THE RETURN OF CHRIST - Verum Serum

THE SOON RETURN This book is the outcome of many, many years of studying Biblical prophecy, particularly that which relates to the second coming of Christ. Admittedly, this study has been an off-and-on one, but the subject has rarely been far from my mind for some fifty years. It has, however, been somewhat of a struggle. My seminary training, my denominational connection, the proclamations of well-known speakers, and the general belief of the church seemed to add confusion to the subject. I always had the gnawing feeling that something was faulty with the traditional belief about the soon and imminent return of Christ. Even as a young person, I was often frustrated with, what seemed to me to be, the apparent contradictions and the seeming inconsistencies within contemporary thinking on the subject. After reading numerous books, viewing scores of charts, listening to multiple arguments that promoted the soon and imminent return of Christ, I decided to broaden my thinking and study different possibilities. As a result, in recent years, I have become more comfortable with my view about the timing of His return. Hopefully, this book, the outgrowth of my own struggle, will be of benefit to you in your study of this great subject. -Harold Watkins

Copyright ©2005 by Harold Watkins. All rights reserved.

Cover Design by Thad Watkins

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CONTENTS pages INTRODUCTION

1-8

Comments of Authors Greek Words Used to Refer to Jesus’ Coming

1-4 5-8

INVESTIGATING JESUS’ CLAIM References Within The Gospels

9-58 9-36

A. Matthew 16:27-28 B. Matthew 26:64 C. Matthew 23:36; 24:30, 34 A Study of the Phrase “this generation” D. John 21:21-22

9-12 13-16 17-33 [26-33] 34-36

References Within The Revelation

37-56

A Study of the Dating of Revelation A. Revelation 2:5,16,25; 3:11 B. Revelation 16:15 C. Revelation 22:7, 12, 20

37-47 48-49 50-51 52-56

The Findings Of This Study

57-58

OBSTACLES TO BELIEVING IN A FIRST CENTURY RETURN A. The Popular-View-of-Matthew 24 Obstacle B. The Soon-Coming-Rapture Obstacle C .The Future-Worldwide-Visible-Return Obstacle D. The Future-Resurrection-And-Judgment Obstacle E. The Earthly-Reign-of-Christ Obstacle F. The Future-Millennium Obstacle G. The Future-Regathering-of-Israel Obstacle H. The Catastrophic-End-to-History Obstacle I. The Church-Cannot-Be-Wrong Obstacle

59-158

59-68 69-82 83-88 89-95 96-108 109-122 123-138 139-150 151-157

EXPANDED STUDIES

159-240

A. A Study of Matthew 10:23 B. A Study of Three Greek Words Translated as “World” - kosmos, oikoumene, aion C. A Study of the Phrase “All the Nations of the Earth” D. A Study of Three Greek Words that Designate Time - tachos, eggus, mello E. An Air of Expectancy F. No Literal Rapture G. A Study of Four Greek Words That Argue for a Visible Coming - horao, apokalupto, phaneroo, epiphaneia H. A Study of the Greek Word “Stoicheion” I. A Study of the Phrase “And so all Israel shall be saved” J. Evidence That Supports the Contention That the Kingdom of God is Advancing on Earth

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159-160 161-168 169-176 177-192 193-200 201-216 217-220 221-224 225-234 235-240

SUMMING IT UP

241-242

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

243-248

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE SERIOUS STUDENT

249-252

PRETERIST RESOURCES INDEXES

253-254 255-270

Index of Authors and Speakers Index of Old Testament Scripture References Index of New Testament Scripture References

255-256 257-259 260-270

™ A WORD OF CAUTION “Writings and addresses on prophecy always excite interest, because they appeal to the element of curiosity which is prominent in human nature. But such writings and addresses are of benefit only so far as they rightly interpret the Scripture. In the case of unfulfilled prophecy this is oftentimes a matter of difficulty, while on the other hand writers on prophetic themes are under constant temptation to indulge in surmises and speculations, and even in flights of imagination. “Our own thought about the matter is that writers on prophecy have gone so far in advancing, and the people of God in accepting, mere conjectures, unproved theories, or at best mere probabilities, as interpretations of the prophetic Scriptures, that there must needs be a surrender of our speculative ideas, and a retracing of some of our steps (which have diverted from the truth), ere there can be any real advance in the understanding of this part of the Word of God. “ …there are now in circulation many books dealing with Bible subjects, whose authors deem themselves to be such high ‘authorities’ that they habitually make assertions of the most radical sort without citing in support thereof any proof whatever. We earnestly caution our readers to beware of all such. It is not according to the mind of God that His people should rest upon any human ‘authorities’ whatever. His own Word is the only authority” [Philip Mauro in The Seventy Weeks and The Great Tribulation, p. 9,10,11]. Although Philip Mauro wrote these words of caution back in 1921, they are as applicable today as they were at that time. In this study of the second coming of Christ and those subjects related to that event, I have endeavored to learn what the Scriptures have to say. Many human authors are quoted in this study but only to add support to conclusions already established. I am persuaded that the information shared in this book is grounded upon God’s Word and is not the result of speculative ideas. -Harold Watkins

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THE TEACHING OF JESUS ABOUT THE TIMING OF HIS RETURN The purpose of this study is to investigate Jesus’ own teaching on the subject of His return or, as it is commonly designated, His second coming. I do not plan to study every reference in the New Testament that refers to His coming, only those statements that Jesus Himself made about His return and, more specifically, those statements that have an inherent element of timing. Everyone agrees that Jesus spoke of a second coming, but the issue of when that event takes place has caused a great deal of confusion and division and has produced a myriad of puzzling explanations as well as hundreds of predictions as to when He would return. There were occasions, of course, when Jesus spoke of His return without reference to its timing. But at other times, it seems that He clearly indicated a general time when it would occur, namely, within the lifetime of the generation of which He was a part. In particular, therefore, I would like to study this question: Did Jesus actually teach that He would return within the lifetime of His contemporaries? Significantly, more than a few Christian as well as non-Christian scholars believe that is precisely what Jesus taught. By way of introduction, I will cite some of these leaders and in the process briefly summarize the main convictions that exist today with regards to Jesus’ teaching on this fascinating subject. [A]. Bertrand Russell [1872-1970], one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century and the Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1950, delivered a lecture in London on March 6, 1927, to the National Secular Society. The title of his lecture was “Why I Am Not A Christian.” In that talk, later published in a pamphlet, he explained his reasons for his rejection of Christianity, one of which was the defects which he saw in Christ’s teaching with regards to His second coming. Jesus made statements that involved the element of time, which, in Russell’s opinion, simply did not transpire. Concerning Jesus, Russell said, “…He certainly thought that His second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at that time. There are a great many texts that prove that …and there are a lot of places where it is quite clear that He believed that His second coming would happen during the lifetime of many then living” [Bertrand Russell in “Why I Am Not A Christian”]. Since, in Russell’s view, Jesus failed to return within that existing generation, as He predicted, “He was not so wise as some other people have been, and He was certainly not superlatively wise.” Russell, therefore, considered Jesus as having no more knowledge about the future than the average person. So he makes the point that if Jesus spoke of things of which He had no more insight than anyone else, what value is there in trusting Him! C.S. Lewis [1898-1963], a well-respected and popular Christian author who gained international renown for an impressive array of works both popular and scholarly, is in

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general agreement with Russell, since he too believed that Jesus made statements that did not come true. When referring to Matthew 24:34 which records Jesus as saying, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened,” Lewis asserted, “It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible.” However, instead of rejecting Christ as did Russell, Lewis sought to reach a satisfying answer to this apparent dilemma by claiming that Jesus, just 14 words later, actually professed to be ignorant about the timing of His return: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” [Matthew 24:36 KJV]. Lewis further explained that Jesus’ ignorance was due to His becoming a man which involved taking upon Himself the limitations of man. “To believe in the incarnation, to believe that he is God, makes it hard to understand how he could be ignorant; but also makes it certain that, if he said he could be ignorant, then ignorant he could really be. For a God who can be ignorant is less baffling than a God who falsely professes ignorance. The answer of theologians is that the God-Man was omniscient as God, and ignorant as Man … And if limitation, and therefore ignorance, was thus taken up, we ought to expect that the ignorance should at some time be actually displayed” [C. S. Lewis in The World’s Last Night And Other Essays].

His explanation was not only a satisfactory one for him personally but also is readily accepted by most believers today as a proper way to explain the seeming inconsistency between Jesus’ claim that He would return within that generation and His apparent failure to do so. In addition to many others who agree with Russell and Lewis about Jesus’ failure to do what He said He would do, both Jewish and Muslim critics also belong to this category. They contend that Jesus’ failure to physically return within a generation, as they believe a literal reading of His statements indicates, annuls the claim espoused by New Testament writers that He was divine. If He failed to do what He said He would do, as the argument goes, then His divinity is surely questionable. It is for this reason that they relegate Him to human status, at most a mere prophet. [B]. In opposition to the position of Russell and Lewis are those who believe that Christ did return within the lifetime of His contemporaries. This view is called Preterism. Preterists [pret’-er-ists] specifically believe that Jesus returned in or around A.D. 70. The primary focus of the return, according to preterists, was to bring judgment on the nation Israel for turning its back on God, for killing His Son, and to finalize the transition between the Old and New Covenants. Within this view, however, are two camps: [1]. One group, known as partial preterists, states that Jesus’ return at that time, while fulfilling some of His own time-indicators, should not be classified as His final coming. The coming in A.D. 70 was a kind of coming while the physical, bodily return is still in the future. An example of one who adheres to this view is Kenneth Gentry, a respected evangelical scholar whose writings are becoming more known and increasingly 2

influential. When analyzing Matthew 24, he argues that Jesus refers to His coming in judgment on the Jews in verses 1-35, but speaks of a future coming from verse 36 on. He asserts, “Contextual evidence suggests that Christ is distinguishing two different comings. One coming is his coming upon Jerusalem in temporal judgment to end the old covenant era; the other is his coming at the Second Advent in final judgment to end history (24:36ff). These two “comings” are theologically related while historically distinct” [Kenneth L. Gentry in Perilous Times, p.90]. Another scholar who has moved into this camp is R.C. Sproul, a well-known and highly regarded theologian whose recent book, The Last Days According to Jesus, is currently creating waves in conservative Protestantism. He writes, “I am convinced that the substance of the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in A.D. 70 and that the bulk of Revelation was likewise fulfilled in that time-frame. I share Gentry’s concerns about full preterism, particularly on such issues as the consummation of the kingdom and the resurrection of the dead … While partial preterists acknowledge that in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 there was a parousia or coming of Christ, they maintain that it was not the parousia” [R. C. Sproul in The Last Days According to Jesus, p.158].

Sproul, therefore, joins Gentry in acknowledging that there was a kind of coming of Jesus in A.D. 70 but insists that it was not the final or ultimate coming of Christ. A couple of paragraphs later, Sproul speaks of a fuller coming, one that “will be universal in its scope and significance… at the end of human history as we know it.” [2]. The other camp that comes under the umbrella of preterism is composed of those known as full preterists. These scholars frown upon Gentry and Sproul’s position since, in their reasoning, such a view promotes the notion of three different comings – one at His birth, the second in judgment upon the Jews in A.D. 70, and a third still in the future. They argue that the Bible speaks only of two comings, and if the second one occurred in A.D. 70, there can be no more. They, therefore, concur with Bertrand Russell and C.S. Lewis that Jesus claimed He would return within that existing generation but, unlike them, they believe that He was true to His word and actually did return, thus completely fulfilling the return prophecy. John Noe, a conservative evangelical scholar and prolific writer, says in one of his many booklets, “There is a major inconsistency in saying Jesus is with us today and then saying He has not returned. … Make no mistake about it, 70 A.D. WAS THE LORD’S PROMISED AND PERSONAL RETURN! He returned as and when He said! He doesn’t need to return again from anywhere at the end of the Christian age or at the demise of the material universe, as is commonly asserted. He already has. He’s back. He’s here in our midst (Rev. 1:13,20)” [John Noe in Demanding Evidences Why Christ Returned As And When He Said He Would, p.18].

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James Stuart Russell, who in 1878 composed a masterful and scholarly book and who is considered by most to be the father of modern day preterism, summarized his findings at the end of his massive book: “We are compelled, therefore, by all these considerations, and chiefly by regard for the authority of Him whose word cannot be broken, to conclude that the Parousia, or second coming of Christ, with its connected and concomitant events, did take place, according to the Saviour’s own prediction, at the period when Jerusalem was destroyed, and before the passing away of ‘that generation” [James Stuart Russell in The Parousia, p.549]. This position obviously redefines a number of key areas in eschatological thought including the oft used phrase “the end of the age,” the nature of the second coming, the timing of the resurrection and judgment, the character of Jesus’ kingdom on earth, and the establishment of the new heaven and the new earth. Although this view is in opposition to traditional teaching, it is rapidly gaining followers as the writings of those who hold this belief proliferate. These writings are not normally found in bookstores but, for the most part, must be obtained from the authors themselves. Also, there are a few churches here and there within the United States that adhere to the full preterist view. [C]. The most popular opinion among believers today, which we will call the futurist view, is that the second coming of Christ is yet to occur. Those who hold to this view either do not believe that Jesus taught that He would return within the generation of which He was a part or, more commonly, that He did indicate He would return within that generation but later postponed His plans when the Jews rejected both Him and the kingdom He offered to establish. The upshot is that we are still waiting. There is no need to cite, as has been done previously, examples of those who adhere to this view since it is so common. It is espoused in churches, books, theological schools, religious radio and television, not to mention several hundred Christian songs. The fact is that the futurist view is so dominant that any other view is generally considered to be outside the scope of true Biblical teaching.

GREEK WORDS USED BY NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS TO REFER TO THE RETURN OF JESUS At the outset let us be clear in our minds what is meant when we speak of the coming of Christ. As in English so in Greek, a variety of words are used when speaking of the coming of some thing or some one. A study of the word come with its various forms in a good concordance reveals that it is used hundreds of times in the New Testament. It is also clear that it is used to translate over 50 different Greek words. Jesus and His followers employed these same, ordinary words when speaking of His eschatological coming. Out of the numerous Greek words at their disposal, they most frequently chose parousia, heko, and erchomai when discussing His coming. [1]. Parousia [par-oo-see’-ah] is consistently translated in the New Testament by the English word coming. Its basic meaning, though, involves more than the simple act of arriving since its central meaning is to be near. It has the idea of presence as opposed

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to absence. That being true, there are some scholars who believe the word should be consistently translated as presence with coming being a secondary meaning. Of course, there must be a coming in order for there to be a presence so rendering the word as coming is acceptable. Parousia is a noun and is found 24 times in the New Testament. In each of its 24 uses, it is always accompanied by the definite article the. It never has the indefinite article a. The parousia, therefore, appears to refer to one specific event rather than to one of several events. This means that Jesus and the New Testament writers designate His coming to be present as the coming and not just a coming, one coming as opposed to several comings. The definite article appears to negate the possibility of multiple comings. As far as they are concerned, there is only one future coming, not two or three. Listed below are all the references in the New Testament in which the word parousia is found. In quoting these verses, I am retaining the use of the word parousia instead of its translation, and I am including before it the definite article the, even though sometimes to do so does not always make for good reading. A very informative exercise when reading these statements is to substitute the words arrival and/or presence in each place where parousia is located. Such an undertaking tends to give greater insight into what is being said. [a]. The parousia is found seven times in the New Testament referring to the drawing near, the arrival, and the presence of a person other than Christ: o I Corinthians 16:17 – “I rejoice over the parousia of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus…” o II Corinthians 7:6 – “God…comforted us by the parousia of Titus.” o II Corinthians 7:7 – “…and not only by the parousia of [Titus] but also by the comfort you had given him.” o II Corinthians 10:10 – “It is said that [Paul’s] letters are weighty and strong, but the parousia of his body is unimpressive …” o Philippians 1:25-26 – “I [Paul] know that I shall live [and not die] and continue [to be] with you … so that your rejoicing in me may be abundant in Christ Jesus through the parousia of me again with you.” o Philippians 2:12 – “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in the parousia of me, but more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” o II Thessalonians 2:9 – “…the parousia [of the wicked one] is in accordance with the activity of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders…”

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[b]. The parousia is also found 17 times in the New Testament in reference to the coming, the drawing near, and the presence of Christ. o Matthew 24:3 – “[The disciples said] ‘tell us when these things will be and what [will be] the sign of the parousia of you and of the end of the age.’ ” o Matthew 24:27 – “For as the lightning comes forth from the East and shines unto the west, so shall be the parousia of the Son of man.” o Matthew 24:37 – “For as [those who lived in] the days of Noah [were unaware the time the flood would come], so will be the parousia of the Son of man.” o Matthew 24:39 – “ …[Those who lived in the days of Noah] knew not until the flood came and took them all, so also will be the parousia of the Son of man.” o I Corinthians 15:23 – “…each one [will be resurrected] in his own order: Christ, the first [of the harvest]; after that, they who belong to Christ [will be resurrected] in the parousia of him.” o I Thessalonians 2:19 – “Who is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you before our Lord Jesus in the parousia of him?” o I Thessalonians 3:13 – “[May love] establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father in the parousia of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” o I Thessalonians 4:15 – “For this we say to you … that we living ones [who are] remaining to the parousia of the Lord by no means may precede the having slept ones.” o I Thessalonians 5:23 – “[May your] entire spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame in the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ.” o II Thessalonians 2:1 – “Now we request you, brothers, with regard to the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him…” o II Thessalonians 2:8 – “The Lord will destroy [the lawless one] by the spirit of His mouth and bring [him] to nothing by the outshining of the parousia of him.” o James 5:7 – “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the parousia of the Lord…” o James 5:8 – “…the parousia of the Lord is at hand.” o II Peter 1:16 – “…we made known to you the power and the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ.” o II Peter 3:3-4 – “…there will come during the last of the days mockers mocking…saying, ‘Where is the promise of the parousia of him…?’ ” o II Peter 3:12 – “[You are to be] awaiting and hastening the parousia of God’s day …”

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o I John 2:28 – “…abide in Him in order that we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame in the parousia of him.” [2]. Heko [hay’-ko] is a verb that is used to refer to the act of coming. It is found 25 times in the New Testament and is quite consistently translated come as can be seen in the following citations of which the last four refer to the second coming of Christ. o Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:29 – “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west …” o Matthew 23:36 – “I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.” o Matthew 24:14 – “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” o Matthew 24:50; Luke 12:46 – “The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him…” o Mark 8:3 – “…some of them have come a long distance.” o Luke 15:27 – “Your brother has come…” o Luke 19:43 – “The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you …” o John 2:4 – “…Jesus replied, ‘My time has not yet come’.” o John 4:4 – “When this man heard that Jesus had arrived …” o John 6:37 – “All that the father gives me will come to me…” o John 8:42 – “…I came from God and now am here.” o Romans 11:26 – “The deliverer will come from Zion” o Hebrews 10:7; 10:9 – “I have come to do your will, O God.” o I John 5:20 – “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding…” o Revelation 3:9 – “I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.” o Revelation 15:4 – “All nations will come and worship before you…” o Revelation 18:8 – “…in one day her plagues will overtake her” o Hebrews 10:37 – “…in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay…’.”

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o II Peter 3:10 – “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief.” o Revelation 2:25 – “Only hold on to what you have until I come.” o Revelation 3:3; 3:3 – “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” [3]. Erchomai [er’-khom-ahee], like heko, is also a verb but is used much more profusely. It is found 632 times in the New Testament and is translated in a variety of ways, some 75-80 different ways in the NIV, with the most common being some form of the verb come, 450 times. It would be prohibitive to reference each of these locations at this time, but if I did so, the conclusion would be the same as that for parousia and heko. The conclusion reached is to note that each of these words is a commonplace, ordinary, run-of-the-mill word used in the daily lives and conversations of those living in the first century. These words are not part of an exclusive vocabulary that operates solely in religious circles requiring some scholar to explain their meanings. Neither are they words solely designated to be used only in an eschatological context. They should not, therefore, be considered difficult to understand when they are used within the context of the coming of Christ.

INVESTIGATING JESUS’ CLAIM Now, let us investigate those statements that have a direct bearing upon the question: Did Jesus claim that He would return within the lifetime of His contemporaries? There are four references within the Gospels that pertain to this subject. Additionally, there are three passages within the book of Revelation in which are found other related statements made by Jesus. Each of these references is listed below and followed by appropriate comments.

REFERENCES WITHIN THE GOSPELS [A]. Matthew 16:27-28 About halfway through His earthly ministry, while giving some instructions to His disciples regarding their commitment to Him, Jesus referred to the time of His coming in His kingdom. After challenging them to deny going their own way in life and follow Him instead, Jesus explained the reason they should do so: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to his conduct. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming [erchomai] in his kingdom” [Matthew 16:27-28 NIV]. There are three clear facts within this statement. [1]. Jesus would come in God’s glory accompanied by His angels. Coming in His Father’s glory indicates that Jesus was to assume the role of the Father in His

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dealings with mankind. The particular aspect of that role which Jesus focused on in His statement is the realm of judgment. This harmonizes quite well with a statement that Jesus made later to some obstinate Jews. To them He declared that the Father had “entrusted all judgment to the Son” [John 5:22 NIV], meaning that the process and the execution of all judgment had been transferred from the Father to Him, His Son. Thus, in this particular passage when Jesus said He was coming in God’s glory, He meant He was coming to execute judgment: “The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory … and then he will reward each person according to his conduct” [Matthew 16:27 NIV]. That is, each person would be evaluated by Him. On other occasions, however, Jesus spoke of coming in His own glory as well as in the glory of the Father. In those cases it is probable that such terminology is to be equated with coming in His kingdom. A comparison of two parallel passages, Matthew 20:21 and Mark 10:37, clearly shows the two thoughts to be interchangeable. Matthew says Mrs. Zebedee requested that her two sons, James and John, might sit in places of authority with Jesus in His kingdom. Mark says the request was that they might sit with Him in His glory. Such an interchange of these two terms indicates the Jews in those days understood when Jesus spoke about coming in His glory that He was referring to coming in His kingdom. This is further confirmed by an earlier statement in which Jesus linked both words, throne and glory, in one phrase: “I tell you the truth at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory [the Greek construction] you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” [Matthew 19:29]. Here Jesus announced that His followers, in this passage referring specifically to the twelve apostles, would have a judicial role when He sat on His throne of glory. [2]. Jesus would come to judge each person. This is the second clear piece of information found in Matthew 16:27-28 and is, in fact, the crux of the passage. Jesus had just told His disciples that it was a foolish mistake to achieve a great abundance of wealth at the expense of one’s own life. Such was not a good bargain. Instead, He challenged them to renounce that kind of this-world-only lifestyle and pursue His way of living. By so doing they would actually save their lives as opposed to losing them. In order to encourage them in that direction He informed them that a time of assessment would be held when He came in His kingdom and that they would be rewarded on the basis of what they had done. d This linkage is also evident in other passages such as the following: o Included within the last comments of Jesus, recorded by the apostle John, are these words: “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” [Revelation 22:12 NIV]. o Paul told Timothy in the late 60s that the judgment of both the living and the dead was pending: “I give you this charge in the presence of God and of Christ, who is

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about to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom” [II Timothy 4:1]. [3]. Jesus would come before all the disciples died. This is the third clear statement found in Matthew 16:27-28 and is the one that relates directly to our study. Jesus’ assertion, that some of those listening to Him would see Him coming in his kingdom, denotes that the event would occur after a lapse of a reasonable period of time. He does not say most of them would still be alive when He comes, only some of them. The implication is clear that most of them will have died by that time, but He specifically predicts that a few of them will still be alive and will see Him coming in His kingdom. Therefore, the period of time that passes from the time He makes this statement to the time He comes in His kingdom must be long enough for the majority of them to have died but short enough for some to survive and witness that event. It seems reasonable, then, to conclude that some forty or fifty years were to pass before He would come in His kingdom. It does not seem reasonable to try to find fulfillment in much closer-at-hand events as some scholars have suggested, such as the following: [a]. Not a few commentators believe that the transfiguration [Matthew 17:1-9; was the event that fulfilled Jesus’ claim that some of His disciples would still be alive when He came. That magnificent change that came upon Jesus on the mountain is looked upon as a preview of His coming in His kingdom. Many writers, then, hold the position that Jesus meant to say that some of His disciples would not die until they had seen a preview of His coming in His kingdom. But such cannot be true for several reasons:

Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36]

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To claim that Jesus meant to say something other than what He said is to assume He had a lack of good communication skills. Not a wise assumption for anyone to make.

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The time of Jesus’ transfiguration occurred within a week of His coming-in-Hiskingdom remarks [Matthew 17:1], and none of the disciples died during that week. If the transfiguration, only one week away, were to be the fulfillment of His prediction, it would have been a little odd for Jesus to say that some of them would still be alive a week later.

•

Jesus clearly indicated that angels would accompany Him at His coming. But in the case of the transfiguration, His companions were Moses and Elijah. No mention is made of the presence of His holy angels.

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Jesus declared that His coming would involve an evaluation of each person, which obviously did not occur at His transfiguration. So, as glorious as the transfiguration was, it cannot be said that He was coming in His kingdom at that time.

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The purpose of the transfiguration was to clarify to Peter, James, and John the true identity of Jesus. God Himself audibly declared that Jesus was His beloved Son [Matthew 17:5]. This fact was enhanced by His divine nature breaking through His human nature. “Here a small part of that glory is allowed to shine through the

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cracks” [David & Jane Graves in a website article]. It was that knowledge, gained firsthand by those three men, which enabled Peter, some 35 years later, to write, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” [II Peter 1:16 NIV]. The transfiguration provided the basis for their conviction that Jesus was God’s Son. They had personally seen Him in His glory, had heard God speak from heaven, and so were not merely spinning a yarn when proclaiming He would return in divine power and divine glory. [b]. Other writers suggest that His coming in His kingdom was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost [Acts 2:1-4], an event that occurred about 1½ years later. Such a concept has the same flaws as noted above: •

All the disciples were still alive at that time except for Judas Iscariot who killed himself soon after betraying Jesus [Acts 2:14].

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Likewise, there is no indication that angels accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit, only the sound of a mighty wind and fiery looking tongues [Acts 2:2-3].

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Neither was anyone judged by the Lord according to his deeds on that day. Later writings indicate that judgment day was still in the future.

•

Also, the day of Pentecost witnessed the coming of the Holy Spirit, not the coming of the Son of Man, a term that applies only to Jesus.

Futurists Those who believe that Jesus’ coming in His kingdom is still in the future are forced to modify this verse to fit their own eschatological time schedule. Their point of view requires them to read, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom more than 2000 years from now.” Although Christians would repudiate such a misquote, the fact is that such is the implication of this stance. The common view today is that Jesus was speaking prophetically of the final generation, but such is unconvincing since Jesus was specifically referring to the disciples standing in His immediate presence. He said, “…some who are standing here will not die.” He did not say some in a future generation would be alive when He came. He was referring to those standing beside Him and listening to His remarks. To summarize Matthew 16:27-28, Jesus said He would return with the angels during the lifetime of some of His disciples to review the deeds of every man. He could not have been referring to either His transfiguration or to Pentecost since no judgment was held at those times. Neither could He have been referring to a far off future day since He stated that some of His followers would still be alive. “What is in view is the coming of Messiah, in that generation, in the full exercise of his Messianic kingdom authority to judge the living and the dead. This is the only interpretation of this text which honors inspiration, satisfies the demands of

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the text; and is in harmony with the rest of scripture” entitled “A Critical Text” (Matthew 16:27-28)].

[Don K. Preston in a website article

“The plain teaching of the passage is that before some of those who heard him speak should die the Son of man would come in glory, and his kingdom would be established in power” [Milton Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.220]. Incidentally, the Mormon Church, which holds to the futurist’s position and which endeavors to be consistent with Jesus’ statement, becomes absurd by clinging to the idea that after 2000 years there are a few of the apostles who are still physically alive and living incognito. The argument is that they must still be alive since Jesus said some would not die before He returned. Question: What would happen before all the original disciples died? Answer: The Son of Man would come in His kingdom and judge each person.

[B]. Matthew 26:64 Another of Jesus’ statements that relates directly to our study arose during His trial before the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews. While standing before and answering the questions of those men who made up that august body, Jesus affirmed that He was the Christ, the Son of God. Then without hesitation, He declared to that panel of judges, “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming [erchomai] on the clouds of heaven” [Matthew 26:64 NIV]. Immediately, Jesus was charged with blasphemy, spit upon, and pummeled with fists by those leaders of Israel [Matthew 26:65-68]. Their violent and vicious reaction revealed they knew exactly the connotation inherent in His shocking, at least to them, declaration. In fact, every Jew raised in the synagogue had studied in detail what “coming on the clouds of heaven” meant and they all knew just as well the meaning of the figurative expression “sitting at the right hand of power.” Sitting at the Right Hand of Power This phrase is frequently used in the Old Testament to express a place of extraordinary honor, exceptional favor, and/or immense power. Note the following: •

Jacob placed his right hand on Joseph’s son Ephraim to bestow a greater blessing on him rather than on Manasseh, the older brother. Being at Jacob’s right hand was a more honorable and superior position than being at his left hand [Genesis 48:8-20, especially vs. 19].

•

As Rachel lay dying after childbirth, she called her child Ben-Oni [son of my sorrow], but Jacob called him Benjamin [son of my right hand] [Genesis 35:18]. He did not call him son of my left hand, an inferior position. Such a move by Jacob showed that he favored this child of Rachel more than any child of Leah.

•

When Moses sang of God’s deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, he emphasized His right hand: “Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy … You stretched out your right hand and 12

the earth swallowed [the Egyptians” [Exodus 15:6,12 NIV]. Clearly, Moses was thinking of God’s mighty power when he employed the expression your right hand. •

When thinking of the afterlife, David said of God, “You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” [Psalm 16:11 NIV]. He viewed being at God’s right hand as being in a position of great favor and special honor.

Although the above sampling of statements indicates the importance and meaning of that phrase, there is another one that appears to be more directly related to Jesus’ claim before the Sanhedrin. It is found in a recognized Messianic psalm in which David speaks of the Messiah as being seated at the right hand of the Almighty One. “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’ ” [Psalm 110:1 NIV]. This statement is often referred to by New Testament writers to support their contention that when Jesus ascended to heaven, He assumed that elevated position of honor and power. He became the supreme ruler of the universe. These writers asserted repeatedly that Psalm 110:1 was a reference to Jesus [Mark 16:19; Acts 2:34; I Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12-13; 12:2; I Peter 3:22].

To Caiaphas, the high priest, and to the other judges, however, when Jesus admitted that He was that One, the Son of God, this was nothing but blasphemy. For Jesus to even suggest that He, a mere man, would be so honored and exalted to a position over all things, was to equate Himself with God which, to them, was totally unacceptable. But Jesus not only spoke of His sitting at God’s right hand but also of His coming on the clouds of heaven, which added more fuel to the fire. Coming on the Clouds of Heaven As the expression sitting at God’s right hand has an Old Testament background so also does the phrase coming on the clouds of heaven. [1]. A study of the Old Testament reveals that clouds were often employed by God to denote His presence among His people. Since He is invisible [I Timothy 1:17] and a spirit [John 4:24], He frequently made use of observable substances, such as clouds, smoke, and fire, as visible evidence that He was near. Here are just a few of the many examples that could be cited: o “…the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud…” to the grumbling Israelites [Exodus 16:10 ESV]. o At Mt. Sinai the Lord told Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you…” [Exodus 19:9 NIV]. o Aaron was specifically informed that if he wanted to remain alive, he was not to go into the Most Holy Place at a time of his own choosing because God said, “… I will appear in a cloud over the mercy seat” [Leviticus 16:2 ESV]. o Of Moses, it is said, “The Lord came down in a cloud and spoke with him…” [Numbers 11:25 NIV].

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o The Psalmist said, “[God] makes the clouds his chariot”

[Psalm 104:3 NIV].

The only one who can descend in a cloud or ride on a cloud, of course, is God. When someone used the clouds in this manner, that someone was always the immortal God. It was never a mortal man. It was this implication within Jesus’ statement that so utterly upset those Jewish leaders. They understood the insinuation within His assertion: He was declaring Himself to be God’s equal. [2]. In addition to depicting the presence of the invisible God, clouds are also found in the Old Testament within the context of apocalyptic language. Apocalyptic language is the figurative use of ordinary words and phrases generally within the context of an approaching time of judgment. Such words and phrases are not to be taken literally, a mistake often made to the detriment of a sound and proper understanding of what is being represented. Note these examples: o In his lament for Egypt, Ezekiel said, “…the day of the Lord is near – a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations” [Ezekiel 30:3 NIV]. o Joel called upon Israel in his day, “Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand – a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” [Joel 2:1-2 NIV]. o Nahum warned the people of Nineveh, “The Lord…will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet” [Nahum 1:3 NIV]. o When the Lord was about to execute judgment upon Egypt, Isaiah exclaimed, “See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt” [Isaiah 19:1 NIV]. The importance of the connection in the Jewish mind between God’s coming in clouds and His coming in judgment cannot be overemphasized. And for this reason, Jesus’ assertion that His critics would see Him at the Father’s right hand coming on heaven’s clouds suggested not only His divinity but also His authority to judge. “…the two things, the sitting on the right hand of power and the coming, are connected in such a way as to mean that he is to assume power in heaven and exercise it here in the world. The period beginning with the departure of Jesus from the world was to be marked by this assumption of heavenly power by the Christ and by repeated interferences in crises of the world’s history of which the destruction of Jerusalem was the first” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.223]. Jesus was stressing to those rulers the fact that in the future it would become evident that He was in the place of power, that the power to judge rested in Him. When He said He would come on clouds, He was making a similar statement to that which we have already noted in Matthew 16:27-28 where He said He would come in the glory of His Father. He declared then that He was assuming the role of the Father as the judge and that He would come in judgment in the same way that the Father had done in the past.

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More specifically, however, when Jesus spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven, His judges would have immediately thought of Daniel’s prophetic statement: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” [Daniel 7:13-14 NIV]. These words tie in well with Jesus’ statement. Both refer to a son of man, both speak of a coming in clouds, and both refer to His receiving unsurpassed authority. For Jesus to equate Himself with the One of whom Daniel was speaking exasperated His judges beyond imagination. Then to top it off, Jesus specifically said that His accusers would actually see Him in that exalted position of supreme power: “In the future you will see the Son of Man…” [Matthew 26:64 NIV]. It is especially important to note that such a statement would be out of place if He were speaking to them of an event that would occur long after they all had died. “…the commentator who sees such a statement as initially meant to be fulfilled at a distant time cannot realistically reconcile this statement before the high priest with it because it expects an eye witness fulfillment” [Lee Smith in The Gospel of Matthew, a commentary found on the internet].

“We maintain that this language cannot be naturally interpreted as a reference to an event belonging to a far distant period of time. It is something … which the high priests and his associates are to see” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.222]. Before the Jewish Sanhedrin, Jesus spoke of an occurrence that would transpire during the lifetime of those who would condemn Him to death. They would live long enough to witness such a fulfillment. Otherwise, Jesus should have said, “In the future, some 2000 years down the road, picture in your minds the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” What other meaning is there to this statement if Jesus did not mean that those who composed the jury that was trying Him would be the same ones to experience His coming in judgment in their own lifetime? Would it not have been a meaningless threat? “…there would be no meaning in such an assertion if it did not imply that they were to witness it ‘in the flesh’ ” [James Stuart Russell in The Parousia, p.117]. The clearest reading is that Jesus was speaking to - a specific group of men - at a specific place - about a specific time - about a specific event. It is a statement that cannot apply to any other period in history. Earlier He had said that some of His disciples would witness His coming; now He includes some of His enemies as being among the witnesses. Question: What were Israel’s rulers going to see in their future?

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Answer: The Son of Man possessing supreme power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

[C]. Matthew 23:36,39; 24:30,34 Another passage that must be studied and which contains even clearer time indicators regarding the second coming of Christ is found in Matthew 23 and 24. Chapter 23 records that in the temple area before an assembled crowd including His disciples, Jesus spoke very disapprovingly about the lifestyles of the temple leaders. In very strong language, He blasted that group of influential people for their hypocrisy and arrogance. He characterized them as being hypocrites, blind fools, sons of hell, blind guides, white-washed tombs, full of wickedness, snakes, a brood of vipers, and murderers. Their sinister qualities earned from Him the alarming prediction that they would be held responsible for and charged with all the murders of God’s people from the beginning of creation to the very day in which they lived: “That is why you will be held guilty for the murder of every good person, beginning with the good man Abel. This also includes Barachiah’s son Zechariah, the man you murdered between the temple and the altar. I can promise that you people living today will be punished for all these things” [Matthew 23:35-36 CEV]. The reason Jesus said from Abel to Zechariah is due to the way the books of the Hebrew Bible are arranged. Genesis, being first, records the first murder, that of Abel [Genesis 4:8]. Chronicles, being the last book in the Hebrew Bible, records the last murder, that of Zechariah [II Chronicles 24:20-22]. Jesus’ remarks meant that the present generation would suffer the punishment for every murdered righteous person recorded in the Old Testament, from the first one to the last one. This is made clear not only by His saying “upon you” the punishment will come [Matthew 23:33 NIV] but also by His saying, “…all this will come upon this generation” [Matthew 23:36 NIV]. The Living Bible renders His message most bluntly and clearly: “Yes, all the accumulated judgment of the centuries shall break upon the heads of this very generation.” “Jesus’ charge is that the history of Israel is the history of the murder of the men of God…From beginning to end, the history of Israel is the rejection, and often the slaughter, of the men of God” [William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, p.329]. Jerusalem: Home of Murderers The indictment that Jerusalem was the home of murderers is consistent with the history of that nation. Jesus had just said to the scribes and Pharisees: “... you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets’.” Their endeavor to justify themselves was met with Jesus’ skillful retort: “So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets” [Matthew 23:30-31 NIV]. Jesus said in effect, “You are your fathers’ sons alright, and as such you share the characteristics of your murdering fathers.” The fact is, even at that moment, they were making plans to kill Jesus Himself, a dastardly act they had been arranging for some time. Note the following references:

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o “For this reason [for making himself equal with God] the Jews tried all the harder to kill him” [John 5:18 NIV]. o “At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill’? ” [John 7:25 NIV]. o “As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard form God” [John 8:40 NIV]. o “The Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus”

[Matthew 12:14 NIV].

o “…the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him” [Matthew 26:3-4 NIV]. After declaring that the present generation would suffer the consequences for their murderous history, Jesus reflected on Israel’s history as also one of rejected love. He lamented over the many times He had wanted those people to turn to Him, but they were unwilling to do so. “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” [Matthew 23:37b NIV]. Sadly, His lament began with this designation: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to it” [Matthew 23:37a]. Jerusalem once had the name of being the place where God dwelt, but its leaders consistently rejected His messengers. Furthermore, they were not content to simply ignore His emissaries; they had to kill them, including His Son. A Story of Murder Earlier Jesus pointed this out when He told a story about a landowner who leased his vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey [Matthew 21:33-39]. When he sent a servant back to collect the money due him, the farmers killed that servant. This occurred several times. Then the owner sent his son expecting they would honor him. But his hope was crushed; they killed his son also. “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them” [Matthew 21:45 NIV]. The Jewish leaders were just like their fathers who killed the prophets and their true nature was later revealed when they killed God’s Son. In John’s vision of the destruction of Jerusalem, he said, “I saw the woman [Jerusalem] drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus…In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints and of all who have been killed on the earth” [Revelation 17:6; 18:24 NKJV]. One of the most shocking statements Jesus made about Jerusalem is this: “… no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” [Luke 13:33 NIV]. The evidence is clear: Jerusalem was the home of murderers. The Temple Doomed for Destruction As Jesus turned to walk away, He further shocked His audience by declaring: “See, your house will now be left to you desolate” [Matthew 23:38 WEY], that is, your house of

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worship, the temple. He says, “Now I am abandoning you to the consequences of your sins.” The temple will no longer be recognized as God’s house. It is now your house, deserted by God. By making that pronouncement, Jesus included the destruction of the temple in the judgment of which He had just spoken. The punishment upon this generation would include the devastation of the temple. Its implied destruction is explicit; it is to be left desolate … deserted … abandoned …forsaken; in fact, it would be destroyed. The Timing of Jesus’ Return to Judge Following this declaration of judgment was one further public statement that Jesus uttered before leaving the temple; in fact, it is His last recorded words to Israel. To the temple leaders, who were listening, it was an irksome statement, an exasperating remark, an irritating comment. He warned, “For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ ” [Matthew 23:39 ESV]. The expression “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” is a quote from Psalm 118:26 and was part of a song, known as the Hallel Hymn, which was sung by the Jews as they entered Jerusalem and maneuvered their way through the streets to the temple to observe one of the three major annual feasts. Three times a year those who were able trekked to Jerusalem from all over Israel to participate in those Godordained festival celebrations. They were times of rejoicing and thankfulness as well as sacred and solemn occasions. •

The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which began the day following the Passover observance, was celebrated in the Spring near the beginning of the Jewish New Year and lasted for seven days.

•

The Feast of [Seven] Weeks or Pentecost was also observed in the Spring but on the fiftieth day after Passover and lasted a single day.

•

The Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering was celebrated in the Fall in the seventh month of each year and lasted eight days.

So, on those three different occasions during the year, the Hallel Hymn of Psalm 118 was heard echoing throughout the streets of Jerusalem. It is of immense importance to note that the pronoun he within the song they sang, “Blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord”, is not a reference to Jesus or the Messiah as is commonly believed. It is a reference to the worshipper himself, the one who is coming to the temple to worship God. The phrase means that the one who comes to worship in the name of the Lord is the one who is blessed. This is what the Jews believed as they sang the hymn on their way to the temple. They were on their way to worship in the name of the Lord who would bless them for it. “Blessed is the one who is coming to the temple to worship in the name of the Lord.”

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Before Jesus quoted this part of the hymn, however, he said, “you will not see me again until….” If He had only said, “You will not see me again”, the temple leaders would have said, “Good riddance!” But He added one more word, the word until. “You will not see me again until….” By saying until He implied that He would definitely return at a future time. Jesus said He was leaving, but He also said, “I’ll be back!” Particularly be aware that He did not say that it would be another generation who would see Him, but “you”, those leaders to whom He was speaking. They would see Him again, and it would be at a time the Hallel Hymn was being sung, that is, at one of the annual feasts. By way of summary, He had said to the crowd that He was leaving the temple which would become desolated. He added that He Himself would not be involved with the temple again until some future time when they would traditionally be singing the Hallel Hymn. In other words, He would return and be seen during one of the three feast times of Israel. So Jesus linked the occasion of one of the yearly feasts with His return and with the judgment upon Jerusalem. Now did this really happen? Is there any historical evidence that Jesus returned within that generation during one of the annual feasts to bring judgment upon Jerusalem? Flavius Josephus, who was not only the thorough and dependable personal historian of the Roman general Titus but also an eyewitness of the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies under the command of Titus, states clearly that when the armies of Rome began their siege of Jerusalem, the people trapped inside were there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Writing soon after that event, in A.D. 75, he said, “…they [the Jews] were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread, and were on a sudden shut up by an army” [Josephus in Wars, Book 6, Chapter 9, Section 3].

This “shutting up” was accomplished by the Roman soldiers who, under the direct supervision of Titus himself, built a five mile wall around Jerusalem, a feat that would ordinarily have taken several months but completed in three days [Josephus in Wars, Book 5, Chapter 12, Section 2]. Josephus, therefore, confirms Jesus’ words that His return would occur at the time the Jews traveled to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, that is, at one of the three yearly feasts, at a time they would be singing, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “Someone might object that such a prediction by Jesus isolating his coming to one of the feast days was tantamount to predicting ‘the day and the hour’ of his coming. But such is not the case at all. In Matthew 24 Jesus predicted his coming in that generation, vs. 29-34. He even gave some signs, (v. 24-25), whereby, ‘when you see all these things then know that he is near even at the doors.’ (ASV) They could know by these signs that his coming was near, ‘but of that day and hour knoweth no man’ (v. 36). Knowing something is near, that it is even to be in your generation, does not tell you the day or the hour of its occurrence!” [Don Preston in a website article entitled “Matthew 23:39 The Song of Ascent”]. In this regard, the assertion Jesus made concerning Himself, that He did not know the day or the hour of His coming [Matthew 24:36], is rather bothersome to most people. How 19

could One who claims to be God not know the future? The majority of scholars find the answer in the distinction between the human and divine natures of Jesus. This seems to find support in Luke’s comment concerning the young Jesus: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” [Luke 2:52 ESV]. The phrase “increased in wisdom” would imply that He was not omniscient, at least as a 12 year old. Such may also be true, to a lesser measure, of course, as a man. And apparently this is so since He said He did not know exactly the day or hour He would return. That information was in the mind of His Father. Later, when some of His disciples inquired of Him concerning the time the kingdom would be restored to Israel, He replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority” [Acts 1:7 ESV]. Evidently, in some mysterious way, the Father kept some things to Himself and shared them with His Son at the proper time. The Disciples’ Question Shortly following His alarming remarks in the temple about the coming judgment, four of His disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, inquired for more information about the timing of such a catastrophe. “’Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming [parousia] and of the end of the age?’ ” [Matthew 24:3 NIV]. This three-pronged question reveals there was no doubt in the minds of those disciples what Jesus was talking about. It was clear to them that the destruction of Jerusalem, including their world-renowned, magnificent temple, would bring about the end of the Jewish age and this would occur at His coming. Their question was designed to obtain more information on when that event would transpire. The phrasing of their question, however, has caused a great deal of disagreement among students of this passage. It is important, therefore, to be aware of what they were not asking about. [1]. The disciples were not asking about two or three different events separated by many, many years. Some commentators like to treat this three-pronged question as if the disciples were asking three different questions. But they had only one thing in their minds at the time and that was Jesus’ stunning declaration. To hear Jesus announce that the city and the temple were soon to be destroyed was mind-blowing, unbelievable, and even terrifying. Jerusalem was the center of their nation, the focus of their homeland. The temple was the center of their religion, the focus of their spiritual lives. When the disciples asked for further clarification, it was the issue of the soon coming judgment that initiated the conversation, not questions about the distant future. Cross-referencing a parallel passage in Luke clarifies this even further. “Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ‘As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down” [Luke 21:5-6 NIV]. It was at this point, when Jesus spoke of the temple becoming a heap of rubble, that they asked, “…when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” [Luke 21:7 NIV]. Clearly, it was the issue of the soon coming judgment that initiated their question. Their interest was not in some distant future event but in an event that would transpire within their own lifetime. 20

[2]. The disciples were not asking about events leading up to the end of the world. For some 350 years, the King James Version promoted this erroneous idea by its inclusion of the phrase “the end of the world” in the disciples question, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” [Matthew 24:3 KJV]. Using the word world to translate the Greek word aion, as the King James’ scholars did, is considered by Greek students today to be an awful, even an erroneous choice. Such a rendering back in A.D. 1611 of the disciples’ question, however, means some 350 years passed before the error was corrected. During that long period of time, the impression that the disciples were asking about the end of the world became ingrained in Christian thinking. It has only been within the last 50 years or so with the proliferation of modern versions that aion has been translated properly. To the credit of its translators, the New King James Version has also corrected the error by replacing it with the word age. Today, most all the newer translations affirm that the disciples were asking about the end of the Jewish age, not the end of the world, a correction that certainly fits the context much better. Nevertheless, the old translation coupled with its long-standing popularity has done a lot of damage to a proper understanding of this chapter, Matthew 24. “Nothing can be more misleading to the English reader than the rendering, ‘the end of the world;’ which inevitably suggests the close of human history, the end of time, and the destruction of the earth, – a meaning which the words will not bear” [James Stuart Russell in The Parousia, p.121]. Even though the word age is found in most all the newer translations, many who read Matthew 24 still think in terms of the end of the world. For example, it is not uncommon for commentators to claim that the disciples were confused when they asked Jesus about the events that would lead up to the end of the Jewish age. Instead, they say, the disciples should have asked about the end of the world’s age. In other words they asked the wrong question because the answer Jesus gave, in the opinion of the interpreters, was one that is more consistent with the end of history. But were the disciples confused? Should they have linked the overthrow of Jerusalem with the end of the world? Or did they know what they were talking about when they associated it with the end of the Jewish age? Did they, in fact, ask the right question? Earlier, after Jesus had taught about the end of the age in His kingdom parables [Matthew 13:39-40,49], He asked the disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” Their answer was an unqualified, “Yes!” [Matthew 13:51 NIV]. Such an affirmation indicated they understood His teaching about the kingdom and the end of the age. So when they later asked, in Matthew 24:3, about the events that would lead up to the end of the age [same phrase as that used by Jesus in the parables], are we to believe that they had become confused and no longer understood Jesus’ earlier teachings? It is totally unwarranted and unfair to allege that their minds had become befuddled. In Matthew 13 Jesus had taught about the end of the age; in Matthew 24 the disciples

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asked Him to explain the signs leading up to the end of the age. I tend to think that it is the many modern scholars who are confused about this subject and not the disciples of Jesus. Furthermore, to claim that the disciples believed that the destruction of Jerusalem would result in the world coming to its end is to ignore their knowledge of history. All Jews were aware that the complete destruction of Jerusalem back in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians [II Chronicles 36:15-21] did not mean the end of the world. Life continued to go on after that time of judgment, though the world they knew was drastically altered from what it had been. So when Jesus predicted yet another destruction of Jerusalem, it is very unlikely that they thought of His remarks as referring to the end of the world. In all probability they understood them in the context that life would go on, though many things would change. Furthermore, evidence that they were not asking about the end of the world is seen in their thinking even after Jesus’ discussion. The fact is that they believed Jesus was the Messiah, and they expected Him to erect a temporal kingdom in the world. After the resurrection, they asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” [Acts 1:6 ESV]. There should be little, if any, doubt that when the disciples asked Jesus about the end of the age, they were only thinking of the end of the Jewish age, not the end of the world’s age, much less the end of the Christian age about which, at that time, they knew little to nothing. In their minds the destruction of Jerusalem was paramount to the end of the Jewish way of life. And such an event proved true in A.D. 70. During the last 3½ years of the Jewish Age, A.D. 67-70, Roman armies destroyed their cities, their nation, their homes, their people, their families, their temple, their sacrificial system, their genealogies – their whole way of life. Their world came crashing down. [For a detailed study of aion as well as other Greek words that are often translated by the English word “world’, see point [B] in the Expanded Studies section, p.161].

[3]. The disciples were not asking about a future coming of Jesus as understood by futurists today. This must certainly be true for at that time they were not even convinced that He was going to die! When Jesus had previously spoken of His death, the disciples always had a hard time comprehending exactly what He was talking about. So why would they be asking about a second coming when His first coming was not even over yet? How could they be thinking of a second coming when they were not convinced that He was ever going to leave them, which He would have to do in order to come again? How could they possibly be thinking of a second coming when their Jewish minds were still concerned with the kingdom the Messiah was supposed to set up when He came? Belief in a second coming presupposes an understanding they obviously did not have. It would only be after He left them that the concept of a return would take on full significance. Up until then their mental focus was a coming in His kingdom, which, they hoped, would occur soon. The only clear reading of this three-pronged question is to view it as a complete thought. They were asking a when type question that arose from Jesus’ statement concerning the approaching judgment. They were not asking about two or three different events separated by many years, they certainly were not asking about events 22

leading up to the end of the world, and they were not asking about His coming as understood by futurists. Their focus was totally upon Jesus’ words that judgment was pending upon their generation. Jesus’ Response In reply to their question, Jesus proceeded to give a fairly lengthy answer. He spoke of various signs leading up to that time of judgment [Matthew 24:4-15] and instructed them to escape to the hills when it became evident that the city’s destruction was imminent [Matthew 24:16-20]. He pointed out how dreadful those days would be and that they should not be deceived by self-proclaimed saviors and prophets who promised deliverance [Matthew 24:21-28]. He then depicted the destruction of Jerusalem in figurative or in, what is called, apocalyptic language: o “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” [Matthew 24:29 ESV]. In other words, it would be lights out for Jerusalem. It is important to emphasize what Jesus told His inquiring disciples. He specifically equated His coming with the destruction of Jerusalem. He would come “on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory … at that time,” that is, when the sun and the moon darkened, when the stars fell from their orbits, when the planets shuddered. In other words, it would be when Jerusalem was being destroyed that “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory” [Matthew 24:30 That coming would not be a happy occasion for most of the Jews. Grief and NIV]. anguish would overcome them when they realized Jesus had returned to judge them. He had announced to the Jewish leaders, o “… this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah … Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all” [Luke 11:50-51 NIV]. It is no wonder that Jesus said, “…all the tribes of the land will mourn” [Matthew 24:30 NIV]. The awful and devastating judgment that fell upon Jerusalem and the Jews took place about 40 years after those words were spoken. It was their Day of Judgment. Jewish leaders had said, “We don’t want this man to be our king” [Luke 19:14 NIV]. Jesus said, “… those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them – bring them here and kill them in front of me” [Luke 19:27 NIV]. In another of His parables Jesus accurately predicted their fate as well as that of Jerusalem: “The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city” [Matthew 22:5 NIV]. According to the historical record, the destruction of Jerusalem occurred in A.D. 70. According to Jesus, His return would coincide with the overthrow of Jerusalem. The conclusion seems inescapable: Jesus returned in A.D. 70. After sharing the information with His disciples about Jerusalem’s coming destruction, Jesus pointed out again that it would occur within that existing generation: “I tell you the

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truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” [Matthew 24:34 NIV]. He went on to say that He Himself did not know the exact day or the precise hour when those things would come to pass [only the Father knew that], so He encouraged His disciples to be prepared for the unexpected. “The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” [Matthew 24:44 NIV]. Some comments by an old writer are appropriate at this point: “In the entire discourse he has uttered no word to inform them that the time is long after their day, and the sign of it something they shall not live to see. … to assume, as some do, that the day and hour intended may be centuries after that generation passed away, would seem to be virtually implicating Jesus in a kind of preposterous trifling. For how would it differ from saying in substance: ‘All these things shall assuredly come to pass in your day, before some of you taste death; but the day and the hour may be several thousands of years in the future! Watch, therefore, and be ready!!’ ” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.244-245]. In addition to those pointed comments, it should also be noted that Jesus did not say he was going to return in that generation if certain things did or did not happen. His pledge to return while some of those people were still living was not based upon certain conditions. He said, “The Son of Man will come…” [Matthew 24:44 NIV]. There would be no postponement. It would occur within the lifetime of some of His audience.

A STUDY OF THE PHRASE “THIS GENERATION” It should be unnecessary to expend time, energy, and space to defend what Jesus meant when He twice used the phrase this generation in this passage [Matthew 23:36; 24:34], but, unfortunately, it is. The Problem The fact is that some insist that Jesus did not have in mind the existing generation of His day but some future generation when He said, “All these things shall come upon this generation” and “this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” [Matthew 23:36; 24:34 NKJV]. In the opinion of futurists, the fulfillment of “these things” occurs in a future generation. In fact, it has not been and is not uncommon for scholars who maintain that viewpoint to cite these verses, especially Matthew 24:34, as proof texts for predicting that the return of Jesus is on the horizon today since, it is claimed, we ourselves are living in that future generation of which He spoke. Such a view is based primarily upon the concept that Israel became a nation again in 1948, nearly 1900 years after being dissolved and scattered by Roman armies in A.D. 70. The rebirth of Israel as a nation is seen as a marker that supposedly initiated the last generation. According to many current “experts” in prophecy, e.g. Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, Thomas Ice, it is this last generation to which Jesus was referring when He said this generation. The teaching was vigorously proclaimed in the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s that all those things that Jesus talked about in

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Matthew 23&24 would take place within that 40-year period from 1948-1988 including the return of Christ. Since Jesus failed to return by 1988, as they predicted, some adjustments had to be made concerning their predictions. One adjustment was to redefine the term this generation to mean a longer period of time than the traditional and widely accepted 40year period. It was proposed that a generation might be much longer, up to 80 years! This maneuver allowed them to readjust the time of Jesus’ supposed return, with any date acceptable up to 2028. The second adjustment was to change the starting date of the last generation from 1948 to 1967 to coincide with the year in which Israel recaptured Jerusalem during the sixday war. Based upon this new scenario, it is suggested that Christ will return between the years 2007 and 2047, which are 40 to 80 years after 1967. So their erroneous 1988 prognostication has been stretched to the year 2047 which, in passing, will also be proved to be erroneous. A thinking person might ask, “How do these men handle their wrong predictions?” In most cases, all the wrong predictions are simply ignored. Then, without any basis for doing so, they continue to emphatically proclaim that the coming of Jesus is imminent. Of course, it’s always imminent. Seemingly, it has not occurred to them that the reason Jesus did not return at the end of their designated last generation, that is, in 1988, is due to a misunderstanding and a misapplying of what Jesus meant when He used the term this generation. The Survey In light of the manipulative way the phrase this generation has been handled, it would be beneficial to take a closer look at the actual way Jesus used it. After harmonizing the gospel accounts so as to prevent duplication, I have found that Jesus used the Greek word genea [generation] eleven other times outside Matthew 23:36 & 24:34, and that in each case He was referring to His contemporaries and not to a future group of people. Here are the eleven other occasions when Jesus used the term. Notice in each case when using the phrase this generation, Jesus clearly had in mind the people with whom He associated. o Matthew 11:16-19 [also Luke 7:31]. Jesus said, “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’. ” Unmistakably, Jesus was speaking of His own generation in this passage for He referred to John the Baptist as well as to Himself. Only one generation resisted the preaching of both John and Jesus, and that was the one in which they lived. Jesus’ complaint was that nothing pleased those people in His day. They had reacted to John’s simplistic and austere lifestyle with charges that he was under control of a demon. They had reacted to Jesus’ socially active and people-oriented lifestyle with

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charges that He ate too much and He drank too much, while partying with societies’ rejects. This led Him to compare His generation to spoiled, complaining children. o Matthew 12:39-45 [also Luke 11:29-32] “[Jesus] answered, ‘a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah … The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, “I will return to the house I left.” When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation’, ” Again, the existing generation was in Jesus’ mind since He declared that He was greater in His generation than were Jonah and Solomon in theirs. The people of Nineveh recognized Jonah as having been sent by God and repented of their sins. The queen of Sheba recognized Solomon’s godly wisdom and inquired of him. Such timely actions would bear witness against the Jews of Jesus’ day at the judgment because they had failed to recognize Someone greater than Jonah and Solomon. Instead of repenting as Nineveh did and responding to wise teaching as the queen did, they challenged Jesus to do something sensational and spectacular to prove that God had really sent Him. Their challenge of His authority and lack of response to His ministry earned from Him the epithet a wicked and adulterous generation. In fact, their condition would worsen to the point that the nation would resemble a man possessed by eight evil spirits. In the previous reference, Jesus compared His generation to spoiled children. Here, He characterizes their moral and spiritual state as one that was sliding deeper and deeper into evil. o Matthew 16:1-4 [also Mark 8:12]. Jesus said, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, ‘…you know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign…’ ” Obviously, the existing generation was again in Jesus’ mind in these comments because they were directed toward the Pharisees and the Sadducees, His contemporaries. Those people often joined with others demanding that Jesus authenticate His message with some supernatural sign. Jesus responded that they were very good at reading the sky to determine weather conditions but were oblivious to the sign that was standing right in front of them. Again, as in the previous passage, He characterized that generation of people as a wicked and adulterous one.

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Incidentally, this also was the opinion of the great historian Flavius Josephus, who was not only General Titus’ personal historian but also was a Jewish priest. He wrote this in reference to his own people of that time: “It is … impossible to go distinctly over every instance of these men’s iniquity. I shall, therefore, speak my mind here at once briefly, that neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world” [Flavius Josephus in Wars, Book 5, Chapter 10, Section 5].

o Matthew 17:17 [also Luke 9:41 and Mark 9:19] “ ‘O unbelieving and perverse generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?’ ” Here Jesus expressed a measure of exasperation with that generation of people of which He was a part. He was grieved and upset with them, including some of His disciples, due to their failure to recognize and respond positively to His message. It was painful for Him to live among such unresponsive people whom He also characterized as faithless and perverse. Their minds were twisted and degenerate, that is, turned in the wrong direction. Paul picked up on this term and used it in a similar fashion when advising the Philippians, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation” [Philippians 2:14-15 NIV]. o Luke 11:47-51 Jesus said, “Woe to you [Pharisees] because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them … Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world … Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.” Although the subject matter of this passage is very similar to that of Matthew 23:35, it should be noted that the locations where the statements were made are different. Matthew records that Jesus’ confrontation with the Scribes and Pharisees occurred in the temple area since, he says, Jesus left the temple immediately after that altercation [Matthew 24:1]. Luke records an earlier conflict that occurred at mealtime in a Pharisee’s home [Luke 11:37]. This duplication should not be thought of as unusual for in a time when communications were primarily oral, a speaker would often repeat the same message at different locations. Nevertheless, the existing generation of people is clearly in Jesus’ mind when He pronounced judgment upon the Pharisees. By declaring the existing generation would be held responsible for the killing of all the prophets from the beginning, Jesus again indicated how wicked that generation of people was. The number of times that Jesus characterized those people as wicked, sinful, and adulterous should grab our attention for it indicates that there was something peculiar about that generation. And such was the case.

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More than one historian has characterized it as not only the last but also the worst of all the generations of Israel. Again, hear the words of Josephus, words which he wrote in about A.D. 75: “And here I cannot but speak my mind, and what the concern I am under dictates to me, and it is this: I suppose, that had the Romans made any longer delay in coming against these villains, that the city would either have been swallowed up by the ground opening upon them, or been overflowed by water, or else been destroyed by such thunder as the country of Sodom perished by, for it had brought forth a generation of men much more atheistical than were those that suffered such punishments, for by their madness it was that all the people came to be destroyed” [Flavius Josephus in Wars, Book 5, Chapter 13, Section 6]. As a result, it inherited the guilt of all the previous generations and, in fact, deserved the judgment that was pending when Jesus spoke. o Mark 8:34-38 “Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me…If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.’” It was to a crowd that followed Him, including His disciples, that He spoke these words and labeled the generation in which they lived as adulterous and sinful. James, the Lord’s brother [Galatians 1:19], later characterized that same generation in similar terms, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God…” [James 4:4]. The Jews of that day, following in the footsteps of their ancestors, were guilty of spiritual infidelity, of being unfaithful to God, and seeking a satisfying relationship with a selfish and godless world. o Luke 17:22-25 “Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, “There he is!” or “Here he is!” Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation’.” Here it is apparent that when Jesus spoke of this generation, He had in mind the one in which He lived. No other generation but His own can make the awful claim that it was their generation in which Jesus suffered and was rejected. The Conclusion Each of these passages indicates a pattern in the way Jesus used the term this generation, and virtually no one questions the fact that He was referring to His contemporaries in the situations quoted above. Such a near widespread agreement, therefore, begs the question: ¾ If Jesus was referring to his contemporaries each time He used the phrase this generation, what kind of logic would lead us to believe that He had in mind an 28

entirely different group of people when He used the same term in Matthew 23:36 & 24:34? Every other time He used that phrase, He was referring solely and exclusively to the Jewish people of His day, and they understood Him as speaking to them or about them. Why would He suddenly change? And, if he did change, would it have been fair of Him to expect His listeners to immediately make the same mental switch? The only plausible interpretation is that He had the same people in mind when He used the term in Matthew 23:36 & 24:34 as He did when He used it on other occasions. Every other explanation involves a twisting of language and a frustration to natural understanding. In such a case, this must take on the meaning of that. This generation must be twisted to denote a future generation. If Jesus wanted to refer to the existing generation, what better term could He have used than the phrase this generation? What other expression should He have used if this generation does not refer to His generation? This Generation in Matthew 23:36 Notice how the context itself supports the fact that Jesus had that existing generation in mind and not some distant one. Notice how direct and how specific Jesus was in His denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees in the temple. “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation” [Matthew 23:33-36 NIV].

How can there be even a shadow of a doubt that when Jesus used the term this generation in His denunciation of those leaders that He had in mind any but theirs? When He spoke directly to them of the judgment that was to come upon them, their city, and their temple, what kind of logic would cause one to believe that He had some future generation in mind? How can such a view be classified as rational? What would move anyone to follow this line of reasoning? This Generation in Matthew 24:34 The second time the term this generation is used in this context was when Jesus left the temple and spoke privately to His disciples. Immediately before saying to them, “…this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened,” He said, “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it [or He] is near, right at the door” [Matthew 24:33-34 NIV]. He specifically indicated to His disciples that they themselves would see the events He had been talking about, including His coming in His kingdom.

