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No Jew
should be blamed for the murder of Christ
But if some Jew wants to take credit for killing Jesus, no Christian has any right whatsoever to inflict any harm on that Jew. (See here under "Pacifism")
When Jesus came a second time in AD 70, He was already King. That is to say, He was already Christ, the Messiah. The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, and therefore rejected Him as their Savior, both because they rejected Jesus as the One who could forgive their sins, and because in the Bible a "savior" is a ruler (Nehemiah 9:27). But Jesus was the Messiah, King of the Jews, whether they voted for Him or not. One of Jesus' first acts as Israel's Messiah was to destroy those of His subjects who rejected Him as Messiah.
John 19
Matthew 27
Matthew 23:31-37
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children
of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of
Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Luke 11:47-51
Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your
fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of
God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the
world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be
required of this generation.
Acts 2:23
Him, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Acts 3:15
And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath
raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Acts 4:10
Be it known unto you all, and to all the
people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man
stand here before you whole.
Acts 5:28-30
Saying, Did not we straitly command you
that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other
apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered
by hanging on a tree.
Acts 7:52
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?
And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
1 Thessalonians 2:15
Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have
persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
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One of the most theologically and historically significant events in the first century was the destruction of the temple during the military siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies, in the years A.D. 66-70. Jesus said His "second coming" would occur within the lifetime of those who witnessed His first coming. The nation that witnessed His first coming murdered Him. Jesus said he would return to take vengeance against them.
Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Jesus came in a Day of Vengeance and destroyed the city that murdered Him, along with the old temple, and ended the old covenant in AD 70.
Many church-goers have gone their entire adult lives without ever hearing about this event. They didn't know how to think about verses like these:
Matthew 24:1-3: Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 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.”
Matthew 21:35-41,43,45: And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers? '....He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.' ....Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.' ....When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.
Revelation 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the land. In Acts 7:51-52, Stephen told the Jews who would stone him, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
Matthew 23:31-37
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Luke 11:47-51
Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
Luke 13:33-34
Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.Acts 2:23 God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross.
Acts 3:15 You killed the Prince of Life
Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Acts 5:28-30
Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
1 Thessalonians 2:15
Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
Mark 11:17
And He taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? (Isaiah 56:7) but ye have made it a den of thieves.Matthew 22:7: But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
It's on almost every page of the New Testament.
This prophesied destruction is one of the biggest themes in the New Testament, yet most church-goers have never heard of it, or know what happened in AD 70. (But who knows, these same church-goers might be able to tell you what color shoes "the Antichrist" will be wearing during "The Great Tribulation" 3½ years from now.)
This claim has nothing to do with "anti-Semitism." Nothing.
Notice the word "were." Not "are." Today's Jews have near-nothing to do with the Jews in Christ's day.
Unless they want to. Jews today might choose to align with Jews of Jesus' day, but Christians are not obligated or Biblically permitted unilaterally to impute that allegiance to any Jew today.
The New Testament is all about that generation, not a future generation.
