Watch and Pray
Decoding the Second Coming of Jesus
By Paul Cramer
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This is the online publishing of my book ©2010
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"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
New American Standard Bible
Background & History
Since its completion in 1971, the New American Standard Bible has been widely embraced as “the most literally accurate English translation” from the original languages. Millions of people, students, scholars, pastors, missionaries, and laypersons alike, trust the NASB, learning from it and applying it to the challenges of their daily lives. Discover what the original text says, word for word.
All quotes of the Bible are New American Standard Bible, unless indicated as KJV. Where it is indicated as KJV, then I am quoting from Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible. Although today this language is rather archaic, this was the English spoken by the common people of 1611, so that all could read and clearly understand what God was saying to us. This translation of the Holy Bible is in the Public Domain, except for in Great Britain.
All definitions of Hebrew and Greek Bible words and names definitions have been quoted from Public Domain sources, which include; Greek word definitions are inferred from or taken directly from the definition given in W.E. Vine's M.A., Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words published in 1940 and without copyright; Hebrew word and name definitions are inferred or taken directly from The Oxford Lexicon of Brown, Driver and Briggs (A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament) published in 1906 and is in the Public Domain.
Source for Jewish History and ancient Jewish traditions come from the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia, which was originally published between 1901-1906; which recently became part of the Public Domain.
Dedication
To my three in one God; The Father, The Word and the Spirit. Father thank you and honored be your name above all the earth. Your supreme wisdom and glory make all things possible, who can understand your thoughts. Your goodness and grace are higher than the heavens. I pray that mankind would come to know you through the way you provided via the Son. Lord Jesus thank you and honored be the name given to you by the Father. I long to see your face, but until that day, may I glimpse your feet Lord. I pray mankind would come to know the great things you have done out of love, humility and obedience to the Father. Holy Spirit thank you for coming to live within me. I would have no knowledge of my God except you have revealed Him. I pray you would enlighten the world to who Jesus and the Father really are and the love they have shown the world. May the God of Heaven and Earth be blessed and praised forever. You are the true God. Hallelujah!
Watch And Pray – Decoding the Second Coming of Jesus
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Introduction – Wake Up! Watch and Pray!
Part 1 – Declaring the End from the Beginning
Chapter 1 – Unity – The Word became flesh and dwelt among us
Chapter 2 – Division – Man Appointed Mortal Sorrow
Chapter 3 – Divine Perfection – The Blessed God Comes Down Teaching
Chapter 4 – His Creative Works – His Death Brings the Captives Rest
Part 2 – Watch; Be on Alert, He comes Quickly!
Chapter 5 – Grace – I will come again and receive you to myself
Chapter 6 – Man – The Six Thousand Years appointed to Man
Chapter 7 – Spiritual Perfection Revealed – There is Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth
Chapter 8 – Resurrection a New Beginning – Trumpets Sound as One will be Taken
Part 3 – Your Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Chapter 9 – Divine Judgment – The Tribulation a Time of Jacob’s Trouble
Chapter 10 – Perfection of Divine Order – A King is crowned at a Wedding Banquet
Chapter 11 – Divine Order – Jubilee the King returns a Day of Atonement
Chapter 12 – Perfect Government – The Lord is King over all the Earth
Conclusion – Your Redemption is Drawing Near!
Acknowledgement
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Introduction – Wake Up! Watch and Pray!
“If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you”[1]
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Writing a book about the hidden prophesies and timing of the second coming of Jesus will raise a few eyebrows. So many within the church think it not right to discuss the date of the return of the Lord, in fact, the Bible clearly states several times “no one knows the day or the hour.” So then why open up a can of worms? Because Jesus also said, “But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”[2]
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The word translated for times in our English bible is the Greek word Kairos which is an appointed time, a fixed time or special occasion. Unlike the other word in the New Testament translated for time, Chronos, which is time like time on a clock, time as a space of time. For example if you where to ask someone what time it is, you would use the word, Chronos, but if you where to ask, what is the time celebrated as Christmas, you would use the word Kairos.
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So the Lord is saying keep alert at all these special appointed times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.
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Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “Now as to the times [Chronos] and the epochs [Kairos], brethren you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day…”[3] Don’t miss this we are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. We are children of the light that we should not walk in darkness.
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The letter in Revelation to the church of Sardis says for them to repent and “If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.” Jesus is saying that if they do not wake up and repent, then he will come upon them like a thief in an hour they will not know. But Paul wrote we are not children of the darkness that the day should overtake us like a thief.
