Revelation Is Both Symbolic And Literal By David
Some people say that the Apocalyptic message is only symbolic and not literal.
They are saying that there is no literal historical fulfillment of the prophecies.
Some people say that the book of Revelation is literal.
They are saying that the locust in the 5th Trumpet will be actual locust.
To use that as an example, the symbol of locust is defined in the Old Testament as Arabs.
Judges 7:12 defines that locust represent the Arabians. “Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.”
So the 5th Trumpet is pointing to the rise of Islam and the great Muslim armies, which were used to attack part of the Roman Empire, as part of their judgment.
Here is a summary of the fulfillment of the fifth Trumpet, so that you can see the symbolism and the literal fulfillment:
The 5th Trumpet represents The Almighty YHWH using the Arabian (Mohammedan) army against the Western Roman Empire from 612-762 A.D., which is 150 years (5 months = 150 days). They wore turbans (crowns of gold); they had beards (faces of men); they had long hair like women; they wore chain-mail (breast-plates of iron); and they were fierce (teeth of lions). The falling star was Mohammed, the smoke out of Satan’s bottomless pit of lies is the Koran.
Revelation is a war manual, and John had to hide the message from the Romans who were in power at the time.
He could not say that the Arabs would come and attack the Roman Empire and prevail, as that would have invited more persecution.
The 6th Bowl refers to the symbolic drying up of the Euphrates River.
The literal interpretation focuses on the actual Euphrates River being dried up, but it symbolically points back to the domain of the the Turks, who became the great Ottoman Empire. Their drying up literally was fulfilled as they lost control of all of the lands they had conquered and were only left with the country of Turkey.
The 6th Trumpet represents The Almighty YHWH releasing the Turks to cross over the Euphrates River to conquer 1/3rd of the Roman Empire for 391 years (prepared for the hour and day and month and year, 1 + 30 + 360 = 391) from 1062-1453 A.D., which ended when they used large cannons (out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone) to knock down the thick protective walls of Constantinople.
The 6th Bowl was poured out to dry up the Ottoman Empire, the people (river) of theEuphrates who had been released during the 6th Trumpet. During the 18th and 19th centuries, they lost control of the territories that they had occupied, such as Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; the kings of the East. They lost control of Palestine to General Allenby of Great Britain in 1917 A.D.
So the book of Revelation is both symbolic and literal. If one has not studied the Old Testament, they probably don’t understand the definition of the symbols, which means that they cannot understand the literal fulfillment.
I think that it is our Father’s way of testing us to see if we read His whole Word.
Revelation truly is a baruchoth to those who read it and understand it, as it proves that the Elohim of the Scriptures is the One True Elohim; who foretold all of these events thousands of years ago, and have been fulfilled historically in precise detail. Praise Yah
History Unveils The Proper Explanation Of Prophecy Fulfillment
The early church father’s could not have comprehended that it would take this long for it all to be fulfilled. They expected that after the fall of Rome, the antichrist would rise to power and reign for 3 1/2 years, and then Messiah would return to destroy the beast.
They had no comprehension that the antichrist beast would reign for 1,260 years, not 1,260 days.
But as time passed, Bible scholars began to see how prophecy was being fulfilled historically.
They had seen how the Popes of Rome, the Little Horn of Daniel, the Son of Perdition of 2 Thessalonians 2, rose to power after the last Roman Emperor, who had restrained them from taking power, was removed in 476 A.D.
They had seen how the Popes of Rome changed the law and times, and persecuted and killed the saints.
They had seen how the Popes of Rome controlled all the world in the 12th century, and blasphemed by proclaiming to be God and to forgive sins.
In the 18th century, Edward Gibbon wrote the epic 6-volume “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, a series of events recorded such as seemed to me to correspond to a great extent with the series of symbols found in the Apocalypse.
The language of Mr. Gibbon was often such as he would have used, on the supposition that he had designed to prepare a commentary on the symbols employed by John.
But this historian had no belief in the divine origin of Christianity, but he brought to the performance of his work learning and talent such as few Christian scholars have possessed.
We can use it as an impartial and fair, for it was a result which he least of all contemplated, that he would ever be regarded as an expounder of the prophecies in the Bible, or be referred to as vindicating their truth.*
Today, we have an even greater viewpoint, because we can look back on all that has happened in Rome, to see how so many prophecies have been fulfilled in exacting detail.
We can look back at the Dark Ages and Inquisition when historians record that the Roman Catholic Church killed over 50 million saints, fulfilling Revelation who said she, the Harlot Church, would be drunk with the blood of the saints.
We can see the Cardinals and Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church wearing purple and scarlet, just as Revelation 17 said the Harlot Church would.
I dare say that because we have so much evidence before us, we are more accountable. We have the whole record of history which provides the explanation of the fulfillment of prophecy.
Historicism proves how most of the prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled during the last 1,900 years, since the book of Revelation was written.
Reference:Historicism proves how most of the prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled during the last 1,900 years, since the book of Revelation was written.
