Matt 24

Date: 29-30 January 2009 D - 12 days

Events:

28 January: Woke up early cause I couldn’t sleep so I read, wrote and had breakfast with John and Gracie. We had a hard freeze, it’s 22 degrees with a quarter inch of ice on the ground (see car picture). I drove to Ft Hood to do the much dreaded medical clearance required for deployment. I say much dreaded because I have been peripherally involved in all of the other soldiers clearing (at least from the medical side) and seen it take days to weeks. The Fort Hood clearance center sees more soldiers than any other in the country. While the 10-15 other centers see one to two thousand a year, Fort Hood clears 10-20K/year. They work on all of the major holidays and weekends to accomplish the mission. People from all over the south west come to Hood to clear. Yesterday, I met a unit out of Puerto Rico that was leaving for Iraq next week. The process was as painful but not quite as long as I expected. The day began with power points. The instructors gave us a risk assessment of the climate and dangers of Iraq and briefings on the live vaccines that we were about to receive (Small Pox and Anthrax). As the day progressed we moved through stations for creating a will, power of attorney, changing our pay (tax free now), hearing, vision, dental and medical screening. Over all the process was completed far more quickly than I expected lasting from 0900 to 1500. I rushed out as soon as I was done and back to the Brigade for a Command and Staff Meeting. After a long day of lines and exams, I went back to Temple to a great dinner (as always) prepared by John.

29 January: I had a PT test yesterday morning (hence the 2 days for 1 deal). The PT test went great, I did better in each event than I have since college, too much time on my hands I guess. I had the push-ups and sit-ups max’ed with 30 seconds to spare and ran a 12.25min 2 miles (max 13.18). All that yoga paid off J. After my PT test, I showered at the brigade and saw patients all morning until my Non-deployable scrub at 1300. I had 1 interesting patient, a 35 year old male that has on two occasions gone into extreme muscle breakdown (called rhabdomyolysis) after mild exercise. The muscle enzymes are poisonous to the kidneys and on one occasion he nearly died and was hospitalized in the ICU on dialysis for a week. When he first came to me he wanted to deploy and thought that if I could give him lighter restrictions, we could get him to Iraq. I complied but have closely followed his progress. I drew labs on Wednesday 4 days after he had completed a Land Navigation course. Much to my disappointment, his muscle enzymes were again extremely high despite him being (at least in his words) asymptomatic. As it is an extremely dangerous situation both for him and the deployed unit for this to happen down range, I gave him a Profile (Orders in a Memo form) that he was never to deploy (or exercise strenuously again). Tough conversation because this will end the career of a good soldier who really wants to accomplish his mission. At the 1300 Non-deployable scrub, I broke the news to the commander who was likewise disappointed, fun job! Meeting lasted till 1500 at which point I went back to the clinic to finish up a couple notes then headed home. I went out to Marla’s speaker program at Silo’s last night (one of my favorite restaurants). The speaker was very impressive, he flew himself down in his own airplane and gave an amazing talk on hypertension. While I find hypertension and all primary care stuff pretty boring, it is important for me to stay up to date as primary care is what I do these days.

Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 24

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."

Signs of the Close of the Age

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" 4 And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


Ps 25:11

11 For your name's sake, O Lord,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Bible Thoughts:

1. Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." In 70 AD, the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem to end a Jewish rebellion. I wrote a paper in college of the relationship of 70 AD to this passage. Truly, the suffering was great,people were forced to eat their dead as the siege lasted months. In the end the Romans invaded the emaciated city, slaughtered its people and burned it to the ground. The families who remembered this passage fled to the hills and avoided the foretold annihilation. While the following passage seems prophesy this event, there are many specific events that did not occur. Thus we see the destruction of 70 AD as both a fulfillment of this passage and a prophesy (itself as an example) of what we will see at Christ’s return.

2. "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" The disciples ask Jesus to answer two questions, 1) when will this occur? 2) What will the signs of the end be? Jesus answers in reverse order.

3. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Many Christians subscribe to a doctrine called, “Postmillennialism.” Postmillennialist’s feels that the 70 AD destruction was the fulfillment of both Matthew 24 (this chapter) and Revelation’s prophesy of Judgment. Thus leaving present day Christians in a gradual expansion and ultimate worldly triumph over Satan. I disagree with this interpretation of scripture. First of all I cannot accept that all prophesy was fulfilled in 70 AD, as many prophesies in both Matthew and Revelation were not. Secondly, I cannot look around the world today and say that we are winning. Disappointment does not come from events but from expectations. When we have the correct worldview, that Satan has temporary dominion over this world (thus suffering) but that Christ (not man) will ultimately triumph over Satan and at once bring forth a Kingdom that puts all earthly kingdoms to shame, then and only then can we obey this chapter and be “ not alarmed” when we hear of the intense worldly suffering that goes on today because it does not mean that Christ and Christians are somehow at risk of losing the battle. Instead with the correct worldview, far from becoming alarmed at the intense suffering in the world, we can thrive in the hope that Christ’s return grows imminently closer. We can hope that far from losing the battle to the earthly warlords and terrorists, instead God’s wrath against the oppressors continues to grow until the foretold judgment when every knee will bow to his glory.

4. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. That no tribe in Africa may claim ignorance.

5. 15 "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains These instructions saved many lives in 70 AD but also in this instruction, we see an example of how past event are used by God to foreshadow future events. One of the most amazing prophesies in the bible occurs in Daniel 11 & 12 when Daniel (hundred’s of out) prophesizes the invasion and destruction of Jerusalem and exact day that Antiochus Epiphanes would sacrifice a Pig (unclean animal) on the alter of the Temple (Dec 15, 167 BC). Christ brings the term back foretelling a future abomination of desolation both in 70 AD and at the true end of days. History is doomed to repeat itself. It is because of this prophesy that many believe the temple must be rebuilt for a 3rd time before Christ’s ultimate return.

6. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Out of love for God’s “elect”(his chosen) he will stop the suffering. This is likely not a indication of a rapture as much an indication of the temporary suffering/tribulation the world will go through prior to Christ’s emanate return.

7. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. The false Christ’s will test God’s people and those who are not elect will deny the true Christ and God and worship the Idols. Truly the only ones who make it through this deception will be those enabled not by their own wisdom or power but with the graceful gift of God’s wisdom and power. God will sift the wheat from the chaff with these antichrists (2 Thessalonians 2). I submit that many a “Christian” today already worships a “false Christ” as the Idol Christ of many churchs does not reflect the true biblical Christ but a Christ stripped of justice, a Christ stripped of majesty, a Christ stripped of Glory and substituted is a Christ that serves man’s purpose, a more manageable, tolerant, politically correct Christ. This is why the study of theology is imperative. We must worship the true Christ and in order to do so, we must know the true Christ.

8. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. The Second coming of Christ will be evident to the entire world. There will be no doubt even to the unbeliever of who is coming in the clouds with his armies following. Here is one of my favorite passages in the bible to demonstrate how evident Christs return will be, it brings me to tears every time I read it,
“11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Rev 19:11-16

We serve a great and worthy King.

9. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. This is the third time in as many paragraphs that Christ has used the term “elect” to describe his chosen people. My question to the semi-palagean (free choice type) is, do our elected officials have the power to elect themselves or is it an external event that does not reside in the ultimate power of the elected.

10. 32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Christ now moves on to the disciples second question, when? His answer is to be watchful for these events, as when they begin, they will progress quickly (3.5-7 yrs) to Christ’s return. The quote, “this generation” has been used to support the interpretation that this chapter only applied to 70 AD but, as Christ did not return, we must take this in context to be speaking of the speed at which the signs and tribulation occur and progress. Once the signs start to occur, the second coming will occur within one generation.

11. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. This verse is the best (and only biblical) support of rapture in the Left Behind sense. While it may in fact describe a rapture, that seems a bit speculative. In context, all that I can say that this verse directly supports is the speed of Christ’s return. In a moment Christ will overpower Satan and bring judgment to the earth, separating the lambs from goats, wheat from chaff, and good from evil.

12. Psalms: 11 For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. It is for the name and glory of God that we are saved, not for our own. Our salvation echo’s his strength and goodness no ours.

Sun Tzu:

“When your forces are dulled, your edge is blunted, your strength is exhausted, and your supplies are gone, then others will take advantage of your debility and rise up. Then even if you have wise advisers you cannot make things turn out well in the end.”
“A wise government does not keep its army in the field”

The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006):

Abraham is considered the patriarch of monotheistic religion (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Abraham, married to Sarai, was promised to be the father of a great nation. In a bout of faithlessness, he decided that he needed to sleep with a maidservant named Hagar in order to fulfill the promise, as his wife was in her 90’s and infertile. Hagar had a child who was named Ishmael. Muslims claim Ishmael as the father of their faith. Out of anger and jealousy, Sarai and Abraham banished Hagar and Ishmael. God’s promise was subsequently fulfilled to Abraham as Sarai got pregnant and Abraham changed her name to Sarah. Sarah had a son named Isaac who married Rebecca who bore Jacob (renamed Israel after struggling with the angel) who became the father of the 12 Jewish nations.