The 144,000 Jewish witnesses, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, will also be believers in Jesus the Messiah as indicated by many references of Jesus as the Lamb of God in connection with them. These 144,000 witnesses will be God's primary witnesses of Jesus and His then coming Kingdom as well as His death and resurrection for the sakes of all human beings including those living in the Tribulation or 70th Week of Daniel. These 144,000 witnesses will each have full committment and joy and enthusiasm in serving God. They will also be calling people back to God's word and law and a relationship with Him and for people to turn from sin, selfishness and unbelief to God and Jesus. God will abundantly use the witness of these 144,000 Jewish witnesses for Jesus to win people to Himself and His Son Jesus Christ in the first half of the Tribulation. This will be even though the Antichrist and False Prophet will be then already ruling the Earth and persecuting and threatening anyone that trusts in or lives for God and His Son Jesus the Messiah. Part of the effect of this persecution of believers in Jesus by the Antichrist in the Tribulation will be to put them to death. This is why they are pictured in heaven as having come out of great triubulation. It is significant that they are mentioned immediately after the 144,000 Messianic Jewish witnesses and their ministry on Earth as if this great multitude martyred for God and Jesus are the fruit or result of the witness for God and Jesus the Lamb of the 144,000 Messianic Jewish witnesses. This multitude from every area of the world as evidenced by the description of them from all nations, kindreds, people and tongues. It is also said they will be of a very great number - that no man could number or count. They are thankful to and give glory to God and the Lamb - Jesus for saving them and giving them eternal life out of an ungodly, unbelieving, Satanic and hell-bound world. THEY HAVE THEIR ROBES (PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY WASHED WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB (JESUS)). God will comfort them in Heaven by allowing them to be before Him and His throne in grace night and day and to be fed and led to fountains of living waters by Jesus Himself in Heaven. The scripture reference of the multitude of all nations led to God and Jesus and faith in Him by the 144,000 Messianic Kingdom and their preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom in Revelation 7 is as follows:
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And he said to me, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, AND HAVE WASHED THEIR ROBES, AND MADE THEM WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them into living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Revelation 7:9-17
In Revelation 14, which is after Revelation 13 at the start of the 2nd half of the tribulation when the mark of the beast or his worship starts to be forced on people throughout the Earth, the basis of salvation is stated to be refusing or fleeing from worshipping the beast or his image or receive his mark in one's forehead or hand. All who do any of the above will have yielded their souls to the beast out of the sea - the Antichrist(probably the Roman Catholic Pope during the tribulation) and the devil and will have forever forfeited a relationship with and salvation from and an eternal destiny with God and His Son Jesus Christ. If necessary people will have to die instead of voluntarily or for food or goods receiving the mark of the beast or worshipping him or his image. To hold out against worshipping the beast or his image or taking his mark willingly or by coercion in the tribulation especially the second half is the outward test or keeping the patience of the saints and keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. God also says that blessed are all those die in the Lord henceforth (meaning from this time until the end of the tribulation). This blessing is so they can rest from their labours of trying to evade and refuse the mark of the beast or having his forces compel them to worship the beast or his image. These saints when they are killed for refusing to honour the beast will go immediately to heaven where they will have rest and blessing. They then won't have to worry any more about holding out for the sake of their eternal destiny from the control of the beast on Earth. People that trust in God will be encouraged to do so by the witness for God and Jesus or the 144,000 Messianic Jewish witnesses and Moses and Elijah in the 1st half of the tribulation and the everlasting gospel preached by an angel in heaven at least on once occasion and probably more in the 2nd half of the tribulation. Their works do follow them probably means God will have eternal rewards follow them that He will give to them when He sets up His Messianic Kingdom over all the Earth. This establishment of God's Messianic Kingdom will occur when the Lord Jesus the Messiah returns from Heaven with the Father, His angels and Church Age, some Old Testament and Tribulation martyr saints or believers at the end of the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel. The scripture reference in Revelation 14 about the believers from the nations and the Jews who will be saved by refusing to receive the mark of the beast or worshipping him or his image through death or continued running and hiding and fighting in the second half of the tribulation is as follows:
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive him mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. Revelation 14:9-13
Although it will be a very stressful even harrowing experience for some time, God will generously reward all those people who trust in Him and His Messiah Jesus by keeping His commandments and trusting Jesus alone for salvation and refusing to worship the beast or his image or take his mark . This is even though people will not be able to buy or sell except they receive the mark of the beast or worship him or his image in the tribulation. People will be commanded and sought out to do these things or face death at the hands of the worldwide forces of the Beast our of the Sea(the Antichrist or Man of Sin) and the Beast our of the Land (the False Prophet). God will reward His faithful believers or saints with authority to sit on thrones and to judge and reign and live with Christ (Messiah Jesus) for a thousand years - the time of the Messianic Age. The scripture verse from Revelation 20 describing the trial and reward of faith of these tribulation martyrs for God and His Messiah - Jesus is as follows:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20:4