History Unveiling Prophecy by Henry Grattan Guinness
The Revelation Timeline Is a Layered War Manual
Messiah’s Apocalyptic Vision is a war manual, which is layered and coded with symbols, to hide the message from the enemy.
Many people say that Revelation is chronological, and they are right; but it has four chronological layers whose fulfillment spans from when it was written until MessiYAH returns.
When you read the chapters of Revelation it’s difficult to get the whole picture, but when the four layers are all overlapped onto the timeline, they all fit together and explain the apocalyptic vision.
Here’s how the chapters of Revelation are layered.
In Revelation 2-3, our MessiYAH is speaking to seven church eras which have spanned from when John wrote the vision until Jesus returns, so the Seven Churches of Revelation study will show you how they have been fulfilled along the timeline.
In Revelation 12-13, our MessiYAH gives sweeping overviews of three phases of the Rome beast (the Roman Empire > The Roman Catholic Church > The Jesuits of Rome) that His followers have had to face from when John wrote the vision until Jesus returns, so the details of those chapters will overlay the timeline.
In Revelation 17-18, our MessiYAH helps John see how Satan has reigned through seven phases (heads) of the Roman beast; how the Roman Catholic Church is the eighth head, the Harlot of Babylon, the false Church; and how the Jesuits are using the Vatican to gather the world under their power, and then they will desolate the Harlot.
The seven Seals, the sealing of the 144,000, the seven Trumpet judgments, the Little Book, the Two Witnesses, the seven Bowl judgments, the Battle of Armageddon, the New World Order, and MessiYAH returning in victory, overlay the historical timeline.
Remember that John wrote the Revelation while the Roman Empire was in power, so he couldn’t just come out and point to them in the Apocalyptic visions.
To hide the message from the Romans, and from undiscerning people, he used the layers and symbols, which will be explained in the studies.
John understood Daniel’s prophecy visions, and he built on them to reveal the apocalyptic vision, so to understand Revelation, you need to understand the prophecies in Daniel.
The Great Tribulation of Matthew 24
This End Times Deceptions Bible study explains the fulfillment of Messiah’s warning about Great Tribulation.
The proper context of the Olivet Discourse is not the end times, but rather about Messiah’s proclamation that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed.
The disciples understood the prophecy in Daniel 9, and they were inquiring about when the Messiah would cause the temple and city to be destroyed, thus ending the latter days of the Jews, who Messiah had just berated in Matthew 23.
Matthew is the only one who wrote about the end of the age, Luke and Mark did not. The King James says the end of the world, but it should be rendered as ‘age‘ as it points to the latter days of the Jews, from when they were released from Babylon, until the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.
Daniel 9:26 warned the Jews that the temple and city would be desolated. Daniel understood that to mean that because the Jews would deliver the Messiah up to be killed, they would be desolated. This is why Daniel was so distraught.
“and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
In Matthew 24:20-22, Messiah warned about the coming time of Great Tribulation, which Daniel had foretold:
“And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.“
Note: The command for the saints to flee Judea is very specific to the saints in the first century, and can’t apply to saints in the end times where there is no Judea. Praying that their flight would not be on the Sabbath applies to the first century, when the Jewish leaders would have closed the city gates and prohibited walking out of the city; which does not apply to the end times.
Then in Matthew 24:34 Messiah told us that all of the things that He just proclaimed would be fulfilled in that generation:
“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”
Some people dismiss His words by saying that He was not referring to that generation, but His words to the Jews of His day reveal that He was indeed talking about them:
For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. Luke 11:30
But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. Luke 17:25
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 11:51
Because people don’t understand the terrible calamity that happened to the Jews in the first century, they assign the fulfillment to the end times.
But as you will see, this was an intense time of suffering for the Jews, who had rejected the Messiah. When Messiah was being led to be crucified, He said:
“But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Luke 23:28
So let’s take Messiah at His word and see how in fact His words were fulfilled, when the people of the prince, the Roman army invaded Judea, to desolate the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and the Jewish people.
Most Christians severely underestimate the desolation of the Jews in the first century, not understanding how Messiah caused the Roman army to cause calamity unlike any other time in history.
Here is a summary of what happened, as documented by Jewish historian Josephus:
On the way through Judea to Jerusalem, the Roman army killed Jews by the 10 thousands in the outlying cities. They invaded Judea from the north, marching along the coast, and killing many – 18,000 at Askelon alone.
The Roman army surrounded Jerusalem, cutting off the food supply. Warring factions inside the city destroyed the granaries. This led to a severe famine, killing many. Josephus records that the famine widened its progress and devoured the people by whole houses and families. The upper rooms were full of women and children dying by famine; and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged.
People killed each other as they fought over food. The most horrible and unbelievable torments were inflicted upon all who were suspected of having any food concealed.
