Do NOT Believe It.?

Do NOT Believe It.?

In Mat 24:22-26, we read of Jesus telling His disciples what NOT to believe, Twice!

Normally, we will tell people what to believe instead of what NOT to believe. By telling them what not to believe is to pre-warn them of the dangers ahead.

What are they NOT to believe?

- here is the Christ, there is the Christ - do NOT believe it

- Here is the prophet, listen to their words - do NOT believe it

- Christ is in the wilderness, Christ is in the inner rooms - do NOT believe it


By narrowing down to "what to believe" and "what not to believe", we can make it into a "believe statement". That's what many churches and organizations have done. These statements define them and their objectives. When Jesus tells His disciples "what to believe" and "what not to believe", He is drawing the boundaries for them, because He knows that in the days ahead, there will be many who will deceive the uninformed, and even quote scripture out of context to justify their objectives.


Q: Why did Jesus tell them "do not believe it"? Why is it important not to believe these things? This is not the first time. Jesus said "I have told you beforehand". That means Jesus has warn them about this before to them. It is like another warning again and again, so that they will not so easily deceived.


In v22, "the days will be shortened". What days? It is the days mentioned in v21. The days of "great tribulation" such as never seen before or shall ever be.



According to historians on AD70, the Roman general Titus wanted to finish the destruction of Jerusalem and squash the Jewish rebellion as quickly as possible. He wanted to complete the task ordered by Emperor Nero, that his father general Vespasian had started. And God had to shorten the days, because of the great destruction that was upon the holy city. The suffering and calamity was just too great.

Furthermore, there were constant in-fightings among the Jewish groups inside the city. The Roman invasion was quickened when there was no unity among the defenders. 

The different leadership factions were involved in a power struggle within and this made it easy for the Romans to overthrow them.

Who were these various Jewish groups within the city walls?
They were the various Jewish communities that had fled from the neighboring towns and villages, and were taking refuge inside the security of the city walls.
These Jews were also burning up large stocks of their own provisions so that the Roman soldiers cannot have them. This led to famine and pestilence among the non-combatant Jews.


When we read of such judgement and wrath of God upon Israel, we are reminded of similar judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah. See Mat 10:15; Mark 11:23; Luke 10:12; 17:29.

Jesus drew a parallel between the "last days", "days of vengeance" and "judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah"

v22 talks about the "elect". These were the Jews who believed in Jesus as their Messiah. These are the "remnant" Jews that escaped the destruction. They were saved.

Just like in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family believed the warnings from God and fled. If Lot had stayed back within the city, he and his family would have been destroyed. Similarly for the Jews believers.


V23-24 tells us that false Christs and false prophets will arise. Jesus said "do NOT believe it". Don't believe that a savior or messiah or redeemer is going to arise and stop this "great tribulation" from happening. Don't believe them. They are fake and false. They will prophesy wrongly just to achieve their objective.


Josephus the Jewish historian tells us of many stories of false leaders that arose and wanted to fight the Roman armies, and the false prophets who deceive the Jewish soldiers of God's deliverance for them.


Q: Why did the Jews (those who did not follow Jesus) chose to believe in these false Christs and false prophets?

A: It is because they refuse to accept Jesus as their Messiah that was promised by their prophets. They believed that the Messiah is going to be a military leader that will win battles against the Gentiles and make Israel great again. So these false Christs and false prophets fit into their mental expectations.

See my earlier post on false christs and false prophets:

https://advancingtruth.blogspot.com/2020/04/false-christs-do-not-be-tricked.html
https://advancingtruth.blogspot.com/2020/04/false-prophets-will-come-not-end-yet.html


Those who believed Jesus and did not believe these false Christs and false prophets were spared the destruction. They escaped the day of vengeance as prophesied in Luke 21:22; Isa 34:8; 35:4; 61:2.


God has removed the kingdom of God from Israel and given it to the believers of Jesus Christ. The kingdom is now ours. The kingdom is no longer a favored nation, but the kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17).


In Josephus book "Wars of the Jews, page 453:", we read of one false prophet who told the Jews to go to the top of the Temple and wait for the signs of deliverance:

[  ..a false prophet was the occasion of these people's destruction who had made a public proclamation in the city that very day that God commanded them to get upon the Temple and that there should be there to receive miraculous signs of their deliverance.
Now there was a great number of false prophets raised by the tyrants to impose upon the people who denounced this to them that they should wait for deliverance from God ... ]


Interestingly, before Jesus came, there were no Jewish records of false Christs. Nobody came in their time claiming to be their Messiah until after the cruxification, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and then there was a huge number of people claiming to be the Messiah.


Henry Kett wrote in his book "History the Interpreter of Prophecy" in 1800,

[  ..from the death of Herod the Great to the destruction of the Temple, Jewish history is filled with the names of false Christs and false prophets who deceived both Jews and Samaritans. None appeared before this period and not more than one for 5 or 6 centuries after this period... ]


Jesus prophecy about false messiahs was not a random word and hoping to catch one, like so many false prophets today. Jesus was right on the dot, about the rising of false messiahs after Him, and within that period before AD70.