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In fact, a closer scrutiny of the passage [Matthew 23:36—24:34] that is found between the two verses in which the word generation is used reveals that Jesus specifically and directly referred to His disciples by using the personal pronoun you a total of 14 times. Note these: o Matthew 24:2

– “Do you see all these things?”

o Matthew 24:2

– “I tell you the truth”

o Matthew 24:4

– “Watch out that no one deceives you”

o Matthew 24:6

– “You will hear of war and rumors of wars”

o Matthew 24:6

– “…but see to it that you are not alarmed”

o Matthew 24:9

– “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted”

o Matthew 24:9

– “ …and you will be hated by all nations”

o Matthew 24:15

– “So when you see…”

o Matthew 24:23

– “… if anyone says to you…”

o Matthew 24:25

– “See, I have told you ahead of time”

o Matthew 24:26

– “So, if anyone tells you…”

o Matthew 24:32

– “…you know summer is near”

o Matthew 24:33

– “…when you see all these things”

o Matthew 24:33

– “…you know that it is near”

There should be no question that Jesus was speaking directly to His disciples when discussing the material found in this passage. If He were speaking of a future generation of disciples, He most certainly would not have used the personal pronoun you but some other word such as them. By claiming that Jesus was referring to them when He said you is, at the very least, asinine; at the very most, it implies that Jesus was dim-witted, not knowing how to use pronouns correctly. The way Jesus used the term this generation can refer to no other than the existing one. To think otherwise is to arbitrarily distort the meaning it had for His listening audience. By way of summary, Jesus used the phrase this generation eleven times outside Matthew 23&24. Each time He had in mind the existing generation. The contexts of the use of the term twice within Matthew 23&24 are strong arguments against the view that He had in mind a future generation. There is no room for doubting that Jesus’ prediction of the coming judgment and of His return was to occur before that generation of people passed away, and yet many modern day leaders do. The Analysts For a moment, let’s have some fun and assume that three of our modern day prophecy experts, Hal, Tim, and Tom, are transported with all their present beliefs back to the

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time of Jesus. They find themselves among the crowd in the temple listening to Jesus speak about the present generation being held responsible for all the prophet killings of the past. As the meeting breaks up, a news briefing is hastily arranged. Tom, since he is Tim’s spokesman, reads a statement to the concerned and lingering crowd. “Tim and I have concluded that you should not be overly concerned that the judgment Jesus just spoke about is to come in your own lifetime. Jesus wasn’t referring to you personally when He said that you would be held responsible for all the righteous killings of the past. We have closely scrutinized His remarks and conclude that He was referring to people in the distant future, near or at the end of history. We advise you to go about your business and not be overly concerned about His remarks.” Our prophecy experts then go outside and listen to Jesus answer the disciples’ question about the time of the coming judgment. They hear Jesus say, “…this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” After the discourse, Hal holds a news conference to clarify what Jesus really meant by His remarks. He says, “Be calm, no one should get upset about Jesus’ comments because He was not referring to your generation when He said this generation. He was referring to a future generation, one that we like to designate as the last or the terminal generation. When the things that Jesus spoke about begin to happen, that’s when the last generation kicks in, and that last generation will be designated as the “this generation” of which Jesus spoke.” A reporter, covering the scene for the Jerusalem Times, yells out, “I like to think you’re right, Hal, but Jesus said, ‘Upon you…when you see all these things, you know that it is near… ” to which Hal responds most assuredly, “When Jesus spoke of you in this context, He was speaking prophetically. He wasn’t referring to you personally. No, He was referring to a group of people in the distant future who will be unfortunate enough to be living at the time the predicted judgment upon Jerusalem falls. In fact, I have determined that He was referring to a time some 2000 years into the future. More specifically, the events that Jesus spoke about will unfold around the year 1988 which is a long ways off. So you here today have nothing to be alarmed about.” A newsman then asked if Hal would appear for an interview on the evening news and share a more in-depth analysis of the hidden meaning he sees in Jesus’ remarks. Hal readily consents, hoping that this might lead to a greater media ministry. Tim, feeling he too has rare prophetic insight, decides to write a series of books about that distant last generation, while Tom thinks he might like to teach the subject in a college and, on the side, debate those who believe that the destruction of Jerusalem 40 years later was the fulfillment of Jesus’ remarks. Question: What would happen within that existing generation?

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Answer: The Son of Man would return, the Jews would be judged, and Jerusalem, including the temple, would be destroyed.

[D]. John 21:21-22 Near the end of his gospel, John records that Jesus gave Peter some insight into his future. Jesus said, “…when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted” [John 21:18a NIV]. In other words, in his youth Peter essentially did what he wanted to do. His early days were days full of freedom. “But,” Jesus continued, “when you are old you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” [John 21:18b NIV]. On the surface this verse seems to suggest that Peter would live to an old age but would experience a measure of frailty requiring someone else to take care of his basic needs. However, John puts a different slant on these words when he says, “Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God” [John 21:19 NIV]. The picture that comes to one’s mind by the expression “you will stretch out your hands” is that of someone hanging on a cross. Apparently, Peter would live to an old age. Then he would be bound by someone else and be led to a place he did not wish to go, to a place of execution. It appears that Peter accepted the Lord’s prediction since there is no record of any objection. Instead, Peter desired to find out the fate of his friend John who was standing nearby. Would he also suffer the same fate? So he asked, “Lord, what about John?” [John 21:21 NIV]. Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return [erchomai], what is that to you?” [John 21:22 NIV]. This is an extremely interesting statement by Jesus because it indicates that the length of John’s life was in His hands. He said, “If I want him to remain alive....” Since Peter did not question Jesus’ remark, it can be assumed that by the time of this conversation, he had developed a strong belief in the divinity of Jesus. Also, when Jesus said to Peter “what is that to you,” the implication was that he should not be concerned about when and where and how anyone else was to die. The implication for John, though, was that he was to be alive when Jesus returned. This conversation strongly intimates that at the coming of Christ, Peter would be dead but John would be alive “…for it is impossible that Jesus would suggest this idea only to mislead” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.82]. Earlier Jesus, without mentioning any names, had said that some of His disciples would be alive to see Him coming in His kingdom [Matthew 16:27-28]. Here He strongly implies that John would very well be one of them.

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There is no suggestion that those who heard Jesus make this statement, or those who later heard what He had said, thought it was absurd or preposterous. But it would have been a ludicrous comment if Jesus had not intended to return for several hundred years. If this were to be the case, He should have said, “If I want John to remain alive for 2000 years until I return, what is that to you?” A Belief Commonly and Readily Accepted The fact is there are numerous indications in the New Testament that other believers living in that generation would not die before Jesus returned. •

Paul undoubtedly believed Christ’s coming would take place during the lifetime of Timothy since he charged him to keep the commandment that he had just given him “until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” [I Timothy 6:14 NIV]. He does not say keep this commandment until you die but until Jesus comes. The second coming and not his death was the event that would release Timothy from that particular command.

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Paul told the Corinthians, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep [Paul’s normal euphemism for physical death] but we will all be changed …” [I Corinthians 15:51 NIV]. Paul included some of the Corinthians along with himself as being among those who would not die before Christ returned.

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Likewise, while discussing the destiny of those Thessalonian believers who had died and the relationship of living believers to them, Paul said,“… we who are alive, who are left [on earth] until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep…we who are alive, who are left, will be caught together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” [I Thessalonians 4:15, 17 ESV]. By using the pronoun we, Paul evidently felt that he himself would be alive along with many of the Thessalonians when Jesus returned, although later he altered that conviction concerning himself since circumstances indicated that he might possibly be put to death before that time [II Timothy 4:6-8].

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Interestingly, Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians was that their “…whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” [I Thessalonians 5:23 KJV]. The fact that he prayed that their bodies, along with their spirits and souls, might be preserved indicates that he was praying that they would not experience physical death before the return of Christ. “He actually prays that not just the believer’s spirit and soul be kept blameless, but that the believer’s BODY be ‘preserved’ until the parousia of the Lord. How could Paul pray a prayer like that if the coming of the Lord was not to be within the first century? How could Paul ask God to preserve someone’s body if the coming of the Lord was thousands of years away. … The point being is that Paul’s request for the preservation of THEIR bodies (the bodies of the first century Thessalonians) points the reader toward the understanding that the Lord Jesus was to return in His parousia while the generation of the Thessalonians 33

were alive. No other answer satisfies”

[Dr. Kelly Nelson Birks in an internet article entitled

“The Potency of a Proper Placing of the Parousia”].

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James obviously expected his readers to be alive when the Lord returned for he exhorted them, “Be patient…until the coming of the Lord” which would not be long since “…the Lord’s coming is at hand” … in fact, He “is standing at the door” [James 5:7-9 ESV]. If the Lord’s coming is still in the future, how it is possible for his original readers to still maintain an attitude of perseverance?

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Jesus implied that His disciples, or at least some of them, would be alive at His return when He told them that He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place for them to live: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” [John 14:3 NIV].

•

Then, as discussed earlier, there is the unambiguous statement made by Jesus in which He specifically declared that some of His disciples would not die before He returned: “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” [Matthew 16:28 NIV].

It is enlightening to notice that when first generation believers heard statements to the effect that some of them would be alive at the return of Jesus, they did not treat them with skepticism but considered them to be easily within the realm of possibility. This is so because they were taught and they believed that Jesus would return before their generation passed away. It was no surprise, then, to the disciples to hear Jesus say that John would be one of these. Question: What event would John in all probability live long enough to see? Answer: The return of Jesus [For a discussion of Matthew 10:23 which records another statement by Jesus that, in all probability, supports the above four passages, see point [A] in the Expanded Studies section, p.159],

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The four passages studied above include four statements made by Jesus that clearly point to His second coming as occurring within the lifetime of His contemporaries. As the end of that generation began to draw near, some 25 or 30 years after He had returned to heaven, Jesus revealed to a man by means of a vision that His return was just around the corner. The news of His imminent return was written down on a scroll and quickly disseminated. The content of that scroll was to become the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation.

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REFERENCES WITHIN THE REVELATION The book of Revelation reports that Jesus appeared in great splendor to His close friend, the apostle John, who had been exiled to a very small island, located in the Aegean Sea off the western coast of modern Turkey. Patmos was one of many islands that Rome used for its numerous penal colonies. Troublemakers, who were sentenced to hard labor, were often sent to one of those islands to work in the mines and quarries. John explained, “I…was on the island called Patmos on account of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus” [Revelation 1:9 ESV]. Apparently, his unswerving allegiance to God had irked some Roman official in Asia who deemed him a troublemaker and thus a potential threat to their way of life. It was on that island where Christ appeared to John with the message that we call The Book Of Revelation.

A STUDY OF THE DATING OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION Just when John wrote down that vision is a matter of ongoing and earnest debate. The debate is between late-date advocates and early-date advocates. Late-date supporters contend that the book was written near the turn of the first century, around A.D. 96. Early-date promoters argue for a pre-70 A.D. writing. But, why be concerned with pinpointing the time the Revelation was written down? The answer to this question is that the time it was written is a major factor in interpreting the book itself. “Establishing the dates when Biblical books were written contributes to our overall understanding of their message. By knowing the author, the place and time of his writing, we can imagine the setting with all of the attendant surroundings and comprehend more fully the message of each book” [Arthur Ogden in an internet article entitled “Dating the Apocalypse”].

Such a task is particularly important with regards to the book of Revelation. If the book were written before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as is claimed by Preterists, then its contents may be interpreted as referring to that event. However, if the book were written after that date, as is held by most futurists, then the contents of the book can be seen as predicting world ending events. “Whether Revelation was written early or not has a tremendous bearing upon the direction interpreters may take in its exposition” [Kenneth L. Gentry in Before Jerusalem Fell, p.20.].

Kenneth L. Gentry The best resource that I have found on this subject is the book Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation by Kenneth Gentry. In this work of over 400 pages, Gentry painstakingly notes that the strongest arguments indicate Revelation was written sometime before A.D. 70. This is very enlightening because for centuries most all scholars held the view that the book was not composed until A.D. 95-96, some 25-26 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. If true, it would mean that the book could not possibly predict things that happened in A.D. 70, a position held strongly to by preterists. However, be aware that during those centuries, there were a few notable exceptions to this end-of-the-century date, some of whom I have quoted within

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these pages. Although few in number they were tenacious in believing the book was written before the Fall of Jerusalem. And their tenacity has paid off. Within the last 50 years or so, the tide of scholarly opinion has been quickly turning. A large number of today’s Biblical scholars, including some who have a strong theologically liberal bent, have come out in favor of the earlier date for the composition of Revelation. The following will serve as a typical example of the many who have come to accept the early-date view. Incidentally and surprisingly, this quote is from a futurist, from one who believes in a future pre-millennial second coming of Christ and the pre-tribulational rapture of Christians. “The great many Bible students assume, as I once did, that there must be ample external evidence that the book of Revelation was written around 96 AD. After all, the late date is hardly ever questioned. Many highly respected Bible teachers have stated it as though it were proven fact, offering no evidence in defense. However, as far as I can conclude from my research into this topic, very little external evidence exists that would warrant any bold statement as to the date of the writing. The late date (96 AD) theory seems to rest almost entirely on the statement of one man, Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons. This statement, which Irenaeus wrote between 180 and 190 AD, was apparently believed by the majority of the writers of the fourth and fifth centuries, even though it was made more than a century after the destruction of Jerusalem, and nearly a century after the alleged late date of the writing of Revelation. For the first two centuries after Jerusalem’s destruction, very little was written that would provide clues as to when the book of Revelation was written, and during all that time, Irenaeus appears to be the lone voice for the late date of 96 AD” [Matthew McGee in an internet article entitled “The Seven Churches of Revelation”].

Since so much hangs upon the statement of that lone voice, it is important to be aware of what that statement is. It was made by Irenaeus in his fifth book which he wrote to combat certain heresies during his day. The particular subject under discussion was the identity of the Antichrist. Here is what he said: “If, however, it were necessary to proclaim his name (i.e. Antichrist) openly at the present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the revelation, for it is not long since [he or it] was seen, but almost in our own generation, at the close of Domitian’s reign” [Irenaeus as quoted by Eusebius in Ecclesiastical History, p. 102]. The meaning of the statement rides on a Greek word that can be translated as either he or it. So the question is, did Irenaeus mean that John was seen at the close of Domitian’s reign or did he mean that the vision [the Revelation] was seen at the close of Domitian’s reign? Either would be an acceptable translation. Although many have readily accepted his statement as having reference to the vision, the fact is that Irenaeus himself said the information he had received was hearsay and that he was only a child when he heard the aged Polycarp speaking about the subject, about the apostle John, and about Domitian’s reign. Historians have pointed out how

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easily a young child could have confused Domitian’s name with one of Nero’s which was Domitius Nero Caesar. If such is true, it would not be the only fact he was mistaken about on matters of historical detail. Many students of Irenaeus’ writings have pointed out several inaccuracies in them, one being that Jesus spent close to 50 years upon the earth before returning to heaven. Such factual errors as this one tend to raise questions about his trustworthiness as an historian, not that he purposely wrote misleading statements but that he shared what others had said regardless of their historical accuracy. Note both Chilton and Gentry’s appraisal of his writings: “Although some scholars have uncritically accepted the statement of St. Irenaeus (A.D. 120-202) that the prophecy appeared ‘toward the end of Domitian’s reign’ (i.e., around A.D. 96), there is considerable room for doubt about his precise meaning (he may have meant that the Apostle John himself ‘was seen’ by others). The language of St. Irenaeus is somewhat ambiguous; and, regardless of what he was talking about, he could have been mistaken. (St. Irenaeus, incidentally, is the only source for this late dating of Revelation; all other ‘sources’ are simply quoting from him” [David Chilton in The Days of Vengeance, p.3-4]. “…although generally reliable, Irenaeus’s writings are not without imperfection in matters historical. Indeed, some very fine and reputable scholars of renown discount his testimony that is so relevant to our debate” [Kenneth L. Gentry in Before Jerusalem Fell, p.60]. In view of the fact that Irenaeus appears to be the lone voice for the late date composition of Revelation for the two centuries after the destruction of Jerusalem and in view of the fact that the conclusion that some of his information has been proven false, many scholars are rejecting the late-date proposition in favor of the early-date theory. The fact is that there appears to be a strong probability that before too many more years pass, the far majority of scholars will become convinced that not only was Revelation written before A.D. 70 but that all the New Testament books were also completed before that significant date. John A.T. Robinson Much of the credit for this shift to accepting the early-date can be attributed to John A.T. Robinson, a liberal bishop from England. In 1976 he published a book entitled Redating the New Testament which convinced many and confirmed for others, especially evangelicals, that all the New Testament was written and circulated between the years A.D. 40-70. Central to his conclusion is the argument that since Jesus’ prediction that Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed came true in A.D. 70, it is inconceivable that any Biblical book written after that date would have failed to point out the fulfillment of that prophecy. This argument, along with a large amount of historical and textual evidence, drove him to that conclusion. “One of the oddest facts about the New Testament is that what on any showing would appear to be the single most datable and climactic event of the period –

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the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, and with it the collapse of institutional Judaism based on the temple – is never once mentioned as a past fact. It is, of course, predicted … But the silence is nevertheless as significant as the silence for Sherlock Holmes of the dog that did not bark” [John A.T. Robinson in Redating the New Testament, p.13].

Robinson’s work is especially impressive since he was not initially inclined at all toward a conservative point of view. Also most impressive, as mentioned earlier, are the writings of Kenneth L. Gentry, an ordained pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, who writes from a conservative viewpoint. At the conclusion of his meticulous work on dating the book of Revelation, he writes: “My confident conviction is that a solid case for a Neronic date for Revelation can be set forth from the available evidences, both internal and external. In fact, I would lean toward a date after the outbreak of the Neronic persecution in late A.D. 64 and before the declaration of the Jewish War in early A.D. 67 … My hope is that the debate will be renewed with vigor and care, for the matter is more than a merely academic or intellectual exercise; it has ramifications in the area of practical Christianity” [Kenneth L. Gentry in Before Jerusalem Fell, p.336]. Some Internal Arguments for a Pre-70 A.D. Writing In view of the importance of determining the date Revelation was composed, listed below is a summary of some of the main reasons that can be drawn from the book itself which argue for a pre-70 A.D. writing. •

There is a sense of urgency found throughout the book regarding the fulfillment of the events which are recorded, among those being the predicted coming of Christ in judgment upon Jerusalem. Such fulfillment can be found in the events leading up to and occurring in A.D. 70, but there are no events that occurred in the 90s to which fulfillment might be attached. Specifically, no one believes that the coming of Christ in judgment occurred soon after A.D. 96.

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The book was written at a time when some of the apostles were still living. This is implied in the statement that the Ephesian church had “tested those who call themselves apostles and are not” [Revelation 2:2 ESV]. Some men appeared in Ephesus and pretended to be apostles, something they could not have done except during the days of the apostles who were told by our Lord that false prophets would arise in the days immediately preceding Jerusalem’s destruction [Matthew 24:24]. This test that the Ephesian church conducted to determine the legitimacy of an apostle could not have been carried out in A.D. 96 since it is quite doubtful that any apostles were around at that time.

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The book was written when at least two of the churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, were experiencing trouble with those who claimed to be “true” Jews [Revelation 2:9; 3:9]. Since only racial Jews would make such a claim, it is clear that Christianity was still involved with the Jewish community, a situation that existed before A.D. 70. But after that date the Jews and Gentile Christians became more and more dissociated. 38

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The book was written during a time when Christians were being persecuted for their faith. John himself said he was a “partner in the tribulation…” [Revelation 1:9 ESV]. Antipas was a “faithful witness who was killed among you” [in Pergamon] [Revelation 2:13 ESV]. However, the book also indicates that a more intense persecution was on the horizon [Revelation 2:10; 3:10]. Such a time of severe persecution during the reign of Nero [A.D. 54-68] is factually established, but more than one historian has questioned the evidence of a systematic persecution of Christians under Domitian [A.D. 81-96]. “While there is no doubt that Domitian was a cruel and wicked tyrant…, until the fifth century there is no mention in any historian of a supposedly widespread persecution of Christians by his government. It is true that he did temporarily banish some Christians; but these were eventually recalled” [David Chilton in The Days of Vengeance, p.4].

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The book was written before the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. John speaks of “…a severe earthquake” that caused “… a tenth of the city” to collapse [Revelation 11:13 NIV]. Since the city was completely demolished by the Romans in A.D. 70, the earthquake and John’s writing must have taken place before that date

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The book was written when the temple in Jerusalem was still standing [Revelation 11:1-2, 8]. Since it was razed in A.D. 70 and since it has never been rebuilt, it would have been a heap of ruins in A.D. 96. To suggest that John would receive instructions to measure a demolished temple is strange, to say the least. Also, it would have been mystifying for John to write in A.D. 96 these words: “The nations… will trample the holy city for 42 months” [Revelation 11:2 ESV] since the nations, under the leadership of Rome, had destroyed the city some 25 years earlier!

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If the seven kings discussed in Revelation 17:9-11 has reference to the early rulers of the Roman Empire, as is believed by the majority of scholars, then the book was written during the reign of Rome’s sixth emperor. At the time he wrote, John said, “Five [of the kings] have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come, he must remain only a little while” [Revelation 17:10 ESV]. As can be seen from the following list of Roman leaders, Nero was the sixth king. Galba, the one predicted to reign “only a little while”, [in actuality, just six months] had not yet appeared. By A.D. 96 Rome was on its 12th king. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Julius [49-44 B.C.] 7. Galba [68-69 A.D.] Augustus [31 B.C.-14 A.D]. 8. Otho [69 A.D.] Tiberius [14-37 A.D.] 9. Vitellius [69 A.D.] Caligula [37-41 A.D.] 10. Vespasian [69-79 A.D. Claudius [41-54 A.D.] 11. Titus [79-81 A.D. Nero [54-68 A.D.] 12. Domitian [81-96 A.D.]

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“It seems indisputably clear that the book of Revelation must be dated in the reign of Nero Caesar, and consequently before his death in June, A.D. 68” [Kenneth L. Gentry in Before Jerusalem Fell, p.158]. If the above understanding is correct, the book could have been written anytime during Nero’s reign - as early as A.D. 54 or as late as A.D. 68. •

John was told he must prophesy again “before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” [Revelation 10:11 KJV]. In A.D. 96 he would have been some 90+ years old, an age to which few reached in those days, not to mention that such an age would make it virtually impossible for him to travel in order to fulfill that commission. But if he received the revelation in the late 50s or early 60s, when he was still relatively young, it is perfectly conceivable that he could have had the physical stamina to carry out such a commission.

A Clue from Daniel Perhaps a statement by the angel Gabriel to Daniel is the most convincing that the book of Revelation was written before A.D. 70. Gabriel told Daniel, “seventy weeks [490 years] are measured out for your people and your holy city,” [Daniel 9:24], a prophecy indicating how many years remained, not counting a final probation period of 35-40 years due to God’s grace, before His judgment fell upon the Jews and their city. The angel also stated that the same period of time would also serve to accomplish several things. One was “to seal up vision and prophecy” [Daniel 9:24]. In other words, all special revelation [vision], all prophetic writing [prophecy]…in fact, all scripture would be sealed up, would come to an end by the time Jerusalem was destroyed. After that event, there would be no more words from God to be written down as inspired Scripture. All vision and all prophecy would cease. Since Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70 and since Daniel wrote that all vision and prophecy will have ceased by the time Jerusalem was destroyed, then it can be concluded that Revelation, unquestionably a book of vision and prophecy, was also completed by that time. An External Clue There is one extremely significant external clue that points to a date within Nero’s reign. It is found in the Syrian translation of the New Testament. This translation into the Syrian language, a form of Aramaic, is among the earliest and most important versions in our possession. It is dated to within one hundred years of the apostles and, in all probability, predates the account of Irenaeus and should, therefore, be given as much, if not more, authority than his. The Syrian caption for the book of Revelation reads, ¾ “The Revelation which was made by God to John the evangelist in the island of Patmos to which he was banished by Nero the Caesar.” Since the major clues point to a pre-A.D. 70 writing of Revelation and since one of its main messages is the destruction of the great city that is figuratively called Babylon [that is, Jerusalem], then it can be reasoned that Revelation is an expansion of the Olivet Discourse. In view of the fact that the primary theme of the discussion on the Mount of Olives was the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, then it might be concluded that the book of Revelation would have the same theme. Many writers think so; in fact, one has 40

suggested that “…the title of the book might appropriately have been ‘The Doom of Jerusalem’ ” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.154]. Another, David Chilton, entitled his exposition of the book of Revelation as The Days of Vengeance. In it he argues that the judgments in Revelation are those that fell upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In agreement with these writers, Kenneth Gentry makes this observation: “It is interesting that John is the only writer of a canonical Gospel who omits Christ’s Olivet Discourse announcement of the destruction of the Temple and the end of the age. It would seem almost certain that this is due to the fact that he had treated it earlier in his Revelation” [Kenneth L. Gentry in Before Jerusalem Fell, p.242 footnote].

An Even Earlier Date In addition to the conclusion that the Revelation was composed before A.D. 70 is the distinct possibility that it was written much earlier than the mid or latter half of the 60s. Both inside and outside the book are several significant clues that strongly point in the direction of an even earlier writing. Note the following: [1]. The letter that was sent to the church in Philadelphia [Revelation 3:7-13] speaks of a time of intense persecution that was about to come [Revelation 3:10]. Saying it was about to come implies that the government-directed persecution had not begun at the time of writing. If this verse is referring to the impending ordeal under Nero, then the book would have been written prior to A.D. 64 when the persecution of Christians was first authorized by the government. This is further supported by the fact that even before there was an official government policy of harassing Christians, local authorities, especially in Asia, showed strong allegiance to their “divine” emperor, by taking into custody those whose allegiance was questionable. Since the Roman senate introduced imperial worship in A.D. 55, John could have been apprehended and imprisoned on Patmos anytime after that date. [2]. Additional support for an earlier composition of Revelation is seen in several statements within other New Testament books that appear to have their roots in Revelation. If this is true, it indicates that John’s writings were familiar to other writers and were referred to by them in the composition of their own writings. Consider the following: [a]. Peter, writing in A.D. 64 or 65, specifies that he wrote his first letter from “Babylon” [I Peter 5:13], the same term that John used in the book of Revelation when speaking of the city of Jerusalem. By the time Peter wrote his letter, it appears that Jerusalem was already known and recognized by terms that designated what kind of city she was. John referred to Jerusalem as Sodom, Egypt, and Babylon [Revelation 11:8], but he favored the term Babylon, which he said was a figurative or a symbolic term used to designate the great but adulterous city that was about to be judged [Revelation 17:5]. Peter, reading Revelation and knowing John was speaking of the same city whose fall was depicted by Jesus on the Mount of Olives, could easily have picked up on the

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symbolism. If he did so, then it seems evident that Revelation was written a few years before Peter composed his epistles. Jerusalem or Rome All scholars, however, do not accept the fact that Peter wrote his letters from Jerusalem. Some hold that he had Rome in mind when he used the mystery term Babylon, which would indicate that he wrote from Rome, not Jerusalem. But the New Testament is clear that during the last 30-35 years of his life, Peter made his home in Jerusalem and carried on his ministry there. His original home was in Capernaum [Mark 8:5-14] where he maintained a fishing business. But, after becoming a follower of Christ, evidently he moved to Jerusalem where he discharged the vital ministry conferred on him by the Lord Jesus. Note the following citations, which argue against a Rome-based ministry for him and for a Jerusalem-based location. •

Peter as an apostle remained in Jerusalem at the outbreak of a great persecution A.D. 34 after Stephen was martyred [Acts 8:1].

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Three years after his conversion [A.D. 36], Paul went to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter staying 15 days in his house [Galatians 1:18]. A.D. 39

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King Herod arrested and imprisoned Peter in order to please the Jews in Jerusalem [Acts 12:1-18]. A.D. 43

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Fourteen years after his conversion, Paul returned to Jerusalem and was greeted by Peter, James, and John [Galatians 2:1-10]. A.D. 50

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In his first letter Peter extended greetings from two of his co-workers, Mark and Silas [I Peter 5:12-13] both of whom lived in Jerusalem [Acts 12:12; 15:22], Silas being a prominent member in the Jerusalem church. A.D. 64-65

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Although Peter visited several towns about the country [Lydda, Caesarea, Joppa, Antioch it is clear that his regular and established residence was in Jerusalem. - Acts 9:1—10:48; Galatians 2:11-14],

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There is no scriptural evidence that Peter ever visited Rome, much less served as Bishop of Rome for the last 25 years of his life as Roman Catholic tradition would have us believe.

These scriptural facts combined with their historical dates indicate that Peter could not have written his epistles from Rome. He wrote them from figurative Babylon, that is, from his home town, Jerusalem [b]. Moreover, a main purpose Peter had for writing his epistles was to encourage his readers to “not be surprised at the fiery trial you are suffering” [I Peter 4:12 ESV&NIV]. Why should they not be surprised? Could it be that they had previously read John’s comment a few years earlier that the fiery trial was on the horizon [Revelation 3:10]? Such a conclusion seems logical since the churches to whom John wrote were

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located in Asia [Revelation 1:4], and Peter’s epistles were also circulated within that same geographical area [I Peter 1:1]. Furthermore, Peter does not designate their time of suffering as simply A fiery trial but as THE fiery trial, undoubtedly the one that had been predicted and expected. It is highly probable that the fierce persecution under Nero [July of A.D. 64 to June of A.D. 68], which not only took place in Rome but also extended into the provinces of the empire, was intense and brutal at the time of Peter’s writing. It is likewise significant that Peter spoke of the trial as lasting for “a little while” [I Peter 1:6 ESV], a hauntingly similar phrase to the one employed in heaven to assure those who had been recently killed that they would be avenged. That heavenly group was told to wait “a little while” [Revelation 6:11 NKJV], a phrase also used by the writer to the Hebrews to encourage those Christians to persevere in their difficult times: “For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay” [Hebrews 10:37 NIV]. The Greek for each of these phrases just cited is not exactly the same but they do have similar meanings. Peter uses one word – oligon [ol-ee’-gon] which means “a little [while or time]”. John uses two words – chronon micron [chro’-non mik-cron’] a phrase also meaning “a little time”. The Hebrews’ writer uses three words – micron hosan hosan [mik cron’ ho san’ ho san’] which mean “a little, little while”. “We shouldn’t have any trouble understanding micron since our English micron is a transliteration of this word. Now, a micron is pretty minute by itself, but the Greek construct hosan hosan with it intensifies the meaning. It is hard to image how the writer could express the nearness of the event as being any shorter as this was being written! The text further assures the readers that there will be no delay in Christ’s coming. Two thousand years and counting would, in the view of an objective interpreter, constitute a significant delay…” [Jim Wade in an internet article entitled “Have You Considered…”].

The fact that Peter’s readers, as well as other believers at that time, were going through the fiery trial that John said earlier “is soon coming” [Revelation 3:10 WEY] implies, if not confirms, that the book of Revelation was written prior to the books of Peter, that is, prior to and possibly several years before A.D. 64-65. [c]. Furthermore, when he wrote his letters, Peter spoke of a sooncoming time when “The heavens shall pass away” [II Peter 3:10 NIV], an event that was not to cause his readers alarm because “…in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” [II Peter 3:13 NIV]. From where did Peter get the information that a new heaven and a new earth had been promised? There are two possibilities and maybe the answer is both of them: •

Most assuredly he was familiar with God’s promise by means of the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered…” [Isaiah 65:17 NIV].

•

Then, too, there is the strong possibility that he read the information within the book of Revelation which speaks of “…a new heaven and a new earth, for the 43

first heaven and the first earth had passed away” [Revelation 21:1 NIV]. That new place was to be a home of righteousness for “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” [Revelation 21:27 NIV]. The phrases and teachings found in Revelation and used by Peter support the claim that Revelation was written before Peter wrote his epistles. [d]. Apparently, whoever wrote the epistle to the Hebrews, probably in late A.D. 64 or early A.D. 65, had also read John’s description in Revelation of the New Jerusalem. The writer speaks of Abraham as “…looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” [Hebrews 11:10 NIV]. Almost certainly the allusion is to the heavenly city described by John as having “twelve foundations” [Revelation 21:14]. Also, when the Hebrews’ writer speaks of those “…whose names are written in heaven” [Hebrews 12:23 NIV], it seems apparent he is alluding to John’s comments about those whose names are or are not written in the book of life [Revelation 3:5; 20:15]. Then, too, the Hebrews’ author writes as if his readers were already familiar with his teaching about their heavenly inheritance when he reminds them that they had “…come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God…to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assemble, to the church of the firstborn” [Hebrews 12:22-23 NIV]. These elements are all found in the book of Revelation and make it difficult to resist the conclusion that the writer of Hebrews was quite familiar with that book. [e]. Similarly, it seems that the apostle Paul was familiar with some of the details of Revelation when he wrote to the Corinthians in A.D. 57. He speaks of the resurrection as occurring at “the last trump” [I Corinthians 15:52]. Although the Lord Jesus had taught that a trumpet would sound when it was time to gather the elect [Matthew 24:31], a fact spoken of by Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians in A.D. 52 [I Thessalonians 4:15-16], it appears by the time of writing to the Corinthians, some five years later, Paul had obtained more information and was able to be more specific and speak of the last trump. Such an expression not only implies that other trumpets would sound previous to the last one but also that the readers themselves were familiar with the series of soundings. In John’s vision he saw seven angels, each with a trumpet [Revelation 8:2]. In orderly fashion the first six trumpets were blown, with each sound signaling the outpouring of some form of judgment [Revelation 8:6—11:14]. According to John, the blowing of the seventh or last trumpet meant that it was time for the dead to be resurrected and judged and for believers to be rewarded [Revelation 11:15-18]. Paul’s discussion of these same events, i.e., the judgment and resurrection, surrounding the sounding of the last trumpet indicates at least a familiarity with the subject matter if not with John’s writings. [f]. Furthermore, it also appears that the apostle James was familiar with Revelation when he wrote his letter. He speaks of the man who endures trials as receiving “…the crown of life” [James 1:12]. This could be an allusion to the promise of Jesus who said to the church in Smyrna, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I

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will give you the crown of life” [Revelation 2:10 NIV]. Although there is much debate regarding the dating of James [many believe it was the first New Testament book written], a strong argument can be made that it was the last New Testament book written. The writers of the above epistles could have, most certainly, received their information directly from the Lord without ever having read the book of Revelation. But the similarities between their statements and those found in Revelation are difficult to deny. They, to say the least, lend support to the contention that Revelation was written long enough before A.D. 64 for it to have had time to circulate and to be read. It would not, therefore, be surprising to learn that it was written some time before A.D. 60, even as early as A.D. 55. Admittedly, much discussion has taken place endeavoring to point out details, accounts, inklings, and evidences to support the contention that The Revelation was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. My personal opinion is that such a conclusion is more than justified and that the statements of Christ recorded in this book regarding His return must find their fulfillment in the events related to the judgment upon the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70. Note in the following three passages how Jesus revealed that His return was very imminent.

[A]. Revelation 2:5,16,25; 3:3,11 The recipients of the Revelation scroll were seven churches located somewhat near the Asian coast across that stretch of water separating Patmos from the mainland. Near the beginning of John’s writing are brief and personal letters from Christ to each of those churches. To five of the seven churches, He spoke of His return. Twice He used the adverb soon in connection with His coming, indicating it would occur within a short period of time. o He admonished the Church in Ephesus: “If you do not repent, I will come to you [erchomai] and remove your lampstand from its place” [Revelation 2:5]. o He warned the Church in Pergamun: “Repent … otherwise, I will soon come to you [erchomai] and will fight against them [those guilty of false teachings] with the sword of my mouth” [Revelation 2:16 NIV]. o He encouraged the Church in Thyatira: “… hold on to what you have until I come” [heko] [Revelation 2:25 NIV]. o He cautioned the Church in Sardis: “…if you do not wake up, I will come [heko] like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” [heko] [Revelation 3:3 NIV].

o He inspired the Church in Philadelphia: “I am coming soon [erchomai]. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown” [Revelation 3:11 NIV]. Although two of these statements clearly reveal that Jesus’ coming was on the horizon while the other three certainly imply the same, futurists tend to argue as follows: since Jesus did not return within the time frame He indicated, and since those churches to

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whom the Revelation scroll was originally sent are no longer in existence, then the only viable alternative is to view the communication in a figurative manner. As a result, the seven churches are commonly thought of as representing seven periods of church history. Henry Morris will serve as a representative of the many that could be referenced: “Although it is by no means the dominant theme, there is a sense also in which the seven churches seem to depict the respective stages of development and change of Christ’s churches during the ensuing centuries. History has, indeed, shown such a general development through the years, and it is reasonable that the sequential development of the respective exhortations in these messages should be arranged by the Lord in the same sequence. He is not capricious in His selection. There is bound to be some significance in the sequence of the seven, as well as in the total. The Book of Revelation – all of it – is said to be prophecy, and if there is any prophecy in it concerning the Church Age, it must be here in these two chapters. Further, in one way or another, the last four of the churches are to survive until the return of Christ (note verses 2:25; 3:3,11, 20), and this can only now be fulfilled if these four churches specifically represent stages of church development which persist until the end of the age” [Henry M. Morris in The Revelation Record, p.48]. The futurists’ interpretation, although adhered to by many, faces some serious questions as well as ominous consequences. Consider these critical questions: ¾ What was the purpose of sending those seven churches the Revelation scroll, urging them to “take [it] to heart … because the time is near” [Revelation 1:3 NIV] if the message of the scroll were mainly concerned with historical events so far into their future as to be meaningless to them in their grim situation? ¾ What possible meaning did the statements about Jesus soon return have to those churches if Jesus did not really plan to return during their day? ¾ What value was there in telling the church at Thyatira to “hold on to what you have until I come” if Jesus did not intend to come while that church was still in existence? ¾ What merit was there in warning the church at Pergamun of a coming judgment if that judgment were to take place long after that church and those guilty of false teaching passed from the scene? ¾ Does it make sense for God to promise the church in Philadelphia, “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world” if that trial was not going to come for a thousand-plus years? ¾ Why warn the people in the Sardis church to be alert for the thief-like coming of Jesus if they all died before His coming? Chilton says the notion that these seven churches are symbolic of seven different periods of church history “is a mere fiction, with no objective evidence; and it is quite arbitrarily and selectively applied” [David Chilton in The Days of Vengeance, p. 55-56].

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Clark, objecting to a similar interpretation by Scofield, says, “If Dr. Scofield finds such a scheme in these chapters, he must have use of a microscope that ordinary men do not possess. This is all sheer invention” [David S. Clark in The Message From Patmos, p. 32]. Relegating the seven churches to a representational status, a tactic that might be called symbolic diversion, has some very grave and detrimental consequences: ¾ Such a maneuver by futurists sidesteps the urgency and the accuracy of the messages communicated by Jesus to those churches. ¾ Such a maneuver by futurists strips the words of Jesus of their original meaning and redefines them to fit their own paradigm. ¾ Such a maneuver by futurists portrays the heavenly Jesus as being unaware that some of the words earthlings use have double meanings. He does not know that His statement, “the time is near,” can also mean “the time is far.” He is ignorant of the fact that when He says, “I am coming soon,” some earthlings will think He means, “I am coming later – much later.”

[B]. Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I come [erchomai] like a thief!” [Revelation 16:15 NIV]. In this warning Jesus compares His coming to that of an ordinary thief. Coming as a thief is a phrase that indicates uncertainty as to the exact time. The thief does not make an appointment with you; he does not inform you of the time he is coming to steal your valuables; he gives no warning; he comes at an unknown and unforeseen hour. His appearance is a surprise, an unexpected as well as an unwanted encounter. First century believers, however, were challenged to not be caught off-guard with respect to the thief-like coming of Christ. They were not to be in the dark about that event but to be aware of it. They were not to be surprised by His return but to expect it. Note the following exhortations: o “Behold, I come

[erchomai]

like a thief!

Blessed is he who stays awake …”

[Revelation 16:15 NIV].

o To the church at Sardis, Jesus warned, “…if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” [Revelation 3:3 NIV]. o Paul emphasized this same idea when writing to the Thessalonians a few years earlier: “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come [erchomai] like a thief in the night … but you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief…” [I Thessalonians 5:2,4]. o Peter wrote, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief”

[II Peter 3:10 NIV].

o While on earth, Jesus exhorted His disciples, “… keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” [Matthew 24:42-44 NIV].

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These verses clearly indicate that Jesus was to return during the lifetime of those to whom these words were spoken because He and His apostles instructed and expected the followers of Jesus to be prepared for His coming. His coming would resemble that of a night burglar in its suddenness and in its unexpectedness, so they were to be on the alert. They were to keep their minds sharp and their eyes and ears open so as not to be surprised and unprepared. These exhortations calling upon those first-century believers to be on the alert become meaningless when applied to any other group of believers, a routine commonly carried out today. Several crucial questions confront the futurists’ application: ¾ What value was such a challenge to Jesus’ disciples to be vigilant if His coming were to occur in the remote future after they had all passed away? ¾ Would it make any sense for Jesus to urge His disciples to watch for something that was not to take place for another 2000 years or so? ¾ Why warn the people in the Sardis church to wake up to His coming if they would but die before He came? ¾ Why urge the Thessalonians in A.D. 52 to be on the alert for an event so remote from them that they would have been long dead before it occurred? ¾ How can the disciples and the churches of that first century adhere to those exhortations to stay awake, to be alert, and to be prepared for His coming if they are all dead when He does return? Such a view would have Jesus saying, “I am coming soon but, I admit, not before all of you die. Nevertheless, it is imperative that in your graves, you remain awake and vigilant and not be caught by surprise? There will be no excuse for not heeding this warning!” Is such a thought not a little on the ludicrous side? There was no significance to those early believers in those urgent calls to watchfulness unless the coming of Christ was to occur within their lifetime. Needless to say, dead people have a difficult time staying alert! Surely, the exhortations to be vigilant and on guard for the surprise thief-like return of Christ argue for its imminence. Otherwise, they are hollow warnings and pointless admonitions. In commenting on Paul’s charge to the Christians in Thessalonica to be alert for His coming, Russell, remarks, “To say that the apostle writes not for any generation, nor to any persons in particular, is to throw an air of unreality into his exhortations from which reverent criticism revolts. He certainly meant the very persons to whom he wrote, and who read this epistle, and he thought of none others. We cannot accept the suggestion … that the ‘we which are alive and remain’ are only imaginary personages … for no one can read this epistle without being conscious of the

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warm personal attachment and affection to individuals which breathe in every line” [James Stuart Russell in The Parousia, p.169-170]. Question: What event was not to catch those early believers by surprise? Answer: The coming of the Son of Man

[C]. Revelation 22:7, 12, 20 This is the third as well as the last passage in the book of Revelation in which Jesus indicated that His coming was approaching, that it was on the horizon. Notice Jesus’ staccato-type statements that John recorded near the conclusion of the book: o Revelation 22:7

– “Behold, I come quickly!”

[erchomai]

o Revelation 22:12 – “Behold, I come quickly!”

[erchomai]

o Revelation 22:20 – “Surely, I come quickly!”

[erchomai]

If asked, what do you think Jesus meant here when He used the word quickly, you probably would have little difficulty coming up with an adequate answer. Unfortunately and out of necessity to support their eschatological beliefs, some students do not view the word as referring to how soon an event is about to occur but how fast that event moves once it starts. This redefinition allows the futurist to say that the coming of Jesus is in the distant future but once He starts coming, He does so quickly. It is, therefore, important to spend a little time with three Greek words that are used in the book to indicate nearness of an event. [For a more detailed study of these Greek words, you are urged to read point [D] in the Expanded Studies section, p.177]

TACHOS The Greek word that Jesus used here in each of the statements above is a form of the word tachos [tahk’ os]. Some form of tachos is found 8 times in Revelation and 30 times outside the book. In each of the cases outside the book, it denotes something that was currently happening or about to happen. Logic dictates that this same meaning must be carried inside the book as well. The other five statements, in which tachos is located within Revelation, are as follows: o Revelation 1:1 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servant things which must shortly come to pass.” o Revelation 2:16

– “Repent, or else I will come unto you quickly.”

o Revelation 3:11

– “Behold, I come quickly …”

o Revelation 11:14 – “…the third woe is coming quickly.”

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o Revelation 22:6 – “The Lord…sent his angel to show unto his servant the things that must shortly be done” When Jesus said He would return quickly, what did He mean? Did He mean right away or did He use a word that possessed a hidden meaning? Is there inherent in the word quickly the element of a long delay, a meaning that the normal person is unaware of? Did Jesus speak in riddles so as to hide what He was really saying? Futurists think so.

EGGUS Tachos, however, is not the only word made use of to show the concept of nearness. A different Greek word, eggus [eng-gus’], another adverb designating time, is often employed to communicate this same meaning. Its basic sense is that some thing or some one is near and close at hand; it denotes that something is about to happen or someone is about to take some action. In its various forms, eggus is found 71 times outside the book of Revelation. Interestingly, it is found only twice in Revelation; however, these places are strategically situated. The word is positioned once at the beginning and once at the end of the book. This format demonstrates that the message of the book from beginning to end is a unified one. The entire book, then, should be seen as describing events that would be fulfilled in conjunction with one another. Notice how the book begins and ends with identical statements: o Revelation 1:3 – “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” o Revelation 22:10 – “Then he told me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near’ ” MELLO A third Greek word that carries a similar meaning to that of tachos and eggus is mello [mel’-lo]. Mello, with its various forms, is discovered twelve times in Revelation, but 97 times in the other books of the New Testament. According to leading linguists, the best expression of this word in English is the phrase is about to. Unfortunately, in the far majority of those 109 uses in the New Testament, this meaning of the word has either been ignored or watered down in most translations, especially when it is found in an eschatological context. Notice the urgency and nearness expressed by the twelve verses in Revelation in which mello is properly translated: o Revelation 1:19 – “Write…what is about to take place” o Revelation 2:10 – “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer” o Revelation 2:10 – “the devil is about to put some of you in prison”

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o Revelation 3:2

– “Strengthen what remains and is about to die…”

o Revelation 3:10 – “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is about to come upon the whole land…” o Revelation 3:16 – “I am about to spit you out of my mouth” o Revelation 8:13 – “woe...because of the trumpet blasts [that are] about to be sounded…” o Revelation 10:4 – “when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write” o Revelation 10:7 – “when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet…” o Revelation 12:4 – “The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth…” o Revelation 12:5 – “[The woman] gave birth to a son…who is about to rule all the nations” o Revelation 17:8 – “The beast...is about to come up out of the Abyss” Did Jesus Use the Wrong Words? Those who say the fulfillment of the events described in Revelation are still in the future are ignoring or are ignorant of the plain meaning of these adverbs and making Jesus say what He did not say. Consider these thought-provoking questions: ¾ Why would Jesus say something is going to happen SOON if it is not going to happen right away? ¾ What other words could Jesus have used to show the nearness of these events if the ones He used are not appropriate? If “what must soon take place” means something taking place in the remote future, what other words could He have employed to say the events were imminent? •

When He said, “There will be no more delay”, what other words could He have used to show there would be no more delay?

•

If soon and quickly and near do not mean presently and promptly and on the verge of, what do they mean? Does soon mean later? Does quickly mean prolonged? Does near mean distant?

•

If these words are not to be taken at face value when used by Jesus, why should we take them literally when pundits today use them to proclaim, “The end is near!” and “Jesus is coming soon!”?

Hundreds of sermons are preached every Sunday about the soon return of Christ. What do those speakers mean by such a statement? Do they mean His coming is way off into the future? Of course not! We all know what they mean. When they say soon,

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they mean close at hand. So what do these words mean when Jesus used them? Do they take on a different meaning? Do they mean the opposite of how they are used today? “God is not so limited in his choice of words in communicating with man that he must make do with terms that inadequately express his mind. Human vocabulary is not so deficient that God must use short when really he means long, near when he intends far, quickly instead of slowly, and at hand when really he means distant future. If we cannot take God’s word at face value, trusting him to use words according to their accepted meaning, how can we have confidence in the word of God at all? What happens to the promises of God if they are all written in double-talk where everything means just the opposite of what it says?” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consummation of the Ages, p. 52].

It is ludicrous and preposterous to imply that Jesus did not know the meanings of the words He used in an eschatological context or, for that matter, in any context. When indicating where He and His disciples would keep the Passover, Jesus instructed some of His disciples to find a specific man in Jerusalem and give him this message: “My time is close at hand. It is at your house that I shall keep the Passover with my disciples” [Matthew 26:18 WEY]. The phrase used here by Jesus is identical to the one used by John at the beginning and at the closing of Revelation. “We seem to have no problem understanding what Jesus meant when he said the ‘time is near.’ However, it seems to become a dark mystery when John opens his writing, saying the ‘time is near’ (Rev. 1:3) and closes his writing saying the ‘time is near’ (Rev. 22:10). Does not the term the ‘time is near’ mean the same thing in all three passages? If not, why not? Were not both Jesus and John conveying the idea that what they were relating was about to happen?” [Gene Fadeley in Revelation: Kingdoms in Conflict, p.7].

The nearness of the return of Christ in that generation is further confirmed by the fact that John was told not to seal the book because “the time” of its fulfillment “was near” [Revelation 22:10]. Some 600 years earlier, Daniel was told to seal the words of his prophecy “until the time of the end” [Daniel 12:9], the implication being that the fulfillment of his vision was not then at hand. It was far off into the future, many years away. Then Jesus came and taught his disciples that the prophecy of Daniel would be fulfilled within the lifespan of those then living [Matthew 24:15-25]. Here, in Revelation, some 25-30 years after His ascension and near the end of that generation, He reveals to John that the time has finally arrived. The words of this prophecy are not to be sealed. It is now time to break the seals. The time of delay is ended. The time for fulfillment has arrived. “If there be one thing which more than any other is explicitly and repeatedly affirmed in the Apocalypse it is the nearness of the events which it predicts” [James Stuart Russell in The Parousia, p.367].

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“The Revelation, therefore, is not concerned with either the scope of world history or the end of the world, but with events that were in the near future to St. John and his readers” [David Chilton in The Days of Vengeance, p.51]. When summarizing the last fourteen verses of Revelation in which Jesus said three times that He was surely coming quickly, Kurt Simmons makes this observation: “The certainty of his imminent return is expressed by the terms ‘surely’ and ‘amen;’ the nearness of his advent by the term ‘quickly.’ If the symbols that [are used in the book of Revelation to] portray the events comprising Jesus’ return are elusive or escape the student, the language of its certainty and nearness assuredly cannot be misunderstood” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consummation of the Ages, p.428].

The Sense of Urgency in Revelation When reading the book of Revelation, it is impossible to fail to notice that it repeatedly affirms the nearness of those events predicted within its pages. In addition to the verses listed above, consider in the following 15 expressions that sense of urgency and nearness and ask, if the futurist’s view of Revelation is true, why is there such an urgency expressed throughout the book? o Revelation 1:1

– “…what must soon take place”

o Revelation 1:3

– “…the time is at hand”

o Revelation 1:7

– “Look, he is coming with clouds…”

o Revelation 3:11

– “I am coming soon…”

o Revelation 6:11

– “… they were told to wait a little longer”

o Revelation 10:6

– “…There will be no more delay”

o Revelation 11:14

– “…the third woe is coming soon”

o Revelation 12:12

– “…he knows that his time is short”

o Revelation 14:7

– “…the hour of his judgment has come”

o Revelation 16:15

– “Behold, I come like a thief… ”

o Revelation 22:6

– “… things that must soon take place”

o Revelation 22:7

– “Behold, I am coming soon”

o Revelation 22:10

– “… the time is near”

o Revelation 22:12

– “Behold, I am coming soon…”

o Revelation 22:20

– “… ‘Yes, I am coming soon”

The fact is that not only does Revelation speak of the nearness of end-time events but also every writer of the New Testament conveys that same sense of urgency in his

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writings.

[For a more detailed study of this sense of urgency, see point [E] in the Expanded Studies section,

p.193].

Question: What did Jesus say was near, at hand, and about to occur quickly? Answer: His coming

THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY The focus of this study has been to determine what Jesus Himself taught about the timing of His return. It has been seen that each and every time Jesus made a statement about when He would return, He always indicated that it would be within a reasonable period of time. Nowhere does Jesus ever speak of His coming as being delayed for hundreds and hundreds of years. In about A.D. 30, while on earth, He declared He would return before all the original disciples died, He would return before all the members of the Jewish Sanhedrin died, He would return before the end of that existing generation of people, and He would return before the apostle John died. In the late 50s or early 60s, while in heaven, He revealed to the apostle John that His coming was at hand as were the events which he was to record on a scroll. The above study of the statements of Jesus calls for the conclusion that the fulfillment of His predicted return occurred during the first century, at the close of the Jewish dispensation, at the time Jerusalem was destroyed. This verdict is based upon the very words of Jesus not upon those of mere man! The fact is, they are not even based upon the words of His apostles. Two extremely important, factual findings should prevent us from having any doubt as to when He returned: ¾ the number of times that He clearly and emphatically repeated that He would return within that generation, and ¾ the number of different words He employed to clarify that prediction so as to prevent any misunderstanding of what He meant. “The belief that the second coming of the Son of man is still future cannot be reconciled with any reasonable interpretation of the New Testament as a divinely-inspired message and record. The error is none the less in error because for centuries it has remained undetected. The truth which must sooner or later supersede it formed part of the most ancient faith of the Christian church. The most ancient faith of the Christian church associated together the destruction of Jerusalem, the winding up of the Jewish dispensation, and a personal return of Christ to the earth, as events which were certain to happen at one and the same time. Jesus and His apostles believed and taught that the Second Advent would take place in the lifetime of some who had been His earthly contemporaries. Confident that the founders of Christianity were neither deceived nor mistaken we joyfully accept on their authority the fact that the Christ has already come the second time” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.12]. 54

In view of the findings of this study of the statements of the Lord Jesus Himself, please consider these thought-provoking questions: ¾ If we believe in Jesus, should we not believe what He said? ¾ If Jesus asserted that He would return within the lifetime of His contemporaries, is it not strange for any of us to continue to hold to the view that His coming is still in the future? ¾ If we believe that Jesus does not lie, deceive, or misinform, is it not a matter of consistency to believe what He said on the subject of His coming as well as on all other subjects? ¾ What is the implication of holding to any view that contradicts what Jesus taught? These are extremely significant questions and should not be sidestepped by anyone, especially by any serious student of the Bible. I urge those who have read this study to consider seriously the conclusion that is drawn - that the second coming of Jesus occurred in A.D. 70.

™

PREVIEW TO THE NEXT SECTION If this is the first time you have studied the statements made by Jesus concerning the time of His return, it is possible that you have become somewhat confused and a little hesitant to believe that such can be true. The following section, Obstacles to Believing in a First-Century Return, is a study of nine major problem areas, any one of which might be an obstruction to believing that Jesus returned in A.D. 70. This segment of study endeavors to give answers to questions that might arise in the minds of those who have never given much, if any, thought to the subject under discussion. In some cases, the answers arrived at are at odds with those adhered to by

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futurists and so commonly advocated today. But no one should shy away from any option in his search for truth.

OBSTACLES TO BELIEVING IN A FIRST CENTURY RETURN Understandably, it is especially difficult for those of us who have been taught that the second coming of Christ is yet to occur to comprehend the possibility that He has already returned. It just goes against all that we have been taught on this subject, and to even suggest that He has already returned tends to crush the hope that we have so tenaciously clung to all our lives. This section, then, endeavors to clear away the major obstacles that obstruct one from accepting the teaching that Jesus returned in A.D. 70.

[A]. THE POPULAR-VIEW-OF-MATTHEW 24 OBSTACLE One of the big obstructions blocking the way to accepting a first century return of Christ is the prevailing interpretation of Matthew 24, a chapter giving rise to thousands of prophetic sermons and books as well as endless discussions. It is a chapter that contains most all the elements that concern us – signs of the end, the tribulation, the coming of Christ, and exhortations to watchfulness and faithfulness. Today’s futurists generally interpret this chapter in one of two ways: [1]. The Double Fulfillment Interpretation - Most future-oriented scholars explain this chapter by using a concept known as double fulfillment. This means they see here in the teachings of Jesus a double meaning. They do not deny that what Jesus said is applicable to the middle of that first century, but they feel He has more in mind than just first century events. They think He is describing something that is yet to occur on a grander scale than that which happened to the Jewish nation in its final days. The events described in this chapter will repeat themselves at a future time. Belief in a second fulfillment is causing those who confidently proclaim that we are living in the last days to try to see in our day a duplication of the situation that existed in the day of Jesus. For example, since there is no temple in Jerusalem today, one surely must be built in order for it to be destroyed as predicted by Jesus. This means the Islamic mosque that now exists on the temple spot must be demolished. A final Jewish temple must be built with animal sacrifices being re-instituted so they can be terminated by the Antichrist who must also establish a one-world government. Multitudes of Jews must be killed, something like two-thirds of them. Desperate attempts are continuously being made to determine how all this is allegedly working out in our day. But what right does anyone have to promote the double fulfillment idea? From where does one derive his authority to conclude that Jesus had other than only first century events in mind? Did He ever give any indication that what He was saying was to occur again in the far off future? Upon what basis can a person conclude that Jesus meant more than what He said? Where is there even a hint of evidence that Jesus taught a double fulfillment?

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Besides, if there can be a double fulfillment, why not a triple fulfillment? Or a quadruple fulfillment? Furthermore, if various fulfillments are in order, what is to prevent someone from believing there will be sometime in the future a second but fuller fulfillment of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ? As can be seen, to suggest a double fulfillment opens the door to the ridiculous. “It is obvious that if this is the way in which Scripture is to be interpreted, the ordinary laws of exegesis must be thrown aside as useless. He is the best interpreter who is the boldest guesser” [James Stuart Russell in The Parousia, p.79]. The One-Meaning Principle The safest and only way to interpret Scripture accurately is to determine what the original meaning was, not to add an additional meaning. Every passage of Scripture has one and only one meaning. An old writer, who also quotes other writers of his day, makes essentially the same point: “But the moment we admit the principle that portions of Scripture contain an occult or double sense we introduce an element of uncertainty in the sacred volume, and unsettle all scientific interpretation. ‘If the Scripture has more than one meaning,’ says Dr. Owen, ‘it has no meaning at all.’ ‘I hold,’ says Ryle, ‘that the words of Scripture were intended to have one definite sense, and that our first object should be to discover that sense, and adhere rigidly to it … To say that words do mean a thing merely because they can be tortured into meaning it is a most dishonourable and dangerous way of handling Scripture.’ ‘This scheme of interpretation,’ says Stuart, ‘forsakes and sets aside the common laws of language’ ” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Hermeneutics, p.383]. Moreover, it seems that Jesus Himself had only one meaning in His answer to the question His disciples asked that formed the basis of the Olivet Discourse. “That the three questions contained in this verse were practically but one is clearly shown by the fact that our Lord responds not with three answers, but with only one. In the long discourse that follows there is not the faintest hint of the need of any ‘double interpretation’. Jesus says not a word about the end of the world, but simply describes beforehand events that were to precede and accompany the siege and destruction of Jerusalem” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.67]. Jesus asserted emphatically, “All this will come upon this generation … this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” [Matthew 23:36; 24:34 NIV]. How much more clearly could He have spoken? He distinctly stressed that all the described events would happen before the existing generation passed away. He did not suggest that there would be a repetition of all these things or even some of these things in a future generation. He did not teach, or even imply, that there was to be a fulfillment of His prophecy in that existing generation and then a second fulfillment of it in a future generation. The Great Tribulation

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The Great Tribulation, one of several examples in Matthew 24 that could be discussed, is said by futurists to have a double fulfillment. It is commonly believed, and rightly so, that the Jews suffered terribly under the onslaught of the Romans preceding the fall of their city in A.D. 70. That time of great suffering was predicted by Jesus some 40 years earlier in this fashion: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” [Matthew 24:21 KJV]. If such language is to be taken at face value, then claiming that a tribulation on a grander scale is yet in the future contradicts Jesus, for He said it would never occur again! He made clear that nothing like it had occurred since the beginning of the world up “to this time.” Then He added “nor ever shall be,” and by that He meant nothing in the future would ever match it. Jesus said the great tribulation would transpire in that existing generation; He did not say it would occur in the existing generation and then again on a grander scale in another generation. Jesus simply did not teach that there would be two great tribulations. “…if there is to be a future generation of Jews upon which is to fall a yet greater tribulation, what is to be the occasion thereof? and what is to be the crime for which that future generation of Israelites is to be punished? What crime can they commit which would be in any way comparable to that of betraying and crucifying their Messiah?” [Philip Mauro in The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation, p.199]. The Use of Hyperbole Having shown that a mere surface view of Matthew 24:21 argues against the double fulfillment principle, I must add, for the sake of accuracy, that the expression Jesus utilized to describe the great tribulation was a figure of speech commonly used by the Jews and was not intended to be taken at face value. This is not to minimize the degree of the distress and grief associated with the events in which such speech was used; in fact, the Jews used hyperbole when they wanted to demonstrate the severity of the events being described Consider similar terminology found elsewhere in the Scriptures: o The plague of locusts which came upon Egypt during the time of Moses was described as, “Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again” [Exodus 10:14 NIV]. o The Lord told Moses that when the firstborn of the Egyptians died, “There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt – worse than there has ever been or ever will be again” [Exodus 11:6 NIV]. o It is said of King Hezekiah, “[He] trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses” [II Kings 18:5 NIV]. Note the writer said there was no other king like him before him or after him! Yet read what the same writer said about another king just five chapters later. o Practically the same words are used to describe King Josiah as were used to portray Hezekiah: “Neither before or after Josiah was there a king like him who

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turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with the Law of Moses” [II Kings 23:25 NIV]. Both of these descriptions of Hezekiah and Josiah cannot be true if taken at face value. How can Hezekiah’s reign be the greatest and Josiah’s reign be the greatest? Obviously, one king cannot be greater than the other king since both are depicted as being greater than all other kings. Describing these kings with the same language is only intended to portray the greatness of both of them. o Six hundred years before Christ, Jeremiah portrayed the soon coming invasion of Jerusalem by the Babylonians as an awful day, so awful, in fact, that “…none will be like it…” [Jeremiah 30:7 NIV]. o Ezekiel’s description of that same event records God as saying, “…I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again” [Ezekiel 5:9 NIV]. o Within Daniel’s prayer near the end of Israel’s seventy year captivity under the Babylonians is the statement, “Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem” [Daniel 9:12 NIV]. o Daniel was told that another time of distress was to come upon his people “…such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then” [Daniel 12:1 NIV].

o When Joel depicted a coming judgment upon Israel, he said, “Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come” [Joel 2:2 NIV]. o When describing the anguish that Jerusalem would experience under the onslaught of the Roman armies, Jesus used this same figure of speech: “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again” [Matthew 24:21 NIV]. What shall we say about the use of the “never before…never again” expression? Are those who used it contradicting one another? If such language is to be taken at face value, that is the conclusion one might reach. But no contradiction is even implied if using hyperbole is seen as a way to impress upon listeners the seriousness and the gravity of such predictions. The use of the expression “never before…never again” was an intentional exaggeration practiced by all speakers and writers in that society. Therefore, when Jesus used this figure of speech, it was not His aim to convey a meaning different from that which such expressions have in the Old Testament. Instead it was His intention to maximize the solemnity and magnitude of the judgment that was to come upon that generation of Jews. He did not have in mind the thought that the Jews would be judged by God again in the same way at some future time. The notion that Matthew 24 will be fulfilled twice cannot stand under close scrutiny. [2]. The Partial Fulfillment Interpretation - A slightly different, but extremely popular interpretation of Matthew 24, springs from the concept of a partial fulfillment. This perspective promotes the idea that some of Jesus’ predictions relate to events in that first century while others refer to His coming at the end of time. The partial fulfillment crowd, among which are futurists and partial preterists, generally claims that

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verses 1-14 or 1-29 or 1-33 or 1-35 or 1-36 of Matthew 24 describe events leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction in that first century. The remainder or second section of the chapter, according to them, relates to the coming of Christ at some future date. Although such a view is widespread, it too will not stand under close scrutiny. Consider the following difficulties with such a viewpoint: •

Dividing the chapter into two sections appears to be a very arbitrary act as can be seen by the various opinions of the interpreters. There is a total lack of agreement as to where the imaginary line between the subjects is to be drawn. Could this difficulty be due to the fact that it actually is an imaginary line? One writer comments, “… as for the attempts to show a dividing line between what refers to the fall of Jerusalem and what refers to a yet future coming of Christ, the remarkable differences of opinion as to the point of transition from one subject to the other are of a nature to make one suspicious of the hypothesis” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.218].

