In our last session it was asserted on Jesus' authority (Mathew 24: 34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32) we listed 8 circumstances and events which would come upon His generation, i.e. the generation alive at the time of Christ's earthly ministry. Let's look them in turn.
1. Wars, rumors thereof, earthquakes, famines. During our class time in October A.D. 2022, Grace Church Evangelist Rev. Christ Byrd shared a keen insight. In His Olivet discourse Christ says all these things would come on THAT generation, but He never said they would STOP with that generation.
We're on dangerous ground if we interpret the Bible based on current events. Starting with our own generation and working backwards, have there been wars? The current war in Ukraine, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Vietnam, and Korean wars, WWII, WWI, the Civil War, the War of 1812 to name a few come to mind.. When has there not been wars and rumors of wars? The "Pax Romana" began with emperor Augustus 27 B.C. It was a period of relative peace. So Jesus' generation was one that had not seen significant warfare as yet. Jesus is saying that will soon change.
So a time the wars, rumors etc. following a time of peace could serve as a sign for THAT generation, but doesn't mean that in the more distant future, periods of peace followed by periods war would end.
Jesus also says that these are "but the beginning of the birth pains." Let's not have a gloom and doom view of the last things, but the same attitude we should have with our troubles on the personal level: "this slight, momentary affliction is working for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Yes, Jesus' world wide Messianic kingdom is coming with some birth pangs, but good news, there will be a wonderful birth! Which segues us to the greatest good news.
2. "The Gospel must be preached in all the world" per Matthew 24:14; to all nations per Mark 13:10. Cf. Acts 2:5 [aside, does our understanding of what a "nation" is comport with an overall Biblical world view? Consider Gen. 10:32 in context].
At this point an appeal is made to the original language, Koine Greek...you can handle it! In Scripture two Greek words are translated into English as world. They are transliterated as OIKOUMENE and KOSMOS. OIKOUMENE refers to the Graeco-Roman world, what people in the first century might have called the known world. Places like the Americas, eastern Asia, southern Africa, and the Antipodes were not part of the OIKOUMENE. One meaning of KOSMOS (you'll recognize the cognate English word cosmos) was the universe; the New Testament also uses KOSMOS to refer to the realm of unbelief, the body of godless human society — to be friends with it is to be God's enemy.
Examples: which word do you suppose is used at John 3:16? Which at Matthew 13:35, 38; Rom. 1:20? If you chose KOSMOS, you are correct. At Luke 2:1, Acts 11:28, Acts 17:6, and 24:5 OIKOUMENE is used.
Which word do you suppose is used in Matthew 24:14? It's OIKOUMENE. So if we allow that the meaning of OIKOUMENE is not the entire globe in the other passages, why not in Olivet Discourse?
Another VERY important consideration here is this. Preaching the gospel and making disciples are NOT the same thing! Both are crucial, but the latter is the fruit of the former. The message of the parable of the soils (a.k.a. the parable of the sower) is that many hear the gospel, but only the good soil brings forth the fruit of discipleship. So according to Jesus, the preaching of the gospel would reach the whole OIKOUMENE…every nation under heaven…in THAT generation, but He never said that in the more distant future gospel preaching would cease! Now on to…
3. The abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel (Daniel 11:31). What is this desolating abomination? Again, scripture interprets scripture! Cf. Luke 21:20, Jesus refers to it, in the exact same point in His discourse, as ARMIES.
Why then was the Roman army designated "the abomination of desolation?" The Roman army carried ensigns consisting of eagles and images of the emperor to which divine honors were often paid by the army. No greater abomination could meet the eye of the Jew then the ensigns to which idolatrous worship was rendered. The word "abomination" in Daniel has a definite connection with idolatry. The same word is used in I Kings 11:5,7 in reference to the idols of the Ammonites and the Moabites. (See also 2 Kings 23:13; Jeremiah 4:1, 7:30, 13:27 and Ezekiel 5:11). In all these passages the word "abomination" has reference to idolatrous worship. It cannot be denied that the idolatrous ensigns of the Romans fit very well into the biblical significance of the term "abomination." — An Eschatology of Victory, by J. Marcellus Kik
So to any futuristic interpretation that sees the abomination of desolation as relating to something that an evil superman called THE antichrist will set up in some temple yet to built in modern Jerusalem, I say that such a temple itself would be an abomination!
4. The fleeing out of Jerusalem, perhaps the easiest one; the most ardent futurist interpreter must see this in a preterist way! Consider Matthew 24:16. How would this command of Jesus – yes, it is an imperative, not a suggestion – apply to us today? Is Jesus commanding people who will be living in a tiny area of the whole Earth to flee out of it? What if I live in New Jersey or Norway, does that mean I don't have to flee?
Those in Judea are to flee to the mountains. How about people who live in the Maldives, one of the most spiritually dark places in the early 21st century KOSMOS? It is a chain of islands with no point of land more than a couple of yards above sea level. They would first have to take a boat to get to someplace where there was a mountain to which they could flee. So let's come down from our very slanted, shingled roofs where we often sit and relax and move on to one of the eight points which might be more challenging to interpret in a preteristic way.
To be continued. Go to Part Six