CH 13-14 - Matthew 24 and The Great Tribulation

MATTHEW 24

The word Eschatology is derived from:

the Greek Eschatos - last, referring to time 1

-ology A suffix (also derived from Greek) commonly used in English to denote a field of study

Eschatology is a part of theology concerned with the study of the Last Days or End Times.

1 https:// www.biblestudytools.com/ lexicons/ greek/ kjv/ eschatos.html

Matt 24:1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.

Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings! (Mark 13:1)

In response, Jesus predicted the Temple’s destruction .

Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down. (Matt 24:2)

In fulfilment of Jesus’ prophecy, the Temple was destroyed about four decades later in AD 70 by the Roman military commander and future emperor, Titus.

Speaking of the Temple’s destruction, Jesus had prophesied that “not one stone here will be left on another”. The Romans demolished the Temple stone by stone down to the level of its foundations.

Titus (41-81)

TEMPLE’S DESTRUCTION

OLIVET DISCOURSE

Temple Mount

Mount of Olives

Dome of the Rock

Al Aqsa

Eastern Gate

Later on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew (Mark 13:3) question Jesus about this, “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:3)

NOTE: There are actually 2 questions.

OLIVET DISCOURSE

Reading from Matthew 24, we see that the disciples seem to assume that the temple’s destruction and the end of the age would happen at the same time.

Jesus responds by saying that there would be many wars “but the end is still to come” (v6).

He refers to famines and earthquakes in various places but calls them “the beginning of birth pains” (v7-8).

He predicts persecution (v9-10), the appearance of false prophets (v11), and an increase of wickedness where the love of most would grow cold (v12).

He then says that the gospel would be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end would come (v14).

OLIVET DISCOURSE

TIMING OF PROPHECY

While most Christians believe in the future return of Jesus, there are several areas which are hot items of debate. These include:

The timing of the Millennium

Premillennialism Amillennialism Post-Millennialism

The timing of the rapture

Pre-tribulation Mid-tribulation Post-tribulation

The timing of Bible prophecy

Futurism Preterism Historicism

TIMING OF PROPHECY

The 3 main views regarding the timing of prophecy are:

Preterism - holds that most or all of the biblical prophecies concerning the End Times refer to events which actually happened in the 1st century AD.

Historicism - treats the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation as finding literal earthly fulfillment through the history of the church age.

Futurism - places the fulfillment of the prophecies of Matt 24, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Daniel and Revelation mostly in the future as literal, physical, apocalyptic and global.

4 VIEWS ON PROPHECY

Preterism

Fulfilled before 70 AD

Futurism

Historicism

Idealism

70 AD

70 AD

70 AD

PRESENT

PRESENT

PRESENT

Fulfilled across history

To be fulfilled

Perpetual fulfillment

To demonstrate how this influences one’s understanding of Scripture, just consider the views on the Antichrist.

Preterist: a 1st Century emperor (Pagan Rome).

Historicist: the medieval Roman Catholic church or Pope.

Futurist: a future (man) political and religious leader of a future revived Roman Empire.

THE ANTICHRIST

Preterist

Historicist

Futurist

Preterism is of late origin. None of the early Christian writers considered the return of Jesus and the resurrection to have already taken place. There is general agreement that Preterism originated with the Jesuit Luis De Alcasar during the Counter Reformation.

Preterism is generally associated with liberal scholars who tend to dissociate themselves from supernatural predictive prophecy.

As Full Preterism places the return of Christ and the judgement in AD 70, this means that this position is heretical in terms of all the earliest creeds e.g. The Apostles’ Creed (c. 180 AD) states “He will come again to judge the living and the dead”.

PRETERISM - CRITICISM

Paul writes that “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26). Thus, if Full Preterists are to be consistent in their theology, they should no longer require Communion.