Matthew 3:7-12
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? {8} Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: {9} And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. {10} And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. {11} I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: {12} Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.Matthew 11:16-24
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, {17} And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. {18} For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. {19} The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. {20} Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: {21} Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. {22} But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. {23} And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. {24} But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.Matthew 12:24-45
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. {25} And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: {26} And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? {27} And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. {28} But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. {29} Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. {30} He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. {31} Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. {32} And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. {33} Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. {34} O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. {35} A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. {36} But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. {37} For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. {38} Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. {39} But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: {40} For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. {41} The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. {42} The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. {43} When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. {44} Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. {45} Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.Matthew 16:1-12
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. {2} He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. {3} And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? {4} A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. {5} And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. {6} Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. {7} And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. {8} Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? {9} Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? {10} Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? {11} How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? {12} Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.Matthew 17:12-23
But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. {13} Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. {14} And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, {15} Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. {16} And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. {17} Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. {18} And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. {19} Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? {20} And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. {21} Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. {22} And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: {23} And they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.Matthew 23:27-39
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. {28} Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. {29} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, {30} And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. {31} Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. {32} Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. {33} Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? {34} Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: {35} That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. {36} Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. {37} O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! {38} Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. {39} For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.Matthew 24:34
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.Mark 8:11-12
And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. {12} And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.Mark 8:31-38
And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. {32} And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. {33} But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. {34} And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. {35} For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. {36} For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? {37} Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? {38} Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.Mark 9:19
He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.Mark 13:30
Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.Luke 3:7-9
Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath about to come? {8} Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. {9} And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.Luke 7:31-35
And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? {32} They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. {33} For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. {34} The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! {35} But wisdom is justified of all her children.Luke 9:41
And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.Luke 11:29-32
And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. {30} For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. {31} The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. {32} The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.Luke 11:39-54
And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. {40} Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? {41} But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. {42} But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. {43} Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. {44} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. {45} Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. {46} And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. {47} Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. {48} Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. {49} Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: {50} That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; {51} From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. {52} Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. {53} And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: {54} Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. {12:1) In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.Luke 17:25
But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.Luke 21:32
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.Acts 2:40
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
We’ve been learning that the meaning of “salvation” in the Christmas story means more than "going to heaven when you die." Jesus’ name comes from the Hebrew word for “salvation,” yasha, as the angel announced:
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.
Matthew 1:21
Scholars give us this definition of the Hebrew word for "salvation":
Yasha and its derivatives are used 353 times. The root meaning . . . is “make wide” or make sufficient: this root is in contrast to sarar, “narrow,” which means “be restricted” or “cause distress.” To move from distress to safety requires deliverance. [T]he majority of references to salvation speak of Yahweh granting deliverance from real enemies and out of real catastrophes. That which is wide connotes freedom from distress and the ability to pursue one’s own objectives. Thus salvation is not merely a momentary victory on the battlefield; it is also the safety and security necessary to maintain life unafraid of numerous dangers.
John E. Hartley, “yasha,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Vol 1, pp. 414-15
Yesterday we started looking at the prophecy of John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias, in Luke 1, who was filled with the Holy Spirit after John was born, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
We’re looking at several themes in Zechariah’s prophecy. We looked at the first two yesterday:
Today we’ll continue with:
In coming days we'll get to:
Zecharias’ prophecy is a major stumbling block for many Christians. It seems like Jesus the Messiah did not do what Zecharias (and other Old Testament prophets) said the Messiah would do. Certainly the unbelieving Jews of Jesus’ day would agree that Jesus failed as a Messiah.
It seems very likely that Zecharias, like most Jews of his day, considered the Roman occupation forces to be the “enemies” of Israel. Zecharias seems to be prophesying an end to the Roman occupation. He says one of the effects of Christmas––the birth of the Messiah––is
That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
Luke 1:71,74
The idea of Israelites not being under foreign occupation goes back hundreds of years, to previous occupations, and is a major theme of the Old Testament, beginning at least back in Leviticus 26. Not just a “major theme,” it is at the heart of the Biblical word for “salvation,” as we have seen.
Let’s look at some of the references to “salvation” (yasha) as “being delivered from enemies”:
Numbers 10:9
“When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.Deuteronomy 20:4
for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’Deuteronomy 33:29
Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD,
The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies shall submit to you,
And you shall tread down their high places.”Judges 2:16,18
Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them.1 Samuel 2:1
And Hannah prayed and said:
”My heart rejoices in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.1 Samuel 4:3
And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”1 Samuel 25:26
Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal.2 Samuel 3:18
Now then, do it! For the LORD has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David, I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’”2 Samuel 22:4
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.Psalm 3:7
Arise, O LORD;
Save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.Psalm 18:3
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.Psalm 106:10
He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.Psalm 138:7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
Being "saved from our enemies" is surely a part of the salvation (yasha) that Jesus (yeshua) was to bring.
