Epochal Events (2) - Destruction of Jerusalem

The first big epochal event after the ministry of Jesus was the Destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus prophesied this event in Mathew 24:1-35. He explained that this disaster would happen within the lifetime of some of his listeners. I have a detailed explanation of this prophecy in Jesus Big Prophecy. This prophecy is not relevant to the season that we are living in now, so using it for that purpose will only create confusion.

Jesus perfect sacrifice on the cross made the animal sacrifices on the temple redundant. When the Jews persisted with the sacrifices after Jesus had died and rose again, they lost their purpose and become an insult to Jesus’ death. God had to bring these sacrifices to an end, so that people would realise that Jesus had done all that needed to be done and that his body had become the temple of the Holy Spirit.

The ministry of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem was also prophesied by Daniel. I give a detailed explanation of his prophecy in Seventy Weeks.

The Destruction of Jerusalem is also prophesied in Revelation 12. John’s revelation warned that the Jewish people would be scattered throughout the world. God would do this to keep them safe during the Times of the Gentiles. I give a detailed explanation of Revelation 12 in an article called the Woman and a Dragon.

The destruction of Jerusalem was an important event, but it is not the only event prophesied in the scriptures. Assuming that all of the book of Revelation is entirely about this event is a mistake.

Epochal Events - End Times (1)

I have listened to the sermons released by a number of churches in Aotearoa NZ and I note that most of them are saying that the Covid Virus is a sign that we are going into the End Times. The problem with this preaching is that the expression End Times does not exist in the scriptures. Looking for scriptures that describe a season/event that is not referred to in the Bible is problematic, because you can easily assume that a particular passage relates to a time period for which it is not relevant. This will lead to a confused understanding of what is happening.

Most of the preachers that I listened to based their sermon on Matthew 24, where they claimed to find signs of the End Times. This is a confusing way of interpreting Jesus’ Big Prophecy, because the expression End Times does not provide a clear way of understanding Jesus’ words.

The Bible describes a number of seasons and epochal events. Some have already occurred and others are still in the future. They are all named fairly clearly and it is also fairly clear which scriptures relate to each season/event. Unless we understand all these seasons/events and how they relate to each other, we will get confused about how and when various scriptural prophecies were fulfilled or will be fulfilled in the future.

Here is a list of some of the key events/seasons described in the scriptures.

• Return from Exile
• Messiah
• Last Days
• Destruction of Jerusalem
• Times of the Gentiles
• Time of Distress
• Fullness of the Jews
• Kingdom of God
• Short Season
• Last Day
• Appearance of Jesus (Parousia).
• Final Judgment
• New Heavens and New Earth

We need to understand them and be clear about which of the various prophetic scriptures relate to each one. Rather than vaguely looking for so-called End Times scriptures, we should be looking for scriptures that apply to particular biblical events/seasons. Gathering prophetic scriptures and claiming that they refer to the end-times and therefore are relevant now will produce a misleading understanding of what is happening in the world now.

In the next few posts, I will look at some of the seasons listed above in more detail, and clarify which scriptures describe them.

Messiah
Many Old Testament prophecies looked forward to the coming of the promised Messiah (Rescuer). These prophecies were fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended into the presence of God. The coming of Jesus was the most important epochal event in the history of the world. It changed everything on earth.

Change of Season (1) - End of the World?

Many Christians believe that we are getting close to the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world. Those who believe that the end of the world is near tend to believe that we have entered the “end times” or “last days”. They are right to think that we are getting close to a season change, but because they do not understand the times and seasons, they are looking for the wrong event. The problem is that most Christians just assume that God’s plan has the following steps.

Jesus ministry =► Church age =► End times =► End of World

This outline is incorrect. It produces confusion about what is happening in the world.

Firstly, the end of the world is not the next big event on God’s timetable. He has many things to do before his plans for this earth are complete, so the end of the world is a long way off. A far more important and more significant epochal event is much closer.

Secondly, a season called the “end times” is never mentioned by the scriptures as part of God’s plan. The only place where the words “time” and “end” are used together is in Daniel 12:9.

Daniel has asked, if he would see if he would see the things that he prophesied.
Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up
and sealed until the time of the end.

Daniel’s was told not to expect his vision to be fulfilled during his life time, as they were for a time way in the future. This time is called the time of the end. This leaves a big question: the end of what. The answer can be found in the content of Daniel’s vision. He did not see the world coming to an end, so it is not the world that is ending. Daniel sees the end of the season when empires dominate the world. He also sees the end of the season when his people are shut out of God’s blessing. It follows that when Daniel refers the time of the end, he is not referring to the end of the world, but to the end of the times of the Gentiles.