Irenaeus (c. 130-202 AD) was a disciple of Polycarp, who in turn had been a disciple of the apostle John - the author of Revelation. Thus, the teachings of Irenaeus provide important insight into John’s teachings. Irenaeus indicates that the Book of Revelation was written “towards the end of Domitian’s reign” i.e. in the last decade of the first century. Thus the 2nd Coming could not have been in AD 70, or the book would be one of history - not prophecy as it claims (Rev 1:1). Hence Full Preterists try date the book earlier than what the actual recorded evidence suggests and contrary to the testimony of early church writers.

PRETERISM - CRITICISM

But the suggestion that the coming of the Son of Man is completely fulfilled with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in the first century is utterly ridiculous. Jesus stated that his angels would be with him, that they would gather his elect and that all men will see him.

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” (Matt 24:30)

“… men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds…” (Mark 13:26-27)

PRETERISM - CRITICISM

PARTIAL PRETERISM

As clearly none of this happened in the 1st century some have taken the position that most of the prophecies were fulfilled in 70 AD with the exception of Jesus coming back, which is still future. This is known as PARTIAL PRETERISM.

Partial Preterists advocate, in effect, two Second Comings, one in AD 70 and another at the end of the age.

Historicism treats prophecy as finding fulfillment through the history of the church age. It became a dominant eschatological interpretation during the Reformation.

The method of interpretation used is not a literal one as the visions in Revelation are seen as symbolic of known historical events.

Using the day–year principle, a prophetic ‘day’ is deemed to represent an actual year of time. Thus the 1260 days of the Antichrist’s rule mentioned in Revelation is equated to a period of 1260 years. This allows sufficient room to accommodate the history of the Roman Catholic Church and to identify the Antichrist not as a man but as a system, or more specifically the papacy.

HISTORICISM

Like Preterism, it generally takes a very loose allegorical approach to interpreting prophecy, whereas Futurism is the most literal interpretive approach (it looks first to the plain reading of the text).

There are a variety of interpretations which link the same prophecies to different historical events. This problem has tended to invalidate it as a legitimate approach.

It is extremely anti-Catholic and ignores the fact that in the modern world there has been much reform of Catholic doctrine. It also overlooks the fact that the popes simply no longer wield the political power they did in the medieval era.

One of the weaknesses of the Historicist system is that it only links events in prophecy with Western Church history.

HISTORICISM-CRITICISM

In the 19th century, Historicism was supplanted by Futurism as the dominant eschatological viewpoint among conservative Protestants.

Futurists believe that, while parallels may be drawn with historical events, Revelation is chiefly referring to events which as yet have not come to pass, but which will come to pass at the end of the age when Jesus returns.

They generally foresee a resurrection of the dead and a rapture of the living, where all true Christians are caught up to meet Christ in the air.

They also believe a 7-year Tribulation will occur - a period of time when the Antichrist will persecute saints and God will judge the rebellious inhabitants of the earth.

FUTURISM

SIGNS OF 2ND COMING

Some critics of Dispensationalism hold that earthquakes, wars, famines and false Christs are not signs of Jesus’ return because these events have always happened. But if this is true, then Jesus’ is not answering either of the disciples’ questions, namely, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:3).

Jesus spoke of these signs (which equate to the first 5 seals in Revelation) as “the beginning of birth pains” (Matt 24:8). Birth pains occur before birth (i.e. the coming of Christ). Many place the Pre-tribulation Rapture and the beginning of the 7-year Tribulation at the 6th seal in Rev 6. But there are marked parallels between Matthew 24 (“what will be the sign of your coming ”) and the first 5 seals – which immediately precede the Rapture.

Jesus spoke of these signs of false Christs, wars, earthquakes and famines (which equate to the first 5 seals) as follows.

Matt 24:6 …see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Matt 24:8 “All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Thus it is logical to place the Rapture at the 6th seal and to see the 5 seals (which correlate with Matt 24:4-14) as preceding the Rapture.