The city was divided against itself with rival groups. The most violent party in the city was the Zealots. These called to their aid a band of blood thirsty Idumeans, who set upon the people who were peaceably inclined, and slaughtered young and old until the outer temple was all of it overflowed with blood, and that day they saw 8500 dead bodies there.
But as for the seditious bands themselves, they fought against each other while trampling upon the dead bodies which lay heaped one upon another, and being filled with a mad rage from those dead bodies under their feet, they became the more fierce. They, moreover, were still inventing pernicious things against each other; and when they had resolved upon anything, they executed it without mercy, and omitted no method of torment or of barbarity.
Josephus also tells of the terrible torments inflicted upon nobles and citizens of the better sort who refused to comply with the demands of the Zealots. Those, after being horribly tortured, were slain, and through fear, none dared bury them. In this way 12,000 of the more eminent inhabitants perished.
The noise of those that were fighting was incessant, both by day and by night; but the lamentations of those that mourned exceeded the noise of the fighting.
The dead bodies were not taken outside the city and buried, for fear of being killed, so they stacked up around the city. The blood of all sort of dead carcases stood in lakes in the holy courts themselves.
Pestilence from unclean conditions caused diseases and death.
One man, with the consent of his family, killed his parents, his children, his wife and himself; to save themselves from a worse fate.
A woman, eminent for her family and her wealth, who, while suffering the ravages of famine, slew her infant son and roasted him, and having eaten half of him, concealed the other half.
Because the food supply was cut off by the Romans, Jews out of desperation would sneak out of the city walls at night to find food. They were captured, tortured and crucified by the Roman army. At one point 500 a night were being crucified on the trees around the city, so that all of the trees had multiple bodies on them. And these bodies were not taken down, but left up there to rot and be eaten by birds and animals.
In 70 A.D. when the people of the prince, the Roman army flooded into Jerusalem, they killed the remaining Jews with the sword, trampling over dead bodies.
Birds, dogs and wild animals, ate the flesh of the fallen.
15,000 fugitive Jews were killed by the Romans, and the number of those that were forced to leap into the Jordan was prodigious. The whole country through which they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could not be passed over, by reason of the dead bodies that were in it.
97,000 were taken captive and sold cheaply to places like Egypt, as if back into bondage.
At the end of the siege in 70 A.D., there were 1.1. million dead Jews, none of which were buried.
Their bodies were stacked in the city and fallen in the temple. Their bodies filled all of the trees outside the city. Blood no doubt was everywhere. The scene and stench had to be intense, unlike anything ever seen before or after.
Of this period of great tribulation Jewish historian Josephus says, in the introduction of his ‘Wars of the Jews‘ historical documentary.
“It had come to pass that our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher degree of felicity than any other city under the Roman government, and yet at last fell into the sorest of calamities again. Accordingly it appears to me that the misfortunes of all men from the beginning of the world, if they be compared to those of the Jews, are not so considerable as they were.”
The sufferings of the Jews had this peculiar characteristic, namely, that they were mostly inflicted upon themselves by the warring factions within the city, concerning whom Josephus says in another place:
“It is impossible to go distinctly over every instance of these men’s iniquity. I shall, therefore, speak my mind here at once briefly: That neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world” (Wars V. 10:5).
Messiah had warned about the bloodshed that would come on this generation.
“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.” Luke 21:24
This fulfilled the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, when the wicked tenants killed the son of the vineyard owner.
“But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.” Luke 20:14-15
This fulfilled Messiah words of Woe to the scribes and the Pharisees.
“Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:34-36
Recall what the Jewish leaders said when they handed Messiah over to be crucified:
“And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Matthew 27:25
As so it was as the Roman army flooded into the city and killed 100’s of thousands of Jews by the sword. And those who were captured were sold into slavery.
Titus wanted to save the temple, but the Roman soldiers were so enraged at the wicked Jews, that they tore it down brick by brick, to be able to capture all of the gold.
This fulfilled Messiah words in Matthew 24:1-2, “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.”
The following information is from Philip Mauro’s well-documented work, ‘The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation – A Study of the Last Two Visions of Daniel, and of the Olivet Discourse of the Lord Jesus Christ.’
The Jewish historian Josephus devotes nearly two hundred large pages (they would fill upwards of four hundred ordinary size) to the account of the events of’ those ‘days of vengeance,’ which l (as we have seen) involved not only the Jews in Palestine, but Jews all over the world.
We can refer to but a very few of those tragic events; but, inasmuch as not many of our readers have access to the history of Josephus, we believe we are rendering them a service in giving the best idea we can, in small compass, of the happenings of those times.
After the retreat of Roman army leader Cestius, there was a slaughter of about 10,000 Jews at Damascus; and then, it being evident that war with the Romans was inevitable, the Jews began making preparations to defend Jerusalem.
At that time Josephus, the writer of this history, was appointed general of the armies in Galilee. He seems to have had great ability and success as a soldier, though he was finally overpowered and captured by the Romans. Concerning one of his military operations his translator says’ I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus to be one of the finest that ever was invented and executed by any warrior whatsoever.
