Over the past thirty years I
would always renew magazine and journal subscriptions for the longest or best
renewal rates available, however, in the last five years
I began to limit my renewals to the regular one year or basic renewal
rate. My age had nothing to do with my decision. My decision was
influenced by the ever increasing occurrences of the signs of the coming
Messiah. This post is a reminder of what Jesus said to the Jews in
Matthew 16:2-3 about their problem with understanding the
"signs". I have been watching hundreds of signs which confirm
the NEARNESS of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
Eighteen years I began
monitoring global news at a dozen web sites on the Internet. Back then I
could cover all the important news in 3 or 4 hours, reading or scanning around
300 news reports on any given day. Today, it can take up to eight hours
or even longer, depending on which day of the week it is and I'm reading or
scanning between 1,200 and 1,500 news reports a day.
The reason that most people
misconstrue or misunderstand the Olivet Discourse is a combination factor of
ignorance [lack of information] and related to their lack of any formal
training on knowing and using the established methods by which you seek the
clearest understanding of the Bible. There are a number of basic rules of
inquiry and interpretation. These are foundational and central or key to
understanding the prophetic Word. The first is called the "Golden Rule of Interpretation":
1. The "Golden Rule of
Interpretation" is like a cornerstone of a
building. When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no
other sense; therefore take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal
meaning, unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of
related passages and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise. If
you happen to watch Dave Reagan's "Lamb and
Lion" program on Christian television, he quotes it slightly different but
just as meaningful and just as important.
2. The second law is called "The Law of Double
Reference". This law observes the fact
that often a passage or a block of Scripture is speaking of two different
persons or two different events that are separated by a long period (gap) of
time. In previous posts, I identified - listed no fewer than 24 of these
gaps. But in the passage itself, they are blended into one picture, and
the time gap between is not presented by the text itself. Zechariah
9:9-10 is a good example of the "Law of Double Reference".
Verse 9 speaks of Jesus' First Coming and verse 10 speaks of Jesus Second
Coming. This law should not be confused with another rule known as Double
Fulfillment. The Law of Double Reference differs from the Law of Double
Fulfillment in that the former states that while two events are blended into
one picture, one part of the passage refers to one event, and another part
refers to a second event.
3. The third law is the "Law of Recurrence".
It often involves two blocks of Scripture. The first block presents a
description of an event as it transpires in chronological sequence. This
is followed by a second block of Scripture dealing with the same vent and the
same period of time but giving further details as to what transpires in the
course of the event. An example of the "Law of Recurrence" is
that of Ezekiel 38:1-39:16. Ezekiel 38:1-23 provides us an account of the
invasion of Israel from the north and the subsequent destruction of the
invading armies. The second block Ezekiel 39:1-16 repeats some of the
first block along with added details.
4. The fourth law is "A text apart from
its context is a Pretext". A verse
can only mean what it means in its context and must not be pulled out of its
context. When apart form its context, it is
often presented as meaning something it cannot mean within the context.
The guide to the signs in Matthew 24 & 25 are
examples where it is best summed up in those two chapters. Four of the
disciples asked three key questions of the Lord. But not to overlook in
our understanding of the Olivet Discourse, do not forget to include the account
as recorded in Mark 13:1-37 and Luke 21:5-36.
No passage is more misunderstood
and mistranslated than that of the famous Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24 &
25. It is the proverbial example of errant and abusive exegesis.
Prophecy pundits, teachers, and alarmists inevitably fall on their faces when
attempting to use Matthew 24 & 25 as a proof-text that the Church will go
through the seven-year Tribulation period or some portion of it. In their
rush to judgment, they do not do their homework, and would mislead us into
thinking that it is all about the Church. If you will kindly give some
thought to what I am about to show you, it will become evident that Jesus
wasn't necessarily saying all of this to the folks of the end of days.
First, let's take a look at the questions the four disciples ask of
Jesus.
By the time I have completed
this article, we will see all four basic principles noted above, demonstrated
in our exegesis of the Olivet Discourse. Collectively, the data,
information, history, will lead the reader to recognize that the Olivet
Discourse is nearly all about the Jewish people, and not about the
Bride/Church.
