Bible prophecy

“The Diaspora & Aliyah of Judah-Israel (Fulfilled)” by Steve Thomas

Adam Maarschalk 2 Comments

The following article is an excellent analysis and critique of a key idea promoted by Christian Zionists (and dispensationalists). This idea is that Old Testament prophecies concerning a regathering of Judah/Israel to the land were not fulfilled under Ezra and Nehemiah, but rather have been fulfilled since Israel became a nation in 1948 (some 2600 years after these prophecies were given). Steve Thomas shows that this idea does not stand up to the light of Scripture or history. Steve lives in the United Kingdom and moderates a Facebook group called “Christian Zionism – Deconstructing the Myths Biblically, One at a Time,” where this article was posted two weeks ago.

The Multinational Dispersal & Return: Christian Zionist Presumptions

Presumption 1.) It is presumed that the 70 year exile of the people of Judah (605-536BC) in Babylon, up to the time of Nehemiah’s return in c. 445 BC was

a.) in only one nation – Babylon,

b.) in just one direction – East of Israel. 

Presumption 2.) Upon the 1st is based a 2nd – That as the Babylonian captivity did not fulfil these two  basic criteria, a far greater dispersion (Diaspora) must be intended within the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel & Zechariah. In contrast to the Babylonian exile, they say, these prophecies define the location of the Diaspora as:

a.) nations (plural),

b.) all points of the compass – especially to the north.

Presumption 3.) Upon this 2nd is based the 3rd – That the steady migration of Jewish people to Israel, in the 20th & 21st centuries, must necessarily therefore be the prophetic fulfilment of the promises given forth in the following 4 primary dispersion-retrieval passages, as the former exile fails to meet the necessary criteria:

=> Jeremiah 3:18   In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

=> Jeremiah 16: 14-15  “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.”

=> Zechariah 2: 6-8  “Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD. 7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. 8  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”

=> Isaiah 11: 11  “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.”

A RESPONSE

The Bible record of the Diaspora shows that, contrary to CZM [Christian Zionism] assumptions detailed above, the historical dispersion was definitely multinational, and was certainly multi-directional:

EVIDENCE 1. => Jeremiah 44:1 “The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros…”

Pathros was situated in southern Egypt, in the region of Aswan, south of today’s Cairo:

http://www.world-guides.com/images/egypt/egypt_map1.jpg

^This^ was written during the exile, in the time of Gedaliah’s governorship of Jerusalem (Jer 40:5), following the 586BC destruction of the temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gedaliah

EVIDENCE 2. The following map, from an encyclopaedia of Egypt showing equivalent modern nations, shows the extent of the Diaspora at the time of Esther – from India to Ethiopia:

http://encyclopediaegypt.com/israel/persia.jpg

=> Esther 8: 9   “Then were the king’s scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are FROM INDIA UNTO ETHIOPIA, an **hundred twenty and seven provinces**, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.”

The book of Esther is set in the 7th year+ of the reign of the Persian King Xerxes (479BC), in Shushan, 200 miles east of Babylon. This places these events during the exile of Judah, some 35 years prior to Nehemiah’s return.

From this evidence it is clear that, far from the Diaspora being to one nation, in one direction, it proves to be well over 100 international provinces, to all four points of the compass.

Source

FURTHER EVIDENCE – provided within the prophecies themselves

1.) The nations surrounding Babylon were all part of the Chaldean empire during the captivity of Judah:

=> Jeremiah 25:11  “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

2.) Zechariah 2:6-8 (above) defines the dispersion as encompassing: 

a.) Babylon

b.) the land of the north

c.) the nations (plural).

3.) Jeremiah similarly defines the location and extent of the captivity:

a.) Babylon

b.) for 70 years

c.) the nations (plural):

=> “‘For thus says the LORD, that after seventy years are accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place’; ‘And I will be found of you, says the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place where I caused you to be carried away captive’; ‘Hear therefore the word of the LORD, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon’” (Jeremiah 29:10,14,20).

This evidence removes all doubt as to the multinational and multi-directional nature of the Babylonian captivity, being the only captivity detailed in these pre-exilic and exilic prophecies.

NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE

The Book of Acts describes the gathered Jewish community – resident in Jerusalem and gathered from the Diaspora – identifying their places of origin. The list of locations matches the Diaspora destinations predicted in Isaiah 11:11 (above) from which God said he would gather the children of Judah-Israel. These are comprehensively summarised at Pentecost, being “out of every nation under heaven.” Whether this is emphatic hyperbole, or not, it serves to complete the evidence – that the Diaspora was certainly as full as possibly necessary to fulfil criteria given within the prophecies of dispersion & retrieval:

=> Acts 2:5-11 “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of **every nation** under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7   And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”

We see that ^these^ locations perfectly match the very places listed in Isaiah 11 – please do see the following maps of the dispersion of Judah under Chaldean Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar and his successors to Belshazzar) and subsequently in the Medo-Persian Achaemenid Empire (Cyrus and his successors, Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes et al.):

Isaiah 11: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Map_achaemenid_empire_en.png

 

Acts 2: http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/files/2014/06/Pentecost-in-Jerusalem-Map.jpg

Other maps relating to the Acts 2 list:

http://www.travellinkturkey.com/images/auxilary/phrygia.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontus#mediaviewer/File:1stMithritadicwar89BC.png

http://www.talentshare.org/~mm9n/articles/Paul/Image19.gif

CONCLUSION

When presented with ^this^ conclusive evidence, Christian Zionist & Messianic protagonists generally forego the opportunity to respond to the ‘evaporation’ of those initial presumptions listed at the top of this post. When shown the evidence, I have not yet encountered a CZ enthusiast who admits that, “OK, the Babylonian captivity was, after all, many nations, and multiple directions; and those who suggest otherwise do seem to be unfortunately mistaken.” Instead, they tend to ‘move swiftly on,’ reverting to a couple of further arguments in favour of a modern Diaspora & Aliyah:

Presumption 4.)   It is said that, “the OT prophecies must have had a *double meaning*. Sure – they referred to the Babylonian exile in the near term (and well done for pointing that out in such detail, etc.), but today’s events are the *bigger* picture in view – the final and greater intended dual fulfilment.” Strangely, no evidence from within the prophetic texts is then presented to support this response, if challenged. It appears to be a case of prophetic guesswork – the 4th uncorroborated presumption.

Which leaves us wondering what the modern Christian Zionist theory is actually based upon. Certainly the details of the captivity, the people involved, the timing, and the location, are very precise, and given to the people at the time to show them the direction of travel intended by God. The return to the land was intended to prepare for the coming of Messiah – the prophecies of His advent being interspersed amongst the return prophecies, as God’s intended end in view.

Presumption 5.)    When it is pointed out that no post-exilic OT prophecies of another, later return can be found, and none are given in the New Testament (other than the final ingathering of the elect on the Day of the Lord,) this is brushed aside. It is said that “Israel *needs* to be back in the land for Zechariah 14 to occur” etc., which is another story, but not a proof that the Aliyah prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah can be transferred across millennia or responsibly replicated to today’s calendar without any biblical precedent. Ironically, the protagonists of this eschatology generally like to present their position as a literal reading of the bible.

Presumption 6.) Finally, the 6th presumption is called upon, when faced with the logical collapse of the previous five. It is said that, “such a global phenomenon as the Jewish repatriation of 20th and 21st century Zionism is so profound and large-scale, that it cannot be anything other than the work of God.”

