Bible Discourse 67 Did Jesus prophesy his second coming and the end of the world
Discourse 67
Did Jesus prophesy his second coming and the end of the world
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came
to him for to shew 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.
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and
ye shall be hated of all nations for 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 inequity shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
“And this gospel of kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel, the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whose readeth, let him
understand: ) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him
which is on the housetop not come down to take anything 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 false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; in so much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. Behold, I have told you
before. Wherefore if they shall say unto
you, ‘Behold, he is in the desert’; go not forth: ‘Behold, he is in the secret
chambers’; believe it not. For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be. For
where so ever 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 see 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.
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when
his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
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. But of that
day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be. For as
in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark knew, and
not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be.
“Then shall two be in the field; the one
shall be taken, and the other left. Two
women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore for ye know not what hour
your Lord doth come.”
Matthew 24:1—42
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened
unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. And five of them were wise,
and five were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise
took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
“And at midnight there was a cry made,
‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed
their lamps. And the foolish said unto
the wise, ‘Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.’ But the wise answered saying, ‘Not so; lest
there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy
for yourselves.’
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom
came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door
was shut. Afterward came also the other
virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered and said, ‘Verily I
say unto you, I know you not.’ Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh.”
Matthew 25:1—13
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came
to him for to shew 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.”
Matthew 24:1—2
Jesus prophesied the general destruction of Jerusalem, which came to
pass thirty years after his ascension during the revolt of Jewish people
against Rome. The culmination of ths war was the destruction of the temple in
A.D. 70, after which one section of a wall remained standing (known as the
bwetern wall, wailing wall, a place of Jewish pilgrimage to this day.
Jesus saw with his intuitive eye and told his disciples that the said
edifice will crumble down to pieces. Jesus wanted his followers to focus within
the everlasting kingdom of God.
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.
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and
ye shall be hated of all nations for 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 inequity shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
“And this gospel of kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:3—14
The disciples are identified as Peter, James, and Andrew. In the day time he was teaching in the
temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the
mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the
temple, for to hear him.” Luke 21:37—38
Jesus intermixing prophesy and metaphor in a masterly fashion he
answered when the temple destruction occur and what signs would indicate his
coming and end of the world.
Jesus tells his disciples that ‘wars, and rumours of wars, famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes , in divers places’ would continue and they should
not lose their heart and continue to be in touch with divine
consciousness. They must endure as they
“must come to pass” due to bad mass karma.
Jesus also spoke of persecutions, and they must endure to get the
ultimate reward i.e., salvation. “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and
shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake….But he
that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.”
“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks,
and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for name’s
sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess
ye your souls.” Recorded in Gospel
according to St. Luke
Jesus was foreseeing and said,”Then many
shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”
Intermittent but violent Roman persecution of the early Christians did
not finally end until Constantine the Great became emperor in A.D.312.
Jesus’ prophesy, ‘that after my passing
some of you shall they cause to be put to death’ was materialized with
fearful accuracy. One by one most of the apostles were put to death. They were
martyred—stabbed, crucified, beheaded, stoned, flayed alive, or pierced with
arrows.
Jesus’ early disciples ended in violent persecution. Matthew was slain
with a sword in Ethiopia; mark was dragged to death through the streets of
Alexandria; Luke was hanged in Greece; John was put in a caldron of boiling
oil, but escaped miraculously, was banished to Patmos and died a natural death;
Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downward; James the Greator was
beheaded at Jerusalem; James the Less was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple,
and then beaten to death; Bartholomew was flayed alive; Andrews was bound to a
cross, and died preaching to his persecutors, Thomas was run through the body
through a lance; Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded; Jude (Thaddeus)
was shot to death with arrows; Barnabas of the Gentiles was stoned to death at
Salonica; Paul after various tortures and persecutions, was beheaded at Rome;
data regarding the deaths of Philip and Simon the Canaanite are obscure and
conflicting; Judas Iscariot hanged himself.
The significance of Jesus’ words, ‘the end of the world’, the wars and
catastrophes would not be the signs of the end of the world. They are indicative of human sorrow. “But the
end is not yet” Jesus said: 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.” By this Jesus means that Christ
Consciousness will be preached to one and all, the way to liberation.
If the mass karma is bad, wars, famines, earthquakes, natural
calamities, and plant diseases severe storms etc do occur. Jesus said: “Unto everyone which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not,
even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”
This means that you must be generous. Whatever you have you should
distribute it to have not, lest whatever you have shall be taken away from you.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel, the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whose readeth, let him
understand: ) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him
which is on the housetop not come down to take anything 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. Matthew 24:15--22
Parallel reference:
“And when ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let
them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the
midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter there
into. For these be the days vengeance,
then all things which are written may be fulfilled.