“It is to me a wonder how any man can refer part of the foregoing discourse to the destruction of Jerusalem, and part to the end of the world, or any other distant event, when it is said so positively here in the conclusion, ‘All these things shall be fulfilled in this generation’ ” [Bishop Thomas Newton in Dissertations on the Prophecies, written in 1754, a portion of which was republished by John Bray as The Prophecy of Matthew 24, p. 65].

•

An old writer defends the intelligence and skills of the Gospel writers with the following comment: “I can by no means think that the Evangelists are such loose, inaccurate writers, as to make so sudden and abrupt a transition, as they are here supposed to do; much less to break through the fundamental rules of good writing, by apparently referring to something which they had said before; when in reality they were beginning a new subject…” [N. Nisbett in The Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem, written in 1789, and republished by John Bray in 1992, p.15].

•

The entire chapter appears to be one continuous answer to the disciples’ question. They wanted to know when the predicted judgment would fall upon their nation. When would Jesus come to judge? Within His answer Jesus did not give the least impression that He was speaking of two different events. In fact, the way He used parousia almost seems as if He planned to head off such a distinction. He uses the word parousia three times in chapter 24, once in the supposed first section [verse 27] and twice in the second [verses 37 & 39]. This arrangement shows that either one subject within the same time frame is being discussed or there were to be two comings of Christ with 2000 years between the two events. The first of these two alternatives must be the correct one since no New Testament writer ever spoke of another coming of Christ that was to occur after the destruction of Jerusalem. Everything they taught on the subject was to occur within the generation that was then living.

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•

Furthermore, the claim that Jesus moved from speaking about events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem to speaking about His coming at the end of time appears to be erroneous when Matthew 24 is studied in conjunction with the parallel passage Luke 17:20-37 in which Jesus referred to His coming as “…the day the Son of Man is revealed” [Luke 17:30 NIV], an expression that, according to futurists, applies to a future coming. Notice particularly that the order of His comments is different in the two accounts. There is an intermingling of the subjects which makes it impossible to divide Jesus’ comments into two time periods.

Like lightning Like days of Noah Flee on that day Two women at mill Vultures

Luke 17:20-37 vs. 23-24 vs. 26-27 vs. 31 vs. 35-36 vs. 37

Matthew 24 vs. 26-27 vs. 37-39 vs. 17-18 vs. 40-41 vs. 28

[first section] [second section] [first section] [second section] [first section]

•

Furthermore, notice some specific instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples. He said, “on that day,” on the day that He would be revealed [Luke 17:30-31], they should not take the time to come down from the flat roofs of their houses to pack their suitcases but to run immediately for their lives to the hills, a command that would be meaningless at a supposed coming at the end of history. However, these same instructions are found in the “first section” of Matthew 24, [Matthew 24:17-18], and is there referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, an event from which an alert person might escape.

•

Also, Jesus made it clear that all the things of which He was speaking were to occur within the existing generation [Matthew 24:34]. He did not say that a part of them would happen within the existing generation and the remainder would transpire at a future time. It seems clear that if all the things of which Jesus spoke took place within that generation, then there is no thing left to occur at a future time.

•

Additionally, Jesus’ use of the personal pronoun you to refer to His first century disciples is scattered throughout the entire discourse. This pronoun is not found solely in the “first section” as one would expect if that section refers to the soon coming judgment upon Jerusalem, which the partial fulfillment people rightly believe. This pronoun is also found in the “second section” which one would not expect if that section refers to people living long after those first century believers had died. Notice the numerous times Jesus used the personal pronoun you when instructing those disciples listening to Him.

o Matthew 24:2

– “Do you see all these things?”

o Matthew 24:2

– “I tell you the truth”

o Matthew 24:4

– “Watch out that no one deceives you”

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o Matthew 24:6

– “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars”

o Matthew 24:6

– “…but see to it that you are not alarmed”

o Matthew 24:9

– “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted”

o Matthew 24:9

– “ …and you will be hated by all nations”

o Matthew 24:15 – “So when you see…” o Matthew 24:23 – “… if anyone says to you…” o Matthew 24:25 – “See, I have told you ahead of time” o Matthew 24:26 – “So, if anyone tells you…” o Matthew 24:32 – “…you know summer is near” o Matthew 24:33 – “…when you see all these things” o Matthew 24:33 – “…you know that it is near” o Matthew 24:34 – “I tell you the truth…” o Matthew 24:42 – “…you do not know on what day your Lord will come” o Matthew 24:44 – “…you also must be ready” o Matthew 24:44 – “… the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” o Matthew 24:47 – “I tell you the truth…” o Matthew 25:13 – “...you do not know the day or the hour” The plain teaching of the Mathew 24 passage leaves no room for bisecting and trisecting it so as to shape it to match the grid of a predetermined eschatological system. “Systems of ‘double’ interpretation, and of ‘partial’ and ‘complete’ fulfillments, have been at once the delight and the shame of traditional theology. It is surely time for such systems to be renounced as being utterly foreign to the real meaning and intention of the original speakers or writers” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.13-14].

The Immense Significance of Those A.D. 70 Events This brief study shows the weaknesses of both the double and partial fulfillment interpretations of Matthew 24. Many scholars have pointed out that the holding to either of these views is largely due to a misunderstanding of the historic significance and vast implications of the devastating and utter destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. “It is greatly to be regretted that those who, in our day, give themselves to the study and exposition of prophecy, seem not to be aware of the immense significance of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, which was accompanied by the extinction of Jewish national existence, and the dispersion of the Jewish

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people among all the nations. The failure to recognize the significance of that event, and the vast amount of prophecy which is fulfilled, has been the cause of great confusion…” [Philip Mauro in The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation, p.193-194]. “One of the main reasons, I suppose, why the obvious way of reading the chapter has been ignored for so long must be the fact that in a good deal of Christian theology the fall of Jerusalem has had no theological significance. This has meant not only that Mark 13 is found puzzling, but also that all the references to the same event elsewhere in the gospels -- even where it stares one in the face, as in Luke 13:1-5 -- have been read as general warnings of hellfire in an afterlife, rather than the literal and physical divine-judgment-through-Roman-judgment that we have seen to be characteristic of Jesus' story" [Norman T. Wright in Jesus and The Victory of God, p. 343-344].

“The source of most end-times confusion and error is in our failure to recognize the full significance of the historical events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple in 70 AD” [Internet unidentified author].

“The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, only five years after our epistle, was the greatest single event of a thousand years, and religiously significant beyond anything else that ever occurred in human history” [James Burton Coffman in Commentary on James, I & 2 Peter, p. 231].

"No matter what view of eschatology we embrace, we must take seriously the redemptive-historical importance of Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70" [R.C. Sproul in The Last Days According to Jesus, p. 26].

Some Theological Implications It should be borne in mind that the destruction of Jerusalem was not the fall of an ordinary city, of which there have been many throughout history. Jerusalem’s fall involved more than an historical event; several theological implications are associated with it. Among these are the following: •

The destruction of Jerusalem was the result of God’s wrath being unleashed upon a people unfaithful to the terms of the covenant they had entered into with Him. Jesus called it “…the days of vengeance” [Luke 21:22 NIV]. More than a few times in the New Testament, various writers referred to that soon coming day as the day of God’s wrath. It was the day God carried out what He said long ago would happen to a disobedient and rebellious people [especially note Leviticus 26 & Deuteronomy 27-30].

•

Also, the destruction of Jerusalem was God’s signal that the Old Covenant was terminated and a new one was in effect. No longer were sacrifices to be offered since the only place in which that ritual was performed, the temple, was demolished. But neither would there be a need for the temple and the accompanying sacrificial offerings since Christ had offered Himself as the final sacrifice, rendering all other sacrifices pointless.

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•

Then, too, the destruction of Jerusalem validated the ministries and claims of both Jesus and His disciples. By means of their voices and their writings, they had warned their countrymen that the day of God’s wrath was imminent. The fulfillment of their prophecy proved them to be God’s ordained messengers. Also it verified the apostles’ writings, the entire New Testament, as being God’s Word.

In addition to the historical and theological significance of the destruction of Jerusalem, a proper understanding of Matthew 24, which predicts that devastating event, is essential because that chapter also predicts another significant event. That chapter not only predicts the destruction of Jerusalem but also predicts that Christ would return at that time. If Christ said He would return to destroy that city and that city was destroyed in A.D. 70, then the conclusion is inescapable – His second coming occurred in A.D. 70. “It was to this event, the most awful in history that we must apply those prophecies of Christ's coming in which every one of the Apostles and Evangelists describe it as near at hand. To those prophecies our Lord Himself fixed these three most definite limitations -- the one, that before that generation passed away all these things would be fulfilled; another that some standing there should not taste death till they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom; the third, that the Apostles should not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come. It is strange that these distinct limitations should not be regarded as a decisive proof that the Fall of Jerusalem was, in the fullest sense, the Second Advent of the Son of Man, which was primarily contemplated by the earliest voices of prophecy” [F.W. Farrar in The Early Days of Christianity, p. 489, 490]. Then, too, to understand Matthew 24 as teaching that Christ would return to destroy Jerusalem is important so as to show the unity of the New Testament’s teaching with regards to the second coming of Christ. A comparison of the second coming teaching in I Thessalonians 4&5 with the coming that is spoken of in Matthew 24 supports the contention that there is only one “second” coming and that it occurred at the same time Jerusalem was destroyed. Most all believers agree that the final verses of I Thessalonians 4 and the early verses of I Thessalonians 5 speak of the second coming of Christ. But note in the chart below that the details discussed in both the Matthew 24 and I Thessalonians 4&5 passages are identical. 1. Christ Himself Returns

Matt. 24:30

I Thess. 4:16

2. From Heaven

Matt. 24:30

I Thess. 4:16

3. With a Shout

Matt. 24:30 (in power)

I Thess. 4:16

4. Accompanied by Angels

Matt. 24:31

I Thess. 4:16

5. With Trumpet of God

Matt. 24:31

I Thess. 4:16

6. Believers Gathered

Matt. 24:31

I Thess. 4:17

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7. In Clouds

Matt. 24:30

I Thess. 4:17

8. Time Unknown

Matt. 24:36

I Thess. 5:1-2

9. Will Come as a Thief

Matt. 24:43

I Thess. 5:2,4

10. Unbelievers Unaware of Impending Judgment

Matt. 24:37-39

I Thess. 5:3

11. Judgment Comes as Travail upon Expectant Mother

Matt. 24:8

I Thess. 5:3

12. Believers to Watch

Matt. 24:42

I Thess. 5:4

13. Warning Against Drunkenness

Matt. 24:49

I Thess. 5:7

[Donald Hochner in an internet article entitled “Does the Bible teach the ‘Rapture’?”].

“The conclusion is inescapable that I Thes.4-5 is dealing with exactly the same coming, judgment, and resurrection that Matt.24 is” [Donald Hochner in an internet article entitled “Does the Bible teach the ‘Rapture’?”].

Therefore, what is true of one must also be true of the other. If I Thessalonians 4&5 refers to the second coming, then Matthew 24 must also. If Matthew 24 is associated with the destruction of Jerusalem, then I Thessalonians 4&5 must also. The chart shows that the two accounts comprise one and the same event and are not endorsing two different comings of Christ. ¾ The fact is that there is no evidence in the New Testament to support a coming of Christ in A.D. 70 and another one at some future time.

[B]. THE SOON-COMING-RAPTURE OBSTACLE Another stumbling block for some people that must be overcome in order to believe in a first century return of Christ is the engrained idea that a rapture or a removal of believers from the earth must occur at the end of the Church Age. That removal of believers, it is commonly taught, will occur before a future time of great tribulation and the heyday of the Antichrist. It is called the blessed hope because it means, for those who hold to this concept, being removed from the turmoil of this life, escaping from a world with all its troubles, and going to heaven without dying. This view is so widespread today and so entrenched in Church teaching that very few even question its accuracy. You would think by the way this idea is believed that a rapture is taught in every New Testament book, but the fact is the word is not found anywhere in the entire Bible, not even once! It is not even found in I Thessalonians 4:17, the passage that supposedly has the clearest teaching on the event. 65

I have checked this particular verse in each of the 22 translations that I have on my bookshelf, and none of them ever uses the word rapture. Admittedly, the fact that the word is not found in the Bible is not a sufficient reason to reject the teaching. After all, the word trinity is not found in the Bible either, and it is a foundational tenet of our faith. Obviously, a more thorough study of I Thessalonians 4:13-18, the rapture passage, is necessary. The Concept Of A Rapture The word harpazo [har-pad’-zo] is the Greek word that Paul used in I Thessalonians 4:17 when he spoke of living believers as being “…caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” Harpazo is found 13 other times in the New Testament and is rendered in a variety of ways within the many translations. As can be seen in the following verses, it was a common word used in the daily life of those who lived in the first century. The rendition of harpazo by the NIV translators is emboldened and underlined in the following references: o Matthew 11:12 - “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” o Matthew 12:29 - “How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man?” o Matthew 13:10 - “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” o John 6:15 - “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again into the hills by himself.” o John 10:12 - “…when [the hired man] sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.” o John 10:28 - “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” o John 10:29 - “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” o Acts 8:39-40 - “When [Phillip and the Ethiopian] came up out of the water,the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the Ethiopian did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.” o Acts 23:10 - “[The commander] ordered the troops to go down and take [Paul] by force and bring him into the barracks.” o II Corinthians 12:2 - “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven…”

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o II Corinthians 12:3 - “And I know that this man … was caught up to Paradise.” o I Thessalonians 4:17 - “After [the dead are raised] we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…” o Jude 1:23 - “…snatch others from the fire and save them…” o Revelation 12:5 - “…[the woman] gave birth to a son…and her child was snatched up to God and to his throne” As can be seen there is no consistency in the translation of harpazo into English. It is translated as lay hold of, carry off, snatch, snatches, snatches away, snatched up, by force, takes by force, suddenly took away, attacks, and caught up … and these are from only one translation, the NIV! Other translations use other words to translate harpazo. Although there is no consistent rendering of harpazo in English, there are a couple of insights that can be deduced from studying these passages: •

The word harpazo expresses the action of some one or some thing seizing or snatching another person or thing. This forceful grasping or grabbing can have either a negative or a positive connotation. For example, the negative side is seen when the word is used to describe the robbing of a person [Matthew 12:29]. The positive side is seen when the word is used to describe the saving of a person from danger [Acts 23:10]. It is an action for good or evil that is performed upon another.

•

The word harpazo does not necessarily include the meaning of being taken up into the air, but on occasions it does. For example, in the statement that Jesus’ followers wanted to force Him to be king [John 6:15], the notion of ascending into the air is not present. However, when Paul spoke of being caught up to the third heaven [II Corinthians 12:2], that idea is there. The context in which the word is found needs to be thoroughly studied to determine in what sense the word is used.

The Context The statement in which Paul used the word harpazo is found in a context that focuses on believers who had died [I Thessalonians 4:13-18]. A lot of concern existed in those days about the status of those who had eagerly looked for the return of Christ but had died before that event occurred. Death was regarded as a calamity since the great desire of believers was to be alive when the Lord returned. So was there any hope for believers who had died? Would they be excluded from participating in that glorious event of meeting the returning Lord? We must also keep in mind that the concept of a resurrection was not as clear in that day as it is today in view of the fact that information about the resurrection then was scarcer than it is now. The access of believers to New Testament writings in the first century can hardly be compared with the world-wide prevalence of the Scriptures today. So Paul took the opportunity to teach the Thessalonians on this subject.

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•

He said he did not want them to be in the dark about the dead or to grieve over them as if there were no hope beyond the grave [I Thessalonians 4:13].

•

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, those believers who had died would not miss out on that eagerly expected event but would, in fact, be a part of it [I Thessalonians 4:14].

•

Neither would their deaths, in any way, place them at a disadvantage to the living at that event [I Thessalonians 4:15].

•

When the Lord came down from heaven, they would actually be raised from the grave and would rise in the air to meet Him [I Thessalonians 4:16].

It is at this point in his lesson that Paul speaks about those who are still alive when the Lord returns. He teaches that the dead will rise from their graves. But then he adds that the living will be snatched into the air where they join the risen dead and together meet the coming Lord [I Thessalonians 4:17]. That harpazo-experience, therefore, is also associated with the coming of Christ, the same as is the resurrection. Since we have already established that His coming occurred in A.D. 70, we conclude that the resurrection of the dead and the harpazo-experience took place at that time as well. Consequently, for us to speak of a future snatching of believers, or a rapture if you prefer, is to take an event that happened back in A.D. 70 and transpose it to a different time. Such a maneuver is detrimental to a proper understanding of what living believers experienced in that first century at the return of Christ. The Snatching Away of First Century Living Believers Besides the Thessalonian passage, there are others that assert or at least imply that a translation of living believers occurred at the coming of Christ in that first century. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians a second time, he again linked the coming of Christ with a general meeting of believers with Him. “With respect to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to meet him…” [II Thessalonians 2:1 WEY]. By using the pronoun our Paul implied that the event of meeting Christ at His coming would occur within his lifetime as well as that of his readers. •

The phrase “being gathered to meet him” seems to spring from the teaching of Jesus recorded in Matthew 24. “They [the people at the time of His return] will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” [Matthew 24:3031 NIV].

Be aware that the word gather that Jesus used here is the verb form of the same word that Paul later used in II Thessalonians 2:1 when speaking of being gathered to meet Him. The writer to the Hebrews used this word when speaking of Christians gathering together for a worship service. “Let us not give up meeting together…” [Hebrews 10:25 NIV]. But the gathering spoken of by Paul occurs in the air [I thessalonians 4:17], not in a church service.

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•

After speaking of the gathering of the elect [Matthew 24:31-32], Jesus supplies more detail about that day: “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” [Matthew 24:40-42 NIV]. The gathering of His elect occurs at the time of His return. And, as we have seen, the gathered ones join with the resurrected ones and meet the coming Lord [I Thessalonians 4:17].

•

Additionally, when preparing His disciples for the time He would be leaving them after His death and resurrection, Jesus comforted them with these words. “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” [John 14:2-3 NIV].

Note carefully that Jesus promised them that He would return. He also promised that when He returned He would take them to the Father’s house in which there would be specially prepared rooms. ¾ Significantly, these promises were made to the same people to whom He had earlier said that some would still be living when He returned [Matthew 16:28]. This argues for a first-century gathering of living believers to the Father’s house. A Rapture Had to Occur Arthur Melanson in an internet article entitled “What About the First Century Rapture?” shares a line of argument which led him to believe in “the literal ‘catching away’ of the church that took place at the return of Christ shortly before AD 70.” He reasons in the following way: “The heart of first century rapture teaching lies in the prayer of Jesus Christ” as recorded in John 17. In this chapter “Jesus acknowledges that His earthly work is finished, and then he prays, And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” [John 17:5 NKJV]. Here, “He prays for restoration to the glory He had with the Father before the world was…” “Later, in the same prayer, Jesus prays for the disciples and all believers…” Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me…” [John 17:24 NKJV]. “This takes our breath away…for Jesus not only prays for His former glory but also asks that believers be with Him to see that glory – the glory He had with the Father before the foundation of the world.” Melanson then makes the point that the answer to Jesus’ prayer cannot take place on earth. It must take place in another realm. He then draws on further information that John gave in another book. “… we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” [I John 3:2]. ‘See Him as He is’ means to see Him in all the glory Jesus had with the Father before the world was…”

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This is important “because the answer to Jesus’ prayer could not take place in this realm! There had to be a supernatural change for those living saints to realize Jesus’ prayer in their behalf. Understand, please, John said these things would happen when He is revealed. He does not say these things would happen years later when he [John] finally died (as tradition tells us).” At this point Melanson ties in another passage, which, he says, “…teaches exactly the same truth, albeit with more detail.” It is Paul’s teaching in II Thessalonians 1:6-10 which speaks of the Lord’s vengeance against those persecutors of the Thessalonians as occurring “… when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction… when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe…” “This is what Jesus prayed for and John said would happen on the Day of His revealing. Could such a thing happen in this realm? … Paul also tells us the saints would admire (marvel at) Jesus in that Day. According to John and the prayer of Jesus, that admiration comes from seeing Him as He is – seeing Him in the glory He had with the Father before the world was.” “Then there is this verse that Paul wrote to living believers: ‘When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory’ [Colossians 3:4 NIV]. It is difficult to make sense of that verse except for a first century rapture occurrence.” The main point of Melanson’s argument is that in order for the prayer of Jesus to be answered, there must be a move of those first century believers from an earthly to a heavenly realm. Seeing the Lord in His glory takes place in the heavenly realm, not upon earth, as the phrase “appearing with Him in glory” specifies. The Transformation of Living Believers In an extended discussion of the resurrection in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul offers further information about what happens to living believers when Christ comes. He writes that living believers experience a change at the same time the dead are resurrected: “Listen I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep [die], but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” [I Corinthians 15:5152 NIV].

Interestingly, Paul introduces his comments with the statement that he is telling them “a mystery.” Calling this particular teaching a mystery or a secret implies that he is discussing something new, something hidden from ordinary view but is now revealed. Such a teaching cannot be found in the words of Jesus nor can it be found in the writings of any other New Testament author. Apparently, it is new information revealed to Paul by the Lord for him to communicate. This statement is quite similar to a comment Paul made to the Thessalonians. He said what he was teaching them was “according to the Lord’s own word” [I Thessalonians 4:15 NIV]. It is not his personal opinion of what would happen, but the information he is sharing rested upon divine authority. It appears, then, that Paul is saying that he has 70

received a special authoritative word from the Lord with regards to the destiny of living believers at the time of Christ’s coming. He, therefore, calls it a mystery, a new revelation, and the new revelation is that living believers experience a change at the time the dead are raised. That living believers undergo a transformation at the return of Christ is found in other passages as well. To the Philippians, Paul wrote, “…our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who…will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” [Philippians 3:20-21 NIV]. Believers would experience a body-transformation at the time of Christ’s return. Note this is a transformation of the body not merely a spiritual or mystical change. John also speaks of the transformation that would occur to living believers at the time of Christ’s return: “…we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” [I John 3:2 NIV]. This verse speaks of Christ as appearing and as being seen by the children of God. They would “see Him as he is,” that is, in all His glory and power. That sight of Him would result in some kind of transformation, which he does not discuss, but states, “…we shall be like him.” What, then, is the nature of that transformation? Paul does not leave his readers in the dark but promptly identifies what it is. Having already said that perishable human flesh and blood are not compatible with living in heaven’s kingdom [I Corinthians 15:50], he proceeds to explain how living believers will enter that kingdom. He says, “…we [believers who are alive when Christ comes] will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” [I Corinthians 15:52-53 NIV]. The perishable and mortal body will not continue to be what it is. It will experience a swift transformation making it suitable for life in the hereafter. It will become imperishable and immortal, eternal characteristics of God. This raises an interesting question: if this transformation occurred in A.D. 70, what happened to the physical bodies of believers at the time of the change? One answer is that they completely disappeared having been miraculously changed from a mortal to an immortal body. Another answer is that when the transformation occurred, their bodies were left behind giving the appearance of sudden death to any who happened to be near them at the time. The left-behind bodies discovered at the time of war between the Romans and the Jews, when there were tens of thousands of casualties, would not have caused any great concern. The Evidence This all leads to a very significant question: is there any evidence that believers were removed from the earth at that time? If the living were changed and transported to meet the coming Lord in the air in A.D. 70, what evidence, if any, support the occurrence of that event? Admittedly, no historical evidence has been brought to light that would validate such an event, but there is some circumstantial evidence that might infer that such an event took place. Consider the following:

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[1]. No Christian literature that bears a date immediately after A.D. 70 has been found. In fact, it is not until well into the second century that Christian writings begin to appear. During the 30 years leading up to A.D. 70, the entire New Testament was written. During the 30 years after A.D. 70, not one piece of literature written by a Christian can be found. Why? “It has often been remarked that there is no period in the history of the Christian Church, in regard to which we have so little information, as that of the above [A.D. 64-98] thirty years… There is no good reason to believe that any of the writings of the apostolic fathers now extant, were published during that interval” [Samuel M. Frost, author of Misplaced Hope, p.167, footnotes his study of eschatology in the first and second centuries with this quote from William Cunningham’s Historical Theology written in1862].

Why? Why were there no Christian writings reporting the fall of Jerusalem and the activities of believers at that time? If living believers had gone to be with the Lord, one would not expect to find any literature written by Christians until a number of years later. However, “If there was NO rapture, then the apostle John and a whole bunch of the other leaders of the church … must have lived beyond the destruction and would have witnessed the fulfillment of the parousia, resurrection and judgment. Why didn’t they say something about the fulfillments? … We should have reams of excited and exuberant documentation from them if they had witnessed the fulfillments and lived beyond the event into the AD 70-100 period” [Edward Stevens in an internet article entitled “Silence Demands a Rapture”].

[2]. No post-A.D. 70 record of what happened to prominent Christians workers has been found. What happened to Matthew and Mark and Luke and John and Paul and Titus and Barnabas and Timothy and many others that could be named? What happened to those men, men whose presence and writings could have comforted and guided the young church through such difficult times? We have no record of their last days unless some questionable traditions are accepted as factual. It appears that those Christian leaders just suddenly and simultaneously vanished from the earthly scene sometime around A.D. 70. Are we to believe that they all were killed in the Jewish/Roman War going on at that time? Tradition has it that the apostle John lived at Ephesus for some 30 years after that war. If so, why did he remain silent, never saying a word about the fulfillment of Jesus’ predictions concerning Jerusalem? Since “…the traditions we have about John the apostle after AD 70 are so muddled and confused that nothing certain can be based on them,” [Edward Stevens in an internet article entitled “Silence Demands a Rapture”], is it not more probable that John, along with other believers, was snatched from the earth to meet the Lord at His coming in A.D. 70? [3]. No post-A.D. 70 record of what happened to the many churches established by Paul and other leaders has been found. ¾ What happened to that exemplary church at Thessalonica that “…became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” [I Thessalonians 1:7 NIV]?

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¾ What happened to that faithful church in Ephesus whose elders wept uncontrollably at their last sight of Paul [Acts 20:37-38]? ¾ What happened to those obedient believers in Philippi who shined “…like stars in the universe holding out the word of life” [Philippians 2:16 NIV]? ¾ What happened to that robust church in Rome whose faith in God was “…being reported all over the world” [Romans 1:8 NIV ]? ¾ What happened to those enthusiastic believers in Corinth who were “…eagerly waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” [I Corinthians 1:7]? Did those churches simply close down after A.D. 70? Were the ministries of Paul and other leaders so superficial that all their converts ran and hid at the first sign of difficulties? Or did they realize what they had believed all along - that Jesus would return for them as expressed by the apostle Paul: “…our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” [Philippians 3:20 NIV]. [4]. It is generally believed by textual critics that the gospel of Mark was left unfinished by the author and that the last twelve verses were added later by someone else. The following note appears in the NIV translation after Mark 16:8: “The two most reliable early manuscripts do not have Mark 16:9-20.” If it is true that Mark did not finish the book, why did he not do so? What reason might be given for his failing to complete the task he set out to do? Could it be that he had to lay his work aside during the war and then was suddenly snatched away by the coming Lord before he could get back to it? [5]. Then, too, most everyone who has studied the book of Acts has wondered why that book ends so abruptly. Paul is in Rome, living in a rented house and carrying on a teaching ministry. This goes on for two years. Then the book ends. What happened next? What happened after the two years were up? Was he beheaded under Nero as tradition has it? Or was he snatched up into the sky to be forever with the Lord as he expected to be? Why did Luke, the writer of Acts, leave behind an unfinished book? What happened to him? As mentioned earlier these facts do not prove that believers were removed from the earth in A.D. 70, but they might infer such. There has to be a major reason for an absence of Christian literature for half a century, for a shortage of Christian leadership until well into the second century, for the utter silence of those early robust churches for many years, and for those apparently incomplete Biblical writings. These astonishing facts could very well point to an A.D. 70 rapture. The Prepared and the Unprepared One further point that has bearing on this topic is the possibility that not all Christians were included in the gathering of A.D. 70. According to the parable of the ten virgins [Matthew 25:1-13], only five of the ten were allowed to attend the wedding banquet when the bridegroom arrived. Only those who were prepared and watchful entered into the festivities. Those who were not were locked out. Jesus concluded the parable by

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saying in reference to His coming, “Therefore keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour” [Matthew 25:13 NIV]. It is not implausible to conclude that when the Lord did come in A.D. 70 that the unprepared were not included with the prepared ones who went to meet the Lord in the air. Otherwise, why give such a warning if everyone were to be included in the activities surrounding the coming of the Lord? What other conclusion can one reach with regards to this parable? Furthermore, this parable harmonizes quite well with other passages that speak of being prepared for His return: o The Hebrews’ writer implied the same idea when he stated, “Christ…will appear a second time… to those who are eagerly expecting him” [Hebrews 9:28 WEY]. Why say that Christ will appear to those who are eagerly waiting for him if those not eagerly waiting for Him were also included? o “you…must be ready” [Matthew 24:44 ESV]. Why tell everyone to be ready if all were included in the meeting in the air? o “…let us not sleep…but let us keep awake” [I Thessalonians 5:6 ESV]. Were those who heeded these instructions treated differently than those who failed to do so? It must have been quite a shock to those who were left behind. With their faithful leaders gone, those left behind would have floundered and struggled for years before new leadership developed. Such a scenario would account for the absence of Christian literature in the last thirty years of the first century as well as in the early years of the second century. It would also explain “…why the church went into immediate confusion and made so many departures from the NT patterns so soon after AD 70. Their leadership was gone. But at least they did have the writings of the NT to guide them, and those should have been sufficient to keep them on track. But they didn’t follow them closely enough” [Edward Stevens in an internet article entitled “Silence Demands a Rapture”]. [For a more detailed study of the tendency of the early church to error see point [I] of this section, p.151].

The Silence This leads to another interesting but closely related question: if believers were removed from the earth in A.D. 70, why is there no historical record of that event? Surely, it is argued, their sudden disappearance would have made a profound impression upon many people, and, if one of them were a writer, he would have made note of that phenomenal occurrence for the record. There are several possible reasons for there being no record in existence: [1]. There was a general lack of communication in those days. Those were not days in which one would find newspaper articles, investigative reporters, radio commentaries, or on-the-scene television reports. If half the Christians in the world today suddenly disappeared, life would still go on. However, since we live in an age of instant communication, there would be some discussion of the missing millions. But in the first century, when communication was extremely slow, there would be a general

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unawareness of missing people. It was common in those days for someone to disappear leaving little or no evidence. This particularly happened during times of war with many either killed or captured and taken away. They often vanished without leaving any record of their disappearance. “We naturally enough say, were such an event as the sudden and simultaneous disappearance of a number of prominent persons from our town, or village, or neighborhood, to take place, what a sensation it would cause, what alarm and consternation. It would be reported all over the land, it would be the topic of conversation in every company. Very true; but suppose all this occurred when the country was in the occupation of a foreign army, when the invaders were marching through the land, leaving devastation and ruin everywhere in their track. Suppose the metropolis in a state of siege, was captured, burnt to the ground; fire, famine, and slaughter raging, in every quarter; all social order convulsed amid the agonies of an expiring nation. What sensation would the disappearance of some of the members of a despised sect excite in such circumstance? Would they be missed? Amidst the fearful signs and portents of that tremendous crisis the disappearance of the Christians might pass without notice” [James Stuart Russell as quoted by Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.17]. [2]. It is conceivable that some record of the event might have been written down by someone, but because of the confusion of the times, the material could have been accidentally lost. Or, it could have been later suppressed or even destroyed in the interests of those who had risen to power in the church. We know from other periods in Church history that priests, clerics, and other ecclesiastics were capable of doing such a pitiful act. It would not have been out of character, therefore, to cover up any evidence of a rapture if, in doing so, it served to protect their power and position. “In reality, very much of the world’s story has never been written; innumerable records of human affairs have accidentally perished by fire and from other causes; innumerable records have been intentionally destroyed through the folly or bigotry of the persons into whose hands they fell” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.18].

It has also been pointed out that writings that spoke of Jesus’ return in the judgment of Jerusalem may have been destroyed by Jews along with their own apocalyptic writings solely for the purpose of trying to reduce the disgrace and humiliation that had come upon their nation. “Careful study of Rabbinic sources shows that the remnant of the Jewish nation actively destroyed all apocalyptic works speaking of an imminent end after A.D. 70 because of its embarrassment to them. Hence, suppression of Jewish/Christian material referring to fulfilled imminence was a most likely target from this group also” [Timothy James in The Messiah’s Return, p.32]. [3]. It is possible that the few who understood what happened during those days were not in a position to pass on that knowledge.

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•

True believers, of course, would have been in heaven and could not have communicated any information back to those on earth.

•

The enemies of Jesus, especially those who arranged for His execution, would have seen Him [Matthew 26:64] and understood the meaning of what was going on; however, since Jesus came specifically to judge them, they all died and thus were unable to convey what facts they came to acquire.

•

Most all the Jews who saw Him and mourned at the sight of Him [Revelation 1:7] either died at the hands of the Romans or were deported to become slaves and, therefore, were in no position to write anything down. Even if those Jewish slaves had spoken of the event, the details passed along would not have lasted beyond a second or third generation.

•

The Roman soldiers apparently were not aware of His coming and did not understand the significance of the event in which they were involved. They were simply fighting a war endeavoring to bring the unruly and obstinate Jewish nation to its knees. They could care less about the Jews’ God. They had plenty gods of their own.

•

The unprepared believers who were left behind appear to be the only ones in a position to leave an account of the coming and the rapture but probably were so ashamed of themselves at his coming [I John 2:28] that they were too embarrassed to pass along any information that would make them look like the foolish virgins [Matthew 25:1-13] that they were. Or “Those left behind simply did not realize what had happened. They might have thought the leadership all died in the tribulation, or were exiled, put in prison, or otherwise consumed by the Romans in their galley ships, theaters, or mining camps. They were not spiritually discerning and therefore missed the parousia, resurrection, rapture, and judgment. They were spiritually asleep when Christ returned” [Edward Stevens in an internet article entitled “Silence Demands a Rapture”].

•

Another thought might well be that writing was a skill few enjoyed in those days. So even if some person had the desire to pass on the information of which he was aware, in all probability he would not have possessed the ability to actually write the details down.

•

The only eyewitness of the events in those days to write an account was a Jewish priest named Josephus who became the personal historian of Titus, the Roman general. After noting that the Jews disregarded various signs from God of their pending judgment, Josephus states, “Besides these …a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sunsetting, chariots and troops of soldiers

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in their armor were seen running about among the clouds and surrounding the cities” [Josephus in Wars of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3]. These are the only words written down by someone close to the scene during those days. This observation, however, dovetails nicely with the many comments in the New Testament about Christ returning in the clouds. Josephus mentions the heavenly display of pending judgment but nothing of seeing Christ in the heavens. Evidently, “No one was permitted to be a mere outside spectator and reporter of that solemn and august interview between the Creator and His creatures” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.103-104].

[4]. Some scholars take the position that His coming was secretive and, therefore, would not have been observed by the world at large. The following arguments are used to support this view: •

Near the end of His earthly stay, Christ told His disciples, “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me…” [John 14:19 NIV.

•

We have already noted that He was to come as a thief, the most successful being one who accomplishes his work with complete secrecy.

•

According to the parable of the ten virgins, the Lord’s return was to have secret overtones, coming at midnight rather than at midday.

•

At Jesus’ ascension, which was observed only by a handful of followers, the angels said that He would “…come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” [Acts 1:11 NIV], implying that it would be private and restricted to a limited number of individuals.

•

Then, too, Jesus said early in His ministry that the Kingdom of God would not come visibly so as to be seen. “Some Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He answered, ‘God’s kingdom isn’t something you can see’ ” [Luke 17:20 CEV].

These arguments for a secret coming seem to be, at least to me, a little superficial and not strong enough to offset those passages which speak of His coming as being a revelation or a revealing of Him. [For a thorough study of a visible return, see point [G] of the Expanded Studies section, page 217].

A Probing Thought Assume for a moment that there was no rapture at the return of Christ in A.D. 70 and that Christians were still around. If such were the case, how can one account for the silence of the Christian voice after A.D. 70? Why were there no complaints from the Christian community that what they had been led to believe did not pan out? “The silence about Christ’s parousia from folks who were definitely promised to SEE it and experience it is very significant! Either those folks in the first century saw it and were taken to be with Christ immediately, or they did NOT see it at all and were so embarrassed or disillusioned about the non-fulfillment that they went 77

away quietly and never spoke of it again”

[Edward Stevens in an internet article entitled

“Silence Demands a Rapture”].

They had been told that their Lord would return within their generation and that He would “…reward each person according to what he has done” [Matthew 16:27 NIV]. Did they get their rewards? If so, why didn’t they say something about it if they remained behind? They had been told that they would not only see Him when He returned but would also marvel at him in the company of all true believers [II Thessalonians 1:10]. “Why don’t we have those folks after AD 70 telling the story about how glorious it was to be in His presence and marvel at His majesty? Why are these folks, who supposedly were going to see this marvelous vindication and relief, so silent afterwards? They should have been dancing in the streets! If they were still around after seeing the parousia and marveling at Christ in His presence, how could they do anything but talk about it afterwards…? We should have heard jubilant and ecstatic claims of fulfillment coming from their mouths and pens. Wonderful descriptions of the glorious advent of Christ from heaven with this angels rewarding them and destroying their persecutors… Why didn’t at least one of them write about it in one of the uninspired non-canonical writings immediately after AD 70? Wasn’t it a significant event? Or was it so ho-hum that they ignored it and went right on their merry way with their lives as if nothing had happened?” [Edward Stevens in an internet article entitled “Silence Demands a Rapture”]. No record exists between A.D. 70-100 of any Christian saying anything about the condition of the church, the destruction of Jerusalem, or the plight of any follower of Christ. Did they all suffer from such disillusion and embarrassment that none ever chose to speak on the subjects again? Surely, not all Christians were killed during those days. Surely, not all of them were too frightened to speak out. Surely, there were a few brave souls that knew what was going on. Why didn’t someone say something if they were still around? Why is the voice of that strong, steady, and faithful follower of Jesus, John the Apostle, who supposedly lived until the turn of the century, silent? Then, too, if there had been no rapture, we would expect to find evidence of a growing and maturing church, one that based its practices solidly upon the Scriptures. We would expect to find the followers of Christ fearlessly proclaiming that the recent destruction of Jerusalem was in direct fulfillment of the words of the One rejected by the Jews. Instead, we find silence. Then some 30 or 40 years later when we do begin to hear voices from the emerging church, there is confusion within the ranks and there is deviation from the Scriptural norm. What accounts for this sad condition of the church? The answer is simple: the original leadership was gone, and it took time for new leadership to emerge. [For a discussion that opposes an A.D. 70 rapture, see point [F] in the Expanded Studies section, p.193].

[C].

THE FUTURE-WORLDWIDE-VISIBLE-RETURN OBSTACLE

Perhaps the major hindrance to believing in a first century return of Christ concerns the engrained belief in His future, worldwide, visible return. His return, according to what is commonly believed, must be upon a cloud and must be seen by every eye. This view is largely based upon two key passages:

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•

When Jesus left the earth to return to heaven, a few disciples saw Him disappear within a cloud. “[Jesus] was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid him from their sight.” As they were watching, two angels said to them, “Men of Galilee…why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” [Acts 1:9, 11 NIV]. Since He was seen leaving on a cloud in a physical body, it is commonly concluded from this passage that Jesus will be seen returning on a cloud in the same visible form.

•

Another passage that lends support to this view is one written by the apostle John. He said, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him” [Revelation 1:7 ESV]. Here John refers to His coming in clouds with every eye focused on Him.

Based upon these two passages, it is concluded that Jesus will return in the same form, in the same size, on the same cloud, and will be seen worldwide. If, as we have argued, Christ returned in A.D. 70, how do these concepts fit into such a time period? [1]. There is no difficulty in fitting the concept of “coming with clouds.” By way of summarizing what has already been discussed quite thoroughly [see point B, p.13], a study of Old Testament scriptures reveals two things: •

Clouds were often used to indicate the presence of the invisible God. Since God cannot be seen, He often used clouds to reveal His presence. Anyone claiming to come in clouds was equating himself with God, which is what Jesus did. Coming in clouds implies the coming of God.

•

Clouds were also used in the context of apocalyptic language, which is the figurative use of ordinary words and phrases generally within the context of an approaching time of judgment. So when the scripture writers describe Jesus as coming on the clouds of heaven, as they do several times, the indication is that His coming would entail judgment. Such was certainly true when Jerusalem was judged in A.D. 70.

In addition to the symbolism associated with clouds, we should hasten to point out the New Testament’s teaching that Christ will actually be seen returning on the clouds of heaven. In fact, this is either implied or directly indicated a total of eight times. o “And when He had said these things, as [the apostles] were looking, He was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight, And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’ ” [Acts 1:9-11 ESV]. o “…and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” [Matthew 24:30 ESV].

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o “…you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” [Matthew 26:64 ESV]. o “…and they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” [Mark 13:26 ESV]. o “…you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” [Mark 14:62 ESV]. o “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” [Luke 21:27 ESV]. o “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” [I Thessalonians 4:17 ESV]. o “Behold He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him”

[Revelation 1:7

ESV].

Those who saw Christ return in A.D. 70 not only saw Him descending with clouds, but they were also aware of the symbolism represented by them: Christ is God and is coming to judge. [2]. The statement that “every eye will see Him” when He returns is a little harder to fit within an A.D. 70 context. In the first place, it seems to be logistically unworkable even within a future context as well as within a first century context. How is it possible for Christ to return as a six-foot being standing on a cloud and be seen by every single person in the world at one time? We’re talking about billions of people here, even up to 20 trillion if we include those who have lived on this earth since the beginning of time, and of course, they must be included in view of the fact that John specifically mentions those who killed Jesus as among those who would see Him return [Revelation 1:7]. How can those who live or are resurrected on the other side of the earth, some 12,000 miles away, see a man-sized object descending on a cloud? It has been suggested that television will enable everyone to see His return [talk about ratings!]. But what about those who have no television, especially people who live in those parts of the world that are technologically challenged? Since the verse does not say that every eye will see him at the same time, possibly it can mean that every one will see Him eventually. However, for such a vast number of people, scattered around the globe, to eventually see Jesus would necessitate a huge amount of time, undoubtedly requiring months and possibly years. And no one wants to think of His return as taking a minimum of several months to complete. Nevertheless, John does say that every eye will see Him. If Jesus did return in A.D. 70, how does the statement that every eye will see Him fit into that time period? The Invisible Return There is some debate among full preterists, those who believe Jesus returned in A.D. 70, with regards to this subject. Most believe He did not return in visible form. Their

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reasoning is as follows: two related Greek words are translated as see in English. Both of them are used in a literal and a figurative sense. Along with the meaning to see with the eyes is also the meaning to see with the mind. As is true in English, so also in Greek, these words can mean to perceive, to understand, to be aware. For example, we often say to someone to the effect, “I see what you mean.” By that we mean we understand what is being said. It would not be unfeasible to understand these statements in Revelation 1:7 as having this meaning. By seeing the various signs of the soon coming destruction as well as the destruction itself, those people would come to see, that is, they would come to understand, that the Son of Man had come to judge. Accepting the figurative sense of seeing is the way most full preterists handle the verses that speak of seeing Jesus return. In view of the many supernatural signs pointing to the destruction of Jerusalem that were seen, or at least heard about, an actual, visual seeing of Christ was unnecessary. Those many warning signs as well as Jerusalem’s total destruction proved He was present. Flavius Josephus Josephus, a Jewish leader and writer for Titus, the Roman general, and an eyewitness of Jerusalem’s destruction, relates some of the signs that occurred during that last festival season before the war began. That would have been in A.D. 66. •

He wrote about a comet and a sword-shaped star that hovered over the city the full year before the war began [Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3].

•

He wrote about a brilliant light as bright as day shining for a half hour around the altar and in the temple area on the night of the same day people had gathered in the temple to begin the celebration of the Passover [Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3].

•

He wrote about a bizarre incident that occurred at the same festival in which a heifer gave birth to a lamb as she was being led by the high priest to be sacrificed [Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3].

•

He wrote about the strange phenomenon that occurred later that same night of the large eastern gate opening on its own, a brass gate so massive and heavy that normally 20 men were needed to open and close it [Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3].

•

He wrote about the priests, while performing their duties some fifty days later at the feast of Pentecost, feeling a quaking and hearing a great sound as of a great multitude saying, “Let us remove hence” [Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3].

•

He wrote about a spectacular visual show that could be seen in the clouds a few days after that same Feast of Pentecost. Just before sunset, numerous chariots and troops of armor-clad soldiers were seen running in the clouds above Jerusalem as well as above neighboring towns [Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3].

•

He wrote about a man crying aloud day and night in all the lanes of the city, “A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice

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against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!” This man began this dirge four years before the beginning of the war with Rome and continued through severe whippings and beatings for seven years and five months without ever growing hoarse or tired. [That would have been from A.D. 62 to A.D. 70]. He was finally killed by a stone shot from one of the Roman’s stone-throwing machines [Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3].

Before listing these signs, however, Josephus commented that the common people, whom he called “…miserable people…did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them” [Flavius Josephus in Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3]. Nonetheless, there were some, “men of learning”, according to Josephus, who “…publicly declared” that the signs “…foreshadowed the desolation that was coming upon them” [Flavius Josephus in Wars, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3]. Whether Jesus returned in a visible, bodily form during those days is a mute point as far as full preterists are concerned since the ominous clouds and the visible signs obviously pointed to His presence. Although such a proposition is possible and is commonly believed by full preterists, it is difficult to ignore the various statements that He would be seen, which if these statements had been made in a context other than an eschatological one, there would be no debate whatsoever! The Visible Return Note the following remarks carefully for they argue for a visible return as opposed to its being a mere spiritual event. o Jesus told His disciples, “…some of you…will see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” [Matthew 16:28 NIV]. o He later informed the Jewish high priest and members of the court, “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” [Matthew 26:64 NIV]. o Speaking of those coming days of judgment upon Jerusalem, He said, “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” [Matthew 24:30 NIV]. o The Hebrews’ writer asserted, “Christ…will appear a second time…to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” [Hebrews 9:28 ESV].

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o John confidently affirmed, “…we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” [I John 3:2 NIV]. o Paul declared that Jesus would be “…revealed from heaven…to punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel…” [II Thessalonians 1:7-8 NIV]. o Paul further added that such a revelation would occur on “…the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed” [II Thessalonians 1:10 NIV]. o John excitedly proclaimed, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the land will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen” [Revelation 1:7 NIV]. Several words are used in these passages to indicate that the returning Christ would be seen. The word see itself is used several times; the phrase revealed from heaven clearly implies that He who was hidden would come out into the open and be seen. Also, on that day He would be marveled at by believers, an admiration that presumes they would see Him in His majesty and power. It would be difficult to marvel at a spirit being. The fact is that the expression marveled at in II Thessalonians 1:10 is the same one “…found most frequently in the Gospels (33 times), where it expresses the wonder and amazement caused by Jesus’ miracles” [Ralph Earle in Word Meanings in the New Testament, p.375]. Such words and phrases leave little room for doubt that His coming in A.D. 70 was not a mere spiritual event. Additionally, note that the first and second comings of Christ are mentioned together by the Hebrews’ writer: “…He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself…Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people, and he will appear a second time … to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” [Hebrews 9:26,28 NIV]. ¾ Considering the construction of the news here, how can it be claimed that one of these comings is physical and the other spiritual? Either both comings must be physical or both must be spiritual. There is no way that the Hebrews’ writer considered Christ’s second appearing to be vastly different in form than His first. Seeing or Not Seeing the Revealed Christ In view of the extreme difficulty, if not impossibility, of His coming being viewed worldwide and the clear teaching that He would be seen, we must deal with an interesting question: how was it possible for believers who resided in Thessalonica, Corinth, Jerusalem, and other places to see Christ revealed from heaven? The answer does not appear to be too difficult to come by. As already discussed [see point [B] of this section, p.69], believers were rounded up by angels and brought to the coming Lord. Christians from various places were swept up and

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transported to meet the Lord, undoubtedly in the skies over Jerusalem to where He returned. It was then and there that they saw Him. It should be noted at this juncture that the New Testament does not portray Christ as descending to the earth at His return. In one of Paul’s letters, he spoke of the Lord as meeting Christians in the air. o “…the Lord himself will come down from heaven… [the living] will be caught up with [the resurrected dead] to meet the Lord in the air” [I Thessalonians 4:16-17 NIV]. Paul gives no indication of Christ descending to the earth after meeting His followers in the air. In all probability, it was soon after that gathering in the air that He took them to heaven as He said He would: o “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” [John 14:2-3 NIV]. o Paul said, “…and so we will be with the Lord forever”

[I Thessalonians 4:17 NIV].

The concept of Jesus being seen worldwide by all unbelievers at His return does not appear to have scriptural support. Of course, any and all who were in and around Jerusalem during those days, unbelievers as well as believers, would have seen Him. John made special note that those who killed Him would be among the frightened viewers and would join the many mourners throughout the land when they realized He had returned to judge them. [For a detailed study of the visible return of Christ, see part [G] in the Expanded Studies section, p.201].

[D]. THE FUTURE-GENERAL-RESURRECTION-AND-JUDGMENT OBSTACLE Another large obstacle that impedes some from believing in a first century return of Christ is the long held view of the church with respect to the resurrection of the dead and of a final judgment. The traditional teaching of the church has been that the final resurrection of the dead and the final judgment of mankind will occur at the end of history. Such passages as these are cited: o “…an hour is coming when all who are in their tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” [John 5:28-29 ESV]. o “And I saw the dead…standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books…and they were judged each one of them according to what they had done” [Revelation 20:12-13 ESV]. A Specific Time

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Although these verses do teach a resurrection and a judgment, it should be noted that they say nothing about when they occur. They only speak in general terms. There are, however, other verses that do say when these events take place. These clearly teach they occur at the coming of Christ. Particularly be aware of three pieces of information in the following verses: (1) Be aware that the resurrection and the judgment are interlinked with the coming of Christ. (2) Be aware that the resurrection and the judgment are declared to be imminent when these statements were written. (3) Be aware that the phrase “about to”, inserted in some of these references, is a true translation of the Greek word mello. [For a detailed study of mello, you are urged to see point [D] in the Expanded Studies section, p.177].

o “For the Son of Man is about to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” [Matthew 16:27-28 ]. Jesus said He was about to come at which time each person would receive his reward. The giving of rewards entails a judgment. Also this evaluation of individuals is to occur during the lifetime of some of those listening to Him. o “Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according to his work” [Revelation 22:12 NIV]. Again, as in the previous reference, Jesus said His coming was imminent at which time every man will receive his reward. If Jesus said His coming and that time of review were on the horizon, how is it possible to think, as is commonly believed today, that these are to occur at the end of history? Was Jesus in error? o “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom…” [II Timothy 4:1]. Notice Paul asserted that both the living and the dead were about to be judged. If that were about to happen when Paul wrote to Timothy, how is it rational to believe that the event is still in our future? In line with the previous verses, Paul says this will occur at the appearing of Christ. o “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven…and the dead in Christ will rise first…” [I Thessalonians 4:16 NIV]. Notice Paul said at the Lord’s coming there would be a resurrection of believers who had died. o “[Pagans] will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead … the end of all things is near … it is time for judgment to begin at the house of God” [I Peter 4:5, 7, 17 NIV]. Peter, as did Jesus and Paul, clearly taught that the time of judgment of both the living and the dead was imminent. If it were the time for the judgment to begin when Peter wrote, how is it possible to view that judgment as being yet in our future?

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o “…the Lord’s coming is near … The Judge is standing at the door” [James 5:89 NIV]. James taught that the Lord’s coming “has drawn near” [a better translation]. “Standing at the door” means He is ready to begin His judgment. If the Lord’s coming had drawn near when James wrote, is it possible to believe it is still near in our day? o “...there is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked…Paul discoursed on the judgment that was about to come” [Acts 24:15,25 a more accurate translation of the Greek]. Paul left no doubt about his belief in the soon coming resurrection and judgment. He was not speaking here of a time in the distant future, but of a time at hand. If this event were about to come then, can it still be about to come now? o “…let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching…we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God…For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay” [Hebrews 10:25,30-31,37 NIV]. The Hebrew’s writer believed in a soon coming judgment. If he believed judgment would begin in “just a very little while,” is it reasonable to believe that it is yet in our future? A Comparison Near the conclusion of answering the question posed by the disciples regarding His soon coming judgment, Jesus includes these significant remarks, o “When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of His the angels, he will sit on his royal throne” [Matthew 25:31 CEV]. This is the same terminology as used in Matthew 16:27-28 where He taught that some of the disciples would still be alive at that event. The following comparison shows that what Jesus taught in 16:27 is repeated in 25:31. Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes” “Comes in His glory” “All the angels with Him” “Sit on His throne” [to judge-vs.32ff]

Matthew 16:27 “The Son of Man is about to come” “In His Father’s glory” “With His angels” “Reward each person” [a judgment]

When adding details to the subject of sitting on His throne, Jesus said, o “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” To some He would say, “…take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” To others He would say, “Depart from me…into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” [Matthew 25:32, 34, 41 NIV]. Keep in mind that this judgment occurs during the lifetime of some of the first century believers [Matthew 16:28]. Significantly, the gathering of the nations for judgment is said to 86

take place at His coming also.

[For a study of the nations that are gathered to be judged, see point [C] in

the Expanded Studies section, p.169].

A Personal Letter Perhaps one of the most significant passages that identifies the judgment and resurrection as first century events is found in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, a passage already referred to in the discussion of the rapture. “…we ourselves [Paul, Silas, and Timothy] make honorable mention of you [Thessalonian Christians] among the Churches of God because of your patience and faith amid all your persecutions and amid the afflictions which you are enduring. For these are a plain token of God’s righteous judgment, which has in view your being deemed worthy of admission to God’s Kingdom, for the sake of which, indeed, you are sufferers. A plain token of God’s righteous judgment, I say, since it is a righteous thing for Him to requite with affliction those who are now afflicting you; and to requite with rest you who are suffering affliction now – rest with us at the re-appearing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven, attended by His mighty angels. He will come in flames of fire to take vengeance on those who have no knowledge of God, and do not obey the Good News as to Jesus, our Lord. They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, being banished from the presence of the Lord and from His glorious majesty, when He comes on that day to be glorified in His people and to be wondered at among all who have believed, including you…” [II Thessalonians 1:4-10 Weymouth]. This passage covers several subjects, but for our study, it points out the following: •

Jesus was to return with His mighty angels in judgment as stated on several other occasions.

•

The Thessalonian Christians were promised relief from the afflictions through which they were going in A.D. 52.

•

They would experience the promised relief from their afflicters at the reappearing of Jesus. Notice this relief comes neither by way of death nor at the end of history but by the coming of Christ within their lifetime.

•

Their afflicters would be punished with eternal destruction [Matthew 25:46]

•

They would join all other believers in worshipping Christ.

Within this passage should also be noted the many times Paul, by means of personal pronouns, refers to those Thessalonian believers. This was a personal letter to them, not to believers in the far distant future. Paul taught that the Lord would return within the lifetime of those Thessalonian believers to judge their enemies and to admit them into God’s Kingdom. Some Thoughts to Consider

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Since the resurrection of the dead and the time of judgment are associated with the coming of Christ, some have difficulty believing that He came in that first century because so many have died since that time and thus will need to be resurrected and judged. So if the resurrection and judgment have already occurred, there appears to be a problem. But such a view is not necessarily required as Simmons indicates, “Rewarding ‘every man’ did not mean that history would be concluded and all men were to receive their eternal reward at Christ’s coming” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consummation of the Ages, p.424].

The premise that there will be a general resurrection and judgment at the end of history, however, does not appear to have Scriptural support. As has been seen, whenever the element of time is mentioned with regards to the judgment and resurrection, it is always said to be close at hand. In addition, these events are likewise interlinked with the coming of Christ which is also said to be at hand. That being said there are still questions that haunt our minds, such as, what about today? Are people today to be judged by God? If so, when? If not, why? If the judgment has already been held, are we exempt from standing before God’s throne? A possible and partial answer to these questions is found in a comment Paul made when discussing the resurrection in his first letter to the Corinthians. o “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then when he comes, those who belong to him” [I Corinthians 15:22-23 NIV]. In this passage Paul does not indicate that there is a general resurrection on the final day of history or that there will be groups raised together from the dead at various times as futurists often teach. Instead, he speaks of people as being raised individually, each in his own turn or as some translations prefer, each in his own order. Christ is said to be the first to rise from the dead. Then those who belong to Him would be made alive. This would occur “when he comes” or as the Greek reads [en tay parousia autou] “in the presence of Him.” As indicated earlier in this study, the basic meaning of the word parousia, translated as comes in this verse, is the presence. [See “Greek Words Associated With His Coming” at the beginning of this study, p.5]. When Jesus came in A.D. 70, He came to be present in this world. Since the time of His coming, it has been the time of His presence. This allows for an ongoing resurrection and judgment as occurring in His presence. The Greek Word “Tagma” The Greek word used here by Paul that is translated turn in the phrase “each in his own turn” is a form of the word tagma [tag’-mah]. This word refers to things in a series, things following one after the other. It is actually a military term that is used to describe the orderly march of soldiers. It can refer to row after row of soldiers as they march by for review. Or it can refer to a single file in which one soldier follows the person ahead of him. They pass by each in his own turn.

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The use of tagma in I Corinthians 15:23 implies that the resurrection and the judgment are ongoing. Apparently, after a person dies, it is his turn to pass by the Judge. The order in which he passes before the Judge is determined by the time he dies. There does not appear to be a delay of hundreds and thousands of years until history ends before a general resurrection and a judgment occur. Such an interpretation seems to be supported by another statement: “…man is destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment” [Hebrews 9:27 NIV]. This assertion appears to teach that the judgment occurs immediately after a person dies. There is no indication of an interval existing between a person’s death and the time of his judgment. When a person dies, he is immediately judged by God. Each believer receives his heavenly body and is ushered into his eternal abode. The Believer’s Eternal Body According to Paul when a believer’s body dies, he has an eternal house, an expression referring to a new body, waiting for him in heaven. o “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven…” [II Corinthians 5:1 NIV]. The believer is immediately transported to heaven at his death and given a body suitable for living in his eternal home. His soul does not remain bodiless during that time between his death and a supposed future resurrection. It is commonly believed that at some future judgment day the old body itself will be resurrected and will be reunited with the soul, but such does not seem to be the teaching of the New Testament. Paul taught that the new body is not to be equated with the resurrected old body. o “When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed … If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body … flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” [I Corinthians 15:37,44,50 NIV]. Paul further explained that the new body a believer receives at his death is eternal, incorruptible, and immortal [II Corinthians 5:1; I Corinthians 15:53]. These terms suggest that the believer’s new body will never be thrust aside once he receives it, thus ruling out any intermediate body. An intermediate body given to him until that physical body he lived in on earth is resurrected and reconstituted cannot be designated as eternal, incorruptible, and immortal. Evidently, that old physical body will never be reinstated; it will never replace the eternal body. No Intermediate State Paul’s explanation does away with the problem of an intermediate state between a person’s death and a general resurrection at the end of history. Questions regarding the nature of souls existing without bodies are not necessary. What are they like? Where do they go? Will Christ bring them with Him when He returns and join them to

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the resurrected physical bodies in which they lived on earth? answers to questions of this nature.

No need to search for

The reason that believers today are caught up directly to be with the Lord at the time of death is that they no longer descend into the holding place of the dead [sheol or hades] as was done in the past. Before the resurrection in A.D. 70, it appears that everyone was confined in sheol/hades, an intermediate state. After the dead were raised and judged at that time, that place was no longer necessary. John speaks of both death and sheol/hades as being “thrown into the lake of fire” [Revelation 20:14 CEV]. The subject of the judgment is not an easy one to understand; many bothersome questions remain unanswered: How were the living judged in A.D. 70? Especially in view of the fact that the world continued on apparently as before. What went on at that time? Was there something behind the scenes that we are unaware of? Was it a spiritual judgment? Why were the Jews judged for all the murders beginning with Abel? There were no Jews in Abel’s day. Was the judgment upon Jerusalem more than a judgment upon one city and one people? Was there something bigger at stake in the fall of Jerusalem? I confess the questions are easier to ask than are the answers to find. The idea of a resurrection and judgment as occurring in the past is somewhat foreign to most of our beliefs, and yet, the apostles joined Jesus in declaring that the judgment of both the living and the dead was imminent in their day. That being true we must submit to the teachings of God’s Word and reject our commonly held beliefs. “The belief that Christ’s Second Advent, with its accompaniments of a resurrection and a judgment, took place at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem rests on precisely the same basis as the expectation of the events ever taking place; namely, on the plain, emphatic, and continually repeated statements of our Lord and His apostles given beforehand…He himself predicted that these events would take place at the close of the Jewish dispensation. To Christian believers this affords the strongest possible presumption that they did take place…The burden of proof in the argument rests not on those who assert, but on those who deny the past advent…To deny the truth of His predictions because we are unable historically to verify a certain portion of them is simply to make manifest the shallowness of our faith in Him” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.88-89]. “Since, then, the end of the age is not, as is generally imagined, the end of the world, or total destruction of the earth, but the close of the Jewish economy; and since our Lord Himself distinctly and frequently places that event within the limits of the existing generation, we conclude that the Parousia, the resurrection, the judgment, and the last day, all belong to the period of the destruction of Jerusalem. However startling or incredible such a conclusion may at first sight appear, it is what the teachings of the New Testament are absolutely committed to, and as we advance in this inquiry, we shall find the evidence in support of it accumulating to such a degree as to be irresistible… Meanwhile we can only ask the reader to reserve his judgment, and calmly and impartially to weigh the evidence, derived, not

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from human authority, but from the word of inspiration itself "

[James Stuart Russell in The

Parousia, p.126-127].

[E]. THE EARTHLY-REIGN-OF-CHRIST OBSTACLE Another barrier that causes some people to hesitate accepting a first century fulfillment of the return of Jesus is the belief in a future earthly reign of Christ with Israel as the supreme nation. This commonly held position endorses the teaching that, at a future time, Jesus will return to this earth, establish a kingdom, and reign for an extended length of time, commonly thought of as being a literal 1000 years. Since, it is reasoned, there has not been such a kingdom established on this earth, how can it be said that He returned some time in the past? Such a view is basically the same as that held by the Jews of Jesus’ day. They did not believe Jesus was the Messiah because He did not fulfill what they believed to be the main role of a Messiah, that is, He did not set up a kingdom, throw off the Roman yoke, and restore the nation Israel to one of prominence. Since He failed to do that, they rejected Him as being the predicted Messiah. Similarly, since no earthly kingdom was established in A.D. 70, many have difficulty believing He actually returned at that time. With the problem briefly described and in mind, it is helpful to note the early messages about the kingdom. o “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’” [Matthew 3:1-2 NIV]. o After John was put in prison, Jesus Himself took up the same message and “…began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’ ” [Matthew 4:17 NIV].

o When Jesus sent the twelve apostles on a mission, He instructed them to “…preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near’ ” [Matthew 10:7 NIV]. Obviously there is a conflict between the concept that the kingdom of heaven was near during the days of Jesus and today’s belief that the establishing of the kingdom is still in our future. What possible sense can be made from declaring the nearness of heaven’s

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kingdom by Jesus and His followers if its establishment was still to be far into the future? Why preach that it is at hand if some 2,000 years are to pass before it was to be inaugurated? Most of those who believe there is yet to be a political-type kingdom try to get around the timing problem by claiming that Jesus intended to set up a kingdom at His first coming but postponed doing so when the Jews rejected Him. Consequently, the founding of the kingdom awaits a future day. Endeavoring to explain how the kingdom could be near and yet far into the future, one seminary professor writes: “It was near; then it ceased to be near; in the future it will be near again. This strongly suggests that the kingdom was offered to Israel, but because the nation rejected its Messiah the kingdom was and is no longer near” [Dallas Seminary professor Stanley Toussaint as quoted by Thomas Ice in The Great Tribulation: Past or Future?, p.116].