But we know that nations and empires do come and go, by the wit and will of men. Organised campaigns have great power to effect enormous political change; to raise ethnic solidarity across the continents and the centuries. Just thinking of the power of the Soviet Union to coalesce and disperse populations; The modern democratic ideology; Globalisation; Nationalisms of other people groups like Kurds, Palestinians, Albanians, Kosovans and Serbs, ethnic Russians in modern Soviet satellites, the international Chinese community, Brits abroad, Irish and Scottish nationalism  etc.

It may be for instance, that the Jewish identity is intended by God to remain intact, but for the purpose of displaying the evidence and veracity of biblical history – to authenticate the bible narrative – to remind the world to take the bible seriously as the largely FULFILLED Word of God. There are several reasons that Israel might exist today – not least, the possibility that a counterfeit Kingdom of God is in view. After all, even Christian Zionists themselves propose that an antichrist kingdom will prevail in Jerusalem in coming days, so this is not too farfetched an idea…

Whichever way we take this – basing an eschatology on a set of disproven assumptions, then continuing to hold to this once they have been exposed, would seem to be to somewhat irrational. Various psychological and emotional responses come into play to defend a belief so strongly held, in the discomfort of ‘cognitive dissonance’. Evidence is compiled to bolster a preconceived ‘confirmation bias’ that persists over and against contrary evidence, no matter the strength and validity of the counter-evidence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

SUMMARY

Finally, a 7th presumption is presented, more in the way of a ‘threat’: It is said by CZM enthusiasts, “If God is not going to be faithful to Israel – in bringing the nation back again – how do you know for sure, as a Christian, that God will remain faithful to you?”

This is a poor argument, and easily resolved. The opposite is in fact the case. Having seen the comprehensive evidence above, how does the CZM enthusiast – in claiming that the prophetic fulfilments recorded within the very bible itself are *not* the intended completion of those anticipations – then go on to have confidence that *anything* will happen according to these unfulfilled aspirations? Especially aspirations that to all intents and purposes are widely expected within the CZM movement to conclude in a sinister covenant with the Jewish people, under a satanic regime in Jerusalem, ruled by an antichrist devil-man, in defiance of the Almighty.

Far better, is it not, to accept the well-attested faithfulness of God in:

1.) the fulfilment of the promises to the Fathers in the initial entry to the land (Joshua 21:43-45)

2.) the completion of the promises of exile and return to the people of Judah in the 6th and 5th centuries BC (Ezra 2:70),

3.) the Messianic deliverance in the New Covenant by Jesus,

4.) the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon his people at Pentecost, and

5.) the Word of the Lord going forth from Zion in the Great Gospel Commission?

6.) the remaining, future, final return of Christ in glory to gather his saints from the four winds into the eternal kingdom (Mark 13:27).***

HalleluYAH! Yes indeed God *IS* faithful to his promises and his people – and we can prove it, with biblical evidence, every step of the way!

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*** Adam’s note: I believe that Mark 13 (The Olivet Discourse), and parallel accounts in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, were fulfilled in the first century AD (my study on this topic can be seen here).

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Related Post: Galatians 4 Shows That Isaiah 66 Is Not About Modern Israel

To Seal or Not to Seal the Book? (Daniel 12 Versus Revelation 22)

Adam Maarschalk 2 Comments

Series: “Little Gems from Our Study of the Book of Revelation”

The following study was published earlier today in The Fulfilled Connection (TFC) Magazine, and was adapted from our study of Revelation 22 (Part 2):

What a difference 600 years can make. It certainly made a difference when it came to the visions shown to Daniel (605 – 536 BC) and to John (around 65 AD*). As we will see, one prophet (Daniel) was told to seal his book, and about 600 years later the other (John) was told to keep his book unsealed. Daniel was told that the fulfillment of his visions was a long way off, and about 600 years later John was told that fulfillment was right around the corner.

Many have observed the parallels between what Daniel and John saw in their respective visions. For example:

(a) Daniel foresaw a king, arising from the fourth beast (kingdom), who would “persecute the saints of the Most High.” The saints would “be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time,” i.e. 3.5 years (Daniel 7:25).

(b) Very similarly, John saw a beast who “was given authority to continue for forty-two months” (i.e. 3.5 years), and “it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Revelation 13:4-7).

Without a doubt, Daniel and John were granted visions of the same event, future to both of them. Or, in John’s case, had it already begun? “I, John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9).**

One group of Bible teachers, whose eschatology differs from my own, has created the following chart to demonstrate how Daniel and John both repeatedly spoke of a 3.5 year time period:

Different Descriptions of a 3 ½ Year Period

Bible References

42 months

Rev. 11:2,13:5

1260 days

Rev. 11:3,12:6

3.5 years

Dan. 9:27

Time, times & ½ a time

Dan. 7:25, Dan. 12:7, Rev. 12:4

At the end of John’s visions, he recorded a very significant instruction given to him by an angel:

“Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’ And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book’… And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand‘” (Revelation 22:6-10). 

Interestingly, Daniel was given opposite instructions. He was told to seal his book:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end… it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished… And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end’” (Daniel 12:4-9)

Daniel was told to seal his book because “the time of the end” for his people was in the distant future. However, John was told that what he saw was about to take place and therefore he should not seal his book. The contrasts between these two sets of instructions can be seen in this chart:

DATE

Around 540 BC

Around 65 AD

PROPHET

Daniel

John (Revelation)

SEAL or DON’T SEAL?

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4); “And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end’” (Daniel 12:9).

“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book…’” (Rev. 22:10).

FAR AWAY or AT HAND?

“Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future” (Daniel 8:26); “Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come” (Daniel 10:14).

“…for the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10).

Around 540 BC, Daniel was told that the time of the fulfillment of his book was still far away, but around 65 AD John was told that the time of the fulfillment of his book was near. This makes no sense if Daniel and John were prophesying about events in the 21st century or beyond, as both would be far away, and about 2600 years in Daniel’s case and about 2000 years away in John’s case. It does makes sense, however, if both Daniel and John were prophesying of events in John’s time. Here’s what the difference looks like:

Time Frame if These Prophecies Remain Unfulfilled

Time Frame if These Prophecies Were Fulfilled in John’s Day

To be fulfilled in the 21st century or beyond

Fulfilled around 70 AD

Daniel: “many days to come” = 2600 years later and not yet fulfilled

John: “at hand” = 2000 years later and still not fulfilled

Daniel: “many days to come” = fulfilled 600 years later

John: “at hand” = fulfilled a few years later

Daniel was told that his prophecies concerned “the time of the end” for his people in Israel, and the complete shattering of their power (Daniel 12:7). That “time of the end” had come in John’s day, and therefore he wrote that “the time” was “at hand.” It was the end of the old covenant age, and the time for judgment upon adulterous, unfaithful Israel – a judgment which Jesus had so often predicted (e.g. Matthew 21:43-44, 22:7, 23:34-36, 24:1-51; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 17:20-37, 19:41-44, 21:5-36). This judgment was made complete during the Roman-Jewish War of 67-73 AD, and Josephus graphically recorded the shattering of national Israel in his book,The Wars of the Jews, published in 75 AD.

That time of judgment was 600 years in Daniel’s future, but it took place in John’s generation. This is why Daniel’s book was sealed, but John’s book remained unsealed.