When Jesus predicted that the 2nd Temple or Herod's Temple standing while He was on Earth would soon be destroyed (as it was by the Romans in 70AD) His disciples asked Him three questions, when shall these things be, what shall be the sign of thy(your) coming and of the end of the world? Although some of the things Jesus describes in His answer have occurred over the last 2000 years and are occurring now they will be much more intense during the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel. Then the Holy Spirit won't restrain evil as much and their will be more Satanic and demonic activity and God's judgment. Also as Jesus says later on in this chapter it won't be until a generation within the fig tree putting forth its leaves that is marked as the generation since Israel became a nations in 1948 that all things (the tribulation and Jesus second coming and start of the Messianic Age) will be fulfilled. An indication that we are still in that generation is that Ariel Sharon the current leader of the governing Likud party, Shimon Peres the leader of the Labour Party and Gershom Salomon the leader of The Temple Mount Faithful group trying to reestablish the Jewish Temple all fought in the Israeli war of independence in 1948 and are all alive. They up to recently were all well and active in Israeli political and or religious life and are of the generation mentioned in this prophecy of Jesus. It should be noted that the first thing Jesus mentions to be aware of to beware of concerning the tribulation is concerning the many false Christs or false Messiahs that will try and succeed in deceiving many. This will be especially true of those who don't know the Bible or that will be enduring the tribulation without a readily accessible, dependably Biblically accurate people of God and students or teachers of the word of God. Faithful or knowledgeable Bible teachers or students are currently exemplified by evangelical, Bible believing or born again Christians including Messianic Jews in the present almost completed Church Age or Age of grace or of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also warns about wars and rumours of wars in the last days especially in the tribulation. This is already very much the case especially between the West and to some extent the rest of the world and militant Islam especially since September 11, 200. However this will be much worse also in the lands of the West despite security measures in the tribulation. There will also be other wars or rumours of wars. Jesus also warns of natural disasters in the last days especially in the tribulation of which AIDS, and other things like Sars, the bird flu, mad cow disease, ebola, and the west nile virus could be called some examples of pestilences at present but this will also be at least as bad in the tribulation. The scripture verses about the adverse spiritual and natural conditions on Earth especially during the tribulation in Matthew 24 are as follows:
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Gospel of Matthew 24:1-8
There will also be during the tribulation much persecution even killing of people for the sake of Jesus' name (or living by faith in Him and His name) by the Antichrist and the False Prophet. There will also in the tribulation be persecution of believers by people of other religions or secular people who even today are becoming more and more antagonistic to those who place our faith in and live Jesus Christ and God through Him. Jesus also urges those who would trust in Him especially during the tribulation to continue to endure in faith in Him to the end of life or of the tribulation despite much iniquity (lawlessness) and betrayal. This betrayal will even be by those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ(the Messiah). God will grant believers in Himself and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ in the tribulation His everlasting salvation. God would have believers of this Church Age also be faithful for the remainder of this age until the rapture of the Church which is the end (of life on Earth) for Christians. However if we genuinelly trusted in Jesus for our whole life with all our heart that He died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us eternal life as in 1 Thessalonians 4 we will be saved and taken in the rapture. Jesus also promises this gospel of the kingdom (with focus on His coming again to set up God's Kingdom on Earth) will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations then the end will come. This preaching of the Gospel is being partly fulfilled with the great commission of the church which is almost fulfilled with the Church very close to having won at least some of every tribe, tongue, nations and people to Christ in the last 2000 years, the primary reference for this verse is to the preaching of the gospel especially of Jesus' second coming by the 144,000 Messianic Jewish witnesses, Moses and Elijah and some of the holy angels in the tribulation. The end again is the end of the tribulation and also history as we know it called The Times of the Gentiles (Nations) in the Bible where the nations and not Israel have the primary glory on Earth. This will change when Jesus comes in power and great glory to set up God's Kingdom by rescuing Israel near Jerusalem and rewarding faithful Jews by letting them reign with Him when God reigns in the Messianic Age with Jerusalem and Israel have the glory among the nations on Earth then. Faithful Jews will be those who trusted in Jesus the Messiah and God the Father during the tribulation when they especially endured much (in many cases Satanically inspired) persecution or tribulation. God and Jesus will also reward faithful people of the nations by letting them also reign over the nations and share in Israel's glory and God and Jesus' glory in the Messianic Age. The scripture verses referring to the persecution of people of the Nations and Jews for Jesus' sake especially during the tribulation from Matthew 24 is as follows:
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye(you) shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax (grow) cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Gospel of Matthew 24:9-14