There was a boom in the number of false Christs and false prophets for the period after His resurrection and AD70.


Mat 24:23-24 is telling them not to be fooled by these dynamic or charismatic leaders who had the anointing. There is going to be signs and wonders, but it doesn't mean it is the truth. Anointed men and women may not have the knowledge of truth and can keep people in bondage.


The apostle John was present before Jesus when He gave the warnings in Mat 24:23-24. Later, this is what John wrote in 1 John 4:1-3, and 1 John 2:18

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

1Jn 4:2  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 

1Jn 4:3  and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 

1Jn 2:18  Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 


John was confirming what Jesus spoke to them.
1 John was written about 2000 years ago, before AD70, in the timeline of their generation. It was the "last hour" and false prophets were already present in the world at the time of his writing.


Jesus actually warned them twice within Matthew 24, in verse 11 and verse 25.

This was the pattern of God. He always warns His people before a great event or judgement wa going to take place.

Take for example:

- Noah was warned about the flood by a man named Methuselah, who lived till 969 years old. Methuselah's name mean "at his death, it shall be sent".

- Abraham was warned about Sodom and Gomorrah.

- Ezekiel prophesied about the destruction of Israel by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.

- and many more examples.



Then Jesus continues:

Mat 24:26  So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 

The Jews have a room in the Temple called the "chamber of secrets" or "secret chamber" or "inner chamber". Jesus said, do NOT believe Christ is there. There are actually 2 chambers inside the Temple, the chamber of secrets and the chamber of utensils.

Jesus said, I will not be in them. Do NOT believe them.

Double Fulfillment of Prophecy?

Double Fulfillment of Prophecy?

Some preachers say that they can accept Mat 24 as the  1st fulfillment of Jesus prophecy in year AD67-AD70, but they believe that another fulfillment of the same prophecy will come in another future generation.

Many of us who taught bible prophecy used to (but not now) have an illustration of how a prophet sees a revelation or vision. We thought that a prophet sees a vision like a person look at a mountain range. The person who looks at a mountain range can see the mountains but cannot determine which mountain is nearer and which is further. Also he cannot measure the distances of the mountains to each other or to oneself. So we used to think that a prophet can prophesy things in the future but do not know the timing or the sequence of events of which one is coming in order.







However, after looking back, we have to ask ourselves a question whether the prophecies of Jesus is it like this? No, it is not especially the prophecies found in Matthew 24 given by Jesus. These prophecies have a specific date, a specific timing and specific description of events going to take place. Such prophecies must be taken seriously and cannot be disregarded. They must be interpreted within the Context of what Jesus was addressing especially in the disciples' questions in verse 3.

The prophecies of Jesus were  not left to chance or individual liking of interpretation. Jesus gave specific timelines and not vague assumptions.

For example, what is the timing of the "great tribulation"? Jesus answered in Mat 24:21, that the timing would be when all the signs have taken place in their generation.

See: https://advancingtruth.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-great-tribulation.html


Another example in Rev 1:1, where Jesus told John about the events that are "shortly" coming to pass. This word "shortly" also means "quickly" or "swiftly".

In Rev 1:3, Jesus told John that the "time is at hand" or "time is near". These are specific timings of events that are almost going to take place.


Another example in Luke 23:28-30, when Jesus was on the way to the Cross, He told the women that the coming destruction on them will be so great, that they will cry to the mountains to fall and cover them.

This was retold by Jesus in John in Rev 6:15-17, the same scenario. The wrath of God coming on them will be so great that they will cry to the mountains to fall and cover them. And this is going to take place very very soon.


To say that the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple happened in AD70 and again in the future because of double fulfillment of prophecy is being not a good scholar or wrong hermeunetics. Wrong interpretation will result in wrong teaching leading to formation of cults and manipulative groups. That's why with every earthly physical catastrophe within the last few centuries have resulted with many men and women who claimed to be the Messiahs coming to save a dying world from the "great tribulation".

See the many lists of them here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_claimed_to_be_Jesus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants
https://www.christianpost.com/news/5-false-messiahs-and-why-their-claims-to-be-christ-contradict-the-bible.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/08/new-messiahs-jesus-christ-second-coming-photos/

Many of these cults believe in the Dispensation theory, that states that Jesus will rapture the Christians before the future "great tribulation" that is going to come upon the world. They are sometimes called pre-tribulation preachers. Now with the pandemic Covid-19 virus that is infecting millions around the world, many egoistically fueled preachers are having a great time telling their followers that Jesus has shown THEM that this is the End of the world, and they will be raptured soon.

This dispensationalism has done a lot of damage to the church. It has caused many believers to be stagnant and just wait for the kingdom of God that is to come.


