Bible Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 24 The Olivet Discourse
Introduction:
1. The Olivet Discourse is a triple prophecy using the Midrashic Hermeneutical method:
a. first, the Christ coming in his kingdom on Pentecost AD 33
b. second, the coming of Christ in destruction in AD 70
c. third, the “second coming” in Judgement at the end of time.
2. Many elements of the Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24 are dual prophecies of both the coming of the Lord in Judgment in AD 70 and the future second coming.
a. Our modern thinking wants to identify each verse in Matthew 24 as speaking either of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 or the future second coming but this is impossible with most Midrashic prophetic messianic texts.
b. The final product is a nice neat list of two sets of verses, each applying to two separate events. The error of this approach is becomes evident when you try to do the same thing in the dual prophecies of Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53 and 2 Samuel 7:14. The correct approach is to view all of Matthew 24 as a dual or triple prophecy.
3. The Olivet Discourse follows a pattern of prophetic texts which focused in their original context on a single event, but were later understood to be a dual prophecy of a second event in their entirety. Full-Preterists, for example, demand that their detractors pigeon-hole each verse in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 to be speaking either exclusively of AD 70 or the future second coming only to conclude such compartmentalization is impossible since they are synoptic versions of the same speech. In this way, Full-Preterists have violated the way the Holy Spirit himself designed prophetic texts to be understood. Even worse, Full-Preterists fail to notice that Matthew 24 was spoken on the mount of Olives on Tuesday March 31 AD 33 (Nisan 11) and Luke was spoken in a town between Samaria and Galilee (Luke 17:11; 18:35; 19:1,11) before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the triumphal entry (Luke 19:28) on Sunday March 29 AD 33 (Nisan 9). That Luke 17 was spoken at a different time than Matthew 24 is further proven in that Luke 21 records the Olivet Discourse. Finally, Luke 17 itself was recorded at two different as witnessed in the fact that Lk 17:20-21 was spoken in public addressed to the Pharisees and Luke 17:22-37 was spoken privately to the disciples.
A. Jewish Messianic Expectation and the disciple’s 3 questions:
1. The disciples had no idea what they were really asking because they didn’t understand the crucifixion:
a. On several occasions Jesus would make strong statements to correct their erroneous expectations of what the messiah was going to do: “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement." (Luke 9:44–45)
b. The 12 apostles even rejected Mary’s testimony that Jesus had risen from the dead!
c. The disciples were expecting Jesus to not only conquer the entire world, including Rome, they understood he would usher in a new religious order that would replace the corrupt and dead temple worship in Jerusalem. Jesus understood that they hadn’t yet comprehended the crucifixion and the spiritual nature of the kingdom of God. They wrongly viewed Jesus as a physical warrior messiah when they asked these three questions. These questions reflect the messianic thinking at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Common messianic thinking viewed the messiah as a physical king on earth like David. The disciples viewed Jesus as coming to destroy the corrupt physical world rulers and the equally corrupt spiritual rulers in Jerusalem.
d. As late as the Ascension Day of Christ, Jesus disciples still needed to be rebuffed in their incorrect expectation of a physical world kingdom in Israel where Jesus rules the world as the messiah conqueror. Rather than try to explain it in vain, Jesus just told them it did not concern them at this time and wait for the power of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost: "So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:6–8)
e. It was in this environment of incorrect messianic expectation that the disciples asked Jesus their questions about when the Temple of Jerusalem would be destroyed.
