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RESOURCES on Luke 21

8/23/2020

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Luke 21 can be confusing at times. So much has been said about when these things in the passage will take place. Whole books have been written about that one chapter. It can get confusing and discouraging. One key verse to look at is verse 32 "I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place." This Generation is the key phrase the Time Text so to speak. Jesus is speaking of events that will take place in the next generation.

Here are some great resources that talk about some of the events that Pastor Mic brought up that shows fulfillment of this text.

The Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem ​

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The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War, in which the Roman army captured the city of Jerusalem and destroyed both the city and its Temple. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been controlled by Judean rebel factions since 66 CE, following the Jerusalem riots of 66, when the Judean provisional government was formed in Jerusalem.

The siege of the city began on 14 April 70 CE, three days before the beginning of Passover that year. The siege lasted for about four months; it ended in August 70 CE on Tisha B'Av with the burning and destruction of the Second Temple. The Romans then entered and sacked the Lower City. The Arch of Titus, celebrating the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the Temple, still stands in Rome. The conquest of the city was complete on approximately 8 September 70 CE.

The Romans burned the temple to the ground and tore it apart brick by brick to get to the gold.

Read More about the destruction of the temple here:

Eye Witness History

You can also check out this video:

Martyrdom and persecution of chrisitans

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The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire occurred intermittently over a period of over two centuries between the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD under Nero and the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. Persecution of the early church occurred sporadically and in localised areas since its beginning. The first persecution of Christians organised by the Roman government took place under the emperor Nero in 64 AD after the Great Fire of Rome. The Edict of Serdica, issued in 311 by the Roman emperor Galerius, officially ended the Diocletianic persecution of Christianity in the East. With the publication in 313 AD of the Edict of Milan, persecution of Christians by the Roman state ceased.[7] The total number of Christians who lost their lives because of these persecutions is unknown. The early church historian Eusebius, whose works are the only source for many of these events, speaks of "great multitudes" having perished.

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Here is the early christian writing of The Acts of Paul and Tecla that was talked about.
The Acts of Paul and Thecla
File Size: 19 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

You can also to it read here:
The Acts of Paul and Thecla -Audiobook

More Books and Resources

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The Second Coming of Christ has been "coming soon" ever since 1850, when John Nelson Darby popularized his brand of end times dispensational rapture theology. Many Christians today are unaware that the version of biblical prophecy they've been taught is not what the Church believed for the first 1,800 years. It's time to leave behind the "End Times" and discover an astounding truth-Christ has already returned and our participation is essential to making all things new.
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"Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation" is a doctoral dissertation seeking to demonstrate that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of the Jewish Temple in AD 70 and that it was prophesying that event. It proves this early date for Revelation by providing both internal evidence from within Revelation and external evidence from Church history and tradition. It provides much exposition of the text of Revelation. A large part of the argument deals with the identity of the beast (666) as Nero Caesar, the first imperial persecutor of the Church.
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Is the world going to hell in a handbasket? Are you afraid of being left behind? Are global events signs of the great tribulation? Such questions promote a fear and anxiety that is contrary to the hope-filled gospel of Jesus Christ. In AD70 and the End of the World, Dr. Paul Ellis offers an alternative, gospel-based perspective of the last days. Based on an in-depth study of scripture and the forgotten lessons of history, he reveals the astonishing good news hidden within Christ’s parables and prophecies of judgment. This book is your antidote to pessimistic prophecy. It answers questions about Judgment Day, the rapture, and the end of the age. It reexamines dark tales of vengeance and wrath through the bright light of grace. If you are weary of gloomy forecasts or are anxious about the apocalypse, this book will give you a confident expectation of a joyful tomorrow.
Here's a great video introduction on having a positive, Hope filled view of the future. It's said that the way we view the future determines how we approach the present. HOPE is the present reality of victory that gives us an unconditional assurance Father's goodness prevails. That being the case, maybe the future of history won't conclude in chaos, but perhaps scripture shows us we can expect history to conclude in glory. We'll share the major perspective most taught about the future and see what our understanding of hope leads us to embrace
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The Chosen: Episode 5 Watch Along

8/19/2020

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Here we go - Week 6

Each Wednesday we will post an episode for you and your family to watch. Pick a time where you can all gather together and see what we've been reading in Luke come alive on the screen. We will have some discussion questions posted to start conversations with your family to help make the memorable. Once you have watched the episode comment on the post some of the things that stood out to you and your family. This is going to be awesome!


SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
‣ Matthew 8:1-4
‣ Luke 12: 36-48
‣ Matthew 6: 1-18
‣ Luke 18:1-14
​‣ Mark 2:1-12

CHARACTERS
Jesus, Mary Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus,
Simon, Andrew, Tamar, The Leper, James, John,
The Paralytic

The Big Question:
What captured your imagination most? 

There was a LOT of compassion emphasized in this episode. How did Jesus preach about and show compassion? Do you think there is a difference between compassion, giving, empathy and good will?

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The Chosen Week 5 episode 4

8/5/2020

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The Chosen: Episode 4 Watch Along
Here we go - Week 5

Each Wednesday we will post an episode for you and your family to watch. Pick a time where you can all gather together and see what we've been reading in Luke come alive on the screen. We will have some discussion questions posted to start conversations with your family to help make the memorable. Once you have watched the episode comment on the post some of the things that stood out to you and your family. This is going to be awesome!

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
‣ Matthew 13:47-52
‣ Luke 8:10
‣ Matthew 3:1-7

CHARACTERS
Jesus, Matthew, James & John, Andrew & Peter,
Nicodemus, John the Baptist, Joseph of
Arimethea, Zebedee
The Big Question: 
What captured your imagination most in this episode?
What quote from this episode was the most meaningful/impactful to you? Why?

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Thomas Merton on Seeing Christ in everyone

8/1/2020

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“We have to resolutely put away our attachment to natural appearance and our habit of judging according to the outward face of things. I must learn that my fellow man, just as he is, whether he is my friend or my enemy, my brother or a stranger from the other side of the world, whether he be wise of foolish, no matter what my be his limitations, ‘is Christ.’ …

“Any prisoner, any starving man, any sick or dying man, any sinner, any man whatever, is to be regarded as Christ–this is the formal command of the Savior Himself. This doctrine is far too simple to satisfy many modern Christians, and undoubtedly many will remain very uneasy with it, tormented by the difficulty that perhaps after all, this particular neighbor is a bad man, and therefore cannot be Christ.

“The solution of this difficulty is to unify oneself with the Spirit of Christ, to start thinking and loving as a Christian, and to stop being a hairsplitting pharisee. Our faith is not supposed …to assess the state of our neighbor’s conscience. It is the needle by which we draw the thread of charity through our neighbor’s soul and our own soul and sew ourselves together in one Christ. Our faith is given us not to see whether or not our neighbor is Christ, but to recognize Christ in him and to help our love make both him and ourselves more fully Christ. …

“Corrupt forms of love wait for the neighbor to ‘become a worthy object of love’ before actually loving him. This is not the way of Christ. Since Christ Himself loved us when we were by no means worthy of love and still loves us with all our unworthiness, our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. …

“What we are asked to do is to love; and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbor worthy if anything can. Indeed, that is one of the most significant things about the power of love. There is no way under the sun to make a man worthy of love except by loving him. As soon as he realizes himself loved–if he is not so weak that he can no longer bear to be loved–he will feel himself instantly becoming worthy of love. He will respond by drawing a mysterious spiritual value out of his own depths, a new identity called into being by the love that is addressed to him.”
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– Thomas Merton

More From Thomas Merton

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A Thomas Merton Reader provides a complete view of Merton, in all his aspects: contemplative, spiritual writer, poet, peacemaker, and social critic. In this closely knit volume are significant selections not only from his major works but from some lesser-known, yet equally valuable, writings as well. Presented here is a living Thomas Merton, expounding through prose and poetry on an abundance of important themes -- war, love, peace, Eastern thought and spirituality, monastic life, art, contemplation, and solitude. M. Scott Peck puts the writings included here into the context of Merton's life.
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“Faith and Violence is a Merton reader for our time. . . . Its thrust is simple: that ‘theology today needs to focus carefully upon the crucial problem of violence.’ Carefully and crucial are the key words there--the ones that interiorly bind together the pieces collected in the volume. The pieces, in turn, attempt to give a wide, interior acquaintance with the violence that Christianity has made peace with in the West. . . . Merton’s ability to mine [his themes] is often startling--and taken as a whole his is a valuable sourcebook in an area (theology and violence) that inspires much alarm and dogmatism, but little open and perdurable thought.” --New Book Review
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In this classic text, Thomas Merton offers valuable guidance for prayer. He brings together a wealth of meditative and mystical influences–from John of the Cross to Eastern desert monasticism–to create a spiritual path for today. Most important, he shows how the peace contacted through meditation should not be sought in order to evade the problems of contemporary life, but can instead be directed back out into the world to affect positive change. Contemplative Prayer is one of the most well-known works of spirituality of the last one hundred years, and it is a must-read for all seeking to live a life of purpose in today’s world.
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