Other subjects on this page:
Take Heed
Pestilences and Famine
Earthquakes
Review
 

It is quite obvious, as you read Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, that all three chapters tell of exactly the same events. In these Scriptures, Jesus answered the questions of His disciples. Note that there are some slight variations in the three Gospels, even in the original language.

In Matthew 24:1, the disciples had pointed out the temple buildings to Jesus, and in verse two, He said: "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." He was speaking of the destruction of the temple buildings, and (according to this account) said nothing about anything else.

In verse three, they were sitting upon the Mount of Olives, and the disciples asked Him (concerning His previous statement): "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and the end of the world?"1

Our problems at this point are manifold. This Scripture, in the King James Version, seems to be speaking of the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world as we know it.

Is this what Jesus was saying? Let us see what we can learn from the Greek text. The Greek word rendered "coming" is the word "parousia," which means "presence." That verse is speaking of the sign of His presence. The Greek word rendered "end" is "sunteleia," which means literally: "entire completion," and the word "aion," which the King James Version rendered "world," literally means "age," and according to Strong's Concordance, it further means: specifically (Jewish), "Messianic period."

The New American Standard Bible renders the latter part of Matthew 24:3, "end of the age." The Numeric English New Testament says: "and what the sign of thy presence and consummation of the age?" This is very close to the Greek meaning. Think about it. To speak of the consummation (entire completion) of an age is quite different from the "end of the world."

The parallel Scripture in Mark 13 states it this way: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled [suntelesthai: to complete entirely]?" Mark 13:4.

What things? The things which Jesus spoke to them as they left the temple, concerning the destruction of the temple. The word "fulfilled" in Mark 13:4 could also be rendered "consummated." So we can see no contradiction between Mark and Matthew on this point, just some inconsistency in the work of the translators.

Also, notice that Mark 13:4 does not mention the "end of the world," but the fulfillment of the things Jesus told them. The same is true of Matthew 24:3 in the original language.

What is the consummation of the age? The book of Hebrews refers to it: "but now once at the consummation of the age, hath He [Jesus] been manifest to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Hebrews 9:26b, NENT.

It appears that, according to the writer of Hebrews, the "consummation" of the age was that time period beginning with and following the ministry of the Messiah, not the end of the world.

The King James Version rendered Hebrews 9:26b: "but now once in the end of the world has he appeared [past tense] to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." They translated it as if the end of the world had already come. We know that the consummation of that age was not the end of the world.

Luke 21:7 is very similar to Mark 13:4, "And they asked Him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign when these things shall come to pass?

The word here translated "come to pass," is the Greek "genesthai," meaning: "begin to be fulfilled." It is quite obvious that when the disciples asked "when" and "what sign," they were simply referring to His previous remarks concerning the destruction of the temple.

The same is true of the question "when shall these things be?" recalling again His earlier statements.

Notice also in Luke's account, there is no mention of the end of the world. The destruction of the temple was the subject under discussion, and the time of its fulfillment. We must be careful to understand this and not to read into it something that the Word of God does not say.

 Return to top of page

Jesus warned His disciples, "Take heed lest any man deceive you. For many shall come in My name saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:4-5, Mark 13:3-4, Luke 21:8. "And the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them." Luke 21:8b. (This is similar to Matthew 24:26 and Mark 13:21).

Did this happen? Yes there were many who came and pretended to be the Messiah and each one met death and came to naught.

Within one year of this prophecy, came a man named Dositheus the Samaritan who boldly claimed to be the Messiah.  A disciple of Dositheus, Simon Magus claimed to be the "Great Power of God."

Three years later, another Samaritan declared that he would show the people the sacred utensils that he said were deposited by Moses on Mt. Gerizim. He amassed a great multitude of armed men, but Pilate defeated them and killed their Samaritan leader.

During the reign of Cuspius Fadus, procurator of Judea, there arose one named Theudas.  He induced a great number of men to follow him to the Jordan, saying that the waters would part on his command.  Fadus' army went after them on horses and killed many of them and the Theudas was beheaded.

When Felix was governor, many rose up, almost daily, in Judea persuading people to follow them into the wilderness where they would show signs and wonders from the ALMIGHTY. Many were pursued by Felix and put to death.

