“When shall these things be?” (Matthew 24:3). Some folks try to say that this question concerned the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but the final two questions in this verse, namely “What shall be the sign of your coming” and “(What shall be the sign) of the end of the age (or world)?” are for our future in the 21st century. But is this true?
The disciples were asking about the ‘end of the age’ not the end of the world in the sense that the planet, earth, would be destroyed. I’m not certain they could even comprehend what that might mean. They asked about the end of an era or age, which is what the Greek word aion (G165) implies. The fact is that an age did end in 70 AD when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed. The Jews no longer had a homeland and they had no Scriptural means of practicing their faith with the Temple destroyed. After the war some of the Jewish leaders were permitted by the Rome to meet and decide how their faith would be practiced without the Temple standing. In other words, they had no divine directive to continue in their religious activity. It had to be redefined and that by man not God. The age of God working through the Jews as a nation with religious activity defined by him was over. However, what can be said about the sign of the coming of Jesus?
The Apostles three questions in verse-3 are actually rephrasing the same thought. In the final verses of Matthew 23 Jesus mourned over Jerusalem and pronounced her ‘House’ (the Temple) desolate. The Apostles tried to show Jesus the great stones, implying they understood Jesus’ words to mean the Temple would be destroyed. Nevertheless, Jesus reiterated his claim that not one of those great stones comprising the Temple would remain in place. All would be removed and cast aside. This was done in 70 AD by the Roman armies. Remember, most Christian scholars agree that the Apostles first question about “these things” refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. In Matthew 24:2 Jesus says: “See you not these things?” In Mark 13:2 he says: “See you these great buildings?” They speak of the same thing. In Matthew 24:3 the Apostles ask: “When shall these things be?” Mark 13:4 asks the same question: “When shall these things be?” Matthew 24:3 continues with the 2nd and 3rd questions of the Apostles: “What shall be the sign of your coming?” and “(What shall be the sign) of the end of the age?” [one sign for both is implied]. Mark however phrases it a little differently saying, “What shall be the sign when all these thing are fulfilled?” Mark is still speaking of “these things” which nearly everyone agrees speak of 70 AD when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed. Yet, the sign the apostles ask for comprises **all** these things, indicating they were simply rephrasing the same thought.
In other words, the destruction of the Temple coincided with the time of Jesus’ coming. The end of the age not only coincided with Jesus’ coming, but also with the destruction of the Temple. Did Jesus actually come in 70 AD? Yes, he did. He came in judgment of the Jewish nation. In fact, this is exactly what he told the high priest, Annas, who interrogated him at his mock trial the night before he was crucified. Notice what the Scripture says:
Jesus said unto him, “You have said so: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64 KJ2000)
Jesus predicted he would come in judgment and that Annas, the high priest, would live to see it. This is what he did in 70 AD and this is that to which the Olivet Prophecy refers. If one would compare the language of Matthew 26:65 and Matthew 24:30 with Jeremiah 4:13 where the Lord says he will come to destroy Jerusalem in clouds and chariots swifter than eagles, one would see the similar language indicates God coming in judgment. The same is true in Isaiah 13:10 where the Lord comes to judge Babylon and the heavens will be black over her; similar language is used in Isaiah 34:4 where the Lord uses the same language for his judgment of all nations. Again, we could look at Ezekiel 32:7 when the Lord judged Egypt and covered heaven so they would be black over the nation and their rulers would govern no longer, and Joel 2:2, 31 where the Lord comes to Jerusalem for judgment in clouds and removing the lights of heaven over her, and we would find that all these Scriptures use similar apocalyptic language to show God coming to judge the nation or nations in question.
The Olivet Prophecy uses this same type of apocalyptic language to show that Jesus would come in judgment of the Jewish nation, because they rejected him as their Messiah. It was an eye for an eye. The Jewish nation rejected him, and he rejected them. They excommunicated him in favor of their traditions of men, and he excommunicated them and their apostate Judaism. The apocalyptic language is not literal; it points to God (Jesus , the Messiah) coming to judge his nation the Jews for rejecting his authority over them.
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4 responses to “Jesus’ Coming in 70 AD”
Very interesting. What about Acts 1:11? The angels speaking to the Apostles as they watched Jesus very literally taken up into Heaven on a cloud before their eyes v.9 and they were watching intently in the sky v.10 – the angels told them “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the SAME WAY that you have seen him go in to heaven.” I can agree with you that figuratively Jesus came on the clouds in judgment in 70 AD, but this promise from the angels seems to speak of another more literal appearance in the clouds when Jesus returns.
What Jesus says in the Olivet discourse seems to convey the same idea when he tells them not to go after men claiming to be the Messiah. Matt 24:27 – “For as lightening that come from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
I suppose that could be a metaphor for the judgment being really obvious to all. I know Josephus said that when the Roman general Titus saw Jerusalem and the strength of its walls and how complete was its destruction he concluded that the only way it could have fallen was if God gave Jerusalem to the Romans.
I see from reading your Olivet Prophecy blog that you do believe that someday Jesus will come back visibly. Do you believe that Acts 1:11 prophecies of a visible return or is a metaphor for His coming in judgment?
I believe it will be visible.
As I said elsewhere, I believe Acts 1:11 promises a visible return by Jesus. I do not believe his coming in 66-70 AD was figurative. It was literal. Folks saw the judgment universally. The national judgment of the Jews was just as literal as Jesus’ coming in judgment as King over the nation. The word of God says that judgment begins with the house of God, so Titus was correct; he was given the victory over the Jews by God. This may seem farfetched at first, because Rome was very powerful. Yet, Rome had been engulfed with civil war after the death of Nero. Vespasian restored order, but if God didn’t allow that Rome could have fallen from within in the 1st century AD, and the Jewish nation would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, because they didn’t repent and kept persecuting Jewish believers, Jerusalem fell.
Jesus coming takes a long time. 1Thessalonians 4:16-17 says the dead in Christ rise first and we who are alive and remain will be caught up to the Lord in the air. According to Revelation 20:4-6, this is the “first” resurrection, but the rest of the dead don’t rise until the “1000 years” is over. This shows us that the 1000 years is not literal but figurative of a very long time. See my blog: Does the Millennium Last for 1000 Years? If the 1st resurrection takes a very long time to take place, and everyone in the first resurrection is caught up to meet the Lord in the air, then it stands to reason that Jesus coming must last at least as long as the first resurrection.