At this point the emperor Nero appointed Vespasian, a valiant and experienced general, to the task of subduing the Jews; and Vespasian designated his son Titus to assist him. They invaded Judea from the north, marching along the coast, and killing many–18,000 at Askelon alone. Thus Galilee was all over filled with fire and blood; nor was it exempt from any kind of misery or calamity (III 4:1).
The incidents of this siege were terrible; and among them were events which forcibly recall the Lord’s words, But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. The Romans were so enraged by the long and fierce resistance of the Jews that they spared none, nor pitied any. Many, moreover, in desperation, killed themselves.
The life of Josephus was spared in a manner which seems miraculous (III 8:4-7), and he was taken captive to Vespasian, to whom he prophesied that both he and Titus his son would be Caesar and emperor.
Josephus was with Titus during the subsequent siege of Jerusalem, in which the atrocities and miseries reached a limit impossible to be exceeded on earth. Only the state of the lost in hell could be worse.
After Jotapata fell, Joppa was taken, and then Tiberias and Taricheae on Lake Gennesaret. Thousands were killed, and upwards of 30,000 from the last named place alone were sold into slavery. Having now completely subdued Galilee, Vespasian led his army to Jerusalem.
For a right understanding of Matthew 24:15-21 it is important to know that the Roman armies were, for more than a year, occupied with the devastation of the provinces of Galilee and Judea, before Jerusalem was besieged. It should be noted also that Christ’s first warnings to flee were to them which be in Judea (#Mt24:16).
This makes it perfectly certain that the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, which was the appointed signal for them which be in Judea to flee into the mountains, was not an idol set up in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. For the desolation of Judea was completed long before Jerusalem and the Temple were taken.
At the time Vespasian led his armies to Jerusalem, that doomed city was in a state of indescribable disorder and confusion insomuch that, during the entire siege, the Jews suffered far more from one another inside the walls than from the enemy outside.
Josephus says there were disorders and civil war in every city, and all those that were at quiet from the Romans turned their hands one against another. There was also a bitter contest between those that were for war, and those that were desirous for peace (IV 3:2).
Josephus further tells of the utter disgrace and ruin of the high priesthood, the basest of men being exalted to that office; and also of the profanation of the sanctuary.
The most violent party in the city was the Zealots. These called to their aid a band of blood thirsty Idumeans, who set upon the people who were peaceably inclined, and slaughtered young and old until the outer temple was all of it overflowed with blood, and that day they saw 8500 dead bodies there.
Among the slain was Ananias, formerly high priest, a venerable and worthy man, concerning whom Josephus said:
“I should not mistake if I said that the death of Ananias was the beginning of the destruction of the city, and that from this very day may be dated the overthrow of her wall, and the ruin of her affairs; that being the day whereon they saw their high priest, and the procurer of their preservation, slain in the midst of their city. * * *
And I cannot but think it was because God had doomed this city to destruction, as a polluted city, and was resolved to purge His sanctuary with fire, that He cut off these, their great defenders, while those that a little before had worn the sacred garments and presided over the public worship, were cast out naked to be the food of dogs and wild beasts.
Now after these were slain the Zealots and the Idumeans fell upon the people as upon a flock of profane animals, and cut their throats.”
Josephus also tells of the terrible torments inflicted upon nobles and citizens of the better sort who refused to comply with the demands of the Zealots. Those, after being horribly tortured, were slain, and through fear, none dared bury them. In this way 12,000 of the more eminent inhabitants perished (IV 5:3). We quote further:
“Along all the roads also vast numbers of dead bodies lay in heaps; and many who at first were zealous to desert the city chose rather to perish there; for the hopes of burial made death m their own city appear less terrible to them. But those zealots came at last to that degree of barbarity as not to bestow a burial either on those slain in the city or on those that lay along the roads; as if at the same time that they defiled men with their wicked actions they would pollute the Deity itself also, they left the dead bodies to putrefy under the sun. (IV. 6. 3).
About this time above 15,000 fugitive Jews were killed by the Romans, and the number of those that were forced to leap into the Jordan was prodigious. The whole country through which they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could not be passed over, by reason of the dead bodies that were in it (IV. 8. 5, 6).
VESPASIAN RECALLED. TITUS PLACED IN CHARGE
At this point Vespasian was called to Rome by reason of the death of the emperor Nero, and the operations against the Jews devolved upon Titus. Vespasian himself was soon thereafter made emperor.
Meanwhile another tyrant rose up, whose name was Simon, and of him Josephus says: Now this Simon, who was without the wall, was a greater terror to the people than the Romans themselves; while the Zealots who were within it were more heavy upon them than both the other.
Those Zealots were led by a tyrant named John; and the excesses of murder and uncleanness in which they habitually indulged are indescribable (see Bk. IV, ch. 9, sec. 10).
In order to overthrow John, the people finally admitted Simon and his followers. From that time onward the civil warfare within the city became more incessant and deadly. The distracted city was now divided into three factions instead of two.