The abomination of desolation standing in the holy place corresponds to the beast out of the sea(the antichrist that could be the Roman Catholic Pope in the tribulation) in Revelation 13 opening his mouth in blasphemy( a man taking the place of God) against God. The beast will also compel especially unsaved people to worship him. The man of sin(the abomination of desolation) sitting in the temple of God and showing that he is (or seems to be)God and seeking people's worship of himself is in 2 Thessalonians 2. This will occur in the Jewish Temple that will be built very shortly on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Antichrist or abomination of desolation will probably stand in the holy of holies which is the hol(iest) place. The Jews such as the Temple Mount Faithful will gain permission to build this temple immediately after the rapture of the Church in an agreement with the Antichrist and False Prophet. They will be allowed to carry on the Old Testament or Law of Moses sacrificial worship of God freely for the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation. However the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea will step in and stop this worship and install himself in the Temple for the second half of the tribulation to be the sole object of worship by people on Earth both Jew and Gentile of the nations for that second 3 1/2 years.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Gospel of Matthew 24:15
Jesus says once the Antichrist is seated in the temple that people should flee to the wilderness or hide in and protect themselves in their houses. According to Revelation this if for them to avoid being forced to worship the beast or his image or to take his mark and therefore forfeit their chance for salvation and eternal life. Jesus says there will then be unprecedented tribulation that was not from before that time or will be its equal afterwards. Jesus also states that if those days weren't shortened no flesh would be saved (alive) but for the elect's sake( who will survive the tribulation alive and populate the Earth in the Messianic Age) those days will be shortened. There will also be many very convincing or hard to discount false Christs(Messiahs), false prophets and demonic signs and wonders that could deceive even the elect if that were possible. Jesus mentions some places that false Christs(Messiahs) might come from including the secret chambers which probably refers at least in part to secret chambers of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem that the Antichrist and the False Prophet will rule from. The scripture passage from Matthew 24 about the deception and dire situation in the second half of the tribulation under the Antichrist and False Prophet are as follows:
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. Gospel of Matthew 24:16-26
To differentiate him from the false Christs(Messiahs) and false prophets Jesus states that his coming will be from Heaven as the lightning from the east to the west. This is the same direction as the rising sun with the Lord Jesus coming to Earth on the Mount of Olives(where He was then speaking to His disciples) and then entering Jerusalem. The verse about the eagles gathering near the carcases is referring to the affects of the Battle of Armageddon descibed in Revelation 19 and Ezekiel 39 on the remains of the ungodly armies of the nations that come against Jerusalem, Israel, the Jews and their Messiah - Jesus the Son of God. There will also be a cataclysm in both the physical and spiritual heavens with the demons (part of the angelic host of heaven) being brought down to the bottomless pit in the heart of the Earth at that time. There will be mourning by people of all the tribes of the Earth form people who didn't repent and trust in Jesus or served or worshipped or profited by the Antichrist and False Prophet and their Satanic rule and probably ungodly riches or pleasures. Then Jesus the Son of man will send his angels to gather his elect (faithful people) from the four winds (all the Earth) and from one end of heaven to the other (Church Age believers and Tribulation martyrs for Christ and other believers in Heaven). This will be to establish God's 1000 year Messianic Kingdom over all the Earth and to take away all the still unrepentant people from the surface of Earth to Hell. The scripture reference in Matthew 24 of the coming in power and great glory to judge the Earth and establish God's Kingdom on Earth is as follows:
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall the the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Gospel of Mattew 24:27-31
The fig tree here as throughout the scripture is a symbol of Israel especially in the national sense. The olive tree is a symbol in scriptures of Israel in a religious sense and the vine is a symbol of Israel in a social sense. Israel as a nation was still young in concept and actually in 1948 with a movement to restoring Israel to their land and restoring Hebrew as their language that is all sometimes called Zionism starting in the 1880s. It was as already mentioned in 1948 that Israel became a nation in the promised land with Hebrew as their language and people that were alive then in Israel probably won't all die until all the events of the tribulation and second coming in this chapter are fulfilled. When Israel was still a young nation it shot forth its leaves which was in 1967 when it took some control of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. The summer in this case is the last time of growing and starting of harvesting with the end of the time of growing and harvesting in the Church Age or Age of Grace or the Holy Spirit and the time of growing and harvesting souls in the tribulation until the Lord Jesus coming at the end of the tribulation to set up God's Kingdom and judge the world. This generation meaning people who were alive in 1948 will not pass away (completely die) until all things such as all the above prophecies are fulfilled. Some people such as Ariel Sharon the leader of the ruling Likud party and Shimon Peres the leader of the Labour Party of the Knesset or Israeli parliament were all soldiers in the Israeli War of Independence in 1947 and 1948 and are still alive, mostly well and active in the activities of Israel nationally and religiously. There are other men and women who still survive and in some cases still active in international events from other countries. Jesus then concludes by underlining the certainty and trustworthiness or this promiese and the rest of these words he was speaking to His disciples on the Mount of Olives and His other words at other times by promising that heaven and earth shall pass away but his words will not pass away. The parable of the fig tree and Jesus' assurance of the trustworthiness of especially this promise and all His words is found in the Gospel of Matthew 24 as follows:
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh(near): So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Gospel of Matthew 24:32-35
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