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

Thanks for accepting! 24 Jesus came OUT FROM THE TEMPLE and was going away when His DISCIPLES came up to point out THE TEMPLE BUILDINGS to Him. 2 And He said to THEM, "Do you not see all THESE THINGS? Truly I say to you, NOT ONE STONE HERE will be left upon another, which will not be torn down." 3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the DISCIPLES came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will THESE THINGS HAPPEN, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 4 And Jesus answered and said to THEM, "See to it that no one misleads you. -Matthew 24:1-4 POINT ONE - AD 70 The imminent statements throughout the NT can be logically understood in light of this event and no other. There is no other significant event during the 1st century that fits the bill. To project these events into the distant future is to READ INTO THE TEXT something that defies its plain meaning. You, Skepticalone, are forced to do this. Jesus pointed to the destruction of the temple which happened in AD 70. If any book of the NT had been written after AD 70 it is unbelievable that such a significant event has no mention as already happening, not one. The destruction of the temple signified an end to an age, an end to the Jewish worship system, their heaven and earth and their covenant relationship with God. It required animal sacrifices of atonement for sin. After AD 70 there is no longer a trace of this covenant's requirements being practiced. Jesus said, 36 Truly I say to you, all THESE THINGS will come upon THIS GENERATION. (Matthew 23:36) "These things" refer to the warnings of judgment to this people for killing all those sent to them as well as their "house" being left to them desolate which signified the end of that covenant, God abandoning this apostate people. 34 Truly I say to you, THIS GENERATION will not pass away until all THESE THINGS take place. (Matthew 24:34) "These things" refer to the fulfillment of all the prophetic promises Jesus had told the disciples would happen in answer to their question in verse three of the discourse. Problems arise when you try to separate "this generation" from its context or when you try to dismiss Jesus' references to the end of the age as having no bearing on this Old Covenant people. The context and its fulfillment clearly show it is to this Jewish people that Jesus is speaking. POINT TWO - Audience Relevance When one reads the NT they cannot escape the audience relevance, to the Jew first, then to the Gentile. Jesus is addressing an Old Covenant people. So are the NT writers. Through them God chose to make Himself known to the world by choosing this people and the lineage from whom the Messiah would come. Through this people He made a covenant to show mankind the problem of sin and His solution, His Son! Every NT book primarily addresses these OT people with references to the PROPHETS SENT TO THEM, their constant rejection of these prophets and the soon to be fulfillment of all unfulfilled OT prophecy concerning them included in the events of Messiah's first and second coming. Galatians 4:4 But when the FULLNESS OF TIME came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. The Son was born under the law and sent to those under the law. "I believe that a recognition of "audience relevance" must be applied. By that I am simply saying: When reading the Scriptures, we simply must keep in mind that the things we are reading, whether spoken by Christ or written by His inspired writers, were not spoken and/or written to "us." Good folks, I am now persuaded that one invaluable thing we must always keep in mind is that the Scriptures, even though they were written "for" us, they were, in actuality, written "to" those in that era. And for that reason, I believe it is crucial that we study and understand them in their setting and context! For I believe to do otherwise is but to set ourselves up for a distortion in our interpretation and/or understanding of God's message!" [1] We have to read the Discourse through 1st century Jewish eyes and through an understanding of their culture and tradition to understand it because it was to such a people, tradition and culture that Jesus came to and addressed. Jesus and the inspired writers used terms, language, idioms, metaphors, symbols, figures of speech, all related to the Hebrew culture, not a Greek or modern culture. God's promises to mankind were through Israel and their fulfillment. The Jewish way of thinking was different from the Greek or our way of thinking today. POINT THREE - Three Questions "THESE THINGS" (and a soon fulfillment). Do the NT writers, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, give indication that "these things" were being fulfilled? Does history? Did Jesus in the gospels give clue as to when the fulfillment would be? I believe the answer is yes to all three questions and to say otherwise, which is your unenviable position, Skepticalone. It goes against the plain teaching of Scripture and 1st century history. False Christ's/Messiah's, wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, great tribulation, persecutions, hatred, brother betraying brother, deceptions, the gospel preached throughout the earth, are all recorded either as 1) finding their fulfillment, 2) about to find their fulfillment in the NT or, 3) recorded by Josephus as having been fulfilled. [2] For instance, the abomination of desolation which Jesus said was spoken of through Daniel the Prophet in Matthew 24:15 applies strictly to an OT people, A PEOPLE WHO HAD PROPHETS SENT TO THEM. It applies strictly to the desecration of the temple and city of God in Jewish writings. How can this abomination be applied to anyone else? 12 "Now at THAT TIME Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of YOUR PEOPLE, will arise. And there will be a TIME OF DISTRESS SUCH AS NEVER OCCURRED since there was a nation until that time; and at that time YOUR PEOPLE, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued....it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon AS THEY FINISH SHATTERING THE POWER OF THE HOLY PEOPLE, ALL THESE EVENTS WILL BE COMPLETE....11 From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION is set up, there will be 1,290 days... Daniel 12 Jesus refers to the prophet Daniel, and the abomination of desolation spoken of by him to a Jewish OT people. NOTE: Daniel 12:1 " "your people." "A time of great distress unequaled" compared with Matthew 24:21. With "the power of the holy people shattered" everything concerning this people is complete. 'That time', a three and one half year time span in which Jerusalem was surrounded and destroyed. "SIGN OF HIS COMING" 30 And then the SIGN of the Son of Man will appear in the [heavens], and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE [HEAVENS] with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30 Note, it is a sign that will appear in the heavens, not Jesus in flesh and blood on earth. At that time they will see or understand that Jesus had come into His kingdom through their judgment. Clouds in OT Hebraic writing most often depict judgment. In a conversation with the High Priest Caiaphas, before the crucifixion, Jesus told him he would see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Father. 62 The high priest stood up and said to Him,..."I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will SEE THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. -Matthew 26:62, 64 13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a SON OF MAN WAS COMING, And HE CAME UP TO THE ANCIENT OF DAYS And was presented before Him. 14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a KINGDOM..." -Daniel 7:13, 14a He comes before the throne of the Father in heaven, NOT ON EARTH, where He is given a kingdom. This is what the High Priest would understand or see when the temple was destroyed in clouds of judgment at AD 70. "END OF THE AGE" In Matthew 24:3 the DISCIPLES ask Jesus what would be the END of the age. Jesus, throughout the discourse makes mention of the end of the age in verses 13, 14, 19, 22, 50 with events that lead to its end. Those days, that day, the hour of His coming, the preaching of the gospel, all speak to this end when Jesus would establish His kingdom, the new age, by His appearance. Matthew 24:3 speaks of the same end of the age as in Matthew 28:19-20. I contend the end refers to this 1st century people and no other in its NT usage. Skepticalone, can you show otherwise? 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to THE END OF THE AGE." Matthew 28:19 In order to undermine this event, you, Skepticalone, must underplay the significance of it and its fulfillment in AD 70. Therefore you will have to change the time frame and audience of addressed from the usual meaning this language plainly conveys to an esoteric one. Skepticalone, to refute any one of these three arguments would still show the irrationality of your reasoning because the rest show the unreasonableness of your position. I see your task likened to the boy at the dyke. You need to pay attention to the language - who is being addressed and when these must these things happen. When you don't I will take you back to the context and point this out to you. [1] http://www.christeternalchristianchurch.com... [2] http://www.preteristarchive.com...