna \\u00fadajn\\u011b 700 miliony kamer, co\\u017e p\\u0159edstavuje p\\u0159ibli\\u017en\\u011b jednu kameru na dva obyvatele. Tyto kamery jsou \\u010dasto vybaveny technologi\\u00ed rozpozn\\u00e1v\\u00e1n\\u00ed nejen podle obli\\u010deje, ale i podle oble\\u010den\\u00ed nebo chov\\u00e1n\\u00ed. <br>Syst\\u00e9m soci\\u00e1ln\\u00edho kreditu hodnot\\u00ed \\\"d\\u016fv\\u011bryhodnost\\\" jednotlivc\\u016f, na jeho\\u017e z\\u00e1klad\\u011b jsou nastaveny sankce, nap\\u0159. ve form\\u011b omezen\\u00ed p\\u0159\\u00edstupu k financ\\u00edm, mo\\u017enosti cestov\\u00e1n\\u00ed aj. <br>Syst\\u00e9my dok\\u00e1\\u017e\\u00ed b\\u00fdt do ur\\u010dit\\u00e9 m\\u00edry \\\"prediktivn\\u00ed\\\" se schopnost\\u00ed odhadnout potenci\\u00e1ln\\u011b nebezpe\\u010dn\\u00e9 chov\\u00e1n\\u00ed a zasahovat \\\"preventivn\\u011b\\\".\",\"id\":\"fa336ea3-aa93-4691-b387-275dde0d0265\"},{\"content\":\"Co\\u017e v\\u00edme i z 1K 10,13 Nezachv\\u00e1tilo v\\u00e1s jin\\u00e9 poku\\u0161en\\u00ed ne\\u017e lidsk\\u00e9; v\\u011brn\\u00fd je v\\u0161ak B\\u016fh, kter\\u00fd v\\u00e1s nenech\\u00e1 zkusit v\\u00edce, ne\\u017e snesete, ale se zkou\\u0161kou d\\u00e1 i v\\u00fdchodisko, abyste ji mohli sn\\u00e9st.\",\"id\":\"9027d403-11bf-4337-b9a0-36aff210c7b2\"},{\"content\":\"K\\u0159es\\u0165an\\u00e9 jsou na sv\\u011bte jednozna\\u010dn\\u011b nejpron\\u00e1sledovan\\u011bj\\u0161\\u00ed skupinou  - srv. tzv. \\\"mapa pron\\u00e1sledov\\u00e1n\\u00ed\\\" - dostupn\\u00e1 v mnoha podob\\u00e1ch na internetu.\",\"id\":\"516ed6d2-fca7-4f24-b01e-1b08fde82a43\"},{\"content\":\"Jako u n\\u00e1s p\\u0159i p\\u00e1du komunismu v roce 1989. \",\"id\":\"643e7b41-8904-4e31-9133-943ac697bbd2\"},{\"content\":\"<strong>Generace Z<\\\/strong> je ozna\\u010den\\u00ed pro demografickou kohortu lid\\u00ed narozen\\u00fdch p\\u0159ibli\\u017en\\u011b mezi polovinou 90. let 20. stolet\\u00ed a rokem 2010. \",\"id\":\"7a92e623-a68c-4ea1-a9ab-46266938f2bd\"},{\"content\":\"Zkratkovit\\u011b \\u0159e\\u010deno: Kdy\\u017e \\\"nevy\\u0161el\\\" d\\u016fraz na p\\u0159esn\\u00fd v\\u00fdpo\\u010det Kristova n\\u00e1vratu, obr\\u00e1tili adventist\\u00e9 svou pozornost na sobotu a na zdrav\\u00fd \\u017eivotn\\u00ed styl.\",\"id\":\"59b4344f-52f2-490f-83a8-bd15bf08a3aa\"},{\"content\":\"Martin Luther \\u017eil 1483 \\u2013 1546, John Wesley 1703 \\u2013 1791.\",\"id\":\"341fa093-0dfc-4cee-959b-d4f76fd1768a\"},{\"content\":\"Na Mih\\u00e1lovu knihu skv\\u011ble reagoval Michael Buban. \\u010cl\\u00e1nek ale nemohu naj\\u00edt.\",\"id\":\"754c434a-3c5d-47bb-9204-ba32f7c8828a\"},{\"content\":\"P\\u0159ibli\\u017en\\u00fd odhad - p\\u0159esn\\u00e1 d\\u00e9lka stavby lod\\u011b, zn\\u00e1ma nen\\u00ed.\",\"id\":\"8b4f4329-426d-4822-857b-f2cc797a718c\"},{\"content\":\"Budeme se t\\u00edm zab\\u00fdvat na p\\u0159\\u00edslu\\u0161n\\u00fdch m\\u00edstech. \",\"id\":\"b08e1f62-e51a-4600-b6b2-f12192fb5a53\"},{\"content\":\"Nap\\u0159. Terez\\u00edn nacist\\u00e9 prezentovali jako \\u201evzorov\\u00e9 \\u017eidovsk\\u00e9 ghetto\\u201c. P\\u0159ed n\\u00e1v\\u0161t\\u011bvou delegace \\u010cerven\\u00e9ho k\\u0159\\u00ed\\u017ee byl t\\u00e1bor um\\u011ble zkr\\u00e1\\u0161len, pro n\\u00e1v\\u0161t\\u011bvn\\u00edky byly byly sehr\\u00e1ny koncerty a kulturn\\u00ed akce. Ve skute\\u010dnosti byly podm\\u00ednky v t\\u00e1bo\\u0159e krut\\u00e9, lid\\u00e9 um\\u00edrali podv\\u00fd\\u017eivou, nemocemi a stresem;  \\u0161lo o mezistanici p\\u0159ed transporty do vyhlazovac\\u00edch t\\u00e1bor\\u016f.<br>Spisovatel Maxim Gorkij, ikona bol\\u0161evick\\u00e9 kultury, v roce 1929 nav\\u0161t\\u00edvil n\\u011bkter\\u00e9 sov\\u011btsk\\u00e9 pracovn\\u00ed t\\u00e1bory. Tak\\u00e9 zde byli v\\u011bzni nucen\\u00ed p\\u0159edst\\u00edrat, \\u017ee podm\\u00ednky jejich \\u017eivot\\u016f jsou dobr\\u00e9.\",\"id\":\"db42d4f3-f195-4e83-98f1-1a1a289a82dc\"}]"},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}