Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind (25 page)

Eusebius recorded that the Christians fled en masse because of the prophecy of Jesus, probably in 68 A.D. “The whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, entrusted to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella.… And when those that believed in Christ had come thither from Jerusalem … the judgment of God at length overtook … and totally destroyed that generation of impious men” (
EH
, III, 5:86).

This area across the Jordan was primarily a gentile land, under the protection of King Agrippa. Most Christians escaped to Pella in Transjordan, but some traveled down to Alexandria in Egypt, and a few escaped to Asia Minor.

Josephus tells us that many Jews fled Jerusalem immediately after the defeat of General Cestius in 66 A.D. Were they Christian Jews? Eusebius places the flight in June of 68 A.D., when Vespasian temporarily pulled his troops away from the siege of Jerusalem.

It is really not important exactly which opportunity was seized. In either instance, there would have been a very short period in which to escape. Of course, both were at the precise moment when any clear-thinking Christian would have been least convinced he needed to flee.

But the Christians did not look at events without the benefit of a supernatural perspective. They remembered Christ’s words. St. Athanasius informs us that the revelation that Eusebius mentions was the very words of Christ that we have been examining. After quoting the warning of Jesus, Athanasius describes the actions of the Judean Church: “Knowing these things, the Saints regulated their conduct accordingly”
(DHF)
. Without thought of possessions, they fled for their lives.

Virtually no one escaped the Roman army alive once the siege was staged in earnest. Those trying to escape Jerusalem were caught, whipped, and then crucified by the Romans: five hundred people or more each day. Titus “hoped the Jews might perhaps yield at that sight, out of fear.… Their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies.” (
WJ
, V, 11:1).

Eusebius records that not a single Christian was caught within Jerusalem when Titus successfully surrounded the city (
EH
, III, V)! The early Church had seen the signs of the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy. Their faith in Christ’s words had saved the fledgling Judean Church from extinction.

Some commentators have pointed to Jesus’ statement concerning the Sabbath as evidence of His loyalty to legalistic Judaism: “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath” (Matt. 24:20). But this shows the typical modernist disregard for context. It is not that the Christians would be observing the Sabbath themselves. Rather, Jesus is concerned that nothing delay His followers in their flight from danger. The gates of Jerusalem would be locked for the Sabbath, and the prohibition on traveling would be enforced by the Temple authorities. This would slow the flight of the Christian community.

Jesus knew that when the eighth sign appeared, there would not be enough time to go back into the home for cherished belongings or even to retrieve a coat. Jesus felt particular pity for pregnant mothers or those slowed by a nursing child. Winter would slow their flight, as would the Sabbath restrictions on travel. All these statements signify the necessity for speed.

Thus far in the discourse, Jesus has predicted the total demolition of the Temple. More important, He has given eight signs to indicate when to flee to the mountains, to prevent the decimation of His infant Church when Jerusalem’s Temple was destroyed.

The first seven signs—the appearance of false messiahs; wars and rumors of wars; famines; earthquakes; state-sponsored religious persecution; the falling away of some Christians; and the worldwide preaching of the gospel—are not linked too closely in time with the Temple’s destruction. The disciples only knew they would happen while the Temple was still standing, as they were the warning of its demise. Here are the seven preliminary signs.

In contrast, the eighth sign—the desolating sacrilege of Daniel (gentile armies surrounding Jerusalem)—is accompanied by an urgent warning to flee immediately when it appears. Jesus stresses, “Let nothing delay you when you see this last sign.”

As we have seen, all of these signs appeared within a generation of Jesus’ prediction (30 A.D. to 67 A.D.). In fact, there were some “Rabbins alive at the time when Christ spoke these things, that lived till the city was destroyed, viz. Rabban Simeon, who perished with the city, Rabban Jochanan Ben Zaccai, who outlived it, Rabban Ishmael, and others” (
CNT
, II:320).

Could it be that Lewis and Russell are mistaken in their embarrassment and skepticism? Could it be that rapturists are just plain wrong in looking for some future fulfillment of these signs?

St. Bede would have thought so. Speaking of the Olivet Discourse in Mark, he wrote, “It is on record that this was literally fulfilled, when on the approach of the war with Rome and the extermination of the Jewish people, all the Christians who were in that province, warned by the prophecy, fled far away, as Church history relates, and retiring beyond Jordan, remained for a time in the city of Pella under the protection of Agrippa (cited in
GCC
).

Jesus has warned His Church with eight signs. He now elaborates on His descriptions of the events that will accompany the Temple’s destruction. We will refer to them as five amplifications on the eight simple signs He has already enumerated.

The first amplification elaborates on the nature and the intensity of the tribulation of sign 5. Rapturists assert that this first amplification proves that the Olivet Discourse is still unfulfilled. Jesus states, “There will be
great tribulation
, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” (Matt. 24:21–22). Rapturists believe that this Great Tribulation will occur during the seven years immediately after the secret rapture. But is that what the text teaches?