Such a view suggests, and some writers have even stated it quite emphatically, that the Jews’ rejection of the proffered kingdom was a huge miscalculation on the part of God Himself, as observed by Gene Fadeley: “Many people teach that Christ did not usher in his reign in the first century as He and the apostles taught He would. They teach that, because of the rejection by the Jews, God became angry and He postponed his plans. Their teaching is that Christ set up the church as an afterthought until He can come back to set up his kingdom” [Gene Fadeley in an internet article entitled “Did the Death of Jesus Cause God to Postpone His Plans?”].

Others object that an omniscient God cannot have miscalculated; instead they believe that deceit is justified when a higher goal is gained. “…he who knows all things, knew also that his vision was not the same as that of his followers and that it was leading them into error. But this happy error would arm them with hope strong enough to conquer the earth….Had they thought that nineteen centuries later that Christians would still be awaiting manifestation of the Son of Man, they might have slept” [Francois Mauriac in Life of Christ, p.196-197 as quoted by Timothy James in The Messiah’s Return, p.17]. And why not! Problems With The Postponement Theory As can be seen, there are some very serious problems that arise from the theory that the intended setting up of the kingdom in that first century was postponed until a future time. Among the most serious are these two: •

If Christ actually came to set up a kingdom on the order the Jews expected and they had accepted Him and it, then where is there room to carry out the plan of redemption? Where does the Cross fit into such a scheme? One writer, feeling trapped, answers it this way: “It can be said at once that [Jesus’] dying was not God’s own plan. It was conceived somewhere else and yielded to by God. God had a plan of atonement by which men who were willing could be saved from sin and its effects” [S.D. Gordon in Quiet Talks About Jesus, p.114].

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•

Unfortunately, when writing this fanciful statement, Mr. Gordon forgot about Isaiah 53 and many other predictive passages which speak of the death of Christ as being in God’s original plan. If it were a secondary undertaking, it would not have been foreseen by the prophets, a suggestion that is utterly false. The fact is, according to Peter, Jesus was “…delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” [Acts 2:23 ESV]. It was not some last minute arrangement that God devised because of what the Jews did. In fact, “Christ was chosen even before the world was created” [I Peter 1:20 CEV]. It is disturbing that a man of Gordon’s caliber could hold such a bizarre view. But that often happens when one tries to force the Scriptures into a preconceived mold. If the postponement theory were accurate, then a second problem arises: If, at His first coming, it were the intention of Jesus to set up the type of kingdom the Jews expected – and He failed to do so – what assurance do we have that He will succeed in His intention at some future time? Might He not fail again? How can we be sure that He will not be rejected a second time? If the Jews were able to foil God’s plan forcing Him to resort to a backup, why could they not do it again in the future? If the rejection of Jesus caused God to put His plans on hold in that first century, how can we be sure He will not have to scrub His mission a second time? Clearly, something is wrong.

And what is wrong is the concept that the Jews had then, and that futurists have today, of the kind of kingdom Jesus said was near and that He was going to establish. Both first century Jews and 21st century futurists have failed to see the spiritual nature of the kingdom that Christ came to launch. Their minds then and their minds now could not and can not give up the idea of an earthly, physical type kingdom. Simply put, their expectations were wrong then and they are wrong now. The Kingdom as an Earthly, Physical Concept What, then, were those expectations held by the Jews? What was their mindset in that first century? When they heard messengers declaring that the kingdom of heaven was near, what went through their minds? To help understand the Jewish atmosphere of that day in which this message was preached, we must be aware of what developed during that 400-year period between the Old and New Testaments. In between the Testaments there were many books written by Jewish scholars who expressed their future hopes and dreams. Those books came to be known as the Apocrypha, and it was from those books that most of the Jews acquired their beliefs about the coming Messiah, about the work He was to do, and about the glorious kingdom-age that was to come. The beliefs of the Jews in Jesus’ day can be summarized as follows: •

They believed that before the Messiah came there would be a time of great tribulation in the world, a time of terrible chaos, especially involving the Jews.

•

They believed that into this chaos Elijah would appear, announce the coming of the Messiah, and try to prepare people for His coming.

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•

They believed the Messiah, whom they thought of as an extremely powerful individual, a super-human figure, would then come upon the scene.

•

They believed at that time the Gentile nations would join together and war against this extraordinary personage who would totally destroy them all.

•

They believed the Messiah would then set up a kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem making that city the political center of the world.

•

They believed the Messiah would then reign with an iron fist over the entire earth bringing political peace and enforcing God’s justice upon the entire world.

•

They believed the Messiah would either completely rebuild the temple or, at least, restore and cleanse the existing temple making it the religious center of the world.

•

They believed all the Jews who were dispersed worldwide would return to the land of Palestine and participate in administering the affairs of the kingdom. And live happily ever after.

Such were the ideas espoused in the apocryphal books. Such were the expectations lodged in the minds of most every Jewish person at the time of Christ. Knowing the common beliefs of that day, then, we can conclude that if the kingdom Jesus intended to establish were a kingdom as described above, then surely the Jews would have accepted both it and Him. The strong Jewish nationalism of the day coupled with their belief in a soon-to-come overpowering Messiah explains why Jesus had such huge followings early in His ministry. His astonishing and incredible miracles together with His captivating personality excited the masses to look upon Him as the longed-for king. In fact, on at least one occasion, Jesus purposely turned his back on those who wanted to make Him a king of the kind of kingdom that they envisioned. “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again into the hills by himself” [John 6:15 NIV]. IF JESUS HAD COME TO ESTABLISH AN EARTHLY KINGDOM, WHY DID HE WITHDRAW FROM THOSE WHO INTENDED TO MAKE HIM AN EARTHLY KING? The answer is that it was not His intention to set up such a kingdom as they imagined. “The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah because their expectation was in error. They were looking for a physical king and a physical kingdom. Jesus provided neither… His kingship was spiritual and his kingdom was spiritual. They simply did not get the picture. It wasn’t that Jesus failed, but rather the people simply had the wrong expectation” [Gene Fadeley in an internet article entitled “Did the Death of Jesus Cause God to Postpone His Plans?”].

The Kingdom as a Heavenly, Spiritual Movement

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According to Jesus and the other messengers, the kingdom that was to be established in that first century was not to be the kind of kingdom the Jews expected. Several significant indications of this are seen in some of the early statements made by both Jesus and John. • A charge that was used in connection with the preaching of the nearness of the kingdom of heaven was to repent. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” [Matthew 3:1; 4:17 NIV]. “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” [Mark 1:14 NIV]. Such an expression as used by John and Jesus was not a mere call to give up sinning, as it has come to mean today and as important as such an act is. It was an appeal to give up personal ideas about how the kingdom was to be established; it was a call to abandon their thoughts of taking up arms as the means of establishing God’s kingdom on earth; it was a call to refocus their expectations. •

Furthermore, the fact that Jesus asserted that a person “must be born again…born of the Spirit” in order to even enter the kingdom of God [John 3:1-8 NIV] not only revealed the non-physical nature of God’s kingdom but it also delivered a devastating blow to the pride of the Jews. The Jews were extremely proud of their ancestry, being descendants of Abraham, the man to whom they traced their roots. And they “…believed that, in simple virtue of their descent, they would share in the throne of God’s Anointed, and form His court and aristocracy” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.40-41].

But Jesus said you have to be born again even to enter the door of the kingdom, and John said God was able, if He wanted to, to create children for Abraham out of stones [Matthew 3:9]. In other words, “To have Abraham’s blood running in their veins availed them nothing…” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.41]. •

Additionally, the Pharisees, representing the thinking of the multitudes that the kingdom was to be a literal, earthly kingdom that would appear in all the glamour of military might, once asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is [to be] within you’ ” [Luke 17:20 NIV]. Interestingly, Jesus did not answer when the kingdom was to come; instead, he answered how the kingdom was to come. The focus of the Pharisees was out of line.

How?... Not…When? There are two important but related points about the kingdom which Jesus stressed in His response to the Pharisees: •

When Jesus said the kingdom does “not come visibly,” He meant it would be an invisible movement. That is, it would not come in outward show; it would be established neither by physical force nor by military might; it would not be a movement such as can be seen by human eyes. It would, therefore, be a spiritual movement. This is the only time that the Greek words meta parateresis [met’-a par-at-ay’-ray-sis], translated visibly [NIV] or with observation [KJV], is found in the New Testament. However, 95

“… its cognate verb is employed three times in this same gospel of Luke (vi,7; xiv,1; xx,20) to denote the unfriendly and even hostile manner in which the Pharisees observed the acts of Jesus. This fact should be taken into consideration when we interpret the language of Jesus as addressed to them. The purport of his answer is: ‘The kingdom of God does not come in such a way that it may be watched by men possessed of a hostile spirit. It is not to be thought of as a public spectacle on which men look and say, Lo, there it is” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.221-222]. •

Additionally, when Jesus said the kingdom was “within you,” He meant to inform them where the coming kingdom was to be found or, to put it another way, how they might find the coming kingdom. Those translations which render this statement as “…the kingdom of God is among you” or “…the kingdom of God is in your midst” seem, in my opinion, to miss the point. They give the impression that the kingdom was then present, perhaps in the person of Jesus the King. And there may be an element of truth in that, but that is not the point of Jesus’ statement. He was not teaching that the kingdom was then present among them or in their midst because the message He preached was “The kingdom is at hand,” that is, not present then and there at that moment but coming in the near future. Its coming was imminent. The correct translation, with liberties, must be, then, “…the soon coming kingdom of God is to be found within you.” That being the accurate rendition, it can be seen again that Jesus was endeavoring to correct the Pharisees’ interpretation of the nature of the kingdom. They understood that the kingdom was to be a future, physical one. Jesus’ response was that the coming kingdom was to be one that dwelled within a person. It would not be an observable movement but an internal matter. Such an interpretation is consistent with many New Testament passages which speak of the spiritual nature of Christianity [John 14:23; Romans 8:10; II Corinthians 6:16; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 3:17].

Of course, the Pharisees did not understand this principle of a spiritual kingdom. Obviously, their concept of a physical kingdom overrode the truth. It was a wrong concept, as was many other notions in that day. But, instead of rejecting their ideas, that is, instead of repenting, they as individuals and as a nation rejected Him. The Destiny Of The Kingdom of Heaven The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was destined to become far greater than a political, earthly-type kingdom of Jewish supremacy. The early messengers did not describe it as an earthly, temporal kingdom, the kind the Jews had their hearts set on, but as “the kingdom of heaven.” It was not called the kingdom in heaven, but the kingdom of heaven. It was God’s kingdom in this world, but it was not a kingdom of this world. It was God’s will being done on earth as it was in heaven. It was God’s kingdom invading the affairs of man. It was a kingdom from another world, the heavenly world, that was assaulting the kingdoms of man. • Jesus made the same point to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom 96

is from another place” [John 18:36 NIV]. Clearly, His kingdom was neither a physical nor political one that would advance in this world by the use of force. His spiritual kingdom was to advance by other means. •

Using the mustard seed as an illustration, Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven would advance from a very small beginning to become the largest of all kingdoms [Matthew 13:31-32]. He also taught that heaven’s kingdom would gradually filter through earth’s societies and cultures in the same way that yeast permeates a batch of dough [Matthew 13:33].

•

Perhaps the clearest signal that His kingdom was not to be advanced by physical power occurred on the night Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. When Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, Jesus told him, “No more of this…put your sword back in its place” [Matthew 26:52; Luke 22:51; John 18:10 NIV]. He proceeded to ask Peter, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” [Matthew 26:53 NIV]. Then Jesus turned to the crowd and asked, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?” [Matthew 26:55 NIV]. His kingdom would not advance by the sword.

•

One of the symbolic features possessed by Christ in Revelation was “a sharp double-edged sword” that came out of His mouth which He used to subdue the nations [Revelation 1:16; 19:15]. It should be noted that the sword was in His mouth and not in His hand, which implies that He conquers the nations by His Word and not by physical force.

Erroneous Expectations Corrected The ingrained and erroneous belief of that day about the expected Messiah, as opposed to the kind of king He was actually to be, explains why Jesus on several occasions warned about making it known whom He was. For example, after Peter confessed that Jesus was “…the Messiah, the Son of the living God” [Matthew 16:16 NIV], Jesus “…warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah” [Matthew 16:20 NIV]. He did not want people to equate Him with the common and widespread perception of what a Messiah was to be. There were simply too many misconceptions, too much reeducating to be done. Then, too, the common expectations of the day can also explain why Peter protested so quickly when, in his thinking, Jesus made such incredible and incomprehensible All their lives Peter and his statements about suffering and dying [Mark 8:31-33]. contemporaries had thought of the Messiah in terms of irresistible conquest, not suffering and dying. No one before had tied the role of the Messiah to that of a suffering leader, and yet that is exactly what Jesus did. The apostles, as well as most every one else, had to be reeducated with regards to the role of the true Messiah. They needed to know the truth about God’s Messiah and His kingdom, not merely what was said in the apocryphal books. But such was a monumental task. Changing a cultural concept is a gigantic undertaking. But Jesus accepted the challenge.

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He began by choosing some key men and training them for the task of sharing the good and accurate news regarding the kingdom. He constantly taught both small and large groups, both receptive and non-receptive people, about the kingdom. He spoke in parables to explain the nature of God’s kingdom as well as to reveal that it would begin small and would slowly expand and become a worldwide influence. He frequently confronted the leaders of the existing kingdom, the kingdom that God had given the Jews, the kingdom they had used for national advantage and personal profit instead of for the glory of God. And then, most importantly, He decided to replace Israel as the conservator of His kingdom. Israel, Oh, Israel…. Israel had long been the means through whom knowledge of God was to be communicated to the other peoples of the world, but she never totally fulfilled her obligations. This point is developed in an extremely interesting and excellent article by James Stuart Russell. It is unfortunate that the entire article cannot be quoted here but it is some ten pages in length with very small type. So here are some key statements that give the gist of it. “There can be no doubt that the nation of Israel was designated to be the depositary and conservator of the knowledge of the living and true God in the earth … To secure this purpose the Lord Himself became their King, and they became His subjects … To express and carry out this idea of the kingship of God over Israel is the manifest object of the ceremonial apparatus of worship set up in the wilderness … The Most High was the Lord of the whole earth, but He was the King of Israel in an altogether peculiar sense. He was their covenanted Ruler; they were His covenanted people … As the reward of obedience they had the promise of unbounded prosperity and national greatness; they were to be ‘high above all nations in praise and in name and in honor’ (Deut. xxvi.19); while, on the other hand, the penalties of disloyalty and unfaithfulness were correspondingly dreadful; the curse of the broken covenant would overtake them in a signal and terrible retribution, to which there should be no parallel in the history of mankind, past or to come (Deut. xxxviii) …The people on whom this unequalled privilege was conferred showed themselves unworthy of it. Their fickleness and faithlessness neutralized at every step the favor of their invisible Sovereign … when, in the fullness of time, the Theocratic King appeared in the midst of the covenant nation, it was not in the form which they had expected and desired. He did not fulfill their hopes of political power and national preeminence … at length the chief men in the Jewish church and state, bitterly hostile to His pretensions, impeached Him before the Roman governor on the charge of making Himself a King … He was delivered up to be crucified, and the title upon His cross bore this inscription, ‘THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS’ … This tragic event marks the final breach between the covenant nation and the Theocratic King. The covenant had often been broken before, but now it was publicly repudiated and torn in pieces … it only remained that the penalties of the violated covenant should be enforced. We see the result in the ruin of the temple, the destruction of the city, the effacement of the nation, and the abrogation of the law of Moses, accompanied with scenes of horror and suffering

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without a parallel in the history of the world”

[James Stuart Russell in The Parousia, p.337-

346].

The Transference of the Kingdom When Jesus entered the temple courts to teach during the week preceding His crucifixion, He was confronted by some Jewish leaders - the chief priests, the elders, the Pharisees. He shared with them a parable about some tenants who endeavored to steal the inheritance of an owner’s son by killing him. Jesus asked them what they thought the owner would do. o They replied, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end …and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time” [Matthew 21:41 NIV]. o Jesus accepted their answer and pointedly said, “I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” [Matthew 21:43 NIV]. This is a clear statement that the Jewish nation was no longer to be involved in the purposes of God’s kingdom. Its selfish and corrupt leadership had seriously mishandled what God had given to it and so was to be replaced by others. Fifteen hundred years earlier, Israel had been selected by God to be His servant and to be a light to the other nations of the world. But Israel was unfaithful to her calling and acted in such a manner as to cause the apostle Paul to write concerning her: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” [Romans 2:23 NIV]. She simply had to be replaced by another people who would produce fruit that was commensurate with God’s kingdom. o Earlier in His ministry, after a Roman centurion had impressed Jesus with his faith, Jesus said, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” [Matthew 8:11-12 NIV].

Clearly disgraceful Jews were to be evicted from the kingdom and replaced by many non-Jews. The notice that they would be thrown outside into darkness is a symbolic, yet quite descriptive, statement of what happened to them in A.D. 70 when their city was attacked and destroyed. It was a time of unprecedented anguish and uncontrollable weeping as they suffered the collapse of their world. They were judged by Jesus as being unworthy subjects and were cast aside. An horrendous, appalling darkness fell upon that once-blessed nation. o On another occasion, using almost identical words, Jesus again spoke of internal changes that would be made with regards to His kingdom: “There will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God” [Luke 13:28-29 NIV].

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Once more it is clear that many from non-Jewish backgrounds, people who previously had been forbidden entrance into the kingdom, would enter in and replace the incumbents, the present keepers of the kingdom. The regular routine of forbidding no one but their own people from entering the kingdom was one of the practices that led to Jesus’ condemnation of the Jewish leaders. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” [Matthew 23:13 NIV]. Israel failed in her role as God’s communicator. Changes Anticipated Jesus concluded this rebuke of the Jewish leaders by speaking of the soon-coming destruction of their temple, the physical and religious center of the kingdom. The consequence of misusing what God had given them was to be stripped of any further service as well as to lose their present place of service. o In anticipation of replacing the tenants of the kingdom, Jesus, early in His ministry, instructed His disciples, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” [Luke 12:32 NIV]. o During the final week of His ministry, He said to that same group, “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom” [Luke 22:28-29 ESV]. Jesus had chosen those twelve men to be the foundation of the kingdom He planned to establish. They were to do the groundwork. These men were the underpinning upon which the whole movement would be built. Notably, Peter was given “… the keys of the kingdom of heaven” [Matthew 16:19 ESV], a symbolic phrase signifying that he was selected to figuratively open and close the doors to the spiritual kingdom. It is significant that this statement designating Peter as the director comes immediately after Jesus informed His disciples of building an unshakeable and irresistible church. Jesus said, “…you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” [Matthew 16:18-19 NIV]. The fact that Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven and the church in the same breath infers that they are very closely related. They appear to be two different entities but just one movement. It appears that the Church replaced Israel as the conservator and the dispenser of the information of God’s kingdom. The New Israel

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o Some 35 years later Peter spoke of Christians as “…being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God” [I Peter 2:5,9]. o John followed suit with a similar statement: “[Christ Jesus] has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father…” [Revelation 1:6]. Such terms and titles in the Old Testament were normally applied to Israel. At Mt. Sinai God told Moses to tell Israel, o “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” [Exodus 19:5-6]. Now these designations were being applied to the Church by the Jewish apostles themselves. Clearly, they thought of the church as assuming the role and titles that had 1500 years before been designated as that of Israel’s. Israel failed, but the church would not for even the “…the might of Hades [an enemy strong enough to hold as prisoners all the departed spirits of earth’s dead] shall not triumph over it” [Matthew 16:18 NIV].

o The writer to the Hebrews urged his readers to be a thankful people and to reverently worship God because, he said, “…we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” [Hebrews 12:28 NIV]. o John, writing to the seven churches in the province of Asia, spoke of Christ as having “… made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father” [Revelation 1:6 NKV]. o Jesus said that at the judgment, the King would say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world” [Matthew 25:34 NIV]. There is ample Scriptural teaching that Israel has been replaced as the caretakers of the kingdom. Paul spoke of believers as being “…the Israel of God” [Galatians 6:16 NIV]. Those who hold to the postponement theory apparently believe the kingdom was taken from the Jews and not given to anyone. Then, at some time in the future, it will be returned to the Jews. But such a belief, as we have seen, finds no support in Scripture. Jesus clearly said to the Jews, o “I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” [Matthew 21:43 NIV]. There is no postponement here. Jesus is not just waiting for a signal from the Jews that they are ready to accept Him so He can return and set up a physical kingdom.

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“The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah because their expectation was in error … Most Christians’ expectation of today is also in error. They are also looking for a physical king and a physical kingdom. Jesus still has provided neither. His words still ring out, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ His kingship is spiritual and his kingdom is spiritual … Jesus did not fail. Rather, people still simply have the wrong expectation” [Gene Fadeley in an internet article entitled “Did the Death of Jesus Cause God to Postpone His Plans?”].

There is The Prophecy of Daniel one other interesting passage of Scripture that supports the view that God’s kingdom was established on earth during that first century. By means of a vision, God revealed to the prophet Daniel that there would be a sequence of four kingdoms that would arise on the earth’s scene [Daniel 7:1-28]. By hindsight we know these to be the Babylonian, the Medo-Perisan, the Grecian, and the Roman empires. o Daniel also saw that during the time of the fourth kingdom “…one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven … approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” [Daniel 7:13-14 NIV]. o It was also revealed to Daniel that during the time of that same fourth kingdom “… the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever – yes, for ever and ever … then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him” [Daniel 7:18,27 NIV]. There are three significant questions that can be asked about Daniel’s prophecy, the answers to which help confirm that the kingdom of heaven was established during that first century.

¾ Is it not significant that Daniel’s prophecy indicates that God would establish a kingdom during the time the fourth kingdom was in power? History attests to the fact that Rome was that fourth kingdom. Is it a coincidence that Jesus was on earth during the time when Rome was in power and that He and His followers spoke often of the nearness of the kingdom? ¾ Is it not significant that Daniel’s prophecy looks to the future but the Hebrews’ writer speaks of the present? Daniel, writing around 550 B.C., said, “…the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever” [Daniel 7:18 NIV]; the Hebrews’ writer, writing around A.D. 64, said, “…we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” [Hebrews 12:28 NIV].

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If the establishing of the kingdom were still in the distant future, the Hebrews’ writer would not have used the present tense. Instead he would have indicated, as did Daniel, that he too was speaking of a future event. Instead, he wrote that believers were, at that very time, in the process of receiving the kingdom. Daniel’s prophecy was on the verge of being fulfilled at the time the book of Hebrews was being written, that is, in about A.D. 64. ¾ Is it not significant that Daniel’s prophecy indicates that the kingdom God was to establish during the days of the fourth kingdom “…will be an everlasting kingdom … one that will never be destroyed” [Daniel 7:27; 7:14 NIV]? If He established an everlasting kingdom in the first century, where is there room for believing that He will establish an everlasting kingdom at a later time? Will He establish a second everlasting kingdom? If one has already been established, where is there room for two? Furthermore, if God established an everlasting kingdom in the first century, where is there room for delays and postponements? Not once in the New Testament is a postponement of the setting up of God’s kingdom even hinted it. The fact is the writers of Scripture consistently speak of its establishment as being at hand. We conclude, then, that the Scriptures do not speak of a future earthly reign of Christ with Israel as the supreme nation. Christ is the head of a spiritual kingdom reigning in the hearts, souls, and minds of His followers. Furthermore, His kingdom is destined to subdue all earthly kingdoms and to achieve worldwide dominance fulfilling Paul’s stated goal o “…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” [Philippians 2:10-11 NIV]. [For a more detailed study on the evidence that the kingdom of God is advancing on earth, see point [J] of the Expanded Studies section, p. 235].

[F]. THE FUTURE- MILLENNIUM OBSTACLE The concept of the millennium must be discussed in a study such as this since certain teachings, particularly some espoused within the last century, are inconsistent with a first century return of Christ. Although the word itself is found neither in the Old nor in the New Testaments, it is an expression employed by modern scholars to label the thousand-year term that is used six times in Revelation 20:1-7. The word millennium does not spring from a Greek word but actually originates in the Latin language. Two Latin words combine to make up the term a thousand-year period. Mille means a thousand and annus means a year. The Greek word used in this passage is chilia [khil’-ee-a]. Most scholars in the past used the word chiliasm to designate the thousand years. In those days millennialists were called chiliasts, a term still seen in the works of older writers. Nevertheless, millennium is a word that is commonly accepted and will be used in this discussion.

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The meaning of Revelation 20:1-10 has proved to be one of the hardest passages in Scripture for scholars to agree upon. Most see the passage as being fulfilled either during our present day or in the future while a few believe it was fulfilled in the past. To further confuse the issue are the differences in the understanding of the length of the thousand years. Those differences largely result from whether the thousand year expression is to be taken literally or figuratively. Literalists hold that the term refers to a definite thousand year period. Most literalists view it as a time yet to occur, although within this group are a few who suggest that the thousand years began sometime during the ministry of Christ, or at least by A.D. 73 [when the last Jewish resistance collapsed at Masada], and extended from that time for a literal thousand years, ending anywhere between A.D. 1033-1073. Another view is that the thousand years began at the dividing of the kingdom when Solomon died in 930 B.C. and ended at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Wherever the thousand year period is placed, literalists always maintain that it is an actual 1000 years. Symbolists view the term as symbolizing an indefinite period of time. That unspecified period of time may be an extended one or a condensed one. Those who treat it as an extended period normally think that it represents the entire church age which is now some two thousand years long. Those who believe in the condensed version normally think the thousand years ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Within this latter group are those who view the 40 years between the ministry of Christ and the collapse of Israel in A.D. 70 as a period so important as can only be described as one of completeness and perfection, hence the figurative use of 1000. While most in this group believe it represents the last 40 years of Israel’s existence, a sizeable number believes the thousand-year expression represents the final 3½ years or even the final few months before Jerusalem’s destruction. As if that wasn’t confusing enough, other terms have arisen to label people who believe certain ways. Three of the main tags can be described as follows: Premillennialists fall within the first category above, the literalist group, and believe that Christ will return to the earth before a future thousand-year period. They believe that the preaching of the Gospel through the years will not have a major influence on the world; instead, the world will become more corrupt as time goes by to the point that when Christ returns there will be only a few believers on the earth. Into this chaos Christ returns and takes His people, the Church, out of this world. With the Church gone, He turns His attention to Israel. He sets up a kingdom and rules over the entire earth with a rod of iron for a literal 1000 year period with Israel, as the supreme nation, participating in that reign. At the beginning of the millennium there is a resurrection of some of the dead who also share in His reign. It is during that time that the earth experiences righteousness, peace, and prosperity. At the end of the

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millennium, He raises the rest of the dead and conducts the final judgment. Eternity follows that judgment. Postmillennialists usually fall within the literalist category but may also tend to be symbolists at times. They also believe in a future, visible return of Christ, but their view is that He comes after the millennial period, not before it. They believe the influence of the Church throughout the world will gradually increase over the years to the point that the world becomes Christianized. Over a prolonged extent of time, the preaching of the Gospel will have great success, profoundly affecting the world’s culture, ushering in righteousness, peace, and prosperity. After Christianity achieves and then exercises dominance on earth for 1000 years, Christ returns to end history. At His return He raises the dead and judges both the living and the dead. Eternity follows that judgment. Amillennialists are symbolists; however, they do not deny a millennium, as the term might suggest, but they deny the views about the millennium that are held by the other millennial groups. They reject both the literalism of the premillennialist and the gradualism of the postmillennialist. Instead, in their view the thousand-year expression symbolizes the age in which we are now living, but unlike the postmillennialists, they hold that earth’s society will continue more or less as is until Christ comes. There will be ups and downs relating to cultural morality, but the highs and lows will be minimal with no drastic changes that last. The Gospel message will not have widespread success. History ends with a number of events all occurring concurrently: Christ comes, the dead are raised, the last judgment is held for all, the new heavens and the new earth are established, and eternity begins. The prophecies concerning righteousness, peace, and prosperity are fulfilled during eternity in the new heavens and the new earth. Notice that all these views are quite similar, the basic difference being in the matter of timing. However, there is one important factor about these views that relates to this study which should be pointed out: they all promote a yet future return of Christ. Therefore, they are all variations of futuristic eschatology. They differ from one another only in the question of when Christ will return to put an end to history. If, as I have endeavored to show, Christ has already returned, then none of these views is relevant. This brings us back to the preterist viewpoint, and that viewpoint sees the events of Revelation as already fulfilled. This means that the thousand year period must be looked at as a symbolic expression and must find its fulfillment before A.D. 70. The Literary Structure of Revelation Let us think from outside the box for a moment and consider the problem from a different angle. It appears from my study of the issue that a person’s belief as to when the thousand year period occurs seems to be largely dependent upon his view of the literary structure of the book of Revelation.

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If he sees the events recorded in the book as occurring in chronological order, he is more likely to believe the millennium is taking place now or is to take place in the future.

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If he does not see the events as occurring in chronological order but sees sections that run parallel to one another, or even overlap one another, he is more likely to regard the millennium as having transpired in the past. Before discussing this approach, note some of the problems with the chronological approach.

Problems Confronting A Chronological Interpretation Of Revelation [1]. There is the problem with the time scope of Revelation. In John’s introductory remarks of the book, he says the information that he received concerned “…the things that must soon take place” [Revelation 1:1 ESV]. He followed this with a related comment, “…the time is near” [Revelation 1:3 ESV]. Therefore, ¾ to place any of the events pictured in the book into the far off future is to venture outside the boundaries that John establishes for them. For example, it would be inaccurate to view the seven churches as representing seven different ages. Also, it would be unacceptable to see the Beast as representing a future antichrist, and it would be incorrect to view the millennium extending for a long, indefinite period of time, such as the present church age, or as still in the remote future. John clearly indicated that the time of the fulfillment of the events recorded in his book was near, not far, and soon, not delayed. These guidelines of John must be kept in mind when endeavoring to determine the historical setting of the thousand year period. All the prophetic events described in the book must be interpreted as being on the horizon ready to be fulfilled. Any view that promotes a long delay must be rejected since it strays outside John’s interpretive boundaries. [2]. There is the problem with the sequence itself. To put it clearly, those who seek to interpret the book chronologically have a problem with the chronology. Consider, as an example, the final two chapters of Revelation. These are generally interpreted as giving information about the eternal state that begins after the final judgment. It is said to be a picture of heaven, the final abode of all the saved, the bride of Christ. In these chapters, according to futurists, we have entered eternity. Admittedly, the descriptions of the New Jerusalem are simply fascinating. But within the description of that heavenly city are some troubling comments: “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it…” [Revelation 21:24 NIV]. Also, the leaves of the tree of life which stands on each side of the river that flows from the throne of God, “…are for the healing of the nations” [Revelation 22:2 NIV]. Such statements found within a passage that supposedly teaches about heaven are disturbing to the futurist.

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¾ What are nations doing in heaven? How is it that earthly kings bring their earthly glory into heaven? Why do the nations need healing if they have already entered eternity? Isn’t healing for people who have something wrong with them? Is healing not for the ill, the imperfect, the sinful? Is it not a little odd for those in heaven - the saved, the sanctified, the perfected - to stand in need of further healing? More troubling is the following statement: “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” [Revelation 22:14-15 NIV].

¾ If this is heaven, why are sinners hanging around outside the city? Aren’t the ones mentioned in this verse the same as those that are cast into the lake of fire at the already-held final judgment? “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur” [Revelation 21:8 NIV]. If they are cast into the lake of fire at the final judgment, how is it they are later found outside the gates of the holy city, the New Jerusalem? [3]. There is the problem of harmony with the rest of the Bible. It has been noted by many writers that the only time that a millennial period is mentioned throughout the entire Bible is in Revelation 20. Jesus does not talk about it in His lectures. Neither does Paul in all of his inspired writings. The fact is that the concept of a literal, future millennium clashes with eschatological teachings found elsewhere. Take, for example, the fairly common view that Christ is to reign on earth for a thousand years. The fact is that nowhere do the Scriptures speak of Christ as reigning a mere thousand years. They always speak of His reign as being an eternal one. Consider the following statements: o Isaiah prophesized concerning the coming Messiah: “…to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders…of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom…from that time on and forever” [Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV]. o Daniel predicted concerning the coming kingdom: “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” [Daniel 2:44 NIV]. o Daniel, a little later, again spoke of the coming kingdom: “…I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” [Daniel 7:13-14 NIV]. 107

o Luke wrote about Mary’s experience when an angel appeared to her announcing that she would bear the son of God: “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” [Luke 1:31-33 NIV]. o God said “…about the Son, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’ ” [Hebrews 1:8 NIV]. o Peter encouraged his readers with these words: “…you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” [II Peter 1:11 NIV].

o John saw and heard in his vision “…great voices in heaven, saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and He shall reign for ever and ever” [Revelation 11:15 NIV]. The above verses point out overwhelmingly and conclusively that the reign of Christ is an everlasting one. The prophetic scriptures place no time limit upon His reign! ¾ The Revelation 20 passage, however, teaches that the millennium has an end; therefore, the reign of Christ and the millennium cannot be identical or interchangeable! ¾ Whatever is meant by the thousand year expression in Revelation 20 must fit in with the rest of Scripture. It must not be the tail that wags the dog. This short study shows that a chronological approach to Revelation steps outside the parameters set by John. It also has problems with the sequence of the events described, and it does not harmonize with the rest of Scripture. Who Says So? Complicating the issue is the number of persuasive futurists who write and speak, it seems, without ever having read the millennial passage. As can be seen below and verified in the text, NONE of the very key points that futurists promote so forcefully is found at all in the only passage in the Bible that focuses on the millennium. •

Nothing is said about Jerusalem being the political center of the world.

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Nothing is said about Jerusalem being the religious center of the world.

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Nothing is said about the existence of a Jewish temple.

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Nothing is said about the reinstitution of the old sacrificial system.

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Nothing is said about David’s throne being established on earth.

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Nothing is said about Christ setting up a civil government on earth.

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Nothing is said about the Jews living peacefully in Palestine.

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Nothing is said about world righteousness, peace, and prosperity.

Along the same lines, Anthony Hoekema, [1913-1988], a well-respected professor of systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, points out the illogic of the futurist’s position: “According to dispensational teaching, the purpose of the earthly millennial reign of Christ is to fulfill hitherto unfulfilled promises to Israel, to restore the Israelites to their land as a nation, and in that land to give Israelites a place of exaltation above non-Israelites….If this is to be the purpose of the millennium, is it of passing strange that Revelation 20:4-6 says not a word about the Jews, the nation of Israel, the land of Palestine, or Jerusalem? This would not be so serious if the idea of the restoration of Israel were only an incidental aspect of the millennium. But, according to dispensational teaching the restoration of Israel is the central purpose of the millennium! It is therefore all the more significant that nothing of this alleged central purpose is mentioned in the only biblical passage which deals directly with Christ’s millennial reign, Revelation 20:4-6” [Anthony Hoekema in The Bible and the Future, p.222].

What has happened is that the concept of a future earthly millennium in the minds of many scholars has colored their interpretation of this passage to such a degree that it is scarcely recognizable. The above comments should be sufficient to at least question a chronological interpretation of Revelation. It seems, then, that we ought to heed the warnings given by two very perceptive writers: “The 1000 years appears nowhere in the 66 books, 1189 chapters, 31,173 verses of the Bible except for 6 occurrences in 6 consecutive verses of Revelation 20:2-7. It is not good exegesis to build an entire system of eschatology, a philosophy of history, on such a highly symbolic passage, particularly when that interpretation conflicts with other plain passages of scripture” [Harold Hazelip in an article in the Restoration Quarterly No. 18, 1975, entitled “Revelation and the Millennium,” p. 234].

“Instead of insisting that Revelation 20 affirms a teaching which is not found elsewhere in the Bible, is it not wiser to interpret these difficult verses in an apocalyptic book in the light of and in harmony with the clear teachings of the rest of Scripture?” [Anthony Hoekema in The Bible and the Future, p.186]. Interpreting Revelation As A Series Of Topics Another way to look at the literary structure of Revelation is to see it as depicting events that often occur concurrently, not necessarily chronologically. This view sees Revelation as being composed of a number of scenes which often run parallel with one another, even overlapping at times. A later scene may also build upon a previous one, giving more information than previously given.

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“The book of Revelation is like a series of pictures superimposed upon one another. Only by carefully ’lifting’ the scenes from one another can the individual images be understood for the part they lend to the whole” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consummation of the Ages, p.353].

Although this thematic approach to interpreting Revelation has its difficulties, it does not have the glaring inconsistencies that accompany a chronological explanation.

The Signs Even a first reading of Revelation reveals very clearly that this book is different from all the others in the New Testament. One of the main differences between it and the other books is the method by which it was communicated. Revelation was communicated to John by a series of pictures. It is a book that describes not only what John heard but also what he saw. Unlike any other New Testament book, truth was communicated predominantly by visual aids, signs, sounds, and imagery. o The fact is that the very first verse indicates that such would be the method used. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” [Revelation 1:1 KJV]. In the Greek, the word signified is related to the word sign. It has been suggested that we should pronounce the word sig’-ni-fied as sign’-i-fied for that would point out that it means more than just revealing pertinent information. The news that John received was largely conveyed to him by visual scenes. This has led one writer to say, “The book of Revelation is a series of pictures. The pictures move. They are full of action. Everything is constantly astir. One picture makes place for another; and then another, and another” [William Hendriksen in More Than Conquerors, p.37]. These pictures depict various views of events that are on the horizon at the time of the writing of the book. They often picture the same event but from a different angle. By doing so they expand upon information already introduced. They might begin at different historical points but all lead up to the last day. “…the book reaches the climax only after retracing its steps several times to provide a fuller exposition of the events leading to the end. Thus, there is both progression and retrogression: Progression, because with each succeeding series of judgments there are also introduced new characters and circumstances bound up in the events marking the end; retrogression, because to some extent, the seals, trumpets, vials, etc., all overlap” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consummation of the Ages, p.172]. The Sevens The number seven is significant in the book. The Greek word for seven, hepta [hep-tah’], is found 54 times within its pages. There are seven churches, seven spirits, seven lamp stands, seven stars, seven lamps, seven seals, seven horns, seven eyes, seven angels, 110

seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven heads, seven crowns, seven plagues, seven bowls, and seven kings. Being aware of such an emphasis on the number seven, should it be surprising, then, to find that the book appears to possess seven major sections? The scenes portrayed between the prologue, the first eight verses [1:1-8], and the epilogue, the last 16 verses [22:6-21] are easily determined, and scholars generally agree concerning the book’s design; it is in the interpretation that scholars differ so greatly. Here is an outline generally followed by most scholars, but included with it is a preterist viewpoint which is in opposition to the typical futuristic viewpoint and which by no means is the only preterist viewpoint. 1:9–3:22 - pictures the glorified Christ walking among and evaluating the spiritual condition of seven specific Asian churches to whom the book is directed. 4:1–8:1 - pictures Christ opening the seven-sealed scroll which symbolically depicts the devastation suffered by the inhabitants of Israel resulting from a bloody civil war and a conquering army, demonstrating that the Day of God’s Wrath had come [6:15-16]. 8:2–11:19 - pictures seven trumpet-blowing angels which symbolically depict various catastrophes and calamities inflicted upon the Jews by the invading forces of Rome, confirming that the Day of God’s Wrath had come [11:18]. 12:1–14:20 - pictures a red dragon, a sea beast, and an earth beast, symbolic representations of Satan, Roman civil power, and Jewish ecclesiastical power, as the enemies of both Christ and His followers and deserving of His wrath [14:19]. 15:1–16:21 - pictures seven angels carrying seven bowls that are filled with the seven last plagues of God’s wrath. These are poured out upon the Jews during their final days and symbolically depict the complete wreckage of that people by the Roman forces. With these the destruction of Israel is complete and the Day of God’s Wrath is over [16:17]. 17:1–20:15 - pictures the overthrow of the enemies of Christ and the Church. Jerusalem [Babylon], Roman civil power [the beast], Jewish ecclesiastical power [the false prophet], Satan, death, and Hades are all defeated. 21:1–22:5 - pictures the establishment of a new world order with the creation of a new spiritual center, depicted as a new Jerusalem which symbolically represents the new Bride of Christ, the church. As can be detected by the outline above, the book of Revelation is concerned with the last days of Israel and the soon coming destruction of that old world of Judaism and the establishing of the new heaven and the new earth. In such a scenario where, then, does the thousand year period fit in? Below is a sampling from a few writers who hold millennial beliefs other than a futuristic one:

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Anthony A. Hoekema was one who held to the topical approach to Revelation and believed that between the first and second comings of Christ is where the millennium should be placed. Based upon the thematic approach, he maintains that Revelation 20:1 must look back to the time of Jesus’ ministry since the defeat and final doom of Satan began with the first coming of Christ. “That the millennial reign depicted in 20:4-6 occurs before the Second Coming of Christ is evident from the fact that the final judgment, described in verses 11-15 of this chapter, is pictured as coming after the thousand-year reign. Not only in the book of Revelation but also elsewhere in the New Testament the final judgment is associated with the Second Coming of Christ. This being the case, it is obvious that the thousand-year reign of Revelation 20:4-6 must occur before and not after the Second Coming of Christ … In agreement with what was said above about the structure of the book, and in the light of verses 7-15 of this chapter (which describe Satan’s ‘little season,’ the final battle, and the final judgment), we may conclude that this thousand-year period extends from Christ’s first coming to just before his Second Coming” [Anthony A. Hoekema in The Bible and the Future, p.227].

Since Professor Hoekema was an amillennialist, he believed the second coming of Christ is still in the future, so in his view the entire church age is the millennial period. But what if Christ returned in A.D. 70? What if the period of time between Christ’s first coming and His second coming was around 40 years instead of over 2000 years? If someone of Hoekema’s caliber can argue so persuasively that the “thousand-year period extends from Christ’s first coming to just before his second coming,” is it not feasible to use his same arguments to support the position that the millennial period was between A.D. 30 and A.D. 70 … that is, between His first coming and His second coming? Ed Stevens, ordained minister, founder of Kingdom Publications, writer, and defender of the preterist position insists that the thousand year term should not be interpreted today as to what we think it means. What we think today about the meaning of the expression a thousand years should not be the determining factor for interpreting that term. Instead, the meaning of that expression should be determined by the way it was used by those living in the first century. “The primary task of any interpreter of the Bible is to ask what did the original author intend to communicate to the original audience” [Ed Stevens on a tape entitled “The Millennium (Judaic)”].

To find the answer, Stevens studied a large number of ancient rabbinical writings that were available in the first century, writings with which the apostles would have been familiar since those writings were circulated among the synagogues. In those writings Stevens found a vast number of related references to the Day of the Lord, the Day of the Messiah, the Messianic Age, the Last Days, and the Thousand Years, terms which the New Testament writers used with little or no reinterpretation. Those writings clearly indicate that the Jews believed the reign of the Messiah was to be a transition period between two ages: the present age in which they were living and 112

the age to come. Evidently, the Jewish teachers differed as to the length of that transition period although apparently all believed it would be for only one generation. The far majority believed it would last from 40 to less than 1000 years. Forty years because that figure parallels Israel’s forty years of wondering in the wilderness, and thus was a term used to denote the transition period between one age and the next age. Many rabbis considered this to be the correct duration of the transition period, the days of the Messiah. Those who felt the transition period would be up to 1000 years did so because that was the normal length of a generation during the early days of the race. [See Genesis 5 which records the lengths of people’s lives as being 700, 800, 900 years]. The rabbis who held this position thought the Messiah might restore that longevity of life when He reigned on earth during that transition period. They believed this view was further supported by some of Isaiah’s comments regarding the new heavens and the new earth, such as, o “Never again will there be in it an infant that lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth…” [Isaiah 65:20 NIV]. So, from his studies, Stevens came to these two conclusions: “Number one, Judaism generally and the Rabbi’s specifically already had several different concepts about how long the transition period would last and, number two, one of those periods was the forty-year concept. That proves that the forty year transition period is a valid possibility” [Ed Stevens on a tape entitled “The Millennium (Judaic)”].

Based upon the fact that the Talmudic writers used the term a thousand years figuratively to designate the transition period, Stevens concludes that the use of the term in the Revelation 20 passage should be thought of in the same way. We today should not try to read into the term a literal meaning. If the people of Jesus’ day used the term figuratively, so should we. And it might be added that what we know of the history of that time supports the contention that the transition period was a 40 year one and not a 1000 year one. Stevens’ studies have led him to believe the transition period, that is, the symbolic thousand year term, the days of the Messiah, began in A.D. 26, the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and lasted to A.D. 67, the beginning of the Roman-Jewish War. Don K. Preston, pastor, prolific writer, and advocate of the preterist position, maintains that the elements in Revelation 20 that characterize the thousand year period are found in other scriptures which identify those same elements as being present during the transition period. Consider Preston’s main points: [1]. The millennium is characterized by the binding of Satan [Revelation 20:1-2]. Preston points to several events to show that Satan was being bound in the ministry and death of Jesus. For example,

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Matthew 12:22-29 records the account of Jesus casting a demon out of a man and then He explains that His action is proof that Satan is being bound by His power at that time. Revelation 20 depicts the binding of Satan as one of the characteristics of the millennium. Matthew 12 depicts Jesus as binding Satan at that time. This tells us that the millennium had begun during the ministry of Christ.

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Luke 10:9-18 depicts Satan being cast out of heaven by the preaching of the 70 disciples whom Jesus had sent on that mission, an obvious indication of a successful assault on Satan’s kingdom.

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John 12:31 indicates that Jesus saw in His death the means by which Satan would be cast out. These incidents in the ministry and death of Jesus all picture Satan being bound and cast out, an essential element of the millennium.

[2]. The millennium is characterized by the resurrection and enthronement of saints [Revelation 20:4]. Preston shows that these two elements, resurrection and enthronement, are characteristics of the spiritual experiences of those who have been saved by God’s grace. “God raised us up with Christ [resurrection] and seated us with him [enthronement] in the heavenly [spiritual] realms in Christ Jesus” [Ephesians 2:6 NIV]. When John wrote in Revelation 20:4 about the saints being resurrected and enthroned, he was writing about a process that had already begun. Believers in Christ were already experiencing a spiritual resurrection. They had already been made alive in Christ even when they were dead in trespasses and sins [Ephesians 2:1,5]. Then, too, believers were already experiencing a spiritual enthronement. They had already been made to sit with Christ in heavenly places [Ephesians 2:6]. Since these elements that characterize the millennium were already a part of the spiritual experience of believers, then the initiation of the millennium was in the past and is not a future event. [3]. The millennium is characterized by the reign of Christ, which implies a kingdom [Revelation 20:4]. The millennial reign, then, is the time when Christ’s kingdom is established. Paul taught that the Colossian believers had been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s son [Colossians 1:13]. If believers had already been made subjects within Christ’s kingdom, an element of the millennium, then the millennium must have already begun. [4]. The millennium is characterized by the priesthood of resurrected and enthroned believers [Revelation 20:6]. In the millennium the followers of Christ would serve as priests. Earlier John himself had written that believers were already serving as priests. He spoke of Christ as having “…formed us into a kingdom, to be priests to God, His Father” [Revelation 1:6 WEY]. Since the priesthood of the followers of Christ is an element of the millennium, then the millennium must have already been in existence before John wrote.

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Preston makes other observations but these summarized above are sufficient to point out the flow of his argument, namely, that the elements which are said to characterize the millennium in Revelation 20 are also found to characterize that period between the ministry of Christ and His second coming in A.D. 70 [Don Preston in a tape entitled Rev. 20 & the Millennium # 1].

Kurt M. Simmons, a lawyer, minister, author, and also a staunch defender of the preterist position argues quite convincingly for a millennial period occurring between the years of A.D. 38 and A.D. 64. This is based upon the fact that the main focus of the Revelation 20 passage concerns the binding of Satan, and Simmons sees this binding period as occurring between those two dates. A.D. 38 is the date he assigns to Paul’s conversion to Christ, and A.D. 64 is the date Emperor Nero [A.D. 54-68] implemented a policy to rid the empire of all Christians. After the death of Stephen at the hand of the Jewish Sanhedrin and before the conversion of Paul, the Jews engaged upon an intense persecution of Christians [Acts 8:1]. This abruptly ended and, in fact, collapsed, when Paul became a Christian. Simmons maintains that this was the beginning of a time of relative peace for Christians and thus was the period in which Satan was bound. During those intervening years, there was no organized persecution against Christians. This was due not only to Paul’s conversion but also to the enforcement of an important governmental policy of Emperor Claudius [A.D. 41-54]. At the beginning of his reign, Claudius, who came to power not long after Paul’s conversion, implemented a law that made it illegal for Jews to kill Christians. It was during the next 20-25 years that the gospel message spread rapidly throughout the known world. Then in A.D. 64 the persecution of Christians was resumed when an irrational Nero was prodded on by those same blood-thirsty Jews who had attempted to eradicate them years before. For the next three to four years a systematic attempt was made to eradicate the empire of all Christians. The renewed persecution of Christians under Nero was the time Satan was released from being bound [Revelation 20:7]. Simmons believes, then, that the expression a thousand years during which Satan was bound is a symbolic term that finds its fulfillment between the two times of fiery persecution through which Christians in that first century had to undergo, a period of some 26 years. “Although comparatively short in time, the figure of a thousand years is apt when it is borne in mind that it is used to describe quality and not quantity; it expresses the fullness and greatness of the binding, not its actual length or duration. Indeed, from the point of view of those seeking to destroy the church, one day would be as a thousand years so long as they were restrained to persecute the saints” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consummation of the Ages, p.365]. Symbolism Preferred The views of the men briefly discussed above, and they are representative of many others, regard the expression a thousand years as being a figure of speech, a term that

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has a symbolic meaning. Symbolism is a literary device that is more prevalent in the writings of eastern authors than in the writings of their western counterparts. So, as a general observation, readers in the western world are not as accustomed to understanding symbolism as are eastern readers. We prefer to believe that the surface or literal meaning of a phrase or statement is what the author intended to communicate. But eastern writers don’t function that way and, since the Bible originated within an eastern culture, we have to work hard to understand its various symbolic expressions. “The reason for the use of symbolism is that the Revelation is a prophecy, and symbolism is prophetic language” [David Chilton in The Days of Vengeance, p. 80]. Consider the fact that much of the book of Revelation depicts happenings behind the scenes. We are only aware of them because John, being allowed to venture into that unseen world, wrote down what he saw and heard. He saw strange creatures, grotesque beasts, galloping horses, swiftly moving angels, and huge bowls of judgment being poured out; he heard loud voices, booming thunder, and blaring trumpets; he even talked with angels. What John saw and heard in that invisible world cannot be classified as normal stuff. The nature of that stuff is not literal but symbolic. There are symbolic events, symbolic numbers, symbolic creatures, symbolic names, symbolic characters, and even symbolic colors. The difficulty, especially for those of us who live in the western world, is determining the meaning of all the imagery. The view that a thousand years is a symbolic expression and that its fulfillment occurred within that first generation of Christians is worthy of genuine consideration. One of the important reasons for seriously pondering this view is that it maintains the integrity of the book. John was told to write about the things that had occurred, about the things that were occurring, and about the things that were soon to occur [Revelation 1:19]. He was never told to write about anything that would occur in the distant future. It follows then that the fulfillment of the thousand years must be found within the time frame he established and not outside of it.

[G]. THE FUTURE-REGATHERING-OF-ISRAEL OBSTACLE For some people, one of the toughest difficulties to overcome for accepting a first century return of Christ is the commonly held belief that all Jews throughout the world will return to and take possession of all the land of Palestine sometime before Christ returns. When the Jews take control of that land, according to the majority of those who hold this view, Christ will return and all Jews will then be converted to Him after seeing the scars in His hands and side left by the nails and spear at the time of His crucifixion. There are three key assumptions in this scenario which will be reflected upon in this section of study: • • •

It assumes that true racial Jews still exist, it assumes that they are still God’s chosen people, and it assumes that the land of Palestine still belongs to them.

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[1]. The first assumption is that true racial Jews still exist today. Your first reaction might be one of surprise that this is considered to be an assumption and not a fact. After all, are there not some 13 million people worldwide who claim to be Jews? Is there not today an entire nation in the Middle East called Israel under the control of Jews? The answer to both questions is, “Yes, but…” Another surprise to you might be to learn that the strongest support against this assumption comes from Jewish scholars themselves! Several influential Jewish intellectuals maintain that the large majority of modern Jews, upwards of 90%, are not descendants of Biblical Jews but of the Khazars, a Gentile people of the Middle Ages who converted to and embraced the Jewish faith! Possibly you have never heard of the Khazars, but very few of those who call themselves Jews have not heard. Here’s The Story-Line Khazaria was a major economic, military, and economic world power for nearly four centuries [A.D. 650-1016]. That country was located on the north side of the Black Sea and around the Caspian Sea, which even today is known by people who live in that area as the Sea of the Khazars. “The Khazar people were an unusual phenomenon for Medieval times. Surrounded by savage and nomadic tribes, they had all the advantages of the developed countries: structured government, vast and prosperous trading, and a permanent army. At the time, when great fanaticism and deep ignorance contested their dominion over Western Europe, the Khazar state was famous for its justice and tolerance. People persecuted for their faiths flocked into Khazaria from everywhere” [V.V. Grigoriev in Rossiya I Aziya as quoted by Kevin Alan Brook in An Introduction to the History of Khazaria].

“The remarkable country of the Khazars first entered the Jewish orbit when it allowed Jews to settle in their land free from persecution. Jewish refugees from Byzantium, Persia, Mesopotamia, and elsewhere flooded into the Khazar realm from the 8th through the 10th centuries, bringing with them Hebrew literacy, a love for Israel, the Jewish religion, and technological skill” [Kevin Alan Brook in an internet article entitled “The Khazars”].

Due to the influence of these refugees, the Khazar people, a confederation of Turkish tribes, converted to the Jewish faith beginning with the royal house and spreading among the general populace. “It is now the accepted opinion among most scholars in the field that the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism was widespread, and not limited merely to the royal house and nobility. Ibn al-Faqih, in fact, wrote ‘All of the Khazars are Jews.’ Christian of Stavelot wrote in 864 that ‘all of them profess the Jewish faith in its entirety’’ [Kevin Alan Brook in an internet article entitled “The Khazars-A European Experiment in Jewish Statecraft”].

The exact date of that conversion, however, is debated but the most compelling facts point to a time around A.D. 740, although other facts argue for an A.D. 830 date.

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Nonetheless, the Khazars appear to have wholly embraced the Jewish faith, to such an extent that historians of that day described their kingdom as the Kingdom of the Jews. Then the situation began to change near the end of the tenth century. The eastern branch of the Vikings, known as the Rus, who had settled among the Slavonic tribes under Khazar domination and who had unsuccessfully struggled for independence from Khazar oppression, became allied with Byzantium. That alliance occurred when Rus’s leader, Prince Vladimir, accepted baptism as a Christian in A.D. 989. His conversion to Christianity opened the door for establishing an alliance with Byzantium, which was also well known as a “Christian” nation. The combined forces of the Byzantines and the Russians invaded and conquered Khazaria in A.D. 1016. As a result the Khazars, or the Ashkenazim Jews, as Jews of Eastern Europe are also called, were scattered throughout what is now Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, and other eastern European areas. It is in this area that the world’s great Jewish centers arose, and it is from this area that over 90% of the 13,000,000 Jews in the world today have come. Significance Of The Above Information • It is extremely significant to realize that it was the descendants of those Khazarian Jews, people who had adopted the Jewish religion, that the leadership of Nazi Germany tried to rid itself of during the late 1930s and early ‘40s. It was those people who had been forced out of their homes around the Black and Caspian Seas some 900 years earlier and settled in those European countries that were victimized. •

It is also significant to realize that it was from the Khazarian Jews, people who had no blood ties to the ancient Jews, that political Zionism emerged. “As the Khazars moved and lived amongst the Jewish people, the Khazar Jews passed on a distinct heritage from generation to generation. One element of the Khazar Jew heritage is a militant form of ZIONISM. In the view of Khazar Jews, the land occupied by ancient Israel is to be retaken – not by a miracle but by armed force. This is what is meant by Zionism today, and this is the force that created the nation which calls itself Israel today” [Peter David Beter’s Audio Letter # 50 posted on the internet as an article entitled “The Khazars”].

“It was among Ashkenazi Jews that the idea of political Zionism emerged, leading ultimately to the establishment of the State of Israel” [John L. Bray in Israel in Bible Prophecy, p. 34].

•

A third significant fact inherited from the Khazars is a hatred for Christianity. The Khazar Jews have never forgotten that it was the “Christian” tribes from Russia and Byzantium who joined forces to overthrow the old Khazarian kingdom back in the eleventh century. As a result Christians are restrained from sharing their faith in modern Israel; in fact, “The modern State of Israel …is an anti-God, antiChrist nation [that] permits the persecution of Christians and Christian

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missionaries”

[James B. Jordan in an internet article entitled “Christian Zionism and Messianic

Judaism”].

The Israeli-Khazar Connection The Israeli-Khazar connection has been well articulated by many influential Jewish intellectuals. Here are a couple examples: Dr. Alfred M. Lilienthal, a New York born American of the Jewish faith who now lives in Washington D.C., served in the U.S. Army in Egypt during World War II. He later worked with the Department of State and was a consultant to the American delegation at the organizing meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco. Within a year after Israel became a nation, an article by Lilienthal entitled “Israel’s Flag Is Not Mine”, which was written in a form of a letter to his mother, was published in the September 1949 issue of Reader’s Digest. Because of its anti-Zionism position, it caused great controversy particularly among Jews and especially since he himself is a Jew. In 1953 he wrote What Price Israel?, a full length book pointing out the Israeli-Khazar connection. “That the Khazars are the lineal ancestors of Eastern European Jewry is a historical fact. Jewish historians and religious text books acknowledge the fact, though the propagandists of Jewish nationalism belittle it as pro-Arab propaganda” [Alfred M. Lilienthal in an internet article entitled “The Jews are Not a Race”, which is an excerpt from his book What Price Israel?].

"These Ashkenazim Jews have little or no trace of Semitic blood"

[Alfred M. Lilienthal

in What Price Israel?, p. 222 ].

For over fifty years, Dr. Lilienthal has been at the forefront in the struggle for a balanced U.S. policy in the Middle East, arguing that Israel has no more legal or moral claim to Palestine than do the Palestinians and that a state for the Palestinians should be established alongside of Israel. Dr. Arthur Koestler, a well-known Jewish author, was born in 1905 in Budapest, Hungry, but after several suspenseful experiences during his years as a foreign correspondent for several European newspapers, he became a British citizen, living in London. He frequently lectured at various American universities and became a worldrenown writer. His most well-known as well as most controversial book, published in 1976, is entitled The Thirteenth Tribe in which he argues that the defeated Khazars were the predominant ancestors of the Ashkenazic Jews. Similar statements, one at the beginning of the book and the other near the end, reveal his thesis: “The general picture that emerges from these fragmentary pieces of information is that of a migration of Khazar tribes and communities into those regions of Eastern Europe - mainly Russia and Poland - where, at the dawn of the Modern Age, the greatest concentrations of Jews were found. This has led several historians to conjecture that a substantial part, and perhaps the majority of eastern Jews - and hence of world Jewry - might be of Khazar, and not of Semitic Origin” [Arthur Koestler in The Thirteenth Tribe, p. 15-16].

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“In Part One of this book I have attempted to trace the history of the Khazar Empire based on the scant existing sources. In Part Two … I have compiled the historical evidence which indicates that the bulk of Eastern Jewry - and hence of world Jewry - is of Khazar-Turkish, rather than Semitic, origin” [Arthur Koestler in The Thirteenth Tribe, p. 198-199].

Unjustified Conclusion Although the above authors, along with others, have been quite vocal in expressing the non-Semitic origin of today’s Jews, there are other students and scholars who maintain that their conclusion is not altogether justified. Lewis Lipkin takes issue with Koestler’s thesis in an internet article entitled “The Rise and Fall of the Theory that Jews are descendants of the Khazars,” from which the following quotes come. Although agreeing with Koestler about a conversion to Judaism among the early Khazars, Lipkin claims, “… there is nothing in the pitifully meager evidence that we have to indicate what portion of the Khazars became Jewish.” In this regard, Lipkin asserts that Koestler makes several unfounded assumptions which tend to undermine his thesis. Two of those assumptions are as follows: •

•

“Koestler chose to assume the Khazars became completely and undilutedly Jewish.” But, according to Lipkin, there is no verifiable evidence to this fact and that even Koestler himself “…gives evidence that this may have been far from a majority.” “… he assumes that ALL the Khazars were non-Semitic Jews.” And thus ignores the fact that true Semitic Jews, having spread throughout the Roman Empire with the collapse of their Palestinian home in the first century, were already present in the area of Khazaria before the time of conversion. “These migrating Jews did NOT have Khazar ethnicity. But we don’t know how many there were… .” And to further complicate the problem, Lipkin points out, “…we have no data on the intermarriage rate between Khazar converts and the Semitic Jews who were already there, and with those that were later invited for teaching or trade.”

Lipkin charges Koestler with loading “…the reader down with fragments of detail which are in fact unrelated to the problems of the conversion and the degree of Jewishness of the Khazars as a people … The best that can be said about Koestler’s thesis is that it is not proven.” Lipkin concludes his article by making the point that developments in the science of genetics enable scientists to determine whether a person is of a Semitic lineage and thus a descendant of the Biblical Jew or one who has recently converted to Judaism. He says there is ample evidence to point out such a distinction and that “This has the early consequence of totally dismantling Koestler’s 13th tribe hypothesis.”

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Kevin Alan Brook is a young but a skilled, competent, and knowledgeable scholar. He authored the well-received book The Jews of Khazaria in 1996 and has within the last few years had a significant number of articles published in various technical books and magazines. In an internet article entiled “Are Russian Jews Descended from the Khazars?,” he, as the subtitle indicates, makes “A Reassessment Based upon the Latest Historical, Archaeological, Linguistic, and Genetic Evidence.” This is a lengthy but well-organized and informative article. Here are some of his important findings: •

“The findings described below, some of which are more conclusive than others, add strength to the argument that there were many Jews residing in eastern Europe prior to the immigration of German, Austrian, Bohemian, Spanish, and Portuguese Jews into Poland and Hungary. “

•

Brook cites several isolated cases of people living today who claim they can trace their ancestry back to the Khazars.

•

Brook points out that there is evidence that a flood of Jewish immigrants from the west, such as, Germany, Bohemia, Spain, Portugal, as well as from areas of central Europe, flooded into eastern Europe during the 11th-13th centuries and eventually outnumbered the Khazars. “Thus, Eastern European Jews predominantly have ancestors who came from Central Europe rather than from the Khazar kingdom.”

•

“The Ashkenazi Jews are also the direct descendants of the Israelites. Genetic tests seem to indicate that Jewish ancestry largely comes from the regions known today as Turkey, Armenia, Israel, and Iraq…. in general, evidence… is strong that most Ashkenazic Jews descend from Judeans in their paternal lineages.”

•

Brook also reveals there is found in the genetic tests a “Khazar ancestral strain” but that this “…represents a minority rather than a majority of Eastern European Jews.”

