Jonathan Bernis - Signs of the End
Jonathan Bernis: Shalom and welcome to Jewish Voice. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Jonathan Bernis, and I'm joined, once again by my co-host, Ezra Benjamin. Today, we're going to explore Matthew 24. It's a challenging chapter where Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple and the signs of the end of the age. This chapter covers deception, wars, persecution, famines. We're gonna discuss how these signs are being fulfilled today and answer the question that many of you are asking, "Are we in the last days"? Ezra, we get a lot of questions that come to us by email, snail mail. One of the questions that we are asked over and over again is, "Are we in the last days"?
Ezra Benjamin: Absolutely, Jonathan. And especially since October 7th a year ago. I mean, Monday the 8th, excuse me, Monday the 9th we came into the office and there was already, you know, our inboxes were full of questions from partners from those who were praying faithfully for the ministry and for the Jewish people like you are at home, saying, "Is this it? Has something fundamentally changed here where we're in the last days, the end is near, Jesus is coming back any moment"?
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. In fact, every time there is a major earthquake we get the same question. Every time that there is a major event, you know, when the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, the invasion of Ukraine, same thing. Is this the set up for the last days?
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Anytime Russia moves it's a question because the idea that Russia will eventually end up in the Middle East, and on and on. 9/11, of course.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Huge, huge moment. And I'm sure that during World War I believers thought, "This is the end". World War II, "This is the end". But time keeps dragging on.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. And you may be asking, "Well, why"? Right? "Why in World War I, why in World War I did people say, 'is this the end'"? There is some key issues that we're gonna unpack today, wars and rumors of war to mention one, right? Obviously, those wars were, you know, the whole world was engaged in these wars. And then, another thing, especially with World War II, was happening as well. The mass persecution and, to a large degree, extermination of the Jewish people. Half of the worldwide Jewish community was obliterated. And so, those who were paying attention were looking at the Bible saying, "These seem to be things I've heard before that Jesus himself taught on and I'm seeing them unfold in the headlines. Does this mean it's the end, and how do we know"? And I think many, as we said, have been asking that question in the last year, right? In the increasing measure, nations of the world are declaring their condemnation of Israel as the Jewish state and Israel's right to exist, vilification of Israel in the headlines. We're hearing wars and rumors of war with Iran, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, you know, war on the ground against Hamas and Israel. And so, many, maybe you at home, are legitimately asking the question, "Is this just kind of a dress rehearsal or is this the real deal"? And, Jonathan, how can we know?
Jonathan Bernis: Sure. Well, the reason that I wanted to focus on Matthew 24 today is because it has some of the clearest signs that point to the end of days. In fact, Matthew 24 is a response to questions asked by the disciples, "When will this happen? What will happen before you return"?
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: And so, it lays out a scenario. There's two things that I wanna point out that we see in Matthew 24. First of all, we need to understand that Israel and in particular Jerusalem, the City of Jerusalem, is the focal point for the scenario concerning the last days. There is events that affect the whole world.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Famines, rumors of wars, deception, affects the entire world. But the answer that Jesus gives his disciples is specifically connected to Israel, the state of Israel, the land of Israel, and particular Jerusalem. That's very, very important. The us is not the center of last days focus, it's Jerusalem. That's one point. The second thing, and this is harder to comprehend. Matthew 24 is not a chronological series of events. It's not chronological. It's outside of a specific time frame. It has to do with an overall world condition and what's going on in Jerusalem at a specific time, but the events are not necessarily chronological. In fact, they're cyclical. What do I mean by that? It means that the events that are mentioned in Matthew 24 actually repeat themselves again and again. And we'll get to this in more detail. I just want you to grasp this. It's not a chronological series of events.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: Like a bunch of famines occurring at once. There is famine over millennia. There is earthquakes that have taken place over millennia, centuries, and centuries since the first century, but it's cyclical. But there is a scenario that we see in Matthew 24 that we can understand the end of the age is near.
Ezra Benjamin: I've heard many, actually, many teachers in the Jewish community, many rabbis say, "You can't think of Bible history or Jewish history as a chronological line, right? A, b, c, d, e, eventually we get to z. You have to think of it as a series of cycles and themes...
Jonathan Bernis: Exactly.
Ezra Benjamin: That's slowly spiraling up towards a destination, towards a acharit we say in Hebrew, right? A predetermined certain end, but it's not aligned, it's cycles and themes.
Jonathan Bernis: That's the concept that I want people to understand.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: This will be clear as we go through Matthew 24.