1. What is the sign for the fall of
Jerusalem? They are asking what will be the precursor to the
judgment of Jerusalem, which they did not know was coming in 70 AD. Luke
21:7 is more specific about this question. They want to know "when"
and "what shall be the sign".
2. What is the sign of the Second Coming?
3. What is the sign of the End of the Age?
The order and manner by which
Jesus deals with these questions is indicative of things missed by folks, even
today! This fact is not an accident, nor an oversight. It is
far more significant than most might think, and thus begs intense examination
and study if we are to discover its real meaning.
Jesus Christ answers their
questions, but not in the same order that they are asked! The order that
He answers the question is as follows:
++The third question is answered first.
What is the sign of the end of the ages?
++The first question is
answered next. What is the sign for the
fall of Jerusalem? Luke is the one who shares Jesus' answer regarding the
first question in Luke 21:20-23. Luke is consistently the gospel writer
who deals with Jerusalem and its fate, and the other two, Matthew and Mark have
ignored Jesus' answer to this question completely.
++The second question is answered last.
What is the sign for the Second Coming?
The Jews were notorious for
their wanting signs of an impending event. 76X in the Bible, there
is some sort of reference to the "sign" being relied upon or sought
out. 53X the term "signs" is noted. Jesus even
chided them on this obsession in seeking signs. Drawing upon the rising
and setting of the Sun in Matthew 16:1-4 Jesus points out the error of their
ways on signs.
The list below of signs can be
useful in our understanding of the premise of my post on this series but I am
suggesting the order leads us to a different but much clearer understanding to
the larger issue that has evaded modern interpretations for so long. The
Olivet Discourse is largely misunderstood because Jesus gives us a near and a
far view of distant prophecies, as to His prophetic role. He proclaims
God's will for His own generation, first and foremost. But, God's will
for future events both near and far off is revealed as well.
Many use Matthew 24:29 as a basis
to infer or teach the Church will go through the Tribulation. I am here
to tell you they are totally wrong in their view. They violate a number
of the principles noted at the beginning. Such folks are erroneously
misguided and in this series we will explore the evidence to prove my
point. Their greatest mistake
is to assume Jesus is speaking to the Church of today. Remember my three "W's":
"Who" is speaking? "Who" is being spoken too?
"What" is being spoken about?
It is generally agreed that in
Matthew, Jesus is presented at the Jewish Messiah, King of the Jews. The
Gospel of Matthew is written to the Jews. All Bible scholars
recognize this fact. This remains the primary tenet of the book and any
message to the Christian community of the Church is incidental, or secondary in
importance. While it is written to the Jews, it does not mean that there
are things that are important for our learning.
The Gospel of Mark identifies
Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and Servant of Jehovah God. It is written to
the Romans, and western Gentiles.
The Gospel of Luke presents
Jesus Christ as the Son of Man. It is written to the Greeks.
The
Gospel of John presents Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God. It
is written for the Church at large. Its central message is to confirm
"belief" or to "believe" in Jesus Christ. But
interestingly, the Gospel of John makes no mention of the Olivet
Discourse. Are you aware of the fact that the Gospel of John
emphasizes Jesus' conversations and discourses? He dealt with the
things Jesus said more than what He did. Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell
more about Jesus' actions. Neither of the three synoptic writers heard Jesus'
Olivet Discourse, yet they recorded his alarming predictions.
John, along with Peter, James, and Andrew composed the audience for the Olivet
Discourse -(Mark 13:3; Matthew 24; and Luke 21), and
yet John makes no reference to it in his Gospel!
Does
all of that not strike you as puzzling? Why would he omit Jesus' prophecies
about the overthrow of the nation of Israel and the destruction of their
magnificent temple and the city of Jerusalem, all of which Jesus said would
transpire in the lifetime of those that lived there at the time? We know
that John wrote the Gospel of John, three epistles, John 1, 2, & 3, along
with the book of Revelation, and yet how can we explain his lack of even
mentioning this tremendously significant event in Jewish and Biblical history?
