Matthew 3:1-3

Matthew 3:1: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

The first coming of Jesus was not something that was done in a corner. There were the angels that appeared the night He was born; there was the dramatic trip by the wise men that stirred up the whole city of Jerusalem; and there was John the Baptist, who made it very clear that the Messiah was at hand – and, in fact, actually pointed Him out when He came!

Over the course of His ministry Jesus made it clear that He was the Messiah. He performed many miracles; He claimed it personally on several occasions; and He was widely know. Jesus was not an obscure person; He was quite famous.

But Jesus was still rejected by His people and the chief priests. They weren’t interested in His offer, so the Lord sent the terrible judgment of AD 70 upon them. Jesus came and offered, but He was rejected and murdered.

I realize that He had to die, but the Jews did not have to reject Him. Although God knew that they would reject Him, it was still their choice. The day will come when the Jews will regret that decision and will accept Him as Messiah, but that day will not be until the very end of the Tribulation.

Personally, I do not think that day is very near. There are far too many things that need to happen before the Tribulation starts. Several wars needs to take place, Israel needs to be radically changed, and Babylon needs to be rebuilt and become the center of the world. It could easily take a lifetime – if not more – for all these pieces to fall into place. I doubt that the Tribulation will begin anytime soon.