Questions & Answers
Questions 236 (COD Page 927)
What does this mean? Matthew 24:19: “Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!”
Strangely, not knowing that, I was going to say this about the woman, and here it is in this time, the first question.
33 Now, Matthew 24:19. Jesus had been asked three questions. In these questions was that: When will the time be there won’t be one stone left on another? and, What will be the sign of the coming of the end of the world? and–and three different questions He was–He was asked. And He answers it in three different ways, answers each question. When will it be when there won’t be one stone upon another? And what will be the sign of Your coming? And what is the sign of the end of the world? And He answers it in three different ways. He tells them when the time will come when there won’t be one stone upon another; what will be the sign of His coming; and then, at the end of the world. And many times, if you don’t watch closely, now, how that He answers (see?), you’ll get it mixed up and throw it in all one time; and then you’re all mixed up.
34 Now, no disregards to our–to our Adventist brethren who take this literally to be in the future. To get in that subject of the seventh day that: “Pray also that your flight be not in the wintertime or on the Sabbath day,” said (see?), they’d still be keeping the Sabbath. Not throwing off to those brethren, that wouldn’t be Christian-like to do that, but just in order to straighten it up. See?
35 How would the whole Christian world be gathered inside of a wall, and the walls are not opened and closed like they are then. See? What difference would it make, that whether it was the wintertime or summertime to the people that lived ina tropic zone. See? It was just for Israel alone. That’s under the time that there won’t be one stone left upon another. “Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days,” because a mother that is with child (see?), it would be hard for her to run, and to those that are giving suck to their babies to pack them, ’cause they had to come from Jerusalem out of the city into the–up into the mountains of Judea.
36 And now, I could just stay all morning on that one thing there, just to make it clear; but I’m just going to try to hit the high spots that I can, till it gets to the people, and then go to the next question.
37 Now, Jesus had told them that they’d... “When you see Jerusalem compassed about with army, then let him that’s in the field, don’t return back into the city to get his coat, take anything out of his house; don’t return back into the city at all, but flee into Judea, for there’ll be a time of trouble not since the world began.” And that all come to pass in the days when the Roman general, Titus, beseiged Jerusalem, burnt the city, and there was only–and killed the people till the blood flew out of the gates and rolled out in–out of the streets. He besieged it. I don’t know just how many years it was, that he just took his armies and come up and just camped right around the city. And even the people, the women, boiled their own children and eat them, eat the bark off the trees, the grass off the ground. That was for rejecting the Word. That’s what caused it. And then...
38 Now, those who had received the Word, as Josephus, the great historian writes...He called them cannibals, said they was eating a body of a Man called Jesus of Nazareth, who Pilate crucified; and they come at night and stole away His body, and these people took it out and cut it up to pieces and eat it. (They was taking Communion, you see. They didn’t know.) That was just a tale going around, like they have today about us and the rest of the Christians. You see? They say those things, but...
39 Now, those people that were...The reason, “Pray that your flight not be in the wintertime,” Judea was snowbound. See, Christmas? Now, how was Jesus borned up there then in them snowbound hills? “Pray that your flight be not in the wintertime, neither on the Sabbath day,” see, because on the Sabbath day the gates was shut, and they’d be caught right in their trap. If Titus got there on–on–on Friday afternoon, they was beseiged in there for the Sabbath, because the doors was closed. The gates was closed on the Sabbath and didn’t open. There was no coming and going out of the city on the Sabbath day.
40 And now, you see what happened? Then He said, “Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days,” (see?) because fleeing and running...And according to the history, there wasn’t one of them that believed in Jesus and believed the Word but what was watching for that to happen. And they escaped, and went from Jerusalem into Judea, and–and fled for their lives, and not one of them...because they were warned by their Shepherd and was watching for that hour to come. When they heard Titus was coming, they took off, run for their lives, and got out of the city. Now, the next question follows.