“But woe unto them that are with
child, and to them that give suck, in those days! For there shall be great
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword,
and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden
down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luke
21—20—24
When Jesus spoke of Daniel’s prophesy of
“the abomination of desolation”, the desecration of the “holy place”, he was
foreseeing the invasion of Jerusalem by many nations stretching from now to
centuries to come.
“And arms shall stand on his part, and they
shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily
sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”
History records the terrible events that
Jesus predicted would befall Jerusalem in the “days of vengeance” by Roman
armies under Titus.
“Titus advanced in the spring of 70, driving
the Passover pilgrims before him to increase the mouths to feed…Titus invested
the city with a wall to prevent escape or the admission of supplies. Famine
spread; the bodies of the deasd were dropped over the walls into the valleys to
avoid plague. There is even record of
cannibalism. Fugitives who fell into Roman hands were crucified in sight of the
city, to the number of 500 a day.
“At the end of June the direct assault was
resumed. The Antonia fortress was
captured and razed. In July the daily Temple sacrifice ceased. On 6 Aug the
Temple was stormed, and against Titus’s orders destroyed by fire. The
revolutionaries made their last stand in the Upper City. This was finally
breached, and after five months’ siege the city taken and razed to the ground. Prisoners were forced into the arena as
gladiators....
“So were fulfilled the words of Jesus in
Luke: ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you must realize that
it will soon be desolate.’ (21:20)....the time will come when not a single stone
will be left on another, everything will be destroyed.’ (21:6)—Great events
Bible Times, James Harpur, ed(New York: Doubleday, 1987)
Jesus said: “But for the elect’s sake those days
shall be shortened”, lest “there should no flesh be saved.” The karma can be lessened due to their
virtue, righteousness, and meditation.
“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 false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; in so much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. Behold, I have told you
before. Wherefore if they shall say unto
you, ‘Behold, he is in the desert’; go not forth: ‘Behold, he is in the secret
chambers’; believe it not. For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be. For
where so ever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Matthew 24:23--28
Parallel reference:
And he said unto the disciples, “The
days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man,
and ye shall not see it. And they shall
say to you, ‘See here’; or, ‘See there’: go not after them, nor follow
them. For as the lightning, that
lighteneth out of one part under heaven shineth unto the other part under
heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first he must suffer
many things, and be rejected of this generation. Luke 17:22—25
“Look, we have found a great teacher here,
or there in that land”. Jesus implied that the complete manifestation of Christ
Consciousness as an incarnate in a body such as his occurs rarely. He wanted
the people should be careful about false prophets claiming to be Christ like
teachers.
This body is Christ Consciousness
personified will be subjected to persecution and crucifixion and will be
rejected by the generation. .
“As
lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west” means the Christ
Consciousness within his body should enlighten all humanity for all time.
Eagles from far off locate a carcase and gather around to feast on it. People from far off will sense a filling
repast in my teachings to experience in their own consciousness the manifestation
of Christ Consciousness, ‘the coming of the Son of man.’ Contact with this Consciousness, experienced
in the ever new joy of meditation, will be the real second coming of Christ—and
it will take place right in the devotee’s own consciousness.
“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 see 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.
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree;
when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is
nigh: 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. But of that
day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Matthew 24:29—36
Parallel reference:
“And there shall be sign in the sun,
and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on earth: for the power of
heavenshall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
And he spoke to them a parable;
“Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth ye and know
of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come
to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
“Verily I say unto you, this
generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my
words shall not pass away.
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares
of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it
come in all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye
may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and
to stand before the Son of man.
Luke
21:25—36
When normal electromagnetic rays of the sun
and moon are disrupted, there will be disturbance in seas and tidal waves. Similarly men’s hearts and minds will be
affected by man’s own wrong vibrations. After sufficient meditation and
righteousness, people will behold ‘the sign of Son of man in heaven’, the tangible vision
(sign) of Christ through the opening up of the awakened spiritual eye, leading
into Christ Consciousness. “Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn
(repent), and they shall see Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.”
The devotees will also behold angels or
liberated souls vibrant with Cosmic
Vibration (a great sound of trumpet). And such devotee will also behold, in the
light of their awakened Christ Consciousness, a gathering of manifested
presence of liberated souls(the ‘elect’ or selected) from the four directions.
Jesus will not come out of the clouds to punish the
wicked and rule a kingdom on earth. No man knows when the day of liberation
comes. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but
my Father only.”
