First Baptist Church Branford Florida

09/10/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY
Matthew 24

V3….“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

We saw yesterday that the end of the age is God’s clear intervention in this world.
Matthew 13:49 "So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous,

I encourage you to read Matthew 24:1-39. I will comment on it section by section, but you should have an overview.

In Matthew 21, we saw Jesus present himself as God’s long-promised Messiah.

Matthew 21: 6So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7They brought the donkey and the c**t, laid their clothes on them, [c]and set Him on them. 8And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

The leaders rebuked and rejected him, so in Matthew 23 Jesus rebuked the leaders and rejected Israel.
Matthew 23: 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;

Now Jesus is telling his disciples in Matthew chapter 24 that it does not mean God is done with Israel. He will return and set up His kingdom as He promised {v3 above}.
Romans 11: 23And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

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09/09/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

The last words of Matthew 23 were: v. 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Matthew 24: 1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Don’t you want to know the answer to verse three? Will he fulfill this by coming spiritually into the hearts of believers in the church age, or do words mean what words mean?

They knew what the end of the age meant because they had been told before.
Matthew 13:39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
Matthew 13:40 So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
Matthew 13:49 "So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous,

Is the end of the age the same as the destruction of the temple in AD 70? The next few verses will open it up for us; be blessed as we study God’s Word.

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09/08/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

Remember, yesterday we listed all the “woes” to the Pharisees because of their unbelief and actions. Now at the end of the chapter, judgment is pronounced on Jerusalem.

Matthew 23: 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

As God reveals the storyline, we see they had a chance just days before to say: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Matthew 21: 5“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A c**t, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7They brought the donkey and the c**t, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

They rebuked him at the triumphal entry just days before, instead of laying down their hearts and coats in his path. They refuse him again in Acts 7 when Steven presents the resurrected Jesus to the high priest and his cronies. The next thing for Jerusalem is destruction in AD 70; the next chapter of Matthew will reveal it.

09/07/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY
Religion without God

Matthew 23:13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men;

15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of [h]hell as yourselves.

16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’

23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cu**in, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.

25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and [l]self-indulgence.

27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

These leaders had an entire system of rules and regulations of how to live life and worship God, yet they would not allow him access to their hearts. The message here is setting the stage for judgment. The appointed religious platform God designed to be a center of truth became vain and self-absorbed.

We will see next in Matthew that he will pronounce judgment on Israel's leaders and the nation. If we apply it to the church, it will cause much confusion.

09/06/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY
I have been posting about a kingdom – take two minutes, and this should explain it all.

King Belshazzar had been given a dream, but none of the wise men in the kingdom could tell what the dream was or its interpretation. A decree for all of them to be put to death was delayed because Daniel was sought out and rushed in to interpret the dream. Notice the king and kingdoms are very real: Babylon, Persia, etc. The interpretation of the dream is given by the one who gave the dream, God. The kingdoms in the dream are very real as well. If you read Daniel chapter two, you will see the kings and kingdoms are mentioned, and each one reaches its demise until one final kingdom is left.

Daniel 2:36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory;

Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

All this happens while the nation of Israel is in captivity under various kings and kingdoms for 70 years. In Nehemiah chapter two, we find that in the twelfth year of Artaxerxes, he permits the temple and walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt, and the people settle in Jerusalem in about 444 B.C.

Later Jesus arrives on the scene: Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

He preaches for 3 ½ years and develops his disciples as well to preach, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.

The crowds praise him and adore him with multitudes everywhere he went. But the high priest and religious leaders, out of jealousy, rejected him and accused him of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebub.

In his triumphal entry, the people received him: Matthew 21:9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

But the priests and leaders took him under the cover of night and held a mock trial to put him on a cross, where he died, was buried, and rose again.

He began his church with the Jews on Pentecost in Acts 2 and with the Gentiles in Acts 10. The temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, as Jesus had predicted in Matthew 24. We are now in the church age, not a kingdom age.

But at a moment in the twinkling of an eye, we will not all sleep but will all be changed 1 Corinthians 15:51 as the rapture occurs. The Bride of Jesus is not appointed to wrath, but to deliverance by our Lord.

Seven years of tribulation come on this earth to Jews and Gentiles. Then the Lord will return and defeat the last enemy and set up his kingdom, and we will return with him to rule and reign for 1000 years.

1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

This is the stone made without hands, the virgin-born Son of God, ruling and reigning for 1000 years before he ushers in a new heaven and a new earth.

Now, do you see the difference between a kingdom and a church?

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09/05/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

A little further down in the chapter, the Lord sends a messenger.
v8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

We like to apply this verse to ourselves as we go to tell people about Jesus, near and far; that is a good application, but it is not the primary interpretation. The next few verses apply to Jesus going to a people who will neither hear nor believe nor receive his glory because of hard hearts and deaf ears.
v10 “Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”

Now compare that with John chapter twelve, where the Isaiah scripture is applied to Jesus.

John 12:37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Notice the application John gives of Isaiah: he saw his glory and spoke of HIM. It is important to see the correct interpretation because it takes the glory of Isaiah chapter six above and applies it to Jesus. They refused to give Jesus the glory due his name as he came preaching, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. They held a false trial; he ended up on a cross where he paid for the sins of mankind, was buried, rose again, and will soon return to fulfill all of the promises given to Israel, and we will return with him.

09/04/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

John 12: 27“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify Your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
34The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Look at the question in v. 34, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? So they understood about death: how could the Christ, the Messiah who lives forever, be Christ if he dies? That was a great question, but Jesus did not answer it then.

Acts seven clearly tells us who the Son of Man is.
Acts 7: 51“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” 54When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

The phrase “Son of Man” occurs over 80 times in the gospels. It is linked to the prophecy of Daniel in:
Daniel 7:13In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. 14And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Now you know the difference between a kingdom and a church. In the Gospels, Jesus came preaching “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.

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09/03/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

Luke 20: 39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.
41 And He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand, 43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’ 44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”

The best teacher of scripture is the scripture itself. The scribes had just challenged Jesus about the resurrection, and Jesus responded: “37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

Now, while thinking of the resurrection, Jesus challenges them with who will reign and rule as the seed of David. After quoting Psalm 110:1, he applies the answer to himself. But it doesn’t end there; read the remaining six verses of Psalm 110 and see who Jesus really is.

The gospels are really confusing as we try to put them in the church. Know why Jesus came preaching “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. When you realize that, you will understand the gospels and the church. He was not preaching peace in our hearts through salvation; he was preaching a reformed world where he rules and reigns. I can’t wait.

09/02/2026

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09/01/2026

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

What just happened? Jesus took Isaiah 61 and read it, applied it to Himself, and sat down. They were all amazed, thinking, "How can this be?" He was brought up here; v16 says they all knew the child Jesus. Notice what he did say and what he didn’t say; that is the whole point of this story.

Verse 19 in Luke says, “He closed the book and sat down.” But did you notice he was in the middle of a sentence of the portion in Isaiah 61? Who sits down in the middle of a sentence and says, “Today this is fulfilled in your ears”?

Isaiah 61: 1“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,/STOP/

And the day of vengeance of our God; in
To comfort all who mourn,

Do you know what he left off reading – vengeance, Isaiah 61:2. He could not say “Today this is fulfilled in your ears” if he had kept on reading. Jesus came to heal, bless, and save in his first advent; he will return in his 2nd advent as the lion of the tribe of Judah with vengeance out of his mouth.

Jesus just taught us how to read our Bible. We can’t spiritualize all the promises to Israel; we are to believe them and put them in their right order. Thank you, Jesus.

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