It
is no accident that the Olivet Discourse is not recorded in the Gospel of
John. The reason is that John shares the portion of the Olivet Discourse
for the book of Revelation. This is radical exegesis for
many untrained in Biblical Theology. I'm not alone in stating that the
book of Revelation is a fifth gospel. I have had the opportunity over the
past thirty years to discuss this fact with several esteemed theologians that
are expert scholars on the Apostle John and there is much credence to this
view. I have named quite a few important points above in why there is an
explicit absence of the Olivet Discourse in the Gospel of John. The Apostle John wrote about Jesus' words of the Olivet
Discourse in his book of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, the book of Revelation.
The imagery and details provide far greater detail and imagery in the book of
Revelation. This "gap" has precedent elsewhere in the
Scriptures, at least 24 previous times throughout the Old and New
Testament. I shared these "intervals" or "gaps" in my
posts last year on the Daniel's 70 week prophecy.
Misunderstandings over the
Olivet Discourse are clouded and muddied by conventional hermeneutics.
The fact is the line between the Old and New Testament is really not an
accurate division of the portions of the Bible which it represents. The
Olivet Discourse was actually delivered prior to the death of Jesus which in
reality places it and most of the history recorded in the Gospel accounts as a
continuation of Israel's Old Testament narrative; an important piece of information
but framed in the wrong context.
Referring to the Fourth Law of
Interpretation, "A Text Apart from it Context is a Pretext".
The confused teaching on the Olivet Discourse destroys the proper understanding
and leads to several errant assumptions. Typically, Matthew falls into
this situation. When folks try to define prophecy through this lens or
framework, it leads to confusion and disorder. Matthew is the Gospel to
the Jews, first and foremost, and using the three "W's" pertaining to the speaker, those
spoken to, and what is being spoken about, it is all Jewish. Even the
reference to the "Elect" is speaking about the Jews. It's not
about the Church at all. People who attempt to force this issue to be the
Church are overlooking so much that speaks specifically to or about that of
Israel. The four Apostles or disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew
were all Jewish patriots, and who were concerned about his final return to
Israel to establish the recently rejected "Davidic" Covenant Kingdom
-(Matthew 24:3; Acts 1:3-6). When the entire discourse is studied
alongside Daniel 7-12 and Revelation 6-19, it provides the most revealing
picture into the Tribulation period or the Time of Jacob's Trouble -(Jeremiah
30:7) found anywhere in Scripture. This epoch of evil ONLY makes sense as
it is studied in its proper context.
The Olivet Discourse provides
signs that the Jews require, center around Jerusalem, contains language
affecting the Jews alone (i.e., the synagogue, Judea, Sabbath, Abomination of
desolation, etc.), and will be immediately followed -(Matthew
24:29) by the glorious return of Israel's Messiah King to Earth where He will
rescue Israel; destroy the Antichrist; and his kingdom; hold a sheep and goat
judgment; and inaugurate the prophesied Jewish Davidic Covenant Kingdom for one
thousand years. This is the only setting for the Olivet Discourse.
From the Bible we know that
Israel exists from prophecy. Through the prophets, Israel was given land,
laws, and special commissioning through at least five Covenants outlining and
guaranteeing her future; this includes both the Old and New Covenant promises
that Israel at some point in the future will render the obedience that was
required of her under the Old Covenant -(Deuteronomy 5:1-3; Jeremiah 31:31).
If we are to "rightly
divide the Word of Truth between Old and New Testaments" we must recognize
that where a testament is, there must be of necessity, be the death of the
Testator. For a testament is of force only after men are dead: observing
it is of no strength at all while the Testator liveth
-(Hebrews 9:16-17). Hebrews 9:16-17 means that
the major part of the four gospels - including the Olivet Discourse were all
under the Lord Jesus and even the disciples were all under the Old Covenant,
further affirming the Olivet Discourse is delivered in its proper Jewish
setting.
The conventional dichotomy
between Old and New Testament is more accurately divided into what should be
defined as prophecy and mystery. The first part, prophecy has to do with
the purpose God has for the Earth and Christ's reign upon it, which includes
the "elect" nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem -(2nd Peter
1:16-19). This is the kingdom of heaven that will in the future be set up
on Earth, literally. The mystery is that body of truth proclaimed by the
Apostle Paul, concerning heaven and the exaltation of the Body of Christ in
heaven, together there with the Christ -(Ephesians 2:4-10; 3:1-4).
