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THE NON-EVENTS OF 70 A.D.
There are three prophetic passages that are widely interpreted as having been completed in 70 AD. Those three are Matt. 24:1-2, Matt. 22:1-13 and Luke 21:20-24. We are told by historians that the Temple and the city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. But these events are not mentioned in the Word of God. Most of us in our study of God’s Word determine to compare Scripture with Scripture. To me that says that most of us agree that the way to come to a correct understanding of any Scripture is to match it with what God had written elsewhere in His Word. But that time honored principle is abandoned when it comes to these three passages. Why is that? Why is anyone content with trying to match Scripture with an event that is not recorded in Scripture?
I believe that God’s Word is all-sufficient for any Christian who desires to know God and His ways. In other words, we don’t need anything but His Word in our desire to know what He has revealed about Himself in the Bible. That seems like a rather innocuous statement because I think most Christians would say a hearty “Amen” to that. That is to say, I think most would agree that the Bible is all-sufficient and complete in so far as what God would have us to understand of Himself and His plans for the ages. And yet, (as far as I know) it is universally accepted that God’s Word is not complete in the three prophecies that are said to have been fulfilled by an event that is not even recorded in the Bible. That means that we are interpreting Scripture, not with Scripture, but with the writings of human historians. (I might also add that historians in general do not have a reputation for total accuracy.)
So that I am not misunderstood, I am not saying that the temple was not destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. I am saying that if we really believe that the Bible is complete and all-sufficient for the purpose of the study of His ways, we should take the interpretation of those passages from the Bible, not from the records of man.
Furthermore, man’s record of history is fallible and only God’s Word is infallible. Therefore if we base our conclusion on whether a prophecy has been fulfilled on man’s record of history, we may be basing our conclusions on incorrect data. So I believe that with the exception of end time prophecies, the fulfillment of all prophecies are recorded in the Word of God, not in the fallible record of man. That generation that will live in the end times will see the fulfillment of end time prophecies, and will not need to consult with historians.
There are five reasons for my belief that we should not forsake the principle of interpreting Scripture with Scripture. These five reasons will be discussed below. They are as follows:
THE TEMPLE FOR THE TRIBULATION
“ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER”
WILL GOD DESTROY JERUSALEM AGAIN?
LUKE 21
PROPHECY IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY
APPENDIX I: A SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION OF MATTHEW 24:1-2
APPENDIX II: A SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION OF MATTHEW 22:1-13
APPENDIX III: A SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION OF LUKE 21:20-24
THE TEMPLE OF THE TRIBULATION
We read in II Thess. 2:3-4, “…….and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”. This passage obviously concerns the antichrist. The antichrist will reveal his contemptuous ways in the tribulation. One of the things he will do will be to sit “in the Temple of God…..“. This tells us that there will be a Temple in Jerusalem during the tribulation. But there is absolutely no mention of the building of a temple before the tribulation. Considering the importance of the Temple and the fact that Solomon’s Temple, Ezra’s Temple and the millennial Temple are spoken of quite extensively in the Word of God, I would think that the non-mention of the building of the tribulation Temple would strike the student of God’s Word as noteworthy. I would like to suggest a reason that it was not mentioned.
I suggest that because the destruction of 70 AD was not recorded in God’s Word, it did not happen in God’s eyes. That is to say, in man’s reality the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, but in God’s reality it never happened. There is a precedence for this suggestion in what we read of Melchizedec.
We read of Melchizedec in Heb. 7:3 that he was, “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life……”. We know from the oft repeated verse that Christ was made “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec” (Ps. 110:4, Heb. 5:6, and 7:17). The phrase “after the order of” tells us that Melchizedec was a type of Christ. Melchizedec was therefore a man. As is true of every other man, Melchizedec did indeed have a father, he did indeed have a mother, and he did indeed have a beginning and an end to his life. But Heb. 7:3 tells us that he did not have any of those things. How are we to understand this apparent contradiction in God’s perfect Word?
I suggest that because there is no record in God’s Word of Melchizedec’s parents or his birth and death, that in God’s sight, i.e. in God’s reality, Melchizedec had none of those things.