2. Our modern thinking makes us want to approach the New Testament as a creed book, nicely indexing theology with precise chronology and accurate geography.
a. Yet most of the New Testament was written in the style of personal letters where topics jump all over the place in reversed chronological order.
b. A good example is the two accounts by Luke in Acts 10 and Acts 11 of the same event. Only in Acts 11:4 are we told Luke follows a precise chronological order.
c. The chronological order of the four gospels appears contradictory to our modern mind, but this is how first century Jews recorded events for theological reasons without regard to chronological accuracy.
d. Even ancient literary Jewish sources like Philo and Josephus and Greek historians like Strabo write exactly the same way as the four gospels, often disregarding chronological order.
e. The most ancient writings of Rabbinical Judaism are the Mishna (AD 200), the Tosefta (AD 250), the Jerusalem Talmud (AD 400) and the Babylonian Talmud (AD 500) and are confusing monotonous tangles of disconnected random thought that almost make reading the Koran enjoyable in contrast. That is not good because reading the Koran is like taking 200 different magazines and mother goose type stories, cutting their backs off, throwing them all in the air and collecting 114 random pages into a single book. The Koran is boring because it lacks any central unity, theme or interconnection between the 114 Surahs (chapters).
f. What this means is that our modern hermeneutical approach to the Olivet Discourse uses flawed 21th century thinking or at best a different way of approaching apocalyptic and prophetic writings than the Holy Spirit intended.
g. When we understand how the Jewish mind connected scripture, prophecy and fulfillment the meaning of Mt. 24-25 becomes clear.
3. In contrast to first century Jewish thinking, Full-Preterists have invented their “law of uniformity” which says all similar sounding phrases all refer to the same eschatological event.
a. Their cardinal error of Full-Preterists applies 21st century hermeneutics to ancient Jewish scripture in a way that ignores the Midrashic interpretive method used by the Holy Spirit in designing messianic prophecy.
b. There were plenty of warning signs their “cookie cutter”, “one size fits all” interpretive system was wrong but they ignored them and the result is they have gutted the content of the Bible that is relevant for Christians living today.
c. Similar or identical sounding language can occur at two different times: Jesus cleansed the temple at the beginning and the end of his 3 ½ year ministry: John 2:13-17; Mt 21:12-13.
4. The disciples asked the same question three different ways regarding the destruction of the Temple: Mt 24:3. Jesus understood the language they used in the three questions related to several three different events and he blended the answers accordingly.
a. “Tell us, when will these things happen”: The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the ushering in of a new religious order in place of the temple.
b. “and what will be the sign of Your coming”: The destruction of world powers and establishment of God’s kingdom on earth
c. “and of the end of the age?”: Jewish messianic expectation theology said that the Messiah would rule in his kingdom for 1000 years after the end of the age which could not occur any later than 6000 years after creation.
B. Full-Preterists fail to “rightly divide” Olivet Discourse (Mt 24, Mk 13, Lk 17/21) into 3 eschatological events:
1. Three “comings of the Lord” in the Olivet Discourse:
a. Jesus came in his kingdom on Pentecost AD 33
b. Jesus came in destruction and judgement in Jerusalem in AD 70.
c. Jesus will come in destruction and judgement of the entire world at the future second coming.
2. Jesus unwinds the incorrect singular thinking of the disciple’s messianic expectation into three different events at three different times:
a. AD 33 Pentecost: The kingdom will come in this generation: Between AD 30-70 It came on Pentecost AD 33 and is a perfect fit!