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*The following articles contain a wealth of evidence that the book of Revelation was written prior to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD:

[1] External Evidence for An Early Date
[2] Internal Evidence for An Early Date (Part 1)
[3] Internal Evidence for An Early Date (Part 2)
[4] Internal Evidence for An Early Date (Part 3)
[5] Internal Evidence for An Early Date (Part 4)
[6] The Book of Revelation Written Before 70 AD (An Illustration)

**According to the church father, Tertullian, John was exiled to Patmos by Nero after John miraculously survived Nero’s attempt to boil him in oil.

Paul R. Lopez: Seven “Last Days” Passages You’ll Rarely Hear Pastors Preach On

Adam Maarschalk 6 Comments

This article from Paul Lopez is good food-for-thought concerning the topic of “the last days.” It has been edited somewhat, but only for grammar and punctuation:

When was the last time you heard a “last days” sermon from the Old Testament?

When most pastors preach a sermon on the end times they usually start with the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21) or the Book of Revelation. For years the focus on end times discussions has remained in the New Testament. Unfortunately, that results in our teachers only giving us the end of the story. When reading a story, it makes sense to start at the beginning, rather than at the end and try to figure out the story from there. Yet the study of the “last days” in most churches today has us doing this very thing. I did that too for years, until I finally decided to start at the beginning of the book.

Here are seven Old Testament passages that I’ve come across in my studies that are crucial to understanding the “last days” that you will rarely hear pastors preach on in today’s churches:

1. Jacob’s Prediction of the Last Days: Would you believe the first mention of the “last days” is in Genesis 49? “And Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days‘” (verse 1, NKJV). Ironically, the first passage in the Bible that speaks of the last days is in the first book of the Bible and not the last. This passage speaks of the last days of the twelve tribes of Israel.

2. Moses’ Warning to the Israelites: In Deuteronomy 31:29, Moses tells the Israelites:

“For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands” (NASB).

This verse is in the context of Deuteronomy 28-32 and Leviticus 26. God is establishing the Covenant with His people. God promises His people both coming blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Study your cross references and you will find many fascinating connections to the New Testament — particularly Romans 9-11 and the book of Revelation. From this passage you will begin to see that the last days spoken of in Deuteronomy 31:29 are speaking of the last days of the Old Covenant, not the last days of the earth.

3. Jeremiah’s Prediction of the Last Days. Jeremiah 30:24 says: “The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back, until He has performed and until He has accomplished the intent of His heart; in the latter days you will understand this” (NASB). Jeremiah 30:24 speaks of judgment coming upon His people, and it is also the context for Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31 contains several prophecies fulfilled at the first advent of Christ. For example, Jeremiah 31:15 is a prophecy fulfilled in Matthew 2:16-18. Jesus is born under law (Galatians 4:4), at the end of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is ending with Christ’s birth, and the New Covenant is at hand with the beginning of His ministry. In writing to Jews, the author of Hebrews says in chapter 1:1-2:

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”

The things “spoken of long ago to the fathers and prophets” are the passages that we are outlining here. If you study these verses carefully, against current thought, the last days of the Jews and their Covenant were upon them. These references begin to line up with the last days of the Old Covenant, not the last days of the world.

4. Prediction of the New Covenant That Would Come: Another passage in the context of Jeremiah 30:24 is Jeremiah 31:31-34 — a prophecy that predicts that the New Covenant would come at the end of the Old Covenant. The writer of the book of Hebrews verifies this in Hebrews Chapter 8. The New Covenant for His people prophesied in Jeremiah 31 is fulfilled in the First Century, and the Old Covenant is becoming obsolete in Hebrews 8:13. Again, we see the last days of the Old Covenant were upon them in the First Century. The whole context of Hebrews 8 is again stated in the context of Hebrews 1:1-2.

5. Jesus Was Born in the ‘Last Days’: Micah 4 shows that Jesus was born in the last days of the Old Covenant: “And it will come about in the last days, that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it.” In the same context, Micah 5:2 reads: “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”

This prophecy is fulfilled in the last days of the Old Covenant, according to Matthew 2:1-6:

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”

(Cross references: Deuteronomy 31:29: Judges 2:19)

6. Isaiah’s Prediction of judgment on Old Covenant Israel in the Last Days:

Isaiah 2:1-2 , we see almost verbatim the words from Micah 4:1, about the last days of the covenant: 

“The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.”

This segment of Scripture is full of description of the last days that can be traced through the New Testament to the book of Revelation. In the same context of Isaiah 2 is the parable of the vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7) – the vineyard is the house of Israel (vs 7)! It is a vineyard that God said produced worthless grapes! This same parable Jesus quotes in Matthew 21:33-46. In verses 40-45, Jesus describes what is coming upon the Jews in their last days. The Pharisees, being familiar with the prophet Isaiah’s words, knew exactly what Jesus was saying, and that Jesus spoke the parable about them. The end of the Old Covenant system ended at the cross, yet the final destruction of the temple system came in 70 A.D.

See also Jeremiah 3:8, 23:20, and 30:24.

7. Joel’s Prediction that the Holy Spirit Would be Poured Out in the Last Days:

Joel 2:28-32 is quoted by the apostle Peter in his sermon on Pentecost in Acts 2:14-21:

“But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT‘” (Acts 2:14-18).

According to the Prophet Joel, the Holy Spirit would be poured out in “the last days.” This prophecy was being fulfilled in Acts 2 according to the Apostle Peter. His audience in Acts 2 are Jews from “every nation under heaven.”

Could all of these Old Testament passages that were fulfilled and pointed to by inspired writers in the New Testament be about the Last Days of the Old Covenant and not the Last Days of the World? It is worth your time and study to research the Scriptures.

All the prophets we have mentioned above were writing to the Jews of coming judgment upon them for breaking the covenant of Deuteronomy 28-32. Last days events mentioned in the Old Testament included the birth of the Messiah, the New Covenant coming, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and pending judgment on the Old Covenant system. Jesus clearly states that this judgment was coming upon the generation He came to in the first century (Matthew 23:36, Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32).

So what does all this mean? The Old Testament references provide the context for the New Testament passages concerning the “last days.” But that’s something you’ll rarely hear from the pulpit today, in a culture that is more fascinated with signs from world events than Scripture.

In real estate the golden rule is “location, location, location.” In eschatology, it’s “signs, signs, signs.” How about we go back to “Scripture, Scripture, Scripture”?

I challenge our pastors and teachers in the church today to begin to address these passages on the Last Days from the Old Testament. They provide the context for the New Testament passages on the Last Days and will spark healthy discussion within our churches today.

Source

Paul Lopez is a longtime student of the Word and a Bible teacher and small group leader at Murrieta Valley Church in Murrieta, Calif.

The Significance of the Overthrow of the Old Covenant System in 70 AD (Quotes)

Adam Maarschalk 1 Comment

“No matter what view of eschatology we embrace, we must take seriously the redemptive-historical importance of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD.”

–R.C. Sproul, The Last Days According to Jesus, p. 26

In the last post, Prophecy Teachers Needlessly Prophesy Horrors for Israel, I included a quote from Philip Mauro (1921) in which he said that many “seem not to be aware of the immense significance of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70…and the vast amount of prophecy which it fulfilled.” Mauro’s viewpoint echoes the understanding of numerous leaders throughout church history, as demonstrated in the quotes below. Many of these quotes also demonstrate a good understanding that what Paul said around 52 AD to the believers in Thessalonica was at the heart of why the old covenant system had to be removed, and why Israel was ripe for judgment:

“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost” (I Thessalonians 2:14-16)

On a personal note, I was brought up in a Pentecostal church from the time I was three years old (1981), attended Bible College from 1997-2000, and spent significant time in other church circles, but it wasn’t until 2008/2009 – through the internet – that I heard for the first time that some believers found spiritual or prophetic significance in Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD. Before this time, I also hardly knew a single detail about the events of that time period (the Roman-Jewish War of 66-73 AD), and I suspect this was also true of almost every Christian I personally knew. 