SIGNS OF 2ND COMING

CHURCH AGE (TIME OF THE GENTILES) Lk 21:24)

7 YEAR TRIBULATION

Birth Pangs (Mt 24:5-12)

CHRONOLOGY OF REVELATION & MATT 24

Great tribulation (Mt 24:21)

IMAGE OF BEAST

Abomination of Desolation (Mt 24:15-20)

1260 DAYS

1260 DAYS

The sign of the Son of Man in heaven (Mt 24:30)

DESTRUCTION OF TEMPLE

Not one stone left on another(Mt 24:2)

To those who hold that earthquakes, wars, famines, false Christs are not signs of Jesus’ return because they have been happening for thousands of years, the response is:

Yes, they have. But they are called birth pains. Birth pains increase in intensity as the time of birth approaches. So too we clearly see an increase in intensity.

Jesus said that these events would be associated with the presence of false messiahs and false prophets. This is where looking for a total and complete fulfilment in AD 70 falls flat. There were no Messiah claimants at this time.

The Futurist view of a future more complete fulfilment has the two main players at the time of the Abomination being the quintessential false messiah (Antichrist) and the ultimate False Prophet.

FALSE CHRISTS

In fact, if you look for a list of recognised Jewish Messiah claimants, this period is conspicuous by its absence of candidates. Here is a list (excluding Jesus) from Wikipedia, 1 spanning the first 1000 years AD.

Simon of Peraea (died c. 4 BC)

Athronges (c. AD 3), a shepherd turned rebel leader.

Simon Bar Kokhba (died c. AD 135)

Moses of Crete (5th century AD)

Ishak ben Ya'kub Obadiah Abu 'Isa al-Isfahani (AD 684–705)

1 https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ List_of_messiah_claimants# Jewish_messiah_claimants

FALSE CHRISTS

FALSE CHRISTS

The closest claimant to the Temple destruction, who lived after Jesus, is Bar Kokhba who came to prominence some 72 years later in AD 132. So where are the false messiahs and false prophets Jesus said would abound at the time of the Abomination, if AD 70 was the complete fulfilment?

In contrast, a chapter is devoted in Part 1 of my book series to list recent people who have claimed to be Christ.

18th century: 1

19th century: 6

20th – 21st century: 30 (so far)

Our age is much better described as a time when “false messiahs and false prophets will appear”. Note the increase in frequency (birth pains).

WARS

We see the same trend with wars.

There has always been wars. But the 20th century with its two World Wars was one of the most violent periods in human history.

According to Associated Press, the century came to a close with a third of the world’s 193 nations embroiled in conflict, nearly twice the Cold War level.

The National Defence Council Foundation listed 65 conflicts in 1999 alone, up from 60 the year before.

During the course of the century, an estimated 191 million people lost their lives directly or indirectly as a result of conflict, and well over half of them were civilians.

In Luke 21 (the equivalent passage to Matthew 24) Jesus says that there will be “pestilences in various places” (v11).

The Spanish influenza killed 40-50 million people in 1918, more people than those who died in the preceding World War One. During the 20th century, TB killed approximately 100 million people. TB is still one of the most important health problems in the developing world.

The most widespread outbreak of Ebola virus in history began in 2013 and continued until 2016, causing major loss of life in West Africa. We currently have the Coronavirus causing havoc worldwide.

The most recent pandemics include the HIV as well as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

PESTILENCE

Imagine 7 Boeing 747 jets crashing daily over the period of a year.

In 2016, the equivalent amount of people (2740 people) died each day from AIDS-related causes. According to the WHO, more than 70 million people have been infected with HIV and about 35 million people have died from AIDS. Globally, around 36.9 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2017.

PESTILENCE

Often people ask, “What prophetic event remains unfulfilled to prevent the return of Jesus?”

Well consider this prophecy by Jesus.

“… this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:14)

UNFINISHED WORK

NOW ASK YOURSELF:

Has the gospel of the kingdom been preached in the whole world?

Have all nations heard the testimony?

1.8 billion people standing shoulder to shoulder would go around the world’s equator 38 times.