When Jesus told the disciples to expect the "days of vengeance" of God that is coming upon them in their lifetime in Luke 21:21-23, He was not telling them about the "wrath" that is going to come many many centuries later. The future has nothing to do with them.

After the resurrection of Jesus, Paul reminded the Thessalonian church that the "wrath of God" will be coming soon and they will be delivered from it.

1Th 1:10  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. 



All the prophecies  regarding the fall of Jerusalem and Israel, regarding the judgement of God on Israel had already been fulfilled.

Luk 18:31  Then He drew the Twelve to Him and said, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written in the Prophets which refers to the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 

Jesus said, "It will be FULFILLED'. There is no double fulfillment.


J.E. Leonard wrote in his book "Come Out of  Her, My People" in 1991, page 70:

[  God had to utterly destroy the Temple, the genealogical records that qualify the descendants of Aaron to serve as priests and the city of Jerusalem. He had to scatter the  people  and make it impossible for them to continue their futile and fruitless sacrifices in order to demonstrate his repudiation of Judaism as a religious system. Jesus said that no man comes to the Father, except through Him. God verified Jesus statement when He forcibly put an end to Israel's attempt to relate to the Father apart from the Son.  ]

There is no double fulfillment to the end of Judaism or the Mosaic Age.All these happened within that generation only. We are already more than 20 generations behind the "great tribulation" that Jesus talked about.




From the friend's study on double fulfillment of prophecy:

[  Does a prophecy have just one fulfillment, or can it have two or three? Does each Bible verse have multiple meanings? In the 17th century, John Owen well said: "If the Scripture has more than one meaning, it has no meaning at all."

After His resurrection, Jesus encouraged the disciples thus: "These are the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44).

Jesus was not the "initial," "partial," "typical" fulfillment. He was the FULFILLMENT!

What often happens is that people cannot deny the fulfillment of a prophecy, but their prejudices leave them dissatisfied. Therefore, they resort to "dual" fulfillment.

This is done today with such prophecies as the destruction of Jerusalem, the coming of Elijah, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the destruction of Babylon.

Where will the "double fulfillment" theory stop? Could it be that John the Baptist was only a "partial" fulfillment of Isaiah 40, inasmuch as he did not literally lower any mountains? (See Luke 3:4-6.)

Isaiah 53, as read by the Ethiopian eunuch, prophesied that the Suffering Servant would be "like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so he opened not his mouth" (Acts 8:32-35).

Did Philip tell the eunuch, "Well, since Jesus did open his mouth a couple of times during his trial, He is only a 'partial' fulfillment--the 'primary' and 'complete' fulfillment is off in the future"? Of course not!

It is time to take God at His word, whether it harmonizes with our prejudices or not. If prophecy is really prophecy, then when it is fulfilled, it is FULFILLED.  ]



Adam Maarschalk, a bible scholar in his research noted:

[  An article written in 2004 by Michael Fenemore goes into even more detail on why the idea of dual fulfillment does not work when it comes to Jesus’ famous words in Matthew 24:

Some prophecy teachers, while acknowledging a fulfillment of Matthew 24 in the first century, predict a future second fulfillment, but this time, with worldwide implications… We might wonder whether those who promote the double-fulfillment theory ever took the time to test it by reading over the text even once. How could this be fulfilled twice?

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come (Mat 24:14, NASB).

Will the “great commission” be fulfilled twice? Does “the end” come twice? If it does, then, the first one wasn’t the end.

Will there be two “great” tribulations? “For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again” (Matt. 24:21, NLT). Since this anguish would “never be so great again,” how could it occur twice? Some might protest that such language is hyperbolic; it was not intended to be taken literally. Perhaps that is true. But then, the same people should be able to understand that the rest of Matthew 24 is replete with the same Old Testament-style hyperbole. They should not require a second fulfillment just because some events did not occur exactly as Jesus described them.

Jesus never said Matthew 24 would be fulfilled twice, and there’s no rule anywhere in the Bible saying prophecy should be interpreted this way. The double-fulfillment concept is simply an untenable fabrication created in desperation, probably deemed necessary because its adherents expect literal fulfillments of the highly figurative, cosmic predictions in Matthew 24 and other places, which of course, have never occurred (and never will).   ]

Audience Relevance

Audience Relevance

As we read and study a text of the Bible, we must keep in mind audience relevance – what did the original audience understand this to mean?
The Bible was written for us but not to us. I have had some Christians flip out on me for making that statement. They think that the Bible is written to us.

 

It should be quite simple to show them otherwise.
I was discussing this very subject with a man in my office who said, “All the Bible is written to us.” To show him how ridiculous this position was, I took him to:

 
Joshua 6:3 (NKJV) “You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.

 

I asked him, “Is this command to march around Jericho to you?”
He replied, “Yes, it is.” At that point I ended our discussion.

 
This is an absolutely insane view. I don’t think that he actually believed that he was commanded to march around Jericho (even though he said he was), but to admit that would be to admit that the Bible is written for us and not to us.

