Serendipity you have made many good points in your post
serendipity:
Definitely think the fall fo Jerusalem was the promise to that generation, though so many times in the Bible, concluded events have the potential to foreshadow developments in the future.
I agree with this point of view and from the Scriptural point of view I believe that there is a constant theme of things that are being foreshadowed. These are the prophecies that spoke of events in their own times as well as pointing to the Messiah. This is especially so in the Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, as well as Ezekiel and others. In fact the way that Jesus instructed the Apostles was to point them to the Scriptures that pointed to Him as the Messiah. That is why it is necessary to examine the historical period before looking to the future.
This brings us back to Matthew’s Gospel, and the Olivet discourse. Darkness most certainly did come over the land when Jesus died on the Cross. Yes, there were three days of darkness when Jesus was tortured, and then crucified and then laid in the tomb. Does the darkness just represent physical darkness, or is there also a reference to the darkness of sin and the apparent triumph of Satan?
I think it was necessary as a sign to demonstrate the truth of Jesus as Christ, because the resurrection alone may not have convinced people, since to this day, many claim that it is possible that Jesus really didn’t die or that his body may have been smuggled out by his followers.
This is an excellent point, because the Evangelists made sure that we understood that the Jews did indeed attempt to bribe the soldiers who were at the tomb to lie and to say that the body of Jesus was taken by his followers.
You are correct when you say that the Resurrection alone was not enough to convice people. Yet many were convinced to the point that on the day of Pentecost they repented of their sin and converted through the administration of the Sacrament of Baptism. All the same the Resurrection was not enough for the ones that John calls the Jews.
Yes, and one of those who makes this false claim is Dr. Barbara Thiering. She has written four books on the subject, the last being “the Gospel that Jesus wrote” which happened to be the Gnostic gospel of Thomas.
Also, the sign helped sow the seeds of faith for the early Christians, that if that part fo the prophecy was fulfilled, then the final judgement prophecy too must be valid and lives must be amend in preparation for it. Many Christians of the time interpreted the signs that Jesus predicted as indicating that the fulfillment of the Olivet discourse was about to occur, which is why they were able to flee to the hills in Jordan, and not be killed in Jerusalem. If they did not do so, one has to wonder if we woudl be Christians today.
I think that this is a very relevant point for our discussion. I like the way that you have framed this answer. It must be remembered that the prophecy said that you better hope that the punishment does not come on a sabbath. The reason for this comment is that the Jews were forbidden to go more than about a mile on the sabbath and if they had to flee because of the arrival of Roman soldiers then they have the predicament of not being able to flee.
Once again I am reminded of the story that is told about the Maccabean wars in the Books of the Maccabees about the Hasidic Jews who refused to defend themselves from the enemy because it was the sabbath. They were slaughtered. I suspect that Jesus was also bringing this to the minds of his audience who were all too familiar with the story of the tribulation that was endured at the hands of the Greeks before they were soundly defeated and forced to leave Jerusalem.
Keeping this in mind, we can see that when the Romans did strike in Jerusalem, the city was full of Jews from all over the Diaspora because of a feast that required attendance at the Temple.
It is not impossible to see that the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem was a sign that one age (the age of the Old Covenant) had come to an end. No more animal sacrifices were required because the most Perfect Sacrifice had been made - a Sacrifice that is applied to the past sacrifices, present sacrifices and future sacrifices. At the same time it is further evidence of the dawning of the New Covenant that had been executed in the Blood of Jesus Christ.
A question can be raised: how does this apply to the belief that Christ’s coming was immanent?
MaggieOH
