Greg, I know that this post to you is lengthy. As a matter of fact, I could not have answered your challenge completely as I have studied this subject longer than I care to think about and it is too complex to answer in a single post. †††
There is a real crisis with confidence in Scripture because of the eschatology of those who disregard time frame references in the New Testament. You need to devote time to prophesies on the destruction of Jerusalem and the eyewitness accounts of it by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.
Please consider the the importance of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD as prophesied by Jesus and consider that the "end of the age" was not the destruction of the world but the end of the Jewish age and the killing and the dispersion of the Jews to the four corners of the earth.
It is generally agreed that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written before 70AD and Revelation proves that the Temple was still standing by referring to it as such in it's discourse.
A Witness To All Nations
Fulfilled.
Col. 1:6,23
23if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
The Abomination of Desolation
Fulfilled.
Matthew 24:15-22
15"Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’£ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16"then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
These are signs that have taken place prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and not a future event as dispensationalists believe.
This is a strict reference to Jerusalem and Judea. Everything is national, local, and near. "the land" is the land of Judea- "this people" is the people of Israel- and the "time"- is the lifetime of the disciples- "When ye therefore shall see."
"The abomination of desolation is most probable the "Eagle Standards" which were objects of religious worship to the Roman soldiers. The abominable sacrilege refers to the entrance of Roman Imperial -eagle standards into the temple area.
Matthew 24:23-28
23"Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you beforehand.
26"Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
The carcasses where the eagles will be gathered refers to the guilty children of Israel who will be destroyed by the Roman legions. The carcass is Israel and the eagles are Rome.
The Nearness of the Last Days to the Apostles
Matt. 10:23
23When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Matt. 26:64
64Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Rom. 13:11-12
11And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand.
1 Cor. 7:31
31and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.
1 Cor. 10:11
11Now £all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
James 5:8-9
8You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be £condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
1 Peter 4:7
7But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
1 John 2:18
The Book of Revelation
1:1
1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place.
1:3
3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
3:11
11£Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
22:6-7
6Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true." And the Lord God of the £holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
22:10
10And he said to me, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
22:12
12"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the £Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
22:20
20He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly."
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be £with you all. Amen.
The Man of Lawlessness
Paul says that day(The Day of the Lord") will not come until the apostasy (or falling away) occurs and the man of sin is revealed.
2 Thess. 2-3
3Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of £sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits £as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
The "restrainer" is a favorite theory of the "rapture dispensionalists" who usually say this is the Holy Spirit.
I believe that Paul is referring to the falling away of the Jews who rejected Christ.
1 Thess. 2:14-16
14For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
The Bible will become clear once you can distinguish the differences in liter, spiritual and poetic nature of the passages.
I believe that the God ushered in the Kingdom in 70AD and that spiritually we are now living in the Kingdom Age. I hold to a primaty fulfillment of Biblical prophesy in 70AD with a secondary and final fulfillment in the future.
At this point I am wrapping this up because it has become to lengthy and totally incomplete as an answer to you about these prophesies. For that I am sorry. I only ask one thing of you. Do not ever say that I called Jesus a liar. I would never do such a thing as a true believer and worshiper of Christ.
But for His GRACE,
Santiago |