i. "Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”" (Luke 17:20–21)
ii. "Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. “So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place." (Luke 21:29–32)
iii. "“For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”" (Luke 23:31)
iv. "And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. “And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. “You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time? “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?" (Luke 12:54–57)
v. Starts small on Pentecost AD 44 and grows till second coming: "So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? “It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”" (Luke 13:18–21)
vi. AD 33 Ascension prophecy: "While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return." (Luke 19:11–12)
b. AD 70 The Olivet Discourse and the destruction of Jerusalem: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near." (Luke 21:20)
i. Mt 24:1-44
ii. Mark 13:1-37
iii. Luke 21:5-36
iv. Luke 17:22-37
c. Future (AD ?) Second coming:
i. The uncreation of the heaven and earth at the future second coming: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Luke 21:33)
ii. Matthew 25
iii. Several sections in the larger Olivet Discourse are Midrashic dual prophecies of both the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the second coming: Mt 24:1-44; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-36; Luke 17:20-37
iv. Specific Midrashic dual prophecy texts of AD 70 and second coming: Mt 24:13-31; Lk 17:22-37; Lk 13:24-37; Lk 21:25-36;
3. Jesus discusses three different events in Luke 21:
a. AD 33 Pentecost: The kingdom will come in this generation: Between AD 30-70. It came on Pentecost AD 33. “So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near." (Luke 21:31)
b. AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near." (Luke 21:20)
c. Second coming: The uncreation of the heaven and earth at the future second coming: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Luke 21:33)
4. Full-preterists say “Either we have to say all of Mt 24 is future (and make Jesus a liar) or all of it was fulfilled in AD 70” (What happened in AD 70. Ed Stevens, p31, 2018 AD)
C. In Luke 17:20-37 Jesus divided his discussion into two eschatological events:
1. Jesus discusses two different events in Luke 17:20-37 to two different sets of people at two different times. Jesus clearly separated, in His discourse, the difference between the coming of the kingdom of God on Pentecost AD 33 and his coming in judgement in AD 70 to Jerusalem.
2. Eschatological event #1: AD 33 Pentecost (spoken to the Pharisees):
a. In Lk 17:20-21 Jesus says he, standing before them in their midst, was the kingdom which will not have any signs leading up to its coming.
b. The signs of tongues on Pentecost came AFTER the kingdom had already come so Jesus’ words were true.
c. Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees focuses on the Kingdom coming in AD 33 (Lk 17:20-21) but Jesus’ later private discussion with his disciples focuses on Jesus being revealed in AD 70 (Lk 17:22-37).
3. Eschatological event #2: AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem (spoken later to the disciples):
a. After which Jesus speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 in Lk 17:22-37. Notice that Jesus never even mentions the kingdom in the AD 70 section: Lk 17:22-37.
b. Jesus speaks of days after his ascension that they would long to see him and warned that in their lifetime many false messiahs would arise.
c. When the first Jewish war began on Passover AD 66 in Caesarea, it took everybody by surprise in Jerusalem too.
d. Jesus uses the same language of the Noahic flood and the destruction of Sodom in both the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the second coming.
e. Again, notice that in Lk 17:20-21 Jesus tells the Pharisees when the kingdom is coming but in Lk 17:22-37 Jesus later tells his disciples focuses not when Jesus is coming but when “Jesus is revealed”.
f. The word “coming” is not found in the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem text of Lk 17:22-37 but we find “days of the son of man” used twice, “day of the son of man” three times, “son of man revealed” once.
g. This is typical Midrashic style of connecting similar historic events to two different future prophetic events.
D. The Olivet Discourse is a Prophecy which cannot be divided:
1.
E. Midrashic quad prophecy of Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11:
d. Antiochus IV 167 BC: Dan 8:11-14; 11:30
i. Sacrifices and Temple worship stops on 6th December 167 BC.
ii. Physical temple desecrated with pig/swine sacrifices in temple: 1 Maccabees 1:20-24; 41-64; Josephus Antiquities 12.246-257.
iii. Temple desecrated and sacrifices stopped: 6th December 167 BC: "And on the 15th day of Chislev, on the 145th year, they built an abomination of desolation on the altar, and in the cities around Judah, they built altars." (1 Maccabees 1:54)
iv. Temple liberated and sacrifices restored: 14th December 164 BC: "And they rose early in the morning of the 25th of the 9th month, this is the month Chislev, the 148th year, and they offered up sacrifices according to the law on the altar for the burnt offerings, the new one that they made." (1 Maccabees 4:52–53)
e. Crucifixion AD 33: Daniel 9:27; 12:11
i. Jesus surrounded by evil men: Psalm 22:15-18; 18:4-7
ii. Destruction of true spiritual temple was the ultimate abomination.
iii. True Spiritual temple desecrated: body of Christ crucified: John 2:18-22
iv. Temple Sacrifices stop/abolished: Col 2:14; Heb 8:13.