1 World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000

In 2007 researchers David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson estimated the number of unreached people to be 1.8 billion people. 1

Bible Translations: There are 6,800 languages with no Scripture translations and no access to the Bible. 1

1 David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, eds., Status of Global Mission, 2006, in the Context of 20th and 21st Centuries, International Bulletin of Missionary Research (January 2006) 2 David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001)

Unreached Cities: 1,670 metropolises have not been reached with the gospel. 2

UNFINISHED WORK

10% DEDICATED CHRISTIANS

20% NOMINAL CHRISTIANS

40% HEARD, BUT NOT RESPONDED OR REJECTED

30% (VIRTUALLY NO EXPOSURE TO GOSPEL)

Approximate Percentages

UNFINISHED WORK

THE 10/40 WINDOW

40° N

10° N

Most of these unreached people live in an area of the world nicknamed the “10/40 window.” This is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia between 10°N and 40°N latitude.

UNREACHED

An estimated 2.91 billion individuals live in the 10/40 Window. The area contains the overwhelming majority of the world’s least evangelized megacities - that is those with a population of more than one million. The top 50 least evangelized megacities are all in the 10/40 Window! 1

1 SOURCE: http:// joshuaproject.net/ resources/ articles/ 10_40_window

10/40 WINDOW FACTS

FALSE RELIGION OR NO RELIGION

The 10/40 Window contains four of the world’s dominant religious blocs. The majority of the followers of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism as well as the Non-Religious block live within the 10/40 Window. 1

1 Ibid

Source: Global Mapping International

10/40 WINDOW FACTS

Jesus has not commanded us to go into “most of the world”, but into “all the world”. In Rev 7:9-10 we are told that the redeemed gathered before God’s throne consist of “every nation, tribe, people and language.”

Despite Jesus’ command to evangelize, almost one third of the world’s population (28%) – 1 in 3 people - have never even heard of his name. So while we all look forward to the return of Jesus WE HAVE UNFINISHED WORK. Oswald J. Smith said: “We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.”

But can we speed the coming of Jesus?

2 Pet 3:11-12 (NIV) You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

UNFINISHED WORK

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15-16)

THE GREAT COMMISSION

There is enough evangelistic activity to reach the whole world

Enough activity for every one in the world to hear a 1-hour presentation of the Gospel every other day all year long. 1

Over 1,43 billion hours of evangelism generated by Christians every year: personal witness, radio, TV, Internet, literature, etc. 1

But this evangelistic activity is unevenly targeted:

91% of all Christian outreach/evangelism does not target non-Christians, but targets other Christians. 2

1 Justin Long, www.Momentum-Mag.org>, Aug. 2007 (SOURCE: World Christian Encyclopedia) 2 World Evangelization Research Centre

EVANGELISTIC ACTIVITY

Q: Which countries received the most missionaries in 2010?

MISSIONARIES RECEIVED (2010)

1 Todd M. Johnson and Kenneth R. Ross (Atlas of Global Christianity - 2009). The top 9 receiving countries were home to only 3.5% of the world’s non-Christians but received more than 34% of all international missionaries! All 9 have Christian majorities, and they were home to over 34% of the world’s Christians in 2010. They also sent almost 53% of international missionaries. 2 http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Christianity_by_country

A: The US with 32,400 sent from other nations, followed by Brazil. 1 Yet the countries with the largest Christian populations in the world are the US followed by Brazil. 2

95% of Christian workers focus on their own people!

Of the 5% who become missionaries, 80% focus on people groups which are already majority Christian and 17.5% on those who already have exposure to the gospel. Only 2.5% of missionaries are focused on the 27% of the world who are unreached.

WORLD POPULATION

FOREIGN MISSIONARIES

SOURCE: Operation World, State of the Gospel, YLG 2006, Malaysia

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

Preterists hold that the Great Tribulation has nothing to do with a future end-time Antichrist. They claim that the Tribulation prophesied in Matthew 24 was completely fulfilled by the events surrounding the destruction of the Jewish Temple in AD 70.

Why did all the early Church writers still regard the Antichrist and the Abomination of Desolation as future events?

Identifying the tribulation of Matt 24 with the 1260-day rule of the Antichrist is not something invented by modern prophetic teachers – to make money – as is alleged. Again it was first taught by Irenaeus, the second-generation disciple of John.