All the traditional views of
this dichotomy have erred in their view largely because they are adherents of
"Replacement" theology. They have assumed far too much in their
reading into the pretext of replacing Israel with the Church. Jesus'
answer to the three questions reveals something lost in the discussion.
He answers the third question first. What is the sign of the Second
Coming? He then answers the first question next. What is the
sign for the fall of Jerusalem? Luke is the one who share Jesus'
answer regarding the first question in Luke 21:20-23. Luke is
consistently the Gospel writer who deals with Jerusalem an its fate, and the other two writers ignore Jesus'
answer to this question. The second question is answered last. What
is the sign for the End of he
Age?
Clearly the subtlety here is such
that it is easy to just slide on past over the questions without ever noting
the order of the questions and without ever noting the order in which Jesus
answered the four disciples. Yet, there is much more to this innocuous
detail distinction.
Here is a list of "signs" that 'Dake's
Bible' shares:
1.
Deceptions -(Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24)
2.
False Christs -(Matthew 24:5, 23-26)
3. Wars
and rumors of wars -(Matthew 24:6-7)
4.
Famines -(Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:5-6)
5.
Pestilences -(Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:8)
6.
Earthquakes -(Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:12-17)
7.
Anti-Semitism -(Matthew 24:9; Mark 13:9, 13)
8.
Offenses -(Matthew 24:10 compared with Matthew
18:1-10)
9.
Betrayals -(Matthew 24:9; Mark 13:12)
10. Hatred -(Matthew 24:10; 2nd Timothy 3:1-9)
11. False prophets -(Matthew 24:11, 24; Revelation 13)
12. Lawlessness
abounding -(Matthew 24:12)
13. Love decreasing -(Matthew 24:12-13; 2nd Timothy 3)
14. Increased
missionary work -(Matthew 24:14)
15. Abomination of
desolation -(Matthew 24:15; Daniel 9:27; 2nd
Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13)
16. New Jewish
nation in Judea -(Matthew 24:9, 15-26; Ezekiel 37;
Daniel 9:27)
17. New Jewish
temple -(Matthew 24:15, 26; Revelation 11:1-2; Daniel 8:9-13; Daniel 9:27;
11:45; 2nd Thessalonians 2:4)
18. Great
tribulation of 3-1/2 years -(Matthew 24:21; Daniel
12:1; Revelation 12:1-19:21)
19. Martyrdom -(Matthew 24:9, 22; Daniel 8:24; Revelation 11:7; 15:2-4;
20:4-6)
20. Flight of Jews
from Judea -(Matthew 24:16-21; Revelation 12:6, 14; Isaiah 16:1-5; Psalm
60:4-8; Daniel 11:40-45; Ezekiel 20:33-
38; Hosea 2:14-16)
21. Increased
satanic powers -(Matthew 24:24; 2nd Thessalonians
2:8-12; Revelation 13; 16:14; 19:20)
22. Surfeiting -(Matthew 24:38; Luke 17:28; 21:34)
23. Sex crimes -(Matthew 24:38; Luke 17:27)
24. Procrastination
and lethargy -(Matthew 24:39)
I have taken the time to provide
this list here for your consideration and thought analysis. How would you
break this list down, or which ones do you believe are Jewish issues or Church
issues?
I am suggesting that the "elect"
referred to are the Jews and not the Church, because:
1.
Jesus is answering a Jewish question or questions.
2.
False Messiahs primarily concern Israel.
3.
Anti-Semitism proves it.
4.
The travail of Israel.
5.
The abomination of desolation concerns Israel only.
6.
The Jewish temple.
7.
Flight of Israel.
8. The
Sabbath is Jewish.
9.
The great tribulation.
10. The Jews
are the only people to be gathered.
11. The coming
of Christ Jesus is to deliver Israel.
12. Judgment
of the nations is based on treatment of Israel.
13. The eagles
eating carcasses was predicted to be at the time of Israel's deliverance.
14. The Church
will be Raptured before Antichrist.