But Jesus told Zecharias’ countrymen to love their Roman enemies.
This was a stunning shift in thinking.
In His
Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed this thinking head on:
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: 41 If a Roman soldier forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles.[1]
43 You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” 44 But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. 45 Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. 46 If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors [2] love their friends. 47 If you greet only your friends, what’s so great about that? Don’t even unbelievers do that? 48 But you must always act like your Father in heaven.
Notes:
[1] Under Roman occupation law, a Roman soldier had the right to force an Israelite to carry the soldier's military pack as far as one mile.
[2] These were usually Jewish people who paid the Romans for the right to collect taxes. These "tax farmers" were hated by other Jews who thought of them as traitors to their country and to their religion. See chap. 7 in TREASURE AND DOMINION: An Economic Commentary on Luke by Gary North.
These were shocking statements to Jews in Roman-occupied Palestine. Rome’s military occupation of Israel was constantly in the minds of that generation. Loving these enemies rather than seeking vengeance against them was a big leap. Statements like this dashed the hopes of many disciples that Jesus might be the Messianic King (John 6:66).
But there was an even greater shift in Jesus’ teaching as He approached the hour of His execution: Zecharias’ countrymen -- not the Romans oppressors -- became the “enemies” and Jesus said their enemies would triumph over them! This was in fact part of the Old Covenant which wasn’t emphasized as much as the good part about being "saved from our enemies." But it was there all along: Israel would not be saved from her enemies:
Deuteronomy 28
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue (yasha) them.
45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:[3]
[3] The Jewish historian Josephus records that during the 42-month siege by the Romans, some Israelites, cut off from trade, resorted to cannibalism before they were destroyed. (Wars, 6.3.4)
Jesus said that these prophecies were going to be fulfilled against “this generation”:
Matthew 23
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.Luke 19:41-44
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city [Jerusalem] and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Jesus was prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem when Roman armies put the city under a siege that would take place shortly before the year A.D. 70.
Luke 21
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.Revelation 11:1-2
1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
These are the months from A.D. 67-70, when Israel was destroyed by Roman armies (see Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13).
So what about Zecharias’ prophecy? What happened to the angels' announcement to the shepherds: "Peace on Earth"? Why is it Israel was not saved from her enemies? All of this is a far cry from the salvation that Yeshua the Messiah was supposed to bring.
Here’s another incredible shift: Not only would Israel not be saved from her enemies, Israel herself became the “enemies.” Israel rejected her Messiah, and became the real enemy of the faithful. In numerous parables and sermons, Jesus indicted faithless Israel:
Luke 19
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
24 “And he said to those who stood by, 26 ‘I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”Matthew 21
33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
’The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.
True Israel, it turns out, was the remnant that believed in Jesus as the Messiah. And soon this remnant would grow to include believing Gentiles who would be grafted into True Israel, while unbelieving Israel would be cut off as the enemies of God:
Romans 11:28
Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.Matthew 10:36
and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’Philippians 3:18
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Jesus created a New Israel, suitable for a New Covenant:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.Galatians 6:15
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.Ephesians 2:15
having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,1 Corinthians 5:7
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.Galatians 6:16
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.Romans 9:6,8
But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
So believers in Jesus, both Jew and Gentile, are the New Israel, under the New Covenant.
You’re still asking, “So who are the enemies of the New Israel, and how does Jesus save us from our enemies? When's Armageddon when all the bad guys get fried?”
Before answering this question, let’s look at this idea of the old and new Israel.
Zecharias said that one of the reasons Jesus came that first Christmas was so
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to
our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
We need to learn more about
The Scofield Bible says that God’s promise to Abraham was “unconditional,” and no matter how evil unbelieving Israel became, even if they murder their own Messiah, they would still be entitled to be saved from their enemies and possess the land of Palestine. This is why the formation of Israel in 1948 by Great Britain and “The Anglo-American Establishment" is important to Scofield and his theological descendants.
