Location: On the Mount of Olives:
Luke 21:7-11:
And they asked him, saying, "Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?"
And he said, "Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by."
Then said he unto them, "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."
What was Jesus talking about in the above passage?
Birth-pain signs of the end of the age: ✅
THE PERSECUTION AND TRIBULATION
THAT THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS SHOULD EXPECT
Luke 21:12-19:
"But BEFORE all these (birth-pain signs of the end of the age) they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls."
What was Jesus talking about in the above passage?
Luke 21:20-24:
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judæa flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
What was Jesus talking about in the above part of the passage?
In what context did Jesus say the above?
It's easy to imagine the type of conversation that could have taken place in 70 AD between two people who had come to believe in Christ between AD 30 and AD 70. It could have gone something like this:
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Henry: "Lilian, see! Jerusalem is being surrounded by the Roman armies! Didn't Jesus say His disciples should flee Judea when they see it happening?"
Lilian: "Yes! We'd better flee then, immediately!"
On the road:
Lilian: "Henry, Jesus said the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. Do you think that the prophecy is soon to be fulfilled?"
Henry: "It certainly seems like it could be very soon, Lilian. But I heard from someone else who passed us on the road that the Romans are still battling to breach Jerusalem's walls. Even if they do - before Caesar for some reason changes his mind - they will still have to breach the temple walls.
This is war. Anything could happen. The Jews in Jerusalem may surrender and make a deal with the Romans. Who knows, Lilian. Who knows if this is the time the temple in Jerusalem is going to be destroyed."
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Many scholars insist that the Christians who were alive in 70 AD knew that the temple was going to be destroyed at that time because Jesus had warned them that when they see armies surround JERUSALEM, they should flee
- as though Jesus had added "because at that time the temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. This is the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place"
- but Luke's record of what Jesus said does not add anything of the sort - therefore to say that the disciples of Jesus would have known that the temple in Jerusalem was soon to be destroyed (just because they saw armies gathering around Jerusalem), is an assertion based on an assumption.
There is no record in the book of Acts, nor in any of the epistles, that the disciples knew when the temple would be destroyed. They only knew to flee Judea when they see armies gathering against Jerusalem.
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