Jesus answers first, what are
the signs of the end of the age? The Greek word that is translated
"world" is actually "age" in this verse. The Jews of
that day recognized two ages, the age they were in, and the Messianic
Age. Jesus describes the characteristics of the Church Age in Matthew
24:4-6; Mark 13:5-7; and Luke 21:8-9. The first two things that Jesus
mentions are not signs of the last days, but rather are characteristics of the
Church Age. These two are:
++First, there will be a rise of false messiahs.
++Second, there will be wars that occur throughout the whole
age. In Matthew 24:6, Jesus speaks of wars and
rumors of wars.
The first point is validated by the claims that followed during the Church Age.
After Jesus' claim to be the
Messiah (the first one in Jewish history to do so) came a line of false
messiahs beginning with Simon Bar Kochba in 132
AD. I'm noting only the more well-known claims here.
Then in the 1700's, Shabbat Zvi claimed the title of Messiah.
In the 1800's there was a man
named Jacob Frank from Poland who claimed to be the Messiah, and there were
others to follow in Jewish history.
In the recent past, there was
Menachem Schnerson, of the Lubavitchers,
who died in 1994. Many but not all Lubavitcher's
now still believe he is the Messiah, even though he is dead. He did claim
to be the Messiah when he was alive.
Likewise, in the Christian world
there have been those with messianic claims, such as Rev. Sun Yong Moon.
In the New Age movement there are multitudes of messianic claims, both
personified by celebrated gurus and in teachings about "Christ
Consciousness".
The second characteristic of the
Church Age is the ongoing of wars that will occur throughout the whole
age. Jesus notes this in Matthew 24:6. Wars and rumors of wars
refer to local wars in particular, not world wars. But local wars are not
significant regarding the end of the age, as Jesus says, "But the
end is not yet". This is not a sign of the last days, it is a general characteristic of the Church Age as
are the rise of false messiahs.
One needs to align Matthew's
account of the Olivet Discourse, chapters 24 and 25 with the accounts of Mark
and Luke. The preponderance of commentary made by many Bible teachers is
to address only the Olivet Discourse from Matthew, without ever examining the
larger puzzle account. In so doing, the bulk of those that come to false
assumptions and erroneous conclusions about the Olivet Discourse misunderstand
and misinterpret the meaning of the important message about the end of
days. One example of this errant understanding has the Church going
through the Tribulation because of how they read Matthew 24:29-31.
I chose to do this as a post
separately because it it a central issue regarding
the various views and positions held on the timing of the Rapture. I
actually considered including it within my series on "Pre-Tribulation
Truth" because it supports and validates the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, and
when properly exegeted, supports totally the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture. I believe that I will only require a second part
to this portion to complete my study. This post refutes the likes of Jim
Bakker, Michael Snyder, Irvin Baxter, Carl Gallup, John Little, Rick Wiles, and
a whole host of ignorant [lack of knowledge] folks that are not trained in the
methods of theological analysis. They invariably fail to read the signs
as given and to who they were given unto!
Jesus goes from saying,
"What are not signs" - "These things that must come to
pass, but the end is not". -(Matthew
24:7-8), which aligns with Mark 13:8 and Luke 21:10-11. The rise of nations against nation are world wars, along with
the rise of famines and earthquakes. In Matthew 24:8 Jesus calls these
the beginning of travail, or birth pangs, of the end of the age. Luke
21:22 adds pestilence, and terrors, and great signs from heaven.
So what Jesus is saying is that
when you see wars break out between not just individual localities but on a
nation to nation scale, then that is the beginning of the end times.
Jesus is using a Hebrew "idiom" of His day, found in other rabbinic
writings to describe world wars, "nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom". This is the
beginning of the last days as per Jesus' definition.
From 1914 to 1918 was World War I. It was the First World War. It
had the direct result of birthing the Zionist movement.
From 1939 to 1945 there was World War II, which led to the establishment, or
re-birth, of the nation of Israel. In relation to God's
purpose for Israel. World War II
resulted in the creation of the Jewish nation in 1948. This was the first
time the Jewish people would have a nation since the Roman's destroyed their
government in the years surrounding 70 AD.
