End Times-Daniel

There are three main theories regarding the end times. The most popular one is Dispensationalist (i.e. The Left Behind Series). This theory assumes most prophesies have not been fulfilled yet. Generally speaking they believe Israel will be restored to its previous place with God, there will be a tribulation and the rapture will take the righteous and leave everyone else.
The second most popular is the Pederast teaching which says that (in its most extreme form) all prophecy has been fulfilled by ad70 (including the second coming of Christ).
The third is the Historical view. It is the one held by most of the Historical churches (Lutherans, Methodists, etc). They (and for the most part, I) believe that most of the prophecies have been fulfilled over the course of the last 2500 years with only the ones directly relating to the return of Christ left.
In Galatians 3:16 Paul says,
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
The promise of Eternal Covenant is to Abraham and Christ, not some physical group of humans. The Israelites were chosen to be the linage to Christ and the bearers of the law. They were never saved just because of their Jewish-ness. The Bible has many examples of people that believed God and were evidently saved even though they were not Israelites, though most of those following God were Israelites.
Isaiah and Jeremiah (plus many others) prophecy that the Israelites would be taken captive, followed by Judah being taken and that Solomon's temple would be destroyed. Most of the scriptures that are obviously talking about Jerusalem, capital city of Judah, refer to its inhabitants as Israelites. God obviously sees both nations as one, really. In fact, in the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, God tells him that He will make Israel and Judah into one nation again. I believe this happened at the return from the Babylonian captivity.
Jeremiah 29:10) For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place...
Seventy years later, a man named Cyrus would give the command for all Israelites (decedents of Jacob) to return to Jerusalem (This was some one hundred fifty years before Cyrus came to the throne.)
Isaiah lived in the 700bc's, Jeremiah in 627-586. Cyrus was born 580.
Isaiah 44:28) That saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Isaiah 45:1) Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates and the gates shall not be shut;
(Babylon could not be sieged because the river flowed through the town under two gates that did not allow anyone through. The night the Medes and Persians (Cyrus) took over, someone left the gates open!);
Isa 45:2) I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron
Isa 41:25) I have raised up one from the north (Persia is north of Babylon), and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay
Shortly after these prophesies, (and many others from most of the prophets listed in the second half of the Old Testament,) Israel was captured by the Assyrians. Judah was captured a few years later by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. He destroyed Solomon's temple (581 bc). More than 100 years after Isaiah's prophecy, a man named Cyrus was born (580-529) in Persia. He grew up and became king of the Mede-Persian Empire and conquered Babylonia. He gave the command for anyone who wanted to, to go to Jerusalem (In 537 BC). They were allowed to rebuild if they wanted to but not commanded to nor funded.
Josephus, (Antiquities 11.1.2) the Jewish historian, says that they showed Cyrus the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures which contain his name and described his role in the scheme of God. This is what made the ruler to fulfill what was written.
A clay barrel known as the Cyrus Cylinder was found in 1879-82. It contained a marvelous historical confirmation of the biblical narrative. It records Cyrus saying, “All of their peoples I gathered together and restored to their dwelling-places.”
During the captivity, God gave king Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a statue with a head of gold, shoulders and chest of silver, hips and thighs of bronze, legs and feet of iron and toes of iron and clay. Daniel interpreted the head to be Babylon (gold was extremely common in Babylon), the silver to be Media-Persia (silver was the standard currency in Persia. Taxes paid in gold were even converted to silver), the bronze to be Greece (the Greek army used bronze shields, helmets and weapons), the legs to be the Syrian and Egyptian parts of the late Grecian empire, and the feet to be Rome (Rome was the first country to really use iron weapons and armor). The rock that crushed the whole thing by landing on the feet (the Roman Empire) was Jesus.
God gave Daniel a dream (chapter 8) of a ram with two horns standing on a mountain (Mede-Persia). A goat with one big horn killed him. The horn fell off and was replaced by four smaller horns. One of these horns grew and conquered a great territory.