f. Destruction of Jerusalem AD 70: Dan 8:11-14; 11:30 + Mt 24:15 = Lk 21:20
i. Jerusalem first surrounded by Jewish army of Manahem on 28th August AD 66; Josephus Wars 2.433-440, then a second time by Jewish armies on 25th September AD 66: Josephus Wars 2.522.
ii. Temple sacrifices and worship stop 14th July AD 70: Josephus Wars 6:94.
iii. Temple destroyed: 6th August AD 70: Josephus Wars 6.249-250
g. Christians attacked before second coming: Rev 20:7-10
i. Christians surrounded by Satan immediately before the second coming.
ii. The only force on earth today that wants to extinguish and stamp out Christianity is Islam.
iii. Sunday Church worship stops.
iv. Lord’s Supper stops.
v. Just before Christians are wiped off the face of earth, God presses the second coming button and Satan is defeated.
F. Close examination of Matthew 24-25
1. Matthew chapter 25 may have been spoken at a different chronological time than chapter 24.
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The Gospel of Matthew is topically organized, not chronologically |
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Matthew Narrates |
Jesus Teaches |
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Intro |
Mt 1-2: Genealogy, birth, Nazareth |
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Unit 1 |
Mt 3-4: John, baptism, temptation, call of Peter, Andrew, James and John, First teaching in Galilean synagogues |
Sermon on the Mount: Matt 5–7 |
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Unit 2 |
Mt 8-9 8:1-7: 3 miracles: leper, centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother in law 8:18-27: Discipleship tested 8:28-9:6: 3 miracles: Calms sea, Gadarenes demoniac, paralytic 9:9-17 Discipleship: Matthew called, following John vs. Jesus 9:18-34: 3 miracles: Talitha cumi, hemorrhaging woman, mute demon-possessed man. |
Evangelism: Matt 9:35-10 |
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Unit 3 |
Mt 11-12: Questioned by John, rebukes unbelief, calls, condemned by Pharisees |
Parables: Matt 13 |
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Unit 4 |
Mt 13:53-17:29: teaching in Nazareth, John beheaded, 5000 fed, walks on water, condemned by Pharisees, many healings, 4000 fed, Pharisees and Sadducees test, Peter’s confession, pick up your cross and follow me, transfiguration, Demoniac, shekel temple tax coin in fish |
Christian living: Matt 18 |
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Unit 5 |
Mt 19-23: Divorce, discipleship, miracles, triumphal entry, second cleansing of temple, condemned by chief priests, 3 parables: two sons, landowner, marriage feast, Pharisees and Sadducees silenced and condemned, Jerusalem to be destroyed |
Eschatology: Matt 24-25 |
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Concl. |
Mt 26-28: betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, resurrection, great commission, ascension |
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a. Matthew generally did not follow the chronological order of events in his chapter sequence whereas Luke did.
b. We have no direct information exactly where Mt 25 might be placed either earlier or later than the Olivet discourse.
c. Matthew organized his gospel categorically, often drawing materials out of chronological sequence the same way a pulpit minister will preach a topical 3 point-sermon drawing broadly from the entire Bible.
2. The identical prophetic language is used in the Old Testament for Jesus’ first coming in ministry, the coming of the kingdom (church) on the day of Pentecost, Jesus coming in destruction to Jerusalem in AD 70 and the second coming.
