Everything
That Was to Happen Before the Temple Fell Introduction: 1. The Gospel Preached to the
Whole World Matthew 24:14 Colossians 1:23 Romans 10:18 Colossians 1:6 Romans 16:26 † Multiple
witnesses confirm the gospel had already gone into all the world
before 70 AD. Even opponents in Acts 17:6 accused Christians of
having "upset the world," showing the rapid spread of the
message. 2. The Abomination of
Desolation Matthew 24:15-16 Luke 21:20-21 † Luke interprets
Matthew for us. The abomination was not a future Antichrist but the
Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem in the first century. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History
3.5.3: † Early church
history confirms Christians obeyed Jesus' warning and escaped before
the final siege. 3. The Great Tribulation Matthew 24:21 † Fulfilled in the
horrors of the Jewish-Roman War, as recorded by historian Josephus. Josephus, Wars of the Jews 6.9.3: † Josephus records
famine so severe that mothers ate their own children (Wars 6.3.4),
bodies piled in the streets, and over a million people perished in
the siege. Tacitus, Histories 5.13: † Even Roman
historians admitted the devastation was unparalleled. Together,
Josephus and Tacitus give united testimony that this was indeed the
greatest tribulation ever seen. 4. The Coming of the Son of
Man Matthew 24:30 Isaiah 19:1 † This is judgment
language from the Old Testament. It does not describe a physical
descent to Earth but God's coming in judgment through historical
events. 5. The Gathering of the Elect Matthew 24:31 Ephesians 3:6 † This was the
covenantal gathering of Jew and Gentile into one New Covenant body,
the church. 6. All Prophecy Fulfilled Luke 21:22 † Jesus said all
prophecy would be fulfilled in the judgment on Jerusalem, not
thousands of years later. 7. The End of the Age Matthew 24:3 Hebrews 8:13 † It was the end of
the Old Covenant age with the fall of the temple, not the end of the
physical world. Hebrews confirms the old system was already "ready
to disappear." 8. The Passing of Heaven and
Earth Matthew 5:18 Matthew 24:35 Isaiah 51:15-16 2 Peter 3:7 Josephus, Wars of the Jews 3.5.4: Philo, On the Special Laws 1.66: Rabbinic Midrash (Numbers Rabbah
12:13): † Heaven and Earth
is covenantal language describing Israel's world under the Law.
Jesus said it would pass when all was fulfilled. Isaiah shows heaven
and earth as symbolic of God's covenant with His people. Josephus
and Philo both describe the temple itself as a microcosm of the
universe, and later rabbis confirmed that the fall of the temple
meant the fall of their "world." When Jerusalem and the
temple fell, the Old Covenant heaven and earth passed away, and the
New Covenant world was established. 9. The Resurrection and
Judgment Daniel 12:1-2 Revelation 11:18 John 5:28-29 Acts 24:15 † Paul used the
word mello, meaning about to be, showing this resurrection and
judgment were imminent in his day. These events occurred within the
context of the temple's destruction, not in our future. 10. The Kingdom Delivered to
the Father 1 Corinthians 15:24 Hebrews 12:28 † Christ reigned
until His enemies were made His footstool. When Jerusalem fell, He
delivered the kingdom to the Father, which we now possess and
receive. 11. All Within One Generation Matthew 24:34 † Jesus spoke
plainly. Everything He listed was fulfilled before His generation
passed away. Conclusion: † Let's honor
Christ not by waiting for what has already come, but by proclaiming
what He accomplished in full. † This is
the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies † Source Index
By Dan Maines
†
Jesus and the apostles were clear about what must take place before
the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD. These were not
distant future events. They were signs and fulfillments for that
generation. Let's examine them step by step.
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.
...the hope of
the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation
under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
But I say, surely
they have never heard, have they? On the contrary:
Their voice
has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the ends of
the world.
...which has come
to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit
and increasing...
...the commandment
of the eternal God has been made known to all the nations, leading
to obedience of faith.
Therefore, when
you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through
Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place... then those who are
in Judea must flee to the mountains.
But when you see
Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation
is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains...
"The whole body of the church at Jerusalem, having
been commanded by a divine revelation... removed from the city and
dwelt at Pella."
For then there will
be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning
of the world until now, nor ever will again.
It
is impossible to recount all the outrages committed in detail, for
no other city ever endured such miseries, nor has any generation
from the beginning of the world suffered so great a calamity as
this.
"Both
sexes, every age, the noble and the common were slain in vast
numbers... Jerusalem, once so famous, was totally destroyed."
...they will see
the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great
glory.
The oracle concerning
Egypt:
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about
to come to Egypt...
And He will send
forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to
the other.
...that the
Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body...
These are the days of
punishment, so that all things which have been written will be
fulfilled.
...what will be the
sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?
When He said, "A
new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is
becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
For truly I say to
you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or
stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Heaven and earth
will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
I am the Lord
your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar... I have put
My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My
hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to
Zion, "You are My people."
But by His word the
present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the
day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
"The
Temple was constructed to be an imitation and representation of the
universe."
"The
temple was a copy and representation of the whole heaven."
"As long as the Temple stood, the world stood;
when the Temple fell, the world fell."
...there will be a
time of distress... and at that time your people, everyone who is
found written in the book, will be rescued. And many of those who
sleep in the dust of the ground will awake...
And the nations
were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to
be judged...
Do not be amazed at
this, for a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear
His voice, and will come out; those who did the good deeds to a
resurrection of life, those who committed the bad deeds to a
resurrection of judgment.
...having a hope in
God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly
be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
then comes
the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when
He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
Therefore, since we
receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let's show gratitude, by
which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and
awe.
Truly I say to you,
this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place.
†
The destruction of the temple was not just a historical event. It
was the climactic fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy. Every sign He gave
was visible in the first century. The time statements are clear. The
gospel was preached, Jerusalem was surrounded, tribulation came,
judgment fell, resurrection was accomplished, and the New Covenant
kingdom was established.
†
Josephus, Wars of the Jews 6.9.3 – unparalleled calamity of
Jerusalem
† Josephus, Wars of the Jews 6.3.4
– famine so severe mothers ate their children
†
Tacitus, Histories 5.13 – slaughter and destruction of Jerusalem
†
Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, Vespasian 4 – omens of
Jerusalem's fall
† Eusebius, Ecclesiastical
History 3.5.3 – Christians fled to Pella
†
Josephus, Wars of the Jews 3.5.4 – temple as representation of the
universe
† Philo, On the Special Laws 1.66 –
temple as a copy of heaven
† Midrash Rabbah
(Numbers 12:13) – when the temple fell, the world fell
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