“Therefore the he goat (Alexander the Great) waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken (Alexander died at the height of his power in his early thirties); and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven (Alexander’s kingdom was split into four parts). And out of one of them came forth a little horn (Antiochus IV of the Seluciud rulers of Syria), which waxed exceeding great, toward the south (Egypt), and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land (Israel).”
The account in Daniel goes onto describe in great detail what would happen…. in the next 500 years! The only way it could have been clearer would have been if he had actually named the names of the various kings.
Daniel had another dream in chapter 7. Four great beasts came up from the sea. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. The wings were plucked, then it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. (Babylon- Nebuchadnezzar appears to have accepted our God.)
A second beast was like a bear. It raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. (Mede-Persia) Cyrus conquers Lydia (546 BC), Babylon (539 BC), and Egypt (535 BC).
Another beast, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a fowl. The beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it. (Greece again. Alexander with his kingdom split between his four generals.)
A fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were.
This fourth beast is the kingdom of Syria, the family of the Seleucidae, which was very cruel and oppressive to the Jews, as we find in Josephus and the history of the Maccabees. This empire was different from those which went before because none of the preceding powers compelled the Jews to renounce their religion, but the kings of Syria did, and used them barbarously. Their armies and commanders were the great iron teeth with which they devoured and broke in pieces the people of God. The ten horns are then supposed to be ten kings that reigned successively in Syria; and then the little horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, the last of the ten, who by one means or other undermined three of the kings, and got the government. He was a man of great ingenuity, and therefore is said to have eyes like the eyes of a man; and he was very bold and daring, had a mouth speaking great things.
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (God on the throne. Daniel saw the rest of history.)
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. (Imagine standing before His throne with millions worshiping Him?!:-)
11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. (Rome destroyed the Syrian empire)
12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. (These nations still exist, more or less, in a VERY reduced state as Iraq, Iran, and Greece)
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. (Christ)
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (The kingdom of heaven which began at Calvary)
Daniel receives the interpretation I have explained above.
22 Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints (True lovers of God) possessed the kingdom (of God).
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel realizes it is time for the decree to go back to be given (he had to have been close to ninety years old!) He tells God we have been baaad, but You are good. Forgive us and do what You said You would. God sent Gabriel to talk to him.
24. Seventy weeks (a week means seven just as our word dozen means twelve. Nearly everyone agrees that this is talking about 490 years; 70x7 years) are determined upon thy people (Israel) and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity (Calvary), and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (Jesus).
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment (given by Artaxerus I.) to restore and to build Jerusalem (He paid for it. Cyrus said they could go home but didn’t pay to rebuild.) unto the Messiah the Prince (Jesus) shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks ([7x7]+[62x7]=483 Broken up this way to account for the time of the Maccabees): the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (No kidding. Read Ezra and Nehemiah)
26 And after (the) threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off (crucified), but not for himself (for us): and the people of the prince (gentiles- Romans) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Ad 70 Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the nation of Israel was no more)
27 And he (Christ) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week (seven) he (Christ) shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (we don't have to torch sheep anymore), and for the overspreading of abominations (abundance of sins) He (Christ) shall make it (the city) desolate, even until the consummation (The end or completion of the present system of things; Noah Webster 1828 dictionary), and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate (The Jews remaining in Jerusalem.)
Daniel spent time in fasting and prayer. God again sent an answer by an angel.
11:2 And now will I (the angel) shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia besides Darius, in whose reign this prophecy is dated,
These are Cyrus, Artaxasta or Artaxerxes, called by the Greeks Cambyses, and Ahasuerus that married Esther, called Darius son of Hystaspes.
and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
That is, Xerxes, of whose wealth the Greek authors take notice. By his strength (his vast army, consisting of 800,000 men at least) and his riches, with which he maintained and paid that vast army, he stirred up everyone against Greece. Xerxes's expedition against Greece and the shameful defeat that he met with is famous in history.
