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NASB | John 5:19 ¶ Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 5:19 ¶ So Jesus answered them by saying, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way. |
Subject: First Century Second Coming? |
Bible Note: Hi,Fatherof4! Part 1 of 3 It is set up that way by Christ Himself! Let's review Matthew 24: Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1-2) Historically, this happened on or about 70 AD--though it was not in the direct time frame, it did happened within the lifetime of some of those who heard Jesus’ Word. The disciples just got wind of an exceptional event--one that will crush the Old Testament religious establishment (destruction of the Temple). Their curiosity peeks and they want to know more!: As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3) We would think that Jesus would offer a clear cut answer which would include a specific date or at least a general “during the “x” decade, of the “y” century, during the reign of “z.” But, Jesus is not a diviner and He did not come to reveal all truth!: Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,‘ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:4-14) These verses, 4 through 14, offer a synopsis of wondrous signs and events, but there’s no chronological date! The most crucial bit of information is found in verse 14: the Gospel will be preached to all nations, then the end! There are places where the Gospel has been imprisoned; where it has been distorted; where it has been outlaw altogether… this proves that His Second Coming has not happened yet! As though it has not been confusing enough for the disciples to ascertain a clear response (remember, they asked a compound question: a) “when will this happen,” b) “what will be the sign of your coming,” and c) “the end of the age?”), Jesus throws at them an ancient prophecy (Daniel 9:27; 11:31-32; 12:11-13): "So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:15-22) The most complicated part of the above prophecy? “the abomination that causes desolation.” There has been one single event in the life of Israel (the Jewish people) that has caused just such desolation: the destruction of the Temple--I mean, not even the atrocities committed by the Nazi’s genocidal machine during WWII had such an effect on Israel, as a people, as the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. |