The fighting was carried even into the inner court of the temple; whereupon Josephus laments that even those who came with sacrifices to offer them in the temple were slain, and sprinkled that altar with their own blood, till the dead bodies of strangers were mingled together with those of their own country, and those of profane persons with those of priests, and the blood of all sort of dead carcases stood in lakes in the holy courts themselves (V 1:3).
Surely there never were such conditions as these in any city before or since.
Among the dire calamities which befell the wretched people was the destruction of the granaries and storehouses of food;so that famine was soon added to the other horrors. The warring factions were agreed in nothing but to kill those that were innocent. Says Josephus:
“The noise of those that were fighting was incessant, both by day and by night; but the lamentations of those that mourned exceeded the noise of the fighting. Nor was there ever any occasion for them to leave off their lamentations, because their calamities came perpetually, one upon another.
But as for the seditious bands themselves, they fought against each other while trampling upon the dead bodies which lay heaped one upon another, and being filled with a mad rage from those dead bodies under their feet, they became the more fierce. They, moreover, were still inventing pernicious things against each other; and when they had resolved upon anything, they executed it without mercy, and omitted no method of torment or of barbarity” (V. 2. 5).
At the time described in the preceding paragraphs, the Roman armies had not yet reached the city, and inasmuch as the Passover season now came on, and things seemed to quiet down momentarily, the gates were opened for such as wished to observe the great feast. The translator, in a footnote, says:
“Here we see the true occasion of those vast numbers of Jews that were in Jerusalem during this siege by Titus and who perished therein. For the siege began at the feast of Passover, when such prodigious multitudes of the Jews and proselytes were come from all parts of Judea, and from other countries.
As to the number that perished during this siege, Josephus assures us, as we shall see hereafter, they were 1,100,000, besides 97,000 captives.
This is notable as the last Passover. That joyous feast of remembrance of God’s great deliverance of His people out of Egypt ended in an orgy of blood.
The tyrant John took advantage of this opportunity to introduce some of his followers, with concealed weapons, among the throngs of worshipers in the temple, who slew many, while others were rolled in heaps together, and trampled upon, and beaten without mercy.
And now, though the Roman armies were at their gates, the warring factions began again to destroy one another and the innocent inhabitants.
“For”, says Josephus, they returned to their former madness, and separated one from another, and fought it out; and they did everything that the besiegers could desire them to do. For they never suffered from the Romans anything worse than they made each other suffer; nor was there any misery endured by the city which, after what these men did, could be esteemed new. It was most of all unhappy before it was overthrown; and those that took it did it a kindness. For I venture to say that the sedition destroyed the city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition. This was a much harder thing to do than to destroy the walls. So that we may justly ascribe our misfortunes to our own people (V. 6. 2).
This is the most astonishing feature of this great tribulation; for surely there never was a besieged city whose inhabitants suffered more from one another than from the common enemy. In this feature of the case we see most clearly that it is one of judgment; and that, as the apostle Paul said, the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
At this point the siege began in earnest. Titus, however, sent Josephus to speak to the Jews, offering them clemency, and exhorting them to yield. Josephus made a most earnest plea to them not to resist the might of Rome, pointing out that God was no longer with them.
But it was to no purpose. So the siege proceeded outside, and the famine began to rage inside, insomuch that children pulled out of their parents’ mouths the morsels they were eating, and even mothers deprived their infants of the last bits of food that might have sustained their lives.
The fighters, of course, kept for their own use what food there was, and it seems that they took a keen delight in seeing others suffer. It was a species of madness. They invented terrible methods of torments, such as it would not be seemly for us to describe. And this was done, says Josephus, to keep their madness in exercise (V 10:3).
The most horrible and unbelievable torments were inflicted upon all who were suspected of having any food concealed. The following passage will give an idea of the conditions:
“It is impossible to give every instance of the iniquity of these men. I shall therefore speak my mind here at once briefly:–that neither did any other city suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world. (This forcibly brings to mind the Lord’s own words.) Finally they brought the Hebrew nation into contempt, that they might themselves appear comparatively less impious with regard to strangers. They confessed, what was true, that they were the scum, and the spurious and abortive offspring of our nation, while they overthrew the city themselves, and forced the Romans, whether they would or no, to gain a melancholy reputation by acting gloriously against them; and did almost draw that fire upon the temple which they seemed to think came too slowly” (V. 10. 5).
Under pressure of the famine many Jews went out at night into the valleys in search of food.
These were caught, tortured and crucified in sight of those on the walls of the city. About five hundred every day were thus treated. The number became finally so great that there was not room enough for the crosses, nor crosses enough for the victims. So several were ofttimes nailed to one cross.
A little later the Roman armies encompassed the entire city, so that there was no longer any egress therefrom.
“Then, says Josephus, did the famine widen its progress and devour the people by whole houses and families. The upper rooms were full of women and children dying by famine; and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged. The children also and the young men wandered about the marketplaces like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead, wheresoever their misery seized them (V. 12. 3).