Brook’s conclusion on the subject is that Eastern European Jews have descended both from Khazarian Jews and from Israelite Jews. Peter Wolfe and Jeff Zolitor, in an internet article entitled “The Khazars” make the following statement: “The greatest evidence against a significant Khazar ancestry for Ashkenazic Jews is DNA testing. Data shows that the predominant origin of Ashkenazic Jews has been the Middle East. This indicates that the role of the native-born Khazars as a source of Ashkenazic Jews was minor. However, there is some genetic evidence that characteristics of some Ashkenazic Jews are shared by Armenians and Turks, and Jews from the Balkans. The documentary and archeological evidence for a Khazar origin is stronger in Hungary and the Ukraine. Still, the sources I have examined seem to show that the influence of

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the Khazarian Jews in those areas, no matter how large or small, was overwhelmed by the emigration of western Jews.” As can be seen, the assumption that true racial Jews still exist today is highly debated, especially among those who are of the Jewish faith. Those who believe the evidence shows that today’s Jews are descendants of the Khazars see little, if any, connection with Biblical Jews. Those who believe that the evidence contradicts such a conclusion believe there is a direct line between many of today’s Jews and those of the Bible. Although I have little understanding of what is involved in DNA testing, it appears to me that these genetic tests do corroborate some connection between some of the Jews in Israel today with those of Biblical times. Since, however, the evidence is inconclusive, we are unable to determine with a degree of certainty whether true racial Jews still exist today. So we hasten to reflect on the second assumption. [2]. The second assumption is that the Jews are still God’s chosen people. This is such a common belief among Christians today that it often affects their giving, their praying, and how they vote, not to mention the hundreds of sermons preached each year on the subject. But does the Bible teach that today’s Jews are still God’s chosen people? Or is such a belief the result of wishful futuristic thinking? Or the result of an improper understanding of what happened to the Jews in A.D. 70? Or the result of bad theology? Or the result of a sly manipulation? Or all of the above? Futurists, most specifically dispensationalists, are of the persuasion that racial Israel still remains as the chosen people of God but that the nation has been set aside during the present Church Age. When the Church Age is over God will once again turn to and focus on Israel. Dispensationalists, then, teach that God has two chosen people in the world. The apple of His eye, however, is Israel; the Church is but an aside, a parenthesis between His dealings with Israel. It was near the end of the 19th century that this view came into vogue under the thrust of John Nelson Darby, leader of the Plymouth Brethren in England, who is regarded by many as the father of dispensationalism. In the United States, the notorious Cyrus Scofield is considered to have been the leading exponent of dispensationalism. The remarkable influence which these men had on the thinking of Americans, especially on those within the Church, can be traced to the notes which Scofield incorporated into his Reference Bible, originally published in 1909. These notes, which were swallowed hook, line, and sinker, have had a tremendous influence on the thinking of the church with regards to the Jews. The hook, not commonly known, is that near the end of the 19th century, some Zionist leaders initiated a program to change America’s negative thinking about the Jews. That influential group of men wanted Palestine to be once again the national home of Jews, but they knew that traditional churches in America would never support the descendants of those who had orchestrated the crucifixion of Jesus living in the land where Jesus had lived. What they needed was a front-man for their goal to succeed, and they found one in an unscrupulous character who was all too willing to cooperate, one who had spent time in

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jail for extortion, forgery, and embezzlement, one who was divorced by his wife for mistreatment and abandonment of her and their children, one who was told by the judge that he was not a fit person to have custody of the children, one who swindled his mother-in-law out of her life savings, and one who never hesitated to lie and deceive for personal profit and gain. That man was Cyrus Ingerson Scofield. Scofield was introduced to those several wealthy Jewish leaders who, in turn, financed his research trips to Oxford. Then they provided the funds for the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible as well as for the unlimited advertising and promotion of it. Under their influence, Scofield inserted Zionist-friendly notes in the margins, between verses and chapters, and on the bottoms of pages. It is largely from these notes that the negative attitude of America toward Jews was changed not only to a positive one but also to one that considered the Jews as still being the chosen people of God. The main reason his unconventional views were so readily accepted by mainstream Bible readers is expressed very well in the following quote: “His footnotes never offer up different possible interpretations of a text; instead, they set forth, with an air of total authority, a detailed, elaborate, and consistent set of interpretations that add up to a theological system that few Christians before Darby could have conceived of -- and that, indeed, marked a radical departure from the ways in which most Christians had always believed. Yet Scofield brazenly proffered his theology as if it were beyond question. And he presented it as if it were traditional, and as if every other way of understanding the true nature of Christian belief marked a radical departure from the true faith” [Bruce Bawer as quoted in an internet article entitled “Creation and Manipulation of Popular Religion: the case of Christian Zionism”].

Another factor for the incredible success of Scofield’s Reference Bible was that the old English grammar of the King James Version had become increasingly difficult for successive generations of readers, so Bible students became more and more dependent upon Scofield’s footnotes to help understand the text. The Scofield Reference Bible quickly became the standard for interpreting scripture in personal study, churches, Bible schools, and seminaries. It has been only in recent years with the proliferation of more user-friendly translations that the tide has started to turn, although his influence still holds an uncanny sway over many seminaries, colleges, and churches as well as over scores of pastors and Bible teachers. Through the years many have written books and articles endeavoring to loosen the strangle-hold that dispensationalism so quickly acquired over the Christian world. Many have successfully pointed out the lack of logic in Scofield’s theology. Others have effectively refuted his interpretation of various Bible verses which he gave to support his viewpoint. A few have focused on his reprehensible lifestyle that should cause one to at least question the validity of his teachings. Although dispensationalism is still being taught in many churches and seminaries, the grip today is not as strong as it was in the past.

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With that background on dispensationalism, it is now time to answer the question as to whether racial Israel is still God’s chosen people. In order to keep this study to a reasonable length, I have chosen to share the report of one man who must be commended for his excellent, in fact, exceptional investigation of this subject. Charles D. Provan is a protestant lay theologian and scholar who is also a printer by trade. In his introductory comments regarding his research into Old Testament prophecy and its relationship to the New Testament, he says, “I was soon puzzled by the occurrences I found, for Old Testament passages which referred to Israel kept popping up in the New Testament referring to the Christians. How was this possible? How did the Apostles (over and over again) apply ‘Israel passages’ to Christians? “Moving into related areas, such as the titles of the Church and titles of Israel, I found that the same terms used in the Old Testament to describe Israel are used in the New Testament to describe Christians. The only hypothesis which explains how this could be is that the Israel of the Old Testament (so-called ‘Racial Israel’) had been replaced by the Israel of the New Testament, the Christian Church. The privileges and responsibilities of ‘Racial Israel’ now belong to believers in Christ. A verse which demonstrates the transition quite clearly is Matthew 21:43, which reads, ‘Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’ Here, Jesus states the ‘the kingdom of God’, which Israel actually had in Old Testament times was … transferred to anyone ... who did the will of God” [Charles D. Provan in an internet article entitled “The Church Is Israel Now”].

In this article Provan points out that the New Testament transfers to the Church the titles, attributes, and terms that the Old Testament designates as belonging to racial Israel. “The Old Testament titles of Israel are the New Testament titles of the Christian Church, and Old Testament passages which clearly and indisputably refer to Israel are quoted by the Apostles of Christ as referring to the Christian Church” [Charles D. Provan in an internet article entitled “The Church Is Israel Now”].

Below is Provan’s list of Old Testament titles which originally applied to Israel but which New Testament writers applied to Christians. Each is accompanied by a Biblical reference. In his study, Provan lists many other references, but I have selected just one because one is enough to prove the point. •

The Beloved of God A. Israel is beloved of God – Deuteronomy 33:3 B. Disobedient Israel is not beloved of God – Jeremiah 12:8 C. Christians are beloved of God – Ephesians 5:1

•

The Children of God A. Israelites are the children of God – Deuteronomy 14:1 B. Disobedient Israelites are not the children of God – Deut. 32:5 124

C. Christians are the children of God – John 1:12 •

The Field of God A. Israel is the field of God – Jeremiah 12:10 B. Christians are the field of God – I Corinthians 3:9

•

The Flock of God and of the Messiah A. Israel is the flock of God and of the Messiah – Isaiah 40:11 B. Christians are the flock of God and of the Messiah – I Pet. 5:2-3

•

The House of God A. Israel is the house of God – Numbers 12:7 B. Christians are the house of God – Hebrews 3:6 The Kingdom of God A. Israel is the kingdom of God – Exodus 19:6 B. Disobedient Israel is not the kingdom of God – Matthew 8:11-12 C. Christians are the kingdom of God – Colossians 1:13

•

•

The People of God A. Israelites are the people of God – Deuteronomy 27:9 B. Disobedient Israelites are not the people of God – Hosea 1:9 C. Christians are the people of God – Titus 2:14

•

The Priests of God A. Israelites are the priests of God – Exodus 19:6 B. Disobedient Israelites are not the priests of God – Hosea 4:6 C. Christians are the priests of God – I Peter 2:5,9

•

The Vineyard of God A. Israel is the vineyard of God – Isaiah 5:7 B. Christians are the vineyard of God – Luke 20:16

•

The Wife or Bride of God A. Israel is the wife or bride of God – Isaiah 54:5-6 B. Disobedient Israel is not the wife or bride of God – Jeremiah 3:8 C. Christians are the wife or bride of God – II Corinthians 11:2

•

The Children of Abraham A. Israelites are the children of Abraham – Isaiah 41:8 B. Disobedient Israelites are not the children of God – Rom. 9:6-7 C. Christians are the children of Abraham – Romans 4:16

•

The Chosen People A. Israelites are the chosen people – Deuteronomy 10:15 B. Disobedient Israelites are not the chosen people – Psalm 78:59 C. Christians are the chosen people – Colossians 3:12

•

The Circumcised A. Israelites are the circumcised – Genesis 17:10 B. Disobedient Israelites are not the circumcised – Rom. 2:25,28

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C. Christians are the circumcised – Philippians 3:3 •

Israel A. Israel is Israel – obvious B. Disobedient Israelites are not Israelites – Romans 9:6 C. Christians are Israel – Galatians 6:16

•

Jerusalem A. Jerusalem is the city and mother of Israel – Lamentations 4:2 B. Jerusalem is the city and mother of Christians – Galatians 4:26

•

The Jews A. Israelites are Jews – Jeremiah 34:8-9 B. Disobedient Israelites are not Jews – Revelation 3:9 C. Christians are Jews – Romans 2:29

•

The New Covenant A. The new covenant is with Israel – Jeremiah 31:31,33 B. The new covenant is with Christians – II Corinthians 3:6

•

An Olive Tree A. Israel is an olive tree – Jeremiah 11:16 B. Christians are an olive tree – Romans 11:24

It is obvious from Provan’s analysis that the Bible uses the same terms to describe both Israel and the Church. But does God have two chosen peoples today? Does He have two wives? Does He have two flocks? Dispensationalism says, “Yes!” But the Bible says, “No!” “There is neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus” [Galatians 3:28 NIV]. Provan’s point is that Israel was stripped of its privileges and responsibilities and that these have been transferred to the Church? Israel has ceased to be the chosen people. Believers in Christ hold that position today. Note the words of Peter concerning believers: “…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ …you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God” [I Peter 2:5, 9-10]. The assumption that racial Israel remains the chosen of God is false. To be sure Israel was once God’s chosen. She was chosen to be the means by which He would communicate His will to the world. Through her came the Scriptures, and through her came the Savior. But she was a temporary entity, a mere shadow of what God had in mind.

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“Paul and the New Testament writers teach emphatically that Israel’s purpose in God’s plan was temporary, and was intended to give way to “better things.” Israel was the shadow, the church is the body (Colossians 2:16). Which is better, the shadow of something, or the actual body? [Don K. Preston in an internet article entitled “God’s Chosen People?”]. [For a detailed study of the phrase “And so all Israel shall be saved,” see point [I] of he Expanded Studies section, p. 225].

[3]. The third assumption is that the land of Palestine still belongs to those who call themselves Jews. Many people believe that the Jews have a perpetual divine title deed to the land of Israel. They are convinced that God gave the land of Palestine to the descendants of Abraham in perpetuity, that is, for all time. The origin of this conviction is a promise God made to Abraham after Abraham finalized a land agreement with his nephew Lot. God told Abraham, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give you and your offspring forever” [Genesis 13:14-15 NIV]. Some 800 years later this promise became a part of the Mosaic covenant. There are several points to take note of with regards to this promise. • It was not an unconditional promise. Although no conditions were set down in the initial promise to Abraham, it is clear from later amplifications and explanations that such are included. The Lord insisted time and time again that obedience to Him was the number one requirement for Abraham’s descendants to remain in the land; disobedience meant that they would lose their land grant. This was unmistakably and unambiguously communicated to them just days before entering the Promised Land. When Israel was encamped on the east side of the Jordan River preparing to enter the land, Moses reviewed their past forty years with special emphasis upon the covenant into which they had entered with God at Mt. Sinai. The book of Deuteronomy is the account of that solemn meeting. It is filled with charges to obey the Lord coupled with warnings of the consequences for disobedience. o “…you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you…for the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” [Deuteronomy 4:22-24 NIV].

o “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers” [Deuteronomy 8:1 NIV]. o “Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God” [Deuteronomy 8:20 NIV]. o “Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other” [Deuteronomy 28:63-64 NIV].

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o In his farewell address to Israel’s leaders, Joshua commented: “…just as every good promise of the Lord your God has come true, so the Lord will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God …the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you” [Joshua 23:15-16 NIV]. o After Solomon had finished building the temple for the Lord, God warned the people of Israel through him, “…If you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given to you…I will uproot Israel from MY LAND which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name” [II Chronicles 7:19-20 NIV]. Clearly, God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants was a conditional one. In order to remain in the land, they were obligated to comply with the covenant. If they failed, they would be driven from the land. • It was not an everlasting promise. Although God promised that the land would belong to Abraham’s descendants forever, it is important to understand how this word is often used. Note these examples: When the high priest Eli became unworthy of his leadership position, a man of God confronted him with these words: o “…the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and your father’s house would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line … I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always” [I Samuel 2:30-31,35 NIV]. It is clear from this passage that the Eli’s position of high priest and judge was a conditional one. Even though a forever-promise was involved, God did not feel bound by what He had said in the past. Instead, he put the onus on Eli and rejected his family as ministers. There are many other occasions when the word forever is used at the formation of a certain activity only to have that activity terminated at a later time. ~ God ordained the ordinance of the Passover to be observed forever [Exodus 12:24].

~ God instructed that certain portions of the wave-offerings be given to the priests for their own food forever [Leviticus 10:15; Numbers 18:19]. ~ God specified that the Day of Atonement be observed forever [Leviticus 16:29].

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~ God commanded that the Feast of Tabernacles be observed forever [Leviticus 23:41].

~ God directed that the ashes of a red heifer be used for purification purposes forever [Numbers 19:21]. ~ God designated that the Levites to be His ministers and to receive the offerings of the people forever [Deuteronomy 18:5]. ~ God forbade an Ammonite or Moabite from joining the congregation of the Lord’s people forever [Deuteronomy 23:3-4]. [These points are slightly adapted from an internet article by Thomas Williamson entitled “To Whom Does the Land of Palestine Belong?”].

Any student of the Bible and of history knows that none of the above activities has been observed for many hundreds of years. Why? They are all a part of the Old Covenant which was terminated in the first century of the Christian era. When the New Covenant under Christ was inaugurated, the Old ceased to exist along with its God-ordained activities as well as various other elements, including the promise of the land, since that promise was also a part of the Old Covenant. With the termination of the land-promise, however, came a much greater promise extended to the followers of God. Their promised inheritance now “…is not land in the Middle East, but rather the new Jerusalem in heaven. The old Jerusalem on earth is of absolutely no importance to God’s people, John 4:21, Galatians 4:24-28, Hebrews 12:18-24” [Thomas Williamson in an internet article entitled “To Whom Does the Land of Palestine Belong?”]. The fact is that Abraham himself never gave much credence to an earthly inheritance. God promised the land not only to Abraham’s descendants but also to Abraham himself [Genesis 13:17],

“… yet Abraham never owned as much as a square foot of ground in the land of Canaan (cf. Acts 7:5) - except for the burial cave which he had to purchase from the Hittites (see Gen. 23)” [Anthony A. Hoekema in The Bible And The Future, p. 278]. The point is that Abraham appeared to long for more out of life than a mere piece of earthly real estate even though such was a gift from God Himself. The writer to the Hebrews confirms that this was Abraham’s foremost aspiration: o “By faith [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God [Hebrews 11:9-10 NIV]. The same craving existed as well in the hearts of many other Old Testament men and women of which the Hebrews’ writer makes note: o “All these people were living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say

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such things show that they are looking for a country of their own … they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them [Hebrews 11:13-16 NIV]. Abraham along with many other faith-livers were looking and living for something more lasting than a piece of earthly real estate, regardless of its size or location. They envisioned the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. • It was not an unfulfilled promise. Many prominent speakers today make the claim that God has never completely fulfilled His promise of giving all the land designated in the promise to Abraham’s descendants. Based upon this supposition, they promote the concept that present day Israel must be allowed to expand its borders, grabbing all the land they can because they have a divine right to it. This belief appears to be contrary to what God’s Word actually teaches. God told Abraham, o “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites” [Genesis 15:18-21 NIV]. After Joshua had successfully led Israel into the land and systematically gained control of it, we read the following statements from his farewell address: o “So the Lord gave Israel ALL the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers … Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled … Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed” [Joshua 21: 4345; 23:14-15 NIV].

During the reign of Solomon, the writer of I Kings describes the people of Judah and Israel as being o “…as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. And Solomon ruled over ALL the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] river to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt” [I Kings 4:20-21 NIV]. After Israel returned from a 70-year exile in Babylon [606-537 B.C.], they all gathered to read God’s Word and confess their sins. At one point during that day, the Levites prayed to God, o “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. YOU HAVE KEPT YOUR PROMISE because you are righteous” [Nehemiah 9:7-8 NIV]. 130

Clearly, God’s Word teaches that the promise of land to Abraham’s descendants has been fulfilled. Based upon the clear teaching of the fulfillment of God’s promised to Israel is a statement drafted by a number of Protestant leaders meeting in A.D. 2002 at Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where, incidentally, R.C. Sproul is Professor of Theology and Apologetics. Two of the ten propositions adopted in this gathering are hereby quoted: “The entitlement of any one ethnic or religious group to territory in the Middle East called the ‘Holy Land’ cannot be supported by Scripture. In fact, promises specific to Israel in the Old Testament were fulfilled under Joshua. The New Testament speaks clearly and prophetically about the destruction of the second temple in A.D. 70. No New Testament writer foresees a regathering of ethnic Israel in the land, as did the prophets of the Old Testament after the destruction of the first temple in 586 B.C. Moreover, the land promises of the Old Covenant are consistently and deliberately expanded in the New Testament to show the universal dominion of Jesus, who reigns from heaven upon the throne of David, inviting all the nations through the Gospel of Grace to partake of his universal and everlasting dominion. “Bad Christian theology regarding the ‘Holy Land’ contributed to the tragic cruelty of the Crusades in the Middle Ages. Lamentably, bad Christian theology is today attributing to secular Israel a divine mandate to conquer and hold Palestine, with the consequence that the Palestinian people are marginalized and regarded as virtual ‘Canaanites.’ This doctrine is both contrary to the teaching of the New Testament and a violation of the Gospel mandate” [Knox Theological Seminary, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in an internet open letter entitled ‘The people of God, the Land of Israel, and the Impartiality of the Gospel’].

Conclusion ~ Since Abraham’s descendants did not keep the conditions of the covenant and were uprooted from the land, and ~ Since there is no teaching whatsoever in either the Old or the New Testament that the Jews have any further right to the land, and ~ Since the Church is the new Israel of God having assumed all the titles and attributes of old Israel, and ~ Since the Old Covenant has been terminated by Christ, and thus all agreements with racial Israel are null and void, then it can be concluded that ------¾ Any claim that racial Israel has a perpetual title deed to the land of Palestine is a false assertion, and ¾ Any claim that the Jews’ occupation of the land today is in fulfillment of Bible prophecy is a false assertion, and

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¾ Any claim that racial Israel occupies a future major role in God’s plan is a false assertion.

[H]. THE CATASTROPHIC-END-TO-HISTORY OBSTACLE Another obstruction that makes it difficult for some from accepting a first century fulfillment of the return of Christ is the belief that there is to be a catastrophic end to history, and that its end, in fact, is imminent. For years those who hold a gloom and doom approach to the future have bombarded us with predictions of impending disaster. Prominent leaders warn us almost daily that the end of the world is already in sight, and by this they mean the end is not 20 or 25 years away but 10 or 5 or 3. It seems that every crisis that transpires in the world is another sign that the end is near, this in spite of the fact that the world has had similar crises year after year after year throughout its long history. And yet, all those calamities of the past are deemed meaningless when compared with those of today, which are envisioned as special indicators of the world’s final days. But why? “Since earthquakes, famines, plagues, and wars and rumors of wars have occurred for centuries, how do these ‘signs’ become reliable indicators of a future eschatological event? The signs themselves cannot be the key, because there is nothing unique about them” [Gary DeMar in the Foreword of The Day and the Hour by Francies X. Gumerlock, p.xvii].

And yet prognosticators and doomsayers continue to abound advancing their own causes and promoting their own images with their pessimistic prophecies as well as getting rich in the process. End-Time Predictions Consider just a mere sampling of comments made in the few years before the turn of the century, comments by religious leaders, many of whom are highly respected, all of whom are established spokesmen. 1978 – Chuck Smith, in his book Future Survival, p.20, said he was “…convinced that the Lord is coming for His church before the end of 1981.” To his credit, he is now convinced that setting dates is out-ofline. 1978 – Salem Kirban wrote in his book The Rise of Antichrist, “We are already in the age of the Antichrist.” 1981 – Hal Lindsey, in The 1980’s: Countdown to Armageddon, p.8, proclaimed, “We are the generation that will see the end times … and the return of Christ. …the decade of the 1980’s could very well be the last decade of history as we know it.” 1989 – Jerry Falwell wrote to those on his mailing list, “…in just a few days we will enter what may very well be… the Final Decade.” 1994 – Paul Crouch stated on his Trinity Broadcasting Network’s spring 132

fundraiser on February 22, 1994, “…if Jesus hasn’t come back by the year 2000 A.D., we have misread the Scriptures.” 1994 – Jack Van Impe announced in a televised program on June 22, 1994, “… everything is winding up within the next ten years.” 1994 – Hal Lindsey counsels in his bestseller Planet Earth – 2000 A.D. Will Mankind Survive?: “I wouldn’t make any long-term earthly plans…the end times are almost here.” At last report he was still around enjoying his book royalties and his fourth wife. 1995 – Billy Graham wrote in the September edition of Decision magazine: “ … every indication is that [the end] will be sooner than we think.” 1995 – Pat Robertson, implored viewers of The 700 Club on his Christian Broadcasting Network to generously contribute to CBN because “…all signs point to the end of the world…Your dollars may not do any good in five years or so.” All these men, along with all others who have made similar predictions, have one thing in common: they are all wrong! All end-time date setting has always proven to be wrong. In his well-researched book, Francis Gumerlock documents some 550 wrong predictions made through the centuries by foremost scholars, respected theologians, and world leaders who have engaged in similar end-time date setting. “The Day and the Hour is an ever-present reminder that if the history of date setting teaches us anything, it teaches that everyone who has ever made a prophetic claim has been wrong” [Gary DeMar in the foreword of The Day and the Hour by Francis Gumerlock, p.xxv].

In view of a 0% success rate for some 2000 years, why do today’s influential people continue to engage in such activity? They are wrong not only in that their predictions are wrong but also in that they are ignoring or possibly just ignorant of the teaching of God’s Word, which promotes a never-ending world, not a terminating one. No-End Teachings Consider the following references which directly contradict the pronouncements of today’s pundits who loudly proclaim that the end of the world is upon us. o “Never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done” [Genesis 8:21 NIV]. This statement, made by God after He destroyed the world by a flood of water, is commonly twisted by futurists to imply that the next time God destroys the world, it will be by fire. But such a picky and improper implication focuses upon the method of destruction rather than upon God’s mercy. When He said “as I have done” He was not referring to the method He used but to the fact that He would never again destroy all living creatures. If God vowed to never again destroy every living creature again, how can it be said that the earth will end in a great cataclysm of fire?

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o “Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever” [Ecclesiastes 1:4 NIV]. If the earth remains forever, how can it be said that the end is near? o “[God] chose the tribe of Judah [and] built his sanctuary like the high mountains, like the earth that he established forever” [Psalm 78:69 NIV]. If the earth is established forever, how can it be said that we are living in the last generation? o “The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved” [Psalm 93:1; 96:10 NIV]. “He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved” [Psalm 104:5 NIV]. If the world is so firmly set and secure as to be immoveable, how can it be said that its destruction is near? o “…you established the earth, and it endures” [Psalm 119:90 NIV]. If God established the earth to endure, how can it be said that it will burn up someday? o “Let them [sun, moon, stars, heavens, waters] praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away” [Psalm 48:5-6 NIV]. If these are decreed to never pass away, how can they ever disintegrate as the result of some universal thermonuclear holocaust? o “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” [Genesis 8:22 NIV]. If the seasons will never cease, how can it be said that the end is just on the horizon? o “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” [Ephesians 3:21 NIV]. If the world is without an end, how can it be said that the end is near? If, according to God’s Word, the world is not headed toward some cataclysmic end, how can those who claim to be students of His Word dogmatically proclaim that the destruction of all things is near? Whose words are we to trust? Are we to believe the words of finite men that the world is to have an end? Or, are we to believe the words of the infinite God that the world is established forever? Catastrophic Language Admittedly, there are passages that appear to indicate an end to all things, the most familiar being found in the writings of the apostle Peter: o “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare…That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat…” [II Peter 3:10,12 NIV]. Passages such as this one provide the basis for declaring the literal destruction of heaven and earth. This kind of language, however, is not to be taken at face value.

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Instead it is apocalyptic or catastrophic language that is often used throughout the Bible to describe the overthrow of individual nations. As mentioned earlier, ¾ apocalyptic language is the figurative use of ordinary words and phrases generally within the context of an approaching time of judgment. Such words and phrases are not to be taken as having a literal meaning, a mistake often made to the detriment of a sound and proper understanding of what is being represented. [For a more detailed study of the elements to which Peter refers, see point [H] in the Expanded Studies section, p.221].

Now with regards to the use of apocalyptic language, I wish to quote at length from one of the most interesting and helpful books I have ever read - The Parousia, by James Stuart Russell, first published in 1878. I encourage you to read this quote carefully and thoughtfully. “The slightest attention to the language of Old Testament prophecy must convince any sober-minded man that it is not to be understood according to the letter. First of all, the utterances of the prophets are poetry; and, secondly, they are Oriental poetry. They may be called hieroglyphic pictures representing historical events in highly metaphorical imagery. It is inevitable, therefore, that hyperbole, or that which to us appears such, should enter largely into the descriptions of the prophets. “To the cold prosaic imagination of the West, the glowing and vivid style of the prophets of the East may seem turgid and extravagant; but there is always a substratum of reality underlying the figures and symbols, which, the more they are studied, commend themselves the more to the judgment of the reader. “Social and political revolutions, moral and spiritual changes, are shadowed forth by physical convulsions and catastrophes; and if these natural phenomena affect the imagination more powerfully still, they are not inappropriate figures when the real importance of the events which they represent is apprehended. “The earth convulsed with earthquakes, burning mountains cast into the sea, the stars falling like leaves, the heavens on fire, the sun clothed in sackcloth, the moon turned into blood, are images of appalling grandeur, but they are not necessarily unsuitable representations of great civil commotions, - the overturning of thrones and dynasties, the desolations of war, the abolition of ancient systems, and great moral and spiritual revolutions. “In prophecy, as in poetry, the material is regarded as the type of the spiritual; the passions and emotions of humanity find expression in corresponding signs and symptoms in the inanimate creation. Does the prophet come with glad tidings? He calls upon the mountains and the hills to break forth into song, and the trees of the forest to clap their hands. Is his message one of lamentation and woe? The heavens are draped in mourning, and the sun is darkened in his going down.

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“No one, however, anxious to keep by the bare letter of the word, would think of insisting that such metaphors should be literally interpreted, or must have a literal fulfillment. The utmost that we are entitled to require is, that there should be such historical events specified as may worthily correspond with such phenomena; great moral and social movements capable of producing such emotions as these physical phenomena seem to imply” [James Stuart Russell in The Parousia p.350-351].

Examples of the Use Apocalyptic Language In Scripture With the above thought-provoking statement of Russell in mind, consider the following references in which Scripture writers employed catastrophic or apocalyptic language when describing historical events. [1]. “The earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils, and devouring fire came from his mouth; burning coals were under his feet. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness of his presence there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were exposed, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare, at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils” [Psalm 18:11-15 NIV]. This passage is a superb example of the use of apocalyptic language. Although a cursory reading of it gives the initial impression that it is describing the end of the world or, at least, some great earth-shaking event, the fact is that neither is in the mind of the writer. Despite the ominous picture depicted by the language, the inscription to the Psalm clearly states that it was given to the director of music by David who “…sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” Although various captions have been attached to some of the Psalms from the time they were written, it is generally believed that they were not inspired; however, they are considered to accurately describe the occasion that prompted the writing of the Psalm to which each is linked. That being so, the occasion for this song’s composition was the time David was delivered from being killed by King Saul as well as other enemies. The fact that David used apocalyptic-type language to describe his deliverance from King Saul may seem strange to us. When he spoke of the earth as reeling and rocking and the mountains as trembling and quaking, when he spoke of God as being so angry that His nostrils smoked, when he spoke of fire, hailstones, and arrows as coming from God upon his enemies, we might think he was prophesizing of some end-time event, some cataclysmic phenomenon such as the last days of the world. Then to discover that he is referring to a relatively ordinary event might be a little letdown for us.

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In a survey of a thousand people, no one, except possibly David himself, would consider deliverance from Saul a momentous incident. No speaker or writer would classify it as one of history’s earth-shaking events. Nevertheless, the language David employed to portray what he went through gives the impression that it was some extraordinary, otherworldly phenomenon. Despite the apocalyptic way in which he described his deliverance, the incident itself was temporal and ordinary. It was an episode within the scope of normal human experience. It was one event that occurred at one time in the life of one person. We in the western world prefer to use language that is literal and to the point. We are not fond of superfluous words and figurative expressions. We want short sentences with a limited number of descriptive words to match our fast lifestyle. Our attitude is, why not say what you mean and stop beating around the bush, which, in itself, is a figurative statement that we understand. And herein is the point: we, in the western world, also use figurative expressions that we understand. It is crucial, therefore, that we endeavor to understand the figurative, poetic, and even apocalyptic language that is often used by those men of the east who were also God’s human writers of the Scriptures. “The Hebrew tongue is itself the language of metaphor and passion … It is worthy of note that nearly two fifths of the Old Testament are in the style and spirit of Hebrew poetry. This fact demands consideration when we study these ancient writings as the embodiment of divine revelation. A rigid adherence to the letter of a highly wrought composition may blind one’s eyes to the rich spiritual significance of the grand total impression it was designed to make” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.24]. So if David wants to describe his victory over Saul in apocalyptic terms, it is important for us to understand his cultural background, and if prophets want to describe the fall of nations and cities with those same catastrophic expressions, it is absolutely imperative that we recognize this in order to properly understand their messages. ¾ We must keep in mind that the Scriptures were inscribed by nonwestern writers and as such these writings have been flavored by the culture in which their composers lived. [2]. The prophet Isaiah, predicting the overthrow and destruction of the Babylonian Empire, included the following catastrophic language in his message: o “See, the day of the Lord is coming – a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger – to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light … I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Almighty God, in the day of his burning anger” [Isaiah 13:9-10,13 NIV].

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This was not a prediction of the end of the world, even though, to the western mind, such language tends to give that impression. The context makes it clear that it was a prediction of the end of Babylon’s world, an event that abruptly occurred around 538 B.C. The language used to describe Babylon’s fall is cataclysmic in nature and is not intended to teach that the physical universe would darken but that Babylon’s world would darken. The occasion itself was an historical one, but the way Isaiah portrayed it might give the impression that he was speaking of an event much more significant than the fall of a single middle eastern nation. [3]. Later on in his prophecy, Isaiah pronounced God’s judgment upon “the nations” and singled out Edom as one that was especially marked for judgment. Along with several other items, He had this to say: o “All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree” [Isaiah 34:4 NIV]. Again, this is figurative language depicting the overthrow of a small but wicked nation. The event of Edom’s fall was an historical one, but the language employed to depict that fall rises far above its actual significance. With regards to this verse, it is beneficial to note that the New Testament writer John employed identical language to describe Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70: “…the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll…” [Revelation 6:13-14 NIV]. ¾ As can be seen it was common practice among eastern writers to refer to impending judgments upon a people by language that depicted cosmic catastrophes. Such language is not to be interpreted as a collapse of the physical universe but as a collapse of nations and cities under God’s judgment. [4]. The following words appear among those used by Ezekiel when he predicted that God was about to judge Egypt. God said to Pharoah, o “When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you…” [Ezekiel 32:7-8 NIV]. This means that it is “lights out” for Egypt. The end of that nation has come; judgment is about to begin. The use of solar, lunar, and stellar language to illustrate what is to happen within the political and social realm of a nation is a common practice in prophecy. Even though such language might sound like a description of the end of the world, the reference is only to the end of one nation. That this is true is clear a few verses later when the Lord says, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you” [Ezekiel 32:11 NIV]. Babylon would be God’s instrument to bring about the collapse of Egypt’s world. This occurred in 572 B.C. when the Babylonians entered Egypt and

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inflicted a crushing defeat leaving the land desolate for forty years, a span of time predicted by Ezekiel [Ezekiel 29:11]. [5]. Back around 750 B.C., the prophet Amos described the pending judgment upon Israel with similar language. o “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! … That day will be darkness, not light…pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness… In that day, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight” [Amos 5:18,20; 8:9 NIV]. For the sun to literally go down at noon would be paramount to a complete structural collapse of the entire solar system. Instead, this is a figurative description of the collapse of the nation Israel, which in this case occurred in 721-22 B.C. during the westward movement of the Assyrians to take over the civilized world. Israel was one of the nations that stood in the path of that nation’s goal but, as predicted, her day darkened quickly when the Assyrians, under the leadership of Sargon II, moved through. [6]. The prophet Nahum warned the citizens of Nineveh of God’s coming judgment upon them with this earth-shaking language, “The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away” [Nahum 1:5 NIV]. Nineveh would quake and melt away at the coming of the Lord to judge that city. It was in the year 612 B.C. that the city fell to God’s instruments of judgment, the Medes and the Babylonians. Again go to the New Testament and compare the concept of hills melting away as a figurative way to describe God’s coming judgment upon the great city of Nineveh with Peter’s statement of elements melting in his portrayal of God’s coming judgment upon another great city, Jerusalem: “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat…” [II Peter 3:12 NIV]. Similar language as employed by Old Testament writers and prophets is also used by New Testament writers and prophets to depict results analogous to their Old Testament counterparts. [7]. In the New Testament, we find Jesus using similar words and phrases when He predicted the approaching destruction of Jerusalem. o “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken” [Matthew 24:29 NIV]. After that judgment in A.D. 70, Israel’s world was darkened. Its bright stars fell; its shining lights were snuffed out. Speaking of the same event as did Jesus, John said in his vision, o “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,

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and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place” [Revelation 6:12-14 NIV]. Such language is describing in poetic imagery the destruction of the great city Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and is not to be viewed in a literal sense. Consider briefly the statement “the stars in the sky fell to earth.” As far as we know there is not one star in the vast universe that is smaller than the earth; in fact, most stars are many, many times the size of the earth. For example, our own sun, which astronomers consider to be a medium star, has a diameter that is 109 times larger than that of the earth. It would simply be impossible for even one star to fall upon the earth without destroying it completely. The statement, that the stars in the sky fell to the earth, therefore, simply cannot be referring to a literal incident since further assertions in the Revelation passage indicate that the earth continues to exist even with additional judgments falling upon it. The use of such figurative language should not surprise us since similar words are often employed today in our conversations. When a person becomes a popular celebrity, he is called a star; a young person who shows great potential might be called a rising star. Sometimes a person who fails or who becomes disgraced is said to be a fallen star. An extraordinary sports player is often termed a super star. A grandparent might speak of his grandson as being as bright as the sun. So, the use of such imagery is not altogether uncommon in today’s speech, although to a much lesser degree than in language used by easterners. When we run across such poetic language as found in the passages of Scripture cited above, we are at first tempted to assume that they refer to catastrophes that are yet to occur since, in our way of thinking, such things have not literally occurred in the past. We are conditioned to think of them as referring to a future tearing down and a breaking up of the physical universe. When we read about stars falling, the sky rolling up, the sun turning to darkness, the moon turning to blood, the earth and heaven shaking, as well as other similar expressions, we almost automatically think of them as indications of a future end-time judgment of God since they have not occurred on a literal scale. But such is not the proper way to understand them. Note the following observation by an old writer concerning the use of such poetic language in Scripture: “…this language was borrowed from the ancient hieroglyphics: for, as in hieroglyphic writing, the sun, moon, and stars were used to represent states and empires, kings, queens, and nobility, etc., so in like manner, the holy prophets call kings and empires by the names of the heavenly luminaries; their misfortunes and overthrow are represented by eclipses and extinction; stars falling from the firmament are employed to denote the destruction of the nobility, etc. In a word, the prophetic style seems to be a speaking hieroglyphic” [William Warburton …1698-1779 … in his book Divine Legation, vol. 2, book 4, section 4, as quoted by Bishop Thomas Newton in Dissertations on the Prophecies written in 1754, a portion of which was republished by John Bray in a booklet entitled The Prophecy of Matthew 24, p.50].

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Such language is not, therefore, to be viewed in a literal sense anymore than the dream that Joseph had in which the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him [Genesis 37:9]. Nor is it to be taken any more literally than God’s description of how He delivered the Israelites from Egypt when He said, “I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” [Exodus 19:4 NIV]. When reading the account of Israel’s departure from Egypt, we do not find an immense flock of enormous eagles swooping down and scooping up a couple million people and then flying them safely into the presence of God. Establishing and Ending Israel’s World Consider an interesting as well as significant passage in Isaiah that uses cosmic language when speaking of the formation of the nation Israel. God said to Israel, “I have put my word in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of my hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are my people’ ” [Isaiah 51:16 NASV]. This verse says that God gave Israel His word in order to establish the heavens and to found the earth. On the surface, such language appears to be saying that God gave Israel His word in order to create heaven and earth. But this cannot be since, needless to say, heaven and earth were created many, many years before Israel came into existence. Obviously, this phrase is not to be taken literally; so it must be thought of as a figurative expression. The meaning in this passage is that God established Israel’s heaven and earth. He established their world at Mt. Sinai where He gave them His Word – His Law, His covenant, His instructions. If we view the phrase heaven and earth as symbolic referring, in this case, to the world of Israel instead of to the physical world [and what other meaning can it have?], then there is no difficulty in understanding what Jesus meant when He said, o “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished” [Matthew 5:18 NIV]. Jesus is here saying that heaven and earth must pass away so that all those things relating to the Law can be accomplished or fulfilled. Obviously, the literal heaven and earth have not passed away, but the Scriptures are quite clear in maintaining that the Law has been fulfilled. So, this phrase must be taken in a non-literal manner. It is a reference to the world of Israel. It means that nothing in the law will disappear [the sacrifices, the ceremonies, the priesthood, etc.] until the world of Israel collapses. The destruction of Israel’s world is exactly what Peter had in mind when he said, “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare…That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat…” [II Peter 3:10,12 NIV]. [For a more detailed study of the elements to which Peter refers, see point [H] in the Expanded Studies section, p.221].

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“..in the prophetic language, the perishing of the heavens and the earth signifies the dissolution of any great state or empire or any remarkable calamity that was to take place among men. This phraseology was perfectly familiar to the eastern nations, and particularly to the Jews and first Christians, who had the Old Testament prophecies in their hands” [N. Nisbett in The Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem written in 1787 and republished by John Bray in 1992, p.31-32].

Peter was not, therefore, as is commonly believed by futurists, predicting some future thermonuclear holocaust that would cause the collapse of the physical universe. He was predicting the soon-coming collapse of Israel’s universe. Significantly, upon the heels of this statement, Peter said, “… we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” [II Peter 3:13 NIV]. The ending of the Mosaic way of life and beginning of the Christian era are pictured as the dissolution of the old heaven and earth and the establishing of a new heaven and earth of which there is no end. “…the destruction of the old heavens and earth, that is, of old polities and constitutions, necessarily implies new ones that should be erected in their stead. The meaning, therefore, of the new heavens and the new earth is that the Messiah’s kingdom should be erected on the ruins of the Jewish economy” [N. Nisbett in The Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem written in 1787 and republished by John Bray in 1992, p.33].

This harmonizes very closely with a statement in Hebrews. At the time that Israel’s world was at the point of collapsing [Hebrews was written about A.D. 64], the Hebrews’ writer indicated that an unshakeable, unmovable kingdom was being given to God’s people: “… we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” [Hebrews 12:28 NIV]. The end of Israel’s world came in A.D. 70. It is that end, the end of Israel’s world, about which the New Testament so often speaks. There is no other end! After 1500 years of operation, the old covenant with its temple and sacrificial system was destroyed and ceased to operate. But the new covenant that God established through the eternally effective sacrifice of Christ has no end. “If these cataclysmic events are correctly interpreted as applying to Israel’s defeat, then it is clear that immediately after their national disaster of 70 A.D., the once-exalted, unique theocracy of Israel went into permanent eclipse as God’s light-bearers before the nations … Now the Church of Christ occupies this glorious position … Although Christianity would be established at a time when kingdoms, thrones and religious systems would be thoroughly shaken, it would be a Kingdom that shall never be shaken or replaced by anything better this side of glory … From the viewpoint of Jesus’ contemporaries, the loss of Judaism’s glory would be a world-shaking tragedy indeed, an eclipse. From God’s point of view, however, the removal of things that can be shaken in order to establish a Kingdom that cannot be shaken is but to treat the former as obsolete” [Harold Fowler in The Gospel of Matthew].

In the words of the apostle Peter, there is extended to you “…a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” [II Peter 1:11 NIV].

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[I]. THE CHURCH-CANNOT-BE-WRONG OBSTACLE

[This section is

referenced on page 78].

An extremely thorny problem that some have difficulty working through so as to allow them to more easily accept a first-century return of Christ is another ingrained belief: How is it possible that so many for so long could be so wrong? How is it possible for the Church over a period nearing 2000 years to be so mistaken with regards to such an important event as the second coming of Christ? There are all the great theologians and well-informed church leaders through the years. There are also the Church creeds that were hammered out after long and intense debates, which, when they refer to the coming of Christ, always speak of it as a future event. How could so many well-intentioned church leaders be so wrong on such an important topic? To believe that Christ returned in A.D. 70 is to be in conflict with almost all the church’s theologians as well as with its many creeds. Can one in all good conscious reject the past? Can one affirm a teaching that lacks the widespread support of history? To believe that the leaders and the creeds are wrong in this particular area, or for that matter in any area, is not a position in which one prefers to be as Sproul so impressively indicates: “Personally I cringe at the idea of going against such a unified and strong testimony to the historic faith, even though I grant the possibility that they are wrong at points. All who are inclined to differ with the creeds should observe a warning light and show great caution. Of course this warning light pales in comparison to the authority of Scripture itself” [R.C. Sproul in The Last Days According to Jesus, p.157].

After reading Sproul’s comments, Duncan McKenzie said,

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“Personally I don’t cringe quite as much as Dr. Sproul on this, but I think his warning is definitely worth heeding” [Duncan McKenzie in an internet article entitled “A New Preterist Perspective”].

Along with the warning, however, Sproul notes that the Scriptures are the supreme authority in this matter, not the creeds. Therefore, we must ask, what have we gained if the church’s past renown leaders and her time-honored creeds contradict Scripture? Certainly, we have not gained truth! When it comes to accuracy and truth, it is essential to bear in mind this crucial principle: ¾ The fact that the church has promoted a particular point of view for such a long time does not mean that it is automatically correct. “Protestantism holds, against the Roman Catholics, that creeds may err, and they can be questioned based upon this supposition, and that if error be found in them, even after centuries of this error being held as ‘orthodox,’ then we are at once bound by God and by conscience to leave that point of the creeds and follow the Scriptures” [Samuel M. Frost in Misplaced Hope, p.173-174]. An Apostolic Concern It is an historical fact that deviation from biblical truth even to the point of heresy has been a problem within the church from its beginning. From the writings of the apostles, it is clear that even in their day one of their greatest struggles was to prevent error from infiltrating the young church. o Jude spoke of certain men as having “…secretly slipped in among you…men [who] speak abusively against whatever they do not understand” [Jude 1:4,10 NIV]. o John, too, was disturbed over what was developing: “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray … do not let anyone lead you astray … do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” [I John 2:26; 3:1; 4:1 NIV]. o Peter warned his readers, “…there were also false prophets among the people [of the past] just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies…many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up…” [II Peter 2:1-3 NIV]. o Peter also alerted his readers to the fact that some of Paul’s writings were being distorted by the uneducated and unstable: “His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” [II Peter 3:16 NIV]. o Paul instructed Titus about those who “…were mere talkers and deceivers… they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach” [Titus 1:10 NIV].

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o Paul also drew the attention of the believers in Thessalonica to the possibility of their being deceived about the timing of Christ’s coming: “…we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way…” [II Thessalonians 2:1-3 NIV]. o Paul reminded the Corinthians, as well, that some of them claimed, “… there is no resurrection of the dead” [I Corinthians 15:12 NIV]. These are just a few of the statements that could be cited to show that, even in the earliest days of the church, deviation from the truth was a fairly common problem that confronted the apostles and church leaders. If such were true during the days of the apostles, how much more is it likely that other major doctrines, including eschatology, suffered from such a plight after those first-generation believers were gone. Even a cursory reading of church history reveals the constant tendency to deviate from the truth. “From the extracts … from the early Fathers, it is very evident that there was much division of sentiment among them, even upon the highest points of faith, and consequently that some among them were involved in very serious error. And I would ask, Are we to be surprised, that such was the case, in a vast society consisting of an immense number of distinct and independent bodies like the Primitive Church?” [William Goode in The Divine Rule of Faith and Practice written in 1842 and quoted by Samuel M. Frost in Misplaced Hope, p.168-169].

“It is an unhappy fact that the early church fathers often embraced the most unfounded legends and traditions with the same superstitious credulity their pagan forebears received the omens and auspices of augurs, soothsayers, and necromancers. The early church’s willingness to receive with almost equal authority of scripture every manner of superstitious tradition is seen also in the veneration of relics of the saints and belief in their ability to work miraculous cures, protection offered by patron saints, purported visions of the Virgin, image worship, belief in weeping statutes, the stigmata, Mass for the dead, and purgatory, to name but a few” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consumation of the Ages, in footnote #7 on p.14].

A Straying Church Consider just a few of the many errors that found their way into the church, serious errors that were welcomed by mainstream Christianity. It might be argued that the following examples are errors found only in the Roman Catholic Church. The fact is, however, that these errors crept into the church within the first two centuries, many years before there ever was an official Roman Catholic Church. [1]. The veneration of Mary the mother of Jesus rose quite early in the history of the Church. Near the beginning of the 2nd century, some fifty years after the apostles, Mary came to be called the Mother of God. Soon after that the church began to teach that she was free from any taint of sin, that she was conceived without original sin, and that she remained a virgin forever. Supposedly, after she died, her body was

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taken into heaven and reunited with her soul. Some time in the Middle Ages, she came to be depicted as the mediator who interceded with Christ for sinners since He was considered to be more concerned with justice than with mercy. This veneration of Mary is clearly a deviation from the scriptures, a grievous error promulgated by mainstream Christianity in spite of Mary’s own testimony that she herself needed a savior. In what is called her song, Mary exclaimed, “My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior” [Luke 1:46-47 NIV]. These words unmistakably argue against the teaching that Mary was immaculately conceived and personally sinless, for she calls God her savior. A sinless person needs no savior. [2]. Then the concept of a purgatory arose quickly and strongly within the church walls. This teaching is based upon the concept that, in order for a person to be allowed into heaven, every sin must be purified here on earth or after death in the state called purgatory. Sins that have not been properly expiated on earth by means of various acts called temporal punishment land the sinner in purgatory. [Note that temporal penalties may remain even after a sin is forgiven, for example, David, although forgiven, had to endure temporal punishments as a result of his affair with Bathsheba].

Purgatory is considered to be an intermediate state of suffering where people go after death in order to be thoroughly purged of all the sins that were not adequately dealt with while on earth. However, by engaging in a variety of religious acts before death [praying, fasting, participating in the sacraments, donating money for religious purposes], a person can diminish the amount of his suffering in the afterlife. The living can also help those already in purgatory by praying for them, performing good deeds in their name, and making contributions to the church on their behalf. This teaching that a person must personally suffer in order to be allowed into heaven is unquestionably a serious distortion of scriptural truth, clearly in opposition to the teaching that “…the blood of Jesus…purifies us from every sin” [I John 1:7 NIV]. No personal suffering is necessary. We are simply told, “If we confess our sins, he…will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” [I John 1:9 NIV]. Any suffering that results from forgiven sin is part of the Christian’s training and does not in and of itself need purging with additional suffering. [3]. One of the most disgusting practices that cropped up very early in the church was the practice of simony [the buying and/or selling of things that are considered to be sacred]. The word is derived from the name of the sorcerer Simon Magus who attempted to buy spiritual power from the apostle Peter [Acts 8:18-24]. Peter refused to enter into such an agreement, but many other church leaders, as early as the 2nd century, fell to the temptation, making it a problem in the church almost from the beginning. It did not take long for simony to pervade church life on every level. •

relics - These were bought and sold from a very, very early date. They included parts of the body of a saint or a martyr, such as a bone. They also included objects, such as clothing, that were associated with a saint or a martyr. Even alleged pieces of Christ’s cross and garment were sold.

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•

indulgences - Good works, such as, feeding the poor or caring for the sick, were required as evidence that an individual had repented of his sin. As a substitute for doing the required good works, a person could give money to the church. This practice became so prevalent that it became an important source of church revenue.

•

church offices - The practice of paying for a position in the church developed early, and over the years it deteriorated to the point that a church office could be had by the highest bidder.

Although simony has permeated church life almost from the beginning, the Scriptures take a strong stand against it. That stance is best seen in Peter’s very strong comments to Simon Magus: “To hell with your money! And you along with it [more literally, ‘May you and your money go to perdition’] Why, that’s unthinkable – trying to buy God’s gift. You’ll never be part of what God is doing by striking bargains and offering bribes. Change your ways – and now!” [Acts 8:20-22 The Message]. [4]. Examples of the inclination of the church to stray from biblical truth are numerous, but one error that stands out most significantly is in the area of the means of salvation. “At a very early period in the history of the church, the scriptural doctrine of justification became obscured and lost sight of, and was never again revived in all its fullness and purity until the Lord raised up [Martin] Luther” [William Cunningham in Historical Theology, written in 1862, and quoted by Samuel M. Frost in Misplaced Hope, p.35].

This is an amazing fact! Justification by faith is such a clear teaching in Scripture, especially in the books of Romans and Galatians, and yet early in the history of the church this teaching became lost. And throughout the next several centuries, the church promoted the view that God’s grace was confirmed upon an individual by means of the sacraments as dispensed by the church. The development of the sacramental system by the church was designed to confer God’s grace upon an individual from the cradle to the grave: “The seven sacraments … offered the specific touch of God’s grace to all of the critical stages in a normal life. Baptism was the sacrament for birth. Confirmation was the sacrament for coming of age. Penance was the sacrament for the confession of sin. The Eucharist was the sacrament for spiritual nourishment. Marriage was the sacrament for creating a family. Extreme unction was the sacrament for death. And Ordination was the sacrament making possible a spiritual organization – that is, the church and the priesthood – to provide all the other sacraments for the critical transitions of life” [Mark Noll in Turning Points, p.123-124].

According to church teaching it is by means of these sacraments as administered by the church that God’s grace is conferred upon an individual and salvation is achieved. There is no salvation apart from the sacraments. But the scriptures clearly teach that 147

salvation is a gift of God conferred to an individual through the avenue of his faith, not through the sacramental system: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast” [Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV]. It was not until the days of Martin Luther [1483-1546] that the doctrine of justification by faith alone was once again clarified and brought to the forefront. ¾ The fact that the church for so many years sponsored and advanced the teaching of justification by means other than by faith does not prove that the teaching was correct. The fact is that such a teaching was wrong and is wrong because it contradicts Scripture. Deviation and the Second Coming The same line of reasoning can be used with regards to the teaching of the church concerning the second coming of Christ. The fact that the church for so many years has taught that the second coming of Christ is to be a future event does not mean that this teaching is automatically correct. The Scriptures are our final authority, not the pronouncements of the church. “Creeds are not infallible, because they were written by fallible men” [Ed Stevens in an internet article entitled “Creeds and Preterist Orthodoxy”].

“Men wrote the creeds, and they are not inspired by virtue of unanimity, nor by virtue of a professed belief in Christ” [Samuel M. Frost in Misplaced Hope, p.45]. If that long-held teaching concerning the second coming of Christ contradicts Scripture, then it is wrong regardless of how prolonged the teaching has been held and how many have agreed with it. As has been seen, the church has often digressed even, in many cases, from major Biblical doctrines. Misinterpreting the timing of Christ’s Second Coming was, to say the least, not out of the realm of possibility. It appears, in fact, that such was what occurred since the creeds, confessions, and other writings of those who lived after A.D. 100 support a futuristic viewpoint with regards to His coming, the resurrection, and the judgment. The question is “Why?” •

Why did the creeds and the church fathers always speak of His return as being in the future if He returned in the past? And, closely related,

•

Why did they fail to mention that He had returned back in A.D. 70?

Their failure to mention His coming in their writings indicates that they were either unaware of that fact, or they had a wrong view of what His coming involved, or they simply refused to believe that such an event occurred. Perhaps the following scenario might explain what happened. A Proposed Scenerio There was such an excessive amount of fear, turmoil, and disorder after the destruction of Jerusalem that the focus of most people was simply to stay alive. Few, if any, were 148

concerned about the significance and implication of the disastrous events that had transpired, much less passing on information they may have obtained. This was complicated even further by the absence of a strong leadership. The removal from earth to heaven of those dedicated leaders left a void within the ranks of those remaining on earth. Those initial leaders were not around to teach and guide or “to put the pieces together” [Ed Stevens in an internet article entitled “Creeds and Preterist Orthodoxy”]. It took time for new church leadership to develop. As the church emerged from all the confusion in those days, efforts were made to re-establish the status quo as much as possible. The status quo concerning the second coming was a futuristic concept. Since the New Testament was written prior to A.D. 70, it naturally and rightly spoke of the return of Christ as still being in the future. Years later, when the church leaders included their beliefs about the second coming in the creeds and in their own writings, they, in order to maintain scriptural language, incorporated in them the New Testament’s futuristic position. In doing so they failed to understand the significance of the events of A.D. 70. Then, too, and most importantly, they saw no evidence of an earthly, physical kingdom, which they believed, was what the Scriptures taught. Failing to understand that the type of kingdom Christ came to establish was not an earthly, physical one, but a heavenly, spiritual one, caused them to believe that He had not returned at all. “The world of their time being steeped in literalism … influenced how they perceived what the texts they were quoting meant. This is an honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. “If a person believes Israel is to be restored in the last days and is deeply committed to this interpretative perception, then the events of 1948 and the Six Day War in Jerusalem are more than enough to psychologically confirm that we are indeed in the ‘last days’ of planet earth. If Hal Lindsey can dupe the church now, it could also be duped by elements of Jewish apocalyptic literalism then” [Samuel M. Frost in Misplaced Hope, 144]. So their writings began to reflect the position that His coming had been temporarily delayed. The postponement theory that is so prevalent today can be traced back to those second century writings. Whether or not this scenario is accurate of what actually happened is debatable. But the fact that the church has always had a tendency to deviate from the truth is beyond debate. And it is clearly within the realm of possibility that the church has wrongly promoted the concept of a future coming of Christ instead of a first-century return.

A GLANCE BACKWARD

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Hopefully, the preceding discussion, relating to various obstacles that tend to cause a person to hesitate accepting a first century return of Christ, has been constructive. When thinking about difficulties, we need to keep in mind that none should be the cause for rejecting those Scripture passages whose teachings are clear and understandable. These should be accepted first. Then those passages which are more difficult to understand should be studied in the light of what is already clear. And what is very clear about the subject under discussion is that whenever Christ spoke of the time of His return, He always spoke of it as occurring before the end of the generation of which He was a part. Not once did He ever indicate that His return would be delayed beyond that first generation. Since that fact is very clear, it is necessary to harmonize related topics with it and not vice versa.

A GLANCE FORWARD The following section includes additional comments on certain related subjects as well as in-depth studies of some Greek words and phrases that are important to the direction this study has taken. It would be beneficial for the reader to examine this section closely since it provides much of the material for the foundation of this study. You should not find those sections which study Greek words and phrases boring or complicating at all but exciting, interesting, and helpful.

EXPANDED STUDIES [A]. A Study Of Matthew 10:23

[This section is referenced on page 36].

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Does Matthew 10:23 support a first-century return of Christ? The verse records Jesus as saying, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes” [Matthew 10:23 NIV]. The twelve disciples were to go throughout the land of Israel and “…preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near’ ” [Matthew 10:7 NIV]. Jesus warned them that they were going to be so badly treated they would have to move around from city to city, but He further told them He would come before they had traveled to every city in Israel. There is some debate as to what coming Jesus is referring here. Did He have in mind His second coming or was He saying that He would come and join His disciples before they finished the mission on which He was sending them? On another occasion Jesus sent out a group of seventy men [72 in some translations] on a similar mission. They, too, were to journey throughout the land of Israel and spread the news that the kingdom of God was near. The NIV reads, “…the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go” [Luke 10:1]. This verse clearly indicates that Jesus was planning to visit the towns that His disciples had visited earlier. There is no suggestion of His second coming at all. The meaning is that He would simply follow them at a later date. Is this the meaning that is to be placed upon the Matthew 10:23 passage? When Jesus told the twelve that they would not have time to finish their mission “before the Son of Man comes”, was He saying that he would catch up and join them later on? Based upon the Luke 10 passage, such a conclusion is justified. Historically, however, the verse has always been interpreted as referring to His second coming. If, in fact, the verse refers to His second coming, it serves as additional and strong support for a first-century return of Christ. A clear, literal reading of the passage speaks of a specific people, a specific location, and a specific time. •

the people were the twelve apostles,

•

the location was the land of Israel, and

•

the time for doing the job was relatively short; in fact, they would be unable to complete the task of going from town to town before “the Son of Man comes.”

The implication here is that this mission was to be treated as an urgent one and would end at His coming. His joining them at a later time, as was probably the case in the Luke 10 passage, would not necessarily prevent them from continuing their mission. Neither would the knowledge that He would join them provide them with a sense of urgency as is suggested in the statement. Additionally, the instructions appear to be intended for their entire ministry and not for a single mission such as the one described in Luke 10:1-23. Note that Jesus said they

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would be delivered to local councils, flogged in their synagogues, and brought before governors, kings, and Gentiles to whom they would witness of their faith [Matthew 10:17-18]. Those hard times did not take place when Jesus was here on earth; they came about after His ascension and after the events surrounding the Day of Pentecost as the book of Acts attests. Also, during the earthly stay of Jesus, the focus was upon ministering to the Jews. Jesus specifically told the twelve, “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” [Matthew 10:5-6 NIV]. Later in the instructions, however, Jesus spoke of them as being witnesses to the Gentiles as well [Matthew 10:18]. That only took place after His ascension as the book of Acts once again reveals. Another significant fact in Jesus’ instructions is seen in one important word: the word YOU. Jesus said, “…YOU will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes” [Matthew 10:23 NIV]. By saying you will not finish this mission, Jesus indicated that He would come within their lifetime. This passage is difficult to apply to any other specific time in history if being faithful to the context is an interpretive criterion. For it to conform to the traditional view, it must be distorted to say, “I tell you the truth, YOU disciples will not finish going through the cities of Israel EVEN AFTER 2000 YEARS before the Son of Man comes.” If such an alteration is what Jesus actually meant, then to whom was Jesus referring when He said, “I tell YOU the truth, YOU will not….”? In the futuristic scenario the you cannot apply to the disciples for they would have passed from the scene thousands of years earlier. Therefore, if the futurist’s view is the correct interpretation, then we are left with Jesus making a statement that has no application for his target audience! And, ¾ If Jesus made a statement that has no application for the twelve, then how much of the rest of the discourse is not applicable to them either? Obviously, this places Jesus and His teachings in a very strange situation, one that is divorced from His audience’s reality and one that depicts Him as just spouting words into the air. Surely this is not the intended meaning of the passage. Question: What did Jesus say would interrupt the apostles’ preaching in all the towns of Israel? Answer: The coming of the Son of Man.

[B]. A Study Of Three Greek Words Translated As “World” – “kosmos, oikoumene, aion” [This section is referenced on page 23]. Unfortunately, the English word world is used to translate three different Greek words. This practice was especially common with the King James translators and is continued today but, admittedly, to a much lesser extent. Such a habit has contributed to some misunderstandings of the teachings of Jesus as well as that of the New Testament 152

writers, especially in the area of eschatology. The following study endeavors to reveal the distinctive meanings of the three Greek words and to point out how they are used in the New Testament. [1]. KOSMOS [kos’-mos] - The word kosmos with its various forms is found 186 times in the New Testament and is translated by the English word world the far majority of those times. Kosmos has two meanings: on occasions it is used to refer to the material universe, but on other occasions, it is used to refer to that element of humanity, as expressed by individuals and cultures, that is alienated from and/or in opposition to God. Here are just a few samples of both uses of kosmos. Kosmos as the Physical Universe o Jesus’ teaching by the use of parables is said to be a fulfillment of prophecy: “I will utter things hidden since the creation of the kosmos” [Matthew 13:35]. o “Jesus did many other things as well. If ever one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole kosmos would not have room for the books that would be written” [John 21:25]. o “For since the creation of the kosmos God’s invisible qualities…have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…” [Romans 1:20]. Kosmos as that Element of Humanity Opposed to God o “…do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan kosmos runs after all such things” [Luke 12:29-30]. o “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the kosmos is hatred toward God. Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the kosmos becomes an enemy of God” [James 4:4]. o “For God so loved the kosmos that he gave his one and only Son…God did not send his Son into the kosmos to condemn the kosmos, but to save the kosmos through him” [John 3:16-17]. Passages in which Both Meanings of Kosmos are Found o “He was in the kosmos, and though the kosmos was made through him, the kosmos did not recognize him” [John 1:10]. o Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the kosmos began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the kosmos…I will remain in the kosmos no longer, but they are still in the kosmos…I say these things while I am still in the kosmos…I have given them your word and the kosmos has hated them, for they are not of the kosmos any more than I am of the kosmos. My prayer is not that you take them out of the kosmos but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the kosmos, even as I am not of it…As you sent me into the kosmos, I have sent them into the kosmos…” [John 17:5-6, 11, 13-16, 18].

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In a thorough study of the history of this word, a well-respected scholar in the 1800s revealed that kosmos developed to the point of being “nearly equivalent to oikoumene” [R.C. Trench in Synonyms of the New Testament, p.229]. By this he meant that the word not only was used as indicated above but also occasionally in a restricted sense as noted in the following section. [2]. OIKOUMENE [oy-kou-men’-ay] - The word oikoumene with its various forms is used only 15 times in the New Testament and is consistently translated in both the KJV and the NIV by the English word world. However, the NIV translators recognized the more limited meaning of the word and added the word Roman in two of the fifteen verses. As can be seen, they acknowledged that oikoumene does not refer to the entire globe as the term entire world might imply. o “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world [oikoumene]” [Luke 2:1 NIV]. o The prophet “…Agabus stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world [oikoumene]” [Acts 11:28 NIV]. Weymouth’s New Testament renders the word as empire three of the fifteen times [Luke 2:1, Acts 17:6; 24:5]. For example, the belligerent Jews of Thessalonica said of Paul and Silas, “These men, who have raised a tumult throughout the Empire [oikoumene], have come here also” [Acts 17:5 Weymouth]. This translation also contains footnotes for several of the verses where oikoumene is found, noting that the word world means the inhabited earth. The research of other scholars also reveals that the phrase the inhabited earth is the most accurate rendition of oikoumene. “This noun comes from the verb oikeo, which means ‘inhabit.’ So it properly means ‘the inhabited earth’… In classical writers it designated ‘the countries occupied by Greeks, as distinguished from barbarian lands’ … But later writers used it in the sense of the Roman Empire. They considered this to be ‘all the world’ ” [Ralph Earle in Word Meanings in the New Testament, p.54]. Although there is common agreement on the word’s meaning, it is important to emphasize that it does not mean wherever there are inhabitants on earth, but only certain areas. “…usage of the word in that day meant different things to different peoples. To the Romans, it was the Roman Empire. To the Greeks, it meant all the countries where their language was spoken. But to the Jew, it meant primarily the land of Palestine with all of its tribes, and then later inclusive of all areas where their peoples were scattered” [John Bray in Matthew 24 Fulfilled, p.33]. The Jews, of course, were scattered pretty much throughout the Roman Empire. Recognizing that oikoumene has a narrower meaning than the entire planet enables one to gain a better perspective of a very important statement made by Jesus in the Olivet discourse.