To see a nation come back into
existence after nearly 1,900 years is a huge miracle, setting the stage for the
fulfillment of prophecy and the return of the Lord, when the nation's religious
leaders shall say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord". This does not address the particulars or details as
to how this all came about. I am merely addressing
the larger facts of the prophecy of Isaiah 66:8.
We, who, having been born into
this era, often fail to recognize the enormity of the miracle of Israel's
rebirth as a nation. Bible scholars just 100
years ago were "allegorizing" the prophecies regarding Israel because
they could not envision this happening.
In regard to famines, there have
been many severe ones in the 20th century. In 1920 there was a famine in
China, where millions died. In 1921, there was a famine in Russia where
millions also died. We have seen more recent famines in our lifetimes in
places such as the Sudan and Ethiopia. Food shortages in the third world
are common place. A Vatican spokesman at the June 2015 Bilderberg Group
said there are 6-billion too many people on the planet. The world's
population is as of the latest statistics, just over 8.2-billion. The
Vatican spokesman infers that we have to eliminate 6-billion. The details
of that speech are even more terrifying!
As to earthquakes, there has been a steadily increasing number of them, in part
because of better reporting of them but also as we look at Jesus' words they
are a sign of the beginning of the end times. Recorded earthquakes are
interesting to examine:
From 37 AD to 1,000 AD - There are only five major recorded earthquakes.
From the 14th century there are 157 recorded earthquakes.
From the 15th century there are 174 recorded earthquakes.
From the 16th century there are 253 recorded earthquakes.
From the 17th century there are 278 recorded earthquakes.
From the 18th century there are 640 recorded earthquakes.
From the 19th century there are 2,119 recorded earthquakes
From the 20th century there are over 200,000 recorded earthquakes
Both the number and intensity as well have been on the rise without question.
Because the three Synoptic
Gospels contain both similar information as well as unique information, the
Olivet Discourse has to be scrutinized in their collective totality. Luke
21:12-19 notes personal experiences relative to the Apostles, Luke notes
things in consecutive order, stated by Luke 21:12, "But before these
things" ... Before what things? Before the signs of birth
pangs of the end of the age which Jesus has just given them.
So before these things, the Apostles will have to face NINE experiences
which Jesus tells them to expect to come their way.
1. The will be rejected by their own Jewish
community. -vs. 12.
2. There will be rejection by Gentile governors and
kings. -vs. 12.
3. Both of these persecutions will provide
opportunities for testifying in Luke. -vs. 13.
4. They will be given what to speak by the Holy Spirit
when brought before a court of law to defend the faith,
they do not need to rely on themselves to figure out what to speak. -vs. 15.
5. In spite of the opposition they will encounter,
they will have success in their testimony, not being able to be gain-sayed, or rebutted. -vs. 21:15.
6. Families, even their own,
will be torn apart, even to the point of their own family members betraying
them to death. -Luke 21:16. Of the original eleven disciples, ten
would die a martyr's death.
7. They will be hated by the majority of people for
the sake of the Gospel. -(Luke 21:7).
8. They shall have spiritual security. -(Luke 21:19).
9. The Gospel will be preached in the whole world,
beginning with them, His Apostles. -(Colossians
1:6).
We turn now to Luke 21:20-24,
the sign of the fall of Jerusalem. This was the first question that was
asked of Jesus, and Luke gives us Jesus' answer. In Luke 21:20, the sign
is that Jerusalem is to be surrounded by armies. This is the precursor to
destruction and judgment. In 66 AD, Jerusalem was surrounded by armies,
after the procurator Florus had seized, or stolen,
money from the Temple treasuries and widespread revolt broke out amongst the
Jewish people.
Gaius Cestius
Gallus (d. 67 AD) was Legate of Syria from 63 or 65 AD. He marches into
Judea in 66 AD in an attempt to restore calm at the outset of the great Jewish
revolt. He succeeded in conquering Beit She'arim
"the New City", in the Jezreel Valley, at
the time, but was unable to take the Temple Mount. During his retreat to
the coast region, he was closely pursued and harassed until being forced to
battle near Beth Horon, and only succeeded in making
his escape to Antioch by sacrificing the bulk of his army and a large amount of
his war materials.