3 And a mighty king (Alexander the Great) shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
He foretells Alexander's conquests and the partition of his kingdom,
4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
Alexander's kingdom shall soon be broken, and divided into four parts, but not to his son, nor shall any of his successors rule as much land;
5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes ; and he shall be strong above him shall be stronger than the king, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
The rise and power of two great kingdoms out of the remains of Alexander's conquests. The kingdom of Egypt, and the kingdom of Syria. Again, Daniel gives great detail of what is GOING to happen- all but the names. This is the time of the Maccabeus.
Chapter 12 And at that time (After everything that happened since Daniel, through the Maccabees) shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:
Jesus Christ shall appear his church's patron and protector: At that time, when the persecution is at the hottest, Michael (Michael = who is like God. Strong's Concordance) shall stand up. Christ is that great prince, for he is the prince of the kings of the earth, (Rev. 1:5).
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time:
This is applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem, which Christ calls such a great tribulation as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, (Mt. 24:21).
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book
Thy People are those that love God as much as Daniel does. We are delivered through Calvary; all of us that are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
There shall be a distinguishing resurrection of those that sleep in the dust. When God works deliverance for his people from persecution it is a kind of resurrection; the Jews' release out of Babylon was represented as resurrection in vision (Ezekiel. 37) as was the deliverance of the Jews from Antiochus. Many of those who had long slept in the dust of obscurity and calamity shall then awake
Those resurrected to everlasting life are the many Jews that accepted Christ in the first decade or so of the Church Age; those wise enough to recognize Messiah and teach others about Him. Those resurrected to shame and contempt are those that rejected Christ.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end (of the Jewish nation; the subject of all these prophecies): many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
These prophecies need to sealed until the time of their fulfillment because no one will understand them until then. At that point they will be considered valuable and studied.
And [one] said to the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, How long [shall it be to] the end of these wonders?
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that [it shall be] for a time, times, and an half;
Here is a more general account given of the continuance of these troubles to the angel that made the enquiry that they shall continue for a time, times, and a half, that is, a year, two years, and half a year. Josephus says expressly, in his book of the Wars of the Jews, that Antiochus Epiphanes, surprised Jerusalem by force, and held it three years and six months, and was then cast out of the country by the Maccabees.
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what [shall be] the end of these [things]?
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end (of Israel). …
And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed [is] he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days
Here we have, [1.] The event fixed from which the time of the trouble is to be dated- from the taking away of the daily sacrifice by Antiochus- and the setting up of the image of Jupiter upon the altar, which was the abomination of desolation. They must reckon their troubles to begin indeed when they were deprived of the benefit of public ordinances; that was to them the beginning of sorrows; that was what they laid most to heart. [2.] The continuance of their trouble; it shall last 1290 days, three years and seven months, or (as some reckon) three years, six months, and fifteen days; and then, the daily sacrifice was restored, and the abomination of desolation taken away, in remembrance of which the feast of dedication was observed even to our Savior's time, (John. 10:22). The completing of their deliverance, or at least a further advance towards it, which is here set forty-five days after the former, and, some think, points at the death of Antiochus, 1335 days after his profaning the temple. Blessed is he that waits and comes to that time.
But go thou thy way till the end [be]: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Daniel will die before this all comes to pass.
I have spent a great deal of time on Daniel because many take verses out of Daniel to prove the future interpretation of prophecy when the whole book speaks of the end of the Israelite time frame. To take verses here to prove something in Revelation is not dividing the Word of God correctly.