Ezra Benjamin: So, Jonathan referring to Israel having the central role, right, the land and the people of Israel in the last days, I think often in the Christian circles we hear, there is an awareness that Israel, the Jewish people, and those living in the land of Israel have to go through difficult times between now and the return of the Lord. But it's almost like the Jewish people are pawns on God's end time chess board, right, it's really about the church and whatever happens to the Jewish people. "Well, that's a means to a necessary end and Jesus is coming back". That's not what we see in the scriptures.
Jonathan Bernis: No, no.
Ezra Benjamin: Of course, he's coming back for the church, for his bride, the body of Messiah, Jew and gentile who believe in him. But Israel, the land and the people of Israel, play a central role. And there's something else, Jonathan, we shouldn't miss. If this is the Lord, right, saying this is my intent, for Jewish people back in Jerusalem to recognize me, Jesus, as Messiah, right? So, there's spiritual promises here, which means there's spiritual repercussions when the promises are fulfilled. How does the retaking of Jerusalem connect to the Jesus movement? Maybe you've never thought about this before.
Jonathan Bernis: Well, that's a very, very good point. Not by coincidence, immediately following the restoration of Jerusalem into Jewish hands, there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It actually began in the west coast of the United States and it spread like wildfire throughout the western world into Europe, etc. It's now known as the Jesus movement, as the charismatic renewal. There was a major revival and denominations. And I think even more important for us in the Messianic movement, there was this incredible influx of young people and they became believers, and many of them were Jewish.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And they're the leaders that we have today in the Messianic movement although we're getting older, and we need to hand off the torch. The Messianic Jewish movement actually was formed as a result of the six-day war and the Jesus movement.
Ezra Benjamin: So, there's a spiritual connection...
Jonathan Bernis: Absolutely.
Ezra Benjamin: To Jewish presence back in the land of Israel and the City of Jerusalem and a move of God to draw Jewish men and women to himself worldwide.
Jonathan Bernis: Let me actually just mention also in 1948 with the restoration of Israel, there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit called the latter rain movement, but '67 was more prominent. So, there's a physical restoration and there's a spiritual restoration that follows. And this has happen repeatedly.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. Amazing. So, we've got part one. Jerusalem is back in Jewish hands.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. Hugely important.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. Partial spiritual revival specifically affecting Jewish families, Jewish men and women worldwide, but part two is not yet fulfilled as you said. Largely, the worldwide Jewish community, flat out rejects the Messiahship of Jesus.
Jonathan Bernis: Correct.
Ezra Benjamin: He's not an option for our people.
Jonathan Bernis: Two things again, the center point of the last days of the end of the age is Jerusalem. Israel and specifically Jerusalem.
Ezra Benjamin: It's very clear in the scriptures and what we've been talking about today that a prerequisite to Jesus' return is Jewish people, Jewish men and women, Jewish children, recognizing Yeshua, which means salvation, Jesus, as the Messiah of our people. But how can we call upon the one we haven't believed in, and how can we believe if we haven't heard, and how can we hear unless someone preaches to them. And that's what we're doing year-round in Israel, here in north America and scattered Jewish communities around the world. We're proclaiming the good news of Jesus the Messiah to Jewish communities and their neighbors so that they can call upon him.
Jonathan Bernis: To understand this, we have to go back earlier than Matthew 24 to Matthew 23 to set the context.
Ezra Benjamin: That's the chapter before.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. Let's jump into that. And we'll put this up, Matthew 23.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And we're, specifically, look at the last verses beginning in verse 37.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: Jerusalem is the bull's eye. Jerusalem is the focal point. And he's weeping over Jerusalem and he says this, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you". He's talking about the leadership of Israel, right? This is the capital. Right. This is the Washington of the land. "How often I have longed to gather you, or your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say," in Hebrew, Baruch Haba b'Shem Adonai. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord".
Ezra Benjamin: Right. Incredible. And where is that language coming from? Yeshua, Jesus, isn't coming up with this language out of nowhere for the first time. This is actually language from Psalm 118.
Jonathan Bernis: That's right.
Ezra Benjamin: It's a Psalm that was recited as you're going up to the temple in Jerusalem, and it's what we would call a Messianic declaration.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. And you know what it's connected to in 118, if you read Psalm 118? "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Cornerstone".
Ezra Benjamin: This is why Yeshua is weeping, right? He's saying, "My desire," right? He and the father are one, so he's the God of Israel in flesh, right? In the body saying, "My desire for you was to be tender with you, like a mother, you know, a mother hen with the chicks right here under her wings. And the reason it can't happen is because you, Israel, weren't willing".
Jonathan Bernis: It's actually revealing that he won't become Messiah ben David. He's not going to be at this time king Messiah. He's not going to establish the kingdom that they've been waiting for which is the Messianic expectation of that time. Even the disciples, "Are you gonna set up your kingdom now so we have these mansions on the Sea of Galilee"?
