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10-1978

Biola Hour Highlights, 1978 - 10

Lehman Strauss

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Recommended Citation Strauss, Lehman, "Biola Hour Highlights, 1978 - 10" (1978). Biola Hour Highlight Series. 38. https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/bhhs/38

This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Biola Radio at Digital Commons @ Biola. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biola Hour Highlight Series by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Biola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. , ~ BS 2575.2 .S77so 1978 BIOLA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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~ - -- -- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - - - ~ THE SIGNS w M ~ BS 2575.2 .S77so 1978 OF THE TIMES " Strauss, Lehman. The signs of the times A Prophetic Study in Matthew 24 ~ ~ •

By ~ • ~ LEHMAN STRAUSS, LITT.D., F.R.G.S.

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ISSUE NO. 10 •OCTOBER 1978 Second Class postage paid at La Mirada, California 90638. Issued monthly and two issues in October. Printed in U.S.A. by Penn Lithographies-Inc., Whittier, California. Address: Biola College, Biola I CBC 00 03864 72 I Hour Highlights, 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, California 90639. ' i ) THE SIGNIFICANCE ~~._, THIS CHAPTER Matthew, chapter 24, is admittedly one of the most difficult portions of God's Word for many Christians to understand. Out of this misunderstanding has developed disagreement and even bitter controversy, and from this have issued two unfortunate results. First, there are sad divisions among Chris­ tians, and second, the Devil has won a double victory in that many preachers almost completely ignore this chapter in the Bible. Now it is not my intention to add to the confusion nor to the controversy, but rather to attempt an explanation of a portion of God's Word which occupies a unique place in the prophetic writings of Scripture. As a matter of personal observation, I am suggesting that a failure to understand Matthew 24 is to miss the meaning of the remainder of biblical prophecy. Read this chapter, and then the seal judgments in Revelation, chapters 6-8, and you will see what I mean. At once you will detect in Revelation an orderly unfolding of events predicted by Christ in Matthew 24: A False Christ and a False Peace (Deception) Matthew 24:4, 5, 11, 24 Revelation 6:1, 2 Wars and Reports of Wars Matthew 24:6, 7 Revelation 6:3. 4 Famines Matthew 24: 7 Revelation 6:5,6 Death Matthew 24:9 Revelation 6: 7, 8 Persecution Matthew 24: 1 7 -20 Revelation 6:9-11 Earthquakes and Pestilence Matthew 24:7 Revelation 6:12-16 Signs in the Sun, Moon and Stars Matthew 24:29 cf. Luke 21:25 Revelation 6: 12, 13 Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom Matthew 24: 14 Revelation 7 5 These 51 verses in Matthew 24 are verbally inspired as "His own received Him not" (John 1: 11 ). Instead of recogniz­ given by our Lord, and are, therefore, of inestimable value. ing and receiving Him as their Messiah and King, which they They contain His last great utterances which He spoke to His should have done, they rejected Him and plotted His death. disciples on Mount Olivet. Because of the geographical loca­ The issue was quite clear. They did not want this man to reign tion where Christ gave these weighty statements, they form over them (Luke 19: 11-14). Th us, He became their rejected the first part of that which is commonly called The Olivet King. When Pilate wrote the title on the cross, "JESUS OF Discourse, the full discourse being recorded in Matthew NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS" (John 19: 19), the 24: 1-25:46. (Mark records it in chapter 13, and Luke in chap­ chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Write not, The King of ter 21 ). the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews" (John The significance of this chapter then, is a prophetic one, and 19:21). And so, the kingdom was postponed temporarily I doubt that, in its correct interpretation, it can be overem­ (Luke 19: 15 ), but definitely not cast aside permanently, an phasized. unmistakably clear truth that we shall see repeatedly as we THE SETTING OF THIS CHAPTER progress in our study. Now please notice the setting in which our Lord spoke these At this point we should not by-pass the reaction of our Lord pertinent words, because both the time element and the cir­ to the betrayal of those Jewish religious leaders. He pro­ cumstances are important. It was Passion Week, only two days nounces upon them nine "woes," calling them "hypocrites . .. before Christ would be formally betrayed and crucified. fools ... like whited sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these outward but are within full of dead men's bones and of all sayings, he said unto his disciples, unclean~ess ... serpents, generation of vipers ... " (Matthew Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, 23: 13-33). Here is a clear-cut cleavage. and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified (Matthew But the cleavage was not to be a permanent one. The 26:1, 2). solemn pronouncements of judgment came from our Lord's I have called this the formal betrayal of Christ, because there broken heart, for in almost the same breath He added, had already been a former betrayal earlier by the religious 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that ki/lest the prophets, leaders in the presence of the people of Israel. When the and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often people beheld His miracles, some recognized in Him the Son would I have gathered thy children together, even as a of David, the Messiah of Israel, and many would have received hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye Him. would not! But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, the devils. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, (Matthew 23:37-39). Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desola­ tion; and every city or house divided against itself shall It was the temporary parting of the ways between the not stand (Matthew 12:24, 25). Messiah and Israel, and with it came Christ's pronouncement It was because of their earlier betrayal that Israel rejected Him of judicial blindness upon that nation. But the blindness was as their Messiah, and that because He was facing the Cross not to be a permanent condition, rather, ''till ye (Israel) shall instead of the Crown. The Jews were Christ's own people, and say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.'' Take it was to them He had come to offer Himself as their King, but special note of that word ''till.'' It is a time word corresponding to another "till" of which Paul wrote, 6 7 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant Presently we are in the Christian age, or Church age, a of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own period in which God is visiting the Gentiles and taking out a conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. people for His name. These make up Christ's true Church. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written. There One of these days Christ will come in the air to catch away His shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away Church (I Thessalonians 4: 13-18). This coming event is immi­ ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take nent, that is, it can occur at any time. away their sins (Romans 11 :25-27). Immediately following the Rapture, the seven-year period And so it was in just such a setting, when Christ had been of the Tribulation will commence, that period in which the rejected by Israel, that He delivered the Olivet Discourse. The Man of Sin shall reign on the earth. It is identified in our point to be emphasized here is that the setting is strictly a chapter as, Jewish one, and that in our Lord's moving lament in Matthew ... great tribulation ... (vs. 21). 23:37-39, He is presenting in one brief summary the entire ... the tribulation ... (vs. 29). history of Israel, past and future, in relation to His Kingdom on Christ leaves no doubt as to the time when Israel shall pass earth. through her affliction. He said, As we pursue our study of the Discourse, we observe, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desola­ tion, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy THE SUFFERING IN THIS CHAPTER place, (whoso readeth, let him understand;) (vs. 15). Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall I see only one interpretation of these words of our Lord. kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's They are predictions about the end of the Jewish age, leading sake (vs. 9). Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the moun­ up to Messiah's coming to the earth to establish His millennial tains: reign, and they are still future. His statement cannot be re­ Let him which is on the housetop not come down to garded as fulfilled prophecy. It is predictive, setting forth the take any thing out of his house: proper perspective of certain well known Old Testament Neither let him which is in the field return back to take prophecies which will be fulfilled following our current Church his clothes. age. The prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 refers to the seventieth And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! week of the seventy weeks, or the last seven years of the 490 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither years. It will be the time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:5-7), on the sabbath day: the day of Israel's travail (Isaiah 66:5-16), for at the close of the For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not l Tribulation the nation will experience a new birth, a birth from since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever above (Romans 11:25-27). The prophet Joel depicts that day shall be (vu. 16-21). as one of destruction (Joel 1:15), and of darkness (Joel2:1, 2). Until that day when Israel shall be saved, there must come a ' The nation will experience unprecedented suffering. The time of reckoning. Their rejection of Messiah cannot go un­ judgments described in the Book of the Revelation present a punished. He will die upon the cross to which they con­ clear picture of Israel's sufferings in that day. True, the terrors demned Him. However, He will rise from death and the grave, of the judgments convulse the whole earth, but especially the and return to establish His Kingdom. But before He sets up His land of Judea (Matthew 24: 16 cf. Zechariah 14:2). Kingdom, the nation which rejected Him must be penalized There are those who teach that the disciples were repre­ for that rejection. sentative men of the Church, and not of Israel, and that the 8 9 ing and desolation, which would terminate with Christ's sec­ Church will be on earth in the days of the Man of Sin, be ond advent and the establishment of His Kingdom. And so involved in the Tribulation, and continue on earth until the they asked Him, Son of Man appears and the King establishes His Kingdom. . .. What shall be the sign of Thy coming ... ? (Matthew But a consistent interpretation of Matthew 24 will show that 24:3) the Church is not included in the Olivet Discourse. The objects This brings us to a consideration of of Christ's concern in His lament are "Jerusalem" and her "children" (Matthew 23:37), notthe Church. The judgment in THE "SIGN" IN THIS CHAPTER verse 38, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," has It follows quite naturally that we should discuss the term reference to the temple, for immediately we read, ''And Je·sus "sign" as it is used in this discourse of our Lord. The second went out, and departed from the temple" (Matthew 24:1). question of the disciples had to do with the "sign" of Christ's That was Christ's judicial departure from the temple, the coming, and the full consummation of the age (vs. 3). Further Jewish temple, which of course included the city and the on in the chapter Christ says, "And then shall appear the sign nation itself. of the Son of man in heaven ... " (vs. 30). Now what are we to learn from the use of the term sign? But the Lord made it clear that there would come the glad Simply this, that the matters in this chapter relate to the nation day of His return, and that between His rejection of them and Israel. Here we see the close relation between the sufferings in His return to them, there would be an undetermined interval the chapter and the sign in the chapter. of time. ''Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Israel was in a peculiar and distinct sense the sign nation. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matthew The Apostle Paul wrote, "For the Jews require a sign" (I 23:39). He would come again, and in that day of His coming, Corinthians 1:22). Among the numerous signs in the Bible, Israel would recognize Him and receive Him. associated with the Jews, four significant ones stand out prom­ We are presently in the undetermined interval of time be­ inently because of their connection with the Messiah: tween Christ's two advents. This is the period in which God is saving individual men and women who will receive His Son. It First, there is the sign of Christ's virgin birth: And he said, Hear ye now, 0 house of David; ls it a is the day of salvation for any and all who will choose to be small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you God also? have not made Him your choice, do so at once. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Be­ hold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call ~ . Up to this point, we have observed the prophetic signifi­ his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:13, 14). cance of this chapter in its relation to Israel. We have seen, moreover, that the setting of the chapter, namely, those events Second, there is the sign of Christ's vicarious death: They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou and remarks by Christ immediately before and following the then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou Olivet Discourse, are Jewish. Having been rejected as the work? Messiah by the Jewish leaders, Jesus pronounced a judicial Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, blindness upon that nation. He then proceeded to predict a He gave them bread from heaven to eat. time of unprecedented tribulation to come upon Israel after Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my which He would return to be recognized and received b~ them Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. and to reign over them. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from All of this aroused in the disciples an intense desire for heaven, and giveth life unto the world. information as to the duration of that period of Israel's suffer- 11 10 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the RADIO LOG life of the world (John 6:30-33, 51). Third, there is the sign of Christ's victorious resurrection:. ALABAMA Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign Decatur (91.7) WBOM-FM 10:00 AM Sun . Jacksonville (550) WAVA 7:30 AM Sun . shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these Decatur (91.7) WBQM-FM 9:30 PM Sun . Orlando (1480) WVCF 8:30 AM Sun . 9:30 PM Sun . things? Huntsville (94 .5) WNDA-FM 1:00 PM M-F Pensacola (833) WPCS-FM Huntsville WNO A-FM 1:00 PM Sun . Sarasota (105 .5) WKZM-FM 1:30 PM Sun . Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this tem­ Tampa (1110) WTIS 9:00 AM M-F ple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple ARIZONA Flagstaff (939) KCTB-FM 12:00 N M-Sat. GEORGIA in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? Phoenix (1280) KHEP 9:00 AM M-F Atlanta (1420) WAVO 10:00 AM Sun . But he spake of the temple of his body. Valdosta (101.1) WAFT 9:00 AM Sun. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disci­ CALIFORNIA ples remembered that he had said this unto them; and Alturas (570) KCNO 9:10 AM M-F IDAHO they believed the scripture, and the work which Jesus Bakersfield (1050) KWSO 9:30 AM M-F Caldwell (1060) KBGN 8:30 AM M-F had said (John 2:18-22). See also Matthew 12:38, 39; Chico (930) KEWO 8:00 AM M-F Sun . 16:1-4. Delano (98.5) KONO -FM 8:30 AM ILLINOIS Dinuba/Fresno KRDU 8:30 AM M-F Carlinville (91 .1) WIBl-FM 4:30 PM Sun . Fourth, there is the sign of Christ's visible return: (1130) East Moline (960) WDLM 5:00 PM Sat. Dinuba (1130) KRDU 8:30 PM M-F ... What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end Dinuba (1130) KRDU 4:00 PM Sun . of the age (Matthew 24:3). Lodi/Sacramento KCVR 8:00 AM M-F INDIANA And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in (1570) Elkhart (104.7) WXAX-FM 8:00 AM Sun. heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, Long Beach I LA KGER 11:00 AM M-F and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of (1390) IOWA Long Beach (1390) KGER 9:30 PM M-F Boone (1260) KFGQ 100 PM Sun . heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). Monterey (1080) KNAV-FM 9:00 AM M-F Oxnard/Ventura KDAR-FM 9:30 AM M-F Here are four signs, all of them associated with Jesus Christ (98.3) KANSAS and the Divine plan of salvation. They relate to four major Redding (540) KVIP 10:30 AM M-F Newton (950) KJRG 9:00 AM M-F Sun San Bernardino/ Newton (950) KJRG 7:30 AM biblical doctrines which are necessarily a part of true Christol­ Riverside (95 .1) KOLH-FM 900 AM M-F ogy. But these signs were not given to Gentiles; they were San Diego (860) XEMO 8:00 AM M-F MARYLAND given to Jews. Thus, Israel has been in a unique sense the sign San Francisco KFAX 8:30 AM M-F Baltimore (95 1) WRBS-FM 6:00 PM Sun (1100) Williamsport (90 .5) WCRH-FM 8:30 AM M-F nation. I am merely pointing out here that the "sign" in Santa Cruz (1080) KSCO 8:30 AM Sun . Williamsport (90 .5) WCRH-FM 800 AM Sun . Matthew 24, as in other passages, is Jewish, and therefore it has no direct bearing upon the Church. The Church is not in CANADA Blaine/Vancouver KARI 830 AM M-F MICHIGAN Detroit (103 5) WMUZ-FM 9:00 AM Sun . Matthew 24. (550) Detroit (1340) WEXL 11:30 AM Sat. Lapeer (1230) WMPC 1:00 PM Sun . COLORADO Lapeer (1230) WMPC 9:30 AM M-F Denver (990) KRKS 12:00 N M-F Pueblo (970) KFEL 8:30 AM M-W-F MISSISSIPPI Columbia (1360) WFFF 9:00 AM Sun . FLORIDA Columbia (96.7) WFFF-FM 9:00 AM Sun . Boca Raton (99 9) WWOG-FM 10:00 PM Sun Jackson (97 .3) WJFR-FM 5:00 PM Sat. Boca Raton (99 9) WWOG-FM 8:30 PM M-F Jackson (973) WJFR-FM 5:00 PM M-F Jacksonville (550) WAVA 10:30 AM M-F