Matthew 24
1. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
History tells us, that this was fulfilled in 70 AD. General (and future Caesar) Titus took the city and did all he could to preserve the temple, but he coundn’t stop the enraged soldiers from destroying it to the degree that Jesus said it would by. Turnus Rufus ploughed up the ground on which it had stood. : thus that scripture was fulfilled (Micah 3:12), Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed [as] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
In the time of Julian the Apostate, the Jews were encouraged to rebuild their temple, in opposition to the Christian religion. What remained of the ruins were pulled down, to level the ground for a new foundation. But the attempt was stopped by fire erupting out of the ground which destroyed the foundation they laid, and frightened away the builders.
3 And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying; tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The disciples ask three separate questions, though they may not have thought they were separate. To them, the destruction of the temple would have been the end of the world and it certainly was the end of their world. They were still expecting Christ to set up a natural kingdom at this point, so the sign of thy coming, would have referred to the natural kingdom they were expecting. Surely, if He set up a kingdom that lasted forever, as scripture predicted, the temple could not be destroyed. In short, they were confused.
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5.For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Josephus speaks of several such impostors between this time and the destruction of Jerusalem.
6.And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Christ was born during the Pax Romana (Roman peace). This was a time of relative peace in this part of the world. Christ is predicting that the Great Peace is almost over. War is coming. But the world is not ending yet.
The time of the Jews must end as predicted in Daniel, the Jews must be punished and ruined
7.For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
We read of a famine in Judea, not long after Christ's time, which was very impoverishing (Acts 11:28); but the worest famine was during the siegeof AD 70.
In some places the horrors were worse because Jews fought against Jews. In Scythopolis alone above 13,000 were slain at one time. Josephus relates the case of one prominent man who, because of the terrible things happening all around, and in order to save his family from a worse fate, killed first his father and mother with the sword--they willingly submitting--and afterwards his wife and children, finally taking his own life. This incident will give us at least a faint idea of the awful conditions of those e.
There was a lot of infighting among the Jews as well as neighboring nations during the late 60's. General Titus came to calm things down. There was also a great deal of pestilence and Vesuvius blew in AD 79 accompanied by massive earthquakes all over the Mediterranean.
8. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9.Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
The persecution of the early church at first by the Jews (see the early chapters of Acts) led at first by Saul/Paul, and later by the Roman Empire, especially Nero is well documented.
11. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Another class of trouble makers were men who, Josephus says, “prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen and went before them into the wilderness, pretending that God would there show them the signals of liberty.”
12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13. But he that shall endure unto the end, (of life) the same shall be saved.
14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Paul said that this had been fulfilled in his time. Romans 16:26
15. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary:
abomination
1. Extreme hatred; detestation.
2. The object of detestation, a common signification in scripture.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Prov.15.
desolation
1. The act of desolating destruction or expulsion of inhabitants; destruction; ruin; waste.
The abomination of desolation was the hated destruction and empting of Jerusalem.
The Jews throughout the area revolted against the Romans. The Romans slaughtered the Jews in towns from Egypt to Syria.
16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
17.Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18.Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19.And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20.But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:
The Roman general, Cestius, led his army from Syria into Judea, destroying widely, and laid siege to Jerusalem. He went so fast that the city was on the point of being captured. The evil Jews fled in large numbers, and the peaceable Jews were about to surrender to the Romans, when a remarkable thing took place. It can only be attributed to the direct intervention of God for the fulfillment of the word of Christ. Josephus tells how Cestius suddenly recalled his soldiers and retired from the city without any reason in the world.
This was the abomination of desolation spoken of by Christ. In other words, When you see the army coming like they did during the time of the Maccabees when Daniel's Abomination was fulfilled, GET OUT.
The Abomination Of Desolation was the armies of Rome, and the unparalleled sufferings of the Jews during those five years of terror, were the “Great Tribulation” foretold by the Lord in Matthew 24:21.
21.For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
After the retreat of Cestius, there was a slaughter of about 10,000 Jews at Damascus; and then, it being obvious that war with the Romans was inevitable, the Jews began making preparations to defend Jerusalem. At that time Josephus, the writer of this history, was appointed general of the armies in Galilee. He seems to have had great ability and success as a soldier, though he was finally overpowered and captured by the Romans. Concerning one of his military operations his translator says “I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus to be one of the finest that ever was invented and executed by any warrior whatsoever.”
