Introduction

† Many confuse the Cross and AD 70 as if they accomplished the same thing, Scripture never treats them that way.
† The Cross finished redemption, AD 70 finished the covenant world that rejected it.
† When we blur these two events, we end up waiting for things Christ already secured.

John 19:30
Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished. And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

† Redemption was completed at the Cross, nothing was left unfinished concerning sin.
† Jesus didn't say it is started, He declared completion.
† Forgiveness, reconciliation, and victory over sin were fully accomplished here.

Hebrews 9:26
Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

† Sin was dealt with once, not progressively over centuries.
† The Cross marked the consummation of the ages, not the beginning of an unfinished process.
† Nothing in Scripture suggests sin removal waited for a future event.

Matthew 27:51
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

† Access to God was opened immediately at the Cross.
† The torn veil signaled the end of priestly mediation.
† God was already declaring the temple obsolete before it fell.

Hebrews 8:13
When He said, A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

† The old covenant was legally obsolete at the Cross.
† Something obsolete can still exist physically for a time.
† Scripture itself places a transition period between the Cross and its disappearance.

Hebrews 9:8
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,

† The old system still stood outwardly even though access had already changed.
† The Cross altered access before the building was removed.
† This verse explains the overlap period between the Cross and AD 70.

2 Corinthians 3:7-11
But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory. For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

† Paul taught the covenant was fading, not eternal.
† Fading implies a process already underway.
† What remained after AD 70 was already superior and permanent.

Matthew 24:34
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

† Jesus tied covenant judgment to His own generation.
† The passing of that generation marked the end of the old covenant world.
† AD 70 wasn't redemption, it was confirmation.

Luke 21:22
Because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

† AD 70 fulfilled written judgment, not salvation.
† Vengeance language belongs to covenant accountability.
† This verse places fulfillment squarely in that generation.

Hebrews 12:26-28
And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. This expression, Yet once more, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.

† The shaking removed covenant structures, not the physical planet.
† What remained after AD 70 was the unshakable Kingdom.
† Believers were already receiving this Kingdom before the shaking completed.

† With redemption completed and judgment fulfilled, Scripture now allows us to state clearly how the Cross and AD 70 relate without contradiction.

Clarifying the Cross and AD 70

† The Cross didn't make the old covenant vanish, it stripped it of authority.
† Hebrews says the old covenant was made obsolete, not immediately removed.
† Obsolete means no longer binding, even if it still existed outwardly.

† From the Cross to AD 70 there was an overlap period by God's design.
† During that time, the old covenant stood physically while fading covenantally.
† This explains why the apostles preached Christ while the temple still stood.

† AD 70 didn't bring redemption, it brought final removal.
† What lost authority at the Cross lost existence in AD 70.
† The destruction of the temple ended sacrifices, priesthood, and covenant identity permanently.

† Scripture places the disappearance of the old covenant at a definite historical point, AD 70.
† The Cross marked the legal end.
† AD 70 marked the historical end.

† This distinction preserves the authority of the Cross and the words of Jesus.
† It explains the transition period without contradiction.
† It keeps our teaching consistent with Scripture and history.

Historical References

† Josephus recorded the total destruction of the temple system in AD 70.
† Eusebius testified that Jesus' words concerning that generation were fulfilled.
† Tacitus confirmed the severity and finality of Jerusalem's fall.
† No priesthood, sacrifices, or temple worship have existed since AD 70.

How It Applies To Us Today

† We're not waiting for forgiveness, it was finished at the Cross.
† We're not living between covenants, the old one's gone.
† Our faith rests in completion, not anticipation.
† Fear based religion survives only when AD 70 is ignored.
† We live in what remains, not in what was shaken.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† John 19:30; Hebrews 9:26; Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 8:13; Hebrews 9:8; 2 Corinthians 3:7-11; Matthew 24:34; Luke 21:22; Hebrews 12:26-28
† Josephus, Wars of the Jews
† Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History
† Tacitus, Histories