Thus did the miseries of Jerusalem grow worse and worse every day.
And indeed the multitude of carcases that lay in heaps, one upon another, was a horrible sight, and produced a pestilential stench which was a hindrance to those that would make sallies out of the city and fight the enemy (VI. 1. 1).
The number of those that perished by famine in the city was prodigious, and their miseries were unspeakable. For if so much as the shadow of any kind of food did anywhere appear, a war was commenced presently, and the dearest friends fell a fighting one another about it.
In this connection Josephus relates in detail the case of a woman, eminent for her family and her wealth, who, while suffering the ravages of famine, slew her infant son and roasted him, and having eaten half of him, concealed the other half.
When presently the seditious Jews came in to search the premises, and smelt the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her life if she did not show them what food she had prepared. She replied that she had saved for them a choice part, and withal uncovered what was left of the little body, saying, Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself. Do not you pretend to be more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother. Even those desperate and hardened men were horrified at the sight, and stood aghast at the deed of this mother. They left trembling; and the whole city was full of what the woman had done. It must be remembered that all this time the lives of all in the city would have been spared and the city and temple saved, had they but yielded to the Romans. But how then should the Scripture be fulfilled? (see #De 28:56,57)
Soon after this the temple was set on fire and was burned down, though Titus tried to save it. Josephus says:
But as for that house, God had for certain long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages. It was the tenth day of the month Ab, the day upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon (VI. 4. 5).
Further Josephus says:
“While the holy house was on fire everything was plundered that came to hand, and ten thousand of those were slain. Nor was there commiseration of any age, or any reverence of gravity; but children, old men, profane persons, and priests were all slain in the same manner.
Moreover many, when they saw the fire, exerted their utmost strength, and did break out into groans and outcries. Perea also did return the echo, as well as the mountains round about Jerusalem, and augmented the force of the noise.”
Yet was the misery itself more terrible than this disorder. For one would have thought that the hill itself, on which the temple stood, was seething hot, as if full of fire on every part, that the blood was more in quantity than the fire, and that the slain were more in numbers than they who slew them. For the ground did nowhere appear visible because of the dead bodies that lay upon it (VL 5. 1).
In describing how a number were killed in a certain cloister, which the soldiers set on fire, Josephus says:
“A false prophet was the occasion of the destruction of those people, he having made a public proclamation that very day that God commanded them to get upon the temple and that they should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance. There was then a large number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose on the people, who announced to them that they should wait for deliverance from God (VI. 5. 2).
In this detail also the MessiYah’s Olivet prophecy was most literally fulfilled.
When at last the Romans gained entrance into the city, the soldiers had become so exasperated by the stubborn resistance of the Jews, that they could not be restrained from wreaking vengeance upon the survivors.
So they indulged in slaughter until weary of it. The survivors were sold into slavery, but at a very low price, because they were so numerous, and the buyers were few. Thus was fulfilled the word of the Lord by Moses, And there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you (#De 28:68).
Many were put into bonds and sold to slavery in the Egyptian mines, thus fulfilling several prophecies that they should be sold into Egypt again, whence God had delivered them (#Ho 8:13; 9:3).
This fulfills Luke 21:24, “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations.”
In concluding this part of his history Josephus gives the number of those who perished (a million one hundred thousand) and of those sold into slavery (ninety seven thousand), and explains, as we have already stated, that they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread, and were on a sudden shut up by an army. And he adds:
“Now this vast multitude was indeed collected out of remote places, but the entire nation was now shut up by fate as in prison, and the Roman army encompassed the city when it was crowded with inhabitants. Accordingly the multitude of those that perished therein exceeded all the destruction’s that either men or God ever brought upon the world” (VI. 9. 4).
Thus ended, in the greatest of all calamities of the sort, the national existence of the Jewish people, and all that pertained to that old covenant which was instituted with glory (#2Co 3:7,9,11), but which was to be done away.
Here may be seen an example of the thoroughness of God’s judgments, when He arises to do His strange work. Judgment must begin at the house of God; and in view of what is brought to our notice in this history of Josephus, how impressive is the question, And if it begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (#1Pe 4:17).
Conclusion:
Many will cite the holocaust or other times when millions of people died, to say that they were worse; but I will take Messiah at His word, which is verified by Jewish historian Josephus, that the sheer horror of what happened in and around Jerusalem from 66-70 A.D. has never been seen before or since.
The time of Great Tribulation referred to in Matthew 24, is the time of Jacob’s Trouble, which is described in Daniel 12.