Jesus and the prophets disagree with Scofield, and Israel was repeatedly warned that if Israel did not repent, they would be “cut off” and dispossessed of the land. Matthew 23-24 is a terrifying indictment of unbelieving Israel.
The old Israel under the Old Covenant was a failure.
Hebrews 8:8
Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
The salvation promised to Abraham, like all of God’s promises, beginning in the Garden of Eden, was conditioned on Israel's obedience to God. God’s promise to Abraham died, as it were, with old faithless Israel, and was resurrected in the New Covenant with a New Israel. The perfect obedience of Christ is imputed (credited) to the accounts of those who believe in Him, and they become the true spiritual descendants of Abraham, the true Israel.
Galatians 3:7
Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.Galatians 3:9
So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.Galatians 3:14
. . . that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.Galatians 3:28-29
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. {29} And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.Galatians 4:28
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.Romans 4:13
Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.Romans 9:8
That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.1 Peter 1:23
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,Galatians 6:16
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
The promise to the New Israel is not just the land between the Tigris and Euphrates, but the entire planet:
Psalm 2:8
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5)Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.Romans 4:16
For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
There are some Christians, believing the “dispensational” truths of the Scofield Bible, who say that Gentiles are not a part of the New Covenant. That covenant is reserved for the genetic descendants of Abraham only, and the New Covenant with Israel will not come into effect until a future restoration of genetic Abrahamites into the land of Palestine.
If you believe the Christmas Child is the promised Messiah, then you are a part of the New Covenant spoken of in the Bible, and you have no need to wait for a restoration of unbelieving Israelites to a plot of land in the Middle East. Christians are the seed of Abraham, and our inheritance is the entire world.
The question now is, how do we, the True Israel, take possession of the entire world? And further, why do we still have "enemies" to contend with?
We’ll answer those questions in more detail tomorrow. (We're only on Day 4!) But think about what we've already seen. The Jews alive at the first Christmas focused on the Roman occupation of Palestine. They wanted to be delivered from these enemies by a Messiah riding on a white horse who would blast all the Romans and give Israel control of the land. But being delivered from enemies is a by-product of submission to God's Commandments. And the promise of "salvation" is not just deliverance from temporary enemies. It's broader and more long term. Remember the definition of "salvation" includes these ideas:
That which is wide connotes freedom from distress and the ability to pursue one’s own objectives. Thus salvation is not merely a momentary victory on the battlefield; it is also the safety and security necessary to maintain life unafraid of numerous dangers.
When the angel announced the message of Christmas:
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Luke 2:14
much more was intended than a momentary respite from Roman oppression. The idea -- as we'll see over the next 8 days -- is an enduring non-archist civilization.
The Bible is the most "anti-semitic" book ever written in human history. It says that God chose Israel to be His "chosen people," but His "chosen people" rejected the God who chose them and worshiped idols at every opportunity, despite being given supernatural and miraculous care, protection, and blessing. Then God sent His Son, and His "chosen people" murdered His Son.
They say "history books are written by the winners." The Bible was written by the losers. And yet it admits the most damning facts about the authors. This suggests that the Author of the Bible is actually God Himself.
The Program
12 Days Bringing to Mind
The Most Significant Event in Human History
Each day you'll receive an audio for your morning commute to work, and another audio for your commute back home. The morning audio will look at Micah's Vine & Fig Tree prophecy, and in the evening we'll show how that vision began to be fulfilled at Christmas two millennia ago.
Each day along the way, we will compare these historical accounts of Christmas with Micah's Vine & Fig Tree prophecy predicting:
The message of the angels to the shepherds on the first Christmas:
And this is the sign unto you:
Ye shall find a Babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes,
and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
And peace
on earth
among men with whom He is well pleased.
Luke
2:8-15
Peace on Earth Begins with You.
