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This is Mat 24, but I’m going to entitle it ‘What are the fowl of the earth?’ We’re going to get down to that in a little bit and that will take up most of our Bible study.

Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

When you read the Bible, you see the words in front of you and think of the temple that they were standing in front of and how huge the stones are. They are huge stones, and it is a wonder how they actually got those stones there. What’s in your mind is the physical, but, I am telling you as Christ tells you later in this chapter, let him that reads understand. When you hear ‘There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down’ this is not talking about the stones of the temple to you or me as God’s elect. This is talking about what’s in our lives. If we don’t see these spiritual truths behind these physical letters, then we are not getting anything out of what Christ says later in this chapter.
Let me go back to make this point.

Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

These are the stones in the temple that we need to be thinking of.

Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age- Greek aion)?

I want you to notice that this is not being said to the multitudes. This is being said to his disciples, privately. What you are about to hear is something that just a few people got to hear at the time it was said. What is being said here, once again, is talking about the end of ‘my’ age, not the end of someone else’s age. It’s got to be applied personally and inwardly.

Mat 24:4-5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

There are many people who come in Jesus Christ’s name and who teach Jesus Christ and who do many wonderful works in the name of Jesus Christ, but they don’t have one bit of use for the words of Jesus Christ.

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

This is who Jesus Christ is talking about here. He’s not talking about the occasional person who claims to be ‘Jesus Christ’ like Sun Yung Moon. He’s talking about many people, and many means majority. Most people will come in Christ’s name, saying that he is Christ and will deceive most people; in other words, the Christian religion. Let’s just call things what they are.

Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Once again, let me say it again so we can stay focused: apply all of this inwardly. Realize that this is talking to all of us including me. I, Mike Vinson have been deceived; Mike Vinson was taken into the Babylonian system of the Christian religion that claims to know Christ and does many wonderful works in his name. Mike Vinson was deceived, he was one of the many deceived, and if you don’t see that, you are going to go to church every Sunday and think that you are not

Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

Why would they hate a dead man? It is after you die to the flesh that you begin to be hated. They will ‘deliver you up to be afflicted’ and will kill you. That’s good! That’s the best thing that happens to you when you die.

Mat 24:10-11 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Who is he talking about here? Heathen people? No, the many people who are deceived thinking they know Christ. That’s what we are talking about. Christ is talking about people who have been called, who have accepted him, who come in his name, do many wonderful works and deceive people. At that point, many are offended and betray one another and hate one another.

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

This is many coming in Christ’s name, saying they are following Christ, using Christ’s name, claiming they love Christ’s name and doctrine and they deceive many, most, the majority. That’s the litmus test right there, because God is love. While you can talk love all day, it is hard to live love, it is hard to turn the other cheek. You can’t do it. It takes Jesus Christ in you to do it. This is what separates the called from the chosen, this verse:

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Nobody is saved right now. They are converted, but being converted is not saved. He that endures to the end shall be saved. When they are resurrected they are saved. You are converted, you are living a good Christian life, but read Ezekial 3, it will come right out and tell you, no matter how good a life you live, if you turn your back on it at the end, all your good works account for nothing. No matter how evil you have been, if you turn from your evil works, all your evil works account for nothing. It is what you do at the end that counts. The workers that came in at the last hour received their wages before the people who had been there working all day, doing the same works as the other people.
If you have the love of Christ, you are not the least bit perturbed at what God does. All things are of God to you. He could give the house away and you would say “Amen, Father!”

Mat 24:14-15 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

What did Mat 24:14 mean to you? Does it mean to you that the churches of Babylon have to get the gospel preached in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America? That’s been done for years, it has been in all the continents of all the world for years. If you still think that nations and kingdoms and rocks and all these things are ‘out there’ somewhere, you don’t understand verse 15 at all: whoso reads, let him understand. It is all to be understood as a message to the spirit. God is spirit and all that you see and touch is his way of getting through to you what is going on in the powers and principalities that you are really wrestling against.
What is the holy place? You, your heart, your mind, that is the holy place, because you are the temple. The holy place is in the heart of the temple, the last room you go into.
What is ‘the abomination of desolation?’ It is Satan ruling in your life; it is him having you for lunch, eating the dust that you are. That is the abomination of desolation. You will see that when the gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the nations in you, in me, in each of us. Then you will see that beast, that man of sin, sitting on the throne in your heart, doing what he wants and never having lost a battle. Once you see that, you finally have a handle on what the problem is. You finally can understand what you are reading.
Mat 13:9 is explaining Mat 24:14:

Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Continuing on in Mat 24:

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

What is he talking about here? How does this have an inward application? One thing that should be painfully obvious is that God does not have anything against pregnant women or babies in the womb. Let’s finish this so we can get an idea of that is actually being said:

