Matt 24:29-35 (NKJ)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near– at the doors!
34 “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Those verses are in red. They are words of our Lord, from His mouth. Everything our Lord spoke has purpose and meaning, and is true. He not only spoke Truth. He IS Truth. He not only SPOKE the word of God, He IS the word of God:
Rev 19:13 (NKJ)
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
When our Lord spoke the word “immediately” (v29, above) it meant exactly what immediately means. The Greek word is “eutheos” – defined as “at once, or soon, forthwith, straightway, shortly”. You get the picture.
And please don’t get tripped up by this truth:
34 “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
The word “generation” is used throughout Scripture to describe any and all of the following:
A. The folks all alive at the same time. (Gen 15:16)
B. Folks of the same age group (Ps 73:15, Acts 13:36)
C. People living within the same epoch of time (Luke 11:30)
D. Folks of the same belief structure or leaning, regardless of time period (Ps 14:5)
Jesus went so far as to refer to the next epoch of time, once He returns to earth, to reign, as the RE-generation.
Matt 19:28 (NKJ)
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed
All that is to say that Jesus discussing the destruction of the temple, of Jerusalem, and then many events that obviously still have yet to occur, was not off in His timing or inaccurate in His bundling of prophetic declaration. He was referring to the generation of people who would live between His first and second Advent. That would be us, folks.
The disciples in the days of our Lord’s earthly ministry did not have the same luxury of scripture that we have. The NT hadn’t been written yet, Paul was still a Pharisee and years away from his salvation, and the divine revelations that would fill the NT with timeless and glorious epistles, the Holy Spirit (who Jesus pointed to as the ongoing Revealer of the mysteries of God’s plan – John 16:12,13) had not yet infilled the followers (in fact Jesus told them to do nothing but wait until their Holy Spirit baptism). So there was a lot of questions.
One thing the disciples DID know was that the OT spoke of numerous events that simply had to get fulfilled. They knew it from reading the OT. Adamant God would sometimes even say things like: “I raise My hand in an oath” that something would happen! Ezek 36:7).
Jesus Himself expressed a careful warning NOT to think that ANYTHING was NOT going to be fulfilled:
Matt 5:17-18 (NKJ)
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
When He was crucified and died, many of the disciples’ hopes must have been dashed, and they must have been terribly confused. Their Deliverer was dead, so how could all those unfulfilled promises and prophecies of the OT ever come to pass? After three days, the apparent solution came to them – His resurrection from the dead.
Those original disciples, still full of questions, gazing at their now-resurrected Messiah, were realizing that SOME things had surely been fulfilled during His earthly ministry (Isa 53:5, Ps 22:18, etc.), but/and MANY things needed to still be fulfilled. So they were now of the mind that Jesus, again in their midst, was finally going to fulfill all of the still-to-be-fulfilled prophecies.
They were overjoyed, and couldn’t help but ask the same big question again, just prior to His ascension (because the OT evidently spoke about the restoration of the glory of the Kingdom of Israel, in Jerusalem):
Acts 1:6 (NKJ)
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
This was THE huge question to the Jews (actually, still is). Those who knew their bibles knew that a Deliverer would come out of Zion, that He would restore Israel, would cleanse the entire world of sin, would thoroughly judge the wicked and reward the righteous. The believing Jews therefore logically assumed it had to be NOW (after His return and before His ascension), while He was with them.
But God had, and has, other plans. His ways and thoughts differ from ours. His timing is perfect.
The disciples wanted to know WHEN certain things would occur, and Jesus told them what He wanted to tell them (and told us, by way of canonized scripture). Let’s dig deeper into Matthew 24:
Matt 24:1-31 (NKJ)
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, (a) when will these things be? And (b) what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Two questions – THE SIGN being of two events)
4 And Jesus answered and said to them (One brilliant, purposely complex response): “Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),
16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 “Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
18 “And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
24 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 “See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
27 “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 “For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
One thing the disciples were asking about was the prediction of the destruction of the temple. That of course occurred in 70AD, and the devastation that took place during the invasion was horrific. Blood literally flowed through the streets of Jerusalem. But all of Matthew 24 was definitely not fulfilled in 70AD. It couldn’t be. 70AD was a “half-fillment”, to create a new and convenient word.
21 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
“Nor ever shall be?” Those are pretty clear words from our Lord. So IF the destruction of Jerusalem, in which the historian Josephus estimates 1,100,000 Jews died would never get trumped by other periods of extreme violence and genocide, what do we do with Hitler who killed 11-17 million people between 1939 and 1945, or Mao Tse Tung, who is blamed with the annihilation of 49 million people between 1958 and 1961? And if “tribulation” was referring to physical destruction of property, territory and structures, one would venture to say that Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered quite a bit more physical destruction than the small city of Jerusalem.
