REFUTING THE A.D. 70 THEORY - 5
REFUTING TH E A.D. 70 THEORY - 5
Yeow Chin Kiong
Matthew 24:1-35, the first part of our Lord's Mount of Olives Discourse in Matthew 24:1 to 25:46, is the only scriptural prophetic reference to the collapse of the Jerusalem (Second) Temple which actually happened at 70 AD. The second part of that Discourse has nothing at all to do with the 70 AD fall of the Jerusalem Temple but, rather, was about other matters that were yet to happen at a time not known even to Jesus, who therefore could not provide signs to indicate when that singular "day" (Matthew 24:36) would happen as He could,- and did,- regarding the destruction of the Jerusalem temple.
Matthew 24:1-35 ONLY pointed to the 70 AD fall of Jerusalem and NOTHING beyond such as Jesus' second coming, the resurrection of all dead and transformation of all alive then, the judgment of all the resurrected or transformed, the end of the physical world to be replaced by the "new heaven and new earth" and the beginning of heaven and hell. Those matters to happen after 70 AD would be taught about in Matthew 24:36 to 25:46 without mention of any indication WHEN they would happen.
The error of 70 AD theorists in conflating Matthew 24:4-35 with Matthew 24:36 to 25:46 is compounded by their setting aside completely the coming of the kingdom of God (the "kingdom of heaven", in Matthew's account of the gospel) concerning which our Lord Jesus DID prophetically provide a sign of its happening. This has to do with when Jesus would build or establish His church, which He called the "kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:18-19).
It was in the context of Him establishing this kingdom that Jesus prophesied, "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom." (Matthew 16:28). This prophecy of Jesus is reported in the gospel according to Luke as, "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the KINGDOM OF GOD" (Luke 9:27). More importantly, the parallel account in the gospel according to Mark reports the Lord's prophecy as, "And He said to them, 'Assuredly I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God PRESENT WITH POWER." (Mark 9:1). Since all of scripture is Divinely-inspired and true (Psalm 119:160; 2 Timothy 3:16-17), we have to take all three of these parallel passages together to mean that some who were hearers of Jesus' prophecy of "the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (Matthew 16:28), i.e. they would "see the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27), more precisely, they would see the kingdom of God present with power" (Mark 9:1). The scriptures will clearly tell us that this "coming of the Son of Man" would happen on the day of Pentecost fifty days after Jesus was resurrected (in 33 AD).
The "kingdom of God," the church of Christ, was established completely at Jerusalem on Pentecost at 33 AD and not 70 AD. The resurrected Jesus made sure of this by instructing His apostles, "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with POWER FROM ON HIGH" (Luke 24:49). This instruction is repeated by our Lord in Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."
The rest of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles record the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy decades before 70 AD!