Monthly Archives: December 2014

Lesson 9 Of Series – Christ Revealed As Judge In The Destruction of Jerusalem

Revelation Commentary, , ,

Christ Revealed As Judge

Another way in which the destruction of Jerusalem served to reveal Christ was in His role as Judge upon the fleshly nation, Israel. John 5:22, 23: “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: (23) That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.” ( See also John 12:31, 32.)

The fiery judgment upon Jerusalem, the War and subsequent dispersion of the remaining people terminated forever the age of the fleshly identity of the nation. Ladd speaks of John the Baptist’s witness that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire: “The fiery judgment would suggest an event terminating this age and initiating the Age to Come.”*

The Surviving Jews Rejected the Book Of Revelation

Even when Christ’s prophesies came to pass, many of the surviving Jews continued to put their trust in their fleshly genealogies or in the outward forms of Judaism. For them, Christ’s prophecies were a threat of extinction and so was intolerable. With all the ferocity of those fighting for their very lives, they resisted His teachings. The fact that the Book of Revelation showed this event as a glorious triumph of the saints and as the source of rejoicing in heaven maddened those who saw their legitimacy eliminated and caused fierce opposition against the Book in its early period of existence. Many early manuscripts of the Book , probably those written in the original Hebrew, were all burned in this early period, only the Greek translations survived as far as we now know. This ferocious opposition to the Book accounts for the fact that it was written in the apocalyptic genre using a kind of code fully understood only by those immersed in Christian doctrine.

Christian Faith Vindicated

For the Christian Jews, – and the great majority of Christians at that time were genetically Jews, – the Book was an account of the vindication of their faith in Christ, showing His triumph over all other claimants to the inheritance rights, destroying their grounds for persecution of the saints, completing the fulfillment of every prophecy, every promise, every hope of Light and Life. To them the Book of Revelation was worth every effort to preserve it. The Book itself became one of the focal points of division between the two rival religions, Judaism and Christianity.

Christianity claimed to be, in Christ, the only surviving remnant of the old nation of Israel, partly because of the account of the destruction of the fallen nation in this Book. The canonization of the Book by the Christian community represented the official declaration of their claim to be the surviving Chosen People. Canonization means that the Church accepted it as the Word of God, Holy Scripture.

*Ladd, George. A Theology of the New Testament. William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1974.

Lesson 8 Of Series – Signs In The Heavens

Revelation Commentary, , , , , , ,

Signs In The Heavens

Jesus said: Matthew 24:29: “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.”

The fact that this was fulfilled does not necessarily depend on our having some extant secular historical record of it. However, we do have records that the sun was darkened at the crucifixion. We also know that Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 darkening the sun and moon over a large area of the world, and burying the city of Pompey, Italy. An earlier eruption of Vesuvius is recorded, in about 62 AD, although not so famous as that of AD 79.

An Eclipse of Prophecy

A more likely interpretation of this, however, is the spiritual one found in Micah 3:5-7:
“Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace, and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against them. (6) Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. (7) Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer of God.”

In 70 AD, the prophets, priests and seers of Israel had lost their spiritual vision and so gross darkness had come upon the people, as if an eclipse darkened the sun and moon.

The Lord Is The Light Of His People

Nevertheless, the Lord God Almighty has become the Light as in Isaiah 60:19-20:
“19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. “

Joel’s Prophecy Fulfilled

We do know that the prophecy in Joel 2:31: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come,” was interpreted as having already been fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:16). If Peter and the eleven and the men of Judea believed at that time that Joel 2:31 had been fulfilled, then let us accept their judgment on the matter and declare that it had indeed been fulfilled.

Did Jesus Come In The Clouds?

Jesus said, Matthew 24:30: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (See also Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27.)

If one is not willing to accept the testimony of the writers of the New Testament, I would suggest the secular historian Josephus’ account of an appearance in the clouds over Jerusalem as it was being destroyed.

“The signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation…. [of Jerusalem]. Besides these (signs), a few days after that feast, on the one-and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] 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 sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armour were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities,” (6.5.3).

Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled. They did see the “sign of the Son of Man” in the clouds.

Next Lesson: Christ Revealed As Judge

 

Lesson 7 Of Series – To Vindicate Christ As A True Prophet

Revelation Commentary, , ,

Jesus had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem saying:

“…this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.” (See Matt. 24:34 and Luke 21:20-32, (RSV). This is construed by dispensationalists as having never yet been fulfilled, but awaits a yet future coming, appearing, or revelation. Rather, Christ’s promise of a contemporary fulfillment must be seen in the perspective of the tests commonly required of a prophet in that time to determine whether or not he was indeed a true prophet; tests advised by Scripture as well as good sense. (See Lesson 2 “Tests Of A Prophet.) Jesus fulfilled these requirements.

It was morally imperative in 68 AD that this event take place soon because Christ had predicted that the generation who heard Him pronounce the prophecy would live to see its fulfillment and that generation was fast passing away by this time.

The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was the vindication of Christ’s claim to the role of a true prophet and completed the proof of His identity as the Messiah.

When Christ was proven to be a true prophet, those who had rejected, and killed Him, were condemned and became guilty of innocent blood as well as blasphemy and deicide. Those who had charged Him with being a false prophet because He had foretold the destruction of the city and the temple were now themselves proven guilty.