Jesus is borrowing the language of Daniel 12:1. This vision of Daniel (III:D) speaks of a severe tribulation during the reign of Antiochus. Daniel is told that the trouble during Antiochus’s time would be the worst ever experienced up to that point. But Jesus states that there is another tribulation that will be even worse than that of Antiochus. It would be the greatest tribulation “from the beginning of the world until now, no and
never will be [surpassed]
” (Matt. 24:21).

Although rapturists automatically assume this Great Tribulation must refer to Daniel’s final week—a future seven-year trial of ethnic Jews—they lost that part of their time line in Daniel. (Remember that the early Church viewed that week as seven decades of covenantal transition.)

Moreover, the text here in Matthew argues against that understanding. Jesus is speaking here to Christians. He is elaborating on the eight signs He has just given the disciples to protect His infant Church. Those signs were fulfilled before 70 A.D. He has already referred to tribulation in the fifth sign (Matt. 24:9). These all make it apparent that Jesus is referring here to the Great Tribulation of His Church under Nero from 64 to 67 A.D. Jesus is warning His new Church that they are on the eve of an intense battle for survival; the one mention in sign 5 wasn’t enough.

But even granting the severity of the trial under Nero, can we validly claim that this was the worst trial the Church would ever suffer? Was it really a “great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be”? I believe the answer is an unqualified yes. There has never been, nor will there ever be (until the final eschaton), anything rivaling it (GR3). The Church could have easily been smothered in its cradle if Nero had continued any longer or if the Jerusalem Christians had not escaped to Pella.

Look at the situation. The Christian Church was young and small. For the first time, under Nero, the full might of the Roman Empire was turned against this tiny group of believers. The Church at this time was primarily still Jewish in orientation, yet the Jewish leaders were using their power against the Church as well.

From a human standpoint, it was rather touch-and-go for the Church during this time. Of course, now we know that the Church would survive. But most contemporary observers would probably have given this new sect within Judaism less than even odds of survival. The forces lined against it were too formidable. One commentator has written that the only reason the Church survived at all is that Rome ran out of hungry lions.

Jesus gives us a different reason for the Church’s survival during the Great Tribulation of the first century; there is a supernatural explanation. He predicted that “for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” (Matt. 24:22). In fact, that is exactly what happened. The Neronian persecution of the Church had begun after the burning of Rome in July of 64 A.D. For two years it progressed in full force, and might have succeeded in stamping out that minor Jewish heresy called Christianity. But in 66 A.D., Jerusalem revolted against Rome. When Rome subsequently declared war on Jerusalem in February of 67 A.D., the focus of Rome’s wrath shifted from the Christian community to its former ally, Jerusalem. With Rome concentrating on a rebellion on its eastern edge, it had decidedly less appetite for picking a fight with the Christians scattered throughout its empire.

Jesus imbues the timing of these secular events with supernatural meaning. The Church survived the persecution of the Jewish and Roman authorities because of God’s merciful intervention. Humanly speaking, the Church probably could not have endured the unabated wrath of Rome and Jerusalem much longer. It is too easy from our perspective in the twenty-first century to assume that the Church would have survived. The disciples did not have that perspective … yet.

This was the Church’s greatest tribulation, because never again would it be in such a vulnerable position. Thank God He “shortened” those days. By the time Rome again focused its hatred on the Church, it had grown stronger, able to survive future persecutions.

This means the Great Tribulation is history! While it can stand as a prophetic event of the final test of the Church (GR3), Jesus’ words cannot be used as a prediction of something still in the future. The Great Tribulation that Jesus prophesied has been fulfilled (GR3).

Jesus now turns the attention of His disciples to a danger more sinister than the Great Tribulation: heresy. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ … do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise … so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Lo, I have told you beforehand” (Matt. 24:23–25).

The concern of Jesus for the survival of His Church extends well beyond it physical safety. He has given them eight signs that will warn them of the time to flee from Jerusalem. He has promised that the time of the Great Tribulation will be shortened. But what eternal benefit is gained in saving the physical lives of the Christian community, only to have them lose their faith through false teaching? As He said elsewhere, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25).

Tribulation can damage the Church from without, but heresy destroys from within. Jesus has already warned His disciples of the false messiahs in signs 1 and 6: “Take heed that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name” (Matt. 24:4–5). He is elaborating on His two major concerns for the early Church: tribulation and heresy.

At this point, Jesus seems to have detected an aura of consternation among His disciples. It is not difficult to discern what their problem was. Jesus promised to return at the final eschaton; how would they know that these false messiahs are not really the Lord come again? It is a good question that deserves a thorough answer, and Jesus gives them one: a litmus test for His second coming.

In the next two verses, Jesus contrasts His second coming with the arrival of the false messiahs. The heart of the message is this: “As the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man” (Matt. 24:27). We will examine these two verses in more depth when we answer the second question, but the sum and substance of the contrast is this: when Christ’s second advent occurs, no one will need to be told about it; there will be no need for a public-relations campaign. False messiahs will have to build a base of support; Christ coming in glory as Judge will not. It will be obvious to all, both good and bad, that the final event of history will have descended upon them.