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The Good News Preached in all the Oikoumene When answering the question of the disciples concerning the end of the Jewish age, Jesus declared, “… this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the oikoumene as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” [Matthew 24:14]. If the NIV translators had been consistent and rendered the word oikoumene the same as they did in Luke 2:1 and Acts 11:28, the verse would have read, “…this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the entire Roman World, and then the end will come.” Their inconsistency reveals their bias toward a futuristic interpretation of Jesus’ words. Although this verse is repeatedly used today as a basis for worldwide missionary fervor, it is not what Jesus had in mind at that particular time. He was not speaking of evangelizing the whole earth. If He had been, He would have used the word kosmos. Instead it was an announcement that the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman Empire, that is, wherever Jews were found, before the end of that age. [For a detailed study of the phrase “all nations of he earth”, see point [C] of the Expanded Studies section, p.169]. That Jesus’ prediction came to pass during the lifetime of the apostles is quite evident from the Scriptures. ¾ The book of Acts lists over 80 cities and countries that were within the confines of the Roman Empire in which the gospel was preached indicating quite clearly that Jesus’ prediction was fulfilled within some twenty-five to thirty years after it was made: “Antioch, Syria, Cilicia, Cypress, Pamphylia, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Phrygia, Galatian region, Asia, Mysia, Bithynia, Troos, Macedonia, Samotrace, Neopolis, Phillipi, Thyatira, Amphipolis, Appollonia, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, Cenchrea, Ephesus, Caesarea, Alexandria, Achaia, Athens, Greece, Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Miletus, Cos, Rhodes, Patara, Phoenicia, Tyre, Ptolemais, Mnason, Tarsus, Damascus, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Antipatris, Rome, Italy, Myra in Lycia, Cnidus, Crete, Salmone, Rheguim, Puteoli, Azotus, Galilee, Judea, Samaria, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, Arabia, Lydda, Joppa, Seleucia, Salamis, Paphos, Perga, Pesidian, Lycaonia, Attalia, Three Taverns.” [Information from a website article entitled “The Gospel of the Kingdom” by Jim Hartline].

To the Romans believers, however, Paul admitted that “…not all the Israelites accepted the good news.” Nevertheless, he said, “Did they not hear? Of course they did: ‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world [oikoumene]” or, “to the ends of the Roman world” [Romans 10:18]. The Good News Preached in all the Kosmos When Jesus was about to return to heaven, He left these orders to His disciples: “Go into all the world [kosmos] and preach the good news to all creation” [Mark 16:15]. As mentioned above, research has revealed that kosmos is occasionally used as equivalent to oikoumene. Whether or not this is the way Jesus used it in this command is debatable, but it is probably a pointless debate in view of the following comments, statements which unquestionably teach that Jesus’ prediction came to pass even if the word meant more than the Roman world. 155

o Paul, around A.D. 57, commended the Romans, “…your faith is being reported all over the world [kosmos]” [Romans 1:8]. o In the early 60s he wrote to the Colossians, “All over the world [kosmos] this gospel is producing fruit and growing…This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven…” [Colossians 1:6, 23]. Eusebius Pamphilus, [A.D. 260-339], Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine [A.D. 313-339], is recognized by many, if not by most who are familiar with the field, as being the church’s greatest historian of the first three centuries of the Christian era. He is the author of two very important histories of the church, works that rank alongside those of Flavius Josephus. Writing during the period of A.D. 300-325, he made the following comments about the rapid spreading of “the Christian doctrine… throughout the whole world” before A.D. 70. “…the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divine prophecy, the sound of his inspired evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Throughout every city and village, like a replenished barn floor, churches were rapidly found abounding, and filled with members from every people” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, p. 52]. Other Eschatological Passages in which Oikoumene is Found There are a few other significant verses which not only contain the word oikoumene but also reveal the tension, unrest, and turmoil that existed during the 60s, the time in which God was preparing to bring His judgment upon that part of the world, particularly upon the land of Palestine. o “Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the inhabited world [oikoumene], for the heavenly bodies will be shaken” [Luke 21:26]. o “For [God] has set a day when he will judge the inhabited world [oikoumene] …” [Acts 17:31]. o “I will also keep you [the church at Philadelphia] from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole inhabited world [oikoumene] to test those who live on the earth” [Revelation 3:10]. o “The dragon…that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, who leads the inhabited world [oikoumene] astray” [Revelation 12:9]. [3]. AION [ahee-ohn’] - The word aion and its various forms is the third word that traditionally has been translated by the word world. It appears 122 times in the New Testament and is a very significant word in the area of eschatology. The importance of understanding this word has already been discussed. [See Matthew 23:36; 24:30,34 point [C] of the first section, p.17]. As shown there, it is the mistranslation of aion as world that has caused such misunderstanding of key passages, such as Matthew 24.

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Aion does not mean the created universe or the world at all. Kosmos expresses those concepts. The disciples did not ask Jesus, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the kosmos.” Their question was entirely different from that since they used the word aion, not the word kosmos. They asked, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the aion” [Matthew 24:3]. Aion refers to time as well as to the times. •

It is used to speak of a measure of time, a particular period of time.

•

It is also used to speak of the condition of such a period of time.

It has, therefore, a measured meaning as well as an ethical meaning. “…the essential meaning of aion is time as the condition for all created things and as the measure of their existence” [R.C. Trench in Synonyms of the New Testament, p.229].

But the writer further adds that aion also “includes all the thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, impulses, and aspirations present in the world at any given time…” [R.C. Trench in Synonyms of the New Testament, p.230]. Based upon this information, scholars are generally agreed that the English word that best expresses the meaning of aion is the word age because age can be used to express either of these two meanings. Age can mean a period of time, for example, “We live in the age of the computer.” But age can also be used to refer to the moral characteristics of our time. For example, we might say, “That’s typical of our time” or “That’s the spirit of the age in which we live.” Two Ages With regards to the first meaning, the Jewish people in the time of Christ thought in terms of two ages, two extended periods of time, two eras - “this age” and “the age to come.” ¾ By “this age” they meant the current period in which they were living, the then present age. In our day, we have designated it as the Jewish Age and the Old Covenant age, that age that existed from the time of Moses to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. That was considered the present age by the Jews as well as by the New Testament writers. So, as recorded in Matthew 24:3, the disciples were asking about the end of their age, meaning the end of the Jewish Age, the end of the Old Covenant Age. Such a question can be expected in view of the fact that Jesus spoke of the temple as being demolished, which would mean the end of the Old Covenant Age with its sacrifices and priestly services. The disciples were simply asking, “When is it going to happen?”

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¾ By “the age to come’ the Jews meant that period of time that would immediately follow their present age. Today, we often label it the Christian Age and the New Covenant age, the age in which God’s kingdom spreads throughout the earth. To them the age to come was the age of the Messiah as well as the age in which Israel would be the supreme nation. This is why the disciples did not become too upset when told about the end of the Old Covenant Age because it meant a great age was just around the corner. In fact, the very last question they asked Jesus before His ascension was, “Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” [Acts 1:6]. That is, “Is that golden age that we have longed for about to begin?” Notice how these verses refer to both ages: o “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one that is about to come” [Matthew 12:32]. o Jesus said, “…no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age about to come, eternal life” [Luke 18:29-30]. o Paul explained that when Jesus ascended to the right hand of God, He was given a title far above “every title of sovereignty used either in this age or in the age to come” [Ephesians 1:21]. The End of the Existing Age Was on the Horizon Although it is implied in the designations “this age” and “the age to come” that there would be an end to the first age, some verses specifically teach this fact. Both Jesus and the New Testament writers say that the end of that existing age would come within that generation. Jesus and His disciples lived and ministered in the last days of that Jewish age. “The New Testament writers, as well as Jesus, are clear on this point. They never represent themselves as already entered upon the first days, or the beginning of the age, but rather in the last days” [Milton S.Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.248].

o “Tell us…when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the [old Jewish] age” [Matthew 24:3 NIV]. o The writer to the Hebrews spoke of the Old Covenant as being made obsolete by the New Covenant, and thus “…what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” [Hebrews 8:13 NIV]. o “The harvest is the end of the [old Jewish] age, and the harvesters are the angels” [Matthew 13:39 NIV].

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o “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the [old Jewish] age” [Matthew 13:40 NIV]. “The NT writers considered themselves to have been living at a terminal point … This did not mean that history was to end in their generation but they were anticipating an age to come” [Donald Hochner in an internet article entitled “Greek: Aion”]. The Lifestyle of the Existing Age Was to be Discarded With regards to the second meaning of age, that which has to do with ethics, the New Testament writers advised those earliest Christians to be wary of living by the standards and mores of that present Jewish Age. Studies throughout the New Testament reveal that one of the greatest concerns of New Testament leaders, especially Paul, was the regular defection of Jewish Christians from Christianity in order to return to the supposedly secure world of the Jewish faith. Such concern is especially seen in the book of Hebrews in which readers are repeatedly exhorted to not drift away, to hold on, and to not give up since better times were on the horizon. Note also these passages: o Paul exhorted the Romans believers, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this present [Jewish] age…” [Romans 12:2 NIV]. o He also spoke of his companion Demas as having deserted him “…because he loved this present [Jewish] age” [II Timothy 4:10 NIV]. o “Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this [Jewish] age...” [I Corinthians 3:18 NIV]. o “…the Lord Jesus Christ…gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil [Jewish] age” [Galatians 1:4 NIV]. o “…the grace of God … teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present [Jewish] age” [Titus 2:12 NIV]. These verses imply that there was a strong pressure upon Christians to return to the benefits provided by the Old Covenant, and there were several, including a sense of security, a history of tradition, and a well-defined set of values. To use Trench’s statement again, there was the tendency, at that time, to return to “the thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, impulses, and aspirations present in the world” [R.C. Trench in Synonyms of the New Testament, p.230].

In fact, Paul said that one of the main signs that would occur before the return of Christ was that a great turning away from the Christian faith would occur. o “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the apostasia occurs” [II Thessalonians 2:3].

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The only other place where this word apostasia is found is in a statement which the leadership in the Jerusalem church expressed to Paul at the end of his third missionary journey. These leaders said that the thousands of Jews in the Jerusalem who had become believers had “…been informed that you [Paul] teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses…” [Acts 21:21 NIV]. The phrase to turn away in this verse is a translation of the same Greek word that’s translated a rebellion in the NIV and a falling away in the KJV. Unbelieving Jews who did not understand Paul’s message of salvation by grace accused him of teaching that Jews elsewhere should apostasize, turn away, from the teachings of Moses. Since it was predicted that many would apostasize from Christ, we must conclude that many believers during those years leading up to the coming of Christ in A.D. 70 abandoned the Christian faith and returned to their old Jewish way of life, that is, to that present age. Hopefully, this short study showing the distinctive meanings of kosmos, oikoumene, and aion – all normally translated as world into English – will shed more light on some key eschatological passages.

[C]. A Study Of The Phrase “All The Nations Of The Earth”

[This section is

referenced on page 163].

The phrase “all the nations of the earth” and ones similar to it are found several times in the New Testament and, more often than not, has been a major factor in a misunderstanding of the various passages in which it is found. The nouns nations and earth found in this phrase as well as world and peoples found in others are significant in interpreting certain eschatological passages. Five of these noteworthy passages are here quoted along with the Greek words that will be discussed: o “…this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world [oikoumene] as a testimony to all nations [ethnos], and then the end will come” [Matthew 24:14 NIV]. o “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations [phule] of the earth [ge] will mourn” [Matthew 24:30 NIV]. o “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples [phule] of the earth [ge] will mourn because of him” [Revelation 1:7 NIV]. o “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations [ethnos] will be gathered before him…” [Matthew 25:31-32 NIV].

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o “…go and make disciples of all nations [ethnos] … .And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age [aion]” [Matthew 28:19-20 NIV]. The above English translations give the impression that the events described in these verses were not fulfilled by A.D. 70. It is commonly claimed that the gospel has not been preached to all the nations of the world, that all nations of the world have not eyewitnessed the return of Christ and mourned over His appearing, and that all nations of the world have not been judged by Him. Thus a study of the Greek words that are used in these passages and variously translated as world, nations, earth, and peoples is quite eye-opening. [1]. OIKOUMENE [oy-kou-men’-ay] - In the first reference above, Matthew 24:14, the Greek word oikoumene is translated as world. As pointed out in the previous section, oikoumene is used to designate that part of the world under the control of the Roman Empire. Jesus said that the Gospel was to be preached to those living within the domain of the Roman Empire before the end of that existing age. If, at that time, He had wanted to convey the idea to His disciples that the message about the kingdom was to blanket the entire earth, He would have used the word kosmos. Instead it was His intention that the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman Empire, that is, wherever Jews were found, before the end of that age. [2]. PHULE [foo-lay’] - In the second and third references quoted above, Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7, the Greek word phule is translated as nations and peoples. Phule is found 31 times in the New Testament. Its root meaning is an offshoot, such as a sprout or a branch and is employed by the writers of Scripture to refer to the offshoots of the nation of Israel, that is, the tribes. •

Anna was said to be of the tribe [phule] of Asher [Luke 2:36]

•

Israel’s first king was of the tribe [phule] of Benjamin [Acts 13:21]

•

Paul was also of the tribe [phule] of Benjamin [Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5]

•

The Hebrews’ writer said that Jesus was of the tribe [phule] of Judah

•

In Revelation 7:5-8 phule is used a total of 12 different times in connection with the various tribes of Israel.

[Hebrews 7:14].

When all the verses in which phule is found are studied, there should be little doubt as to its meaning. It is a word that is always employed in connection with Israel’s tribes and families, and never to the offshoots of Gentile nations. Of the 31 times the word is found in the New Testament, the NIV rightly translates it as tribe or tribes 29 times. •

Why, then, do the NIV translators give the word a different meaning in Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7?

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•

Why did they translate phule as tribes 29 times, then switch to nations and peoples the other two times?

Since it is a word that is always used in connection with the tribes of Israel and never refers to any offshoot of any Gentile nation, and since the translators rendered it correctly in 29 of the 31 times, they should have been consistent in their rendition of these two verses in question. Consistency requires them to render these two verses as follows: o “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of the land will mourn” [Matthew 24:30]. o “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the land will mourn because of him” [Revelation 1:7]. To reinforce that this is the correct meaning, the word that is translated mourn in these two verses is also an act practiced by the Jews. The Greek word translated mourn is kopto [kop’-to]. It literally means to beat one’s breast in grief. o When Jesus was on the way to be executed, “A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned [kopto-beat their breasts] and wailed [threneo – sang a dirge] for him” [Luke 23:27]. The beating of one’s breast out of grief is not a worldwide custom, although there are some groups with whom it is a ritual. It was, however, practiced by the Jews in that first century. The use of kopto alongside of phule in these verses clearly indicates that the Jews were in the minds of the writers since neither of these Greek words was ever used in association with a discussion of Gentiles. It appears, then, by using the words nations and peoples instead of tribes as a translation of phule, the NIV translators show their bias toward a futuristic interpretation of these passages, namely, that the coming of Jesus is yet to be. It is one thing to believe in an as-yet future coming; it is quite another to manipulate the words of Scripture to support such a belief. It seems to me that such a rendering in these two verses is totally without excuse and that it was arbitrarily done solely from a predisposition toward the futuristic point of view. [3]. ETHNOS [eth’-nos] - As cited above in Matthew 24:14, Matthew 25:32, and Matthew 28:19, the Greek word ethnos is translated as nations. Some form of ethnos is found 162 times in the New Testament and is translated in the NIV as gentiles 81 times, gentile 3 times, nations 37 times, nation 26 times, pagans 6 times, pagan 1 time, people 6 times, heathen 1 time, and country 1 time. A study of these 162 times reveals that the word is used to describe groups of Gentiles as well as groups of Jews. Although it was a term the Jews used to refer to Gentiles, it was not a derogatory term since they occasionally applied it to themselves, such as, 162

when they referred to Israel as “our nation” [Luke 7:5; 23:2; John 11:48-52] and “this nation” [Acts 24:2,10]. The context will usually indicate quite clearly what group is being talked about, but in some cases it is difficult to make a determination. •

For example, of whom was Jesus speaking when He said, “Nation will rise against nation” [Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:10]?

•

Of whom was Jesus speaking when He told the disciples that before the end of their age the gospel would be preached “…as a testimony to all nations” [Matthew 24:14]?

•

Also, was He referring to the same group in what is known as the great commission when He commanded His disciples to “…go and make disciples of all nations” [Matthew 28:19]?

•

Then, too, at His return in judgment who did He mean when He said, “All the nations will be gathered before him…” [Matthew 25:32]?

When endeavoring to determine how Jesus used the word ethnos in these verses, it is important to bear in mind the meaning of the word during His day. “The word nation (ethnos)…must not be construed as meaning what modern usage so commonly associates with the term, namely, an independent body politic; an empire, or kingdom, exercising political sovereignty” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalptics, p. 227-228].

During those days ethnos depicted groups of people, ethnic groups, that were under the domain of the Roman Empire, not large independent nations that were detached from that world power. •

The Samaritans [translated people in NIV in Acts 8:9] were called a nation.

•

So, too, were the Jews called a nation [John 11:48-52;

Luke 23:2; Acts 24:10].

But both the Samaritan and Jewish nations as well as other groups of people were subjects of the Romans. On the day of Pentecost, Jews from “every nation [ethnos] under heaven” were attending the festivities in Jerusalem [Acts 2:5]. But when the writer lists the various nations from which they came, it becomes obvious that those Jews and Jewish proselytes had not come from nations that exercised political independence and sovereignty, but from small tribes and provinces that were within the sphere of the Roman Empire. o “Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and ‘Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs…” [Acts 2:9-11 NIV].

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“Accordingly, when mention is made of wars, rumors of wars, nations and kingdoms rising against one another, we are not to suppose the reference to other than the seditions, tumults, revolts, and bitter conflicts which occurred among these subject nations and kingdoms of the empire” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.228].

Nation Against Nation Combining the knowledge of this use of ethnos with the historical context helps to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “Ethnos will rise against ethnos” as found in Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, and Luke 21:10. Since the flow of each of these chapters is concerned with the judgment that was to come upon Jerusalem and Judea, this would require the interpretation that there would be skirmishes and clashes between various groups of Jews. Is this what Jesus meant? The background of this particular statement appears to be some comments that God made when He was about to bring judgment upon Egypt back in Isaiah’s day. o He said, “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian – brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom” [Isaiah 19:2 NIV]. o This sounds quite similar to Jesus’ statement, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” “Such language conveys a vivid impression of national tumult and civil strife, and is every way appropriate in the lips of Jesus when referring to the seditions, insurrections, revolts, and sectional wars which immediately preceded the conquest of Jerusalem, and spread famine, pestilence, and desolation through Palestine and adjacent regions” [Milton S.Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, p.228]. “One has but to read the third and fourth books of Josephus’s Wars of the Jews to find an appalling record of ‘wars and rumors of wars,’ continual revolts and plots of cities incited to rebellion by seditious leaders. Thousands perished in these wars before the siege of Jerusalem began, and the calamities of slaughter, and famine, and all that makes a desperate conflict terrible, are detailed by the Jewish historian of this period with sickening minuteness” [Milton S. Terry in Biblical Apocalyptics, footnote # 2 on p.228-229. The Jewish historian that Terry refers to here is Josephus].

So, when Jesus listed “…nation will rise against nation” [Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:10] as one of the signs that His return was near, He was referring to the various fightings and conflicts that would break out among the different groups within Israel itself. The Gospel to All the Nations If Jesus had in mind the various tribes, cities, clans, and families of Israel when He spoke of one ethnos rising up against another, could He not have had that same group in mind when He used the same word just seven verses later when He said,

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o “…this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world [oikoumene - that is, throughout the Roman Empire] as a testimony to all nations [ethnos], and then the end will come” [Matthew 24:14 NIV]? There should be little doubt this was the way the disciples interpreted His statement since it was not until God appeared in a special revelation to Paul several years later that any Jew thought of preaching to the Gentiles. o The Lord told Ananias that Paul was His “…chosen instrument to carry [His] name before the Gentiles [ethnos] and their kings” as well as “before the children of Israel” [Acts 9:15 NIV], o Paul explained to the Ephesians that “…the Gentiles [ethnos] are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” This truth, he said, was a mystery that was made known to him by a special revelation [Ephesians 3:2-6 NIV]. Peter also had to have a special revelation some 10-12 years later instructing him to preach the gospel in the home of Cornelius, the Gentile [Acts 10:1-48]. Later when challenged by some Jewish believers in Jerusalem for what he did [Acts 11:2], ¾ Peter did not defend his actions by appealing to Jesus’ statement that “…the gospel was to be preached as a testimony to all nations [ethnos]” [Matthew 24:14 NIV]. Nor did he remind them that just before His ascension Jesus had commanded them to “…make disciples of all nations [ethnos]” [Matthew 28:19]. ¾ Instead, he appealed to the special revelation that God had recently given him [Acts 11:4-17]. After his explanation the Jewish critics expressed great surprise, ceased their objections, and praised God, saying, “So, then, God has even granted the Gentiles [ethnos] repentance unto life” [Acts 11:18 NIV]. The point is that the disciples did not interpret Jesus’ original statement [Matthew 24:14] nor His great commission [Matthew 28:19] to mean that they were to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Had they believed He was speaking about preaching to the Gentiles, there would not have been any need for special revelations later on commanding them to do so. “If the phrase, ‘all nations’ had been understood by the disciples in its literal sense, it is difficult to imagine how they could have failed to recognize at once the universal character of the gospel, and their commission to preach it alike to Jew and Gentiles” [David Curtis in a sermon placed on his website entitled “Judgment of the Sheep & Goats”].

Admittedly, however, the fact that these men had to have a special revelation later regarding the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles might imply that Jesus had the Gentiles in mind in His Great Commission statement. Nevertheless, it appears in the

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Olivet discourse when the phrase “all the nations” is found that the context requires it to be understood as referring to the various tribes of the Jews. [4]. GE [ghay] - As cited above the word ge is translated earth in Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7. This short Greek word is found 250 times in the New Testament. Its root meaning is soil and by extension it means ground, land, a region, a country. It appears that the Greeks had only this one word to express these various shades of meaning. Significantly, the word does not carry the meaning of a planet as does our expression the earth. Of the 250 uses of the word, the NIV translates it as earth 151 times, land 31 times, ground 20 times, and soil 13 times. Of the 35 remaining times, 18 different words are used. Once again the context must be closely studied to determine what shade of meaning the speaker and/or writer had in mind. Well worth noting is that the word ge is found 69 times in the book of Revelation and is translated every time as “the earth.” “This makes many passages appear to be world-wide when the context indicates a localized action or condition” [Gene Fadeley in Revelation: Kingdoms in Conflict, p.20]. Furthermore, and as is expected of the NIV translators, in the two passages under discussion [Matthew 24:30, Revelation 1:7], ge is also translated as “the earth.” The predisposition of those translators toward a futuristic eschatology plainly shows through. A better translation would have been to use the word land since ge is used in association with phule which, as we have seen, is strictly a Jewish word meaning tribes. In view of the above discussion, the most consistent and accurate rendition of these two verses should be: o “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of the land will mourn” [Matthew 24:30]. o “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the land will mourn because of him” [Revelation 1:7]. A somewhat related statement is found in the picture of Jerusalem as a prostitute in the vision that John received on the island of Patmos. He records, o “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth [Revelation 17:18 NIV].

[ge]”

At a first reading, such a statement appears to have a worldwide implication, but a closer look reveals that it refers to the ruling authorities within the land of Palestine. Recall the time when Peter and John had difficulties with the Sanhedrin. After being arrested and then released by the Sanhedrin, they joined other believers in a prayer that included these words:

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o “The kings of the earth [ge] take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus…” [Acts 4:26-27 NIV]. Clearly, the kings of the earth are identified in this prayer as the confederate rulers Herod and Pilate who teamed up against Jesus. So a more accurate reading of Revelation 17:18 would be, “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the rulers of the land.” A similar phrase, found earlier in John’s vision, speaks of “the kings of the earth,” along with others [the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, the slaves, the free], as pleading for the mountains and the rocks to hide them from the Day of Wrath [Revelation 6:15-16]. A more consistent rendition of this phrase is to see it as referring to the rulers of the land of Palestine and not as referring to kings on a worldwide scale. The above discussion should help to understand what is meant by the phrase “all the nations of the earth” as well as related phrases used by Jesus and the New Testament writers. Their focus was not a planet-wide one but one much narrower, that being upon the Jews and the land of the Jews. This study should also point out, among other things, that Biblical translators have interpretive biases. But such is to be expected. Few, if any, find it easy to be totally objective when a word or phrase appears to contradict their own belief. It is necessary, therefore, to be somewhat aware of these predispositions whenever reading and studying the Bible. To those who can, I would advise to learn as much Greek as possible. In fact, to be able to read the New Testament in its original language would go a long way toward keeping one on track and not be led astray by those who have an agenda to sell ideas and books for personal gain at the expense of an accurate interpretation of God’s Word.

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[D]. A Study Of Three Greek Words That Designate Time – “tachos, eggus, mello” [This section is referenced on pages 52,53,89]. Three significant Greek words employed by New Testament writers to designate the timing of events are tachos, eggus, and mello. It is unfortunate that these are often ignored or watered-down by translators when they are associated with eschatological events. All three of these words are time-indicators that communicate the concept of nearness and are of such importance that they deserve a detailed study. [1]. TACHOS [tahk’ os] - With its various forms tachos is found 38 times in the New Testament. It is a word that first century writers used to express something that is happening or is about to happen with little or any delay. It refers to the nearness in time when something is to begin to occur. I have listed each verse in which this Greek word, or one of its forms, is found and the way it has been rendered into English in three different and generally respected translations.

Matthew 5:25 Matthew 28:7 Matthew 28:8 Mark 9:39 Luke 14:21

KJV quickly quickly quickly lightly quickly

NIV quickly quickly quickly in the next moment quickly

NAS quickly quickly quickly soon afterward at once

Luke 15:22 Luke 16:6 Luke 18:8 John 11:29 John 11:31

[untranslated] quickly speedily quickly hastily

quick quickly quickly quickly quickly

quickly quickly speedily quickly quickly

John 13:27 John 20:4 Acts 12:7 Acts 17:15 Acts 22:18

quickly more quickly [than] quickly with all speed quickly

quickly out[ran] quick as soon as immediately

quickly [fast]er quickly as soon as quickly

Acts 25:4 Romans 16:20

shortly shortly

soon soon

shortly soon

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I Corinthians 4:19 Galatians 1:6 Philippians 2:19

shortly so soon shortly

very soon so quickly soon

soon so quickly shortly

Philippians 2:24 shortly II Thessalonians 2:2 soon I Timothy 3:14 shortly I Timothy 5:22 suddenly II Timothy 4:9 shortly Hebrews 13:19 sooner Hebrews 13:23 shortly James 1:19 be swift II Peter 1:14 shortly

soon easily soon hasty quickly soon soon be quick soon

shortly quickly before long hastily soon the sooner soon be quick is imminent

II Peter 2:1 Revelation 1:1 Revelation 2:16 Revelation 3:11 Revelation 11:14

swift must shortly quickly quickly quickly

swift must soon soon soon soon

swift must shortly quickly quickly quickly

Revelation 22:6 Revelation 22:7 Revelation 22:12 Revelation 22:20

must shortly quickly quickly quickly

must soon soon soon soon

must shortly quickly quickly quickly

The above references indicate that tachos is a word used in relation to time, not in relation to a process. Unfortunately, some students do not view the word as referring to how soon an event is about to occur but how fast that event occurs once it starts. This redefinition allows the futurist to say that the coming of Jesus is in the distant future, but once He starts coming, He does so quickly. But tachos does not refer to how fast something is done once it starts, that is, how rapidly something will proceed. It refers to how soon something is to start, how quickly it is to be initiated. I personally am not fond of resorting to the word soon in order to translate the word tachos as the NIV does so often. It just does not express the urgency that is inherent in tachos. It appears to leave open the possibility of some uncalled for delay, whereas words like quickly, shortly, and speedily seem to negate such a possibility. For example, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Peter in prison telling him, “Get up quickly…Put on your clothes and sandals…and follow me” [Acts 12:7-8 NIV], he was not saying, “Get up soon, whenever you get around to it” as if he had plenty of time to escape from the prison. The urgency is just not in our word soon. And neither is Peter told to move quickly once he gets around to getting up. Consequently, I would prefer to see translators use some word other than soon to translate tachos especially in the book of Revelation as well as in other eschatological contexts. If they did so, a more accurate and consistent translation would be achieved.

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Nevertheless, the word soon does carry the concept of nearness, but the words quickly, shortly, and speedily express the essence of the word more accurately.

Redefining Its Meaning Those who believe in a futuristic interpretation of Revelation have a lot of difficulty with the word tachos. Because it refers to how quickly something is to start and not to how rapidly something proceeds once it starts and because it refers to nearness in time and not to the speed with which the event is accomplished, futurists must redefine it so that those statements in which the word is found fit their eschatological beliefs. The word is redefined to mean “quickness in the process.” They insist the meaning is that once the events of Revelation begin, those events will occur rapidly. Their predisposition to a futuristic interpretation of the book forces them to change the original meaning of tachos to one that harmonizes with their preset paradigm. And in doing this they are making Jesus say something He did not say. Terry Siverd quotes an unidentified writer as saying, “…any interpretation that stretches the words `shortly' and `at hand' into 2,000 years stretches the truth” [Terry Siverd quoting an unidentified writer in an internet article entitled “The End of All Things”].

Gentry shows how meaningless it would have been to the persecuted believers within the seven contemporary historical churches for Jesus to come quickly far off into their future. “To interpret this passage to mean that some two or three thousand years in the future Jesus will come with great rapidity would be a mockery of their historical circumstances” [Kenneth L. Gentry in Before Jerusalem Fell, p.139]. If you study the passages outside the book of Revelation, you can determine in what sense the writers used the word. The meaning they placed upon that word in their writings should not be altered when one runs across it within the book of Revelation. Unfortunately, there are a number of scholars who do just that; in fact, some old leaders of Israel were guilty of the same practice. Redefining By Leaders of Israel Consider an example of some who changed the meaning of a statement made by God to Israel during the days of Ezekiel. A very informative passage, Ezekiel 12:25-28, reveals Israel’s attempt to redefine what God said and so mirrors how some scholars today endeavor to do the same. o In a vision, God told Ezekiel to say to Israel, “The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled” [Ezekiel 12:25 NIV], but the leaders of Israel countered, “The vision [Ezekiel] sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future” [Ezekiel 12:27 NIV]. God said the days of fulfillment were near; Israel’s leaders said the prophecies were for the distant future. Because His words were not taken at face value, God said, 170

o “Therefore…none of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled” [Ezekiel 12:28 NIV]. Within ten years Jerusalem fell and many people were taken as captives to Babylon. When God said the days were near in which the prophecies would be fulfilled, He meant just that and was not pleased with those who endeavored to redefine what He had said and interpret them as having reference to a distant time. How are modern scholars justified, then, in redefining the words of Jesus in view of the above passage? Of course, it’s the system! It’s their eschatological format. Words used in A.D. 30-70 that indicate the soon return of Jesus must be either denied, ignored, or redefined because they do not fit into the established system. The system must be upheld! It must not change! Like Israel of old, modern leaders also teach that an event that was prophesized to occur shortly in that first century was really about the distant future. An event that was predicted to occur quickly was to be fulfilled after many years. An event that was said to be at hand was actually a long ways off. Incredible logic! [2]. EGGUS [eng-gus’] - With its various forms, the adverb eggus is found 73 times in the New Testament. I have listed each verse in which this Greek word, or one of its forms, is located and the way it has been rendered into English in the same three translations as above. A study of each of these references discloses what the writers meant when they used the word. Even a quick glance at the lists clearly reveals the meaning of the word. They used this word to show that something or someone or some event was near or close in either space or time.

Matthew 3:2 Matthew 4:17 Matthew 10:7 Matthew 21:1 Matthew 21:34

KJV is at hand is at hand is at hand drew nigh drew near

NIV is near is near is near approached approached

NAS is at hand is at hand is at hand approached approached

Matthew 24:32 Matthew 24:33 Matthew 26:18 Matthew 26:45 Matthew 26:46

is nigh is near is at hand is at hand is at hand

is near is near is near is near comes

is near is near is at hand is at hand is at hand

Mark 1:15 Mark 11:1 Mark 13:28 Mark 13:29

is at hand came nigh is near is nigh

has come approached is near is near

is at hand approached is near is near

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Mark 14:42

is at hand

comes

is at hand

Luke 7:12 Luke 10:9 Luke 10:11 Luke 12:33 Luke 15:1

came nigh is come nigh is come nigh approacheth drew near

approached is near is near comes near were gathering

approached has come near has come near comes near were coming near

Luke 15:25 Luke 18:35 Luke 18:40 Luke 19:11

drew nigh come nigh come near was nigh

came near approached came near was near

Luke 19:29 Luke 19:37

was come nigh was come nigh

approached came near

Luke 19:41 Luke 21:8 Luke 21:20 Luke 21:28 Luke 21:30

was come near draweth near is nigh draweth nigh nigh at hand

approached is near is near is drawing near is near

approached was approaching had come near was going to appear immediately approached was now approaching approached is at hand is at hand is drawing near is now near

Luke 21:31 Luke 22:1 Luke 22:47 Luke 24:15 Luke 24:28

nigh at hand drew nigh drew near drew near drew nigh

is near was approaching approached came up approached

is near was approaching approached approached approached

John 2:13 John 3:23 John 6:4 John 6:19 John 6:23

was at hand near was nigh drawing nigh nigh

almost time near was near approaching near

was at hand near was at hand drawing near near to

John 7:2 John 11:54 John 11:55 John 19:20 John 19:42

was at hand near to was nigh at hand was nigh to was nigh at hand

was near near almost time was near was nearby

was at hand near was at hand was near was nearby

Acts 1:12 Acts 7:17 Acts 9:3 Acts 9:38 Acts 10:9

[untranslated] drew nigh came near was nigh drew nigh

[untranslated] drew near neared was near were approaching

is near was approaching was approaching was near approaching

Acts 21:33 Acts 22:6

came near was come nigh

came up came near

came up approaching

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Acts 23:15 Acts 27:8 Romans 10:8 Romans 13:11 Romans 13:12 Ephesians 2:13

come near nigh is nigh nearer is at hand are made nigh were nigh was nigh is at hand is nigh unto draw nigh

gets here near is near is nearer is almost here have been brought near were near almost is near is in danger of draw near

comes near near is near is nearer is at hand have been brought near were near close to is near close to draw near

Ephesians 2:17 Philippians 2:30 Philippians 4:5 Hebrews 6:8 Hebrews 7:19 Hebrew 8:13 Hebrews 10:25 James 4:8 James 4:8 James 5:8

is ready to approaching draw nigh draw nigh draweth nigh

will soon approaching come near come near is near

is ready to drawing near draw near draw near is at hand

I Peter 4:7 Revelation 1:3 Revelation 22:10 ???

is at hand is at hand is at hand ???

is near is near is near from

is at hand is near is near ???

As can be seen, several different words have been employed by translators in an effort to accurately represent the meaning of eggus. The most literal translation is the phrase at hand because eggus is constructed from two Greek words, en and guion, that combine to give this meaning. En means in, and guion means hand. So to say something is in hand implies how near it is; it is so close you can reach out and touch it. The translations, “it is almost time”, “it is near”, “it is approaching”, “it is close by” – all express the concept of nearness and are quite acceptable. However, it is not linguistically or theologically acceptable to redefine the meaning of eggus when it is used within an eschatological context, as is the practice of some. For a person to say something is not near when Jesus said it is near is to change His intent. It is to make Him say what He did not say. ¾ How is it possible to take events Jesus described as being at hand and, at the same time, believe that those events have not as yet occurred, even after a period of 2000 years? ¾ How can events that are happening today be what Jesus had in mind when he spoke of certain events as being “at hand” 2000 years ago?

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¾ Is this not, in effect, saying that Jesus was wrong, that He was mistaken in His understanding of the Greek language? ¾ Conversely, if Jesus wanted to speak of a far distant event, could He not in His wisdom have used different Greek words, words that would express farness instead of nearness? Surely, He had the skills to do. Not Now…Not Near The Old Testament, in fact, has a number of examples of the language God used when He wanted to speak of certain events that would not occur for some time. About 1400 B.C. the prophet Balaam saw in a vision the coming of Christ. o He prophesied, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel” [Numbers 24:17 NIV]. Balaam said that He was coming but not now. He repeated that His coming was not near. This indicates that God, who gave the vision to Balaam, considered 1400 years to be a long time. An event 1400 years into the future is not an event that is at hand. After the Babylonians overran Jerusalem in 606, 597, and 587 B.C. and took its inhabitants to Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah sent a letter informing them that the captivity would last 70 years, after which God would bring them back to their homeland [Jeremiah 29:10]. In the meantime they were to “…build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce” because “it will be a long time” [Jeremiah 29:28 NIV]. Here, even seventy years is said to be a long time! If 1400 years is a long time and even if 70 years is a long time, how is it possible to argue that when Jesus said His coming was at hand, that He meant a period of time would pass that was longer than 70 years or 1400 years or even 2000 years? Amazing logic! “Translating … "at hand" to mean 1,900+ years is tantamount to giving license to make Scripture say whatever one wants it to say. It also requires that one ‘take away from the words of the book’, which is a serious violation of God's will and the common sense rules of good and sound hermeneutics (cf. Rev.22:19)” [Terry Siverd in an internet article entitled “The End of All Things”].

[3]. MELLO [mel’-lo] - With its various forms, mello is a word located 109 times in the New Testament. It is a word that Greek writers used to express something that was about to occur, something that was just on the horizon. Unfortunately, the translators, seemingly influenced by the futurists’ view, are often hesitant and even negligent to include this meaning in their translations of the word. It is often rendered “is going to”, “intends to”, “will”, “shall”. None of these renditions, however, shows the relevant urgency inherent in the word mello. This urgency is far better communicated in English by the expression about to.

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Therefore, instead of merely listing how mello is rendered in the three translations as I have done previously, I am listing each of the references in which a form of mello is found and am including the phrase about to in the appropriate place. That a form of the word mello is found in each of these references can be verified by consulting any Greek New Testament. Unfortunately, I have not found 7 of the 109 times where mello is used because of the nature of the translations. For those seven places, mello is translated by the word as one time, to be two times, never one time, to one time, was one time, and it is not translated one time. To find those places is like trying to find a needle in several haystacks. But enough references, 102 in fact, are listed to demonstrate how the New Testament writers used the word. This exercise of translating the word mello as about to, as other translators should have, will reveal the urgency within the New Testament writings that our translations often fail to reveal. I have also emboldened in black the references of those verses that are particularly akin to our topic of study. The list is long but well worth the reading for the information gained. Matthew 2:13 – “Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” Matthew 3:7 – “Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is about to come?” Matthew 11:14 – “[John] is the Elijah who was about to come…” Matthew 12:32 – “anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age that is about to come.” Matthew 16:27 – “the Son of Man is about to come in his Father’s glory.” Matthew 17:12 – “the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Matthew 17:22 – “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed…” Matthew 20:22 – “Can you drink the cup I am about to drink?” Matthew 24:6 – “You are about to hear of wars and rumors of wars” Mark 10:32 – “[Jesus] took the twelve aside and told them what was about to happen to him.” Mark 13:4 – “what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?” Luke 3:7 – “Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is about to come?” Luke 7:2 – “a Centurion’s servant…was sick and about to die.” Luke 9:31 – “Moses and Elijah…spoke about [Jesus’] departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.” 175

Luke 9:44 – “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed…” Luke 10:1 – “the Lord sent them…ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.” Luke 13:9 – “If it is about to bear fruit, fine…” Luke 19:4 – “[Zacchaeus] …climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was about to pass along that way”. Luke 19:11 – “the people thought the kingdom of God was about to appear.” Luke 21:7 – “what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” Luke 21:36 – “Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen.” Luke 22:23 – “They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who was about to do this.” Luke 24:21 – “we had hoped that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel.” John 4:47 – “he begged [Jesus] to come and heal his son, who was about to die.” John 6:6 – “[Jesus] already had in mind what he was about to do” John 6:15 – “Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and make him king by force, withdrew…” John 6:71 – “Judas…was about to betray [Jesus].” John 7:35 – “Where is this man [Jesus] about to go…” John 7:35 – “Is [Jesus] about to go where our people live…” John 7:39 – “By this [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive.” John 11:51 – “[Caiphais] …prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the Jewish nation.” John 12:4 – “Judas Iscariot…was about to betray him…” John 12:33 – “[Jesus] said this signifying how he was about to die.” John 14:22 – “Lord, why are you about to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

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John 18:32 – “so that what Jesus said might be fulfilled when he signified how he was about to die” Acts 3:3 – “When [the beggar] saw Peter and John about to enter…” Acts 5:36 – “…consider carefully what you are about to do to these men.” Acts 11:28 – “One…predicted that a severe famine was about to spread…” Acts 13:34 – “God raised him from the dead no more about to return to corruption…” Acts 16:27 – “[the jailer] …was about to kill himself…” Acts 17:31 – “He has set a day when he is about to judge the world…” Acts 18:14 – “Just as Paul was about to speak…” Acts 19:27 – “Artemis…is about to be robbed of her divine majesty.” Acts 20:3 – “…just as [Paul] was about to sail to Syria…” Acts 20:7 – “Paul spoke…because he was about to leave the next day…” Acts 20:13 – “…we…sailed to Assos where we were about to take Paul aboard…” Acts 20:13 – “…it had been arranged for Paul who was about to go on foot [to Assos].” Acts 20:38 – “What grieved them most was [Paul’s] statement that they were about to never see his face again.” Acts 21:27 – “When the seven days were about to be over…” Acts 21:37 – “... the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks…” Acts 22:16 – “And now what are you about to do?” Acts 22:26 – “What are you about to do?” Acts 22:29 – “Those who were about to question [Paul] withdrew immediately…” Acts 23:3 – “God is about to strike you…” Acts 23:15 – “…pretend that you are about to ascertain more information from [Paul]” Acts 23:20 – “…pretend that you are about to ascertain more information from [Paul]”

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Acts 23:27 – “This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him…” Acts 24:15 – “…there is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Acts 24:25 – “Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control, and the judgment that is about to come…” Acts 26:22 – “I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said was about to happen.” Acts 26:23 – “Christ … is about to proclaim light to his own people…” Acts 27:2 – “We boarded a ship…about to sail for ports along the coast…” Acts 27:10 – “I can see our voyage is about to be disastrous…” Acts 27:30 – “…the sailors under pretence were about to lower some anchors…” Acts 27:33 – “When it was about to be dawn, Paul urged them all to eat.” Romans 4:24 – “God is about to credit righteousness …” Romans 5:14 – “Adam, who was a pattern of the one about to come.” Romans 8:18 – “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that is about to be revealed in us.” Romans 8:38 – “I am convinced that…neither the present nor the about to come…will be able to separate us from the love of God…” I Corinthians 3:21-22 – “…all things are yours whether…the present or about to come – all are yours” Galatians 3:23 – “…we were held prisoners by the law, locked up to the faith that was about to be revealed.” Ephesians 1:19-21 – “[God’s] power…seated Christ…far above…every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one that is about to come.” Colossians 2:16-17 – “[Jewish religious ceremonies] are a shadow of the things that are about to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ I Thessalonians 3:4 – “…we kept telling you that we were about to be persecuted.” I Timothy 1:16 – “…I was shown mercy so that in me…Christ Jesus might

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display his unlimited patience as an example for those who are about to receive eternal life.” I Timothy 4:8 – “…godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life that is about to come.” I Timothy 6:19 – “…they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the age that is about to come…” II Timothy 4:1 – “I give you this charge in the presence of God and of Christ, who is about to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom” Hebrews 1:14 – “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation?” Hebrews 2:5 – “It is not to angels that he has subjected the age that is about to come…” Hebrews 6:4-5 – “It is impossible for those … who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age that is about to come…” Hebrews 8:5 – “This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle…” Hebrews 10:1 – “…the law is only a shadow of the good things that are about to come…” Hebrews 10:27– “[what is left is] only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that is about to consume the enemies of God.” Hebrews 11:8 – “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he was about to receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went…” Hebrews 11:20 – “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to the about to come.” Hebrews 13:14 – “…we are looking for the city that is about to come.” James 2:12 – “Speak and act as those who are about to be judged by the law that gives freedom…” II Peter 1:12 – “I am about to always remind you of these things…” II Peter 2:6 – “[God] condemned…Sodom and Gomorrah…and made them an example of what is about to happen to the ungodly.” Revelation 1:19 – “Write…what is about to take place.” Revelation 2:10 – “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.” 179

Revelation 2:10 – “…the devil is about to put some of you in prison.” Revelation 3:2 – “Strengthen what remains and is about to die…” Revelation 3:10 – “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is about to come upon the whole inhabited [land]…” Revelation 3:16 – “I am about to spit you out of my mouth” Revelation 8:13 – “…woe...because of the trumpet blasts [that are] about to be sounded…” Revelation 10:4 – “when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write” Revelation 10:7 – “when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet…” Revelation 12:4 – “The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth…” Revelation 12:5 – “[The woman] gave birth to a son…who is about rule all the nations” Revelation 17:8 – “…the beast…is about to come up out of the Abyss…” I have listed all the places where mello is located in order to show that it was a common word of that day. It was a part of ordinary speech, and everyone, therefore, understood its meaning. It was not some mystical, lofty, or majestic word that could only be understood by theologians. There was no mystery attached to it. It was used in normal conversations in homes, in markets, and in work places. For us today, that means there should be no difficulty understanding what is meant wherever it is found in Scripture, including the times when it speaks of the nearness of the return of Christ, the resurrection, and the judgment, events which are all linked with one another. Events Linked With Christ’s Return Interestingly, of all the mello references cited above, only one speaks directly about the coming of Jesus: “…the Son of Man is about to come in his Father’s glory…” [Matthew 16:27]. But it is used many times in connection with events associated with His coming. These events include the following: [a]. The judgment upon and destruction of Jerusalem are associated with the coming of Christ. John the Baptist, God’s forerunner sent to prepare the way for the coming Day of the Lord [see Malachi 4:4-5 with Matthew 11:13-14 and 17:10-13], frightened the listening crowds by insisting that a judgment was pending. It was looming on the horizon. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is about to come?” [Matthew 3:7; Luke 3:7].

He declared to them that God’s judgment was so close at hand that the instruments of judgment, the ax and the winnowing fork, were already in the hand of the Judge [Matthew 180

“The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” [Matthew 3:10 NIV].

3:10-12].

“In other words, the tree was about to be chopped down and the winnowing was about to commence” [Douglas J. Enick] in When Will These Things Be?, p. 23 - The winnowing fork was used to separate worthless chaff from good grain].

That Judge was coming to baptize not only with the Holy Spirit but also with fire, [Matthew a reference to God’s coming on the Day of Pentecost and to His coming in fiery judgment upon Jerusalem which was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the city in its final hours by setting it ablaze.

3:11],

When Jesus warned of the pending destruction of Jerusalem [Luke 21:20-36], He also declared, “At that time [at the time Jerusalem was being judged] they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” [Luke 21:27 NIV]. Here Jesus clearly associated His coming with Jerusalem’s destruction. He concluded His remarks with this enlightening exhortation: “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man” [Luke 21:35]. Those who consider these words of Jesus to be within an end-of-the-world context must deal with the counsel that through watchfulness and prayer there would be an opportunity to escape that coming judgment. If, on a moment’s notice, a person immediately ran for his life from the field in which he was working or from the roof of his house on which he was relaxing or from the city in which he was doing business, he might be able to escape that judgment [Matthew 24:17-23; Luke 21:21-23]. Residents of Judea were specifically told to flee to the mountains when they saw the Roman armies marching toward and taking up positions around Jerusalem. They were to run for their lives because “its desolation is near” [Luke 21:20 NIV]. Such instructions, given by Jesus Himself, cannot apply to a supposed end-of-the-world judgment since, according to those who hold this view, no one escapes that judgment. The only time escape was possible was the time of the pending destruction of Jerusalem back in A.D. 70. ¾ If the time of judgment upon and destruction of Jerusalem occurred in A.D. 70 [an event attested to by history] and if the Scriptures associate that event with the return of Jesus, then the conclusion is unavoidable: Jesus returned in A.D. 70. [b]. The termination of the Old Covenant and the inauguration of the New Covenant are associated with the coming of Christ. Paul told the believers in Colossae, “[Jewish religious ceremonies] are a shadow of the things that are about to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” [Colossians 2:16-17 NIV]. The writer to the Hebrews stated that the New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ, made the first one obsolete, “and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” [Hebrews 8:13 NIV].

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The termination of the Old Covenant with all its bloody sacrifices, priestly rituals, and temple ceremonies transpired when judgment fell upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and is also confirmed by history. Since that date there have been no sacrificial offerings, no priestly rites, and no temple services. ¾ If the Old Covenant was terminated at the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 [an event attested to by history] and if the Scriptures associate that event with the return of Jesus, then the conclusion is unavoidable: Jesus returned in A.D. 70. [c]. The resurrection of the dead and judgment of both the living and dead are associated with the coming of Christ. It was in Paul’s testimony during his trial before Felix that he declared, “…there is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked” [Acts 24:15]. Several days after the trial, he spoke to Felix and his wife Drusilla about “the judgment that was about to come” [Acts 24:25], information that left Felix trembling. But it was Jesus who clearly connected the judgment with His coming: “The Son of Man is about to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done” [Matthew 16:27]. In the passage where Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming soon,” He also said, “My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” [Revelation 22:12 NIV]. Due to the nature of the resurrection and judgment, there seems to be no historical proof that these events occurred in A.D. 70. This does not, however, preclude their happening. If the scriptures teach that there was to be a resurrection and judgment at the coming of Christ and since, as we have argued, He came in A.D. 70, then the resurrection and judgment must also have occurred. A Short Delay Since mello means about to, there is inherent within it the concept of some delay in what is to take place. The length of that delay is relevant to the subject under discussion. For example, when the angel told Joseph, “…Herod is about to search for the child to kill him” [Matthew 2:13], the implication is that Herod had not at that exact moment begun his search but that it was in his immediate plans. Therefore, in order to protect the young Jesus, Joseph had to move quickly and head for Egypt. Mello allows for a future time, but in the case of Joseph, the delay was limited to minutes, not days and years. In another example, when Jesus said, “…the Son of Man is about to come in his Father’s glory…” [Matthew 16:27], the delay involves a longer period of time; in fact, some 30 years were to pass before He came in His Father’s glory. It is necessary, therefore, when determining the length of a delay to harmonize with other teachings upon the subject that is being studied. With regards to “the Son of Man who is about to come,” it is important to consider the tachos and eggus words in conjunction with the mello word. When taken together, a 2000-year delay cannot be reconciled with statements that are commonly and loudly expressed today, such as, “Jesus is coming soon! Get ready, the skies are about to break! The end is near!”

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Selective Meanings Think for a moment about what these folks are saying when they make such statements. When futurists read in the Scriptures these same words about the soon return of Christ and the nearness of the events of Revelation, they say they are not to be interpreted literally. And yet, they use the same words to express the nearness of His return today. When they say, “The end is near; we are the generation that will see the end times and the return of Christ; I wouldn’t make any long-term earthly plans - the end times are almost here; everything is winding up within the next ten years; this is the last generation” – why should we believe them? ¾ If, as they believe, these words do not mean that Christ was to return soonafter they were written, how is it possible that He will return soon-after they make these statements today? If we treat their statements the way they treated these same statements in Scripture, we could make the claim that the coming of Christ is still two thousand years into the future. After all, in their thinking, the words “soon,” “quickly,” “shortly,” and “at hand” did not mean “soon,” “quickly,” “shortly,” and “at hand” when they were originally used. So are we not justified in saying “soon,” “quickly,” “shortly,” and “at hand” do not mean “soon,” “quickly,” “shortly,” and “at hand” when they are used today? The practice of changing the meanings of words is based upon the theory “… that words and phrases contained in ‘prophetic texts’ have different meanings than the same words have when used in ‘historical texts’ ” [Dan Delagrave in an internet article entitled “At All Silly Costs”].

Of course, there is absolutely no proof whatsoever these words take on different meanings from their customary uses when used within a prophetic statement. Such a proposed theory is intellectually insulting. The only reason such a theory is projected is to provide some basis for making prophetic statements fit into a preconceived and faulty eschatological format. This “…theory is nothing more than fancy dancing, and gives the critics all the more to hoot about” [Dan Delagrave in an internet article entitled “At All Silly Costs”].

[E]. An Air Of Expectancy

[This section is referenced on page 56].

The focus of this entire study has been upon the statements Jesus made about the timing of His return. It has been repeatedly pointed out that He taught quite clearly that He would return within that generation of which He was a part. But His own statements, although sufficient in and of themselves, do not stand alone in declaring the nearness of end-time events. The fact is the New Testament is saturated with an air of expectancy about the soon fulfillment of eschatological events. “We do not see how anyone could objectively read the New Testament documents without sensing it. It seems so pervasive, so prevalent - it truly permeates the entire New Testament canon. … it is everywhere: in the Gospels...in the book of Acts...in Paul's epistles...in the writings of Peter...in the letters of John, James and Jude...and in the letter to the Hebrews… What we're alluding to is an air of expectancy that hovers over the whole of our New 183

Testament. Whether we call it an ‘expectation of nearness’, ‘the imminency factor’ or give it some other descriptive title, there can be no doubt as to its preponderance. It is there. The New Testament is filled to overflowing with references that depict a first-century church eager with anticipation of end-time events” [Terry Siverd in an internet article entitled “An Air of Expectancy”]. This powerful and insightful assertion by Terry Siverd is worth reading again and again, especially that last sentence: “The New Testament is filled to overflowing with references that depict a first-century church eager with anticipation of end-time events.” It must be kept in mind that these various statements were spoken and written to individuals as well as to groups of people who lived in that first century. Many of those assertions were also written to churches that were alive and active during that 30 year period between A.D. 40-70. But none of these declarations were made with some future generation in mind! To remove that sense of urgency from its first century context and endeavor to apply it to our day is more than poor hermeneutics. It implies that the teachings of Jesus as well as that of the apostles were flawed. This, in turn, leads to some serious consequences, as Siverd has observed: “If there were and are defects in the eschatological pronouncements of Christ, then He was not all knowing. If He is not inerrant in His teachings, then He is not Lord. Similarly, if the apostles were mistaken in a matter of this consequence, how can we be certain that any one (or all) of them were not mistaken in other doctrinal matters?” [Terry Siverd in an internet article entitled “An Air of Expectancy”]. Within Siverd’s excellent article, he lists a host of Scripture references to support his contention that an air of expectancy permeates all the writings of the New Testament. I have reworked and reorganized his list, deleting some references and adding others. I have also used translations different than the one he used. These verses clearly indicate that those early believers were expecting the soon fulfillment of the longawaited Old Testament prophecies as well as the prophetic teachings of Jesus and the apostles. In the verses quoted below, it is especially enlightening to note the following: ¾ Every New Testament writer spoke of the imminency of end-time events. ¾ Every New Testament writer believed that the consummation of all things was on the horizon. ¾ Not one New Testament writer was unaffected by the sense of urgency that prevailed in the Christian ranks. ¾ Not one New Testament writer even hinted that those first-century believers were behaving improperly or in error by living within that air of expectancy. Sense that air of hope and expectation in the following verses by a thorough reading of them. Although the list is long, some 100 verses, please do not just glance over them. By carefully reading each verse, you will mentally understand the position of those writers. But just as importantly, you will feel some of the emotion they experienced at that time. 184

Matthew’s Writings o "…Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

[Matthew 3:2].

o “...who warned you to flee from the wrath that is about to come?...the ax is already laid at the root of the trees...His winnowing fork is in his hand” [Matthew 3:7,10,12].

o “...you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes” [Matthew 10:23]. o “For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. … there are some who are standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” [Matthew 16:27-28]. o “...all these things shall come upon this generation”

[Matthew 23:36].

o “...when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? ...when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly, I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” [Matthew 24:3, 33-34]. o “…keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” [Matthew 24:42]. o “…be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” [Matthew 24:44]. o “…keep watch, because you do no know the day or the hour” [Matthew 25:13]. o “…In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” [Matthew 26:64]. Mark’s Writings o “…the time has been fulfilled…the kingdom of God has drawn near”

[Mark 1:15].

o “…some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power” [Mark 9:1]. o “…this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” [Mark 13:30]. o “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come”

[Mark 13:33].

o “…you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” [Mark 14:62]. Luke’s Writings o “…Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?...The ax is already at the root of the trees…His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to

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gather the wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” [Luke 3:7, 9, 17]. o “…some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God” [Luke 9:27]. o “…the kingdom of heaven has drawn near to you” o “…the kingdom of heaven has drawn near”

[Luke 10:9].

[Luke 10:11].

o “…I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” [Luke 10:24]. o “…pray…let your kingdom come”

[Luke 11:2].

o “…if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you” [Luke 11:20]. o “…this generation shall be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets” 11:50].

[Luke

o “…you must be prepared because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” [Luke 12:40]. o “...will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly” [Luke.18:7-8]. o “...when will these things happen? …These are the days of vengeance in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled…when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” [Luke 21:7,22,28]. o “...when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near…I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” [Luke 21:31-32]. o “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man” [Luke 21:36]. o “…weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time [of judgment] will come” [Luke 23:28-29]. o “…save yourselves from this corrupt generation”

[Acts 2:40].

o “...repent…turn to God so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord… and that He may send the Christ....He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised” [Acts 3:19-21]. o “…he has set a day when he is about to judge the world”

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[Acts 17:31].

o “…there is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked”

[Acts

24:15].

John’s Writings o “...a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live … a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out” [John 5:25, 28]. o “…if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me” [John 14:3]. o “...I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” o “…I am going away and I am coming back to you”

[John.14:18].

[John 14:28].

o “...In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me” [John.16:16]. o “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again”

[John 16:22].

o “...If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” [John.21:23] o “ ...This is the last hour: and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” [I John.2:17-18]. o “…continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming” [I John 2:28]. o “…we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” [I John 3:2]. o “...The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show to his servants what is about to take place” [Revelation 1:1]. o “Write…the things which are about to take place” o “…the time is at hand”

[Revelation 1:1].

[Revelation 1:3].

o “Look, he is coming with clouds” o “Behold, I am coming quickly”

[Revelation 1:7].

[Revelation 3:11].

o “How long, Sovereign Lord…until you judge the inhabitants of the land and avenge our blood? …they were told to wait a little longer” [Revelation 6:11]. o “...There will be no more delay”

[Revelation 10:6].

o “…the third woe is coming quickly”

[Revelation 11:14].

o “…he knows that his time is short”

[Revelation 12:12].

o “...The hour of his judgment has come”

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[Revelation 14:7].

o “...The time to reap has come for the harvest of the land is ripe” o “…behold, I come like a thief” o “...It is done”

[Revelation 14:15].

[Revelation 16:15].

[Revelation 21:6].

o “...The words are trustworthy and true...things that must take place quickly” [Revelation 22:6]. o “...Behold, I am coming quickly”

[Revelation 22:7].

o “...Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, for the time is at hand” [Revelation 22:10]. o “Behold, I am coming quickly” o “Yes, I am coming quickly” o “...Come, Lord Jesus”

[Revelation 22:12].

[Revelation 22:20].

[Revelation 22:20].

Paul’s Writings o “…our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that is about to be revealed in us” [Romans 8:18]. o “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed” [Romans 8:19]. o “…we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” [Romans 8:23].

o “The hour has come…our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here” [Romans 13:11-12]. o “...the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” [Romans 16:20]. o “...you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” [I Corinthians 1:7]. o “…the time is short”

[I Corinthians 7:29].

o “…this world in its present form is passing away”

[I Corinthians 7:31].

o “...These things…were written down as warnings to us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” [I Corinthians 10:11]. o “…our Lord is coming!”

[I Corinthians 16:22].

o “…the Lord Jesus Christ …gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age” [Galatians 1:4]. o “...Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” [Galatians 6:9]. o “…not only in the present age but also in the one that is about to come” 1:21].

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[Ephesians

o “…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” [Philippians 1:6]. o “…so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ” [Philippians 1:10]. o “…we eagerly await a Savior from [heaven], the Lord Jesus Christ” o “...The Lord is near”

[Philippians 3:20].

[Philippians 4:5].

o “…the wrath of God is coming”

[Colossians 3:6].

o “...[You are waiting] for His Son from heaven…that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come” [1Thessalonians 1:10]. o “...Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” [I Thessalonians 4:17]. o “...You, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief” [I Thessalonians 5:4]. o “...May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” [I Thessalonians 5:23-24]. o “…you [Thessalonians] who are troubled will have relief…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven” [II Thessalonians 1:6-7]. o “I charge you [Timothy] to keep this commandment without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” [I Timothy 6:14]. o “…we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” [Titus 2:13]. o “...In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son”

[Hebrews 1:2].

o “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” [Hebrews 3:14]. o “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure” [Hebrews 6:11]. o “...what [the first covenant] is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” [Hebrews 8:13].

o “...Now, once, at the consummation of the ages...he shall appear...to those who eagerly await Him” [Hebrews 9:26,28]. o “Let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching” [Hebrews.10:25].

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o “...For in just a little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay’ ” [Hebrews 10:37].

James’ Writings o “Be patient…until the Lord’s coming…be patient and stand firm because the Lord’s coming is near” [James 5:7-8]. o “… the Judge is standing at the door”

[James 5:9].

Peter’s Writings o “...You are kept by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” [I Peter 1:5-7]. o “...they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” [I Peter 4:5]. o “The end of all things is at hand”

[I Peter 4:7].

o “...it is time for judgment to begin”

[I Peter 4:17].

o “I appeal as…one who also will share in the glory that is about to be revealed” Peter 5:1].

[I

o “…the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong” [I Peter 5:10]. o “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise” o “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief”

[II Peter 3:9].

[II Peter 3:10].

o “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” [II Peter 3:11-12]. o “…we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth…since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” [II Peter 3:13-14]. Jude’s Writings o “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone” [Jude 1:14]. o “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” [Jude 1:21]. These some 100 references reveal beyond the shadow of a doubt that the early believers lived and felt as if the end were near. It was their understanding that the return of Christ, including all the events surrounding His return, was on the horizon. Were they misguided by their eagerness? Wrong in their belief?

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“If it is true, that the early (pre-70 A.D.) Christians behaved like an expectant church, eagerly anticipating the consummation of all things in their life time, one must ask why did not the apostles correct such a distorted vision? [that is, if their expectations were in error-hw]. The fact is the New Testament authors did nothing to dispel or curtail such anticipations. Rather, we find them being the fountainhead of such beliefs. The reason the apostles did not quell such notions was that they originated with the Holy Spirit of truth! The pre-70 A.D. generation was one brimming with great expectations as a direct result of what was taught to them…They lived and labored with an air of expectancy because they were taught: the time was fulfilled, the end was at hand, the judge was at the door, the Lord was near, the world was passing, the Lord was not slow, in a very little while He would come. What we are suggesting in this essay…is that the A.D.70 event needs to be recognized as the consummation point of Biblical eschatology” [Terry Siverd in an internet article entitled “An Air of Expectancy”].

[F]. No Literal Rapture In A.D. 70

[This section is referenced on page 82].

The far majority of those who believe Christ returned in A.D. 70 do not believe that He did so in a visible, physical manner; nor do they believe in a literal rapture of believers into the air to meet the coming Lord. Below is a discussion of five main arguments for the no-literal-rapture teaching. The arguments are: Christians were still around after A.D. 70, the rapture was a spiritual not a literal event, Jesus’ prayer precludes a removal from the world, the Church would not have survived if all Christians had been removed from the world, and the Greek word Epeita used in I Thessalonians 4:17 requires a delay of time. Both the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments are considered in this discussion. [1]. Christians Were Still Around After A.D. 70. One of the commonest and strongest arguments against a rapture of Christians in A.D. 70 is the apparent evidence that they were still around after that date. In about A.D. 325, the church historian Eusebius Pamphilus, who was also the court advisor to Emperor Constantine [A.D. 306-337], composed his Ecclesiastical History on the first 300 years of Christianity. In that book he states that in a brief interval during the Roman-Jewish War, believers in Christ seized the opportunity to escape from the doomed city. This interval is commonly thought to correspond with the account of Josephus who speaks of a lull in the War that was caused when General Vespasian became distracted by news of a civil war back in Rome between two would-be emperors a few months after the death of Nero. Eusebius writes, “The whole body…of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 3, Chapter 5].