At this point the emperor Nero appointed Vespasian, an experienced general, to the task of subduing the Jews; and Vespasian designated his son Titus to assist him. They invaded Judea from the north, marching along the coast, and killing many--18,000 at Askelon alone. Thus Galilee was all over filled with fire and blood; nor was it exempt from any kind of misery or calamity. Josephus opposed the Roman invasion with such forces as he had, but one by one the cities were taken and their inhabitants slain. Finally, Josephus himself was driven to take refuge. The incidents of this siege were terrible; and among them were events which forcibly recall the Lord's words, “But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days.” The Romans were so enraged by the long and fierce resistance of the Jews that they spared none, nor pitied any. Many, moreover, in desperation, killed themselves. The life of Josephus was spared in a manner which seems miraculous, and he was taken captive to Vespasian, to whom he prophesied that both he and Titus his son would be Caesar and emperor. From that time till the end of the war Josephus was kept a prisoner; but he was with Titus during the subsequent siege of Jerusalem, in which the atrocities and miseries reached a limit impossible to be exceeded on earth. Only the state of the lost in hell could be worse.
For a right understanding of Matthew 24:15-21 it is important to know that the Roman armies were, for more than a year, occupied with the devastation of the provinces of Galilee and Judea, before Jerusalem was besieged. It should be noted also that Christ's first warnings to flee were to them which be in Judea (Mt24:16). This makes it perfectly certain that the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, which was the appointed signal for those in Judea to flee into the mountains, was not an idol set up in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. For the desolation of Judea was completed long before Jerusalem and the Temple were taken.
At the time Vespasian led his armies to Jerusalem, that doomed city was in a state of indescribable disorder and confusion insomuch that, during the entire siege, the Jews suffered far more from one another inside the walls than from the enemy outside. Josephus says there were disorders and civil war in every city, and all those that were at quiet from the Romans turned their hands one against another. There was also a bitter contest between those that were for war, and those that were for peace.
Josephus further tells of the utter disgrace and ruin of the high priesthood, the basest of men being exalted to that office; and also of the desecration of the sanctuary.
The most violent party in the city was the Zealots. These called to their aid a band of blood thirsty Idumeans, who set upon the people who were peaceably inclined, and slaughtered young and old until the outer temple was overflowed with blood, and left were 8500 dead bodies there.
Josephus also tells of the terrible torments inflicted upon nobles and citizens of the better sort who refused to comply with the demands of the Zealots. Those, after being horribly tortured, were slain, and through fear, none dared bury them. In this way 12,000 of the more inhabitants perished.
Along all the roads also vast numbers of dead bodies lay in heaps.
About this time above 15,000 fugitive Jews were killed by the Romans, and the number of those that were forced to leap into the Jordan was prodigious. The whole country through which they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could not be passed over, because of the dead bodies that were in it.
At this point Vespasian was called to Rome because of the death of the emperor Nero, and the operations against the Jews fell upon Titus. Vespasian himself was soon thereafter made emperor.
Among the calamities which befell the city was the destruction of the granaries and storehouses of food; so that famine was soon added to the other horrors. The warring factions were agreed in nothing but to kill those that were innocent.
1,100,000 died in the seige and besides 97,000 were taken captive.
“For I venture to say that the sedition destroyed the city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition. This was a much harder thing to do than to destroy the walls. So that we may justly ascribe our misfortunes to our own people (V. 6. 2).” Josephus
This is the most astonishing feature of this great tribulation; for surely there never was a besieged city whose inhabitants suffered more from one another than from the common enemy.