12 BI STU Y LPS RADIO LO (Cont'd.) by LEHMAN STRAUSS "It has been a sincere privilege to prepare the publications indicated below. MISSOURI My earnest prayer is that the Lord will use each of these efforts for His glory as Kansas City (1510) KCCV 9:00 AM M-F Lewistown (1490) WMRF 8:30 AM Sun . you study them for your own spiritual growth." Lewistown (95.5) WMRF-FM 8:30 AM Sun . NEBRASKA Montrose (96.5) WPEL-FM 8:30 PM Sun . Montrose (96 5) WPEL-FM 8:00 AM M-F Grand Island (95.7) KROA -FM 4:00 PM Sun. SPECIAL BOOKLETS Montrose (1250) WPEL 8:00 AM M-F Philadelphia (94.5) WCHR-FM 4:30 PM Sun . NEVADA Philadelphia (94.5) WCHR-FM 8:00 PM M-F Marriage and Divorce Why God Became Man Henderson (95 .5) Kl LA-FM 6:30 AM M-F Red Lion (96.1) WGCB-FM 7:30 AM Sun. Speaking in Tongues You Can Win Over Worry The Doctrines of Sin and and Depression NEW JERSEY TENNESSEE The Pentecostal Experience Trenton (94 .5) WC HR-FM 8:00 PM M-F Chattanooga (89.1) WDYN-FM 8:00 AM Sun . Salvation Trenton (94 .5) WCHR-FM 4:30 PM Sun . Chattanooga (88 .9) WMBW-FM 3:00 PM Sun . The Impeccability of Christ The Trinity Chattanooga (88 9)WMBW-FM 11:30 AM Tues . We Can Trust The Bible A Soft Pillow for Troubled NEW YORK When Loved Ones are Minds and Tired Hearts Buffalo (99.5) WDCX-FM 4:30 PM Sun . VIRGINIA (A Study in Romans 8) Syracuse -(102 .9) WM HR-FM 7:30 PM Tues . Norfolk (99.7) WYFl-FM 10:00 AM Sun . Taken in Death