To be one in whom God is well pleased:
His lord said unto him, `Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.' Matthew 25:21
The phrase "Vine & Fig Tree" comes from the Old Testament Prophet Micah, the fourth chapter. You can find out more about the Vine & Fig Tree Worldview on our home page:
http://VineandFigTree.Christmas
During the next 12 days, you'll see the "real meaning" of Christmas in the Bible like you've never seen them before.Many Christians today believe Jesus came to get us a ticket to heaven when we die. In the meantime, Satan rules the planet. Their story of the Bible goes like this:
In other words, Satan wins.
Pretty dismal story, isn't it?
Sure, God sent His Son, who died on the cross, so that some of the players can be forgiven for their rebellion and go home with God, but God's original purposes for man and the creation were thwarted by Satan, the ultimate victor.
Click here to listen to the "Vine & Fig Tree" worldview
Some of George Washington's favorite passages of the Bible were those that spoke of every man dwelling safely "under his own vine and fig tree." Other Founding Fathers also referred to this "Vine & Fig Tree" ideal.
(George Washington would recommend that you enroll in The 12 Days of Christmas program. He read the Bible for an hour each morning, and another hour in the evening.)
George Washington was motivated by the Vine & Fig Tree vision revealed in the Bible. Washington's Diaries are available online at the Library of Congress. They are introduced with these words:
No theme appears more frequently in the writings of Washington than his love for his land. The diaries are a monument to that concern. In his letters
he referred often, as an expression of this devotion and its resulting contentment, to an Old Testament passage. After the Revolution, when he had returned to Mount
Vernon, he wrote the Marquis de Lafayette on Feb. 1, 1784:
This phrase occurs at least 11 times in Washington's letters.
|
,
has found more than 40 references to the “Vine and Fig Tree” vision in Washington's Papers.Vine & Fig Tree is also a phrase from the prophet Micah, the idea of everyone owning property and enjoying the fruits of their labor without fear of theft or political oppression, of sitting peacefully under your "Vine & Fig Tree."
Hundreds of years before Christ, the prophet Daniel spoke of the first Christmas, the birth of the Messiah in the days of the Roman Empire. That barbaric, debauched empire was destroyed, and the Kingdom of Christ began growing like a mustard tree, like leaven, like a field (Matthew 13). The Emperor Justinian began Christianizing the Eastern Roman Empire, and in the West kings like Alfred and Ethelbert made the 10 Commandments the basis of new legal systems. The "Common Law" began, with a Christian foundation, and eventually found its way into the Constitution of the United States, "a Christian nation." From 12 dejected disciples, Christianity has spread across the world, and billions of people claim to be Christian. Though there have been ups and downs, the progress of Christianity has been undeniable -- at least to those who have been taught the facts of history.
Most Americans in the 21st century have not.
If you enroll in this Home Study Program, you will learn the story of the "Vine & Fig Tree." You will learn that the Bible says the purpose of the first Christmas was that "the knowledge of the Lord should cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14). This has been going on for 2,000 years now. This is a wonderful story that isn't being told.
And the story is really just beginning.
You're invited to celebrate
the Twelve Days of Christmas.
No matter what time of year it may be.
The Birth of Christ transformed the world.
The next 12 days can transform your life.
What is the "real meaning" of Christmas? Don't wait until "the holiday season" to find out. You'll be much too distracted. Start now.
Join our online party and accomplish the following over the next 12 days:
The "real meaning of Christmas" is:
What we've already witnessed:
Controversy:
There are two groups that oppose this concept of Christmas:
"Premils" are "pre-millennialists" who believe the "millennium" (described by Micah 4 and other passages) cannot take place until after a Second Coming of Christ, when Jesus returns and sets up a strong, military, "police-state"-style centralized government, with armed believers dispatched from a throne in Jerusalem to put down unbelievers. "Premils" believe Christmas only secured for believers a ticket to heaven when they die, or a ticket on "the Rapture" if they live that long. Not global transformation.