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It is implied, of course, that those first-century Jerusalem believers who heeded the words of this “divine revelation” were preserved from the general destruction which overthrew the Jews. This account dovetails nicely with some of Jesus’ instructions within His teaching about the coming desolation of Jerusalem. He told His followers, among other things, what action they should take when that time came: o “…when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written” [Luke 21:20-21 NIV]. What also appears to be in harmony with this directive is the urging of “a voice from heaven” during those days urging believers in Jerusalem, to leave Jerusalem. o “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues: for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes … in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her” [Revelation 18:4-5, 8 NIV]. There does not seem to be much doubt that the followers of the Lord did flee the city and run for the hills when they saw the Roman armies surrounding their doomed city. Then, too, Eusebius records that the Lord’s followers who survived the War met together to select a leader for the Jerusalem church since their first leader, James, had been killed by the Jewish hierarchy during the War. “After the martyrdom of James, and the capture of Jerusalem, which immediately followed, the report is, that those of the apostles and the disciples of our Lord, that were yet surviving, came together from all parts with those that were related to our Lord according to the flesh. For the greater part of them were yet living. These consulted together, to determine whom it was proper to pronounce worthy of being the successor of James. They all unanimously declared Simeon the son of Cleophas, of whom mention is made in the sacred volume, as worthy of the episcopal seat there…Hegesippus asserts that Cleophas was the brother of Joseph” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 3, Chapter 11, p.99 – If true, Simeon, then, would have been the first cousin of Jesus].

Furthermore, Eusebius quotes Hegesippus as asserting that Simeon “…suffered as a martyr, when he was an hundred and twenty years old, in the reign of the emperor Trajan…” who held sway from A.D. 98 to A.D.117 [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 3, Chapter 32, p.117].

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Quadratus, a copy of whose work Eusebius said was in his hands, wrote to Emperor Hadrian [A.D. 117-138] in defense of Christians who were being harassed for their faith. In his discourse, Quadratus said, “The deeds of our Savior were always before you, for they were true miracles; those that were healed, those that were raised from the dead, who were seen, not only when healed and when raised, but were always present. They remained living a long time, not only whilst our Lord was on earth, but likewise when he had left the earth. So that some of them have also lived to our own times” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 4, Chapter 3, p.129].

The above quotes appear to be quite devastating to the contention that believers were “…caught up in the clouds with the resurrected dead to meet the Lord in the air” [I Thessalonians 4:17], since, it appears from the above references, there were believers still around after this proposed event, some continuing in the church in Jerusalem and some living for another fifty years or so. Regarding these accounts, there are two questions that must be answered: [a]. Why was it necessary for the followers of Christ to run for the hills if the rapture were imminent at that time? This is a fair question, the answer to which is not easy to come by. The Scriptures clearly teach that the judgment upon Jerusalem and the Jews was an expression of God’s wrath revealed against those who “…do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” [II Thessalonians 1:8 NIV]. o John the Baptist spoke to the Pharisees and Sadducees about fleeing “…the coming wrath” [Matthew 3:7, Luke 3:7 NIV]. o Jesus spoke of those coming days of judgment upon Jerusalem as being “…the days of [God’s] vengeance” [Luke 21:22 ESV ]. o The Hebrews writer spoke of a soon-coming “…judgment and raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” [Hebrews 10:27 NIV]. o Paul spoke of the persecuting Jews who “always heap up their sins to the limit, but the wrath of God has come upon them at last” [I Thessalonians 2:16 NIV]. There is no doubt that the Day of God’s wrath was on the horizon in those days. However, when the Apostle Paul spoke of the soon-coming judgment, he also taught that believers would not experience God’s wrath. o He spoke of the Thessalonians as those who had turned “to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven…Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” [I Thessalonians 1:10 NIV]. o “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” [1 Thessalonians 5:9 NIV]. o Jesus’ special instruction for His followers in Jerusalem and Judea was to flee to the hills when they saw the Roman armies advancing because “…this is the time 193

of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days…There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people” [Luke 21:22-23 NIV]. Fleeing was the means by which Judean believers would escape the pending wrath. They could avoid those days of God’s judgment upon the Jews if they followed the Lord’s instruction. If sometime during those days believers were raptured to heaven, then that event must have occurred at a time after they fled the city. [b]. The second question that must be dealt with is one over which I have struggled the most: What about the tradition that those believers who survived the War immediately returned to Jerusalem to select a leader for the Jerusalem Church? Then the leader they chose, Simeon, is said to have lived into the days of Emperor Trajan [98-117 A.D.]? And some who were healed by Jesus were said to be still alive in the days of Emperor Hadrian [117-138 A.D.]? This is certainly a difficult and weighty question. I have concluded that whether there is a satisfactory answer to this question of tradition, it should not outweigh what the Bible says on the subject which, as we have seen, is very clear about Jesus returning in that generation to gather His elect to be with Himself. In endeavoring to seek an answer to this apparent conflict, it is very important to be aware, as pointed out earlier, that no writings have been found that give a first-hand account of the years immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem [See point [B] of “Obstacles To Believing In A First Century Return”, p.69]. The information, then, about the existence of Christians in Jerusalem right after her destruction is based upon hearsay. It should be noted also that much of the information that Eusebius shares comes from those writers who wrote during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. He readily admits he “…collected the materials that have been scattered by our predecessors, and culled … the appropriate extracts from ancient authors” …I have not yet been able to find that any of the ecclesiastical writers have directed their efforts to present any thing complete in this department of writing” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 1, Chapter 1, p.14].

What he is saying here is that there was very little organized material written on this subject with which he could consult. Then, he further acknowledges that he leaned heavily upon the notes of Hegesippus when he said, “…many of whose writings we have already quoted, where we have given some things as he has delivered them from apostolic tradition” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 4, Chapter 8, p.135].

Although Eusebius speaks of Hegesippus in the most commendable terms and quotes him on numerous occasions, there has been a consistent charge by scholars against him for not having been careful enough to prove what he relates. The fact is that Hegesippus himself recorded traditions that had been handed down for some100 years. It would not be uncommon then for a thinking person to wonder whether or not the

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hearsay account about what happened after the destruction of Jerusalem was accurate. It seems that tradition often gets in the way when seeking the truth. Consider the traditional side for a moment. Eusebius wrote his history some 250 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, that is, he wrote around A.D. 320. From where did he get his information that Christians were still around during and following the judgment upon Jerusalem? He says he got it from some notes that Hegesippus wrote down. Hegesippus It was in the middle of the 2nd century that Hegesippus undertook a journey from Palestine to Rome, visiting numerous churches along the way. One of the purposes of that trip was to become informed personally with regards to the teachings of the various churches he visited and to determine to what degree those churches conformed to the teachings of Rome. Then, while in Rome, he collected information on the history of the church which he jotted down for later reference. After returning to Palestine, he set forth the Church’s official teaching in five books which he called Memoirs. That was around A.D. 170, some 100 years after Jerusalem’s destruction. What Hegesippus passes on, therefore, about the early Christians is what he himself heard and what he read in his studies. He offers no proof for his statements other than the fact that this is what people have said for a long time. It is, therefore, unsupported information, unconfirmed reports. To his credit, Eusebius himself recognized this as is seen in the quote already cited but will be mentioned again: “…we have given some things as [Hegesippus] has delivered them from apostolic tradition” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 4, Chapter 8, p.135].

Quadratus Perhaps the closest first-hand information from a Christian that we have on this subject comes from the apologist Quadratus. His discourse to Emperor Hadrian [A.D. 117-138], during a visit which the latter made to Athens in A.D. 124 or 125, includes the statement, as cited above, that some of those who had been healed by the Lord while He was on earth “…have lived to our own times” [The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book 4, Chapter 3, p.129].

If such were true, it would mean that they were over 100 years old! If they were healed as adults in A.D. 30 and were alive in A.D. 120, their lifespan was more than double that of the average person in those days. I find it difficult to not, at least, question the accuracy of such a statement. With regards to the supposed church in Jerusalem, Eusebius claims there was a succession of bishops who presided over the church there up to his time. In fact, he enumerates a total of 39 bishops beginning with James, the brother of our Lord, then Simeon, the son of Cleophas as discussed above, and continuing in like manner to the time in which he lived. Yet an eyewitness of what occurred after A.D. 70 confuses the issue.

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Eleazar Ben-Yair That eyewitness was the Jewish zealot Eleazar Ben-Yair, who was the son of Ananias the high priest. Eleazar was also the leader of one of the three factions fighting one another inside Jerusalem even while they fought against the Romans. He, accompanied by 960 men, women, and children, escaped the Roman troops to Masada where they were able to hold out for three years. In his final speech to that group, he convinced them to take their own lives instead of letting the Romans do it. Within his speech he agonizes over Jerusalem’s complete desolation: “What is become of our city, which was believed to be inhabited by God? It is rooted up from the very foundations, and the only monument of it that is left is the camp of those who destroyed it, still pitched upon its remains. Some unhappy old men sit over the ashes of the temple, and a few women reserved by the enemy for the basest of injuries” [Josephus in Wars, Book 7, Chapter 8, Section 7]. Such a quotation appears to argue against there being a church in Jerusalem, at least, within the first three years after her fall since the only ones who lived there were a camp of Roman soldiers, a few unhappy old men, and some women spared for the pleasure of the occupying soldiers. Epiphanius Then, again, to make for further confusion, consider the comments of Epiphanius [A.D. 310-403], bishop of Salamis who wrote a few years after Eusebius. He records what the Roman Emperor Hadrian [117-138 A.D.] found when he visited the eastern parts of the empire 47 years after the destruction of Jerusalem. “And Hadrian went up to Jerusalem, the famous and illustrious city which Titus, son of Vespasian, had overthrown in the second year of his father's reign. And Hadrian found the temple of God trodden down and the whole city devastated, save for a few houses and the very small church of God, where the disciples, when they had returned after the Savior had ascended from the Mount of Olives, went to the upper room. For there it had been built, that is, in that portion of Zion that escaped destruction, together with blocks of houses in the neighborhood of Zion and the seven synagogues that alone remained standing in Zion, like solitary huts, one of which remained until the time of Maximinus, the bishop and the emperor Constantine…” [This quote comes from an internet article that quotes some of the writings of Epiphanius].

So who should one believe? Christians writing some 250-300 years after the War who claim a Christian presence there? Or, a Jewish eyewitness who claims otherwise. The Scriptures seem to side with the eyewitness. It would be preferable, of course, were there no conflicts between the Scriptures and tradition, that the two were always in harmony. But when there are conflicts, we must make a choice or at least wait until more information is brought to light. I have become a little more wary about accepting at face-value statements made by the early writers, especially when they contradict one another. For example, Eusebius

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speaks often of the apostle John as living and being active during the days and even beyond the days of Domitian [A.D. 81-96]. But Tertullian, a North African Christian, writing some 100 years earlier than Eusebius, states that John was killed before the apostle Paul! [Tertullian in On Prescription Against Heretics, XXXVI; Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. III, p. 260]. Who is right? Consider what one writer has concluded from his studies of the writings of the early church fathers: “It is an unhappy fact that the early church fathers often embraced the most unfounded legends and traditions with the same superstitious credulity their pagan forebears received the omens and auspices of augurs, soothsayers, and necromancers. The early church’s willingness to receive with almost equal authority of scripture every manner of superstitious tradition is seen also in the veneration of relics of the saints and belief in their ability to work miraculous cures, protection offered by patron saints, purported visions of the Virgin, image worship, belief in weeping statures, the stigmata, Mass for the dead, and purgatory, to name but a few” [Kurt M. Simmons in The Consummation of the Ages, footnote #7, p. 14].

One further note. On closer scrutiny, it may be that there is not as much conflict between the traditional accounts and the Scriptural account as might appear. The two may be harmonized by a proposal that was shared earlier. That suggestion was the possibility that not all Christians were included in the rapture of A.D. 70 [See point [B] of “Obstacles To Believing In A First Century Return”, p.69]. Such a conclusion is inferred from the parable of the ten virgins in which only the prepared ones were allowed to enter into the wedding festivities. According to Jesus, the lesson of the parable is, “Keep watch for you do not know the day or the hour” that the bridegroom will come” [Matthew 25:13 NIV]. Then the writer to the Hebrews wrote, “He will appear a second time… to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” [Hebrews 9:28 ESV]. If only those believers who were prepared for the coming of Christ and who were eagerly waiting for Him were taken to be with Him, then there would have been nominal Christians remaining on earth after A.D. 70. [2]. The Rapture Was A Spiritual, Not A Literal Event. A second argument for a no literal rapture in A.D. 70 focuses upon the way the “rapture passages” are interpreted. Some claim that the rapture was a spiritual event, not a literal one. The common strand that runs through the explanations of the no-pre-A.D. 70 literal rapture promoters is the predisposition to spiritualize I Thessalonians 4:13-18. •

For example, the phrases “the dead in Christ will rise” and "we…will be caught up in a cloud" are said to be figures of speech denoting believers’ new and elevated spiritual position that occurred on that day. When the unseen Christ returned, their spiritual lives were elevated to heaven even though they still lived upon the earth.

•

“The word ‘air’ is another word for heavenly or spiritual realm…The ‘gathering together’ is the heavenly places in Christ - the spiritual kingdom of God” [Donald Hochner in an internet article entitled “Does the Bible teach the ‘Rapture’ ”?].

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•

It is also maintained that it is in this spiritual sense Paul’s promise “we shall be changed” [I Corinthians 15:51-52 NIV] is fulfilled. It is that mystical change from the perishable to the imperishable, from mortal to immortality, which qualified those believers, and all believers, to rise as immortal beings at the time of their physical death.

Such a view, it appears to me, would give little hope to those who had been promised so much more. For instance, Paul promised that his readers, those living believers, would join with the resurrected believers to meet the coming Lord [I Thessalonians 4:17]. If there were no literal rapture, if it were nothing more than a spiritual change, there would not have been any evidence to indicate that anything unusual had happened to them. ¾ How could they believe they had accompanied the Old Testament believers into God’s heavenly realm if they were still on earth? How happy do you think they would have been if they had been told, “Well, you made that trip spiritually.” ¾ Then, too, how could they “comfort each other with these words” about the coming Lord [I Thessalonians 4:18 NIV] if they continued on earth suffering at the hands of their enemies? How could some mystical change be a means of comforting one another? ¾ Also, consider Paul’s injunction, “… let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled…for God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to be delivered by our Lord Jesus Christ” [I Thessalonians 5:6,9 NIV]. What benefit over sleeping-unbelievers did alert-believers have for obeying this injunction? How did they know that their alertness enabled them to escape God’s wrath if all they got was some incomprehensible experience? “Something is missing here. Where is the deliverance from Neronic persecution that was the hope of these first century people? Where are the incorruptible, immortal, glorified, spiritual bodies that they had been promised at the parousia? Where was the "better resurrection" that Paul spoke of? How was their salvation any nearer than when they first believed, as far as they could tell? Where was the hope of eternal life in the very presence of Jesus Christ Himself?” [Walt Hibbard in an internet article entitled “Five Views of the AD 70 Rapture”].

[3].

Jesus’ Prayer Precludes A Removal From The World. A third supposed argument against a literal A.D. 70 rapture is found in the intercessory prayer of Jesus in which He asked His Father not to take His followers out of the world. He said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” [John17:15 NIV].

A main emphasis in Jesus’ prayer was that God would personally protect the disciples now that He Himself was leaving them. o “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world… Holy Father, protect them… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe… I have given them your word and the world has hated them” [John 17:11-14 NIV].

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After mentioning that the world hated His disciples, it would not be surprising to read that Jesus prayed for the Father to remove them from the world in order to escape such intense hostility. But such is not the case. ¾ Those men had been chosen for a special job and needed special protection from the evil one who would do all in his power to obstruct and frustrate Jesus’ plan. It was in keeping with His plan that He said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” [John17:15 NIV]. He then added these remarks to the Father, “I have sent them into the world” [John 17:18 NIV]. A little earlier He had told His men, “…you must testify about me, for you have been with me from the beginning” [John 15:27 NIV]. Of no one else could this be said. ¾ They were an extraordinary bunch of men, selected by Jesus Himself for an extraordinary task during extraordinary times. That was their mission, and they would fulfill that mission during the remaining years in the midst of that hostile generation. As should be seen, when Jesus prayed in about A.D. 30, His prayer had nothing to do with the events that would transpire some forty years later. The focus was upon the moment and the next 40 years or so. He could have prayed that they be removed immediately from planet Earth for their own safety. He could have prayed that they be raptured to heaven, but that was not His request. His request was that they be protected from the evil one. that one who would endeavor to thwart them from completing the mission He had assigned to them. This verse, therefore, has nothing to do with a rapture, an event that would not occur until some 40 years later, but it has everything to do with the mission the disciples had during those 40 years. [4]. The Church Would Not Have Survived If All Christians Had Been Removed. A fourth argument that is seen as a reason believers were not raptured in A.D. 70 concerns the survival of the Church. Many object to the teaching that there was a rapture in A.D. 70 insisting that if such happened it would mean the demise of the church. In connection with this statement, the question is asked, “If the church’s leaders were gone, how was Christianity perpetuated?” This is a fair question and one to which I give three suggestions: •

First, I remind you that earlier in this study I discussed the possibility that not all Christians were taken to be with the Lord in A.D. 70, only those who were eagerly awaiting His return and were prepared to meet Him. Those who were not ready, of course, were left behind. Some of them would have become more aware of their relationship to God, would have gotten their lives straightened out,

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and would have lived the Christian life after that. Tragedies have a way of moving one toward God. Those people, as a result of the War, had lost their homes, their money, their loved ones – in fact, their whole way of life. Many of them would have turned to the Lord for His help during the aftermath of those days. They would have carried on the cause of Christ, although to a much lesser degree than the apostles. •

Second, the Scriptures were still around. God made sure of that. That is why we still have the Bible today. The apostles, guided and inspired by God’s Spirit, recorded and wrote it so that those who read it in the future might believe. One aspect of Jesus’ prayer was to pray for those who would, in the future, believe on Him. And by what means would they believe on Him? He said it would be through the word of the apostles.

o “Neither pray I for these [apostles] alone, but for them also which SHALL believe on me through THEIR WORD” [John 17:20 NIV]. Keep in mind that they put their words in written form, so it was not only through the spoken word that others would come to believe in Christ but also through the written word. Bear in mind also that God’s Word is more than mere literature; it is a powerful and living spiritual document capable of changing the lives of those who read it. “The knowledge of Christianity was maintained by the continued existence of the gospels and epistles of the New Testament. As an analogous fact, it is to be remembered that in modern times and in heathen countries Christianity has been known by means of the printed Bible to spread through districts in which there were no living missionaries. Madagascar, New Zealand, and Tahiti are highly interesting illustrations of this…” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.119-120]. “The post-70 ‘left behind’ church had the writings of the apostles [our New Testament] to plant in the hearts of men and grow a new crop of Christians. And that is how the church perpetuated itself, in spite of the fact that the apostles and their traveling companions and all the true and faithful Christians were ‘snatched away’ ” [Edward Stevens in an internet article entitled “Silence Demands a Rapture”]. •

Third, why should we think it impossible for God to raise up a new age of believers without the former being around? After all, He is the God of the impossible. ~ He created the universe ex nihilo, out of nothing. ~ He raised up Adam from the dust of the ground. ~ Jesus said He was able to raise up children for Abraham from stones. ~ He raised up Moses after years and years of being nothing to lead a nation of slaves to become His people ~ He raised up Ezra and Nehemiah to start things over after Solomon’s

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magnificent temple was totally destroyed and had lain in a heap for some 70 years. Would such a God find it impossible to oversee the survival of His spiritual movement on earth? Did He not say that the gates of hell will not prevail against it? [5]. The Greek Word “Epeita” Used In I Thessalonians 4:17 Requires A Delay Of Time. A fifth argument used against a literal A.D. 70 rapture has to do with a Greek word that Paul used in the I Thessalonian passage. It is insisted that the Greek word Epeita [ep’-i-tah] requires a delay of time. After stating that the dead would rise when the Lord comes down from heaven, Paul introduces his teaching that the living will also be caught up to meet the Lord in the air with the word epeita. Epeita is translated then in the KJV and after that in the NIV. “…the dead will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them …” [I In other words, the two events, it is argued, do not occur at the Thessalonians 4:16-17]. same time. The argument is as follows: From the use of epeita in other New Testament passages, we should notice that the event which occurs after the word epeita does not necessarily follow closely on the heels of the event that precedes that word. In other words a period of time exists between the first event and the second. So I Thessalonians 4:16-17 is interpreted as follows: “…the dead will rise first …then after an undesignated period of time, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them.” The question to be answered can be expressed in this manner: Do these events occur more or less simultaneously as maintained by preterists or is there an extended period of time between them as maintained by futurists? An investigation of the word epeita is paramount to finding an answer. The word is found a total of 16 times in the New Testament. The NIV translates it then ten times, after that two times, later two times, and after that one time, and also one time. A study of the 16 statements in which the word is used reveals that the New Testament writers employ the word in two different ways – to indicate a lapse of time and to indicate some kind of sequence. Consider its use under these two categories: Using “Epeita” To Indicate A Lapse of Time Notice carefully how the word is used in the following passages, and you will be able to follow the argument of those who believe there was no rapture in A.D. 70. I have capitalized and underlined the translation of the word epeita. o Galatians 1:18 - Paul had just said that after his conversion to Christ, he spent a period of time in Arabia and then returned to Damascus. His next move was to go to Jerusalem. He put it this way: “THEN after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter…”

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Here there is a period of three years between returning to Damascus and going to Jerusalem to visit Peter. The second event of going to Jerusalem did not closely follow the first event of returning to Damascus. There was an intervening period of three years. So when he said that he spent some time in Arabia and Damascus, then went to Jerusalem, he does not mean he did so immediately. Keep in mind that this is the same word that Paul used in I Thessalonians 4:16-17 between the event of the resurrection and the event of the rapture. o Galatians 2:1 - In the process of outlining his life, Paul said that a period of fourteen years intervened between his first and second visits to Jerusalem. “Fourteen years LATER I went up again to Jerusalem …” When Paul used epeita here, he did not mean to imply that his two visits to Jerusalem [the one mentioned in 1:18 and the other one here in 2:1] were more or less simultaneous. In fact, he says that a period of 14 years intervened between the two visits. One must ask, then, when Paul used this word in I Thessalonians 4:16-17, is he implying the possibility that a period of time might take place between the resurrection and the rapture? Is he saying, “…the dead will rise first. Then [AFTER an undesignated period of time], we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them.” o James 4:14 - “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and THEN vanishes.” Here two events, your life and death, are connected by the word epeita. The vanishing occurs at the end of a person’s life. When a person’s life vanishes depends upon how long he lives. Clearly, an undesignated period of time is implied. o I Corinthians 15:5-7 - Paul said, “…what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins … that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day … and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. AFTER THAT he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time … THEN he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles, and last of all he appeared to me…” Unmistakably, there is a sequence in this list and clearly there is a lapse of a few days or possibly even two or three weeks between the various appearances of the risen Jesus. When Paul used the word in I Thessalonians, did he mean to indicate that there would be a lapse of time between the two events similar to the way he twice used the word in this passage? o I Corinthians 15:22-23 - “…in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; THEN, when he comes, those who belong to him.” There was a period of about 40 years that elapsed between the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection spoken of here. Christ rose from the grave around A.D. 30. The resurrection of believers occurred in A.D. 70 at His return. An interpretive reading of this verse would be, “Christ the firstfruits; then [after 40 years] when he comes, those

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who belong to him.” The two events did not take place simultaneously. It was Christ first, then some believers, but there were 40 years between the two resurrections. By using this same word, epeita, in I Thessalonians, is Paul implying that the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of the living do not take place at the same time, but that there is an extended period of time between the two. o I Corinthians 15:44-46 - While discussing the kind of body believers will receive after they die, Paul states that the body that dies is our natural body but that it is raised a spiritual body [I Corinthians 15:44]. By a spiritual body he doesn’t mean to infer that it is some kind of phantom or eerie bodiless existence for he specifically says that the resurrection body is one that is imperishable, glorious, and powerful [I Corinthians 15:42] and tells the Philippians it will be fashioned like the glorious body of Christ [Philippians 3:21]. But to continue with his argument, “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being;’ the last Adam [Christ], a life-giving spirit. The spiritual [Christ] did not come first, but the natural [Adam], and AFTER THAT the spiritual.” Notice that epeita is used to connect two events that are closely related in principle but widely separated in time. He says Adam came first, after that Christ. After that covers a very long period of time, the length of time depending upon how long between the creation of Adam and the resurrection of Christ - at least a few thousand years. This passage uses the identical word that Paul uses in I Thessalonians and thus implies the possibility of an extended period of time between the coming of Jesus and the catching up of believers. Summarizing the Argument By way of summarizing this argument, in I Corinthians 15:5-7 the second event occurs a few weeks after the first event. In I Corinthians 15:44-46 one person appears a few thousand years after the previous person. In Galatians 1:18 a three-year interval exists between the two events. In Galatians 2:1 there is a lapse of fourteen years between the two events. In James 4:14 epeita designates the duration of one’s life. In each case there is a lapse of time between the two events that are separated by the word epeita. What, then, is the significance of this when Paul uses it in I Thessalonians 4:17? Does it not at least suggest that the catching up of those who were alive at the coming of Christ did not take place at the same time as the resurrection of the dead? Does it not at least suggest the possibility that there would be a lapse of time between the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of the living? When Paul used the word to connect the resurrection of the dead with the catching up of the living, he employed a word that was commonly used to indicate that an interval of time existed between the two events. Furthermore, when Paul says the dead will rise first, the implication is that those who are alive would rise later. There appears to be a lapse of time between the two events. How long is the interval? We are not told but, it is suggested, that it is the length of time

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it would take for those who were living at the return of Christ to die. Then, after a believer dies, he is raised and judged by the Lord. The resurrection and judgment is, therefore, an on-going process, one that began in A.D. 70 and still operates today. Such is the argument that a rapture of Christians did not occur in A.D. 70. Instead, living believers continued to live on earth until each died. Upon his death each was transported to heaven joining other believers who were already there. Using “Epeita” To Indicate A Sequence The argument above seems fairly airtight until a closer and more detailed study of the word epeita is carried out. It appears that those who use the above meaning of epeita to make their argument seem to ignore the fact that the word is often used to designate a sequence or to enumerate a list of objects. Notice the following uses of the word and you will see that it is not always used in connection with a lapse of time. o I Corinthians 12:28 “And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing. Those able to help others, those gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.” When Paul employed the word epeita twice in this statement, he obviously did so without the concept of a lapse of time being involved. It is used in connection with enumerating a list of activities and positions that God established in the church. It could, in such a case, be translated by our word furthermore or, as is done the second time it is used in his verse, by the word also. o Galatians 1:21 “Later I went to Syria and Cilicia.” In this statement Paul uses epeita to indicate what he did after his two-week stay with Peter was over. He proceeded into Syria and Cilicia. Here Paul is enumerating the order of the events that occurred in his life. It is a general statement that could have followed immediately upon his visit to Peter or a lapse of time could have occurred between the two events. We are not told. o Hebrew 7:2 “First, [Melchizedek’s] name means ‘king of righteousness;’ then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace.’ ” In this statement the writer is telling his readers what Melchizedek’s name means as well as what kind of king he was. Obviously, the two events occur at the same time. No reader is expected to think there is a lapse of time between the two. o Hebrews 7:27 “Unlike the other priests, [Christ] does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people…”

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In this passage the writer is contrasting the work of Christ with that of the temple priests. Here the emphasis is upon two related, but different events. Before a priest could offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people, he had first to offer one for himself [Leviticus 9:7,15; 16:6,15]. One followed the other, and the use of the word epeita denotes chronological sequence with no thought given to a lapse of time between the two events. One simply followed the other. o James 3:17 “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” Here the word epeita is used to show succession. The wisdom that comes from heaven is first and foremost pure. Springing from such wisdom are the Christian characteristics listed. These desirable traits follow from having God’s wisdom in one’s life. o Luke 16:7 “Then he asked the second, ‘How much do you owe?’ ” This statement comes within the parable of the shrewd manager. By cleverly reducing the debts of various individuals, he helped prepare for a jobless future. After he reduced the debt of one individual, the above statement is made in relation to the second. Obviously, the epeita is used here to indicate a sequence. He spoke to one person; then he spoke to another. o John 11:7 “Then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’ “ This was the statement that Jesus used when He heard that his friend Lazarus was sick. Two days after hearing the news he told his disciples that they were going to return to Judea. After discussing Lazarus’ condition, they proceeded to return to his home. The word epeita is employed here to indicate what Jesus did two days after hearing of Lazarus’ illness. The word is not intended to imply any lapse of time, but to indicate what Jesus did next. Conclusion On Use Of Epeita Since, as has been seen in the above verses, epeita is used to indicate a logical sequence as well as being used in connection with an enumeration of a list of activities, no one, therefore, can prove that a lapse of time is inherent in its use in I Thessalonians 4:17. In the 15 times it is found elsewhere in the New Testament, it is used as many times when no lapse of time is involved as when it is. When combined with other passages that are concerned with the resurrection and judgment, however, it does not seem to allow for a period of time to elapse between the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of the living. The Five Arguments Both the strengths and weaknesses of the five arguments against a literal translation of believers to heaven in A.D. 70 have been discussed. To me, those arguments 205

Christians were still around after A.D. 70, the rapture was a spiritual not a literal event, Jesus’ prayer precludes a removal from the world, the Church would not have survived if all Christians had been removed from the world, and the Greek word Epeita used in I Thessalonians 4:17 requires a delay of time – are not strong enough to offset the arguments for a first century rapture already discussed.

[G]. A Study Of Four Greek Words That Argue For A Visible Coming Of Christ – “horao, apokalupto, phaneroo, epiphaneia” [This section is referenced on page 88]. There are at least four different Greek words that the New Testament writers use to indicate that when Jesus came, He would be seen with the eyes. This is a very significant point in view of the fact that the far majority of preterists hold the view that the coming of Christ in A.D. 70 was not a visible coming but a spiritual one. Listed below are 24 verses that either state or imply that His coming was to be a visible manifestation. The variety of Greek words used to communicate this fact and the great number of times this truth is repeated should leave little doubt as to the kind of coming expected by New Testament writers. [1]. HORAO [hor-ah’-o] - The word horao means “to stare at, to gaze at with wide-open eyes”. Horao, found some 480 times in the New Testament, is variously translated, some 366 times, by some form of the word see. Several times the word appear is used. From a study of these many uses, it is obvious that in the far majority of times, somewhere around 90%, the word means to communicate the idea of viewing some thing or some one with the physical eyes. For example, the shepherds, when told 206

about the birth of Christ, said, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened” [Luke 2:15]. Some form of the word is used in the following verses, all of which speak of the second coming of Christ. o “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” [Mathew 16:28]. o “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky”

[Matthew 24:30].

o “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” [Matthew 26:64]. o “…some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power” [Mark 9:1]. o “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” [Mark 13:26]. o “…you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” [Mark 14:62]. o “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” [Luke 21:27]. o “…we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” [I John 3:2]. o “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him…” [Revelation 1:7]. [2]. APOKALUPTO [a-po-ka-loop’-to] - The verb apokalupto is commonly translated revealed. According to Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, it means “to take off the cover, i.e. disclose: - reveal.” It is found 26 times in the New Testament and in each of these times it has the idea of some thing or some one being disclosed, made known, and brought out into the open. For example, “It had been revealed to [Simeon] by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” [Luke 2:26]. Its noun form, apocalypsis, is found 18 times and is translated the revelation, revelations, or revealed. For example, the very first word of the last book of the Bible is Apokalupto or apocalypsis: “The revelation of Jesus Christ…” [Revelation 1:1]. apocalypsis or one of their forms is used in the following statements, all of which relate to the second coming of Christ. o “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is disclosed”

[Luke 17:30].

o “…you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the disclosure of our Lord Jesus Christ” [I Corinthians 1:7]. o “This will happen at the disclosure of the Lord Jesus from heaven …”

[II

Thessalonians 1:7].

o “These have come so that your faith…may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor at the disclosure of Jesus Christ” [I Peter 1:7].

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o “…set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the disclosure of Jesus Christ” [I Peter 1:13]. o “…rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the disclosure of his glory” [I Peter 4:13]. [3]. PHANEROO [fan-er-o’-o] - The verb phaneroo means “to show oneself, to make manifest” and is commonly translated appear. It is found 49 times in the New Testament and variously translated, such as by some form of appear, disclose, make known, show, etc. For example, “This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only son…” [I John 4:9]. It or some form of the word is used in the following verses, all linked to the second coming. o “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” [Colossians 3:4]. o “…when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” [I Peter 5:4]. o “…continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed at his coming” [I John 2:28]. o “…we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” [I John 3:2]. [4]. EPIPHANEIA [e-pif-an’i-ah] - The noun epiphaneia, from which we get our word epiphany, means “a manifestation, an appearance, an appearing,” especially of a deity, with the idea of becoming literally visible. It is found six times in the New Testament. One time it is used in connection with the first coming of Christ: “[God’s grace] has now been revealed through the manifestaion of our Savior, Christ Jesus…” [II Timothy 1:10]. The other five times are associated with His second coming. o “…the Lord Jesus…will destroy [the lawless one] by the manifestation of his coming” [II Thessalonians 2:8]. o “I charge you to keep this commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ” [I Timothy 6:14]. o “..in view of his manifestation and his kingdom, I give you this charge…”

[II

Timothy 4:1].

o “…there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his manifestation” [II Timothy 4:8]. o “…we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious manifestation of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” [Titus 2:13]. Seeing Or Perceiving?

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If these four words – horao, apokalupto, phaneroo, epiphaneia – do not indicate that the return of Jesus was visible, what do they suggest? If these four words - variously translated to view, to gaze at, to see, to reveal, to disclose, to appear, to make known – do not suggest that Jesus would be seen with the physical eyes, what other terms should a writer have used if he wanted to suggest that idea. Not one of these words suggests that Jesus was to be perceived by the mind as having returned as is generally viewed by full preterists. Full preterists commonly believe that from the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem a person should be able to deduce that Jesus had returned. His actual visible appearance was, therefore, unnecessary. “…literalism cannot be universally applied in interpreting the nature of fulfillments described in symbolic biblical language…Consequently, whenever the literal reality of a ‘day of the Lord’ came, [1st century Jewish believers] expected that it would be unmistakably evident but theophanic in nature, as it had been many times before, and as it was to be again” [John Noe in Beyond the End Times, p.187]. “Interpretation of Scripture by the Gentile-dominated church was caught up in the idea of a physical return and a literal interpretation of the very figurative apocalyptic language found in the book of Revelation and other OT & NT prophecies… Truly, upon a close investigation of the subject, there are not any verses in the New Testament that point to any other manner of coming other than the spiritual parousia of Christ in a judgment of God’s enemies at the redemptivehistorical end-time of the Old Covenant system” [Timothy James in The Messiah’s Return, p. 32-33].

In my opinion Jesus’ return in A.D. 70 was not theophanic in nature. The list of verses given above does not give the impression that His coming was anything but a visible one. From my study I have not found any passage in the New Testament that even suggests that Christ’s coming might be some mystical or spiritual coming. To say as just quoted above and quoted here again, “…there are not any verses in the New Testament that point to any other manner of coming other than the spiritual parousia of Christ…” is to ignore the 24 verses I have just cited as well as others that could be mentioned. Consider these examples in which Jesus specifically implied that He would return visibly. ~ On one occasion Jesus told His disciples that He was going to the Father’s house to prepare a place for them. Then He promised, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” [John 14:3 NIV]. Think of the implications in Jesus’ promise here: ¾ When He says, “I will come back,” is there any way those disciples might think they would be unable to visually see Him at His return? ¾ When He says, “I will take you to be with me,” is there any way those disciples might think they would be taken to be with an invisible being?

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¾ When He says, “You also may be where I am,” is there any way those disciples might think it was to be a purely spiritual relationship? ~ Likewise, when Jesus told the temple leaders, “…you will not see me again until…” He clearly intimated that at some future date they would visibly see Him again.

[Matthew 23:24 NIV],

¾ Since those Jewish leaders were plainly seeing Him when He made this statement to them, how is it possible they would have understood Him to mean in the future they would somehow merely perceive His presence? ¾ Is there any way those hostile leaders would have interpreted His comment as referring to a future spiritual return and not a visible return? The variety of Greek words used to communicate the fact that Christ’s coming was a visible manifestation and the great number of times this truth is repeated should leave little doubt as to the kind of coming taught in the New Testament.

[H]. A Study Of The Greek Word “stoicheion”

[This section is referenced on

page 142].

The Greek word stoicheion [stoy-khi’-on] is twice used by Peter to describe the day the Lord comes in fiery judgment upon Jerusalem. It is translated by the English word elements. o “The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare … That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat” [II Peter 3:10,12 NIV]. This verse is commonly interpreted as referring to a future cataclysmic dissolution of the physical universe. Many believe this fiery disintegration of the atmospheric heavens will be the result of some kind of roaring thermonuclear explosion. This nuclear reaction triggers a complete meltdown of the various components of the physical universe. After all, it is argued, what else can melt the elements, those basic building blocks of the universe? “The elements of the earth are to be dissolved in the intense heat of the divine fire and all of man’s ‘works’ on the earth will also be burned up … The agelong effects of God’s great curse on the ground (Genesis 3:17) must be purged from the very elements before the earth can be renewed for its eternal purposes. The great beds of fossils and other testimonials of an agelong reign of sin and death must all be burned away” [Henry M. Morris in The Revelation Record, p.426].

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Although such an interpretation sounds plausible on the surface, it does not stand up to a closer scrutiny. When we think of the elements, we usually think of the periodic table of atomic elements – hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, etc. These are the basic building blocks of the universe. Is Peter referring to these basic physical components of the universe as is generally believed by futurists? Peter’s readers knew nothing about these things, but they did know what he meant when he used the word stoicheion, the word translated into English by the word elements. The word stoicheion is found a total of seven times in the New Testament. In the other five cases outside of II Peter, it is always used in connection with discussions about Old Testament rules and ordinances. Not one time is it used in connection with the physical universe. One of the most basic and most recognized hermeneutical principle [hermeneutics are the principles by which Scripture is interpreted] is that Scripture should interpret Scripture. ¾ If, then, the principle of allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture is adhered to, how can the use of stoicheion in II Peter 3:10&12 be viewed as having a different meaning than it does in the other five passages? Below are the passages in which the five other times the word stoicheion is employed by New Testament writers. The word is utilized twice in each of the Galatian and Colossian passages and once in the Hebrew passage. The English words used to translate stoicheion are emboldened and underlined. [1]. Paul, discussing what it was like living under the law, said, “… we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law that we might receive the full rights of sons …But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you” [Galatians 4:3-5, 9-11 NIV]. In this passage Paul reprimands the Galatian believers for wanting to forsake the freedom they have under Christ in order to return to being slaves under the law. Living under the law required living by basic principles that are no longer required by those who live under Christ. But the lifestyle of the Galatians had degenerated into an external formalism of following rules and regulations. Paul couldn’t understand why they wanted to become entangled with legalistic living again after experiencing the freedom that is the right of the children of God. Obviously, the way the word stoicheion is used twice in this passage is in connection with a way of life previous to that of trusting in Christ. It has nothing to do with the physical elements of the universe but everything to do with the basic elements involved in observance of the Old Covenant.

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[2]. Paul’s comments to the Colossians are quite similar to what he said to the Galatians: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principle of this [Old Covenant] world rather than on Christ! … Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this [Old Covenant] world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’ These are all based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” [Colossians 2:8, 20-23 NIV]. There are two intertwined ideas running through this passage: •

The basic principles of the Old Covenant world which had been established by God at Mt. Sinai and

•

The many rules that had been added over the years by Jewish religious leaders with regards to a proper observance of the Old Covenant.

Paul’s advice in this passage is that followers of Christ should not be deceived by the compelling arguments of Jewish philosophers but should stand firm in their new life under Christ. Submitting to the old set of ordinances and ascetic practices has no moral value since spiritual problems cannot be cured by physical remedies. Those who live under Christ are not required to submit to those decrees even though they might appear to be good. Followers of Christ have no obligation to that world of rules, taboos, and regulations. Clearly, the way the word stoicheion is used twice in this passage is in connection with the moral and religious principles that must be followed when living in the old Jewish world. There is nothing here whatsoever that relates to the elements or building blocks of the physical universe. [3]. The writer to the Hebrews employed the word stoicheion when referring to the simplest teachings, the first lessons, of God’s word. “…though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again” [Hebrews 5:12 NIV]. “… let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…” [Hebrews 6:1 NIV].

For the sake of accuracy, it should be noted that the Greek word arche translated as elementary teachings in the second reference is not identical to the Greek word stoicheion translated elementary truths in the first reference. But they are very closely related. Stoicheion means that which is fundamental. Arche means that which is the beginning. The point that the writer is making is that those foundational truths of

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the Old Covenant system which were designed to teach about Christ are only the beginning of one’s spiritual experience. As can be deduced from further comments made immediately after the above statements, those first ABC lessons about Christ were learned by means of the Old Testament sacrificial system. That system was designed primarily to teach the basics, or as is translated, the elementary truths which are enumerated next: [Hebrews 6:1-2]: •

That sacrificial system demonstrated the basic lesson that repentance and faith were needed to approach God.

•

The various ceremonial washings, baptisms, taught the lesson that cleansing from sin was a necessity in order to worship God.

•

The laying on of hands by a person or a priest upon the head of an animal was a clear pictorial lesson of the substitutional nature of God’s plan for man’s salvation.

•

Through the different rituals, a person would learn the need for new life, resurrection, and that sin must be judged, judgment.

These six foundational lessons were taught to the human race via Israel for some 1500 years. They were graphic lessons designed to teach how God must be approached and what would be the nature of the work of the coming Christ. Now that Christ had come, the old kindergarten class was no longer needed; no longer did the primer lessons about Christ need to be taught. Now it was time to go on to a higher level, a more mature level, of learning and living. No one should remain in kindergarten all his life. There are higher levels of learning to achieve. The Point In each of the three passages studied above, the word stoicheion is always used to refer to the elements of the Old Covenant system, never to the elements of the physical universe. It was those foundational elements of the Old Covenant system that were doomed to pass away, not the building blocks of the universe. Later in his treatise, the Hebrews’ writer teaches that once Christ appeared the old system had become obsolete: “And what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” [Hebrews 8:12 NIV]. ¾ It is this dissolution of the old system that was in the mind of Peter when he wrote “…the stoicheion will be destroyed by fire…” [II Peter 3:10]. Recall that John the Baptist said there was One coming who would “baptize with fire” [Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16]. Recall also that the Roman soldiers burned Jerusalem making it impossible for the old sacrificial system to function. Peter’s prediction came true in A.D. 70: the elements were destroyed by fire.

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The foundation of that old way of life melted away. In its place, according to Peter “…a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” [II Peter 3:13 NIV] was established. Peter was not predicting that God would blow up the physical world and start all over again with a new universe, consisting of a new sun, a new moon, new stars, new planets, as well as a new earth. His focus was on a new way of life. That old way of living by following the elements of the law would be replaced by a new way of living by following the teachings of Christ. That is why he immediately concludes his epistle with the exhortation, “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” [II Peter 3:18 NIV].

[I]. A Study Of The Phrase “And So All Israel Shall Be Saved”

[This

section is referenced on page 133].

The only New Testament passage that appears to give a ray of hope for a future regathering of Jews to the land of Israel, including their salvation, is Romans 11. All other passages cited in support of this proposal are found in the Old Testament and are based upon questionable application. But Romans 11 has traditionally been interpreted as referring to a future conversion of all Jews to Christ. After a lengthy analysis of the condition of Israel in his day, Paul makes the startling statement, “And so all Israel shall be saved” [Romans 11:26 KJV]. Does this mean that sometime in the future, the entire nation of Israel will turn to Christ and be saved? A large majority of today’s evangelicals think so. But did Paul think so? A couple of chapters earlier, Paul wrote: o “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel” [Romans 9:2-4 NIV]. Think about that statement in connection with Romans 11:26. ¾ Why should Paul experience such anguish in his soul if he believed that all the people of Israel were going to be saved anyway? ¾ Why did he put himself through such intense grief and express such deep sorrow for his own people if their salvation were a sure thing? Later in this same dissertation, Paul twice expressed his heart’s desire: o “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved” [Romans 10:1 NIV]. o “I make much of my ministry [to the Gentiles] in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them” [Romans 11:14 NIV].

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¾ Why did he pray so fervently and why did he work so strenuously in order to “…save some of them” if he believed that eventually all of them were going to be saved? Obviously Paul was not convinced nor did he teach that the salvation of his own people was a certainty. In fact, he intimated very strongly that the nation as a whole would not be saved when he quoted God as saying, o “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people” [Romans 10:21 NIV]. The implication is that God was wasting His time pleading with those people. So what did Paul actually mean when he later wrote, “And so all Israel shall be saved” [Romans 11:26 KJV]? There are several points to make with regards to this question. Now Not Then The first point to be considered has to do with the Israel of which Paul is speaking. Does this statement refer to Israel today or is it possible that it referred to the Israel of Paul’s day? James Jordan, a partial preterist, as can be detected in the following statement, shares a similar concern: “It seems to me very odd that this is the only place in the New Testament where a future conversion of the Jews is predicted. Almost every book in the New Testament speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem. Many speak of the gospel’s going out to all the world and transforming it. Many also speak of our Lord’s Final Advent at the end of the present age. But nowhere else is anything said about a future conversion of the Jews. “It occurred to me that perhaps Romans 11 predicts an event that was future to Paul, but not future to us: to wit: that Romans 11 predicts a conversion of many Jews to Christ just before the destruction of Israel in A.D. 70. The more I thought about it, the more sense this interpretation made” [James B. Jordan in an internet article entitled “The Future of Israel Re-examined” ].

Romans 11 is not negligent in giving us information that supports Jordan’s conclusion. There are some indicators in the chapter that Paul is referring to the Israel of his day. o He says, “…at the PRESENT time, there is a remnant chosen by grace” 11:5 NIV], and he himself claims to be among that remnant [Romans 11:1].

[Romans

The fact is that most of the Christians in the New Testament, some mentioned by name, such as the apostles, but most unnamed, are to be classified as being included in that saved-by-grace remnant. Paul clearly says he is speaking of the time in which he was living: “…at the present time” [Romans 11:5]. o Later in the chapter Paul says, “Just as you [Gentiles] who were at one time disobedient to God have NOW received mercy as a result of [Israel’s] disobedience, so they too have NOW become disobedient in order that they too may NOW receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you” [Romans 11:30-31 NIV].

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Again it is obvious that Paul is speaking about the Gentiles and Jews of his day because he uses the word now three different times in his statement. The word could easily be translated “…at this present time.” o Another statement seems to be a clincher. “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them” [Romans 11:13-14 ESV]. Earlier Paul touched on this same idea. “Moses says, ‘I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding’ ” [Romans 10:19 NKJV]. Paul claims that one aspect of his ministry to the Gentiles was to try to make Jews jealous. This would occur when they became aware that Gentiles were assuming the privileges initially promised to Jews. If their jealousy caused them to respond in a positive way, they would accept the Messiah for themselves and enjoy the fulfillment of the promises. This was Paul’s intention. He wanted to “…save some of them” [Romans 11:14]. He did not have in mind that the whole nation of Jews would be saved … just some of them. However, if their jealousy caused them to respond in a negative way, they were apt to, and often did, express that jealousy to the point of rage. The Book of Acts cites many instances in which Paul was the victim of the rage of the Jews. Now here is the point: The idea of provoking Israel to jealousy by the preaching of the Gospel is not a present day phenomena. Nothing that Christians have or do today conjures up a sense of jealousy within the hearts of present day Jews. Today’s Jews could care less about Gentiles being converted to Christ. They are not in the least provoked when the Gospel is preached to Gentiles. “The minds of Modern Jews are set by their traditions, not by the Old Testament. In order for them to be jealous, they would have to perceive that Christians have the Kingdom they expect to inherit. This was true of first century Jews, but it is not true of Modern Jews. Talmudic Jews are looking for a completely different kind of kingdom” [James B. Jordan in an internet article entitled “The Future of Israel Re-examined”]. But it was an entirely different story during the time of Paul. The point being made about Romans 11 is that Paul is speaking of a first century situation, not of one several centuries down through time. How Not When Second, in the interpretation of this statement, “And so all Israel shall be saved,” it is important to be aware that more than a few scholars have pointed out that the Greek word houtos, which is translated by the English word so in most translations, is a simple adverb that modifies the expression all Israel. Although so is a fairly accurate translation, it does not clearly express the basic idea of houtos. The English word so conveys the idea of time, but the Greek word houtos conveys the idea of method. Therefore, the meaning of houtos is better expressed by 216

such phrases as in this manner, in this fashion, in like manner, or in this way. These phrases indicate that Paul is talking about the method all Israel will be saved not the time of their salvation. Note how the following translations have picked up on the proper meaning of houtos. ~ “And in this way all Israel will be saved…”

[English Standard Version]

~ “In this way all of Israel will be saved…” [Contemporary English Version] ~ “…it is the way that all Isra’el will be saved” [Complete Jewish Bible] ~ “And this is how all Israel will be saved”

[Today’s English version]

~ “…and so in that way all Israel will be saved”

[Williams]

Such a rendering of the word makes it easier to understand Paul’s line of reasoning throughout chapters 9-11. He brings his discussion to a conclusion by saying, “And it is in this manner that all Israel shall be saved;” that is, Israel will be saved in the manner he has been describing. Israel’s National Salvation Expected Third, and before going any further with the question of how, it is important to note that the Israelites of that first century were possessed with the prospect that the salvation of Israel was on the horizon. Their salvation concept, however, as discussed elsewhere in this study, was a political or national one. •

Recall when Joseph and Mary brought baby Jesus to Jerusalem, they were met by a prophetess named Anna who “…spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” [Luke 2:38 NIV].

•

Bear in mind also that after the crucifixion of Christ, the two disciples on their way to Emmaus bemoaned “…we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” [Luke 24:21 NIV].

•

Then, too, at the ascension of Jesus, some of His disciples asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” [Acts 1:6 NIV].

Note what these devout believers were looking forward to. It was the redemption and restoration of Jerusalem and Israel! Their overriding question was, “When will Israel be saved from being under the heel of Gentile powers,” and the backside of that question, “When will Israel become the world’s dominate kingdom?” It should be added that a belief in a national salvation for those first century Israelites might be expected considering the fact that the apocryphal books were permeated with that theme. Not only that but also there are many passages in the Old Testament that would contribute to such a belief. Consider the following which speak of a coming Redeemer, one bringing salvation to Israel:

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o “I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” [Isaiah 49:26 NIV]. o “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins…” [Isaiah 59:20 NIV]. o “[The people of Israel] will be called The Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you [Zion, Jerusalem] will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted” [Isaiah 62:12 NIV]. o “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death” [Hosea 13:14 NIV]. o “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance…” [Joel 2:32 NIV]. o “In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be…” [Amos 9:11 NIV]. o “On Mount Zion will be deliverance…Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s” [Obadiah 1:17, 21 NIV].

o “The Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel…”

[Nahum

2:2 NIV].

o “On that day they will say to Jerusalem…the Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save… He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” [Zephaniah 3:16-17 NIV]. All these verses, in addition to many others, lend to a belief in a national salvation. At the time they were written, they gave the impression that as a nation Israel would be saved at some future day, that all their enemies would be subdued, and that they would assume a super-race status in the world. It was this widespread passionate belief among the Jews that underlies Paul’s discussion in Romans 11. Paul’s Threatening Stance Fourth, we must note that Paul challenged this common Jewish belief of his day. His writings and his messages were interpreted by many Jews that God was finished with Israel, that the Jews were no longer His people. This often occurred when Gentiles accepted the salvation he offered to them. Needless to say, to the Jews Paul’s seemingly pro-Gentile position was quite irksome since he appeared to be giving away the very salvation that had been promised to them. However, to the question, “Did God reject his people” he answered, “By no means! I am an Israelite myself…” [Romans 11:1 NIV]. Paul claimed to be living proof that God had not rejected Israel.

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Likewise, to the question, “Did [the Jews] stumble so as to fall beyond recovery,” he answered, “Not at all!” [Romans 11:11 NIV]. Then he proceeded to argue that the Jews were not hopelessly lost but could still be saved. So Paul clearly states that he is not anti-Israel. But what he is against is the general Jewish belief that salvation is based upon a person’s racial, ethnic, or national background. His position is very clear from earlier statements: o

“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly…”

[Romans 2:28 NIV].

o “…not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” [Romans 9:6 NIV]. o “…it is not the natural children [descendants of Abraham] who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring” [Romans 9:8 NIV]. Then, too, throughout the book he takes a position contrary to the prevalent belief of the Jews when he places Jews and Gentiles on the same level with regards to God, sin, and salvation. o “God does not show favoritism” [Romans 2:11 NIV]. o “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin” [Romans 3:9 NIV]. o “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23 NIV]. o “…we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law” [Romans 3:28 NIV]. o “…if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ ” [Romans 10:9-13 NIV]. It was next to impossible for Jews to accept the idea that they were on the same level as Gentiles. They considered themselves to be God’s favorites. They believed they were God’s chosen people and that Gentiles were the rejected ones, the outcasts, the sinners. Paul’s Twist It is within these and similar statements that were near impossible for Jews to accept that the answer is found to the how question asked earlier with regards to the statement, “In this way all Israel shall be saved” [Romans 11:26 KJV]. In what way will Jews experience God’s salvation? In what manner will those people experience the

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fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies? Paul’s argument is that salvation comes to individuals. And this is the twist he puts on the Old Testament teachings about Israel’s coming salvation, restoration, and deliverance. This is part of the mystery that he wishes to reveal to his readers [Romans 11:25]. Salvation is not to be looked upon as a national right or as an ethnic entitlement. Salvation is for individuals who believe Jesus is alive and who confess Him as Lord. It is “in this manner” that all Israel will be saved. It is “in this way” that the whole house of Israel can experience salvation. In the paragraph preceding this statement and while responding to the question, “Did [Israel] stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?” [Romans 11:11 NIV], Paul uses the analogy of being grafted into an olive tree to make his point. The olive tree represents the people of the covenant that God made with Abraham. Those people who participate in the covenant are people who believe God and who live by faith, and this includes Gentiles, as the passage indicates. Paul declares, however, that some Jews have been broken off like dead branches from that tree “… because of unbelief” [Romans 11:20 NIV]. But he adds, “… if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again” [Romans 11:23 NIV]. The key to their salvation is to believe. It is by not persisting in unbelief but by believing in Jesus that any in Israel or all of Israel can be saved. If Jews believe in Jesus, they will be grafted back into the Abrahamic tree and experience the blessings of the covenant. Their salvation is based upon their believing, not upon their ethnicity. A fairly common view held today among evangelicals is that the covenant which God made with Abraham insures the salvation of all Jews. This has led to the idea that there are two different salvation tracks. One track is for Gentiles and a few Jews who believe in Jesus. The other track is for historical Israel whose salvation is dependent upon God’s covenant with them and not upon whether they believe in Jesus or not. Such an idea runs counter to the teaching of Paul as well as to that of other Biblical writers. Paul here teaches that there is only one olive tree to which Jew and Gentile believers belong - not two. Peter’s straight forward declaration about Christ to the Jewish Sanhedrin also supports this line of reasoning: o “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” [Acts 4:12 NIV]. o Paul said earlier, “…there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ ” [Romans 10:9-13 NIV]. ¾ Salvation comes to Jews and to Gentiles in the same way. Either will be saved in this way or not at all. After declaring how all Israel will be saved, Paul undergirds his teaching with one of those Old Testament prophecies that appear to imply a national salvation:

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o “And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins’ ” [Romans 11:26-27 NIV]. o Isaiah’s original words that Paul cites are slightly different: “‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,’ declares the Lord. ‘As for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord” [Isaiah 59:20-21 NIV]. This verse is not pointing to some time in our future when the Redeemer will come to a rebuilt Jerusalem. When Isaiah wrote those words, that time was still in his future. But Paul cites Isaiah to point out that the forgiveness of Israel’s sins is found in a Redeemer who came to Zion. That Redeemer, as declared so often in the New Testament, is Jesus who died in earthly Zion “…as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” [I John 2:2 NIV]. It is “…through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” [Romans 3:24 NIV] that any and all, including Jews, experience salvation. It is on the basis of that sacrifice that sins are taken away. Thousands of First-Century Israelites Saved As has been previously pointed out, Paul hoped that his ministry would be the means by which “…some” of his fellow Jews would be saved [Romans 11:14]. His ministry, coupled with that of the other apostles, did result in the salvation of many in Israel. Although the majority of Jews in his day persisted in unbelief, still a very large number of them believed and experienced a personal salvation. The book of Acts documents this movement: o “Those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” [Acts 2:41 NIV]. o “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”

[Acts 2:47

NIV].

o “…many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand” [Acts 4:4 NIV]. o “…more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” [Acts 5:13 NIV]. o “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” [Acts 6:7 NIV]. o “Then [James and the elders of the Jerusalem church] said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed…’ ” [Acts 21:20 NIV]. God’s Servants Along with the information gleaned from Acts, additional evidence is found in the book of Revelation which, as has been previously noted, is a prophecy of God’s judgment upon the Jews and Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Before that judgment fell, John records that there were 144,000 “…servants of God” [Revelation 7:4] sealed against the soon-coming deluge of God’s wrath. Those servants of God were first century people, “…all from the

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tribes of Israel” [Revelation 7:4]. Twelve thousand were sealed from each of Israel’s twelve tribes [Revelation 7:5-8] making a total of 144,000, obviously a symbolic number, but nevertheless, one that depicts a huge number of believing Israelites in the latter half of the 60s. No Lost Tribes Incidentally, the sealing of those believers from each of Israel’s tribes indicates that all twelve tribes were represented in the land. To claim, as some do, that the ten northern tribes were lost long before Jerusalem was destroyed is to do so in face of contrary evidence. Consider the following accounts: •

John’s writings in the Revelation point out that they still were known to exist within the land, and James indicates they were known to exist outside the land. In fact, James addressed his epistle directly to them: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings” [James 1:1 NIV].

•

Also, Paul never considered any of Israel’s tribes lost as is evidenced by his comments to King Agrippa when explaining why the Jerusalem Jews were after his hide: “…it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night, O king” [Acts 26:6-7 NIV].

•

Furthermore, a dialogue between Jesus and a woman of Samaria reveals that she considered the Samaritans to be descendants of Jacob even though they were a mixed breed that came about by the policies of the Assyrian Empire. She asked Jesus, “Are you greater than our father Jacob” [John 4:12 NIV]. After spending two days with Jesus, the Samaritans who were of the same city as the woman, confessed, “…we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” [John 4:42 NIV]. They became true believers in Christ, they who were descendants of the original ten tribes.

•

One further statement to confirm that the ten northern tribes were not considered lost in that first century is a comment found in the writings of Josephus, who has been referred to on various other occasions. When rehearsing events relating to the preparation of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, he writes, “And when these Jews had understood what piety the [Persian] king had towards God, and what kindness he had for Esdras, [Josephus means Ezra here] they were all greatly pleased; nay, many of them took their effects with them, and came to Babylon, as very desirous of going down to Jerusalem; but then the entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country; wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers” [Flavius Josephus in Antiquities, Book 11, Chapter 5, Section 2].

A Little History

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It was back around 740 B.C. when the Assyrians scattered the Israelites in what is known as the Diaspora. At that time they sent in some of their own people to settle the land. These intermarried with the Israelites that were left, and they became known as the Samaritans. Although they were not racially pure Israelites, they still considered themselves to be Israelites, still representatives of the ten northern tribes. The Jews in Jerusalem, however, did not consider them to be true Jews and did not associate with them [John 4:9]. Recall Jesus spoke approvingly of the half-breed but good Samaritan who helped a robbery victim and disapprovingly of the racially pure Jewish priest and Levite who ignored his pleas for help. Some 135 years or so after the northern kingdom was scattered, the Babylonian Empire conquered the southern kingdom forcing the Jews out of that land. This is known as the Babylonian Exile, a captivity that lasted for 70 years [Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10; Daniel 9:2]. At the end of that time, around 10% of the Jews, which was approximately 50,000 people [Nehemiah 7:66], returned to the land of Israel under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. The other 90% or so were integrated within the countries in which they lived. Later, during the time of the Greeks, many of them adopted the ways of the Greeks and became known as Hellenists. The Jews who lived in Israel began referring to those Hellenic Jews as Greeks, a very derogatory term with regards to them. This attitude even carried over into the early church and had to be dealt with by the leadership. Recall that the Hellenists, those “contaminated” Jews complained against the “pure Jews”, that their widows were being “…overlooked in the daily distribution of food” [Acts 6:1-2 NIV].

The evidence shows that the northern tribes were still around in that first century although often known by different names and often having mixed blood. The above line of reasoning helps to show that John was accurate when he declared that there were believers within all the twelve tribes of Israel during his day. Those believing Israelites of whom John wrote, are later seen with the Lamb in heaven having “…been redeemed from the land… purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb” [Revelation 14:1-4 NIV]. The point being made is that there were literally thousands of first-century Israelites who did confess with their mouths, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and who did believe in their hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, and it was in this manner that they experienced salvation. As they stood before God’s throne, they undoubtedly sensed that their personal salvation was to be preferred to that of a restored political state on earth.

[J]. Evidences That Support The Contention That The Kingdom Of God Is Advancing On The Earth [This section is referenced on page 108]. At the conclusion of the section “The Earthly-Reign-of-Christ Obstacle” the following statement is made: “Believers belong to a kingdom that is destined to subdue all kingdoms and achieve worldwide dominance…” [page 108]. Such a statement, however, is in opposition to the widespread view that the world is becoming more wicked as the years roll along.

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According to those who espouse such a pessimistic view, you would think that God has predestined the world for evil. A statement expressed by Thomas Ice and Wayne House is representative of many that could be cited: “The church age will end in apostasy, not revival” [Dominion Theology, p.390]. In support of their position, proponents consistently insist the Bible teaches that godliness and spirituality will gradually diminish until there are scarcely any godly and truly spiritual people left in the world. Then, according to that view, Christ will return and set up His kingdom since the Church has so miserably failed. This constant bombardment in our day that the worst is yet to come has left an air of defeatism hanging over the lives of too many in the Christian world. Passages such as the following are cited to bolster their belief: o II Thessalonians 2:3 – “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away” o I Timothy 4:1 – “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some shall depart from the faith…” o II Timothy 3:1 – “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come” On the surface the Biblical argument for supporting a cultural and spiritual degradation appears to have merit, but that merit is totally negated by the fact that neither of these passages refers to our time or a time future to us. These verses describe the condition that existed in the final days of the Jewish Age, that period of time in which they were written, namely, within twenty years or so leading up to A.D. 70. That this is the proper understanding of these verses can be determined by noting that other passages give historical markers which clearly denote that time as being the last days of the Jewish era. o The Hebrews’ writer states that the ministry of Jesus occurred in the last days: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” [Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV].

o The Hebrews’ writer also states that the death of Christ took place when the ages were coming to an end: “…[Christ] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” [Hebrews 9:26 NIV]. o Peter explains to the multitude on the Day of Pentecost that the pouring out of God’s Spirit is in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy who said this would occur in the last days: “…this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…’ ” [Acts 2:16-17 NIV]. o Paul tells the Corinthians that the ends of the ages is upon them: “Now these things happened to [the ancient Israelites] as an example, and they were written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come” [I Corinthians 10:11 NASB].