The Jewish revolutionaries were
encouraged by their victory and armed themselves for a massive national revolt
against Rome. Emperor Nero appointed General Vespasian, who would become
the next emperor, to crush the rebellion. During the
short interval between Gallus' attempt to seize Jerusalem and Vespasian's siege
of Jerusalem, which allowed the messianic Jews to flee, as per Luke's
instructions here. During this lull, 20,000 messianic Jews from
Jerusalem joined 80,000 others from other parts of the country and they fled to
the city of Pella, and of the Decapolis cities in the region of the
Galilee. The messianic believers in Jesus survived the judgment predicted
by Jesus, as they followed Jesus' words as laid down here. No messianic
Jews perished by all existing accounts.
The fact is that 1.1 million
Jews are believed to have perished in the judgment of 70 AD, begun by
Vespasian, and finished by his son Titus, when Vespasian was recalled back to
Rome to be crowned emperor upon Nero's death.
Jesus mentioned the times of the
Gentiles in Luke 21:24, an age in which the city of Jerusalem is under control
of Gentile kings. The time of the Gentiles begins with the first
destruction of Solomon's Temple, and the cessation of an heir of David to sit
on the throne in Jerusalem at that time.
The first of Tisha B'av (known as the 9th of Av) commemorates the
destruction of the First and Second Temple's destruction on the exact same date
in Jewish history. It is a day for judgment and mourning in the Jewish
calendar, usually falling in July or August. This is an interesting
aspect of the period of which Jesus was commenting but deserves its own focus
apart from this post subject.
The next phase of the Olivet
Discourse is the Tribulation found in Matthew 24:9-28. Jesus was speaking
of things which will lead up to the Second Coming in this passage. First,
He addresses events of the first half of the Tribulation period, about which He
says:
1. There will be persecution
of the saints in Matthew 24:9, even unto death. This correlates with the
Fifth Seal judgment in Revelation 6:9-11.
2. There will be many false prophets leading many
astray. See Zechariah 13:1-2 which deals with the last days of Jerusalem.
3. Sin will increase because the restraint of
lawlessness has been released. See 2nd Thessalonians 2:6-7.
4. Those Jews who survive to the end will be saved, in
Matthew 24:13. This refers to those Jews who survive the
Tribulation. Zechariah 13:8-9 says one-third of the Jews will survive the
Tribulation and come to faith.
5. The Gospel will be proclaimed to all the nations,
in Matthew 24:14. In Revelation 7:1-8, the 144,000 Jews set aside to do
this work will preach the gospel in all the world
before the end comes.
Concerning the second-half of
the Tribulation, Jesus says a number of important things that often get glossed
over in interpretation. This comes as a result of our western Christian
interpretation of the Bible.
1. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus references the abomination of desolation from
Daniel 9:27; 12:11. Luke, in writing "Let him that reads
understand", which means that one should be referring to the book
of Daniel for a full understanding. The abomination of desolation will
occur in TWO stages:
++First, the Antichrist will take over the Jewish Temple and
sit in the Holy of Holies, and he will declare himself to be god. Rule
out this person being a Muslim. Author Joel Richardson and now
Perry Stone has been leaning toward this view; Joel states the Antichrist will
be a Muslim, and Perry Stone has been inserting this thought in his teaching
for about a year or two now. Muslims are just as much opposed to bacon
and ham sandwiches as the Jews! It makes no sense for a Muslim Antichrist
to place a pig on the altar. If you want to really offend a Muslim, mail
them a slice of bacon in a bubble pack envelop.
2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4, "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first,
["The
Departure", i.e. the Rapture] and the man of lawlessness
is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every
so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of
God, displaying himself as being God".
Critics at the Pre-Wrath
Rapture babble site are always attacking Bible College and seminary education
as if it was a waste of time and all that one has to do is simply open the
Bible up and read it for themselves and wall la you know what it means.
How naive and infantile. This is absurd, and reflects a child
mindset. It speaks as much for itself as it does for its mouth piece.