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First coming AD 29-33 |
Church/Kingdom Pentecost AD 33 |
Jerusalem destroyed AD 70 |
Second coming Future |
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Coming of the Lord |
2 Pe 1:16-18 |
Acts 2:19-20 |
Mt 24:30 |
2 Thess 2:1-2; Heb 9:27 |
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Clouds |
Mt 17:5; 1 Pe 1:16 |
Acts 2:19-20 |
Mt 24:30 |
Acts 1:9; Mt 24:29; Rev 1:7 |
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Power |
2 Pe 1:16-18 |
Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; 2:1; Joel 2:28 + Acts 2:19-20 |
Roman armies Matthew 24:30 |
Phil 3:20-21 |
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Sun, moon, stars darkened |
Mt 27:45; Lunar Eclipse Nisan 14 AD 33 at 6 pm |
Joel 2:28 + Acts 2:19-20 |
Mt 24:29-30 |
Mt 24:29-30 |
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Like Noah |
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Mt 24:37 |
Mt 24:37; 2 Pe 3:5 |
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The End, Last days |
Heb 1:2 |
Acts 2:17 + Joel 2:28 |
Mt 24:6 |
John 6:44; 11:24; 12:48; Mt 13:40; 1 Cor 15:24 |
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Heavens and earth shaken |
Mt 22:34; Mt 23 |
Haggai 2:6 |
Mt 24:29 |
Heb 12:27-28 |
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Abomination of desolation |
Daniel 12:9-13 |
Daniel 2:44; 9:24-27 |
Dan 8:9-14 Antiochus & Titus 167 BC & AD 70 |
Daniel 12:1-3 |
6. Contrasts in the Olivet discourse between AD 70 and the Second coming:
a. Contrast in knowledge of timing:
i. Jesus clearly knew the timing (within this generation) and the details leading up to AD 70.
ii. Jesus knows nothing, the Father alone. It will be a total surprise.
b. Contrast in duration:
i. Jesus knew the First Jewish War would be a long dawn out process which in fact lasted 7 years from AD 66-73.
1) “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs." (Matthew 24:8) “
2) You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end." (Matthew 24:6)
ii. The Second coming is instant, in a twinkling of an eye with no warning like when Noah shut the door.
c. Contrast in knowledge of events before coming:
i. Jesus clearly knew the detail of events leading up to AD 70.
ii. Jesus knows nothing, the Father alone. It will be a total surprise.
d. Contrast in men’s peace before coming:
i. Jesus said men would faint for fear in AD 70.
ii. Jesus knows nothing, the Father alone. It will be a total surprise.
7. Mt 10:16-31 is the limited commission of the twelve apostles to the Jews only. Full-Preterists pick up on v23 where Jesus says they will preach to the Jews only until the “Son of man comes” on Pentecost AD 33.
a. Key verses:
i. "These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans;" (Matthew 10:5)
ii. “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’" (Matthew 10:7)
iii. “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes." (Matthew 10:23)
b. Jesus, the “Son of man” came in AD 33 on the day of Pentecost: "‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’" (Acts 2:20–21)
c. Notice Peter realized that Pentecost and Acts 2 was the fulfillment of Joel 2, otherwise nobody today can call on the name of the Lord for salvation!
8. In the Olivet discourse, Jesus follows a Bible pattern of shifting from physical to spiritual:
a. John 3:3-5: Physical to spiritual birth.
b. John 5:25-29: Spiritual to physical resurrection.
c. Heb 12:18-29: Physical to spiritual Jerusalem which concludes with the fact we are now in the kingdom of God.
d. Rev 20:1-6: Spiritual to physical resurrection.
e. Gal 4:21-31: Physical to spiritual Jerusalem.
f.
Isaiah 66:10-24: Physical to spiritual
Jerusalem.
“Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be
exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her, That you may nurse and
be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted
with her bountiful bosom.” For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend peace to
her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And
you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. “As
one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted
in Jerusalem.” Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad, And your
bones will flourish like the new grass; And the hand of the Lord will be made
known to His servants, But He will be indignant toward His enemies. For behold,
the Lord will come in fire And His chariots like the whirlwind, To render His
anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute
judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the Lord
will be many. “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,
Following one in the center, Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord. “For I know their works and
their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all
nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. “I will set a
sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish,
Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither
heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the
nations. “Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a
grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on
camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the
Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel
to the house of the Lord. “I will also take some of them for priests and for
Levites,” says the Lord. “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I
make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord, “So your offspring and your
name will endure. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath
to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord. “Then
they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men Who have transgressed
against Me. For their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66:10–24)
9. Revelation follows Ezekiel chapter by chapter, date by date, event by event:
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Physical to Spiritual Transition/inflection points in Ezekiel, Matthew 24-25 and Revelation |
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Ezekiel |
Matthew 24-25 |
Revelation |
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Before destruction, physical Jerusalem |
Ezekiel 1 to 33:20 Monday July 593 BC |
Mt 24:1-34; 37-41 |
Revelation 1 to 18 Jan AD 66 |
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Destruction inflection, transition point |
10th Av 587 BC |
10th Av AD 70 |
10th Av AD 70 |
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After destruction: In Spiritual Jerusalem, kingdom now, but awaiting fulness at second coming |
Ezekiel 33:21 to 48 3rd temple = church Messianic: AD 33 |
Mt 24:35-36; 42-51; Mt 25 New kingdom |
Revelation 19 to 22 New Jerusalem Second Coming |
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Ezekiel Decodes Revelation |
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10. In Mt 24 there is a progression of thought moving from the warning signs of the destruction of the temple in AD 70 at which time they would need to flee the city and to no warning signs after Mt 24:34.
11. The three parables in Mt 25 are unique and not recorded anywhere else
a. Only Mt 25 contains parable of the Ten virgins which describe future second coming.
b. Only Mt 25 contains the parable of the Talents which describes the future second coming.
c. The parable of the Minas in Luke 19:11ff was spoken at the triumphal entry not during the Olivet discourse. Jesus told this parable because as he was approaching Jerusalem, they were expecting the kingdom to appear. Jesus told them he must go to a distant country (heaven) then return. This was to defer their idea of Jesus being a military messiah who would physically defeat the Romans.
12. Full-Preterists cannot find the “kingdom of God coming” in the Olivet Discourse:
a. Nowhere in any of the Olivet discourse passages does it say the kingdom of God came in AD 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed.
b. None of the Olivet discourse passages (Lk 17; Lk 21; Mk 13; Mt 24) speak of the Kingdom coming. Instead they speak of the coming of Jesus in judgement.
c. The Kingdom of God is not referenced by Jesus even once in the Mk 13 Olivet Discourse.
d. The word “coming” is not found in the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem text of Lk 17:22-37.
e. The Kingdom of God is never said to be “coming” by Jesus even once in the Mt 24 Olivet discourse.
13. The Righteous and the wicked are already in the kingdom together before judgement day when the wicked are removed from the kingdom.
a. Judgement parables have the wicked in the kingdom before judgement and are removed:
i. Parable of tares: “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness," (Matthew 13:41)
ii. Parable of fishnet: “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous," (Matthew 13:49)
iii. Parable of Judgement: “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. … "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:32–33, 46)
iv. Parable of Judgment: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on thatday [judgement day, not the day the kingdom began], ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’" (Matthew 7:21–22)
v. Parable of the Wedding: “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here [he was in the kingdom] without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:11–14)
vi. Parable of the shut door: When the door was open the wicked entered the kingdom freely with the righteous but after the door was closed the wicked suddenly found themselves “thrown out from inside the kingdom”: “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ … In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God." (Luke 13:25, 28–29)
b. Judgement parables show the good and bad will co-exist in the kingdom that began on Pentecost AD 33 until the end of time when the wicked will be REMOVED from the kingdom and cast into hell.
c. This presents a serious problem for Full-Preterists who say the kingdom of God did not start until Pentecost Sunday, 22nd June AD 66 because there never was a time when the wicked and the righteous co-exist together in the kingdom.
d. When Full-Preterists have the beginning of the Kingdom at the same time as the Judgement it violates Jesus’ words that “His angels will gather out of His kingdom the wicked.”
e. Mt 7:21 and Luke 13:28-29 speaks of those who thought they were in the kingdom during their life on earth as Christians but found out on Judgement day that they were not but were THROWN OUT OF THE KINGDOM.