So too, because the destruction of 70 AD is not recorded in God’s Word, in God’s sight, i.e. in God’s reality, it never happened. In other words, because the Temple was, in God’s sight, never destroyed, there is no reason to record the building of it in, or before, the end times.
“ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER”
We read in Matt. 24:1-2, “….and His disciples came to Him, for to shew Him the buildings of the temple; and Jesus said unto them, ‘See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down”.
In Appendix I of this paper I will share my view of when this prophecy shall be fulfilled based solely on Scripture. But in this, and the following sections, I would just like to call the reader’s attention to the difficulties involved when we do not interpret Scripture with Scripture. The reader will note that our Lord told His disciples that there will not be one stone left upon another. But that is not true if we take this prophecy to have been fulfilled in 70 AD because as most of us know from pictures, at least, the western wall is still standing. The western wall, also called “the wailing wall” was part of the temple area and, as the reader will see in the Appendix I it is included in the prophecy.
Surely we cannot say that most of the temple was destroyed and that’s close enough. When we consider the God-given reason for prophecy as told in Is. 48:5 we must see that when God’s prophecies are fulfilled, they are always fulfilled in full, not in part. That verse reads, “…..before it came to pass I shewed it to thee; lest thou shouldest say, ‘Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them'”. In other words, God fulfills His prophecies, among other reasons, to prove that He is indeed God. A partially fulfilled prophecy does not prove that He is God.
Some have suggested that the western wall was not part of the Temple. But please note that our Lord spoke of “buildings”, plural. That means that He was referring to all the buildings that stood on what we now call “the Temple mount”.
My point is that if one accepts an interpretation that is not based on Scripture, one is left with the conclusion that God’s prophecy was not completely fulfilled.
WILL GOD DESTROY JERUSALEM AGAIN?
Most interpret the parable of the wedding feast as recorded in Matt. 22 as having been fulfilled in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army. I would like to focus on just one element of that parable which proves that the parable could not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
We read in Matt. 22:7, “But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city”. The king in this parable represents God. So most take this to mean that God sent the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem.
But let us consider Ezek. 5:9 which reads, “And I will do in thee (Jerusalem) that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like”. The context will show that this verse has to do with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. But please note, God said the He would “not do any more the like”. In other words, we read here God’s promise that He will never again destroy Jerusalem.
If we accept the interpretation that the prophecy of the parable of Matt. 22 was fulfilled in 70 AD and that the king (i.e. who represents God in this parable) destroyed Jerusalem, we are left with the unthinkable conclusion that either there is a contradiction in the Word of God or God broke His promise to never again destroy Jerusalem. I can only speak for myself and say that I cannot and do not accept that conclusion. I suggest that this prophecy was not fulfilled in 70 AD and that it does not even refer to Jerusalem. Appendix II gives a Scripturally based interpretation of this parable.
LUKE 21
The idea put forth by E.W. Bullinger is that Luke 21:6-11 refers to the tribulation, but that verses 12 through 24 speak of events that took place before the tribulation, i.e. in 70 AD. Dr. Bullinger suggested in his Companion Bible App. 155 that “all that is recorded concerning Jerusalem in vv. 12-24 would take place before the great tribulation”. In other words, the phrase “before all these”in verse 12 tells us that vv. 12-24 will take place before the tribulation, i.e. in 70 AD. Let us examine that thought.
I will quote Luke 21:12 and the preceding verse as well, “……..and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven“. 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”. The question is: does “before all these” refer to before the tribulation ( i.e. vs. 6-11), as Dr. Bullinger asserts, or does it refer to before the signs (vs. 11 only) that signify the beginning of the day of the Lord?
As the reader will see as we continue in this discussion, if we see the phrase “before all these” referring to verses 12-24 as Dr. Bullinger suggested, there are contradictions in the Word of God. But, if we see that phrase as referring to before the cosmic signs, all is as perfect as one would expect from God’s prophecies.
Again, my point in this section is not to give my view of this section of Luke, but only to point out the difficulties inherent in the interpretation accepted by most, that the destruction of Jerusalem described in Luke 21:20-24 was completed in 70 AD: a description that is not based on Scripture because the Bible never mentions the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.
