| The Royal Marriages, Summary Notes and References Notes 1. The similarities between Matthew 24:5-8 and Revelation 6:1-8 have long been noted, and it is widely accepted that they speak of the same era and events. In addition, many have presumed that all of the events in Matthew 24:9-31 proceed in sequential order form vss. 5-8. (I long believed this.) However, the parallel chapter of Luke 21 says differently. There, vss. 8-11 parallel Matt. 24:5-7; but vs. 12 then says, "But before all these things they will persecute you... You will be brought before kings and rulers for my [Jesus] name's sake." Luke, like Matthew, then speaks of the desolation in Jerusalem and distress (tribulation) that follows it. The witness of Luke, combined with the foreshadowing signs of the Exodus era, show that Matthew 24:5-31 is not given sequentially, but rather topically. (Just like Parts 1 - 4 of this work.) That is, Jesus was prophesying about many different themes related to the Last Days, but not focusing on the precise order of events. In Jesus' End Times discourse throughout Matthew 24-25, he covers at least nine different topics. In 24:5-8, the topic is "the beginning of [the] birth-pangs" � an important theme of the OT prophets (as I showed in Part 4). In 24:15-22, the topic is the Abomination of Desolation and Great Tribulation. Verses 23-24 then prophesy about false Christs, in terms very much like verse 5. These are not two different cases of false Christs: they speak of the same period, the First Seal/Horseman. Therefore, the 'Four Horsemen' events of verses 5-8 take place after the Abomination of Desolation events of verses 15f., and constitute the initial trials of the Great Tribulation. return 2. Both Numbers and the Book of Jasher inexplicably fail to date Korah's rebellion, and also the budding of Aaron's rod (= the Seventh Trumpet). This is noteworthy, because all previous such important events are dated in the Bible and/or Jasher. The biblical account is written in a way that it appears that Korah's rebellion began not long after the events of the 2nd year, 5th month, and it also appears that Aaron's rod budded the third day thereafter. However, Jasher 83:43f. ambiguously says Korah's rebellion took place "a long time" after the Israelite rout by the Canaanites; and Jasher doesn't even mention the event with Aaron. As Hebrews 8:5 and 10:1 state (and I've supplied abundant evidence in support of) Mosaic-era events are only "a shadow of the good things to come, and not the[ir] very image." My understanding here is that the Lord inspired Moses to write his account in such a way as to foreshadow the Latter Day events � i.e., the 1260-day ministry of the Two witnesses, and the 31/2 days until their resurrection � even though one or both of the events in Moses' day did not occur at the proper corresponding time. Under this interpretation, the budding of Aaron's rod serves a dual foreshadowing role: both as the last event (the final, apparently 31/2 days) of the sixth Israelite rebellion (= Sixth Trumpet), and also as the final establishment of God's authority over the Israelites (= Seventh Trumpe). In the Latter Days, quite some time will pass between the end of the sixth Trumpet and the end of the Seventh. See text for Rev. 11:15-19, the Seventh Trumpet. [Note: Rev. 14:14 says, "The second woe [= Sixth Trumpet] is past; and behold, the third woe [Seventh Trumpet] cometh quickly." 'Quickly' here does not imply soon or immediately: the Greek word tachu would better be translated speedily or in haste (in its appointed time). So also in Rev. 2:26; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20.] return 3. According to the Seven Times prophecy of Leviticus 26, the Latter Day interval will be quite comparable (a bit longer). See "The Restorations of Both Israel and Judah After 7 Times." return References The following articles mentioned in this work are available on this site at the links below: "The Apocalypse of ... Esther ??" "The Restorations of Both Israel and Judah After 7 Times" "The King of the Abyss" Likewise, information on the book Sacred History, Sacred Times. Also cited in this work: The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, by Marvin Rosenthal; Nashville: Nelson, 1990. Ages in Chaos, by Immanuel Velikovsky; Garden City: Doubleday, 1952. Previous page Return to Index Return to Index page 2 |