"Pinkos" are those who believe that Jesus is not King enough to bring about the "millennium"; we need strong centralized government for that. Pinkos call us "anarchists."
During the next 12 days, we'll find out why the Premils and the Pinkos are both wrong, and why you and I can and should work to bring "Peace on Earth" so that everyone can dwell prosperously and securely under their own Vine & Fig Tree.
For more about the "Vine & Fig Tree" vision, see our home page.
We should interpret every verse "in context." Not just the context in the letter (e.g., the paragraph in which the verse is found), but the context of the Christian community at that time. These "Any Moment" verses and the "This Generation" verses tell us about the historical context of Christians in the first century. This is the whole-Bible Hebrew "context" in which a verse should be interpreted. Verses which are used by theologians to support a coming of Christ in our future, thousands of years after the New Testament letters were written, ignore the context: a first-century admonition to a local congregation of believers who faced persecution by those who murdered the Messiah.
For example, Paul opens his second letter to the believers in Thessalonica with these words, usually taken to be a reference to a coming of Christ in our future:
...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
But here are the words that immediately precede the words just quoted, which set the context:
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us...
Paul was comforting Christians in a city in Greece, many of whom were Jews who had been kicked out of the local synagogue. The overall context is the New Testament teaching of the "any moment" return of Christ. Verses which don't clearly state the timing of Christ's coming should be interpreted in light of those that clearly state the timing, because that imminent coming was of prime importance to first-century believers, both authors and readers.
Some would say that we are logically forced to postulate a "double fulfillment" of many passages of Scripture because those passages could not possibly have been fulfilled in the past. We have to save the Scripture from itself, rescuing its authors, bailing them out of their errors by claiming that their prophesy will in fact be fulfilled in the future, even though it was not fulfilled when the authors said it would be fulfilled: in their generation.
Perhaps this was the thinking of some of the early "church fathers." They had a Greek background, not a Hebrew background, and probably didn't understand what Jesus and the other Jewish writers of the New Testament were saying.
The New Testament writers were on the alert about the second coming of Christ, because He clearly taught that His second coming would be against "that generation" that murdered Him.
Some atheists have misunderstood these warnings to be speaking of the end of the entire planet, not just the end of the Mosaic Age.
Atheist Bertrand Russell, in his book Why I Am Not A Christian, discredits the inspiration of the New Testament based on the failed prediction of Christ and the Apostles:
|
I am concerned with Christ as He appears in the Gospels . . . and there one does find some things that do not seem to be very wise. For one thing, He certainly thought
that His second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at the time. There are a great many texts that prove that. He says,
for instance, “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come.” Then He says, “There are some standing here which shall not taste death
till the Son of Man comes into His kingdom”; and there are a lot of places where it is quite clear that He believed that His second coming would happen during the
lifetime of many then living. That was the belief of his earlier followers, and it was the basis of a good deal of his moral teaching. |
Russell is mistaken when he starts with the premise that Christ and the Apostles were predicting the end of the physical world. We’ll see that here.
Russell is correct when he says that much of the New Testament was based on this belief: that the “coming of the Son of Man in His Kingdom” and the “end of the world” were “at hand.”
But if Christ and the Apostles were teaching the imminent destruction of planet earth and the inauguration of the “eternal state” or some kind of "millennial kingdom" like the Jehovah's Witnesses talk about, then the authors of the Bible were clearly mistaken. It didn't happen.
There have been various responses by Christians to this criticism of the Christian faith. Among these, one is particularly striking. We get a profound impression of just what a challenge this argument is to the integrity of the Christian faith when we realize that a great Christian thinker and apologist such as C.S. Lewis despaired at finding a solution to it. Lewis surrendered to the assertion of the skeptics that Jesus was wrong. He attributed this to the limited knowledge Jesus had in His incarnate human form. He correctly pointed out that Jesus himself said, in Matthew 24:36, that He did not know the exact time when He would return:
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
|
Lewis despairingly wrote,
“Say what you like,” we shall be told, “the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, ‘this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.’ And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.”