So continuously pray, meditate, and watch
the tricks of the fickle mind, and see
to it is centred on God.
“But as the days of Noah were, so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into
the ark knew, and not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be.
Matthew 24:37—39
Parallel reference:
“And as it was in the days of Noah,
so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives,
they wer given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and
the flood came, and destroyed them all.
“Likewise also as it was in the days
of Lot: they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
“In that day, he which shall be upon
the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it
away: and he that is in the field let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife.
“Whosoever shall seek to save his
life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Luke 17:26—33
In spite of Noah’s warning, people
unconcernedly drank, ate, and did merry making. So also this spiritually nil
people did not realize the Christ Consciousness within ne and hence face wrath
of their bad karma. They will be swept away by their ignorance. Similarly in
Lot’s time, the people heedlessly ate, drank, and did merry making. But the
same day Lord guided Lot and his family out of Sodom.
Jesus said: After the departure of my body,
my disciples who had lifted up their respective consciousness be remain there
They should not crave for bodily pleasures again. Remember Lot’s wife who was
some what spiritually advanced and was fleeing from the fire of ignorance and
the brimstones of misery. When she turned back and put her attention on
bodily desires , her spiritual life was turned into stone, completely
destroyed.
If you wanted Spiritual life, you gave to
give up material pleasures and vice versa.
“Then shall two be in the field; the
one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the
other left. Watch therefore for ye know
not what hour your Lord doth come.”
Matthew 24:40—42
Parallel reference:
“I tell you, in that night there
shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be
left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the
other left.”
And they answered and said unto him,
“Where, Lord?”
And he said unto them, “Where so ever
the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” Luke 17:34—37
Jesus said: The spiritually oriented people are
not and not to bother about material conditions. Hence people would be left on
earth, till he/she finishes his karma.
So the spiritual aspirant must put incessant sadhana or meditative
effort till final liberation. “when the Lord dothy come” means he has to wait
the beacon call of Christ Cosmic Consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness. Jesus
said: “where so ever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”
That means the Lord exists within the
body.
Whether the soul is encased in the physical,
astral, and casual body, there the desires will gather to keep the soul a
prisoners. The invisible soul can be distinguished by the presence of its body.
Its existence is made possible by desires, the cohesive force of three bodies.
A soul is encased in (causal) a jar, and
that jar is put within another (astral) jar, and the two jars sealed and put in
a (physical) third jar. If all the jars are put in a ocean, unless all the
three jars are broken, then only the soul is merged into ocean. Likewise within
our body (physical) another (astral) body exists. Within these two bodies,
another (causal) body exists. Within these three bodies soul exists.
When the soul has overcome all desires and
leaves the imprisonment of the three bodies, the eagles of super conscious perceptions
soar in the Infinite in the soul’s cosmic body, one with Cosmic bodied Spirit.
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be
likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. And five of them were wise,
and five were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise
took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
“And at midnight there was a cry
made, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed
their lamps. And the foolish said unto
the wise, ‘Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.’ But the wise answered saying, ‘Not so; lest
there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy
for yourselves.’
“And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and
the door was shut. Afterward came also
the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered and said,
‘Verily I say unto you, I know you not.’
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the
Son of man cometh.” Matthew 25:1—13
Jesus said: Be ready for the coming of Son
of man. He told them the metaphorical story.
“The parable of the ten virgins has
its basis in the tradition of the Eastern marriage customs of Jews, in which
virgins served as attendants, or bridesmaids. Recounting one such instance, the
Book of Psalms records that the bride “is all glorious within: her clothing is
of wrought gold. She shall be brought
unto the king in raiment of needle work: the virgins her companions that follow
her shall be brought unto thee (the king, or bridegroom). With gladness and
rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s place.” (Psalms 45:13—15)
The kingdom of heaven was craved by ten
renunciants who, in meditation, had lit ten lamps. Lamp is consciousness, and
light is self-realization. Bridegroom is Christ Consciousness. Five virgins
were careless. Their meditational were quite inadequate and irregular. Another five
were intelligent, regular, and hence their lamps of wisdom were burning in
their meditation.
The bridegroom of Christ Consciousness
delayed in manifestation, the ten virgins were slumbered and slept. The five
foolish virgins who were in darkness, requested the another five intelligent
virgins. “Please give some of the oil of your devotion, vibration, and good
habits, for which the wise said that this oil cannot be transferred and given.
You have to acquire this precious one by regular practice.
The foolish devotees realized and prayed, “Lord,
manifest your Christ Consciousness in our consciousness.” The inner voice replied, “Verily, you are not
yet ready to know (contact) the Christ Consciousness within you.”
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