GREAT TRIBULATION

Irenaeus writes “And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, ‘There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.’” 1

The Shepherd of Hermas (written in the late 1st or mid-2nd century) refers to the great tribulation as still being future (i.e. it wasn’t completely fulfilled in 70 AD).

Go, therefore, and tell the elect of the Lord His mighty deeds, and say to them that this beast is a type of the great tribulation that is coming. If then ye prepare yourselves, and repent with all your heart, and turn to the Lord, it will be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, and ye spend the rest of the days of your life in serving the Lord blamelessly. 2

1 Against Heresies 3.29.1 2 The Shepherd of Hermas 1.4.2

GREAT TRIBULATION

Matt 24:21 (NASB) For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.

Matt 24:21-22 (NIV) For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equalled again.

This verse alone indicates that the Preterist view of a complete fulfillment in AD 70 is misguided – if one just considers the Nazi Holocaust.

According to Josephus, the toll of Jewish casualties in AD 70 was 1.1 million. 1 The Roman historian Tacitus gave the figure as 600,000. 2

1 “The Wars Of The Jews” Book VI Ch 9:3 2 The Histories by Publius Cornelius Tacitus, book 5 - (AD 70), 5.13

NEVER TO BE EQUALLED

However 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.

If the prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70, how could Jesus say that this distress would never be equalled again - when the Holocaust surpassed the tragedy by at least sixfold.

In contrast, consider the Futurist position that two thirds of all Jews will be killed by an end times Antichrist.

In Zechariah we are told that before the Lord returns in person to the Mount of Olives (Zech 14) that:

“In the whole land,” declares the LORD, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. (Zech 13:8)

NEVER TO BE EQUALLED

In 2012 the Jewish population worldwide was estimated at 13,746,100. 1 Two thirds of this is 9 million.

Now this figure of 9 million surpasses both the casualty figures at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the Holocaust. So, the Preterist claims that the Abomination prophecies of Daniel and Jesus were fulfilled in AD 70 are simply indefensible in terms of Jesus’ words which quantify the scale of the Jewish massacre.

Thus the Futurist view foresees a Tribulation that exceeds the Holocaust, while the Preterist view proposes a Tribulation that is overshadowed by the Nazi genocide of the Jews.

1 jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ jsource/ Judaism/ jewpop.html

NEVER TO BE EQUALLED

The prophecies regarding everyone seeing Jesus in the sky and the angels gathering the elect clearly had no corresponding event which could seriously be termed a fulfilment in AD 70, no matter how much you spiritualise what he said. If the Tribulation was in the first century AD when did this happen?

Matt 24:29 (NASB) “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS

Preterists also use the following statement by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse to support their claims:

Matt 24:34 “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

They apply the term “this generation” to the generation of people living when Jesus spoke i.e. those living in the first century.

But it is debatable whether the Greek term ‘genea’ even means ‘generation’, as both ‘generation’ and ‘race’ are acceptable translations in this context. Thus some believe that Jesus is actually referring to the nation of Israel enduring until the End Times.

THIS GENERATION

The New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance defines the Greek word as having the meanings:

race, family, generation

The Strong’s Concordance definitions are:

age, generation, nation, time

While some regard this interpretation as an invention of modern Dispensationalists, it was mentioned by Jerome (c. 340 – 420 AD) a Christian theologian best remembered for the Vulgate (a Latin translation of the Bible, which became the standard Bible for almost 1000 years). Commenting on this passage, Jerome wrote:

By ‘generation’ here He means the whole human race, and the Jews in particular.

THIS GENERATION

Matt 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ …”

Preterists insist that, by virtue of addressing a 1st century audience, the above words of Jesus must have had a 1st century fulfilment. A typical Preterist argument goes like this:

This makes a lot of sense when we take the word of Jesus to the disciples literally. “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation.’” He is talking to his disciples. He told them when “you” see the “abomination of desolation;” not the Jews in general, not the Jews of some future generation.