At this point the siege began in earnest. Titus, however, sent Josephus to speak to the Jews, offering them clemency. Josephus made a most earnest plea to them not to resist the might of Rome, pointing out that God was no longer with them. But they didn’t listen. So the siege proceeded outside, and the famine began to rage inside, insomuch that children pulled out of their parents' mouths the morsels they were eating, and even mothers deprived their infants of the last bits of food that might have sustained their lives.
Under pressure of the famine many Jews went out at night into the valleys in search of food. These were caught, tortured and crucified in sight of those on the walls of the city. About five hundred every day. The number became finally so great that there was not room enough for the crosses, nor crosses enough for the victims. So several were ofttimes nailed to one cross.
Then the famine widened its progress and killed the people by whole houses and families. The upper rooms were full of women and children dying of starvation and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged. The children also and the young men wandered about the marketplaces like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead wherever they were standing.
In this connection Josephus relates in detail the case of a woman, eminent for her family and her wealth, who, while suffering the ravages of famine, slew her infant son and roasted him, and having eaten half of him, concealed the other half. When presently the seditious Jews came in to search the premises, and smelt the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her life if she did not show them what food she had prepared. She replied that she had saved for them a choice part, and withal uncovered what was left of the little body, saying, “Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself. Do not you pretend to be more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother.” Even those desperate and hardened men were horrified at the sight, and stood aghast at the deed of this mother. They left trembling; and the whole city was full of what the woman had done. It must be remembered that all this time the lives of all in the city would have been spared and the city and temple saved, had they but yielded to the Romans. But how should the Scripture then be fulfilled? Soon after this the temple was set on fire and was burned down, though Titus tried to save it.
Many were put into bonds and sold to slavery in the Egyptian mines, thus fulfilling several prophecies that they should be sold into Egypt again, whence God had delivered them (Hosea 8:13; 9:3).
Thus ended, in the greatest of all calamities of the sort, the national existence of the Jewish people, and all that pertained to that old covenant which was instituted with glory (2Co 3:7,9,11), but which was to be done away with.
22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25. Behold, I have told you before.
26. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
I believe this is why Thomas was so skeptical of the other disciples having seen Christ after His resurrection. Jesus told him not to believe rumors of Christ being around.
27.For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
When Christ returns, EVERYONE will know it instantly.
28. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Christ shall be revealed with a sudden vengeance; for when God shall cast off the city and people like a carcass thrown out, the Roman soldiers, like eagles, shall straight fly to it with their eagles (ensigns) to tear and devour it.
29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
In the patriarch Joseph's dream, Jacob (Israel) was the sun and the moon was his wife. The stars were his sons. So Immediately after the tribulation of the siege of Jerusalem the nation of Israel will no longer be visible.
30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Then shall the Son of man give a proof of himself, who they would not before acknowledge: a proof, indeed, not in any visible figure, but in vengeance and judgment so visible, that all the tribes of the earth shall be forced to acknowledge Him the avenger.
The sign of the Son of Man is the great power with which God allowed the Jews to be destroyed.
31.And he shall send his angels (servants) with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
When you begin to see the Roman armies approach, you will know the time is here.
34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
This will all come to pass before all the ones He is speaking to die.
35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Everything I say will happen. It is the only permanent thing in the universe.
36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
The day of Christ's second coming is unknown to anyone but God Himself. If anyone tells you Christ is coming in (fill in the date) don't believe them.
37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
39. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
People won't be expecting Him.
40.Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
You know, this doesn't say the good will be taken and the bad left. In His parables, Jesus consistently says the bad will be taken out and punished THEN the saved will be gathered together.
42. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43. But know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Live as if Christ cold come in the next five minutes.
45.Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Work as if His coming will be in a hundred years.
47. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49. And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So in answer to the disciple's three questions, “Tell us, when shall these things (the destruction of the temple) be?” When you see the armies coming to destroy Jerusalem. And “what shall be the sign of thy coming?” No sign. Live as if Christ could come in the next five minutes. Work as if His coming will be in a hundred years. And “of the end of the world?” Same as above.