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: No, that wasn't the plan. He's not yet Messiah ben David. He'll return as Messiah ben David, but he's Messiah ben Joseph. He's the son of Joseph, rejected by his brothers. And this is part of the prophecy here. "You won't see me again because I'm not going to be ruling over you. I'm going to die".
Ezra Benjamin: Wow.
Jonathan Bernis: "And then I'm going to ascend to the father".
Ezra Benjamin: Right. And this is, by the way, one of the biggest objections in the Jewish community to the Messiahship of Jesus, right? If Jesus is the Messiah, if he is the one we've been waiting for, there should have been peace on earth, and he should have been ruling his king from Jerusalem.
Jonathan Bernis: That's the objection. That's the overarching objection. But there's more to this that you have to understand. He's saying you won't see him again. Who is he talking to? He's not talking to the United Nations, the future United Nations. He's talking to the leadership of the people of Israel centered in Jerusalem.
Ezra Benjamin: Wow.
Jonathan Bernis: That's the first thing. The second thing is in order for those people, the leaders of Israel, the leaders of people of Israel to cry out to him, tying to Zechariah 12, they will look upon him whom they have pierced and mourn for him as they recognize he's the Messiah. So, they're crying out to him in a time of this great distress, "Come, we baruch haba. Blessed are you who comes in the name of the Lord". We have to understand that the Jewish people now as a whole reject Jesus as the Messiah.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Except for us who are Jewish believers met the Messianic, the remnant of Israel.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: But what else is obvious here that is overlooked by so many Christians, almost every denomination, is that in order for this to happen, Jerusalem has to be restored to the Jewish people, beginning with Israel, the land of Israel, but specifically, Jerusalem has to be restored.
Ezra Benjamin: "O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem". It doesn't say, "O people of Israel, wherever you, you won't see me again until," it's, "Jerusalem".
Jonathan Bernis: Right. In order for this to be fulfilled, which directly, connects to the return of Jesus to the earth. He's not coming back to Rome.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: He's not coming back to New York. He's coming back physically to a physical Jerusalem that must be under the control of the Jewish people again.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Okay. So, that then requires the land of Israel to be restored to the people of Israel. That happened in 1948, and many understood this. Many Christians understood this. They were praying for the restoration of the state of Israel, the restoration of the land of Israel, because they understood that it was connected to the second coming.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And they were correct.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. But Jerusalem was not in Jewish hands in 1948, so this still couldn't be fulfilled.
Jonathan Bernis: So, 1948 didn't fulfill this. Although it started the fulfillment with the restoration of the state of Israel, but they didn't have control over the old City of Jerusalem. It was a divided city. And what was outside of their hands was the temple mouth. And most of the old city was not under Palestinian control, it was under the control of Jordan.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: In the six-day war, now, we'll jump ahead from 1948 to 1967, you have the outbreak of a war that Israel preemptively, they were the Arab countries, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, were about to attack. And Israel preemptively struck, and the war only lasted six days. On the seventh day they rested. Now, come on. That's God's hand.
Ezra Benjamin: It's totally his hand.
Jonathan Bernis: The most consequential event that happened in the six-day war was the return of the Temple Mount in the old City of Jerusalem into Jewish hands.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah. I've watched that old video. It's really important quality. The audio is a little better but still poor quality. But I cried when I hear it because you're seeing and you're hearing Jewish men in their army uniforms, just getting out of tanks praying at the Western Wall or the wailing wall, the kotel in Hebrew, of the Temple Mount for the first time in two millennials, for the first time.
Jonathan Bernis: All they could do was look over the wall at the Temple Mount from the ymca tower.
Ezra Benjamin: In Jerusalem.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. If you haven't been there, you don't understand. But if you've been there, you'd get it.
Ezra Benjamin: Okay. So, 1967. So, part one of two here is fulfilled. Jerusalem is back in Jewish hands.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. That was a necessity for the Messiah to return.
Ezra Benjamin: Okay.
Jonathan Bernis: That's very, very important. So, that's happened. Jerusalem, Israel is now been restored. Jerusalem is now the capital. The us has now recognized Jerusalem as the capital although the un and other countries don't. So, let's go into Matthew 24 because there's two questions that are asked and they answered it. Jesus, let's look at verse 1. "Jesus left the temple". So, they're in the temple and this is a massive temple. This is the second temple that was rebuilt by Herod the great, after the return of the Babylonian captivity. And then, it was really, fully rebuilt by Herod before Jesus came, and it was magnificent.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And so, they're in the temple and they're walking away when the disciples came to him and asked, to call his attention to the building. And Yeshua says to them, verse 2, "Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another. Everyone will be thrown down". You're not gonna understand this unless you see that the remains of the Western Wall which was the protective wall of the Temple Mount. If you go down through the tunnels, you'll see these Herodian stones that are 30 tons...
