Luke 21:5 ¶ And as some
spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,
6 As for these things which ye
behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon
another, that shall not be thrown down. 7
And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and
what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? 8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not
deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the
time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. 9 But when ye shall hear of wars and
commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the
end is not by and by. 10 Then
said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: 11 And great earthquakes shall
be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great
signs shall there be from heaven. 12 But
before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought
before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. 13
And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your hearts,
not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall
not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16
And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks,
and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
17 And ye shall be hated of all men
for my name’s sake. 18 But there shall
not an hair of your head perish. 19 In
your patience possess ye your souls.
Jesus restates His
prophecy of the temple’s destruction from 19:41-48. I will repeat some of what
I wrote. Here is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in
AD70. Josephus, a Jewish general who went over to the Romans, gave us the history
of that event if we can believe what he wrote. The siege and destruction of
Jerusalem was the main event of the First Jewish-Roman War that ended not only
in the disaster to the city but the destruction of the Temple, as well.
What was called Herod’s
Temple, the Second Temple with the first destroyed by the Babylonians hundreds
of years previously, will be destroyed. The Jews will suffer for rejecting
their Messiah and for fabricating a false religion, a house of cards built on
the Mosaic Law, not too different from what many Christians have done. It seems to be a character trait of mankind,
making it up as they go along. But, some historical writers say that the
destruction of Jerusalem marked the great shift away of Christianity from its
Jewish roots.
There is a warning in
verse 8 to follow no one after Christ who claims to be Him. Many terrible
things will happen, both natural and man-made, before this dreadful event and
the disciples are told not to be concerned by them. Based on the context we
have the Preterist justification for saying that the events of Revelation were
fulfilled when Jerusalem fell to the Romans but this has nothing to do with the
events of Revelation. Jesus did not come to physically rule the earth from
Jerusalem in 70AD. The Preterist view is simply insane and denies the text of
Revelation.
Christ here tells His
disciples that He will give them the words to say when they are under
persecution.
Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD
put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I
have put my words in thy mouth.
In chapter 12 Jesus
also underscored this point in speaking of persecution.
Luke 12:8 Also I say unto
you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also
confess before the angels of God: 9 But
he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. 10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the
Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the
Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. 11
And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what
thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12
For the Holy Ghost shall
teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
The fact that Jesus is
talking to His disciples about a persecution to come in time that is not too
far distant is evidenced by the following statement.
18 But there shall not an
hair of your head perish.
If this passage is
foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70AD this undercuts
Roman Catholic tradition which has Peter dying at Rome in 64AD. Jesus is
promising that not a hair of their head will perish during this terrible
national tragedy, that He will give them the words to say.
Remember, that Peter
didn’t say he was going to Rome. He said he was writing from Babylon where
there was a strong Jewish community.
1Peter 5:13 The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
Babylon was part of the
Parthian kingdom at this time and Josephus wrote about how the Jews in Judea
appealed to the strong community in Babylon to help them in their rebellions
against Rome.
Based on some written
evidence by Eusebius, a famous early church historian, and other writers,
Christians escaped from Jerusalem before the destruction in 70AD. We know in
Acts how God permitted a situation to exist where many Christians had to leave
Jerusalem because of persecution, perhaps not only forcing them to be witnesses
to the world but also saving them from the awful terror that was to unfold in
the Jewish-Roman War that resulted in the destruction of the Temple.
If this passage is a
reference to the events leading up to and including the Fall of Jerusalem then
literally Christ is assuring these disciples in front of Him that they will
survive it. The fearful sights and natural disasters that surrounded the Fall
of Jerusalem are spoken of by Josephus, who was not a Christian but a Jew who
had sided with the pagan Romans.
Josephus wrote about incredible
signs that preceded the conquest of Jerusalem by the future Roman emperor,
Titus. They are hard to be believed like soldiers and chariots in the sky and
other events that many eyewitnesses claimed to see, according to him. False
prophets arose in abundance and a couple are mentioned in Acts by the Jewish
teacher of Paul, Gamaliel.
Acts 5:36 For before these
days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men,
about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as
obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in
the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished;
and all, even as many as obeyed
him, were dispersed.
Verse 19 gives us one
reason for including longsuffering, which is patience, in the list of the fruit
of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Trust in Christ, wait on Christ, be faithful and
strong. Remember that words joined by and
are typically synonymous. We like to think of longsuffering as putting up with
the kids’ nonsense but it carried a far more heavy weight in the first century
in regard to persecution and suffering.
Colossians 1:11
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
Luke 21:20 ¶ And when ye
shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation
thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them which
are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it
depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things
which are written may be fulfilled. 23
But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in
those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this
people. 24 And they shall fall by the
edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and
Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled. 25 And there
shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the
earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And
then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. 28 And when these things begin to
come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth
nigh.