About A.D. 55, the celebrated Egyptian impostor, Felix, (not to be confused with the governor) assembled thirty thousand followers who accompanied him to the Mount of Olives, saying he would command the walls of Jerusalem to fall down as a prelude to the capture of the Roman garrison and to their obtaining the sovereignty of the city.  The governor saw this as a revolt and slew four hundred of them.  The Egyptian impostor escaped.

When Porcius Festus reigned about A.D. 60, another impostor promised deliverance from the Roman yoke, if the people would follow him into the wilderness.  Festus send out armed force to destroy them and their leader.

You can see that there was no shortage of false Christs as Jesus had predicted. "For many will come in My name saying 'I am the Christ' and mislead many." Matthew 24:5.

When Jesus said "the time draweth near," He wasn't indicating something that would happen two thousand years later. If that were the case, He would have been deceiving them, for they would never live to see it. Instead, He was warning them of things which would happen in their own generation, and they did.

Matthew 24:6, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars." 7. "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom."

Next, Jesus warned of wars and tumults, and rumors of wars, and said, "be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not immediately." Matthew 24:6b, Luke 21:9b, NENT. Notice that the wars and tumults and rumors of wars occur prior to the destruction of the temple, as indicated by the word "first."

Were there, in fact, wars, tumults and rumors of wars in the forty years following that prophecy? Indeed there were!

Right from the pages of History we read: There arose robbers in Jerusalem called Sicarii.1 They hid daggers in their clothing and mixed among crowds at festivals. They would seek out and kill their victim and then become a part of the crowd, and no one knew who was the perpetrator. This caused each man to be suspicious of even his closest friends, and to constantly fear death.

Some men pretended that God had told them He would show them freedom in a place in the wilderness and led many away, but Felix, the procurator, thought it was a revolt and killed a large number of them.

About three years after Christ was crucified, war broke out between Herod and Aretas, king of Arabia Petraea in which Herod's army was cut off.

Emperor Caligula ordered his statue to be placed in the temple of Jerusalem.  The Jews, of course, refused him and there were rumors of war, but it never materialized.

Then, a great number of Jews left Babylon and went to Seleucia.  The Greeks and Syrians destroyed myriads of them. (Josephus said this slaughter had no parallel in prior history).

Five years later, the Jews at Perea and the Philadelphians fought over the city limits of Mia and the Jews were slain.

Four years later, when Cumanus ruled, the Jews reacted to an act of indignity of a Roman soldier, but when they saw the Roman army approaching in large number they panicked and trampled to death ten thousand Jews in the streets.

Three years later, the Samaritans murdered a Galilean on his way to keep the Passover in Jerusalem. To get revenge, the Jews fought against the Samaritans and ravaged their country.

At Caesarea, the Jews who were mixed with Syrians raised a tumult over city government.  They argued over whether the city was Grecian or Jewish. This led to an armed conflict between Jews and Greeks. The city was decreed to the Syrians.  This brought about the greatest conflict between those two nations. The Jews beat the Syrians in one battle, and Felix sent soldiers out to slay a great many Jews. About twenty thousand Jews were killed.  Wherever Jews and Syrians lived in the same city, slaughter was a common occurrence.  This included Tyre, Gadara, Scythopolis, Damascus and Ascalon.  At Damascus, ten thousand Jews were killed in one hour.  At Scythopolis, thirteen thousand in a night.

At Alexandria rose up against the oppressive Romans.  The Romans killed fifty thousand Jews, including infants to aged.

At Jopata, forty thousand Jews perished.

There were many attacks of Romans by Jews and Jews by Romans (even Jews fighting among themselves) in the years prior to A. D. 66.  This is well recorded in the "Complete Works of Josephus" to be found in almost any library.

An Egyptian false prophet got together thirty thousand Jews and led them around the wilderness to the Mount of Olives, and was going to break into Jerusalem by force, but again, Felix sent Roman soldiers against them and many were killed.

Some deceivers persuaded Jews to revolt and kill other Jews who obeyed the Roman government. They plundered the homes of the great men and slew them and then set their villages on fire, until Judea was filled with their madness.