Let us consider Luke 21:22 which falls in the context of what many believe to be the events of 70 AD. That verse reads, “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled”. God had promised in Ezek. 5:9 (“And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like”) that He would never again destroy Jerusalem after the Babylonian destruction. Therefore, the destruction of 70 AD was not from God and therefore, was not His vengeance. That is one difficulty with seeing this passage as having been fulfilled in 70 AD. But let us continue.
Note the phrase “these be the days of vengeance”.When are “the days of vengeance”? We read in Is. 63:3-4, “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. for the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come”.
“The year of My redeemed is come” refers to the second coming of Christ when His redeemed will be raised. That fits perfectly with the fact that the Lord will return to earth right after the day of wrath, which is right after the tribulation. All these things (the day of wrath, the day of vengeance and the year of the Lord’s redeemed) are end time events.
In other words, by comparing Luke 21:22 with Is. 63:3-4 (Scripture with Scripture) we see that the day of vengeance will be in the end times, not in 70 AD.
Let us consider one more difficulty with the view that Luke 21:12-24 is not an end time prophecy. If Luke 21:12-28 is, as I believe it to be, an end time prophecy, then the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled in the end times. If it is not an end time prophecy, and the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled when Jerusalem is no longer “trodden down” we have a contradiction in the Word of God. Let me explain.
The entire city of Jerusalem was freed from Palestinian control in 1967, i.e. Jerusalem was no longer trodden down. The Greek word translated “fulfilled” in the phrase, “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” is “pleeroo”, and is often used of the fulfillment of prophecy. That means that once the times of the Gentiles have been fulfilled, Jerusalem will never again be “trodden down”. And therein lies the contradiction.
We read in Rev. 11:2, “But the court which is without the Temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months” (three and one half years) . The Greek word translated “tread” is “pleeroo”, the same one used in Luke 21:24 and is translated “”trodden”, “and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nation: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”. Note that this treading down will be for 3 and 1/2 years, i.e the time of the tribulation.
My point is that Jerusalem will be trodden down again in the end times, i.e. the tribulation. That means that in order to avoid a contradiction, we must conclude that the times of the Gentiles spoken of in Luke 21:24 refers to the end times. But let us continue with other Scriptures that speak of the destruction of Jerusalem in the end times.
We read in Zech. 14:2 “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity.….”. Proof that this has to do with the end times is found in the context. Zech. 14:3-4 reads, “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, ……And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives….”.
Dan. 11:33 does not specifically mention the destruction of Jerusalem, but note the same catastrophes are spoken of in this verse as are spoken of in Luke 21:24. “But they “shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil many days” Let me quote Luke 21:24 for comparison. “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.
In short, because Jerusalem will be trodden down in the end times, the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled in the end times. That being the case, Luke 21:24 is an end time prophecy. If Luke 21:24 is an end time prophecy, and as shown above verse 23 is an end time prophecy (the day of vengeance) I believe that it is most logical to conclude that the entire passage from 12-14 is an end time prophecy.
Appendix III of this paper offers a totally Scripturally based interpretation of this passage in Luke 21, which will, I believe show that this is an end time prophecy, and refers to the destruction of Jerusalem during the tribulation and followed by the day of vengeance.
PROPHECY IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY
I believe most dispensationalists agree that prophecy that centers on Israel is not being fulfilled in the dispensation of the mystery because Israel has been temporarily (until the end times) set aside as God’s chosen People. I believe that the setting aside of Israel was at Acts 28. Historians are divided as to the year of Acts 28, but they put it between 63 and 68 AD. No historian that I know of puts it as late as 70 AD.
But if we believe that the three prophecies discussed in the study were fulfilled in 70 AD, we are saying that they were indeed fulfilled in the dispensation of the mystery. There is an inconsistency in that. On the other hand, if we see these prophecies as being fulfilled in the end times, as I believe they will be, we not only base our interpretations on Scripture, but we do not have those inconsistencies.
