 00, 0000 But Before All These - As Ye See the Day Approaching - Part 00 (First Pages Came from Parts 0&0) Luke 00:00 - But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. This Scripture began to be fulfilled in the lives of the first New Testament Church members who heard it directly from the lips of Jesus as he spoke it to them, and continued to be fulfilled right up the time of the fall of Jerusalem, and in the days of the early churches into the third century. But the last phrase in the following verse has yet to be fulfilled. Hebrews 00:00 - Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. The things in Luke 00:0 were, and still are, occurring! Luke 00:0 - But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. There were many wars and commotions around and within the vast boundaries of the great Roman Empire, and one of them was the fall of Jerusalem to Titus in 00 A.D. But Jesus indicated the end of the age was a long way off by his comment "but the end is not by and by." The following verses began to be fulfilled in 0000 when Israel became a nation. Luke 00:00,00 - Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: [00] And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. In Part 0, an exposition of Matthew 00:0-0, Mark 00:0, and Luke 00:0 was given. The exposition revealed that the disciples asked Jesus three specific questions involving events associated with the establishment of his kingdom on the earth. They were: (0) When will Herod's temple be leveled?, (0) What things can we look for to let us know your kingdom is soon going to be established?, and (0) What things can we look for to let us know the present age of Gentile domination is drawing to a close? He began by first addressing the signs that would precede the leveling of the temple of Herod. He stated in Matthew 00:0,0, Mark 00:0,0, and Luke 00:0,0 that two things could be expected to draw their attention before the destruction of Herod's temple: (0) Many would come claiming to be the promised Messiah, and (0) There would be many wars throughout the Roman empire, both internal, and around the vast expanse of its long borders. History confirms that is precisely what happened during the time frame before the destruction of the temple. Jesus was very clear in his instructions for them to NOT use these two things as the signs that would precede the other two questions they had asked, as he stated: "but the end (of the age) is not yet, but the end (of the age) shall not be yet, but the end (of the age) is not by and by." So, having given them a partial answer to question one, which he will answer more completely later in the discourse, he launches into his answer to question two. How can I be sure he starts a new discourse in the next verse? Luke 00:0,00 - But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. [00] THEN SAID HE unto them, Nation shall RISE AGAINST nation, and kingdom against kingdom: The English words "THEN SAID HE" are "TOTE ELEGEN." TOTE ELEGEN points to a new beginning in discourse, which has the effect of dissociating the repeated mention of the previous disturbances (From the Expositor's Greek Testament, Volume 0, Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, M.A., LL.D.) Simply stated, it amounted to Jesus saying, now that I have told you what would precede the temple destruction, I will answer your second question, the question "And what shall be the sign of thy coming," or "What things can we look for to let us know you are soon to establish your kingdom?" Matthew 00;0,0 - For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences (loimos), and earthquakes, in divers places. [0] All these are the beginning of sorrows (odin). In Part 00 we gave a lengthy discussion of why earthquakes, famine, and pestilence were, just before Jesus returns, according to the word "odin," supposed to follow the pattern of birth pangs a woman suffers in child bearing. We demonstrated that, for the first time in history, 