Here is a clear
distinction between the Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple
versus the end of history. Read 20-24 to the comma before until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. There is a couple thousand-year
gap in that comma.
Paul wrote about the
period of Israel’s blindness over the last two thousand years;
Romans 11:25 For I would
not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be
wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in. 26 And so all Israel shall be
saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall
turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I
shall take away their sins. 28 As
concerning the gospel, they are
enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 30 For as ye in times past have not believed
God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even so have these also now not believed,
that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God hath concluded
them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Notice Paul’s until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Notice also that God is not done with the Jews but their apostasy turned to our
salvation and we are to be witnesses to them, not their persecutors.
Now, back to the comma
and the two thousand plus year gap. Here is another example of that type of
handling of time in the Bible. Read this prophecy in Isaiah.
Isaiah 61:1 ¶ The Spirit of
the Lord GOD is upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that
are bound; 2 To proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all that mourn;
Now, read up to the
comma after to proclaim the acceptable
year of the LORD. Jesus refers to this passage in His early ministry.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat
down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This
day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
He stopped where that
comma is for us. Before that comma is His first advent and after that comma the day of vengeance of our God holds
the second advent as related in the Book of the Revelation. There is a long
time in between, two thousand years so far.
From the point at the
end of Luke 21:24 and onward we have the events of the end foretold. There was
some question about how long that gap might be. If the council had, as related
in Acts 7, when they were addressed by Stephen, acknowledged, as he said in verse
52, that they had had the Messiah killed by the Romans, like David killed Uriah
by the Ammonites (2Samuel 12:9), that gap may have been much smaller than two
thousand years.
Acts 7:52 Which of the
prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which
shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and murderers:
Christ was ready,
perhaps, to receive the repentant Jews. In Mark 16:19; Colossians 3:1; and
Hebrews 10:12 He is said to be seated on the right hand of God but in the
following He might have been prepared, as an example to us, to receive the Jews
if they had been repentant and acknowledged who He is and what they did.
Acts 7:55 But he, being
full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
They had used the sword
of Roman justice to murder the Innocent One (Psalm 94:21; Matthew 27:4) but Peter
said they did it out of ignorance.
Acts 3:17 And now,
brethren, I wot that through ignorance
ye did it, as did also your rulers.
Confirming what Jesus said
from the Cross.
Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus,
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
And the Law provided a
way to deal with the rulers’ sin from ignorance as per Leviticus, chapter 4.
But, it was not to be. The Jews had rebellion against God on their spiritual
hearts.
Matthew 27:25 Then answered
all the people, and said, His blood be
on us, and on our children.
John 19:15 But they cried
out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto
them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
And so, we have the age
of the Church until the times of the Gentile domination are over. Israel still
has to deal with the Gentiles and their very existence, from a temporal and
strictly earthly point of view, depends on the support of powerful nations, the
holding back of their enemies, and a very, very shaky geopolitical situation with
another holocaust from the Beast and Satan’s fury coming. But, when Christ
returns to rule Gentile domination is over.
Revelation 11:15 And the
seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever.
Verses 25-27 summarize
the events of the Book of Revelation. For 27 see;
Revelation 1:7 Behold, he
cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Even so, Amen.
Finally, as in verse
28, we are told to be expectant of Christ’s return, of His calling us out as
the church, His body on earth being removed or translated from here to Heaven.
1Corinthians 15:51 ¶
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be changed, 52 In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Thessalonians
4:13 ¶ But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even
as others which have no hope. 14 For if
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the
Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17
Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Titus 2:13 Looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ;
Luke 21:29 ¶ And he spake
to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of
your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come
to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall
not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time
your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this
life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that
dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to
escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man. 37 And in the day time he was
teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that
is called the mount of Olives. 38
And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for
to hear him.
See here in Jesus’
closing statements how with the age of the Christian church not revealed that
the two prophecies of events at least two thousand years apart appear to be
conflated. This confuses the Preterist who say the events of Revelation were
fulfilled in 70AD, which is nonsense.
First, it must be
understood that the events of the Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the
Temple will happen so close in time that the generation hearing Christ will
have many who will witness them. With the First Jewish-Roman War less than four
decades away this generation will experience it.
But, He includes in His
closing remarks something more, that the
whole earth will experience, the coming of the kingdom of God physically on earth at Christ’s return. Without
the two thousand years of the Church Age in between it appears confusing to
some. But, look at the disaster the Jews faced in 70AD as a type and a portent
of what the end of human history will look like. The signs of Jerusalem’s fall
and the signs of the time before Christ’s return will be similar and Christians
will be delivered from both sets of horrors involved in those signs.
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