(There are two other prophecies that are, as far as I know, almost universally interpreted using man’s history instead of the Word of God. They are Dan. 11:1-20 and the passage in Dan. 2 which tells us of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The paper on this web-site called “Have Any Of The Prophecies Of Daniel Eleven Been Fulfilled?” will prove from Scripture that the entire chapter is an end time prophecy. And the paper “Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream: The Greek Antichrist” will prove from Scripture that the third empire represented by the belly and thighs of brass is not Greece, but Rome. I mention these papers only to show that all prophecy should be interpreted by Scripture. In my opinion, if we fail to do that we demean the Word of God and cannot hope to come to His truth.)
APPENDIX I: A SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION OF MATTHEW 24:1-2
We read in Matt. 24:1-2, “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and His disciples came to Him for to shew Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, ‘See ye not all these things: verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down'”.
We will consider the following topics in order to come to a correct view of this prophecy:
“THE BUILDINGS”
THE CONTEXT
“THE BUILDINGS”
We read in Matt. 24:1 that the disciples showed Jesus “the buildings of the temple”. Note that the “buildings” are plural. That tells us that it is more than just the sanctuary that will be destroyed, it will be every building in the temple complex, including the sanctuary. And our Lord told His disciples that “there shall not be left here one stone upon another“. Was that accomplished in 70 AD? No, it was not. We know that the western wall was part of the temple buildings and, as we all know, that wall is still standing. Therefore, we must conclude that this prophecy was not fulfilled in 70 AD. It is as simple as that. God’s prophecies are always fulfilled exactly, not approximately. It is not true that there are no stones left upon another in the buildings of the temple, therefore this prophecy was not fulfilled in 70 AD. But let us continue in this study in order to be as thorough as possible.
THE CONTEXT
Let us consider verse 3 of Matt. 24, “And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” The Greek word translated “world” is “aion” and should be translated “age”.
First our Lord tells His disciples that the temple buildings will be destroyed and then they ask Him about the sign of His coming and of the end of the age. In other words, the questions concerned the end times. Note the question, “when shall these things be?”. “These things” refers to the destruction of the temple buildings and their questions are associated with the events of the end times. If nothing else this tells us that the entire conversation concerning the destruction of the temple buildings was of the end times.
Indeed we see three passages in Daniel that tell of the destruction of the temple in the end times; “…..and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary….” (Dan. 9:26b, see also Dan. 8:11 and 13 and 11:31). Because the questions in particular, and the entire conversation in general, were of the end times, it is most natural to conclude that the destruction Christ spoke of concerns the destruction of the end times.
APPENDIX II: A SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION OF MATTHEW 22:1-13
“And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, ‘Tell them which are bidden, ‘Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my farlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage’, But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to the farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them, But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways and as many as ye shall find bid to the marriage.’ So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth’. For many are called, but few are chosen”.
First, we must bear in mind that whatever the point of the parable is, it is like the kingdom of Heaven in some way. Secondly, in order to understand who are the many and who are called in the context of this particular parable, we must understand 1) what does the wedding feast represent?; 2) who are represented by “them which are bidden”?, 3) whose army was sent?, and 4) to what city were they sent to destroy?, 5) who are those bidden from the highways,? 6) who does the man without the wedding garment represent?. There is no explanation of the parable and neither the context or the point answers these questions. We must therefore learn from the study of the Old Testament, and answer these questions by comparing Scripture with Scripture.
1) What does the wedding feast represent? Matthew 9:14-15 tells us Who the bridegroom is, “Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but Thy disciples fast not?’ And Jesus said unto them, ‘Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from thee, and then shall they fast'”. It is clear that the Bridegroom is Christ. which means, of course, the wedding of the parable represents the wedding of Christ.
2) Who are represented by “them which are bidden”, but did not come? Obviously, they are the unbelievers of Israel.
3) Whose army was sent,? We read in Ezek. 5:9, “And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations”. Ezekiel was a prophet who spoke of God’s punishment of Jerusalem when He used the Babylonians to destroy it. We read in this verse that God promised that He would not do that again. Therefore, since this parable uses the king to represent God, and God promised that He would not destroy Jerusalem again, I believe we must conclude that it was not God who sent the Roman army in 70 AD.
That leaves us with the question: whose army was sent by God? We read in Joel 2:11, “And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible…..”. Note this verse speaks of “His army”, i.e. God’s army. Compare that to Matt. 22:7b, “the king sent forth his armies“. Note also that “His armies” will march in the day of the Lord. So we have “his armies” of Matt. 22 being God’s armies of Joel 2. By comparing Scripture with Scripture we have answered our question, whose army was sent, i.e. the Lord’s army. We also have learned when His army will be sent, i.e. in the day of the Lord.