Festus succeeded Felix and destroyed many of the seditious. Albinus succeeded Festus and he was a thief, burdening the whole nation with taxes, allowing prisoners to be redeemed for money, and set free. He became joined to robbers and tyranny was generally tolerated at that time.

Florus succeeded Albinus and all but legalized robbery, as long as he shared in the spoils.

The people of Jerusalem (three million of them) gathered around Cestius Gallus when he visited Jerusalem and tried to persuade him to put an end to Florus' exploitation of their country. Florus deluded Gallus and continued to incite the Jews to rebel in order to divert attention from his own vice.

Florus had his soldiers bring some of the nonviolent Jews before him, and chastised them with stripes, then crucified them. They had done no wrong. He destroyed about thirty-six hundred men, women and children in this way.

In vain, Bernice, wife of Herod (king of Chalcis) petitioned Florus to spare the Jews. As often as the rebellion subsided, Florus would incite the Jews to rebel again.2 All this is well accepted history from the writings of Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian of the first century. It all obviously qualifies as fulfillment of the predictions Jesus made, as recorded in Matthew 24:4-6

"For nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers [various] places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24:7-8, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:10-11.

We have seen that nation did rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, but what about famines, pestilences, and earthquakes?
 

Return to top of page

Pestilences and Famine

---

Earthquakes

Review

This great famine extended through Greece and into Italy. To alleviate the famine, Helena, queen of Adiabena, sent large quantities of grain from Alexandria and her son, Izates, gave vast sums to the governors of Jerusalem for relief of sufferers.  The Gentile Christians also sent contributions for relief of the distresses of the Jews: I Corinthians 16:2&3. "On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. 3. And when I arrive, whomever you may approve, I shall send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;"

Dion Cassius states that there was a famine at Rome in the first year of Claudius.  In the eleventh year of Claudius, Eusebius mentions another famine.

The book ESSENTIAL ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY by Isaac Boyles, contains the following on page 72, Chapter XIX: "Whilst Claudius held the government of the empire [A.D. 41-54], it happened about the festival of the passover, that so great a sedition and disturbance took place at Jerusalem, that thirty thousand Jews perished of those alone who were crowded out of the gate of the temple, and thus trodden to death by one another."
Return to top of page

Matthew 24:7b, Earthquakes:

There were numerous earthquakes that are spoken of in the Bible.

Tacitus records that there was an earthquake at Rome, and a very severe one at Apamea in Syria, during the reign of Claudius.

Philostatus wrote of an earthquake in Crete in his "Life of Apollonius," Which also occurred in the reign of Claudius.  He also wrote of quakes in Miletus, Chios, Smyrna and Samos (all in places where Jews lived).

In the reign of Nero, Tacitus, Eusebius and Orosius all mentioned an earthquake in Laodicia.
Eusebius and Orosius also mentioned that Hieropolis and Colose were overthrown by an earthquake.

Tacitus and Seneca both told of quakes in Campania and later at Rome in the reign of Galba, recorded by Suetonius.

Josephus wrote of a heavy storm with violent winds and much rain, lightning, tremendous thunder and roarings of earthquakes. He said: "It seemed as if the system of the world had been confounded for the destruction of man kind; and one might well conjecture that these were signs of no common event."

As you can well see, history records numerous severe earthquakes in the seven years preceding A.D. 70, some associated with Mt. Vesuvius, which eventually erupted on August 24, A.D. 79, after four hundred years of dormancy.4 There was an earthquake at the crucifixion of Jesus, and again at His resurrection. Acts 16:26 records an earthquake when Paul was in jail, and all the doors were opened and every bond was broken loose. It says it was a great earthquake. Most encyclopedias will tell you that there was a series of earthquakes from A.D. 63 to A.D. 79. So the prophetic requirement for earthquakes in various places before the "great tribulation," was satisfied.

Return to top of page

Now let us recapitulate a bit. We have the warning about deception by false prophets, then wars and rumors of wars that all came to pass, then the beginning of sorrows (nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom), pestilences, famine, earthquakes and trouble. We can see that there were adequate fulfillments of all these in the forty years preceding A.D. 70, so we will continue with the predictions of Jesus, and see if there are other fulfillments of His words.
Return to top of this page