The following quotes are adapted from The Preterist Archive, compiled by Todd Dennis, and have been arranged chronologically, ranging from 174 AD to 1997:

[1] Irenaeus (174 AD): “CHAP. IV.–ANSWER TO ANOTHER OBJECTION, SHOWING THAT THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM, WHICH WAS THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING, DIMINISHED NOTHING FROM THE SUPREME MAJESTY’ AND POWER OF GOD, FOR THAT THIS DESTRUCTION WAS PUT IN EXECUTION BY THE MOST WISE COUNSEL OF THE SAME GOD. (1) Further, also, concerning Jerusalem and the Lord, they venture to assert that, if it had been ‘the city of the great King,’ it would not have been deserted. This is just as if anyone should say, that if straw were a creation of God, it would never part company with the wheat; and that the vine twigs, if made by God, never would be lopped away and deprived of the clusters… Even as Esaias saith, ‘The children of Jacob shall strike root, and Israel shall flourish, and the whole world shall be filled with his fruit.’ The fruit, therefore, having been sown throughout all the world, she (Jerusalem) was deservedly forsaken, and those things which had formerly brought forth fruit abundantly were taken away; for from these, according to the flesh, were Christ and the apostles enabled to bring forth fruit. But now these are no longer useful for bringing forth fruit. For all things which have a beginning in time must of course have an end in time also. (2) Since, then, the law originated with Moses, it terminated with John as a necessary consequence. Christ had come to fulfil it: wherefore ‘the law and the prophets were’ with them ‘until John.’ And therefore Jerusalem, taking its commencement from David, and fulfilling its own times, must have an end of legislation when the new covenant was revealed.”

[2] Tertullian (160-220 AD): “Therefore, when these times also were completed, and the Jews subdued, there afterwards ceased in that place [Jerusalem] ‘libations and sacrifices,’ which thenceforward have not been able to be in that place celebrated; for ‘the unction,’ too, was ‘exterminated’ in that place after the passion of Christ. For it had been predicted that the unction should be exterminated in that place; as in the Psalms it is prophesied, ‘They exterminated my hands and feet.’ … Accordingly, all the synagogue of Israel did slay Him, saying to Pilate, when he was desirous to dismiss Him, ‘His blood be upon us, and upon our children;’ and, ‘If thou dismiss him, thou art not a friend of Caesar;’ in order that all things might be fulfilled which had been written of Him” (An Answer to the Jews, Chapter VII—Of Jerusalem’s Destruction).

[3] Hyppolytus of Rome, disciple of Irenaeus (170-236 AD): “Come, then, O blessed Isaiah; arise, tell us clearly what thou didst prophesy with respect to the mighty Babylon [Isaiah 13]. For thou didst speak also of Jerusalem, and thy word is accomplished. For thou didst speak boldly and openly: ‘Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate as overthrown by many strangers. The daughter of Sion shall be left as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city’ [Isaiah 1:8]. What then? Are not these things come to pass? Are not the things announced by thee fulfilled? Is not their country, Judea, desolate? Is not the holy place burned with fire? Are not their walls cast down? Are not their cities destroyed? Their land, do not strangers devour it? Do not the Romans rule the country? And indeed these impious people hated thee, and did saw thee asunder, and they crucified Christ. Thou art dead in the world, but thou livest in Christ” (Fragments of Dogmatic and Historical Works).

[4] Origen (185-254 AD): “Therefore He [God], also, having separated from her [Israel], married, so to speak, another [the Church], having given into the hands of the former the bill of divorcement; wherefore they can no longer do the things enjoined on them by the law, because of the bill of divorcement. And a sign that she has received the bill of divorcement is this, that Jerusalem was destroyed along with what they called the sanctuary of the things in it which were believed to be holy, and with the altar of burnt offerings, and all the worship associated with it… And what was more unseemly than the fact, that they all said in His case, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him,’ and ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth’? And can this be freed from the charge of unseemliness, ‘His blood be upon us, and upon our children’? Wherefore, when He was avenged, Jerusalem was compassed with armies, and its desolation was near, and their house was taken away from it, and ‘the daughter of Zion was left as a booth in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and as a besieged city.’ And, about the same time, I think, the husband wrote out a bill of divorcement to his former wife, and gave it into her hands, and sent her away from His own house, and the bond of her who came from the Gentiles has been cancelled about which the Apostle says, ‘Having blotted out the bond written in ordinances, which was contrary to us, and He hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross;’ for Paul also and others became proselytes of Israel for her who came from the Gentiles” (Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew, Book 2, Section 19).

[5] Lactantius (240-320 AD): “Also Zechariah says: ‘And they shall look on me whom they pierced.’ Amos thus speaks of the obscuring of the sun: ‘In that day, saith the Lord, the sun shall go down at noon, and the clear day shall be dark; and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and your songs into lamentation.’ Jeremiah also speaks of the city of Jerusalem, in which He suffered: ‘Her sun is gone down while it was yet day; she hath been confounded and reviled, and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword.’ Nor were these things spoken in vain. For after a short time the Emperor Vespasian subdued the Jews, and laid waste their lands with the sword and fire, besieged and reduced them by famine, overthrew Jerusalem, led the captives in triumph, and prohibited the others who were left from ever returning to their native land. And these things were done by God on account of that crucifixion of Christ, as He before declared this to Solomon in their Scriptures, saying, ‘And Israel shall be for perdition and a reproach to the people, and this house shall be desolate; and every one that shall pass by shall be astonished, and shall say, “Why hath God done these evils to this land, and to this house? And they shall say, Because they forsook the Lord their God, and persecuted their King, who was dearly beloved by God, and crucified Him with great degradation, therefore hath God brought upon them these evils.”’ For what would they not deserve who put to death their Lord, who had come for their salvation?” (Epitome of the Divine Institutes, Chapter 46).

[6] Eusebius (314 AD): “If any one compares the words of our Saviour with the other accounts of the historian (Josephus) concerning the whole war, how can one fail to wonder, and to admit that the foreknowledge and the prophecy of our Saviour were truly divine and marvelously strange” (Proof of the Gospel, Book III, Ch. VII).

[7] Athanasius (345 AD): “When did prophet and vision cease from Israel? Was it not when Christ came, the Holy One of holies? It is, in fact, a sign and notable proof of the coming of the Word that Jerusalem no longer stands, neither is prophet raised up nor vision revealed among them. And it is natural that it should be so, for when He that was signified had come, what need was there any longer of any to signify Him? And when the Truth had come, what further need was there of the shadow? On His account only they prophesied continually, until such time as Essential Righteousness has come, Who was made the Ransom for the sins of all. For the same reason Jerusalem stood until the same time, in order that there men might premeditate the types before the Truth was known. So, of course, once the Holy One of holies had come, both vision and prophecy were sealed” (Incarnation, Chapter VI).