Ezra Benjamin: Each.
Jonathan Bernis: Fifty tons each. These aren't just stones that are picked up and thrown.
Ezra Benjamin: It's actually mysterious to this day how the stones were even set in place.
Jonathan Bernis: This prophecy, "Not one stone would be left on another," is mind-blowing. I think of one stone, Ezra, the biggest one is about 300 tons.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: It's just, this is hard to comprehend.
Ezra Benjamin: You have to go into the tunnel to see it, but there it is.
Jonathan Bernis: The disciples couldn't even comprehend this because this is a magnificent structure with these huge 20, 30 foot stones that are humed out in the quarry and we don't even know how they were able to get...
Ezra Benjamin: Right. And Yeshua is saying, "I'm telling you the truth. Mark my words. It's gonna be completely decimated".
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. "Not one stone will be left on another. Everyone will be torn down".
Ezra Benjamin: Okay.
Jonathan Bernis: This has been fulfilled. This is already fulfilled.
Ezra Benjamin: How so?
Jonathan Bernis: So, let me go on. "Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives with his disciples, and they came to him privately, and they asked, 'Yeshua, tell us, when will this happen'"? That's question number one. And the question number two, "What will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age"? So, the first question is, "When will these stones be torn down? When will the temple be left desolate"? And that was fulfilled in 70ad. So, Yeshua was prophesying of the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70ad when they destroyed the City of Jerusalem. They burned the City of Jerusalem and they actually dismantled the temple.
Ezra Benjamin: 70ad. Right. And what's interesting is Daniel actually speaks of that event. He talks about the destruction of the temple.
Jonathan Bernis: Yes.
Ezra Benjamin: And he says, very clearly, check this if you don't believe us. He says, "This will happen after the anointed one or the Messiah is cut off". In Hebrew it means, "After the anointed one is killed". And it says, "But not for his own sake".
Jonathan Bernis: Well, Daniel is even more specific. He talk about an abomination of desolation that happened during the Syrian revolt. Right? And then the Syrian occupation and the Maccabean revolt, and then they restored the temple. But then, he declared after the Messiah is revealed the temple would be completely...
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly. So, the temple will be destroyed after the Messiah is cut off but not for his own sake. And we know it's a historical fact that the temple was destroyed in 70ad.
Jonathan Bernis: Ezra, I'm marveling as we talk about this how specific Bible prophesy is, predictive Bible prophecy in detail. The Messiah has to come before the destruction of the temple according to the book do Daniel 9.
Ezra Benjamin: And yet, most of our family members, the Jewish community worldwide can't see it. We're blind to the Messiahship of Jesus. That's why you need to pray for the salvation of the Jewish people.
Jonathan Bernis: As our partners are so into us to bring the gospel to the remotest parts of the world to Jewish communities and their neighbors along with our partner ministries in Israel, our ultimate goal is to see all Israel saved.
Jonathan Bernis: We are clearly moving towards the last days. The world is getting darker and darker. There's more turmoil. There's more uncertainty. The Bible says today is the day of your salvation. If you haven't yet invited Yeshua, Jesus, into your heart and made a decision to walk with the Lord, to serve him, today is the day. Don't wait till tomorrow. I wanna encourage you. Please, don't wait, just simply ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins. But this is by faith, by faith. Just simply ask him, say, "Lord, come into my life. Change me. Forgive me of my sins. I believe that Yeshua, that Jesus, died for me and I receive him as my Lord, Savior, and Messiah". And if you'll do that, the Lord will change you day by day. I can tell you, for 44 years now, I've been walking with the Lord, and it started with that confession of faith. So, don't let this moment go by. We also wanna take a moment to pray for those of you that have needs. We know there's pressing needs. The economy is bad. It's hard to put food on our table, and there's other needs that we know you have and the Lord knows. And that's the most important thing. So, in the name of Yeshua, in Jesus' name, we just agree with you. We pray that every need will be met. Lord, answer the prayers of your people. Thank you that you're a loving God who cares and answers prayer. In the name of Yeshua, in Jesus' name, it shall be done. Amen and amen. If you'd like more information about our ministry, you can log on to our website, jewishvoice.tv. You can find many helpful resources there and you can send your prayer requests to us right on the website. I want you to know that we really care about you here at Jewish Voice, but more importantly, God cares about you, and we will be praying for your needs by name. As we close our program, I wanna remind you to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6 admonish us, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem". And then, we're told, "May they prosper who love thee". So, if you pray for Israel and you love the people of Israel, God will prosper you. Thanks to you, Ezra, for joining me today. And until next time, this is Jonathan Bernis saying shalom and God bless you.