4) To what city will “His army” be sent to destroy? Joel two does not tell us of a particular city that will be destroyed by “His army”, but Rev. 18 does tell us of a city that will be destroyed by God in the day of the Lord, which is when the army of Joel two will be sent. Rev. 18:2, “Babylon the great is fallen…..”. And in verse 8 of that chapter we read, “….she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her”. Rev. 18:20 is also helpful, “Rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her“. Isn’t that what the king will send his army to do, i.e. to avenge the murders of those who were sent to call the guests to the wedding? Verse 24 reiterates, “and in her (Babylon) was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth”. Also Rev. 19: 2, “….for He hath……..avenged the blood of His servants at her hand”. Rev. 19:7 even connects the destruction of Babylon with the wedding parable of Matt. 22, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come…..”. By comparing Scripture with Scripture we have learned that the king’s army of Matthew 22 is “His army” of Joel two. And that that army will march in the day of the Lord during which time Babylon will be destroyed. To know when the ones of the highways will be bidden is crucial in understanding who they are.
5) Who are those bidden from the highways? In verse 7 the king sends out his army. In verse 8 we read, “Then saith he to his servants, “the wedding is ready….”. They were sent after the destruction of the “murderers” and the burning of their city, i.e. after the day of the Lord when Babylon will be destroyed.
One of the events connected with the return of Christ, when His wedding will be ready, is the gathering of Israel. The gathering of Israel is prophesied several times in the Old Testament, but let us consider Ezek. 20:34, “I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered”. Note Israel will be gathered from the nations. I believe it is these nations that the parable refers to as the “street corners” to which the servants of Matt. 22:9-10 will be sent. That these servants were sent to the nations to gather Israel is in keeping with the fact that the parable is one of those that teach of the kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of Heaven is Christ’s rule of Israel in the millennium. (For the Scriptural evidence of that statement please see the paper on this web-site The Kingdom of Heaven.) It is also in keeping with the fact that Matthew is the most Israel centered of the four Gospels and this parable is recorded only in Matthew’s Gospel.
6) Who does the man without the wedding garment represent?. He obviously represents those gathered from the highways who were found unworthy to attend the wedding feast. Ezek.20:38 reads, “And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me……they shall not enter into the land of Israel…..”. As the paper on this web-site about kingdom of Heaven will prove, there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” outside the land of Israel in the millennial reign. This is where we are told the unworthy guests will be cast (see Matt. 22:13).
We are now ready to determine who is meant by “the many that are called” and “the few that are chosen”. If we are to answer that question from the context, (as I believe we should) we must conclude that in this parable and in this context, the gathered of Israel from all the nations to which they had been scattered are those who are called. And the righteous of that group, who will be allowed entrance into the kingdom of Heaven are those who are chosen.
In what way is this parable like the kingdom of Heaven? It is like the kingdom of Heaven in that only the righteous will be allowed entrance into it so that righteousness shall “shine forth as the sun” (Matt. 13:42).
APPENDIX III: A SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION OF LUKE 21:20-24
A COMPARISON OF MATTHEW 24 AND LUKE 21
Our Lord’s discourse recorded in Luke 21 begins with Luke 21:6. “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”. In verse seven the question is asked of Christ, “Master, ..when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?” We read the same statement and resulting question in Matthew 24:2-3, “And Jesus said unto them, ‘See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And…..the disciples came unto Him privately saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of Thy coming…”. By comparing Scripture with Scripture we have learned that both Luke 21 and Matthew 24 address the same question and give the same answer. Let us continue with our comparison.
Note Matthew 24:5, “For many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am Christ’; and shall deceive many”. Compare that with Luke 21:8, “….Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am Christ’…..”.
Matthew 24:6, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled….”. Luke 21:9, “But when ye shall hear of wars and commotion’s, be not terrified”.
Matthew 24:7, “For nation shall rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom…”. Luke 21:10, “Then He said unto them, ‘Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”:
Matthew 24:9, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake”. Luke 21:12, “But before all these (earthquakes etc,. verse 11) , 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”.