[8] John Calvin (1509-1564): “So in this passage [Daniel 9], without doubt, he treats of the period after the destruction of the Temple; there could be no hope of restoration, as the law with all its ceremonies would then arrive at its termination… That devastation happened as soon as the gospel began to be promulgated. God then deserted his Temple, because it was only founded for a time, and was but a shadow, until the Jews so completely violated the whole covenant that no sanctity remained in either the Temple, the nation, or the land itself. Some restrict this [the abomination of desolation] to those standards which Tiberius erected on the very highest pinnacle of the Temple, and others to the statue of Caligula, but I have already stated my view of these opinions as too forced. I have no hesitation in referring this language of the angel to that profanation of the Temple which happened after the manifestation of Christ, when sacrifices ceased, and the shadows of the law were abolished. From the time, therefore, at which the sacrifice really ceased to be offered; this refers to the period at which Christ by his advent should abolish the shadows of the law, thus making all offering of sacrifices to God totally valueless… The Jews never anticipated the final cessation of their ceremonies, and always boasted in their peculiar external worship, and unless God had openly demonstrated it before their eyes, they would never have renounced their sacrifices and rites as mere shadowy representations. Hence Jerusalem and their Temple were exposed to the vengeance of the Gentiles. This, therefore, was the setting up of this stupefying abomination; it was a clear testimony to the wrath of God, exhorting the Jews in their confusion to boast no longer in their Temple and its holiness.”

[9] Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758): “Thus there was a final end to the Old Testament world: all was finished with a kind of day of judgment, in which the people of God were saved, and His enemies terribly destroyed” (1736).

[10] William Whiston (1667-1752): “Josephus speaks so, that it is most evident he was fully satisfied that God was on the Romans’ side, and made use of them now for the destruction of the Jews, which was for certain the true state of this matter, as the prophet Daniel first, and our Saviour himself afterwards had clearly foretold” (Literature Accomplished of Prophecy, p. 64, 1737).

[11] John Wesley (1703-1791): “Josephus’ History of the Jewish War is the best commentary on this chapter (Matt. 24). It is a wonderful instance of God’s providence, that he, an eyewitness, and one who lived and died a Jew, should, especially in so extraordinary a manner, be preserved, to transmit to us a collection of important facts, which so exactly illustrate this glorious prophecy, in almost every circumstance” (Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, 1754).

[12] Dom Toutee (1790): “St. Chrysostom shows that the destruction of Jerusalem is to be ascribed, not to the power of the Romans, for God had often delivered it from no less dangers; but to a special providence which was pleased to put it out of the power of human perversity to delay or respite the extinction of those ceremonial observances.”

[13] William Dool Killen (1859): “Nero died A.D. 68, and the war which involved the destruction of Jerusalem and of upwards of a million of the Jews, was already in progress. The holy city fell A.D. 70; and the Mosaic economy, which had been virtually abolished by the death of Christ, now reached its practical termination. At the same period the prophecy of Daniel was literally fulfilled; for “the sacrifice and the oblation” were made to cease, [168:5] as the demolition of the temple and the dispersion of the priests put an end to the celebration of the Levitical worship. The overthrow of the metropolis of Palestine contributed in various ways to the advancement of the Christian cause. Judaism, no longer able to provide for the maintenance of its ritual, was exhibited to the world as a defunct system; its institutions, now more narrowly examined by the spiritual eye, were discovered to be but types of the blessings of a more glorious dispensation; and many believers, who had hitherto adhered to the ceremonial law, discontinued its observances. Christ, forty years before, had predicted the siege and desolation of Jerusalem; [169:1] and the remarkable verification of a prophecy, delivered at a time when the catastrophe was exceedingly improbable, appears to have induced not a few to think more favourably of the credentials of the gospel. In another point of view the ruin of the ancient capital of Judea proved advantageous to the Church. In the subversion of their chief city the power of the Jews sustained a shock from which it has never since recovered; and the disciples were partially delivered from the attacks of their most restless and implacable persecutors” (The Ancient Church: Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution, Project Gutenberg, available at http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/gutenberg/1/6/7/0/16700/16700-8.txt).

[14] C.H. (Charles) Spurgeon (1834-1892): “The destruction of Jerusalem was more terrible than anything that the world has ever witnessed, either before or since. Even Titus seemed to see in his cruel work the hand of an avenging God… Truly, the blood of the martyrs slain in Jerusalem was amply avenged when the whole city became veritable Aceldama, or field of blood… There was a sufficient interval for the full proclamation of the gospel by the apostles and evangelists of the early Christian Church, and for the gathering out of those who recognized the crucified Christ as their true Messiah. Then came the awful end, which the Saviour foresaw and foretold, and the prospect of which wrung from his lips and heart the sorrowful lament that followed his prophecy of the doom awaiting this guilty capital…Nothing remained for the King but to pronounce the solemn sentence of death upon those who would not come unto him that they might have life: ‘Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.’ The whole ‘house’ of the Jews was left desolate when Jesus departed from them; and the temple, the holy and beautiful ‘house’ became a spiritual desolation when Christ finally left it. Jerusalem was too far gone to be rescued from its self-sought doom (Commentary on Matthew, 1868, pp. 412-413).

[15] Philip Schaff (1819-1893): “A few years afterwards followed the destruction of Jerusalem, which must have made an overpowering impression and broken the last ties which bound Jewish Christianity to the old theocracy…The awfiul catastrophe of the destruction of the Jewish theocracy must have produced the profoundest sensation among the Christians… It was the greatest calamity of Judaism and a great benefit to Christianity; a refutation of the one, a vindication…of the other. It separated them forever” (History of the Christian Church, Vol. 1, 1877, pp. 403-404).

[16] F.W. Farrar (1831-1903): “The Fall of Jerusalem and all the events which accompanied and followed it in the Roman world and in the Christian world, had a significance which it is hardly possible to overestimate. They were the final end of the Old Dispensation. They were the full inauguration of the New Covenant. They were God’s own overwhelming judgment on that form of Judaic Christianity which threatened to crush the work of St. Paul, to lay on the Gentiles the yoke of abrogated Mosaism, to establish itself by threats and anathemas as the only orthodoxy… No event less awful than the desolation of Judea, the destruction of Judaism, the annihilation of all possibility of observing the precepts of Moses, could have opened the eyes of the Judaisers from their dream of imagined infallibility. Nothing but God’s own unmistakable interposition – nothing but the manifest coming of Christ – could have persuaded Jewish Christians that the Law of the Wilderness was annulled” (The Early Days of Christianity, 1882, pp. 489-490).

[17] Philip Mauro (1859-1952): “It is greatly to be regretted that those who, in our day, give themselves to the study and exposition of prophecy, seem not to be aware of the immense significance of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, which was accompanied by the extinction of Jewish national existence, and the dispersion of the Jewish people among all the nations. The failure to recognize the significance of that event, and the vast amount of prophecy which it fulfilled, has been the cause of great confusion, for the necessary consequence of missing the past fulfillment of predicted events is to leave on our hands a mass of prophecies for which we must needs contrive fulfillments in the future. The harmful results are twofold; for first, we are thus deprived of the evidential value, and the support to the faith, of those remarkable fulfillments of prophecy which are so clearly presented to us in authentic contemporary histories; and second, our vision of things to come is greatly obscured and confused by the transference to the future of predicted events which, in fact, have already happened, and whereof complete records have been preserved for our information.

“Yet, in the face of all this, we have today a widely held scheme of prophetic interpretation, which has for its very cornerstone the idea that, when God’s time to remember His promised mercies to Israel shall at last have come, He will gather them into their ancient land again, only to pour upon them calamities and distresses far exceeding even the horrors which attended the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This is, we are convinced, an error of such magnitude as to derange the whole program of unfulfilled prophecy” (Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation, 1921, emphasis added).