NORTH CAROLINA WASHINGTON BOOKS High Point (95.5) WHPE-FM 7:00 PM Sat. Blaine/ KARI 8:30 AM M-F High Point (95.5) WHPE-FM 10:00 AM Sun . Vancouver . BC (550) Lexington (94 .1) WLXN-FM 9:30 AM M-F Seattle (630) KGDN 8:30 AM Sat. (paperback) (clothbound) Lexington (94 .1) WLXN-FM 7:30 AM Sun. Seattle (630) KGDN 11 :30 AM M-F Daniel Walla Walla (1490) KTEL 8:00 AM M-W-F Certainties For Today Yakima (1390) KBBO 9:30 AM M-F Demons, Yes, But Thank Galatians and Ephesians OHIO James Your Brother Cleveland (103 .3) WCRF -FM 9:00 PM Sun . God for Good Angels Dayton (90.3) WCDR-FM 2:05 PM Sun . WEST VIRGINIA The Eleven Commandments Philippians Miamisburg (93.7) WFCJ-FM 9:30 PM M-F Beckley (99.5) WBKW-FM 8:00 AM Sun . The End of this Present Revelation Miamisburg (93.7) WFCJ-FM 8:00 AM Sat. Charleston (1410) WSCW 10:00 AM M-Sat . World The First Person Charleston (1410) WSCW 9:30 AM Sun . The Second Person OKLAHOMA The Epistles of John Oklahoma City (800)KQCV 8:00 AM M-F We Live Forever The Third Person Tulsa (98 .5) KCFO-FM 9:00 AM M-F The Biola Hour Be Filled With the Spirit Sense and Nonsense About OREGON is a radio Albany (790) KWIL 8:00 AM M-F ministry of Prayer Ashland (1350) KDOV 1:00 PM M-F Biola College. Eugene (94 .5) KB MC-FM 8:30 PM M-F ___.,~.,...___ Cassette tape messages by Dr. Strauss are Portland (93.7) KPDQ-FM 9:00 AM M-F Thank you also available. A complete list will be sent on PANAMA for your request. Panama City (1360) HOXO 8:30 AM M-F continued PENNSYLVANIA prayers FOR FURTHER INFORMATION WRITE: 'oyertown (107 .5) WBYO-FM 2:00 PM Sun. ncaster (94.5) WDAC-FM 1:00 PM Sun. The Biola Hour La Mirada, California 90639

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