“It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible.”
To this, the skeptic may reply, “If Jesus incorrectly predicted His return within the contemporaneous generation, but actually did not know that He was going to return within that time frame, then why did He so confidently assert that all of the words He had just spoken would come to pass in Matthew 24:35? He said, ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’ ”
Recently, Christians like R.C. Sproul have suggested that most -- and maybe even all -- of these "any moment" verses were fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed and the age of the Old Covenant terminated. If this is true, then the Bible can be trusted. If not, then Christians need to come up with an answer for atheists like Bertrand Russell.
What follows is 101 "Any Moment" verses. Read these verses. Read them in context in your own Bible if you think we're taking them out of context.
Get the big picture.
Take this issue seriously.
Admit that this is a question that needs to be answered.
Ideally, you could read the following verses in their context and see how the idea of the imminent first-century return of Christ and great Day of Judgment thoroughly dominates the pages of the New Testament.
1. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)
2. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Matthew 3:7)
3. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees.” (Matthew 3:10)
4. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Matthew 3:12)
5. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
6. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7)
7. “You shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:23)
8. “....the age about to come.” (Matthew 12:32)
9. “The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.” (Matthew 16:27; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26)
10. “Verily I say unto you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28; cf. Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27)
11. “‘When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?’ ‘....He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.’ ‘....Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.’ ....When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.” (Matthew 21:40-41,43,45)
12. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:34)
Prophecy:
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First-Century Fulfillment |
| Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (oikumene) for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. |
Romans 10:18 |
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Mark 13:10 |
Romans 16:25-26 |
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Mark 16:15 |
Colossians 1:5-6 |
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Mark 16:15 |
Colossians 1:23 |
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Acts 1:8 |
Romans 10:18 |
13. “Hereafter, you [Caiaphas, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, the whole Sanhedrin] shall be seeing the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69)
14. “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:15)
15. “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. ....They [the chief priests, scribes and elders] understood that He spoke the parable against them.” (Mark 12:9,12)
16. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Mark 13:30)
17. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Luke 3:7)
18. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. “ (Luke 3:9)
19. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Luke 3:17)
20. “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Luke 10:9)
21. “The kingdom of God has come near.” (Luke 10:11)
22. “What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” The scribes and the chief priests understood that He spoke this parable against them.” (Luke 20:15-16,19)
23. “These are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:22)
24. “This generation will not pass away until all things take place.” (Luke 21:32)
25. “Daughters of Jerusalem , stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’” (Luke 23:28-30; Compare Revelation 6:14-17)
26. “We were hoping that He was the One who is about to redeem Israel .” (Luke 24:21)
27. “I will come to you. In that Day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.’ ‘Lord, what then has happened that You are about to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?’” (John 14:18,20,22)
28. “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” (John 21:22)
29. “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days’” (Acts 2:16 -17)
30. “He has fixed a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31 )
31. “There is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” (Acts 24:15)
32. “As he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment about to come” (Acts 24:25)
33. “Not for [Abraham’s] sake only was it written, that [faith] was reckoned to him [as righteousness], but for our sake also, to whom it is about to be reckoned.” ( Rom. 4:23-24)
34. “If you are living according to the flesh, you are about to die.” (Romans 8:13 )
35. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 )
36. “It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.” ( Romans 13:11-12)
37. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20 )
38. “The time has been shortened.” (1 Corinthians 7:29)
39. “The form of this world is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:31)
40. “Now these things were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11)
41. “We shall not all fall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
42. “Maranatha!” [The Lord comes!] (1 Corinthians 16:22)
43. “...not only in this age, but also in the one about to come.” (Ephesians 1:21)
44. “The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:5)
45. “The gospel was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” (Colossians 1:23; Compare Matthew 24:14; Romans 10:18 ; 16:26 ; Colossians 1:5-6; 2 Timothy 4:17 ; Revelation 14:6-7; cf. I Clement 5,7)
