Destruction Comes for Apostate Leadership

I dreamed that I found myself in Jerusalem, back in Jesus' day, and I was looking up at the temple (a temple made by man's hands which God does not inhabit). {Act.17:24} The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (25) neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; (26) and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; (27) that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: (28) for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (29) Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. (30) The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commanded men that they should all everywhere repent: (31) inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

There were stone steps leading down from the temple and the steps were being occupied by Pharisees and Sadducees. I was standing with a crowd of people in an open area a little ways from the temple and the stone steps, and just as I was looking around me in this crowd of people, I saw a man come forward out of the crowd who began to sternly address the men who were standing up (or exalting themselves) on the stone steps of the temple. I knew that the man speaking was Jesus. {Pro.25:6} Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, And stand not in the place of great men: (7) For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom thine eyes have seen. {Mat.23:12} And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.

As Jesus began to speak, I began to recognize the "Word" He was speaking to these men, since I had heard these same words before. Here is what I heard: {Mat.23:15} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. When Jesus spoke the first "Woe", I heard a loud pop-like sound and what sounded like a crackling sound. I looked down upon the stone steps of the temple that these Pharisees and Sadducees were standing on and I noticed a large, deep crack had gone right up through the middle of those stone steps, and they were beginning to crack and crumble. I noticed that the deep crack was between the feet of a rather large and extremely overweight man. (This is the apostate leadership overcome by their flesh.)

(16) Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Then, when Jesus spoke the second "Woe", I heard another much louder pop-like sound and more of the crackling sound. I looked around to see where this sound was coming from and I saw that a large, deep crack had gone all around the temple foundation and it was cracking up and crumbling as well.

(17) Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? (18) And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor. (19) Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? (20) He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. (21) And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. (22) And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. (23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. (24) Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel! (25) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.

(26) Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. (27) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. (28) Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (29) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, (30) and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. (31) Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. (32) Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. (33) Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell? (34) Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: (35) that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. (36) Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. (37) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (38) Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (39) For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Just as Jesus had finished His Words to these men, the stone steps gave way and all of those men standing on the crumbling stone steps fell down into a deep pit that had opened up under the stone steps. And just after that happened, the entire temple came crashing down on top of them and covered them up.

I noticed that from Matthew 23:15 through verse 39, there are "six" woes -- "six" being the number of man. Also, I found it interesting that there is a "Woe" in Mathew 23:23 and today is the 23rd and 23 means "death". (This is clearly a reprobation of the apostate leadership and their fake temples, as Jesus pronounced in His day, a repeat of history.)

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