 
If you ignore audience relevance and view this verse as written to you, what do you have?

 

Joshua 6:25 (NKJV) And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. SO SHE DWELLS IN ISRAEL TO THIS DAY, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

 

You have a lady that is well over 3,000 years old. Is Rahab still living in Israel today? Of course not!

 

Why does the Bible say she is still living in Israel today when she isn’t? When the book of Joshua was written, she was still living in Israel.

 

This statement was true and accurate when it was written. But to us, some 3500 years later, it must be viewed in light of audience relevance.

 

Let’s try another verse:
2 Timothy 4:21 (NKJV) Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.

 

Is this written to us? Where are we to go before winter? Which winter? Paul was writing to Timothy. When? He was to come before the winter of AD 67.

 

Philippians 2:19-23 (NKJV)
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you SHORTLY (tacheos), that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.  For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.  For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.  But you know his (Timothy’s) proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.  Therefore I hope to send him AT ONCE, as soon as I see how it goes with me.

 

The Greek word for “shortly” is tacheos. According to Arndt and Gingich Lexicon, tacheos is used in the LXX and certain non-canonical writings to mean speed, quickness, swiftness, haste, suddenly.

 

Are you (in 2016) excited about Timothy’s soon arrival? Why not?

 

The Bible says that Paul will send him “shortly.”
But I don’t know of any Christians that are looking for Timothy to arrive soon.

 

Are you?

 

Christians understand that Paul was speaking to the Philippians in the first century when he said this.
They don’t understand the “shortly” to be to them but to the Philippians of the first century.

 

 

Why then, when it comes to the subject of the return of Christ, do they want to ignore the principle of audience relevance?

Jonathan Forgor

The Great Tribulation

The Great Tribulation

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

Jesus is addressing the "great tribulation" calling it as never before and never again in the future, will there be one such as this.

The phrase "for then" means that this will follow immediately after what was written in the preceding verses. What were the events that preceded this "great tribulation"? It is found in Mat 24:1-20. Some of these have been addressed in previous posts. As an example, they are:

v5 ..false christs will come..

v6 ..wars and rumors of wars..

v7 ..nations and kingdoms against each other..

v7 ..famines, pestilence, earthquakes will happen..

v9 ..they will be afflicted, killed, and hated..

v10 ..they will be offended, betrayed and hated by each other..

v11 ..false prophets will come..

v12 ..wickedness will increase and love grow cold..

v13 ..salvation to those who endured to the end..

v14 ..gospel of kingdom to all..

v15 ..abomination of desolation in the holy place..

v16 ..flee to the mountains..

Because of these things happening, for then, there shall be "great tribulation". This is how we can calculate the timing of the "great tribulation" by noticing the signs preceding this verse.

Historians tell us about the sequence of events that happen as they approach the "great tribulation"

1. The Jewish zealots raised up a Jewish military by recruiting the Jews to rebel against the Roman Empire both in Jerusalem and Judea.

2. These zealots do not accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah as promised by the prophets in their writings but they believed that their Messiah will be a military savior that will lead them and make Israel into a great nation again.

3. Because they were expecting a militant Messiah, many false Messiahs arose to claim leadership to lead the rebellion against the Romans.

4. These anti-Rome Jews refuse to pay taxes to Rome. In Jerusalem they tear down the Roman dwellings that houses the army barracks outside the Temple because they did not want the Romans to attach themselves to their holy Temple. They were damaging Roman properties and abusing the Romans who dwell in Jerusalem.

5. These led to the Roman emperor to invade and squash the Jewish rebellion.

According to Josephus writings in his book: "The Works of Josephus, Vol.1: The War of the Jews", he wrote about King Agrippa. If you remember King Agrippa appears in Acts 26. He was the first Century Roman appointed proxy King of Judea to rule over Judea on behalf of Rome and he was the king that confronted Paul in Acts 26:1. King Agrippa called together the multitudes of zealots and rebellious Jews to gather in his large gallery and warned them against fighting Rome. Here is what he said in page 185:

[  Agrippa said to the crowd, "but certainly none can imagine that you can enter into a war as by an agreement or that when the Romans have got you under their power, they will use you with moderation, or will not rather for an example to other nations, burn your holy city and utterly destroy your whole nation. For those of you who shall survive the war, will not be able to find a place wherein to flee since all men have the Romans for their Lords already or are afraid they shall have hereafter. Nay, indeed the danger concerns not just those Jews that dwell here only but those of them who dwell in other cities also. But there is no people upon the habitable earth which have not some portion of you among them. When your enemies will slay in case you go to war. And on that account also and so every city which has Jews in it will be filled with slaughter for the sake of only a few men.  ]

This is king Agrippa talking to the zealot Jews in Jerusalem, warning them that it will be futile if they revolt against Rome. But the revolt did happen and began around AD65 and by Oct AD66, Rome was sending troops under Caius Cestius to begin the initial attack. However, the Jews military managed to hold back against the Roman army and later pursued Caius until he left Jerusalem in late AD66. 