We go now to Matthew 24:15-16, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee to the mountains”. In Luke 21:20-21 we read, “And when you see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof his nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains….”.
Matthew 24:19, “And woe unto them that are with child that give suck in those days”. Luke 21:23, “But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days!…”.
In Matt. 24:29 we read, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken”. In Luke 21:24-25 we read, “…..and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars: and upon the earth……”.
My point is that Matthew 24 is undoubtedly a prophecy of the end times because it is in answer to the question, “when shall these things be (referring to the destruction of the temple) and what shall be the sign of Thy coming”. Because Matt. 24 is an end time prophecy and Luke 21 is basically the same message, so too Luke 21 is an end time prophecy.
But some will point to the fact that the prophecy in Luke 21 is not exactly the same as that in Matthew 24. But as one compares the so-called “sermon on the Mount” as recorded in Matthew” chapters 5-7 with that recorded in Luke 6 it will become clear that our Lord gave very much the same sermon at two different times and two different places. Matthew records the message Christ preached when He “went up into a mountain” (Matthew 5:1). In Luke 6:17 to the end of the chapter we have a record of Christ’s message given as He “stood on a level place” (Luke 6:1). The sermon on the mount begins, :”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven”. The sermon on the level place begins, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”. I will not digress too far to point out all the similarities of these two sermons, or the fact that while on the level place Christ left out many of the sayings that He preached while on the mount. If the reader will compare these two scriptures, he/she will see that, while the two do indeed differ, there are many similarities and no contradictions which prevent the most logical conclusion that they are basically the same message.
What is true of the sermon preached on the mount and on a level place is equally true of the discourses of Matthew 24 and Luke 21. That is to say, there is a a total lack of contradiction in the two and there are a plethora of similarities, so that we may be lead to the most obvious conclusion that they are basically the same message.
Let us come back to the comparison of Matthew 24:15-16 with Luke 21:20-21 . In Matthew we read, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…let them which be in Judea flee,,,”. And in Luke we read, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee…”. We have already determined that both Matthew 24 and Luke 21 concern the tribulation. And Christ tells His listeners to flee. But in Matthew they should flee when they see the abomination of desolation, while in Luke 21 they should flee when they see Jerusalem compassed about with armies. Are these two different events, or are they the same event?. That question is answered in Daniel 11:31.
Because this is a very difficult passage I will quote verse 31 from the NIV, which is, in my opinion, easier to understand. “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation”. Here we have a description of the scene during which the antichrist will set up the abomination of desolation which, according to Matthew 24:15 will mark the beginning of the time that all should flee, i.e. the time of the tribulation. The antichrist will bring his forces to the temple. That makes sense, he has in mind to put the abomination (Scriptural term for an idol) in the house of God. One can only imagine how the appearance of an idol in God’s house would effect those who worship there. It is not difficult to understand why the antichrist would have his armies to help in the process of setting up this abomination of desolation.
What we learn from Dan.11 is that while Matthew tells us what the antichrist will do in the temple, Luke tells us what he will do with his armies in order to facilitate his actions in the temple. There is no contradiction here, there is only a fuller account of the same event. That event is what marks the beginning of the tribulation.
Let us review what has been presented thus far. Matthew 24 is a record of Christ’s answer to the question asked by His disciples as to what will be the sign of the end of the age and of His coming. One of the main events of the end times is the tribulation, which will begin when the antichrist places the abomination of desolation in the temple. By comparing Luke 21 with Matthew 24 we have seen that Luke 21 answers the same question and also includes a warning as to what to look for, which will signify the beginning of the tribulation. Where Matthew’s Gospel gives the sign of the beginning of the tribulation as the abomination of desolation being placed in the temple, Luke gives the sign of Jerusalem being compassed about. We have read in Daniel 11 that Jerusalem will be compassed about by the armies of the antichrist when he, the antichrist, places the abomination in the temple. Therefore, the encompassing of Jerusalem and the placing of the abomination in the temple are one and the same event.
This paper was written by Joyce Pollard. If you would like to respond please e-mail me at [email protected]
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