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

I immensely enjoyed our last, and hope to repeat that experience here. The Olivet discourse, which is also recorded in Luke 21 and Mark 13, begins with the apostles pointing out the beautiful temple complex. Jesus tells the disciples, “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. ” This brings the apostles to ask questions. “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? ” “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen…” In other words, when will the temple be destroyed? Jesus’ answer is recorded in Luke 21:20. 20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Jerusalem was surrounded by the Romans in 70 AD. For the purposes of this debate, I do not dispute this part of the Olivet discourse has been fulfilled. ”… and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? ” This is the part in which Pro and I disagree, and to which I will adress my arguments. The answers to this question can be (and should be) directly compared to the seal judgments in Revelation 6. The chart below illustrates point for point how the Olivet discourse and Revelation are linked. [0] Now that we have seen the parallels between the Olivet discourse and Revelation, let us attempt to apply them to 70AD. 1. Revelation a. The book of Revelation and its composition date Modern scholarship holds that the book of Revelation was written between 90-95 AD. One reason for this time frame is because of the words of Ireneaus, who claimed John wrote the book during the reign of Domitian. We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision [John]. For that was seen not very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign. [5] Domitian’s reign was from 81-96 AD. Revelation could hardly be a prophecy of 70 AD if it was written afterwards around 90-95 AD. Unlike disputes over other books of the New Testament, most modern scholars, date the composition of Revelation fairly consistently around 90 AD. This is illustrated in the charts below. [2][3] b. Was Revelation fulfilled in 70AD? As we discussed above, if the Olivet Discourse was completely fulfilled in 70 AD (including the second coming of Jesus), then we must address the fulfillment of Revelation as well. There is much I could say about Revelation alone, but I will only cover one aspect. Revelation 11 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. The two witnessesThe two witnesses in Revelation 11:5-6 come before the return of Jesus, and are said to have amazing abilities. If anyone should seek to harm them, the witnesses can protect themselves with “flames from their mouths”, and they would have the ability to bring about the plagues of old (just like those in Moses day). If these witnesses existed in 70 AD, they were never mentioned by Jews, Christians, or Gentiles. 2. Abomination of Desolation (AoD) Matthew 24 15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. a. AoD will come quickly to the temple. The Romans besieged Jerusalem for 7 months [4], and by the time they reached the temple in 70 AD (which is where the abomination would necessarily occur), The Jews should have been well aware of the impending doom. The siege was not quick as verses 17 and 18 would lead one to believe. Pro's position contradicts the obvious meaning of this passage. b. Flee! According to verse 15, people will be able to flee when they see the AoD. In 70 AD, the Romans built siege walls all the way around Jerusalem during the siege [5]. When the Romans took the city, large numbers of Jerusalem’s residents were already dead or unable to flee. If Jews had applied verse 15 to the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, then they would never have had the opportunity to escape. This is another failure. c. AoD standing in the temple The sign to flee is when the AoD is standing in the temple. Therefore, the destruction of the temple could not be the Abomination. I believe it makes sense to view the AoD as a man or idol, but no matter your interpretation, it will need to stand in the temple to fulfill scripture. 3. Greatest Tribulation Matthew 24 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. a. Was 70 AD the worst Tribulation? Verse 21 tells us that no greater hardship and no greater suffering will occur before or after the great tribulation. If we apply this passage to 70 AD, it fails. In 70 AD, Josephus tells us that 1,100,000 Jews die [4]. That number may be embellished, but even if it is not, it pales in comparison to the 6,000,000 Jews who were killed in the Holocaust during the second World War. b. Could life have been wiped out in 70 AD? Verse 22 tells us if God had not stopped this event, then no one would have survived (he would stop this event for the sake of believers). As brutal as the siege of Jerusalem was in 70 AD, there was never a chance of all believers (much less all life) dying. 4. Missionaries to the world Matthew 24 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. a. Audience First, let me address Pro’s assertion about the audience. There are three main goals the writer of Matthew hoped to achieve: 1. Demonstrate Jesus as the Messiah to Jews. 2. Help Jews to understand why Jesus did not establish his kingdom on Earth and, 3. Why the gospel was being introduced to Gentiles. So, I would agree it is proper to say the Olivet discourse is for a Jewish audience. However, I would not agree it carries no implications for Gentiles (or the modern Church). In fact, since the kingdom is being offered to Gentiles, Matthew 24:14 should apply to the entire world and all nations, and by no means would it be limited to the Roman empire. If we apply verse 14 to 70 AD, we have another failure of Pro’s position because the Salvation of Jesus could not have traveled to the whole ancient world in ~40 years through the primitive communication and transportation available at the time. For example, the natives of the Americas would not have heard the ‘good news’ until at least the 15 century. [6]Thank you readers, and back to you, Pro. I look forward to addressing your arguments and seeing your rebuttals in the next round. [0]. http://www.historyaddict.com... [1]. http://en.wikipedia.org... [2]. http://relevancy22.blogspot.com... [3] . http://www.hwhouse.com... [4]. http://www.josephus.org... [5] . http://www.biblestudying.net... [6] . http://rationalwiki.org...