Point to all this is that much remains to be fulfilled. FULLY-filled. Certain things have been filled-in-part. Just as God used the OT to foreshadow the NT, and the Law to foreshadow the righteousness of Christ, God – consistently and throughout history, God – Who Himself declares that He never changes (Malachi 3:6) continues to operate in similar fashion, sovereignly partially fulfilling (“half-filling”) certain words and then FULL-filling them when it is time for their fulfillment.
It WOULD NOT do us well to adjust doctrine to fit world history. That is dangerous, no matter how close we can get to making it work. God’s will is what He wants to occur. It is His WILL. And we’re told to pray for His will to be done, not to be adjusted for us to understand with our lens.
Theologians who want to check off all or even most of the “tough times” as being behind us have a difficult time with many scriptures, a small sampling being:
Isa 63:1-4 (NKJ)
1 Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?–” I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” (sounds like Jesus’ return to me)
2 Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? (sounds like He’s coming as the Lion, not as the Lamb)
3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes. (sounds like He’s upset)
4 For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come.
Verse 4: DAY OF VENGEANCE?
Jesus, in the temple at the outset of His ministry, purposely bisected a portion of the book of Isaiah, because it contained that phrase:
Luke 4:17-21 (NKJ)
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Our Lord was READING Isa 61:1-2 – and here’s what that scripture states:
Isa 61:1-2 (NKJ)
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,
QUES: Where did the DAY OF VENGEANCE go, Jesus? How come You didn’t recite THAT part of verse 2 when you read in the temple?
ANS: It wasn’t time yet for the Day of vengeance of the Lord. That was not His earthly mission 2,000 years ago. Jesus wasn’t modifying or updating the Scriptures. He was declaring what was coming to pass during His Jerusalem ministry, and reserving, for the appropriate and appointed time, the Day of vengeance of the Lord. Not one jot or tittle will pass from the Law until all is fulfilled. He knew that. Still does.
Here’s a few more verses that easy-theology embracers would prefer to avoid – let’s mark the ones that Haven’t Happened Yet with an HHY, OK?
Zech 12:8-11
8 “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. HHY.
9 “It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. HHY.
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. DEFINITELY HHY – to this day Israel still denies Jesus is their Messiah.
11 “In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. HHY
Zech 14:1-7 (NKJ)
1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. HHY – ALL the nations haven’t been gathered against Jerusalem, although we see it brewing, right now, in our time.
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. HHY
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. HHY – and take note of the reference to split valleys and some serious earth movement……
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You.
6 It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day which is known to the LORD– neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light.
Ezek 38:14-23 (NKJ)
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?
15 “Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.
16 “You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”
17 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?
18 “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “that My fury will show in My face. HHY
19 “For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, HHY – sounds like the earth movement we just read in Zech, above.
20 ‘so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’
21 “I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
22 “And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. HHY
23 “Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”‘ HHY. To this day, the world is in more of a Psalm 2 rebellion-and-defiance posture rather than knowing that YHWH is Lord of the whole earth. Therefore: HHY
Our Great God has a plan that will be fulfilled. Fully and completely. We can choose to believe otherwise, although it’s a faulty choice. If you’re reading this website, you have access to the word of God. It is our personal responsibility to read it, and embrace it, and believe it. “I was taught” will not really matter when we stand before our Wonderful Lord. We are accountable to press in to Him, to His Word, and to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal things to us as we press in.
Like all scripture, the book of Revelation was written for all to read. We are told there’s a blessing simply to READING and HEARING the book of Revelation. It is a book to PREPARE us, not to SCARE us. It is important so that we do not get offended when our Lord returns and behaves as we are already told He will behave – the Lion of the tribe of Judah, warring in righteousness, vindicating the just, judging the wicked with righteous judgment.
Does this offend you? Better offended now than later. I personally am not hunkering down, in a shelter, waiting for the end to come. That would be foolish. The Lord clearly told us to be about His business, warning every man, making disciples of all nations. I do not need to adjust my end-times doctrine in order to be motivated to go out and shine like a light in the world, advancing the Kingdom. But I cannot adjust my doctrine to motivate me to go get converts by diminishing the truth of tough prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Hananiah (Jer 28:10-17) did not fare well by trying to smooth out some rough words of Jeremiah.
The word “tribulation” comes from a Latin word: “tribulum”. Google that. It is a threshing instrument, used to effectively separate the wheat from the tares. Its purpose is to forcefully separate the good and useful stuff from the rubble that is useless and only good for burning. The period of tribulation that our Lord spoke about will be precisely the same. And what happens IMMEDIATELY after THAT? (back to Matthew, where we began):
Matt 24:29-35 (NKJ)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
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