Read this study to see the fulfillment of the Abomination of Desolation which warned the saints in Judea, the 1,290 days, the 1,335 days, and the siege being cut short for the elect’s sake. Daniel 12 Is Not About The Antichrist Or The End Times
Additional Study Resources:
3 Comments
This study answered a lot of questions for me and a much deeper appreciation for the other teaching from Messiah as well. I appreciate the work and dedication that goes into this site. Praise Yah
I forsook the pre-tribulation rapture theory many years ago and I have read much of the information that you have posted by the various authors. Maybe I am just dense but it still seems to me that Matthew 24 could not have been completed in 70 AD? If we reject the gap between the 69th and 70th week, we now have a gap of 2000 years that Christ has not come back to gather His saints etc. I came to the conclusion that there were double fulfillment’s of these passages. Please tell me what you think. Tom
Thank you for your comment Tom. Let me try to give you a different perspective. Matthew 24:30-31 says,
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.“
Then just three verses later Messiah said in Matthew 24:34,
“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”
When Messiah makes a plain statement, we should not dismiss it, just because we don’t understand the fulfillment.
He was clearly saying that all of the things that He just stated in the previous verses would be fulfilled in that generation.
To reinforce that, after berating the Jewish leaders and casting woes on them in Matthew 23, He said in verses 35-36, that they would be killed.
“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.”
Just because we don’t understand exactly how a prophecy was fulfilled, does not mean that we should dismiss the clear statement of our Messiah. He clearly is speaking about that generation.
That clear statement is a marker, a reference point. To understand, we have to look to see how what He said was fulfilled in that generation.
His statement matches the prophecy in Daniel 9:26-27, that foretold the coming of our Messiah, and that He would be delivered up by the Jews to death, and that as a consequence, the city and the temple and the Jews would be desolated.
“..and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. …and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
The whole context of the Olivet Discourse was that after berating the Jewish leaders, Messiah proclaimed to His disciples, that the temple would be desolated,
“And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The disciples were not asking about the end times, they were asking about when the temple would be destroyed.
“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?“
The word ‘world‘ should be rendered as ‘age‘, as the New King James has it. The latter days of the Jewish age started when they were released from Babylon, after 70 years of captivity; and ended in 70 A.D., when the temple, the city and the Jews were desolated.
The former days were before the Babylonian captivity. In between the two ages was 70 years of captivity when they did not possess the Holy land.
Messiah gave His disciples a sign that would tell them that the desolation of the temple was at hand, so that they knew to flee Judea, into the mountains.
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ ; spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Matthew 24:15-16
Luke gives us the definition of the Abomination of Desolation, the pagan Roman army surrounding the Holy city of Jerusalem, where they should not be.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 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.” Luke 21:20-21
The ‘people of the prince‘ in Daniel 9:26 foretold the coming of the Roman army to desolate the temple and the city.
The Jewish historian Josephus records that Roman Commander Cestius made such rapid progress that the city was on the point of being captured.
The seditious element fled in large numbers, and the peaceable inhabitants were about to throw open the gates to the Romans, when a remarkable thing took place, so unaccountable from any natural standpoint that it can only be attributed to the direct intervention of God, and for the fulfillment of the word of Christ.
Josephus tells how the people were about to admit Cestius as their benefactor, when he suddenly recalled his soldiers and retired from the city without any reason in the world.
Had he not withdrawn when he did, the city and the sanctuary would, of course, have been spared; and Josephus says it was, I suppose, owing to the aversion God already had towards the city and the sanctuary that he (Cestius) was hindered from putting an end to the war that very day (II 19:6).
This happened because Messiah promised His disciples a way of escape, that ‘when they should see the abomination of desolation’ (the idolatrous Roman armies, with the images of their idols in their ensigns) ready to lay Jerusalem desolate, ‘stand where it ought not,’ ‘in the holy place‘ of Jerusalem; they should then ‘flee to the mountains‘.
They escaped and Josephus did not record one death of a Christian at the hands of the Romans.
Later, another division of the Roman army led by Titus, surrounded Jerusalem, and the temple were destroyed by the Roman army in 70 A.D.
So we can clearly see that the sign that the disciples asked for was fulfilled, and the desolation of the city and temple that was spoken of in Daniel 9 and Matthew 24 was fulfilled.
But obviously Messiah’s second coming did not occur in the first century, so what does the reference to Him coming in great power and glory on the clouds mean?
The verses we are familiar with about Messiah’s return say that the dead will rise first, then those who are alive with meet Messiah.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
But Matthew 24:30-31 does not mention the dead rising first.
I’m going to suggest that Messiah coming in great power and glory was Him coming to cause the Roman army to desolate the city, the temple and the Jews.
Look at Matthew 26:63-64, when Messiah told the High Priest that he would see Jesus come in the clouds of heaven.
“And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
He was telling the High Priest that though I look powerless now, you will witness my resurrection, as I fulfill the sign that I gave to you of rising after three days. And the Jewish leaders will see me come in great power and glory when the temple and city and Jews would be destroyed, because He rejected Him as Messiah and delivered Him up to be killed.
Should we not believe that Messiah’s clear statement, that the High Priest would witness Him coming in power on the clouds of heaven? That promise matches the description in Matthew 24.
So many people dismiss that possibility, so they miss out on the proper fulfillment.
