Whose framework should we use as the “gold standard” for the end times?
Jesus, in His sermon on the end times recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, provided extensive details about events leading to the time of the end. In this sermon Jesus describes what is going to happen at the end of this age (Matthew 24:3). Jesus gave us a road map for the end times. The destination? The day of the Lord.
Essentially, the day of the Lord will be the fulcrum point where this current age transitions to the age to come. I love to ponder this. Here we will see the ultimate fulfillment of prophecy when the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and the god of this [age] world (2 Corinthians 4:4) receives an overwhelming blow to the head (Genesis 3:15). While we live in a world today that is evil (Galatians 1:4), the day is coming when Jesus will come again to restore all things (Acts 3:19–21; Matthew 19:28) and establish the kingdom of God (Luke 21:31) when He has reign and dominion over all the earth during a millennial kingdom (Daniel 7:13–14; Revelation 11:15; Zechariah 14:9; Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 60:19–21; Isaiah 66:22–23; Psalm 72:8; Revelation 20:4). This is beautiful and inspiring. It will be so wonderfully glorious that “the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17). Jesus will be king, and out of the LORD’s house and out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2–3).
Jesus Christ brought so much to mankind at His first coming, but so much is yet to come! Jesus is truly the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
Jesus Christ is not only the essence of prophecy, He is to be considered the greatest of all the prophets! Jesus prophesied of many things that were literally fulfilled during his lifetime. Here are just a few examples: Matthew 16:21; Matthew 26:2, 21, 34; John 2:18–22; John 14:26. Also, Jesus was declared a prophet multiple times in the New Testament (Luke 7:16; 24:19; John 6:14; 9:17; Acts 3:22; Hebrews 1:1–2). So not only was Jesus a prophet, He fulfilled prophecy at His first coming and He will fulfill prophecy yet future at His second coming.
Considering that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, considering Jesus’s prophetic record, and considering that three of the gospels record Jesus’s extensive prophetic sermon on the end times, I believe without reservation that we should use Jesus Christ’s straightforward end-times framework from the Olivet Discourse as our “gold standard”.
What I mean is that we should use this simple framework as a “measuring rod” to not only keep our bearings when studying prophetic scriptures, but to evaluate our own personal interpretation of prophetic scriptures.
The blue boxes contain a high-level summary of the events foretold by Jesus along with a handful of additional New Testament passages. This end-time chronology as summarized below is vitally important.
I encourage you to take time and familiarize yourself with these important scriptures. If we don’t, how can we effectively obey Jesus’s command to be awake, to be watchful, to be prayerful, and to be ready for the coming of the Son of man? See Matthew 24:42–44; Mark 13:34–36; Luke 21:36.
In the next blog post, we will compare Jesus’s Olivet Discourse “framework for the end times” with the testimony of the prophets from the Old Testament. I think that you will be favorably impressed with how their testimony consistently aligns with Jesus’s “gold standard” framework.
Blessings,
Brandon
Greetings Brandon. I was looking at your post on “The Olivet”, and along with you I see it as very needful to heed the warning of The lord, and to understand this vital part of God’s oracle’s. Have yo considered this – verses 1-29 were for the apostle’s Age specifically?
We note the three questions asked: 1) When shall ” these things” be?
2) What shall be the sign of thy “coming”? And
3) the End of the Age?
What “things” – the things mentioned at Math. 23:34-38; note v36 “all THESE THINGS shall come upon THIS GENERATION – that is, those hearing his denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees. And vs39 speaks of His ‘
“coming” in the name of the (HIs Father) which will be at the resurrection, where many of His era, when He manifested His Fathers power in the miracles before their faces, yet they rejected Him and His claim to be the “son of God”. This “coming” will be Jesus’ third coming! You say how so? Well he came in his birth at Bethlehem, and had 33years from his birth to his crucifiction; He came again (though not physically) in his being at the head of the Roman armies in AD 70 – Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, (in their preaching) till the Son of man be come. (Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; (this is the Roman political heaven) Mat 22:1 – 7 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth His Armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. fulfilled AD70.
The ” Last Days” in the New Test. are not to be confused with “the last days = the latter days = the time of the end in the Old Test. To do so confusion will reign.
Isa 2: 2 has no relativity to the N.T. but is the same time period as Exe 38:8, 16 – see Jer 30: all chapter, but specif. v24
The last days of the new Test have run their course, and terminated in AD 70. See Hebrews – Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these Last Days spoken unto us by his Son …… ”
These are all the same time period – warnings before AD 70
2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers …..
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is …Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Act 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God …..
1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye …….
1Pet 1:5 .. by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pet 1:20 foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times
Jude:18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time …
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
Mat 10:22-23 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved….
One of the secrets to the Olivet Prophecy is to understand the meaning of the Words – 1) Coming: 2) World:
There are three words in the N.T. for world Aion – Kosmos – Oikoumenee – and it is imperative to know which are which!
For instance the word “coming” at Mth 24:3 is Parousia – 3952 παρουσία Parousia – par-oo-see’-ah From the present participle of G3918; a being near, that is, advent (often, return; specifically of Christ to punish Jerusalem, or finally the wicked); (by implication) physical aspect: – coming, presence.
this is a quote from Moulton and Milligan Lexicon regarding the word “coming” here…
What however, more especially concerns us in connexion with the NT usage of Parousia is the quasi-technical force of the word from Ptolemaic times onwards to denote the “visit” of a King, Emperor, or other person in authority … ”
The Lord Jesus Christ had a “presence” in the Roman Army for the punishment oh His Fathers people, which was prophesied at Deut 28: and lev 26:
Much more could be said, but I have taken up much of your time already.
rgds Greg
ps Jesus Father often used the Armies of the nations to punish his people –
IsaiaH – Isa 10:5 – 7 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.:6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.:7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
Eze 33:1 – 2 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying :2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land ….:
Deut 28:47-49 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; 48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as THE EAGLE -(SEE MTH 24:28) flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;,,,
Hello Greg,
I appreciate your comments. I have duly considered the preterist position, but I fully believe in the biblical merits of a futurist view of the end-times. I believe in a future physical second coming, a future physical day of judgment, a future physical resurrection from the dead, a future physical restoration, etc. Because of this, we are going to view the Olivet Discourse and many other New Testament teachings differently. AD70 was heavy discipline laid upon Israel but by no means do I think it was a final judgment that ended God’s covenant promises wtih Israel. Whether referring to “this generation” or other time texts, I simply do not find the support of preterism convincing as there are satisfactory interpretations of these texts that are in line with a futurist position and that fit the overall biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation. Along with many other things, I simply believe that the harvest and the end of this age/world (Matt 13:39-42) and the phyical return of Jesus Christ (2 Thes 2:1,8; 2 Pet 3:12; I John 2:28; etc.) are still future and did not find their fulfillment in AD70. I interpret “this generation” to mean the generation that is alive to see the events as described in Mattew 24, which doesn’t preclude future applicability beyond the first century.
Blessings,
Brandon