46. “things which are a shadow of what is about to come.” (Colossians 2:16-17)
47. “we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15,17; 5:4)
48. “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
49. “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)
50. “Godliness holds promise for the present life and that which is about to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)
51. “I charge you that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Timothy 6:14)
52. “storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for that which is about to come, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (1 Timothy 6:19)
53. “In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self Avoid these men. For of these are those who enter into households and captivate weak women These also oppose the truth But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all” (2 Timothy 3:1-2,5-6,8-9)
54. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is about to judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1)
55. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
56. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14 )
57. “He did not subject to angels the world about to come.” (Hebrews 2:5)
58. “and have tasted the powers of the age about to come.” (Hebrews 6:5)
59. “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near a curse, and it’s end is for burning.” (Hebrews 6:7-8)
60. “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13)
61. “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way of the [heavenly] Holy Places has not yet been revealed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.” (Hebrews 9:8-10; Compare Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 2:21-22; 3:17; 4:13)
62. “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things about to come” (Hebrews 9:11 )
63. “Now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin.” (Hebrews 9:26)
64. “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things about to come” (Hebrews 10:1)
65. “as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25)
66. “the fury of a fire which is about to consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:27)
67. “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” (Hebrews 10:37)
68. “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one that is about to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)
69. “Speak and so act, as those who are about to be judged by the law of liberty.” (James 2:12)
70. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (James 5:1,3)
71. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” (James 5:7)
72. “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8)
73. “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5)
74. “He has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” (1 Peter 1:20)
75. “They shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:5)
76. “The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7)
77. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.” (1 Peter 4:17)
78. “as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is about to be revealed.” (1 Peter 5:1)
79. “We have the prophetic word which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)
80. “Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)
81. “In the last days mockers will come. For this they willingly are ignorant of” (2 Peter 3:3,5)
82. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (2 Peter 3:10-12)
83. “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” (1 John 2:8)
84. “The world is passing away, and its desires.” (1 John 2:17)
85. “It is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18)
86. “Even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18; Compare Matthew 24:23-34)
87. “This is that of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” (1 John 4:3; Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:7)
88. “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation. About these also Enoch prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly’” (Jude 1:4,14-15)
89. “But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ These are the ones who cause divisions” (Jude 1:17-19)
90. “to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place.” (Revelation 1:1)
91. “The time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)
92. “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.” (Revelation 2:25)
93. “I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole land.” (Revelation 3:10; cf. Matthew 2:6,20,21)
94. “I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 3:11)
95. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” (Revelation 12:5)
96. “And in her [the Great City Babylon] was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Revelation 18:24; Compare Matthew 23:35-36; Luke 11:50-51)
97. “to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.” (Revelation 22:6)
98. “Behold, I am coming quickly. “ (Revelation 22:7)
99. “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” (Revelation 22:10; Compare Daniel 8:26)
100. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 22:12)
101. “Yes, I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 22:20)
Thanks to David Green for putting together these verses.
He adds:
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There are clearly many verses in the New Testament which inescapably point to an event or events that would occur in the first century. Another question which might be raised is this: is there a single verse in the Bible which inescapably predicts an event that would occur in the 21st century or later, and can be interpreted in no other way?
The interpretation offered on this website defeats the objection of skeptics by agreeing that Christ “came” in some sense, and the end of the “world” was really the end of the “age” of the temple and the Old Covenant.
| Given so many verses which are clearly talking about the generation that murdered Christ, can you think of a single verse which was intended by the author and understood by the original audience to be talking about a generation thousands or millions of years in the future? |