Let’s back up a bit to Daniel 7:13-14, which foretold that Messiah would establish His kingdom in the days of the four beasts, which He did during the reign of the Roman beast, which controlled Judea in the first century.
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
Daniel told us that Messiah would come with the clouds of heaven, not as part of His return at the end of time, but to setup His kingdom.
Messiah didn’t setup His kingdom during His ministry, as He had not died and rose again yet.
Messiah is fulfilling all that was demanded of the Israelites and Jews, but in order for His kingdom to be setup, He had to desolate the temple system of sacrifices, and the position of Jewish High Priest and the Jewish leadership system.
Messiah had to do this as He is the one-time sacrifice that atones for our sins, and He is our High Priest who intercedes for us. He has taken the place of the Jewish High Priest.
Matthew 24:29 says “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”
It is not referring to the literal sun, moon and stars. The Bible defines that those symbols represent organizational leadership, based on the story of Joseph who had a dream that the Sun, Moon and 11 stars would bow down to him.
He was referring to the organizational leadership of his family, his father the Sun, his mother the Moon, and his 11 brothers the stars.
When the Roman army desolated the temple and city and Jews in 70 A.D., the temple sacrifices were ended, and the Jewish leadership system was ended.
The Sun, the High Priest, was killed. The moon and stars, the other Jewish leaders, were also killed.
The Prince in Daniel 9:25 is Jesus, the promised Messiah. Daniel 9:26 says that “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” The Greek word for Prince in both verses is the same word.
Most people point to Roman Commander Titus as the prince, but I am going to suggest that it was speaking about Jesus commanding the Roman army to desolate the city and the temple. This makes the narrative of Daniel 9:26-27 very simple, as the ‘he’ is always referring to Messiah.
The irony of course is that the Jewish leaders wanted their Messiah to remove the Romans from power over the Jews. But instead Messiah caused the mighty Roman army to desolate the Jewish leadership.
Jewish historian Josephus, who documented the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, witnessed chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor, running about among the clouds:
“Besides these [signs], a few days after that feast, on the one- and-twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armour were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, “Let us remove hence” (Jewish Wars, VI-V-3).
As for the elect being gathered in Matthew 24:31, the word angel can represent Messengers or Pastors.
When the elect saw the Roman army surround Jerusalem, which is the sign of the Abomination of Desolation as defined in Luke 21:20, the leaders of the Early Church knew they needed to heed Jesus’ warning and flee to the mountains, and they gathered the elect to escape.
Josephus documents that not one Christian was killed during the siege.
So we can see a glimpse of the amazing fulfillment of Messiah coming in great power and glory on the clouds, to command the desolation of Jerusalem, the temple and the Jews.
Here are a few additional points about the fulfillment of Messiah’s warnings in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24.
Messiah said to flee Judea, which is a specific place.
There is no land called Judea today, but there was in the first century.
Messiah said to pray that their flight would not be on a sabbath day.
This could only apply to the first century before the desolation of the temple and city in 70 A.D., as the reason it would be bad for the time to flee to be on a Sabbath day, is that the Jewish leaders would have shut up the city and forbid travel outside the city.
Messiah said “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
This was fulfilled in 70 A.D., when the last stronghold of Jews who were hidden in a place that was hard for the Roman army to reach, suddenly surrendered for no apparent reason. This cut short the siege, so that it only last 45 days, which fulfilled the prophecy in Daniel 12 about the 1,290 days, and adding 45 days, the 1,335 days. If they had not surrendered, it would have prolonged the siege, and more Jews would have been killed. Read Daniel 12 Is Not About The Antichrist Or The End Times
This fulfills Jesus parable of the Wedding Feast, that when the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah and they persecuted and killed His servants, He responded with, “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”
When Messiah was being taken to be crucified, he said,
“But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Luke 23:28
I hope that helps you see a different perspective.
Keep learning and growing in the faith!
David
References:
Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible: Coming in the clouds of heaven. See Barnes Mt 24, Mt 25. The meaning of this is, You shall see the sign from heaven which you have so often demanded; even the Messiah returning himself as the sign, with great glory, to destroy your city, and to judge the world.
Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible: Thou hast said – That is, I am the Christ, the promised Messiah, (see on Mt 26:25 (note)); and you and this whole nation shall shortly have the fullest proof of it: for hereafter, in a few years, ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, fully invested with absolute dominion, and coming in the clouds of heaven, to execute judgment upon this wicked race. See Mt 24:30.
John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible: and coming in, the clouds of heaven. So Christ’s coming to take vengeance on the Jewish nation, as it is often called the coming of the son of man, is described in this manner, Mt 24:27. Though this may also be understood of Christ’s second coming to judgment, at the last day; when as he went up to heaven in a cloud, he will return, and come also in the clouds of heaven; see Ac 1:9 Re 1:7, when he will be seen by the eyes of all, good and bad; and when this sanhedrim, before whom he now was, will see him also, and confess that he is Lord and Christ, and the Son of God.