WHEN YOU SEE

But let’s take that argument to its logical extreme – i.e. when Jesus says “when you”, it applies only to the immediate people and age he is addressing. If that were the case, we’d have to believe the following:

Only those present at the “Sermon on the Mount” need to give to the poor. (Matt 6:3 But WHEN YOU give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…)

Only the Twelve would be persecuted. (Matt 10:23 “WHEN YOU are persecuted in one place, flee to another…”)

Only the Twelve need to pray and to forgive others. (Mark 11:25 “And WHEN YOU stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him…”)

WHEN YOU SEE

The reality is that, according to Mark 13:3 Jesus actually only addressed the words “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation” to four disciples (Peter, John, James and Andrew). But in fact, none of those four men witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem. James was beheaded in AD 44, Andrew was crucified in AD 60 and Peter was crucified in AD 66. John left Jerusalem before its destruction in AD 70. Consequently, Jesus’ warning about fleeing Jerusalem was addressed to only four people, of which three were no longer alive and the other was not present in Jerusalem in AD 70. Therefore, his use of “when you” is not to be viewed in an extremely wooden literal sense, but in the same way that we often use the same term – in a general manner addressed to anyone, present or not, who may come across our words.

WHEN YOU SEE

The

abomination

of

desolation

Preterist:

A statue of Caligula

Apostate Judaism

Titus entering the Temple in 70 AD

Historicist:

The Pope who sits in the spiritual Temple (the Church)

Islam’s Dome of the Rock which occupies God’s place on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Futurist:

At the end of the age there will be a defilement of the temple (by the image of the Antichrist)

THE ABOMINATION

Jesus links the events in Matthew 24 to Daniel’s prophecies about “the abomination”.

Daniel speaks of “the prince who is to come” setting up the Abomination in the temple and stopping of sacrifice.

Dan 9:27 … In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation…

Daniel foresees “a contemptible person” who “will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue” (11:21). He says that “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.” (11:31)

DANIEL

Jesus speaks of the abomination standing in the holy place.

Matt 24:15–16 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

At the same time the daily sacrifice is stopped.

Dan 11:30-31 … He will return and show favour to those who forsake the holy covenant. His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. (cf. Dan 8:12)

DANIEL

Paul refutes a heresy that the Thessalonians encountered (2 Thess 2:1-4) that the Day of the Lord had already come. He makes it clear that this event will not occur until the Antichrist proclaims himself God in the temple.

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion (apostasy, falling away) occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed… He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

PAUL

Paul makes it clear that the Antichrist (the man of lawlessness) will come before “the Day of the Lord”.

The act of setting “himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” is the abomination.

As the future Antichrist sits in the Temple, this cannot be a reference to the 1st century Temple destroyed by the Romans. It must be a rebuilt third temple.

Since the earliest Christian writings, this passage in 2 Thess 2 was equated with the Abomination of Desolation set up by Antichrist.

PAUL

After introducing the temple in Rev 11, John seems to be alluding to the same events when he goes on to speak of the false prophet setting up an image:

Rev 13:14-15 … It ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.

Futurists believe this image is the abomination of Matt 24.

JOHN

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB: New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. ( Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV: Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ALL

When did Jesus say the end would come? Why is it important to preach the gospel of salvation?

GROUP 1

What are the 3 main views regarding the timing of prophecy?

How do these views influence one’s understanding on the Antichrist and the Abomination?

GROUP 2

Why are the writings of Irenaeus important?

When was the Book of Revelation written according to the earliest Christians?

2 Pet 3:11-12 (NIV) You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

Jesus says that the gospel would be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end would come (v14).

QUESTIONS

GROUP 3

What 2 passages (by Paul and John) parallel the Abomination of Matthew 24 and Daniel?

According to Futurists, what is the Abomination of Desolation?

GROUP 4

What does Jesus’ use of the term “birth pangs” imply?

Why is Full Preterism heretical and how do Partial Preterists combat that criticism?

QUESTIONS