Eschatology 101 Part Five
Welcome to our fifth study in our Eschatology series. Today we need to study two Theo Praxis that have occurred which point directly to God having His attention leading to the PMC event. For those who have not read our past four posts, I would encourage you to stop here and go back to read those first!
Imagine, the Jews are dispersed by the Romans, their Holy City is sacked, the Temple is destroyed. If you were studying the Old Testament, you would be thinking this is where the Prophets got it wrong!
Josephus the Historian wrote the following,
“And now, since his soldiers were already quite tired with killing men, and yet there appeared to be a vast multitude still remaining alive, Caesar gave orders that they should kill none but those that were in arms, and opposed them, but should take the rest alive. (415) But, together with those whom they had orders to slay, they slew the aged and the infirm; but for those that were in their flourishing age, and who might be useful to them, they drove them together into the temple, and shut them up within the walls of the court of the women; (416) over which Caesar set one of his freed men, as also Fronto, one of his own friends; which last was to determine every one's fate, according to his merits. (417) So this Fronto slew all those that had been seditious and robbers, who were impeached one by another; but of the young men he chose out the tallest and most beautiful, and reserved them for the triumph; (418) and as for the rest of the multitude that were above seventeen years old, he put them into bonds, and sent them to the Egyptian mines. Titus also sent a great number into the provinces, as a present to them, that they might be destroyed upon their theaters, by the sword and by the wild beasts; but those that were under seventeen years of age were sold for slaves. (419) Now during the days wherein Fronto was distinguishing these men, there perished, for want of food, eleven thousand; some of whom did not taste any food, through the hatred their guards bore to them; and others would not take in any when it was given them. The multitude also was so very great, that they were in want even of corn for their sustenance.
3. (420) Now the number of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand, as was the number of those that perished during the whole siege eleven hundred thousand, (421) the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation [with the citizens of Jerusalem], but not belonging to the city itself; for they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread, and were on a sudden shut up by an army, which, at the very first, occasioned so great a traitness among them that there came a pestilential destruction upon them, and soon afterward such a famine, as destroyed them more suddenly.”1
Now you know why Jesus wept in the Gospel of Matthew when He looked upon Jerusalem and declares, Matthew 23:37-39, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’” Yet, here we have a hint to our first Theo Praxis, Jesus is declaring that there must be a day when Jerusalem is filled with Jews like it is at the time of Matthew 23 and they must recognize Him as their Messiah, the Christ, and say, “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.” Jesus is aware of what is coming, Luke 21:5-6 “And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, 6 As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
Jesus is aware of what is coming, and yet He is seconding what is stated in the Old Testament about the Jews having specific promises that must be fulfilled. Amos 9:14-15 “Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 “I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them,” Says the LORD your God.”
So it would appear that there is an issue, the Jews are dispersed, Israel is no longer and yet, God’s Word makes a declaration setting the stage for a clear impossibility for anyone other than God. However, God is not done raising the impossibility! He declares that Israel will come back in a single day. One day there is no nation, the next day there is a nation. Isaiah 66:8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.”
For centuries many pastors would examine the impossibility, deny God’s sovereign will and assume there was a mistake in the text; or they would spiritualize it to mean anything other than what God said, they were guilty of committing Parexigesi Theo Praxis. Many of the promises to Israel were taken and assumed to be for the Church. Others were assumed that they were already fulfilled. Suddenly, May 14, 1948 comes, and in one day Israel becomes a nation recognized by the largest superpower nations immediately. The Amos prophecy is found to be complete. Israel is a nation again, the Jews survived not being a nation for almost two thousand years to suddenly have a home again. The second Theo Praxis, is the fact the Jewish people have survived. Historically speaking, no society has ever been able to leave their homeland for two thousand years and come back with their culture, history, and people. This is something that only God can do. The Jews have gone through some of the most horrific atrocities known to mankind, and yet survived! This is only possible with God. For two thousand years God protected the Jews outside of their homeland, He now has brought them home, two impossible events a reality. Hard to believe for those who do not understand that God is sovereign and takes His own word seriously, even when mankind does not. To be perfectly honest, there are still those who do not understand the basics of Biblical understanding and try to spiritual what we can see in front of us! Nevertheless, God’s Word is true and we have two Theo Praxis to examine that have happened within our lifetime.
Jews have returned. Israel is a nation again! Why is this so important? It is important because God has declared the Jews must be in a present Israel and in Jerusalem when He deals with Satan. This is why the Jews in Jerusalem are so important. This is why Israel puts the clock ticking and Satan on notice that God has not forgotten what He declared in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall crush you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Satan has already bruised the heel, but now Satan will have his head crushed at the Post-Millennium-Culmination.
Next week we will discuss a series of events that Israel must go through. Daniel the Prophet and others help us understand what is coming.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed hope is coming,
JL
From The Works of Josephus,
translated by William Whiston
Hendrickson Publishers, 1987