This caused Emperor Nero to send his general Vespasian (who later also became a Roman emperor). Vespasian came to crush the rebellion in February AD67. By August AD70, about 3 years later, the Roman army was standing in the Temple in Jerusalem and by September AD70, the whole city felled to Rome.

These are amazing detailed and specific accounts of these events because of the written and oral testimonies of the eye-witnesses who experienced them.

It was roughly 42 months, from the start of the attack on Judea and the holy city, until the fall and destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple.

Remarkably a similar account in Rev 11:1-2

Rev 11:1  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 

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. 

In the vision given to John on the island of Patmos he saw the Temple standing and he was asked to measure it. Also the Gentiles will tread upon the holy city under their feet for 42 months!!

This tells us that Revelations was written before Jerusalem was destroyed in AD70, because after AD70, there was no way that Jesus would have told John to measure the Temple if the Temple was no longer standing.

V2 says Jerusalem will be trampled for 42 months, and if you calculate from February AD67 to August AD70, it is exactly 42 months as confirmed by historians. This is NOT a coincidence.!

See a write up on this war: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Jewish-Roman_War

Josephus also wrote on the death toll of this Jewish rebellion in his book on pages 291-292:

[  by AD67, Vespasian shows up in Jerusalem with 60,000 Roman troops. As he go through the villages, he starts in Ghidorah to kill all the youths. The Romans had no mercy on any age whatsoever. They moved on to the village of Jotapata and siege it for 47 days. 40,000 were slained or committed suicide and 1,200 women and infants were taken into slavery. And at Gepaha they killed 15,000. They took 2,130 prisoners. They go to Mount Gerizim and killed 11,600. They go to Terikai and killed 6,500. They go to Germala and killed 4,000 and 5,000 committed suicide by throwing themselves over the walls to avoid the Roman troops. Then they go to Getscalah and killed 6,000 women and children while most of the men flee to Jerusalem.

Vespasian and Titus took other cities and there were disorders and civil wars in every city  ]

On page: 314, Josephus records "that it looks as if God doomed Jerusalem to destruction as a polluted city and was resolved to purge his sanctuary by fire."

See write up on siege of Jotapata:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yodfat

Josephus was not a Christian but a Jewish writer with Roman citizenship given by Vespasian. He saw the destruction was so overwhelming that it appears to be God forsaken. Titus started the campaign against Jerusalem in April AD70 and his siege lasted from April AD70 till August AD70, when he finally went in and stood in the Temple. The city was completely leveled by September AD70.

If you were one of the disciples of Jesus and you were present there in AD67 - AD70, you would remember the warnings of Jesus when you witnessed such atrocities happening in front of you.

You will have no doubt at all that the prophecy of Jesus came to pass in their generation and not in a future generation.

When Josephus saw Titus coming to the city in April AD70, he urgently and continuously urged the inhabitants of Jerusalem to surrender but they refused. Maybe they thought that God will save them so they overlook the warnings of Jesus about the "days of vengeance" and the "wrath of God".

Josephus added on page 404, that:

[  Neither did any other cities suffered such miseries not did any age ever bred a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was from the beginning of he world.  ]

On page 405 he added:

[  They were first whipped then tormented with all sorts of torches before they died and were then crucified before the wall of the city. This miserable procedure made Titus greatly to pity them while they caught 500 Jews everyday. Some days they caught more. So the soldiers out of the wrath and hatred within, they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught one after one way and another after another to the crosses by way of jest. When their multitude was so great that room was wanting for the crosses and crosses was wanting for the bodies.  ]

During the siege of Jerusalem, 500 per day were crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. This was the "great tribulation" unlike anything the world had ever seen.

This confirms what Jesus said in Luke 19:43-44

Luk 19:44  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

The "time of their visitation" was when Jesus visited arrived on their scene and look for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat 15:24).

On the 17th July AD70, the high priest offered the last daily sacrifices on the altar at the Temple and will never again after that. The Roman army ransacked everything and took all the precious utensils back to Rome. One month after that, general Titus stood in the midst of the Temple and 2 months after that Jerusalem was completely destroyed.

Let's look at another prophecy written much earlier in the Torah (The scriptures to the Jews were the Torah, Psalms, writings of the major and minor prophets):

Deu 28:52  “They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you. 

Deu 28:53  And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. 

This curse of the military siege on Jerusalem was prophesied long ago. During the siege cannibalism was rampant. Suicide was rampant. As regard to the relationship between God and Israel in the history of their religion, this was the "greatest tribulation" that had ever took place.

They lost their Temple, priesthood, genealogical records, religious records, and sacrificial system that they had practiced for centuries. They lost everything that is related to Judaism. From then on they were scattered to other regions and some still continued their religious practices like circumcision, but around smaller synagogues.