I have taken individual courses in seminary on all the Gospels. In the
courses on the Gospels, I was required to do sentence-diagramming of the entire
books. In every case, we diagrammed the entire book, not just in English,
but in the Greek text as well. Breaking down an entire book into its
grammatical structural forms is tedious, demanding; but I would never consider
it a waste of time in order to obtain the most accurate and truthful
understanding possible.
++Second, the false prophet will make an image of the
Antichrist and stand in the Holy of Holies. Revelation 13:14-15 reads, And
he deceives those who dwell on the Earth because of the signs which it was
given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on
the Earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has
come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the
beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do
not worship the image of the beast to be killed."
The placement of the
abomination of desolation will be the signal law for the Jews to flee out of
the land of Israel. Jesus places the emphasis on speed and urgency.
Three difficulties are so noted:
++First, pregnant women and those nursing infants will have
difficulty.
++The second difficulty is the possibility of its being
winter time (mid-October to mid-April) as the wadis
would be full of water. Highways in Israel are often covered by water from the
ever-flowing wadis in the rainy season.
++A third difficulty is the possibility of its being on the
Sabbath Day (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday), as all public transportation
will be closed.
The reason for the flight is the
attempt of Satan to energize the enemies of Israel to destroy the Jews.
In Matthew 24:22, Jesus notes that if those days had not been shortened
(suddenly cut short) no flesh would be saved. God will not allow the
Great Tribulation to go one day past the allotted time of 1,260 days, 3-1/2
years. Israel will survive this attempt to destroy it, although many will
die. Zechariah 13:8-9 and chapters 12, 13, and 14 speak of the last battle,
when the Lord will come to defend His people at the end of the Tribulation
period.
In Matthew 24:23 there is a
warning against following false messiahs. The false messiahs and false
prophets which will arise will perform false signs and wonders. Jesus is
warning His people not to be deceived as the signs will be "great"
even enough to deceive the elect. Rumors of the Lord's return will arise
but the Jews are to remain in hiding. His true return will be as visible
to all as lightning in the sky.
Jesus gives a hint as to the
place of His Second Coming: "Wherever the corpse is, there the
vultures will gather". It is found in the context of the
place of His coming in Matthew 14:26-28. The body refers to Israel, who
is in hiding, and the vultures refer to the Gentile armies that are gathered
against Israel. Numerous Scriptural references identify the fact that this
event will occur at Bozrah (Petra in Greek).
The word "Bozrah" means
"Sheepfold". Typology of the "sheepfold",
"Shepherd parable", and other references affirm Christ Jesus will not
allow the "elect" to be destroyed by Satan. These include a few
passages:
-Isaiah 63:1-2
-Isaiah 34:5-6
-Jeremiah 49:22
-Habakkuk 3:3
-Zechariah 12:7-9
-Zechariah 14:3-5
-Micah 2:12-13
-Revelation 12:6
In Part 2 of this post I will deal with what was the Second question asked of
Jesus. He answered the question, What is the
sign of the Second Coming?
According to the prophets,
Israel has ahead in her future, a time of intense persecution linked to the day
of the Lord called the time of Jacob's Trouble -(Jeremiah 30:7). Bible
scholars understand that this period is for Israel because Jacob is Israel -(Genesis 32:28). In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus
Christ referred to this period as "The Great Tribulation" -(Matthew 24:21, 29) and some sixty years later promised
that the Church would be exempt from it -(Revelation 3:10). However,
while many of the prophets refer to it, only Daniel provided the time-frame for
it as a prophecy concerning 70 weeks of years that was revealed to him by the
angel Gabriel in the 6th century BC. This prophecy is strictly for
Israel, and centers around Jerusalem, and it details some of the most
definitive information in all of Scripture, including the promise of a coming
King and kingdom, the exact day of the King's presentation and rejection, the
cessation of the prophetic dispensation, the precise duration of the coming
time of trouble -(Daniel 12:1), coinciding with a Jewish-Islamic seven-year
peace treaty brokered by the Antichrist and then broken by the Antichrist in
the middle of the week.
As noted previously, the absence of the Olivet Discourse in the Gospel of John is
our clue to understanding the entire absence omission of the Olivet Discourse.
It's not in the Gospel of John because the Bride/Church is NOT here.
Pastor Bob