f. "Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20–21)
14. “This Generation”:
a. The Length of a generation:
i. Father to son lifetime of an individual:
ii. "It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones," (Jude 14)
iii. “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;" (Acts 13:36)
b. The generation which was alive when Christ was crucified:
i. "so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’" (Luke 11:50–51)
c. Generation refers to humanity in general until the second coming:
i. "Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried ME by testing ME, And saw My works for forty years. “Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” (Hebrews 3:7–11)
d. The Generation in the Olivet Discourse:
i. “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation." (Matthew 23:36)
ii. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 17:25)
iii. “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." (Luke 17:25)
e. Generation in the Olivet Discourse refers specifically to both those alive at the time of Jesus in AD 33 and generally to the whole of humanity at the end of time in the future .
15. Apocalyptic language of the Olivet Discourse, like many Old Testament prophecies, refers to multiple distinct events. This is logical because the disciples did not understand either the death, resurrection, coming of the kingdom on Pentecost or the second coming. The disciples mixed and confused multiple eschatological events through three questions that in their mind, pointed to a single event that began the physical reign of the messiah over the entire world and the ushering in of a new worship system when the temple and ultimately the world was destroyed 1000 years later:
|
Matthew 24 |
AD 70 |
Second coming |
|
Tell us, when will these things happen |
not one temple stone left upon another |
Heaven and earth destroyed |
|
the sign of Your coming |
Be alert = Wars, flee |
Be alert: no signs |
|
end of the age |
Jewish temple worship |
End of time |
|
Endure tribulation to end |
Jewish |
Tribulation today |
|
Gospel preached, then the end |
AD 70 |
We continue to preach today as well |
|
Jesus told them AD 70 was NOT his second coming: False Christs: He comes like lightening |
Jesus was seen by no one during the slow 4 year process ending in AD 70 |
Twinkling |
|
Matthew 24:29-31: sun dark, clouds, son of man coming, angels, trumpet, gather everybody on earth for judgement. |
Typical language used in Old Testament for past destructions. |
Typical language used in other NT passages for second coming: this time it is literal! |
|
This generation will not pass away |
Generation AD 70 |
Generation AD 33: Kingdom, church and salvation founded on Pentecost. |
|
Heaven and earth will pass away |
Language used of rulers in Haggai 2 |
Language used of uncreation of universe in Haggai 2. |
|
No man knows the hour |
Be alert, like Noah, for signs |
No signs at all like Noah. |
|
Two women grinding, one taken, one left |
Christians flee and are the one’s taken. Non-Christians remain in the city. |
In judgement Christians are taken by God while the wicked are left |
|
Parable of head of house (Christ), virgins, talents, great judgement: be faithful |
Die in Jerusalem |
Eternal conscious torment |
Conclusion:
1. The Olivet Discourse follows a pattern of prophetic texts which focused in their original context on a single event, but were later understood to be a dual prophecy of a second event in their entirety.
2. Matthew 24 and Luke 17 were spoken at different times to different people:
a. Full-Preterists fail to notice that Matthew 24 was spoken on the mount of Olives on Tuesday March 31 AD 33 (Nisan 11) and Luke was spoken in a town between Samaria and Galilee (Luke 17:11; 18:35; 19:1,11) before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the triumphal entry (Luke 19:28) on Sunday March 29 AD 33 (Nisan 9).
b. That Luke 17 was spoken at a different time than Matthew 24 is further proven in that Luke 21 records the Olivet Discourse.
c. The dual entries of Luke 17 and Lk 21 make it unlikely that Luke 17 is merely replicating the Olivet discourse out of chronological order.
3. Luke 17 itself records two different discourses to two different people.
a. Lk 17:20-21 was spoken in public addressed to the Pharisees.
b. Luke 17:22-37 was spoken privately to the disciples later that same day.
4. Full-Preterists have violated the way the Holy Spirit himself designed prophetic texts to be understood.
By Steve Rudd 2020: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