Mat 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

If this is to be applied internally, spiritually, how can that be? Where was the great tribulation 2,000 years ago? If you don’t see this internally, then you will never understand the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation says the time is at hand. It talks about great tribulation and earthquakes and all kinds of things. It says do and keep the sayings of the prophecies of this book, for the time is at hand. Once you accept that as a truth, not to be negotiated, then you will understand why Jesus Christ says so many times in the book of Revelation, ‘I am he that is, was and will be.’ Once you get a handle on ‘is, was and will be,’ then the word of God opens up to you in a way that it will never be understood otherwise.
‘But for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.’ How does that apply generation by generation? Right here it is:

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

That’s the days being shortened so the elect can make it. If Jesus Christ is not in us, not dying in us daily, and the days are not being shortened in our flesh, nobody would make it, no flesh would be saved alive. Right at this juncture in your walk, when you are seeing that you are in Babylon:

Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Don’t believe it! All this talk about a secret rapture is a bunch of lies.

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

That word ‘signs’ is the same word translated miracles. God’s elect know the difference between gifts of the spirit and fruits of the spirit. The fruits of the spirit you will not have without Christ being in you. You will not and cannot and there is no way you can accomplish loving your enemy without Christ being in you. Right after making that statement, he says:

Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

I get so many letters asking me, ‘how does one know they are God’s elect?’ How do you know you are going to be saved and be in the first resurrection? You don’t! That’s why He says ‘be vigilant.’ Be on your guard every moment. If the good man had known what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. The whole point of Christ telling you that is so you will constantly be on your toes. ‘He that thinks he stands, let him take heed, lest he falls.’ Don’t take your salvation for granted, get rid of this idea of once in grace always in grace. Realize that there is a need for vigilance. It is all part of God’s plan.

Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

I’ve entitled this talk what are the ‘fowl of the air’ (earth?) because of these eagles. They are unclean birds and they eat meat.

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

You have to be willing to give it up, then you will have it. That’s what eagles eat; they eat dead meat.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Dead meat.

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

More dead meat for those unclean birds. That’s the ‘lightning coming out of the east and shining unto the west.’ That’s Christ coming into your life. When you die to the flesh, then you give up the flesh, but it is not a pleasant thing to do. You don’t give up the flesh willingly. It takes a catastrophe in your life.

Exo 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

It’s through this dying to the flesh that God brings us to himself. I’m going to repeat Joh 12:25.

Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
2Sa 1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

In their death, they were not divided. Jonathan actually helped David, but he could not separate himself from his father. Don’t you be that way. These things are written for our admonition. At the same time, realize that God created Babylon. God is the one who is responsible for all things; he ‘works all things after the counsel of his own will.’
What is it that fowl generally represent, especially unclean fowl like vultures and eagles?

Pro 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

What are these eagles doing? 1Co 5:5 tells us exactly what it is all about:

1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

These birds, these false doctrines, these ministers, the adversary who comes as an angel of light, devours our flesh. The earth opens up and swallows us. That’s the whole point of Korah’s experience. The earth opening up and swallowing him is simply a type of us being taken into the doctrines of the world, the earth, the ground. We die in that earth (the world, the people of God); actually, we are dying. That’s what these eagles do.

Gen 40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
Gen 40:17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
Gen 40:18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
Gen 40:19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
Gen 40:20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
Gen 40:21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
Gen 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Gen 40:23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

These birds ate his flesh; they destroyed his flesh. Where did Joseph get the idea that this is what this meant?

Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Gen 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

What is the meaning of the creatures of the sea and the fowl of the air? What is the earth? It is God’s people who are not God’s elect. God’s anointed who are not God’s elect are filled with fowl. Where do these fowl live? They lives in the heavens of the earth. It is not the sixth day with the beast, it is the fifth day so that all of the spirit beings were created just ahead of men, the day before. It was on the sixth day that the earth, that is mankind and their relationship with God, was created because Adam was the son of God.

Lam 4:19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

It is in the wilderness that we are persecuted. We are persecuted by those who are swifter than eagles.

Mat 13:31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Mat 13:32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

This is the parable of the mustard seed. What are all the parables? All the parables are about the kingdom of God from now until Christ. It will be applicable then, it will all be true, even then. The kingdom of God needs to be cleansed of its heavens and of its earth. It is full of

Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

This is the fowl again, the unclean fowl. We read back in Exodus where God said, I brought you (Israel) up out of Egypt on eagles’ wings. When God brought them out, he said I bring you unto me this way. What happened in the wilderness? What is the history of Israel in the wilderness?
To give you an idea of what this ‘time, times and half a time’ has to do with:

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Where? In the streets of that great city, speaking to this very woman of Rev. 12, the very next chapter. They are going to speak for a 1,260 days. She is going to be in the wilderness 1,260 days, time, times and half a time. It is all the same time, it is just hidden so that 1,260 days tells us that this is the time of our witnessing to the people of God, this is the time of their hearing us witness. It is the same period of time. What happens during this time?

Num 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Num 14:23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
Num 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

What are the fowl of the air? False ministers, false doctrines. Try the spirits because many false prophets have gone forth into the world.

Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Mat 13:19 explains that.

Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.