[18] John Piper (1996): “It is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of what happened in A.D. 70 in Jerusalem. It was an event that, for Jews and Christians, was critical in defining their faith for the next 2000 years.”

[19] R.C. Sproul (1997): “The coming of Christ in A.D.70 was a coming in judgment on the Jewish nation, indicating the end of the Jewish age and the fulfillment of a day of the Lord. Jesus really did come in judgment at this time, fulfilling his prophecy in the Olivet Discourse” (The Last Days According to Jesus, p. 158, 1998). “The most significant, redemptive, historical action that takes place outside the New Testament, is the judgment that falls on Jerusalem, and by which judgment the Christian Church now [clearly] emerges as The Body of Christ” (R.C. Sproul, Dust to Glory  video series, 1997).

Wade Burleson: Four Blood Moons – It’s Called Lunacy for a Reason

Adam Maarschalk 4 Comments

Lunacy – Def. “originally referring to temporary insanity attributed to changes of the moon.” Cf. Old English “lunatic,” literally “moon-sick.”    -Wade Burleson

I’ve read a couple of articles, but no books, on one of the latest fads to invade the world of Evangelical Christianity – the “four blood moons” of 2014-2015. My understanding is that this phenomenon was first highlighted by Mark Biltz, a Hebrew roots proponent and pastor of El Shaddai Ministries in Tacoma, Washington. He wrote a book in 2008 called “Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs.” More recently, in 2013, John Hagee published his book on the topic, “Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change.”

Wade Burleson, a pastor and author in Enid, Oklahoma, wrote a review in March 2014 of Hagee’s book. I appreciate a lot of his thoughts (not 100%, but close), and believe that his article is informative and thought-provoking, so I’d like to share it here:

…Mr. Hagee’s newest book Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change makes a case that the author may be suffering from a form of temporary insanity.  Christians who believe what John Hagee is proposing without thinking for themselves, could find themselves afflicted with the same disease.

Mr. Hagee believes that something terrible, but ultimately triumphant, is about to happen to the nation of Israel due to the four total lunar eclipses that will occur in the northern hemisphere during 2014 and 2015.  These four eclipses, called by astronomers a tetrad, occur on April 15, 2014, which is Jewish Passover; on October 8, 2014, which is the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles; on April 4, 2015, which is (again) Jewish Passover; and on September 28, 2015 which is (again) the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles. 

Contrary to what Hagee would have the reader believe, lunar eclipses aren’t that special. There are at least two to five lunar eclipses every year. Likewise, lunar tetrads (total lunar eclipses that occur six months apart, with no partial lunar eclipses in between) also occur frequently. There have been 62 tetrads since Christ. The last one was in 2003 and 2004, and there will be a total of 8 lunar tetrads in this century (2001 to 2100). 

Hagee writes that what is rare is that this lunar tetrad is occurring on Jewish holy days. Well, maybe. Since the times of Christ, there have been eight tetrads that have occurred on Jewish Passover and the Festival of Tabernacles. Think about this for a moment, though. If the first total lunar eclipse of a tetrad happens to occur on Passover (15 Nissan on the Hebrew calendar), it is guaranteed that the second total lunar eclipse will occur the Festival of Tabernacles (15 Tishri on the Hebrew calendar) because the Hebrew calendar is lunar, and the Festival of Tabernacles is exactly six lunar months after the Festival of Passover.  So it is also guaranteed that the third and fourth lunar eclipses of a tetrad will occur on those same Hebrew festival daysthe following year.  Again, the lunar tetrad falling on Hebrew holidays is not as rare as Hagee would like you to believe. Here are the eight that have occurred since Christ. 

1. AD 162-163 
2. AD 795-796 
3. AD 842-843 
4. AD 860-861 
5. AD 1493-1494 
6. AD 1949-1950 
7. AD 1967-1968 
8. AD 2014-2015 

Hagee writes that every time a tetrad occurs on Jewish feast days something traumatic  and ‘world-changing’ happens to Israel. He gives three examples. First, in 1492 Spain expelled the Jews and Christopher Columbus discovered America, giving the Jews a place to go. Second, in 1948 Israel became a nation again. And third, in 1967 Israel won the Six Day War and captured Jerusalem. In a moment I will absolutely destroy Hagee’s conclusion about “traumatic things” happening to the Jews and the nation of Israel every time a lunar tetrad occurs on Hebrew holy days. For now, just think about this: Israel wasn’t even a nation the first six times a lunar tetrad occurred. 

Yet, Hagee concludes that something traumatic, but ultimately triumphant, is going to happen to Israel during 2014 and 2015, an event that ‘will change the course of world history.’ More to the point, Hagee believes the “rapture” will occur, Israel will go to war in a great battle called Armageddon, and Jesus Christ will return to earth because the prophet Joel said,

“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Joel 2:31).

Now, while being kind to Mr. Hagee as a brother in Christ, and writing as one who also believes in the full inspiration of Scripture, I would like to show you why the premise of Hagee’s book is speculative at best, and pure lunacy at worst.

7 Reasons Why the Premise of John Hagee’s Four Blood Moons  Is Potential Lunacy

(1). Anytime Jewish literature describes the fall of a government or nation, apocalyptic language is used. This highly symbolic manner of writing, with language like, “the sun was darkened, the moon would not give her light, and the stars shall fall,” is the way the Hebrew prophets described how God would come in judgment upon a nation. The Old Testament refers to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC (Isaiah 13:10-13) in this manner. Likewise, Egypt’s collapse in 590 BC (Ezekiel 32:7-8) and Judah’s fall in 586 BC (Zephaniah 1:14-16) are described with this stellar apocalyptic language. The sun going dark and the moon turning to blood is biblical symbolic language describing the fall of a nation by the judgment of God, not literal astronomy. 

(2). John Hagee falsely calls the lunar tetrad occurring in 2014 and 2015 four blood moons. These four lunar eclipses are not blood moons at all! They are simply full moons that are eclipsed! Hagee wrongly calls them “blood moons” in order to bring Joel 2:31 into play and act as if Jesus is coming as Messiah over Israel after “the moon turns to blood.” Astronomers who hear Christians call the next four lunar eclipses “Blood Moons” will rightly think we are ignorant of astronomy. Truth be told, we are mostly ignorant of the Bible.

(3). When the prophet Joel wrote “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Joel 2:31), he was describing the judgment of God upon the nation of Israel for their rejection of His Son. National judgment on any people in rebellion to God is often described as “the dreadful day of the Lord.” Joel’s prophecy, referred to by Luke in Acts 2:20, was a prediction of the “great day of the Lord” against Israel, the day when God judged the nation by destroying Jerusalem, the Jewish Temple and scattered the people (AD 70). God brought to an end the Old Covenant, formally ushered in the New Covenant (agreement) where people of every nation, race, family and language group find peace with God through faith in the person and work of His Son. Listen to the great Hebrew linguist and Baptist theologian John Gill commentary on Acts 2:20 and Joel’s prophecy:

“The sun shall be turned into darkness”… as at the death of Christ, by a total eclipse of it: “and the moon into blood,” as at the opening of the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12) “before that great and notable day of the Lord come”: when he shall come in power and great glory, as God did a few years after this (AD 70), to take vengeance on the Jews, and destroy their nation, city, and temple; in which there was a display of his greatness, and power, and which was awful and terrible to them, as in Joel it is called “the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (see Gill’s note on Matthew 24:29 also).