See a write up on Judaism:

https://www.history.com/topics/religion/judaism

Adam Clark wrote in his commentary and said 1.3 million Jews were killed by the invading Roman armies between AD67 to AD70. Josephus said 1.1 million non-combatants were killed in Jerusalem, 100,000 in Galilee and 97,00 enslaved. This was an enormous number of those killed if you consider that the total population of the planet at that time was not very big.

Jesus said in Matthew:

Mat 24:21  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 

The term "such as has not been from the beginning until now, and never will be" is a Jewish hyperbole that is used rampantly in the bible. It is a Jewish way of saying that the "great tribulation" is a very very big tribulation.

In John L Bray's book "Matthew 24 fulfilled", he wrote about Hebrew hyperbole.

For example, Jesus said "not one stone will be left unturned". This expression was meant to mean that the leveling of Jerusalem was very very great, because the Western Wall (today called the Wailing Wall) of Jerusalem was left standing by the Roman armies to be used as a protection for the back of their barracks.

He said the term "such as there shall be none like before or after" is also found in:

- Exodus 10:14 - talks about the great great swarm of locusts over the land.

- Exodus 11:6 - first born of every life died and the cries of the Egyptian was very very great.

- 1 Kings 3:12 - God tells Solomon that his wisdom will be very very great.

- 2 kings 18:5 - God said that King Hezekiah was a very very good king.

- 2 Kings 23:25 - God said that King Josiah was a very very good king.

- Ezekiel 5:9 - Ezekiel prophesied that Jerusalem destruction will be very very great. This was the same as what was prophesied by Jesus in Mat 24:21.

All the above verses and many more throughout the bible uses the phrase "such as has not been before and will never after". They are the Jewish expression that means the event of entity that is referred to is going to be enormously great.

This was the "great tribulation" that Jesus prophesied will come upon the existing generation of His listeners about the great destruction of Jerusalem.

144,000 and 666 - Revelations

144,000 and 666 - Revelations

I first heard of the number 144,000 from a couple of Jehovah Witness (JW) guys who dropped in and try to convinced me of their teaching. The JW community were to work very hard for their group, so that they would be counted worthy to be saved, worthy to be among the 144,000 on that Judgement Day of God on the world. Today, I find this  to be a lot of nonsense due to the wrong interpretation of the bible with NO regards to Context, Audience Relevance and Historical Timeline. Well, if the JW was correct, they would have missed it already, because Revelations was written before AD70, and for the last 2000 years, it is common sense that the number of faithfuls would be much much more than this.

From then on, I have heard this number 144,000 many times, and they are all very confusing. It was much later, when I began to realize the importance of understanding this within the Context of the passage and its Audience Relevance, that I comprehended the full meaning of it.

It may surprise you that the number 144,000 also appears in many other religious organisations in the world.

See the write up on this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/144,000

The number 144,000 appears only in the book of Revelations and it appears 3 times in Rev 7:3-8, 14:1, 14:3-5.

To understand the context of 144,000 in Revelations, you need to determine the date the book of Revelations is written by John, because Revelations is related to the prophecy of Jesus in Matthew 24, and the prophecy of Daniel. When you understand the chronological order of the unfolding of events, you will begin to learn how to put them in its Historical Timeline and within its proper perspective.

Some churches believe that Revelations was written around AD95-AD96. However we do not have any written or oral evidence on this date. What we have is only a 2nd Century church writer called Irenaeus who said that apostle John came to visit them in AD96, and because of that some have dated the book of Revelations as AD96 or later.

Well, a person who visited you and the person who wrote the book are two different issues. Church scholars have later found that Irenaeus had been wrong and was prone to certain errors. (For example, he wrote that Jesus lived to 50 years old. See: https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2016/08/25/more-proof-irenaeus-thought-jesus-lived-to-50-years-old/ . This is major error in itself.)

Besides Irenaeus, there is no other proofs that Revelations was dated AD95 or more. Some believers of Irenaeus took it literally, and that means John would have been a very very old man, and close to death, to write this book. Further it was recorded that John was persecuted for a long time and had been imprisoned on the island of Patmos for quite a while. When he was released in his old age and left for Ephesus, he was feeble and died shortly.

To date Revelations, the best observation would be to look within the book and find its corresponding timeline to determine the date.

Q: What are the existing evidences within Revelations that we can understand clearly?

A: The 1st evidence we find was that this book was a direct revelation from Jesus to John about things that are shortly going to happen to the 7 churches in Asia.

Rev 1:1  A Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him to declare to His servants things which must shortly come to pass. And He signified it by sending His angel to His servant John,..

Rev 1:4  John to the seven existing churches that were in Asia. 

