Jesus said: Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. Matthew 24:16-20 (NKJV)

• 2 days before His crucifixion, Jesus cried over Jerusalem and warned the people of what was going to happen to them in the near future. Matthew 23:36-39
• In AD 70, about 40 years later, Roman troops invaded the rebellious Judea killing most of the population and destroying the temple. This event fulfilled Christ’s prophecy for Jerusalem—Matthew 23:37-39.
• The Jewish diaspora into all the world began at that time culminating with another Roman attack against Israel in AD 132. The land of Israel was given the name Palestine by their Roman conquerors and left with a scarce population mainly nomads and Arab tribes.
• In the beginning of the second millennial, the Catholic Church sponsored a number of Crusades with the intention of recapturing the Holy Land for Christianity. After 3 or 4 unsuccessful Crusades, the land was again taken over by the Muslins. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the British took over the supervision of Palestine.
• In the early 1900, Jewish families began to settle in Palestine while the British kept peace among Jews, Palestinians, Arabs, and Christians
• In 1948, Palestine was divided in order to create the Jewish nation of Israel.
• VERY IMPORTANT! Israel became a nation again in the last 100 years. This end-time prophetic message of Jesus in Matthew 24 could not have been fulfilled before 1948 because the Jewish people needed to be back in the land in order for the temple to be rebuilt and the animal sacrifices reinstated at the temple.

• Daniel’s Last Week — 7 last years of this world system: Daniel 9:24-27
• A Covenant with the Antichrist :
  • At a point of total desperation when all her allies would have forsaken her and surrounded by enemies, Israel will seek help from the wrong ally — the rider of the white horse of the 1st seal — the antichrist/the beast. Rev. 6:1; Daniel 11:21-24a
  • Israel and the antichrist will sign a treaty, which will initiate the world’s last seven years. Daniel 9:27
  • The antichrist will be instrumental in destroying Israel’s enemies. Daniel 11:40-45
  • Many in Israel will be convinced that the antichrist is the promised Messiah and will follow him, but not all in Israel will follow after him. Daniel 11:32-33a; 12:3; Rev. 13:4
  • But then, in the middle of the seven years, the antichrist will stop the sacrifices at the temple. He will come to the temple and defile it with the abomination of desolation. Daniel 11:31; 12:11; 8:11-12; 9:27

• When the antichrist comes to the temple and he proclaims that he is the only god that people on earth must worship [the abomination of desolation 24:15], then the antichrist will turn against those in Israel who are not worshiping him. The Great Tribulation would begin at that moment against the people of Israel. Daniel 11:34-35; 12:1; Rev. 12:1-6.
  • Very short time to escape to the mountains before the antichrist catches up with them to kill them: Matthew 24:17-18
  • The persecution against the woman/Israel continues — Rev. 12:13-16
  • Many in Israel will be killed during this time when the antichrist comes against them — Daniel 11:33; Daniel 12:1
  • Israel will be given a little help during this time. Daniel 11:34-35; Rev. 12:15-16
  • The woman, Israel, escapes to the wilderness where there is a place prepared for her. There, Israel will be protected for one thousand two hundred and sixty days = 42 months= 3 ˝ years= the time of the Great Tribulation. Rev. 12:6, 14
  • But those who are able to escape from the attack of the antichrist will find a place of refuge.

• Scientists and engineers from around the world are rebuilding Nabataean dams and planning restoration of the ancient water supply system, marveling as they work at the genius of Petra's original inhabitants.
• The Nabataeans were one of the most civilized peoples of antiquity. The spectacular ruins of Petra, chiseled by hand into the sandstone cliffs of southern Jordan, are testimony to Nabataean engineering and artistry — in the form of freestanding temples and nearly 3,000 rock-cut tombs, dwellings, banquet halls, altars, and niches. Not only were these structures elaborately carved but they were also covered with stucco and brightly painted, creating a spectacle of brilliant facades set against a backdrop of rose-colored cliffs.
• Petra was a settlement whose streets and architecture sprawled along winding gullies and up steep cliffs. The Nabataeans developed the technology to harness natural springs to sustain fertile crops, lush gardens, and an impressive system of pools and reservoirs, all of which supported a booming population. At its height, around AD 50, the city and its environs boasted as many as 20,000 residents.
• What will happen to those in Israel who escape to Petra and are protected for 3 ˝ years?
  • They will come out as humans to take possession of the land of Israel during the Millennial Kingdom — Ezekiel 48:1-9, 20-29
  • But the people of Israel will have to be born again if they want to live in eternity with God in the eternal New Jerusalem. Revelation 21 & 22

• After the cross, all Jews and Gentiles must be born again — 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; John 3:3
• Jesus said that there will be one flock and one shepherd — John 10:16
• After the cross, all must believe in Jesus in order to have eternal life — John 5:24
• The Law does not give eternal life only Jesus can—John 5:39-47; Romans 8:3-4; Gal. 5:4-5
• The Jews who believe will be part of Jesus’ sheep that receive eternal life — John 10:27-30; John 3:18
• Born again Jews and Gentiles will be part of the Bride of Christ, the saints who will return with Christ to reign and rule on this earth for one thousand years — Rev. 19:7-8, 14; 20:4-6; Zechariah 14:5