(4). Hagee attempts to prove that every time a tetrad occurs on Jewish holy days, something happens to the Jews and Israel. That’s simply not true for a couple of reasons. First, the Jews were scattered for nineteen centuries and Israel did not exist as a nation. NOTHING happened to the Jews or the nation of Israel during the years of the first six tetrads. Hagee tries to suggest that Spain “expelled the Jews” in 1492 and that was this was a ‘traumatic and terrible’ event. However, astronomers tell us that the actual tetrad occurred on Passover and Tabernacles in 1493 and 1494, not 1492. The Jews were expelled from Spain a full eighteen months before the first lunar eclipse of 1493/1494 tetrad even began. Second, there are only two tetrads that fall on Jewish holy days during Israel’s time as a nation (since 1948). Interestingly, Hagee makes the same dating mistake when he speaks of Israel’s “traumatic” war for independence. Israel was declared a nation and went to war in 1948, not during the lunar tetrad of 1949/1950. Hagee’s error of misstating the actual date of astronomical tetrads seems intentional. He must misstate the dates of previous tetrads in order to convince readers that his prophecies in Four Blood Moons are reliable. However, fudging facts to prove an argument is not scientific or ethical. 


(5). One of my favorite Bible series at Emmanuel was “Portraits of Christ: The Feasts and the Festivals of Israel.” I know enough about Jewish calendaring and the holy days of Old Covenant Israel to know that the priests watched the moon from the mountains of Israel to declare new moons (months), holy days, and other events by blowing the shofars. In other words, the moon was eyeballed by the priests of Israel! Interestingly, the lunar eclipse tetrad of 2014/2015 will not be visible from Israel! We Americans seem to think the world truly revolves around us. Smile. One would think if a special occurrence in the lunar cycle (a tetrad) were important to Israel, they could at least see it!

(6). Hagee’s use of the term “blood moons” for the upcoming lunar eclipse tetrad is utter deception. A tetrad is four successive total lunar eclipses with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months. Hagee’s book is about a tetrad, but he’s calling it four blood moons. There are NOT four blood moons occurring in 2014 and 2015. A blood moon can only occur in the fall. The twisting of science to conform to one’s alleged presuppositions of Joel 2:13 (the rapture, Armageddon, the return of Christ as Messiah of the nation of Israel, etc…) is pure deceit. Of course, this is done in order to convince people that “the moon turning to blood” before the “day of the Lord” (Jesus’ return), and that Jesus return is going to happen in 2014/2015. We’ve heard these same kinds of predictions on the return of Jesus in times past (88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1988), and there will be additional false prophecies regarding the “return of Christ” in the future. What’s unfortunate is Christians never take the time to think through these silly predictions for themselves.

(7).  The great theologian John Brown once wrote: 

“A person at all familiar with the phraseology of the Old Testament Scriptures, knows that the dissolution of the Mosaic economy, and the establishment of the  Christian economy, is often spoken of as the removing of the old earth and heavens, and the creation of a new earth and new heavens.” (John Brown, vol. 1, p. 170).  

Amen, John Brown. I stand with you in promoting Christ, His mercy and grace, and the incredible blessing of living in a world built on the principles He taught–the Christian economy as you call it.  Love your enemy. Do good to those who abuse you. Be merciful and kind, seek justice for the sake of others, forgive those who have wronged you, and remember the poor, the fatherless, and the widows. What kind of world would we live in if we all took seriously the establishment of the Christian economy in our spheres of influence?

I love the nation of Israel. It is a democracy in the middle of Islamic totalitarianism. [Adam’s note: I have reservations about this statement.] However, the only hope for Israel and this world is for individuals in these various nations to become followers of the true and eternal King, to learn to live at peace with all men, and to love others the same way Jesus has loved us. Yet, John Hagee, has declared: 

“When all is said and done, the flag of Israel will be flying over the walls of the city of Jerusalem when Messiah comes, and it’s going to be forever. And every nation that rises up in judgment against Israel God will punish and punish severely.”

Mr. Hagee, our time as followers of Jesus might be better spent telling others about the love of God in Christ, and not blindly supporting the nation of Israel. It seems that the New Covenant Scriptures attributes the judgment of God in terms of our treatment of His beloved Son. Do I trust Him, or do I despise Him? Do I love Him, or do I hate Him? It is far better to make a sinful soul at peace with God through a faith relationship in Jesus Christ than it is to muster support for the nation of Israel. Nations come and go. Kingdoms rise and fall. Christ’s Kingdom is the only eternal one. God calls those who love and trust His Son “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His special possession, so that we might declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light” (I Peter 2:9). 

We live in a changing world. Something catastrophic may happen to Israel and/or America during 2014/2015, but it’s not the result of blood moons or God’s judgment. God judges individuals on the basis of whether or not they trust in His Son. The only favored nation now is “the holy nation” of people from every nation, tribe, kindred and tongue who have received Christ as Lord and Savior. Our praises of Jesus to a people living in darkness are never enhanced by the proclamation of false prophecies. My hope is that this little blog might save just one person from the lunacy of Four Blood Moons. 

The Bible Does Not Teach That Damascus, Syria Is About To Be Destroyed

Adam Maarschalk 22 Comments

The Bible does not teach that Damascus, Syria will be destroyed in our future. We will see why this is true from both a historical and Biblical standpoint. Contrary to many predictions that are rapidly accumulating on the internet, not even Isaiah 17 contains such a prophecy for modern-day Damascus:

The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” says the Lord of Hosts. “In that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob will wane, and the fatness of his flesh grow lean… Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, like the shaking of an olive tree, two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in its most fruitful branches,” says the Lord God of Israel (Isaiah 17:1-6).

Isaiah, by his own testimony (Isaiah 1:1), prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, all kings of Judah. Uzziah died around the year 739 B.C. (Isaiah 6:1), and this is generally thought to be the beginning of Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet. So it appears that Isaiah delivered this prophecy against Damascus/Syria and Israel less than a decade before both locations were struck by Assyria for the first time.

 “…Furious, I dyed like a red flower [Rezin’s] charioteers, and their weapons I destroyed, and their horses. I captured his fighters, archers, and shield and lance bearers,.. In order to save his life, Rezin fled alone and entered the gate of his city like a mongoose. I impaled his foremost men alive on stakes and made his land watch. For 45 days I set up my camp around his city and enclosed him like a caged bird. I cut down his gardens, countless orchards. I didn’t leave one standing. I besieged and captured Hadara, the ancestral homeland of Rezin of Damascus and the place of his birth. I took 800 people together with their property, their cattle (and) their sheep as spoil. I took 750 captives of the cities of Kurussa (and) Sama (as well as) 550 captives from the city of Metuna as spoil. I destroyed 591 cities from the 16 districts of Damascus like ruins from the Flood…”

So said Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of Assyria, regarding his military attack on Damascus in 732 B.C. (Annals of the Assyrians 23:13’-5’ and 23:16’-7’). In this campaign he deported many of the surviving citizens of Damascus, replacing them with exiles from other parts of the empire. This was a common tactic used by Assyria to prevent conquered cities from re-emerging. It also ensured that the people and culture of each conquered territory were not left intact. The State Archives of Assyria Online (SAAo), a text database created by a team from the University of Helsinki (Finland) and based on materials found in the royal archives of Nineveh, has this to say about the fall of Damascus at that time:

“In 732 BC, the kingdom of Damascus lost its independence and existence, its holdings carved up into Assyrian provinces. Israel, on the other hand, was allowed to survive, albeit reduced to a fraction of its former size and cut off from the sea” (Source).