Namely the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. John was in the island of Patmos, and if you look at the map, the 7 churches are located along a single postal circular route and were very close to Patmos. John could have written the book or letter to these churches and it was meant to be read and circulated among them along a particular route in the countryside. (They didn't have email then.) John said that the time was very short, and close at hand. This indicates that the events written in Revelations happened within their timeframe. What were the events? They are the events recorded by Mat 24; Mark 13; Luke 21 called the Olivet Discourse. Christian and non-Christian historians tell us  that there were no such apocalypse as described in Revelations, happening shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70.

Another evidence is that John was told by God to measure the dimensions of the Temple in Rev 11. That means the Temple was still standing when John wrote Revelations! John was aware that it was still existing and in full view of everyone. The Temple was still standing until AD70 when Titus and the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. If John had written Revelations in the distant future or in AD95 or AD96, then the Temple was no longer standing or existing. So the book of Revelation would be invalid.

Maybe you might think that the Temple was rebuilt after AD70 but it was never such occurrence recorded in Church, Jewish or Roman historical records. No history talks about the rebuilding of the Temple after AD70. If some say that John had written Revelations in AD95, how can they rebuild such a magnificent Temple so quickly while still under the oppression of the Roman Empire.

Another evidence is about the mark of the beast called 666. This has been abused and misused by preachers so many many times, for centuries, that I am ashamed to be called a Christian if I am to be numbered among them. There is widespread disagreement over the identification and meaning of the number 666.

View what was researched by National Geographic about 666:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy2CDXtWjoU

Rev 13:17  even that not any might buy or sell except those having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name. 

Rev 13:18  Here is the wisdom. Let him having reason count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. And its number is six hundred and sixty-six. 

Q: What does v17 and v18 says? 

A: It is the number of a man. It is the number of the mans's name. In Hebrew tradition and culture, all their Hebrew words are written in grammar and in numbers. And the number 666 is the Hebrew grammatical and numerical  equivalent of "Caesar Nero" who reigned as emperor of the Roman Empire from AD37 - AD68. That means Revelations was written BEFORE AD68.

Once you accept these evidences found within the book of Revelations as written before AD70, it becomes easy to understand the New Testament. Historians and scholars also agreed that the book of John was written AFTER AD70 (if arranged chronologically, it would be the last book of the New Testament. John was also the last apostle to die of natural causes. Ten of the apostles were martyred. Judas committed suicide). Book of John did not have any account of Jesus warnings, the coming great tribulation in AD70 or the wordings in the Olivet Discourse. John did not write about the End of the Age at all, because the End of the Age (Old Covenant Age) had already come and gone after AD70.

Also, the book of Revelations (or Apocalypse as some called it) was the revelation or unveiling of Jesus Christ to his servant John. He was revealing about events that are SHORTLY to happen, and not 2000 years in the future. It was specific instructions to the 7 churches in Asia. Jesus revealed to John that he must not seal the visions that He is showing him, because it is going to happen SOON (Rev 22:10).

Taking consideration of these evidences and the timeline, then we can rejoice with John, because the book of Revelations is about the triumph and victory of the gospel of Jesus Christ over all of His enemies. It is about Jesus and His conquest over every enemy and tribulation.

Mat 24:13 says, AFTER you see all these signs of Jesus Coming and the End of the Age, you will be SAVED.

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 

This is not a spiritual salvation. This is a physical salvation from the destruction that is coming onto Jerusalem, the nation of Israel and the Old Covenant. By fleeing to the mountains, but obeying His warnings, they will escape the great tribulation and will be saved.

After setting the Historical Timeline and the dating of the book of Revelations to before AD70, we can then better understand the number 144,000.

Rev 7:3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 

This is the number 144,000 of the Jews that is set apart by God. They will not be hurt but saved. Saved from the great tribulation coming upon Jerusalem and its Temple caused by the Roman armies.

This is NOT talking about sometime in future where God is removing the church, and then saving 144,000 Jews to evangelize and save the world! This has been a made up "super Jews" story.

See what Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus:

Eph 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed until the day of redemption.  

The Ephesian church was one  of the 7 churches that John wrote in Revelations. Paul told them that they were sealed for a particular and specific "day of redemption". The Holy Spirit has sealed them for this  day. This is the Context of Ephesians 4:30.

In Rev 7:3, we see the confirmation of what Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus in Eph 4:30. God wants to seal salvation upon His people so that they will be saved.

In Rev 14:1-4, we read of another passage with the 144,000.

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and lo, the Lamb stood on Mount Zion. And with Him were a hundred and forty-four thousands, having His Father's name written in their foreheads. 

Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from Heaven, like the voice of many waters and like the voice of a great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. 

Rev 14:3  And they sang as it were a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousands who were redeemed from the earth. 

Rev 14:4  These are those who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, as a firstfruit to God and to the Lamb. 

The 144,000 were the Christians who were redeemed and standing with Jesus Christ.

V4 says they were redeemed among other men as a firstfruit to God.

The term "firstfruit" is a Jewish phrase meaning that the Jews giving their first fruit offering to God. this was their first harvest and the best of their harvest, where they gave to God.