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As children of the light we can and should know the Kairos of his coming. Jesus said the coming would be like in the days of Noah, where people ignored the signs. The biggest sign was Noah’s grandfather by the name Methuselah or the English translation of “His death brings” or “His death initiates”. Methuselah lived 969 years and in the year of his death came the flood. Yet people where eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage. They missed the boat.
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But we are not the unsaved; we are not of the darkness that the day should overtake us like a thief. So come with an open mind and an open heart and test everything with the spirit of truth.
There are over 300 prophecies that have been fulfilled regarding the first coming of Jesus. His Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection did not happen by chance. Rather, it was the divine plan of the Father. And the Son, in His obedience, offered Himself to save mankind.
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What is even more amazing than the fulfillment of these 300 plus prophecies, is that there appears to be nearly 2400 prophecies about the return of Jesus to the earth, also known as the second coming of Jesus.
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In this book we will look at some of the prophecies that were fulfilled regarding the first coming and use those to decode the prophecies regarding the second coming. My prayer and hope is that you will see Jesus in a new light, that you will see the Word of God in a new light, and that you will come to the revelation knowledge of this One called the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
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“If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”[4]
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Mankind had a savior and the people failed to recognize the one who would make peace for them. You’ll never understand the second coming until you understand the first coming. Calamity befell Israel and Jerusalem because they did not recognize the time of their visitation.
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Calamity will fall upon this generation if we do not recognize the time of our visitation. The return of the Lord is imminent and yet most believers have an attitude that everything will just “pan out”. Jesus rebukes those who did not recognize the time of His visitation.
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Jesus said, “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times [Kairos]?”[5] Here Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees and the Sadducees for understanding the signs of a storm to come in the sky and the ability to look to the sky and see it would be fair, but their inability to recognize the Kairos of the first coming of the Lord.
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In these first four chapters of the book we will exclusively look at the first coming. I think what is so amazing is that God used Old Testament Stories to hide things that would happen in the first coming. These are stories that you may have learned in Sunday school as a child. Yet we have read right over them when hidden treasure can be found within them.
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God proves He is God by declaring in advance with 100% accuracy what is going to take place. He authenticates His word (the Bible) by providing detailed prophecy in advance and bringing those prophecies to pass. God declares the end of the story from the very beginning. We can absolutely trust His word because everything He says, He does. God even lays down a challenge saying;
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“And who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none.”[7]
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This book is about examining the things God has brought to pass. We will examine God’s Word which He says is infallible. “God is not a man, that He should lie.”[8] He declares far in advance things that shall take place. No one can foil His plans. Nothing catches Him by surprise. He is all knowing, all powerful, and all loving. His judgments are perfect; His mercies are higher than the heavens and His wisdom and understanding are higher than ours.
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Nothing takes Him by surprise. No weapon formed against Him shall prosper. When the serpent tempted Eve to sin, God was not caught by surprise. When Adam sinned, God did not wonder what He would do. The plans of God are perfect. He is the beginning and the end. He is God and there is no one like Him.
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This all powerful, all knowing, Creator of heaven and earth is our Maker, and our Redeemer. God formed man out of the dust. God had created all things in six days. And this perfect, holy God walked with His greatest creation in the Garden of Eden, until sin entered the heart of man.
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At that moment what was perfect and right became lost and broken. This is the story of the Bible a story of a relationship gone bad. A story of a God who cared and loved so much that He would do the unthinkable to fix and rescue and restore what was lost so long ago. This 1189 chapter story unfolds in the Bible with the two opening and closing chapters lining up with God and man dwelling together.
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God lays out in intricate detail exactly how He will rescue man and restore that once perfect relationship. He gives the signs. He fulfills the signs. He is the main character and hero of the story. There is no story that compares to this one, because this is the greatest story ever told.
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Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in morning, sailors warning. - Unknown
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Jesus was constantly being tested by the religious establishment. “Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But Jesus answered and said to them, ‘When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?”[9]
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It’s crazy to think that some of the lyrics from the 80’s hit song Red Skies at Night by The Fixx, have been around for more than two thousand years. Jesus used this saying to explain to the religious establishment that they understood signs. Signs of impending weather where important, but how much more important were the signs of the Savior of the world, the Jewish Messiah.
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The religious establishment of Israel missed the signs of their savior and the Lord Jesus royally rebuked them. Because the signs were there, He was fulfilling them right before their very eyes, yet they asked for another sign. Jesus said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”[10]
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They had no clue what Jesus meant when He said, “Except a sign of Jonah.” Today we know this is a reference to Him spending three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish.
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What excuse will this generation have if they fail to recognize the signs of our times? What will be our end if we fail to pay attention to the signs that have been laid out throughout the Bible and before our very eyes?
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