Peter Dubovsky, a scholar and professor from Slovakia, recounts the utter ruin of Damascus and the surrounding regions in the aftermath of Tiglath-Pileser’s campaign in his work titled, “Tiglath-pileser III’s campaigns in 734-732 B.C.: Historical background of Isa 7; 2 Kgs 15-16 and 2 Chr 27-28,” Biblica 87 (2006), pp. 153-170. It’s well-documented and worth checking out (See Link #1 or Link #2).

Israel was then attacked once again in 725 B.C., and after a 3-year siege was completely devastated. (Judah and Jerusalem remained intact until their defeat at the hands of Babylon in 586 B.C.) Damascus and Syria were also hit again in 720 B.C. when the newly crowned king of Assyria, Sargon II, crushed a regional rebellion that included these territories. UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) summarizes what happened to Damascus from this time forward:

“After being defeated twice by the Assyrians, it was definitively conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 600 BC. It fell into Persian hands in 530 BC, and then in 333 BC it was annexed to the empire of Alexander the Great. The two adjoining areas were unified by the Romans, during the reigns of Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla (AD 197-217). The city was enclosed by a single ring of enclosure walls that are still be identified. After the interval of rule by the Sassanid Parthians, in 636 its fate was sealed permanently as part of the Arab world, becoming the prestigious and monumental capital of the Umayyad caliph. The city then began to expand outside the enclosure walls and enjoyed a time of particular economic prosperity,..” (Source)

Even more important than the validation of secular history, however, is the validation of Scripture. Isaiah 17 is a proclamation against both Syria and Israel. There is no doubt that the warnings against Israel were fulfilled soon after Isaiah delivered them. The northern kingdom of Israel never rose again after Assyria wiped it out. The warning against Israel begins with these words, “In that day…” (Isaiah 17:4). In what day? It would be in the day that Damascus would cease to be a city, would become a ruinous heap, and would have its kingdom taken away (verses 1-3). If Israel’s defeat took place in Isaiah’s day, as he prophesied, then so did the defeat of Damascus which he prophesied. The phrase, “in that day,” doesn’t allow for a 2700+ year separation between the two prophecies, as many attempt to create when they insist that modern-day Damascus is about to be destroyed in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Amos was a contemporary prophet to Isaiah, and his ministry coincided with the reigns of Jeroboam II and Uzziah. Scholars tend to believe that his message was delivered in 750-749 B.C., perhaps a decade before Isaiah delivered his message. This was Amos’ warning against Damascus:

“For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad. I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” says the Lord (Amos 1:3-5).

Isaiah’s prophecy against Damascus (in Isaiah 17) was an echo of Amos’ slightly earlier prophecy. In II Kings 16 we can see the fulfillment of both prophecies (and other prophecies that we’re about to look at):

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign…and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem… Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria captured Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the Edomites went to Elath, and dwell there to this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin (II Kings 16:1-9).

Isaiah 17:3 says that the kingdom would be taken from Damascus. After Rezin’s death, history doesn’t record any other king of Damascus. This city lost its king (due to his death) and its people (due to their captivity and deportation). It was no small city, for Tiglath-Pileser said he destroyed 591 “cities” within Damascus. The mega-city of Damascus was the heart of Syria, and Rezin was supremely important to Damascus, as we see in Isaiah 7:

“For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin” (Isaiah 7:8).

Just like in II Kings 16, the greater context of Isaiah 7 shows that Israel (the north) and Syria were joining forces in an effort to destroy Judah and Jerusalem:

“…Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it” (Isaiah 7:1).

Furthermore, the same kind of analogy that we see in verse 8 concerning Syria is also given right afterward concerning Israel:

“Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son [Pekah]” (Isaiah 7:8-9).

So this is what Isaiah highlights concerning both Syria and Israel:

COUNTRY CAPITAL CITY KING
Syria Damascus (“head of Syria”) Rezin (“head of Damascus”)
Israel (Ephraim) Samaria (“head of Ephraim”) Pekah (“head of Samaria”)

What is God’s response to “these two stubs of smoking firebrands” (Isaiah 7:4) and their alliance against Judah and Jerusalem?

“…the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria” (Isaiah 8:4).

God then goes on to describe Assyria and its king as “the waters of the river, strong and mighty” that He would “bring up over” Syria and Israel (Isaiah 8:7). It’s interesting that God compared Tiglath-Pileser to a river, and he described his destruction of Damascus as “hills over which the flood had swept.”

This, then, is the background of the prophecy in Isaiah 17. It also helps to explain why Isaiah prophesies, in chapter 17, against both Syria/Damascus and Israel at the same time. They were about to be soundly defeated by the same enemy, and during the same time period (“in that day” – Isaiah 17:4). So, in review:

  • Amos prophesied that Damascus was to be punished and defeated, and that the people of Syria would be taken captive to Kir.
  • Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 8 show that Syria (led by king Rezin) and Israel (led by king Pekah) conspired together in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah foretold that both kingdoms would be wiped out by the kingdom of Assyria.
  • Isaiah 17 again foretells that both Syria and Israel are about to be defeated, and that Damascus would lose its kingdom and be turned into a ruinous heap.
  • II Kings 16 shows Syria and Israel coming together to attack Judah and Jerusalem; followed by the king of Assyria conquering Damascus, killing Rezin (their king), and taking the people of Damascus captive to Kir.

Isaiah and Amos prophesied concerning events that would take place during the lifetime of the audiences that heard their warnings, not about events that would take place more than 2700 years later in the 21st century. Furthermore, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, and by considering historical accounts, we see how their prophecies were soon fulfilled.

Joel C. Rosenberg (a New York Times best-selling author) and Jan Markell (the founder of Olive Tree Ministries in Minneapolis) are two well-known leaders promoting the idea that current events involving Syria are about to lead to the fulfillment of Isaiah 17. In a September 1st article on World Net Daily, Drew Zahn compiles similar thoughts from Carl Gallups (author and radio host), James F. Fitzgerald (author of “The 9/11 Prophecy”), Bill Salus (author of “Psalm 83: The Missing Prophecy Revealed”), Joel Richardson** (author of “The Islamic Antichrist”), Dr. Tommy Ice, andWalid Shoebat, all agreeing that the stage is set (or being set) for “the Biblical doom of Damascus” to unravel “before our eyes.” One prophecy website even shows an aerial photo of the modern city of Damascus with the word “GONE!!!” posted above it in large letters, and Isaiah 17:1 posted beneath it.

If we’re not careful, our failure to recognize fulfilled prophecy can actually give way to a desire to see the destruction of people and nations in our world and in our time, so that we can place check marks next to prophecies that were already fulfilled a long time ago. The Bible does not teach that Damascus and Syria are about to be destroyed. It teaches that Damascus and Syria can experience the healing of the water of life that flows through the city of the New Jerusalem, made up of God’s people:

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2; see also Ezekiel 47:1-12, Hebrews 12:22-24 and Revelation 21:1-27).

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**Update: Joel Richardson has clarified that his position is somewhat different than what is stated above. Please see the comment section for that clarification, as well as his explanation of the good work he has been doing to share the viewpoint of Syrian Christians and lobby Congress not to attack Syria.

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A follow-up post to this one mainly focuses on Isaiah 17:12-14, showing that it describes how Assyria attempted to defeat Judah and Jerusalem in 701 BC, but miserably failed when God miraculously intervened: “Isaiah 17:12-14 Is Addressed to the Enemies of Judah.” Isaiah 17 has everything to do with the 8th century BC, and nothing to do with the 21st century.