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o James tells those who are hoarding wealth that they are living in the last days since the Judge is standing at the door: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is about to come upon you…You have hoarded wealth in the last days…The Judge is standing at the door” [James 5:1,3,9 NIV]. o Jude reminds his audience that the apostles had warned them about those who are mocking them, something that would happen in the last days: “…remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, ‘In the last times there will be scoffers…’ ” [Jude 1:17-18]. o John explains to his readers that the existence of so many antichristian people is evidence they are living in the last days: “…this is the last hour and you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” [I John 2:18 NIV]. It is clear from this short study that New Testament writers believed they were living in the last days since they so often used that phrase, or one similar to it, to describe the conditions of their day. That being so, in order to be consistent, the verses cited above – II Thessalonians 2:3; I Timothy 4:1; II Timothy 3:1 – must be interpreted within that historical context. It is not proper to apply a phrase to our time when the very writers of that phrase applied it to their time. Contrary to that gloomy forecast, however, the Bible paints a much brighter picture of the future. The World’s Glorious Future When Christ came to this earth, the entire world had sunk to the deepest depths of moral corruption with the sin of idolatry so prevalent and widespread as to seemingly defy any possibility that any change might occur. Satan was in complete control of mankind. But God’s kingdom secured a beachhead in Palestine under the ministry of Jesus. From that location the kingdom has steadily advanced until its influence now permeates most every culture throughout the world. There is no doubt that all through the Scriptures the steady growth and eventual victory of God’s kingdom is found. Consider just a sample of the many references that could be cited which speak of the glorious future that is in store for this world. o Psalm 22:27-29 – “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; All who go down to the dust will kneel before him…” o Psalm 66:1-4 – “Shout with joy, all the earth! Sing to the glory of his name, offer him glory and praise! Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.’ ” o Psalm 72:11 – “All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.” o Psalm 86:9 – “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.”

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Along with these passages in the Psalms, additional ones are found scattered throughout other Old Testament books, which also speak of the glorious future of this world. Notice just two or three: o Habakkuk 2:14 – “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” o Daniel 2:44 & 7:13-14 – “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever…In my vision at night I looked and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations, and men of every language worshiped him.” Along with Jesus’ parables, which also speak of the world being permeated by His kingdom, other supportive verses are found as well in the New Testament: o Philippians 2:10-11 – “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” o Revelation 7:9-10 – “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb…and they cried out in a loud voice; ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’ ” o Revelation 15:4 – “All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” o Revelation 21:24-26 – “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.” The clear teaching of these verses, as well as that of many others not cited, is that the gospel will be victorious throughout the entire world. It is not destined for failure but is destined to become a positive, worldwide influence. This may seem incredible in view of the fact that it goes against the training most of us have received. Regardless, the Biblical view of the world is one of hope, not of failure; one of victory, not of defeat. But do the facts point this out? Just The Facts, Please The following statistics were included in an article entitled “The Growth of the Gospel” in the 1994, July-August issue of Mission Frontiers, a magazine published by The U.S. Center for World Missions, 1605 Elizabeth Street, Pasadena, CA 91104.

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According to the article, Mission Frontiers was supplied with these figures by the Lausanne Statistics Task Force, an organization headed by David Barrett, author of the World Christian Encyclopedia. A detailed study was conducted by that organization to determine the impact the Church was having upon the world at large. They did this by determining as closely as possible the number of Bible-believing Christians there were in every one hundred people at specific times in history. “Bible-believing Christians,” according to the article, “means people who read, believe, and obey the Bible whether or not they are as active as they ought to be in world evangelization.” •

In A.D. 1430, one person in every 100 was a Bible-believing Christian.

•

360 years later, in 1790, 2 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

•

150 years later, in 1940, 3 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

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20 years later, in 1960, 4 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

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10 years later, in 1970, 5 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

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10 years later, in 1980, 6 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

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3 years later, in 1983, 7 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

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3 years later, in 1986, 8 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

•

3 years later, In 1989, 9 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

•

4 years later, in 1993, 10 in every 100 were Bible-believing Christians.

The writer of this article, Ralph D. Winter, founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission in 1976, finds in these statistics a very important and encouraging fact: “… people committed to God, across the centuries, have constantly been gaining a higher and higher percentage of all the people of the earth. So that today, 540 million out of 5.4 billion people in the world are Bible-believing Christians. With the rapid increase in world population, many people cannot believe that the Kingdom of Christ is expanding even faster at over three times the rate of world population growth” [1994, July-August issue of “Mission Frontiers,” p.5] But …. just consider the fact that as the result of the showing of the film “Jesus,” 197 million people have indicated that they have made a decision for Christ. That film was released in 1979, just 25 years ago [From the website of the “Jesus” film]. Also, “Despite the Chinese government’s persecution of the church, an estimated 1,200 Chinese come to Christ every hour …” Also, in Indonesia, “Over the last 40 years, evangelicals have grown from 1.3 million to 11.5 million” [From a 2004 special issue of the magazine “The Voice of the Martyrs”, p.14-15]. Jesus’ prediction that His kingdom would gradually permeate the world is taking place right before our eyes. The Backside There is, however, a backside to these statistics. Anyone can see that 90 of every 100 people living today are not Bible-believing Christians. So there is still a lot of work to be

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done before the many Biblical predictions of a Christianized world are realized. This, of course, is going to take time. It has taken 2000 years to convert 10% of the world’s population. How long will it take before 75% of the world is Christianized? The above statistics show that about every three years since 1983, a 1% growth is achieved. If this gain were maintained, it would take some 200 years to reach another 65%. As more become Bible-believing Christians, however, the growth could take on exponential acceleration and thus it would take much less than 200 years to reach a 75% goal. A Proposed Plan In the July-August, 2002, issue of Mission Frontiers, pages 8-11, Michael Jaffarian, a missionary researcher, critiques a plan proposed in the recent publication of a 928 page book entitled World Christian Trends, AD 30-2200. Embedded within that book, which is the third of a three volume set entitled World Christian Encyclopedia, is the proposed plan that goes by the title, “World Christian Global Action Plan” [WCGAP]. According to Jaffarian’s article, “The WCGAP is a document that maps out a way that some key goals in world mission could be achieved by AD 2025.” The eight global goals that, hopefully, are to be achieved by 2025, are as follows: •

For everyone on earth to be evangelized (to hear the gospel in a way they can understand and have a valid opportunity to become a Christian).

•

For the world to be 40% Christian (that is, Christian of any kind, of any denomination or tradition. Note that this is different than seeking for 40% of the world to be “born again” or “saved”, spiritual realities that cannot be known until the Lamb’s Book of Life is opened).

•

For the world to be 20% Great Commission Christians (Christians who know of, understand, and are acting on the Great Commission of Jesus Christ).

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For every 2,000 Christians to send at least one cross-cultural missionary.

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For Christians to give 3% of their income to Christian causes.

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For there to be a church in every city.

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For there to be a church for every people.

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For there to be scriptures available in every language.

Also, according to Jaffarian, these goals are far from being idealistic and impractical but are definitely within the realm of possibility. In order to reach them, the book gives a detailed list of 87 tasks to be done by an international office, denominations, churches, seminaries, missionaries, and individuals. As stated by the review, this list is not “a grab-bag of disconnected ideas” but a realistic approach to world evangelism.

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I mention this plan to point out that there are those who are working toward the goal of having “…the earth… filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” [Habakkuk 2:14 NIV]. Based upon God’s Word, which is supported by the above statistics, we can say that a better, brighter world is coming. A Christian civilization is in the future. Let’s not underestimate the power of the Gospel and the influence it can and will have upon the world’s cultures, societies, and governments as well as upon the lives of individuals.

SUMMING IT UP This study has revealed that there are certain identifiable events, unambiguous situations, and understandable time-indicators that are associated with the return of Christ. These are too powerful and too numerous to view the second coming as occurring at any time other than the A.D. 70 period. Here is an extremely brief summary of what has been studied: Events Associated with His Coming • The judgment and resulting destruction of Jerusalem Luke 19:41-44; 21:20,27]. •

The resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked

[Matthew 24:2, 29-30;

[Acts 24:15; I Corinthians

15:22-23, 52; I Thessalonians 4:16]

•

The judgment of individuals [Matthew 16:27;

•

The rapture and change of living believers [I Thessalonians 4:17;

Acts 24:25; Revelation 22:12].

I Corinthians 15:51-52].

Situations Associated with His Coming • Some of the original disciples would still be alive [Matthew 16:28]. •

Some of Israel’s rulers would still be alive [Matthew 26:64].

•

Some of that generation would still be alive [Matthew 23:36;

•

The apostle John would still be alive [John 21:21-22].

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24:34].

•

The seven churches mentioned in Revelation would still be in existence [Revelation 2&3].

Time Indicators Associated with His Coming • The events in Revelation were on the verge of being fulfilled [Revelation 1:1,3, 19; 22:10]. •

The events cited in the Matthew 23&24 were to be fulfilled in that generation [Matthew 23:36; 24:33-34].

•

Early believers were not to be surprised by His soon coming 16:15; I Thessalonians 5:2,4; Matthew 24:42-44].

•

Terms denoting imminency were linked with eschatological events: tachos [quickly], eggus [at hand], mello [about to].

[Revelation

Earnest Hampden-Cook, whom I have quoted with approval numerous times throughout this study, mentions three significant and beneficial effects that result from believing that the second coming of Christ is an event of the remote past. He says most emphatically ¾ It vindicates THE VERACITY AND INERRANCY OF JESUS by relieving His teaching from the suspicion of a serious error. ¾ It adds vastly to THE INTELLIGIBILITY and therefore also to THE CREDIBILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT by removing intellectual difficulties which for long ages have hindered thousands of thoughtful men and women from clearly seeing the way to Christ and His salvation. ¾ It severely TESTS (and thereby INCREASES) the FAITH of many Christians by compelling them to choose between Scripture and tradition, between the teaching of Christ and His apostles and the teaching of the Church, which on the question of the date of the Parousia are utterly at variance [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p. 200-201]. Dr. Kelly Nelson Birks asks a very solemn question in which he implies a disturbing conclusion if it is not believed that the second coming of Christ occurred in the first century: “If the Lord Jesus, the apostle Paul, and the other writers of the New Testament were wrong about the timing of His coming, then how are we to understand the doctrinal implications of the possibility of an ‘inspired’ author being essentially in error when it comes to the writing and enunciating of the time of the parousia of the Lord, if in fact said coming is still off in the future somewhere?” [Dr. Kelly Nelson Birks in an internet article entitled “The Potency of a Proper Placing of the Parousia”].

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WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? Does it make any difference whether or not a person believes in a first century return of Christ? There are two contradictory answers to this question: One answer is, No! It does not make any difference with regards to one’s personal salvation and spiritual life. The other answer is, Yes! It does make a difference with regards to several other significant matters, four of which are discussed here. [A]. It Makes A Difference In The Way We View The Scriptures. In the introductory remarks of this study, I referenced two men, Bertrand Russell and C.S. Lewis, who had tremendous difficulty accepting the deity of Christ and the inspiration of Scripture because they felt there was a huge discrepancy between what was claimed and what occurred. But if these men, along with a host of others, had been convinced that the second coming of Christ did, in fact, occur in A.D. 70, then there would not have been a problem with accepting the deity of Christ and the inspiration of the Scriptures as facts. When we become convinced that the Scriptures are accurate and truthful in every area they touch upon, a confidence grows within our souls. There is a feeling of security that envelops our whole being when we sense we can trust God’s Word even if we do not know the complete answers to some difficult areas. And this confidence that the Scriptures can be trusted enables us to accept the many declarations that they make. For example, o When they say, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” [Genesis 1:1], we can feel secure that He did just that in spite of what modern evolutionary proponents say. o When they say that God told Noah, “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens…” [Genesis 6:17], we do not need to hesitate that such occurred in spite of the denials of modern liberal scholarship.

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o When they say, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:13], we can trust that this will be in spite of our contrary emotions. Or in spite of those who reject Christianity altogether. Even though the arguments of this study may seem convincing, some devout individuals may still find a first-century return hard to accept. They wonder, if Christ has already returned, what is left in the Scriptures to hold on to, and does the Olivet discourse have relevance today? “It has sometimes been asserted that if the Second Advent is past, it deprives us of our share in the Bible and in the promises of God. The statement is based on a curious misconception of the facts of the case. Is fulfilled prophecy worthless? Is not the past a great revelation of God and of human nature, and as such has it not deep and eternal significance? Or is history mere waste paper simply because it relates to the past and not the future?” [Ernest Hampden-Cook in The Christ Has Come, p.28].

“Those who argue against a preterist interpretation of the Olivet Discourse sometimes offer the objection that if the prophecy has already been fulfilled then it has no relevance for us today. But this objection might just as well be turned upside down. If the Olivet Discourse predicts events to occur at the end of human history, then it had no relevance for the apostles and the early Christian community” [Douglas J. Enick in When Will These things Be?, p. 137-138]. “Are the books of Romans and Ephesians ‘irrelevant’ just because they were written to believers in the first century? Should I Corinthians and Galatians be dismissed because they dealt with first-century problems? Is not all Scripture profitable for believers in every age (2 Tim.3:16-17)? Actually, it is the futurists who have made the Revelation irrelevant – for on the futurist hypothesis the book has been inapplicable from the time it was written until the twentieth century!” [David Chilton in The Days of Vengeance, p. 41].

God’s Word is trustworthy; it is dependable; it is reliable; it is consistent; it is accurate; it is credible; it is true. It is His inspired, infallible Word. “Every scripture is God-breathed and is profitable…” [II Timothy 3:16]. It is, as Chilton says, “…profitable for believers in every age,” and that includes fulfilled prophecy as well. [B]. It Makes A Difference In The Way We View That First Generation Of Christians. Peter spoke of believers in his day as being members of a unique generation [I Peter 2:9]. That generation was chosen by God to experience so many things that will never happen again. It was in that generation that God became flesh, ministered to humanity, paid the death penalty for sin, rose from the grave, and ascended to heaven. It was in that generation that He returned to judge, to gather His followers to be with Himself, and to establish

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God’s spiritual kingdom. The uniqueness of that generation is obvious. These events will never happen again. Also, this uniqueness is seen in the way those early believers conducted themselves. When reading specific passages of scripture, it is not uncommon to ask, “Why did those Christians act that way? Why did they do that? Why did the writer give that kind of advice?” For example, we read that the early believers sold their properties and pooled their resources [Acts 4:32-35]. We wonder why. Were they more spiritual than Christians in later generations? Did they believe a socialistic economic system was more compatible with Christianity than a free enterprise economy? Neither is correct. The fact is that Jesus had forewarned them about the immediate future. He had declared the total destruction of their way of life. “The real estate was soon to be torn down, burned, and salted over. The populace (business customers) were soon to be totally killed or sold into slavery. Why continue to keep your money invested in real estate when the price of real estate will soon take a substantial nose dive? Why invest long-term capital into building a business when the vast majority of your paying customers will shortly have nothing to pay you with, and eventually be totally taken out of the picture through death or slavery?” [Joseph R. Balyeat in Babylon: The Great City of Revelation, p.93]. Since they were going to lose it all anyway, they wisely sold their possessions to unbelievers and used the money for Christian purposes. This seems to have been the common practice during that period of some 30 years that ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Another practice that gives rise to the “why did he say that” question focuses on the advice concerning married and unmarried persons that Paul gave in his letter to the Corinthians [I Corinthians 7:25-40]. He explained that the advice he gave was “…because of the present crisis…What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short…For this world in its present form is passing away” [I Corinthians 7:26,29,31]. He gave his counsel to the married and the unmarried in the spring of A.D. 57 and explained that the present crisis was what prompted him to do so. That present crisis had to do with the shortness of time that remained before the present world order passed away, just ten years down the road. Undoubtedly, he could see some very rough times ahead and, because of those soon-coming major changes, informed them that, “…those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this” [I Corinthians 7:28 NIV]. These are only a couple of examples that point out the curious actions and remarks of that first generation of believers. Those early believers were living in unique times, which called for unique lifestyles. They were living on the edge of eternity. They were specifically aware that the coming of Christ was truly at hand, and that genuinely

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affected their everyday lives. An understanding of their distinctive situation helps to explain, what may seem to us, their unusual actions and comments. [C]. It Makes A Difference In The Way We React Toward The World That God Loves. Too long we have focused our attention on some future time in which Jesus will return and take us out of this corrupt world. This future focus is the result of believing that the world is in a state of hopelessness, and so we feel justified living out a philosophy of withdrawal. This recoiling from society is commonly espoused by our leaders today as can be seen in the following pithy phrases: “You don’t polish brass on a sinking ship” [J. Vernon McGee]. “God sent us to be fishers of men, not to clean up the fishbowl” [Hal Lindsey]. “Christians have no immediate solutions to the problems of our day” [John Walvoord].

“ ‘Reclaiming’ the culture is a pointless, futile exercise”

[John MacArthur].

Let’s face it - such statements are admissions of defeat. There is little motivation to try to correct society’s problems for those who believe the world is nearing its end. In response to such statements as these, Joseph Balyeat counters, “It’s hard to rally the troops to battle when you tell them beforehand they will be defeated” [Babylon, the Great City of Revelation, p.24]. The ultimate social downer is to proclaim that the end is near. When no faith in a future exists, little attempt is made to solve human-need issues or to transform corrupt, exploitive, and repressive organizational structures. There is little incentive to work for a better world in which the next generation can live if ours is considered to be the last generation. As is implied in the above quotes, trying to fix today’s problems is simply a waste of time, energy, and, of course, money. But, as we have seen, this world is not destined for destruction. The ship is not sinking, and we are occupied with more than polishing brass. We are engaged in the building of our civilization. This world is our home, and our role is to take care of our home. We are here for the long haul, and wherever there is injustice or poverty or corruption, it is up to us under God to tackle those problems. Long-range planning by the individual, the family, the church, and the government on all levels can be endorsed. The future is too bright to wallow in the dark mud of pessimism. Such a task requires leaders who have faith in God and who have a vision for a Christianized world. But leaders who pooh-pooh such a goal are not only failing their followers but are also undermining that portion of Jesus’ own prayer when He said, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” [Matthew 6:10 NIV]. Such a world will not be built by creating some kind of evangelical sub-culture in which Jesus’ followers live and wait to be rescued from this world. To the contrary, we are to operate as salt preserving the world from an inclination toward corruption, and we are to

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function as lights directing those who are in the dark on how to live. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world” [Matthew 5:13-14 NIV]. Surely, establishing a movement of bringing earth to heaven was not what Jesus had in mind when He prayed that God’s “will be done on earth.” His plan was to bring heaven to earth. Operating under a philosophy of withdrawal and escapism will not do the job. The salt must be sprinkled; the light must shine. [D]. It Makes A Difference In The Way We React Amid The Profuse Pronouncements Of Present Day Pessimists. Years ago Mark Twain said something to the effect: “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” No truer statement could be expressed about life today. It seems every few years something appears on the scene that tends to scare people half to death. And then religious leaders are quick to pronounce that the end is near. In fact, for as long as anyone can remember the end has been near. But this is not an exclusively religious routine. Even those outside the religious circle preach the same message. [Some of the ideas presented here were triggered by writer Michael Crichton in an article entitled “Let’s Stop Scaring Ourselves” printed in the December 5, 2004, issue of Parade, an insert in the Orange County Register].

I well remember during the first 30-40 years of my life that we were reminded often with the ominous forecast that the earth was getting cooler and that this would soon have a devastating effect upon life on earth. Scientists had irrefutable proof that world temperatures were rapidly decreasing. In fact, we were told, we were on the edge of entering another ice age. Oh, and yes, the end was near. We were all going to freeze to death! During the last 30 years of my life the message has been slightly modified. Today we are warned by knowledgeable scientists that global warming is more than a serious problem. Again, these experts have irrefutable proof. Above the earth, there’s a growing hole in the ozone layer. On the earth, the snow packs at the poles are melting at an alarming rate, and world temperatures are rising sharply. Once again, the end is near. We’re all going to burn to death! Back in the late 50s and early 60s, we were confronted with the news that a world famine was inevitable in the 70s. This warning was based upon shorter growing seasons, which were resulting from global cooling, and upon an increase in the world’s population rate, which was soaring. I can well remember preaching a sermon in the mid-60s in which I included some of the statistics so prevalent in those days. Within ten years there would simply not be enough food to feed everyone. With less food being produced and more people to feed, the end was near. We were all going to starve to death! Can you remember how the alarmist back in early 1980 warned us what might happen as a result of a coming unusual alignment of the planets? We were told that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn would all line up with the sun and that this alignment would have such a strong gravitational influence that the earth might even be pulled apart or that it would cause the earth’s rotation to switch directions! At the very least, it would instigate devastating earthquakes, furious storms, destructive floods, and other 235

apocalyptic type catastrophes all over the earth; in fact, it might even trigger the scenes described in the book of Revelation! The end was near. We were all going to shake to death! Remember, not long ago, the alarming news that a strain of super aggressive honey bees had escaped the laboratories of some Brazilian scientists and were headed northward toward the U.S. at a speed of 200 miles per year? These bees were supposed to be 100 times more deadly than normal bees. In fact, they were called killer bees and supposedly would attack humans just for the fun of it. The news was that they had already stung to death upwards of a 1000 people. The end was near. We were all going to be stung to death! Enough said; you get the picture. To paraphrase Mark Twain, “We’ve known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” We never froze to death, we never burned to death, we never starved to death, we never shook to death, and we never were stung to death. Most of the troubles we’ve known never really happened. I recall some old writer, I think it was Matthew Henry, saying something like this: “Some people die a thousand deaths worrying about one.” You see, the end is always near in the minds of a lot of people, including both the religious and the not so religious. They always see the dark side of life and always predict the worst. It’s like the proverbial glass containing water. Although some say it’s half full, these people always say it’s half empty. They’re full of pessimism, cynicism, doubt, suspicion, worry, and mistrust. What attitude should the Christian express toward life’s adversities and tragedies? How many times have the Scriptures said to trust God? How many times have the Scriptures indicated that our future is bright? Have the Scriptures ever exhorted us to be fearful, to be anxious, to be worried, to be downcast, to be fretful, to be troubled, to be sad, to be discouraged, to be depressed? If any one should see the glass as half full, it is the Christian! Now what does this all have to do with believing that Christ returned back in A.D. 70? Well, for one thing, such a belief frees us from being affected by the constant threats of the religious and nonreligious doomsayers. ~ We no longer need to fear that the judgments of Revelation are coming. ~ We no longer need to worry that the earth will be burned up. ~ We no longer need to wonder whether the dreaded antichrist is alive today. ~ We no longer need to speculate when the great tribulation is about to begin. ~ We no longer need to fret that we might be left behind when Christ comes. ~ We no longer need to assume that we’re living in the last generation. ~ We no longer need to allow a pessimistic outlook dictate our approach to life. ~ We no longer need to die a thousand deaths worrying about one.

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¾ Hey! ……….. Let’s stop scaring ourselves….!!! Let’s reorient our the-end-is-near thinking to one that is positive about the world and its future. The future is too bright and our God is too great to cower in fear to that recurrent but false message that the end is near. That end is in the past. God’s forever kingdom is gradually and steadily taking control.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE SERIOUS STUDENT The lack of awareness by many Bible readers of the distinctive meanings of important Greek words, such as the ones discussed in this study, much of which is the result of mistranslations, has contributed to an improper and faulty perspective of key New Testament passages. Hopefully, this study has fostered a greater consciousness of the need to be a little more thorough in the handling of the Scriptures. May I suggest some ways this might be done? [A]. Be resolved to know the truth! By this I mean, don’t just passively accept what others say or believe, but be determined, as much as is possible, to find out for yourself the true meanings of various words, phrases, and statements. For example, take a word studied earlier – the word world. When you run across it in your Bible readings, don’t just read it and move on. Stop and ask, “Which world is the writer speaking of? Is it the physical universe? Is it the world of humanity that is opposed to God? Is it the Roman world, that is, that part of the world under control of Rome and in which the Jews lived? Fortunately, newer translations are, in general, using the word age instead of world when translating aion. Still, when you see the word age, ask, “Which age?” When a verse speaks of the end of the age, ask, “The end of which age?” You must not stop asking questions until you have determined what a word or statement meant to those to whom it was first spoken. Some have called these people the target audience; others have used the phrase audience relevance. Whatever the term used, the point is the same. The New Testament Scriptures were letters, treatises, and epistles written to specific individuals and specific groups of people in that first century, and we can only understand God’s Word when we ascertain what the writers were saying to them. [B]. Buy an exhaustive concordance and use it! An exhaustive concordance is a very large book, something like 2000 pages, that lists every word in the Bible. An exhaustive concordance does more than merely enable you to find a particular verse. By using it properly, you can determine the meanings behind English words. Although some knowledge of Greek and Hebrew are helpful, it is not absolutely necessary. The process is not hard but it will take a little time.

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For those who are unfamiliar with an exhaustive concordance, here are some steps in using one: • Look up the English word in the concordance just as you would in an ordinary dictionary. When you find the word, you will notice a portion of every verse in the Bible where that English word is found. This is helpful in and of itself. • Look for a number at the end of each partial verse. That number is the key to finding the Greek or Hebrew word. • Turn to the back of the concordance where the Greek and Hebrew lexicons are found. If your word is from the New Testament, you will turn to the Greek lexicon. If it is from the Old Testament, you will turn to the Hebrew lexicon. • Find the number of your word in the lexicon. The lexicon will tell you the Greek or Hebrew word that your English word came from. Some concordances will explain its basic meaning, like a dictionary, and some will point out other words the translators used to translate that same word. There are several exhaustive concordances available. I have two. I bought Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance when I was 18 years old and still use it. It is based upon the KJV and explains the basic meaning of each Hebrew and Greek word found in the Bible. I also have The NIV Exhaustive Concordance which, as the name indicates, is based upon the NIV. This concordance does not give the meaning of the words as does Strong’s, but it lists the various words translators used in their endeavor to find an English counterpart for the Greek or Hebrew word. This is extremely valuable because you can study in English every verse in which the particular word you are interested is found. By doing this you yourself can come to a pretty accurate conclusion of the meaning of that word in its original language. In connection with the study of Greek words, it’s very helpful to have a Greek New Testament that has the English translation incorporated underneath the Greek text. This is normally called an Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. I have the Nestle Greek Text with a literal English translation. The value of the interlinear New Testament is that you can see how a Greek word is literally translated even though you can’t read a letter of the Greek alphabet. You can at least see the shape of the Greek letters and words. With your concordance, then, you can find other verses in which that same Greek word is used. Also, you can determine how that word was rendered in various translations. By the way, don’t be discouraged when you find the translations sometimes haven’t been consistent in their renditions. Remember everyone, including translators, have their predispositions, their preconceived notions, their foregone conclusions. And their translations will often reflect these. [C]. Study Serious Writings. Don’t be content with merely reading the comments found in a Study Bible that you can read in a couple of minutes. A Study Bible is simply

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a Bible supplemented with someone’s notes. These may be accurate and helpful or they may be inaccurate and detrimental. I am suggesting that you read larger studies in which writers give reasons for their conclusions. One of my favorite books is The Parousia by James Stuart Russell, first published in 1878. It takes time to read and study its 561 pages. But the time spent is worth all the insight gained. In 1999 when Baker Books undertook the task of reprinting Russell’s book, a modern-day scholar, R.C. Sproul, was asked for his comments. He responded: "Russell's book has forced me to take the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem far more seriously than before, to open my eyes to the radical significance of this event in redemptive history. It vindicates the apostolic hope and prediction of our Lord's close-at-hand coming in judgment. My view on these matters remains in transition, as I have spelled out in The Last Days According to Jesus. But for me one thing is certain: I can never read the New Testament again the same way I read it before reading The Parousia. I hope better scholars than I will continue to analyze and evaluate the content of J. Stuart Russell's important work." [R.C.Sproul in the Foreward to The Parousia, Baker Books, 1999]. Two other great books are Biblical Hermeneutics, published in 1883, and Biblical Apocalyptics in 1898, both written by Milton S. Terry, and both are over 500 pages in length, small type, probably a font size of 10. Milton Terry's work on biblical interpretation has been a standard textbook for most seminaries from the time it was written into the 1970s. But, interestingly, over that period of some 85 years, even dispensational schools used it. Although they taught his interpretive methods, they ignored those areas in which he applied them to Bible prophecy. With the revival of the preterist interpretation of Bible prophecy, Milton Terry's books once again are gaining an audience. I mention these books to point out that serious study takes time. Their length alone requires more than a minute here and there. Although these are among my favorites, I don’t wish to leave the impression that the oldest and biggest books are the best books. It just so happens that these particular ones are superb, but so is a much shorter book of only 210 pages, The Christ Has Come by Ernest Hampden-Cook, written in 1891. Incidentally, Mr. Hampden-Cook was the personal secretary of Richard Francis Weymouth, the translator of the New Testament in Modern Speech in 1909, better known as the Weymouth Translation. It was Mr. Hampden-Cook who edited and partly revised the third edition of that translation after Mr. Weymouth died. I find his book to be very understandable and extremely enlightening. Books written today are generally shorter in length, yet some of these are excellent sources for study. Many of the quotes contained in this study are from these books. These usually get right to the point, which is in keeping with the general culture of our western society.

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[D]. Make Use Of The Internet. The internet seems to be well-nigh inexhaustible on practically any subject. It has been the source many excellent studies for me. Whole books can be found there, such as The Parousia and The Christ Has Come, as mentioned above, as well as the entire works of Flavius Josephus whom I have quoted on numerous occasions to show the historical side of some Biblical truth. Let me pause for a moment to encourage you not to neglect his writings for he is one of the most reprinted authors in history. Philip Mauro expends the following accolades upon Josephus: “Josephus was a priest who was born about four years after the death of Christ. He was a God-fearing man, highly gifted, and is regarded as a remarkably able and trustworthy historian. He was an eye-witness and an active participator in the wars of the Jews which culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. We believe the annals of Josephus have been providentially preserved whereby we have authentic records of the fulfillment of prophecy by an eye-witness who, at the time he wrote, was not a Christian” [Philip Mauro in The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation, footnote, p.32].

Besides finding complete books on the internet are countless shorter articles dealing with specific topics, current issues, and particular words. One of the values of the internet is that you can download these articles as well as whole books into your own computer and/or you can print them out to be studied away from your computer at a later time. When I run across an interesting article, I immediately download it for the reason that I might not be able to locate that particular website again, and I don’t want to lose it. I have occasionally glanced through an article and then gone on to something else without downloading or making a note of where it is. Days later I remember that article and how I would like to read it more thoroughly. But I can’t find it. So copy studies that appear to be interesting. You can always delete them if they turn out to be duds. Besides, a particular website may abruptly shut down for one reason or another taking the articles with it. But, be aware that the internet is filled with every view possible, so you must be selective in what you accept. If a particular view doesn’t harmonize with the Scriptures, then move on. Don’t be sucked in by some cult. Stick with the issue you are interested in. To help in your selectivity, I have listed the addresses of some websites below which have been especially useful to me in studying the subject expressed in this book. Probably the website with the most material and the most helpful to me is www.PreteristArchive.com/ Also, I have listed the addresses of some full preterist authors because their books are near impossible to find in Christian bookstores and must be ordered from them directly or from an organization that advocates the preterist view, or that is at least friendly toward this viewpoint. Some of these organizations are listed as well. Then, finally, I have listed four preterist churches which also have websites with some excellent material.

PRETERIST RESOURCES 240

[1]. Websites www.AmericanVision.org/ - Gary DeMar www.BereanBibleChurch.org/ - David Curtis www.BibleProphecy.com/ - Gene Fadeley www.Doctrine.net/preterism.html www.Eschatology.com/ - Ward Fenley www.Eschatology.org/ - Don Preston www.EschatologyReview.com/ - Greg Rasaka - Chris Passerello www.Mises.Demon.C.Uk/bs-frames.html http://OurWorld.cs.com/PreteristABCs/index.htm?f=fs - Gautier & Harden www.PlanetPreterist.com/ - Virgil Vaduva www.PreterismAustralia.com/ - David Cooper www.Preterism-Eschatology.com/ - Richard McPherson www.Preterist.org/ - Ed Stevens www.PreteristArchive.com/ - Todd Dennis www.PreteristCosmos.com/ - David Green www.PreteristHomepage.com/ - Ken Davies www.PreteristVision.org/ www.ProphecyRefi.org/ - John Noe - Tim King www.Transmillennial.com/ [2]. Addresses of Authors •

George Bowman, 1109 - 360 Watson St. West, Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1N 9G2 Author of several booklets on prophecy; ask for a list and to be placed on his mailing list.

•

Doug Enick, P.O. Box 942, Pratt, KS 67124 Author of When Will These Things Be?, an exposition of the Olivet Discourse, The Time is Near, a commentary on Revelation…exceptional studies

•

Gene Fadeley, Anchor Publishing, 1111 Baldwin Lane, Waxhaw, NC 28173 Author of Revelation: Kingdoms in Conflict – great book

•

Samuel M. Frost, P.O. Box 530034, Orlando, Florida 32853 Author of Misplaced Hope, a discussion of the origins of first and second century eschatology. Ask to be placed on mailing list to receive monthly newsletter The Millennial Post.

•

Timothy James, 17 San Francisco St., Flagstaff, Arizona 86001 Author of the booklet The Messiah’s Return.

•

John Noe, 9715 Kincaid Drive, Suite 1100, Fishers, IN 46038

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Author of Your Resurrection Body and Life Here, Now, and Forever, and Beyond the End Times. •

Don K. Preston, P.0. Box 1313, Ardmore OK 73402 Author of several books and booklets on prophecy: Who is This Babylon?, a study of the book of Revelation, Have Heaven & Earth Passed Away?, a study of Matthew 5:17,18, Seal Up Vision & Prophecy, a study of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9. Ask for list of books….prolific and superb writer

[3]. Addresses of Organizations •

American Vision, P.O. Box 220, Powder Springs, GA 30127-0220 Excellent source for books. Also, publishers of an excellent monthly Magazine entitled Biblical Worldview. Most articles are written by Gary DeMar, a partial preterist and the author of several books including Last Days Madness. - www.AmericanVision.org/

•

International Preterist Association, 122 Seaward Ave., Bradford, PA 16701-1515 . - www.Preterist.org/ An organization that espouses the full preterist view and is an outlet for authors, such as those listed above, to sell their books. Ask for a list of books.

•

Presence Ministries International, P.O. Box 62055, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-2055 - www.presence.tv/cms/index.shtml An organization that espouses the full preterist view. Publishers of a superb monthly magazine, Living Presence, which contains very interesting and enlightening articles.

[4]. Preterist Churches •

Abundant Life Covenant, Springfield, Missouri Pastor: Wilson Phillips

•

Berean Bible, Chesapeake, Virginia Pastor: David Curtis

•

North Indianapolis Church of Christ, Carmel, Indiana Pastor: Edgar Beagle - www.nicoc.org/main.hts?

•

Christ Covenant Church, Kenneth City, Florida Pastor: Samuel Frost - www.ChristCovenantChurchfl.com/

- www.alccmo.org/

- www.BereanBibleChurch.org/

INDEX OF AUTHORS AND SPEAKERS [Quoted or Referenced]

242

60,65,79,81,95,100,210,241,242, 244,251 Hartline, Jim - 164 Hazelip, Harold - 115 Hegessippus - 202,204,205 Hendriksen, William - 116 Henry, Matthew - 248 Hibbard, Walt - 208 Hochner, David - 68,167,207 Hoekema, Anthony - 114,115,118, 136 House, Wayne - 235 Ice, Thomas - 26,235 Irenaeus - 38,39,42,43 Jaffarin, Michael - 239,240 James, Timothy - 79,97,220 Jordan, James. B. - 125,226,227 Josephus, Flavius - 20,28,29,80,85, 86,164,173,201,206,233,234,252 Kirban, Salem - 139 Koestler, Arthur - 126,127 LaHaye, Tim - 26 Lewis, C.S. - 2,3,243 Lilienthal, Alfred M. - 125 Lindsey, Hal - 26,139,140,246 Lipkin, Lewis - 126,127 Luther, Martin - 156 MacArthur, John - 256 Mauriac, Francois - 97 Mauro, Philip - iv,61,66,252,259 McGee, J. Vernon - 246 MeGee, Matthew - 38 McKenzie, Duncan - 151 Melanson, Arthur - 73,74 Morris, Henry W. - 48,49,221 Newton, Thomas - 63,148 Nisbett, N. - 63,149 Noe, John - 4,219

Balyeat, Joseph R. - 245,246 Barclay, William - 17 Barrett, David - 238 Bawer, Bruce - 130 Ben-Yair, Eleazar - 205 Beter, David - 125 Birks, Kelly Nelson - 35,242 Bray, John - 63,125,148,149,163 Brook, Kevin Alan - 123,124,127, 128 Chilton, David - 39,41,43,49,55,122 244 Clark, David S. - 32 Coffman, James Burton – 66 Crichton, Michael - 247 Crouch, Paul - 139 Cunningham, William - 75,155 Curtis, David - 174 Darby, John Nelson - 129,130 Delagrave, Dan - 192 DeMar, Gary - 139,140 Earle, Ralph - 87,162 Epiphanius - 206 Eusebius Pamphilus - 38,164,201, 202,204,205,206 Enick, Dougas J. - 190,244 Fadeley, Gene - 55,97,99,107,175 Falwell, Jerry - 139 Farrar, F. W. - 67 Fowler, Harold - 150 Frost, Samuel M. - 75,151,153,155, 156,157 Gentry, Kenneth - 3,37,39,40,42,43, 179 Grigoriev, V.V. - 123 Goode, William - 153 Gordon, S.D. - 97 Graham, Billy - 140 Graves, David&Jane - 11 Gumerlock, Francis X. - 139,140

Noll, Mark - 155 Ogden, Arthur - 37

Hampden-Cook,Ernest - 34,43,57,

243

Terry, Milton S. - 12,15,16,25,60,63, 101,144,167,172,173,251 Tertullian - 206 Toussaint, Stanley - 96 Trench, R.C. - 162,165,168 Twain, Mark - 248 Van Impe, Jack - 140 Wade, Jim - 45 Walvoord, John F. - 246 Warburton, William - 148 Weymouth, Richard Francis - 251 Williamson, Thomas - 135,136 Winter, Ralph. D. - 239 Wolfe, Peter - 128 Wright, Norman, T. - 66 Zolitor, Jeff - 128

Polycarp - 39 Preston, Don K. - 12,20,119,120, 121,133 Provan, Charles, D. - 130,131,133 Quadratus - 202,205 Robertson, Pat - 140 Robinson, John A.T. - 39,40 Russell, Bertrand - 1,2,3,243 Russell, James Stuart - 4,16,22,51, 55, 60,79,95,104,142,143,251 Scofield, Cyrus - 129,130 Simmons, Kurt M. - 55,56,92,115, 116,121,122,153,207 Siverd, Terry - 179,183,193,200 Smith, Chuck - 139 Smith, Lee – 16 Sproul, R.C. 3,66,138,151,251

The End Is Near

Stevens, Ed - 76,78,80,82,118,119, 156,157,210

INDEX OF OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPT 244

19:21 - 135 24:17 - 183

Genesis 1:1 - 243 3:17 - 221 4:8 - 17 5 - 119 6:17 - 243 8:21 - 140 8:22 - 141 13:14-15 - 134 13:17 - 136 15:18-21 - 137 17:10 - 132 23 - 136 35:18 - 13 37:9 - 148 48:8-20 - 13

Deuteronomy 4:22-24 - 134 8:1 - 134 8:20 - 134 10:15 - 132 14:1 - 131 18:5 - 135 23:3-4 - 135 26:19 - 103 27-30 - 67 27:9 - 132 28:63-64 - 134 32:5 - 131 33:3 - 131 38 - 103

Exodus 10:14 - 61 11:6 - 61 12:24 - 135 15:6,12 - 13 16:10 - 14 19:4 - 148 19:5-6 - 106 19:6 - 132 19:9 - 14

Joshua 21:43-45 - 137 23:14-15 - 137 23:15-16 - 134 I Samuel 2:30-31,35 - 135 I Kings 4:20-21 - 137

Leviticus 9:7,15 - 215 10:15 - 135 16:2 - 14 16:6,15 -215 16:29 - 135 23:41 - 135 26 - 67

II Kings 18:5 - 61 23:25 - 62 II Chronicles 7:19-20 - 134 24:20-22 - 17 36:15-21 - 23

Numbers 11:25 - 14 12:7 - 131 18:19 - 135

Nehemiah 7:66 - 234

245

11:16 - 133 12:8 - 131 12:10 - 131 25:12 - 234 29:10 - 183,234 29:28 - 183 30:7 - 62 31:31,33 - 133 34:8-9 - 133

9:7-8 - 137 Psalms 16:11 - 13 18:11-15 - 143 22:27-29 - 237 48:5-6 - 141 66:1-4 - 237 72:11 - 237 78:59 - 132 78:69 - 141 86:9 - 237 93:1 - 141 96:10 - 141 104:3 - 14 104:5 - 141 110:1 - 14 118 - 19 118:26 - 19 119:90 - 141

Lamentations 4:2 - 132 Ezekiel 5:9 - 62 12:25 - 179 12:25-28 - 179 12:27 - 179 12:28 - 179 29:11 - 146 32:7-8 - 146 30:3 - 15 32:11 - 146

Ecclesiastes 1:4 - 141 Isaiah 5:7 - 132 9:6-7 - 113 13:9-10, 13 -145 13:17-19 -145 19:1 - 15 19:2 - 173 34:4 - 145 40:11 - 131 41:8 - 132 49:26 - 228 51:16 - 148 54:5-6 - 132 59:20 - 228 59:20-21 - 232 62:12 - 229 65:17 - 46 65:20 - 119

Daniel 2:44 - 113, 237 5:31 - 145 7:1-28 - 107 7:13-14 - 16,107,113,237 7:14 - 108 7:18 - 108 7:18,27 - 107 7:27 - 108 9:2 - 234 9:12 - 62 9:24 - 42 12:1 - 62 12:9 - 55 Hosea 1:9 - 132 4:6 - 132 13:14 - 229

Jeremiah 3:8 - 132

Joel

246

2:2 - 229

2:1-2 - 15 2:2 - 62 2:32 - 229 Amos 5:18,20 - 146 8:9 - 146 9:11 - 229

Habakkuk 2:14 - 237,239 Zephaniah 3:16-17 - 229

Obadiah 1:17,21 - 229

Malachi 4:4-5 - 189

A REQUEST At the beginning of this book, I offered a word of caution [page iv] as expressed by Phillip Mauro in his book The Seventy Weeks and The Great Tribulation. Now at the end of this book and since there is a little space left on this page, I would like to make a modest appeal, again as expressed by the same author and in the same book. I will use his words to make my request: “If any of our readers should find themselves in disagreement as to any of the matters set forth herein, we would ask of such only a patient examination of the proofs advanced, together with that measure of kindly toleration which is to be expected in such cases amongst those who are, with equal sincerity, seeking to know the mind of God” [Phillip Mauro in The Seventy Weeks and The Great Tribulation, p. 14].

My intention in this study has been to share what I have determined to be what God’s Word teaches with regards to the second coming of Christ. It has not been myNahum aim to shake anyone’s faith. To the contrary, my aim has been to strengthen the 1:3 faith- 15 of every reader in the truthfulness and integrity of God’s Word. INDEX OF NEW TESTAMENT 1:5 - 146

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SCRIPT

Matthew 2:13 - 184,191 3:1 - 100 3:1-2 - 96 3:2 - 180,194 3:7 - 184,190,203 3:7,10,12 - 194 3:9 - 100 3:10 - 190 3:10-12 - 190 3:11 - 190,224 4:17 - 96,100,180 5:13-14 - 246 5:18 - 149 5:25 - 177 6:10 - 246 8:11 - 7 8:11-12 - 104,132 10:5-6 - 160 10:7 - 96,159,180 10:17-18 - 160 10:18 - 160 10:23 - 9,159,160,194 11:12 - 69 11:13-14 - 189 11:14 - 184 11:16-19 - 27 12 - 120 12:14 - 18 12:22-29 - 120 12:29 - 69,70 12:32 - 166,184 12:39-45 - 27 13 - 23 13:10 - 69 13:31-32 - 102 13:33 - 102 13:35 - 161 13:39 - 167 13:39-40, 49 - 23 13:40 - 167 13:51 - 23 16:1-4 - 28

16:16 - 102 16:18 - 106 16:18-19 - 106 16:19 -105 16:20 - 102 16:27 - 9,82,91,184,189,192,241 16:27-28 - 9,10,12,15,34,89,91, 194 16:28 - 36,72,87,91,217,241 17:1 - 11 17:1-9 -11 17:5 -11 17:10-13 - 189 17:12 - 184 17:17 - 28 17:22 - 184 19:29 - 10 20:21 - 9 20:22 - 184 21:1 - 180 21:33-39 -18 21:34 - 180 21:41 - 104 21:43 - 104,107,131 21:45 - 18 22:5 - 25 23 - 17,32 23&24 - 241 23:13 - 105 23:24 - 220 23:30-31 - 17 23:33 - 17 23:33-36 - 31 23:35 - 29 23:35-36 - 17 23:36 - 7,17,26,27,30,31,60,165, 194,241 23:36,39 - 17 23:36–24:34 - 31 23:37 -18 23:38 - 19 [Matthew con’t] 23:39 - 19,21

248

241 24:36 - 2,3,20,21,68 24:37 - 6 24:37-39 - 64,68 24:37,39 - 63 24:39 - 6 24:40-41 - 64 24:40-42 - 72 24:42 - 65,68,194 24:42-44 - 50,241 24:43 - 68 24:44 - 25,65,78,194 24:47 - 65 24:49 - 68 24:50 - 7 25:1-13 - 77,80 25:13 - 65,77,195,207 25:31 - 90,91 25:31-32 - 169 25:32 - 91,171 25:32,34,41 - 91 25:34 - 106 25:46 - 92 26:3-4 - 18 26:18 - 55,180 26:45 - 180 26:46 -180 26:52 - 102 26:53 - 102 26:55 - 102 26:64 - 13,16,80,83,84,87,195, 217,241 26:65-68 - 13 28:7 - 177 28:8 - 177 28:19 - 171,174 28:19-20 - 169

24 - 17,22,23,32,59,61,62,63,64,65, 66,67,68,72,165 24:1 - 29 24:1-14 - 63 24:1-29 - 63 24:1-33 - 63 24:1-35 - 3,63 24:1-36 - 63 24:2 - 31,65 24:2,29-30 - 241 24:3 - 6,21,22,23,165,166,167 24:3,33-34 - 194 24:4 - 31,65 24:4-15 - 24 24:6 - 31,65,184 24:7 - 171,172,173 24:8 - 68 24:9 - 32,65 24:14 - 7,163,169,171,173,174 24:15 - 32,65 24:15-25 - 55 24:16-20 - 24 24:17-18 - 64 24:17-23 - 190 24:21 - 61,62 24:21-28 - 24 24:23 - 32,65 24:24 - 40 24:24-25 - 21 24:25 - 32,65 24:26 - 21,32,65 24:26-27 - 64 24:27 - 6,63 24:28 - 64 24:29 - 24,147 24:29-34 - 20 24:30 - 24,68,84,87,169,170, 174,175,217 24:30-31 - 72 24:30,34 - 17,165 24:31 - 47,68 24:32 - 32,65,180 24:33 - 32,65,180 24:33-34 - 31,241

Mark 1:14 - 100 1:15 - 180,195 8:3 - 7 8:5-14 - 44 8:12 - 28 [Mark con’t] 8:31-33 - 102

24:34 - 2,25,26,27,30,31,60,64,65,

249

10:1 - 159,185 10:1-23 - 160 10:9 - 181,195 10:9-18 - 120 10:11 - 181,195 10:24 - 195 11:2 - 195 11:20 - 195 11:29-32 - 27 11:37 - 29 11:47-51 - 29 11:50 - 195 11:50-51 - 25 12:29-30 - 161 12:32 - 105 12:33 - 181 12:40 - 195 12:46 - 7 13:1-5 - 66 13:9 - 185 13:28-29 - 105 13:29 - 7 13:33 - 18 14:1 - 101 14:21 - 177 15:1 - 181 15:22 - 177 15:25 - 181 15:27 - 7 16:6 - 177 16:7 - 215 17:20 - 81,100,101 17:20-37 - 64 17:22-25 - 30 17:23-24 - 64 17:26-27 - 64 17:30 - 64,218 17:30-31 - 64 17:31 - 64 17:35-36 - 64 17:37 - 64 18:7-8 - 195 18:8 - 177 18:29-30 - 166 [Luke con’t] 18:35 - 181

8:34-38 - 30 9:1 - 195,217 9:2-10 - 11 9:19 - 28 9:39 - 177 10:32 - 184 10:37 - 9 11:1 - 180 13 - 66 13:4 - 184 13:8 - 171,172,173 13:26 - 84,217 13:28 - 180 13:29 - 180 13:30 - 195 13:33 - 195 14:42 - 180 14:62 - 84,195,217 16:8 - 77 16:9-20 - 77 16:15 - 164 16:19 - 14 Luke 1:31-33 - 113 1:46-47 - 153 2:1 - 162,163 2:15 - 217 2:26 - 218 2:36 - 170 2:38 - 228 2:52 - 21 3:7 - 184,190,203 3:7,9,17 - 195 3:16 - 224 6:7 - 101 7:2 - 184 7:5 - 171 7:12 - 181 7:31 - 27 9:27 - 195 9:28 - 36 - 11 9:31 - 184 9:41 - 28 9:44 - 185 10 - 159

250

1:12 - 131 2:4 - 8 2:13 - 181 3:1-8 - 100 3:16-17 - 161 3:23 - 181 4:4 - 8 4:9 - 234 4:12 - 233 4:21 - 136 4:24 - 14 4:42 - 233 4:47 - 185 5:18 - 18 5:22 - 9 5:25,28 - 196 5:28-29 - 89 6:4 - 181 6:6 - 185 6:15 - 69,70,99,185 6:19 - 181 6:23 - 181 6:37 - 8 6:71 - 185 7:2 - 181 7:25 - 18 7:35 - 185 7:39 - 185 8:40 - 18 8:42 - 8 10:12 - 69 10:28 - 70 10:29 - 70 11:7 - 215 11:29 - 177 11:31 - 177 11:48-52 - 171,172 11:51 - 185 11:54 - 181 11:55 - 181 12:4 - 185 12:31 - 120 12:33 - 185 13:27 - 177 [John con’t] 14:2-3 - 72,88

18:40 - 181 19:4 - 185 19:11 - 181,185 19:14 - 25 19:27 - 25 19:29 - 181 19:37 - 181 19:41 - 181 19:41-44 - 241 19:43 - 8 20:16 - 132 20:20 - 101 21:10 - 171,172,173 21:5-6 - 22 21:7 - 22,185 21:7,22,28 - 196 21:8 - 181 21:10-17 - 171,172,173 21:20 - 181,190 21:20,27 - 241 21:20-21 - 201 21:20-36 - 190 21:21-23 - 190 21:22 - 67,203 21:22-23 - 203 21:26 - 165 21:27 - 84,190,217 21:28 - 181 21:30 - 181 21:31 - 181 21:31-32 - 196 21:35 - 190 21:36 - 185,196 22:1 - 181 22:23 - 185 22:28-29 - 105 22:47 - 181 22:51 - 102 23:2 - 171,172 23:27 - 171 23:28-29 - 196 24:15 - 181 24:21 - 185,228 24:28 - 181 John 1:10 - 161

251

2:40 - 196 2:41 - 232 2:47 - 232 3:3 - 186 3:19-21 - 196 4:4 - 232 4:12 - 231 4:26-27 - 175 4:32-35 - 244 5:13 - 232 5:36 - 186 6:1-2 - 234 6:7 - 232 7:5 - 136 7:17 - 181 8:1 - 44,121 8:9 - 172 8:18-24 - 154 8:20-22 - 155 8:39-40 - 70 9:1–10:48 - 45 9:3 - 173 9:15 - 172 9:38 - 181 10:1-48 - 174 10:9 - 181 11:2 - 174 11:4-17 - 174 11:18 - 174 11:28 - 162,163,186 12:1-18 - 44 12:7 - 177 12:7-8 - 178 12:12 - 45 13:21 - 170 13:34 - 186 14:15 - 241 15:22 - 45 15:27 - 209 16:27 - 186 17:5 - 162 17:6 - 162 17:15 - 177 17:31 - 165,186,196 Acts con’t] 17:31 - 165,186,196

14:3 - 36,196,220 14:18 - 196 14:19 - 81 14:22 - 185 14:23 - 101 14:28 - 196 15:27 - 209 16:16 - 196 16:22 - 196 17 - 73 17:5 - 73 17:5-6,11,13-16,18 - 162 17:11-14 - 209 17:15 - 209 17:18 - 209 17:20 - 210 17:24 - 73 18:10 - 102 18:32 - 186 18:36 - 102 19:20 - 181 19:42 - 181 20:4 - 177 21:18 - 34 21:19 - 34 21:21 - 34 21:21-22 - 34,241 21:22 - 34 21:23 - 196 21:25 - 161 Acts 1:6 - 23,166,228 1:7 - 21 1:9-11 - 84 1:9,11 - 83 1:11 - 81 1:12 - 181 2:1-4 - 11 2:2-3 -12 2:5 -172 2:9-11 - 172 2:14 - 11 2:16-17 - 236 2:23 - 97 2:34 -14

252

3:9 - 230 3:23 - 230 3:24 - 232 3:28 - 230 4:16 - 132 4:24 - 187 5:14 - 187 8:10 - 101 8:18 - 187,197 8:19 - 198 8:23 - 198 8:38 - 187 9:2-4 - 225 9:6 - 132,230 9:6-7 - 132 9:8 - 230 9-11 - 228 10:1 - 225 10:8 - 182 10:9-13 - 230,231 10:13 - 243 10:18 - 164 10:19 - 226 10:21 - 225 11 - 225,226,227,229 11:1 - 170,226,229 11:5 - 226 11:11 - 229,231 11:13-14 - 226 11:14 - 225,227,232 11:20 - 231 11:23 - 231 11:24 - 133 11:25 - 231 11:26 - 8,225,230 11:30-31 - 226 12:2 - 167 12:26-27 - 232 13:11 - 182 13:11-12 - 198 13:12 - 182 16:20 - 177,198

18:14 - 186 19:27 - 186 20:3 - 186 20:7 - 186 20:13 - 186 20:37-38 - 76 20:38 - 186 21:20 - 232 21:21 - 168 21:27 - 186 21:33 - 181 21:37 - 186 22:6 - 181 22:16 - 186 22:18 - 177 22:26 - 186 22:29 - 186 23:3 - 187 23:10 - 70 23:15 - 181,186 23:20 - 186 23:27 - 186 24:2,10 - 171 24:5 - 162 24:10 - 172 24:15 - 187,191,196,241 24:15,25 - 90 24:25 - 187,191,241 25:4 - 177 26:6-7 - 233 26:22 - 187 26:23 - 187 27:2 - 187 27:8 - 181 27:10 - 187 27:30 - 187 27:33 - 187 Romans 1:8 - 76,164 1:20 - 161 2:11 - 230 2:23 - 104 2:25,28 - 132 2:28 - 230 2:29 - 133

I Corinthians 1:7 - 76,198,218

253

3:9 - 131 3:18 - 168 3:21-22 - 187 4:19 - 177 7:25-40 - 245 7:26,29,31 - 245 7:28 - 245 7:29 - 198 7:31 - 198 10:11 - 198,236 12:28 - 214 15:5-7 - 212,213 15:12 - 152 15:22-23 - 93,213 15:22-23,52 - 241 15:23 - 6,93 15:25 - 14 15:37,44,50 - 94 15:42 - 213 15:44 - 213 15:44-46 - 213 15:50 - 75 15:51 - 35 15:51-52 - 74,208,241 15:52 - 47 15:52-53 - 75 15:53 - 94 16:17 - 5 16:22 - 198

1:21 - 214 2:1 - 212,213 2:1-10 - 44 2:11-14 - 45 3:23 - 187 3:28 - 133 4:3-5,9-11 - 222 4:19 - 101 4:24-28 - 136 4:26 - 132 6:9 - 198 6:16 - 107,132 Ephesians 1:19-21 - 187 1:20-21 - 14 1:21 - 166,198 2:1,5 - 120 2:6 - 120 2:8-9 - 155 2:13 - 182 2:17 - 182 3:17 - 101 3:2-6 - 174 3:21 - 141 5:1 - 131 Philippians 1:6 - 198 1:10 - 198 1:25-26 - 6 2:10-11 - 108,237 2:12 - 6 2:14-15 - 29 2:16 - 76 2:19 - 177 2:24 - 177 2:30 - 182 3:3 - 132 3:5 - 170 3:20 - 77,198 3:20-21 - 74 3:21 - 213 4:5 - 182,198 Colossians 1:6,23 - 164

II Corinthians 3:6 - 133 5:1 - 93,94 6:16 - 101 7:6 - 5 7:7 - 6 10:10 - 6 11:2 - 132 12:2 - 70,71 12:3 - 70 Galatians 1:4 - 168,198 1:6 - 177 1:18 - 44,212,213 1:19 - 30

254

1:10 - 82,87 2:1 - 7,72 2:1-3 - 152 2:2 - 177 2:3 - 168,235,236 2:8 - 7,219 2:9 - 6

1:13 - 120,132 2:8,20-23 - 222 2:16 - 133 2:16-17 - 187,191 3:4 - 73,218 3:6 - 198 3:12 - 132

I Timothy 1:16 - 188 1:17 - 14 3:14 - 177 4:1 - 235,236 4:8 - 188 5:22 - 177 6:14 - 34,199,219 6:19 - 188

I Thessalonians 1:7 - 76 1:10 - 198,203 2:16 - 203 2:19 - 6 3:4 - 187 3:13 - 7 4 - 67,68 4:13 - 71 4:13-18 - 69,71,207 4:14 - 71 4:15 - 6,71,74 4:15-16 - 47 4:15,17 - 35 4:16 - 68,71,90,241 4:16-17 - 88,211,212 4:17 - 68, 69,70,71,72,84,88,198, 201,202,208,211,214,216,241 4:18 - 208 5 - 67,68 5:1-2 - 68 5:2,4 - 50,68,241 5:3 - 68 5:4 - 68,198 5:6 - 78 5:6,9 - 208 5:7 - 68 5:9 - 203 5:23 - 7,35 5:23-24 - 199

II Timothy 1:10 - 219 3:1 - 235,236 3:16 - 244 3:16-17 - 244 4:1 - 10,90,188,219 4:6-8 - 35 4:8 - 219 4:9 - 177 4:10 - 167 Titus 1:10 - 152 2:12 - 168 2:13 - 199,219 2:14 - 132 Hebrews 1:2 - 199 1:1-2 - 235 1:8 - 113 1:3,13 - 14 1:14 - 188 2:5 - 188 3:6 - 131 3:14 - 199 [Hebrews con’t] 5:12 - 223

II Thessalonians 1:4-10 - 91 1:6-7 - 199 1:6-10 - 73 1:7 - 218 1:7-8 - 87 1:8 - 203

255

4:8 - 182 4:14 - 212,213 5:1,3.9 - 236 5:7 - 7 5:7-8 - 199 5:7-9 - 35 5:8 - 7,182 5:8-9 - 90 5:9 - 199

6:1 - 223 6:1-2 - 223 6:4-5 - 188 6:8 - 182 6:11 - 199 7:2 - 215 7:14 - 170 7:19 - 182 7:27 - 215 8:1 - 14 8:5 - 188 8:12 - 224 8:13 - 167,182,191,199 9:26 - 235 9:26,28 - 88,199 9:27 - 93 9:28 - 78,87,207 10:1 - 188 10:7 - 8 10:9 - 8 10:12-13 - 14 10:25 - 72,182,199 10:25,30-31,37 - 90 10:27 - 188,203 10:37 - 8,45,199 11:8 - 188 11:9-10 - 136 11:10 - 46 11:13-16 - 136 11:20 - 188 12:2 - 14 12:18-24 - 136 12:22-33 - 46 12:23 - 46 12:28 - 106,108,150 13:14 - 188 13:19 - 178 13:23 - 178

I Peter 1:1 - 45 1:4-5 - 199 1:5-7 - 199 1:6 - 45 1:7 - 218 1:13 - 218 1:20 - 97 2:5,9 - 106,132 2:9 - 244 2:5,9-10 - 133 3:22 - 14 4:5 - 199 4:5,7,17 - 90 4:7 - 182,199 4:12 - 45 4:13 - 218 4:17 - 199 5:1 - 199 5:2-3 - 131 5:4 - 218 5:10 - 200 5:12-13 - 44 5:13 - 44 II Peter 1:11 - 113,150 1:12 -188 1:14 -178 1:16 - 7,11 2:1 - 178 2:1-3 -152 2:6 -188 2:16 - 152 [II Peter con’t] 3:3-4 - 7

James 1:1 - 233 1:12 - 47 1:19 - 178 2:12 - 188 3:17 - 215 4:4 - 30,161

256

2:5,16,25 - 48 2:9 - 41 2:10 - 41,47,53,189 2:13 - 41 2:16 - 48,52,178 2:25 - 8,48 2&3 - 241 3:2 - 53,189 3:3 - 8,48,50 3:3,11 - 48 3:3,11,20 - 48 3:5 - 46 3:7-13 - 43 3:9 - 8,41,133 3:10 - 41,43,45,46,53,165,189 3:11 - 48,52,56,178,197 3:16 - 53,189 4:1-8:1 - 117 6:11 - 45,56,197 6:12-14 - 147 6:13-14 - 145 6:15-16 - 176 7:4 - 233 7:5-8 - 170,233 7:9-10 - 237 8:2 - 47 8:2–11:19 - 117 8:6–11:14 - 47 8:13 - 53,189 10:4 - 54,189 10:6 - 56,197 10:7 - 54,189 10:11 - 42 11:1-2,8 - 41 11:2 - 41 11:8 - 44 11:13 - 41 11:14 - 52,56,178,197 11:15 -114 11:15-18 - 47 12:1–14:20 - 117 12:4 - 54,189 12:5 - 54,70,189 12:9 - 165 [Revelation con’t] 12:12 - 56,197

3:9 - 200 3:10 - 8,46,50,200,224 3:10,12 - 142,149,221 3:11-12 - 200 3:12 - 7,146 3:13 - 46,149,224 3:13-14 - 200 3:16 - 152 3:18 - 224 I John 1:7 - 154 1:9 - 154 2:2 - 232 2:17-18 - 196 2:18 - 236 2:26 - 152 2:28 - 7,80,197,218 3:1 - 152 3:2 - 73,74,87,197,217,218 4:1 - 152 4:9 - 218 5:20 - 8 Jude 1:23 - 70 1:4,10 - 152 1:14 - 200 1:17-18 - 236 1:21 - 200 Revelation 1:1 - 52,56,111,116,178,197,218 1:1,3,19 - 241 1:1-8 - 117 1:3 - 49,53,55,56,111,182,197 1:4 - 45 1:6 - 106,121 1:7 - 56,80,83,84,85,87,169,170, 174,175,197,217 1:9 - 37,41 1:9–3:22 - 117 1:13,20 - 4 1:19 - 53,122,189 2:2 - 40 2:5 - 48

257

20:7-15 - 118 20:11-15 - 118 20:12-13 - 89 20:14 - 94 20:15 - 46 21:1 - 46 21:1–22:5 - 117 21:6 - 197 21:8 - 112 21:14 - 46 21:24 - 112 21:24-26 - 238 21:27 - 46 22:2 - 112 22:6 - 52,56,178,197 22:6-21 - 117 22:7 - 52,56,178,197 22:7,12,20 - 52 22:10 - 53,56,182,197,241 22:12 - 10,52,56,89,178,191,197, 241 22:14-15 - 112 22:19 - 183 22:20 - 52,56,178,197

14:1-4 - 234 14:7 - 56,197 14:15 - 197 15:1–16:21 - 117 15:4 - 8,238 16:15 - 50,56,197,241 17:1–20:15 - 117 17:5 - 44 17:6 - 18 17:8 - 54,189 17:9-11 - 41 17:10 - 42 17:18 - 175 18:4-5,8 - 202 18:8 - 8 18:24 - 18 20 - 113,114,115,119,120,121 20:1 - 118 20:1-2 - 120 20:1-7 - 109 20:1-10 - 109 20:2-7 - 115 20:4 - 120 20:7 - 121

The End Has Ended The New Beginning Has Begun 20:4-6 - 115,118 20:6 - 121

258