CHRIST REVEALED AS A TRUE PROPHET

Jesus knew that the end of the appointed times prophesied by Daniel was near, (Matt. 24, etc.). Although neither the day nor hour was known, the prophet Daniel had predicted the year. If Daniel’s predictions of an “end” had not come to pass in the appointed time as specified, he would have been considered a false prophet and his words would not have found a place in the Biblical canon, and we would never have heard of him. Jesus declared that “the [appointed] time is fulfilled,” (Mark 1:15). He was speaking of an ‘appointed time’ that the people to whom He spoke were well aware, the time appointed by the prophet Daniel.

Likewise, if Jesus’ predictions of the “end” of Jerusalem and the nation had not come to pass in the specified time, that is, “this generation,” He would have been called a false prophet, His words would never have been considered sacred, and we would never have heard of Him. But both Daniel and Jesus were proven to be true prophets by the fulfillment at the ‘appointed time’ of their words, – not some imaginary or esoteric calculation of ‘time outs’ but by the exact science of time-telling known to the faithful priests of Israel, based upon the movements of the heavenly bodies, (Genesis 1:14).

Daniel’s Weeks of Years and Times Calculated

Many eminent scholars have attempted to calculate these times and coordinate them with recorded historical events. From their work there is every reason to believe that the predictions were accurate, although the historical records they have to work with are fragmentary and open to interpretation. However, it is enough to know that the New Testament saints believed both Daniel and Jesus and recorded their prophesies as the inspired Word of God. They had access to first-hand information and experienced, in their own lives, the fulfillment. (My calculation of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks according to Biblical and Historical records is in my book, Revelation In Context, at pp. 21-24.)

Furthermore, the New Testament has been proven and can yet be proven true by anyone who will believe, for Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is alive forevermore and is presently making intercession for us. If He had been a false prophet, God would not have so honored Him.

Did Christ Come In The Clouds As He Had Promised, Matthew 24:30?

The question, then, is whether or not Christ’s prophecy was actually fulfilled concerning His appearance in a cloud “with power and great glory.” The view popular with dispensationalists and pre-millennialists is that the events of Matthew 24:30 “did not take place after the fall of Jerusalem.” (See next lesson for the full account of His appearing in the clouds.)

Next Lesson: Signs In The Heavens

God Is Not Dead Nor Doth He Sleep

Uncategorized,

Song: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

Words by Henry W. Longfellow, Music by J. Baptiste Colkin

“1. I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men.

2. I thought how as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th’ unbroken song Of peace on earth, good will to men.

3. And in despair I bowed my head, ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said,
‘For hate is strong, and mocks the song, Of peace on earth, good will to men.’

4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, God is not dead, nor doth He sleep,
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men.

5. Till, ringing, singing on its way, The world revolv’d from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime, Of peace on earth good will to men.”

 

Lesson 6 Of Series – Daniel’s Prophecy of The End Fulfilled

Revelation Commentary, ,

The ‘end’ which Daniel foresaw was the end of “your people and your holy city,” (9:24).

At the time of the ‘end’ which Daniel saw, (11:40), there would be the “time of trouble” or the “great tribulation,” (12:1). Jesus related this “great tribulation” to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, (Matt. 24, see especially verse 21), “since the beginning of the age” [world, i.e., the ‘age’ of Israel’s national existence]; “nor ever shall be,” [i.e., since the nation was ceasing to exist it would never again endure such a time]. Although this is apparent in Jesus’ words, we may also refer to the writings of Josephus regarding the Wars of the Jews:

“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,” (Wars 5.10.5).

The Book Sealed Until “The Time of the End”

Daniel shut up the words and sealed the book, “until the time of the end,” (12:4, 9).
That “time of the end” as seen by Daniel was fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews dispersed in AD 70. Thus we find that in the Book of Revelation, chapter five, there is a scroll, (or book), “sealed with seven seals,” the ‘weeks’ or ‘sevens’ of Daniel. I submit that this is that same book which Daniel sealed “until the time of the end.” The “end of the age” had come upon the earthly city of Jerusalem and the earthly sanctuary. This destruction is described under the symbol of the Great Whore, Babylon the Great, after which the true Holy City, New Jerusalem appears coming down from God out of heaven.

The End Was Expected In The New Testament

The people of the New Testament believed Daniel’s chronology and therefore knew it was time for the Christ. The best evidence we have for the fact that Daniel’s ‘times’ were indeed fulfilled is the fact that the people in the New Testament believed they were. For example, Simeon and Anna knew it was time for the Christ to be born. Andrew was expecting the Christ (John 1:41). John the Baptist had to deny that he was the Christ for the people were expecting the Christ, John 1:20, 3:28. The woman of Samaria expected the Christ, John 4:25, 29, 42; the rulers expected the Christ, Luke 22:67, John 10:24.

Many other references in the New Testament show that the ‘end’ was expected in their lifetime. For example: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer,” (1 Pet. 4:7).

“For the time [is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17).

“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,” (1 Thess. 4).

Zechariah 12:10 Was Also Fulfilled

Another popular teaching is that: “They shall look upon Him whom they pierced,” (Zech. 12:10), has never been fulfilled but is yet future. However, this phrase is also interpreted as having been fulfilled when the soldiers pierced the side of Christ, John 19:37. It does not, therefore, require another future, literal fulfillment.

Next Lesson: To Vindicate Christ