Which place was Jesus staying before the baptism?  When Jesus went to the desert after his baptism, who did John and the disciples meet the next day, then on to the wedding at Cana, then to Capernaum?

Answer: Mark 1:9 tells us that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee.  Matthew 3:13 tells us that Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan so John the Baptist could baptize him.

Regarding who John met the next day after Jesus’ baptism, you may be referring to the fact that the book of John appears to indicate that the next day after Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God” to some of John’s followers as Jesus was walking by (John 1:29-42).  What we must remember regarding the gospels is that they are four separate personal accounts of their experiences and events with Jesus.  Different gospels highlight different aspects important to the authors, while some aspects are duplicated. Gospel accounts are not fully chronological and in many cases, one must put all the accounts together using facts from each to create a chronological series of events.

Many have the perception that as soon as Jesus was baptized, he was immediately swept off to the desert to be tempted of Satan. The facts of the gospels indicate that there were several days before Jesus went to the desert. During that time, after his baptism, Jesus meets Andrew and Peter for the first time. They were interested in what John the Baptist was doing and witnessed him identifying Jesus as the Messiah. They followed and stayed with Jesus to get to know him more.  How long is not clear, but it was at least one day.  A point of fact is that Jesus did not call or invite them to follow him, they sought Jesus out.  At some point, Jesus and the two brothers part ways and Jesus goes into the desert for his 40 days of temptation by Satan (Matt. 4:1). We know from the scriptures that during that time, John the Baptist had been arrested by Herod and Jesus returns and begins his ministry (Matt. 4:12).

We then see Jesus begin calling his Apostles. Who does he call first? Probably the first two to show interest in him were Peter and Andrew (Matt. 4:18). Notice that he had already met them in John 1:35-42, but this time he encounters them while they are fishing in their boat and he, for the first time, calls them to follow him.  He then begins to call others like Philip and Nathanael (John 1:43-45).

Why the Israelites were into exile?

Answer:  The quick answer is “themselves.”  In Leviticus 26:1-16, God provided the Jews a preview of the blessings they would enjoy if they were faithful to Him and the Law.  Leviticus 26:14-44 likewise provided a preview of what would happen if God removed his favor from them due to disobedience.  God provided them with many blessings but they were unfaithful. The first wave of exiles occurred as a chastisement when the 10 tribe Kingdom of Israel (they had split away from the combined 12 tribe kingdom) strayed greatly from the Levitical Law and was conquered by the Assyrians and dispersed into many nations.  Then Judah (and Benjamin) went down the same evil path.  God had promised seven times (7 times 360 years of blessings or 2520 years) of blessings if they remained faithful to him.  However, in 607 BC (others say 587 BC), their prolonged lack of faithfulness resulted in a severe chastisement when Judah was conquered by Babylon and Jerusalem destroyed.  This started a time period of seven times of Gentile influence and control over the Jewish people which lasted 2520 years until 1914, when the “times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).  The Jews lost all favor in 33 AD when Jesus declared their house was “left desolate” (Matt. 23:37-39).  We know that approximately 40 years later, the Jewish nation was completely destroyed by the Romans and they were dispersed throughout the world as slaves and exiles as Jesus said would happen.  In Leviticus 26:45, however, God reveals he will have mercy on the Jews and remember their covenant with them. We see that 1845 years after they were left desolate, God began to restore them in the land of promise in 1878 AD when the Jews were first allowed to return to Palestine, purchase land, and establish the first community Petah Tikva (Gate of Hope).  Then, 70 years later, as if to correspondingly undo the 70 years of desolation at the hands of Babylon at the beginning of the 2520 years, the Jewish nation of Israel was re-established in 1948.

What is eschatology?

Answer:  From Wikipedia we offer one definition. “Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology dealing with the “last things  Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning “last” (ἔσχατος) and “study” (-λογία), is the study of ‘end things’, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, the end of the world or the nature of the Kingdom of God.  Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology is the study concerned with the ultimate destiny of the individual soul and the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testament.” The important thing to understand is to be diligent to study the word of God (2 Tim. 2:15), not theology, for even in Christendom, many have strayed from truth due to a dependence upon the musings and traditions of man (Matt. 15:8-9) rather than the fervent searching of the word of God (John 5:39, Acts 17:11).