Matthew 24 addresses a 1st century Jewish audience. All its prophesies were fulfilled by AD 70.

POINT 6 – The Second Coming The Glorious Return 29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. I see God conveying the timeline and audience of address in a number of ways. It is shown by 1) quotes and references to the OT in the content of the message, 2) by the use of parables, and 3) by the shortness of time and time references. They all address this OT people. There is also the historical details in the writing of Josephus which confirm this timeline. 1) In Luke 21:25-28, the parallel passage, it tells this people to lift up their heads because their redemption is drawing near. Con, you put this passage in the future by separating it from verses 20-24. Yet verses 20-22 say it is a time of punishment to fulfill all that was written, a wrath to this people. All that is written would include His Second coming. You admitted that the surrounding of the temple by the Romans points to an AD 70 fulfillment. Luke 21:22-38 (NIV) 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. The NT only speaks of two comings of the Son, one being His birth and life on earth, the other being when He returns from heaven. Hebrews 9:28 and Acts 3:19-21, 24-26 make the two comings clear. His 2nd Coming is covenant talk that speaks of Israel’s impending judgment for their bloodguilt. Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man. Deuteronomy 19:10 So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you. [1] Justice/judgment is signified in the imagery of the sun, moon and stars as being darkened as does His coming on the clouds if you apply the understanding of the OT to these verses. “They” refer to OT people. Con is trying to separate the applicational fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10 and Daniel 7:13-4 Jesus is speaking of as something that has no bearing on the NT text or this people. Jesus’ 2nd Coming is fulfilling the curses in the covenant and in the time frame of that generation. Jesus came to avenge the martyrs, the prophets and saints. These saints were crying out for vindication, as per Revelation 6 which again Con takes out of context. Revelation 6:10-11 (NIV) 10..."How long, Sovereign Lord,..., until you judge the inhabitants of the earth[land] and avenge our blood?” 11 ...they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. God has attributed all the blood of all the prophets and saints to this generation. The number of fellow servants later killed speaks of NT prophets/saints who were still to be martyred. These OT people are crying out for their blood to be avenged and are told to wait just a little longer. John the Baptist, the forerunner, speaks of this judgment about to befall this people. Matthew 3: 1-3, 7, 10, 12 3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “...,‘Prepare the way for the Lord,...’” 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?…10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire…12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” It is clear that John the Baptist is speaking to an OT people about the wrath to come. Did it come at the crucifixion or at Pentecost? No, blessing came at the crucifixion and Pentecost. Wrath came in AD 70. 2) Jesus used parables in speaking to this OT people concerning His coming and wrath. That is who parables were addressed directly to. Psalm 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Matthew 13:35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” In the parable of the Wedding Banquet of the Son in Matthew 22:1-13 God “sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Most commentators acknowledge this parable as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the servants were the prophets God sent to Israel. Notice the wrath comes in God destroying their city and punishing the murderers. He avenges His servant’s deaths. Luke 18:1-8 speaks of a persistent widow who keeps coming before a judge to beg his protection. Finally the judge gives in. 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” This justice for the elect (true Israel) comes when the Son of Man comes with judgment on apostate Israel. 3) His coming is soon. The NT reveals this in a number of passages. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 (NASB) 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. Here is Paul, speaking to those in Thessalonica saying that ‘we’ who are alive and remain until the Lord’s coming which means that His coming is in their lifetime. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 these people received a message that the Lord had already come. They expected Him and Paul reveals to them that He will not come until the Man of Lawlessness is revealed. Hebrews 10:37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. This was written to 1st century Hebrew Christians. James 5:8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. REBUTTAL AoD from Round 3. The Bible views the AoD in two ways, 1) involving the cities desolation – Jerusalem, God’s holy city - where the Gentiles occupy the outer courts for 42 months and 2) involving the desecration of the temple itself. Luke 21:20 speaks of the desolation of the city by the Romans that resulted in desolation to the temple in AD 70. The warning to flee Judea is typologically likened to Lot fleeing Sodom because of its abominations. Matthew 24:15 speaks of desolation in the Holy Place. I see three possible instances of what would be considered a desecration of the temple itself: 1) the Jewish factions within the temple walls, 2) the Romans when they entered the sanctuary in AD 70 and, 3) Israel’s desecration in her adultery, in rejecting her Messiah and the acceptable sacrifice before God. [Cestius Gallus] “marched into Judea with a force of over 30,000 men in September 66 in an attempt to restore order at the outset of the Great Jewish Revolt… Gallus...penetrated the outer city, but was unable to take The Temple Mount. After a siege of nine days, Gallus decided to fall back to the coast. His decision appears to have been based on the loss of siege equipment by ambush and the threatened cutting of his supply lines as the October rains began.” [2] This incident led to the war in Judea and Jerusalem with Rome. The zealots also were the first to desecrate the temple if you discount Gallus. So these disciples had warnings and time to flee before this time, times and half a time. [3] The disciples were told: 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. They did flee to the mountains as also testified by Josephus. The AD 66 nine day siege gave them time to flee the siege that followed.[4] [1] https://www.biblegateway.com... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org... [3] http://www.josephus.org... [4] http://www.preteristarchive.com... [4] http://www.eschatology.org...