In Rev 14:4 it speaks about the Christians as the firstfruit, meaning they were the first to be  redeemed, and first to be saved.

Q: Who were these first to be redeemed, first to be saved? Were they Jehovah Witnesses as  they claimed?

A: No. They refer to those who were saved from the Old Covenant Age and are now in the New Covenant Age ushered in by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

In Acts 2, we read of Peter preaching the good news in Jerusalem, and 3,000 Jews were saved on that day when they came to the city to celebrate the feast of Pentecost.

They were not Gentiles, but Jews who were scattered all over the region, and once a year they will come back to Jerusalem and the Temple to offer sacrifices and celebrate the feast. These 3,000 who were saved and received Christ were part of the firstfruit of the Jews.

In Acts 8, we read of the gospel going outside of Jerusalem and to other parts of the land after the stoning of Stephen. More and  more of the firstfruits were gathered before the great tribulation in AD70. In the beginning when they were scattered all over, they reached out to the Jews only. 

The number 144,000 comes from the 12 tribes of 12,000 Jews (Rev 7:4). 12 is the biblical number of fullness. 12 apostles, 12 tribes, 12 foundations in New Jerusalem, 12 baskets of fragments left over after feeding the 5000. 12 represents fullness. So 144,000 = 12 x 12 x 1000. It is a number of fullness and symbolically stands for the  fullness of the number of Christians who were Jews. That means when the full number of Jewish Christians were redeemed, then the great tribulation began in Jerusalem.

It doesn't mean there must be mathematically exactly 144,000 and cannot be 143,999 or 144,001. It is a symbolic representation of the fullness of believers that were saved.

Q: What about the virgins?

In Rev 14:4 it says that these 144,000 were those who were not defiled with women for they are virgins. The phrase "virgins" is also a Jewish term that they can understand very well. Remember, we are reading the book of Revelations through the Jewish eyes, because it was written TO THEM, and not to us.

Let us see how the term "virgins" is used in other passages by Paul and Jesus.

In 2 Cor 11:2 Paul calls the Christians "chaste virgins"

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 

In Matthew 25, we have  the story of the 5 foolish virgins and the 5 wise virgins.

Matthew 24 is the Olivet Discourse, and talks about the End Times and End of the Age.

Immediately, in Mat 25, we read Jesus tells them this story of the wise and foolish virgins. It is interesting to note that this parable is not found in other parallel passages like Mark, Luke or John, because Matthew was primarily written to the Jews, and not in general. Matthew recorded about events that were going to happen within their community.

Q: What does this parable of the wise and foolish virgins tells us?

A: It tells us that there will be Jews who were unprepared (when the End of the Age happens) for the marriage, and there will be Jews who were prepared because they had oil (symbol of the Holy Spirit) with their lamps. Those who had oil were the Christian Jews who believed in Jesus Christ, had the Holy Spirit, and were saved.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was for the believers of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant.

The 5 foolish virgins were the Jews who had their form of religion Judaism but without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

So the phrase "virgins" in Rev 14:4 refers to Jews who were part of the 144,000.

Summary:

The 144,000 were the firstfruit Jews who were Christians, and God had sealed them and said that many of them will make it through that day of redemption kept for them. For the rest of the Jews, there will be a day of wrath of God, or the wrath of the Lamb as called in Revelations.

Sub-study:

Q: What is this wrath of God in Revelations?

Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 

Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? 

This wrath is similar to the wrath of God found in Mat 24, and Luke 21:23

The wrath will be so great that they wish that the rocks of the mountains will fall on them and kill them instead.

Look at what Jesus said in a similar pattern while on the way to the Cross, and the people were crying and lamenting for Him in Luke 23:28-30

Luk 23:28  But turning to them, Jesus said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 

Luk 23:29  For behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts which did not suckle. 

Luk 23:30  And they shall begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us! And to the hills, Cover us! 

This is exactly what John wrote in Rev 6:16. It cannot be so co-incidental!

Q: When is this event going to happen? The event of weeping for themselves, and calling to rocks to kill them?

A: It is going to happen in their timeline of them and their children (v28).

Look at what Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 The 2:13-16 "wrath has come upon them.."

This is God's anger in its severest form. It is going to happen to them. What wrath? the Wrath of God on that day called the "Day of Vengeance" for them, the Jews who killed Jesus Christ, and "day of redemption" for the believers.

Historians like Josephus tells us that when that Day of Judgement or Day of Vengeance or Day of Wrath of God came, the Roman armies led by general Titus surrounded Jerusalem and destroyed the city and its Temple in AD70, BUT not one of the Christians were in the city. The Christians  took the warnings of Jesus seriously.

So when the 144,000 Jews were saved, then they saw the great tribulation in Mat 24:21, a disaster so great that it has never happened before.

https://advancingtruth.blogspot.com/2020/04/destruction-of-jerusalems-temple-not.html