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COVENANTAL LANGUAGE
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The Destruction
of Jerusalem |
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The readers of Revelation often hold one of two
major opposing views of the Olivet Discourse:
Preterist: In simple terms, preterists believe that Revelation
refers not to future events but to events that already took place
back in the first century (see Chapter 4). Therefore, the
preterist view holds that all or nearly all of the prophecy that
Jesus describes in Matthew 24–25 was fulfilled when the Romans
destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE. Full preterists claim that
all the prophetic events have already taken place; partial
preterists hold that many of the events took place in 70 CE,
but the prophecy will be fully completed with the return of Jesus.
Futurist: Futurists basically believe that Revelation
chronicles literal events that will take place on earth sometime
in the future (see Chapter 4). The futurist view maintains that
although the Temple destruction was fulfilled in 70 CE, most of
the prophetic teaching concerns the End Times and the Second
Coming of Jesus. What’s more, they claim that the particulars of
the historical events surrounding the Roman war with the Jews vary
too much from the Jesus’s prophecies to reflect actual
fulfillment.
Noting the signs
of the times -
Preterists think this passage refers to the events surrounding
the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 CE; futurists hold
that this refers to the Antichrist, who will be in power during the
second half of the Tribulation (Rev. 13). |
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Appendix
One
What
Happen In AD 70 — by Edward E. Stevens
5th edition © 1997
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The Olivet Discourse Cannot
Be Divided |
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SECTION A
(events associated with AD 70)? |
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ALL ONE SECTION
(one time period) AD 70? |
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Matthew 24:1-34
1.
vss. 17.18 – “let him who is on the housetop not go
down…”
2.
vss. 26,27 – “For just as the lighting comes from
the east…”
3.
vs. 28 – “Wherever the corpse is, there the
vultures will gather.” |
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2.
vss. 23,24 – “For just as the lighting, when it
flashes…”
4.
vss. 26,27 – “And just as it happened in the days
of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of
Man”
1.
vs. 31 – “On that day, let not the one who is on
the housetop…”
5.
vss. 35,36 – “There will be two women grinding at the same
place; onw will be taken, and the other will be left.”
3.
vs. 37 – “…Where the body is, there also will the
vultures be gathered.”
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SECTION B
(events still future to us)? |
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Matthew 24:35ff
4.
vss. 37-39 – “For the coming of the Son of Man will
be just like the days of Noah.”
5.
vss. 40,41 – “Then there shall two men in the
field; one will be taken, and one will be left.” |
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EXPLANATION — Some hold the idea shown on the left above.
They think Matthew 24 speaks of two different time periods:
(SECTION A) Events Associated With AD 70, and (SECTION B)
Events Still Future To Us. They apply the events mentioned in
verses 1-34 (SECTION A) to the first time period (AD 70),
and the events in verses 35ff (SECTION B) to our future.
Luke’s statements in chapter 17 (on the right above) show that
this idea cannot be correct. Luke 17 discusses the same events as
Matthew 24, however there is not a hint that two different time
periods are under consideration. Luke clearly deals with events
that would happen in the same time period (“the day that the Son
of Man is revealed,” vs. 30). Luke’s account cannot be divided
into the same two groups of events. Notice on the chart above
how Luke records the same events as Matthew, but in a different
order. Matthew’s order is 1-2-3-4-5, but Luke’s order is
scrambled 2-4-1-5-3! Luke has an event from SECTION
A followed by one from SECTION B, then another from
SECTION A followed by SECTION B, and finally one from
SECTION A. This presents a problem: If Matthew 24 really
has two sections (or two different time periods) under
consideration, then Luke’s account is incorrect, because he mixes
the five events up as if they are all to happen in one time
period. Either Luke is Mistaken (and therefore uninspired), or it
is wrong to divide Matthew 24 into two sections. Of course, the
solution to this is that both Matthew and Luke speak of the same
events which would all happen in the same time period. And Matthew
24:34 tells us when that time period was to occur: the
“generation” alive when He spoke those words (the generation from
AD 70)!
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HISTORICAL
SIGNIFICANCE
"During the Middle
Ages, Josephus was the most widely read ancient author in Europe..
Josephus' literary influence had no equals, with the sole exception of
the Bible." |
Flavius Josephus, a
Jewish priest and Pharisee, was put in command of the national
resistance in Galilee at the time of Israel's revolt against Rome.
When he was captured at Jotapata; his life was spared upon his
prediction to rival Vespasian, that the Roman general would soon
become emperor. Upon the fulfillment of this prophecy shortly
thereafter, he was commissioned to provide his captors with a history
of the Jewish people, although he initially wrote a history of the
Roman-Jewish war suited for both a Roman and a Jewish audience. His
works, disputed though they may be regard accuracy, are an
indispensable source on the life and history in Roman Judea. |
THEOLOGICAL
SIGNIFICANCE
"The destruction of Jerusalem was
more terrible than anything that the world has ever witnessed, either
before or since. Even Titus seemed to see in his cruel work the hand
of an avenging God." (C.H.
Spurgeon) |
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The Gary DeMar Show is your 15 minutes of
sanity each weekday. Four out of five doctors surveyed recommend
this show along with a large dose of commonsense to help combat
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serves your daily recommended allowance of rationality. Gary's
Show is where you will hear current events, pop culture,
politics, religion, and bunches of other stuff examined through
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What Are Conservatives
To Do?
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