THE BOOK OF REVELATION

INTRODUCTION - Through our studies we have proven that all the events in the first part of the Olivet Discourse have certainly taken place during the first century before the fall of Jerusalem. The final sign which the disciples were to watch for was the "abomination of desolation", or, as Luke puts it, "Jerusalem surrounded by armies." This would signal that the devastation of the city and Temple were about to take place as the wrath of Christ was poured forth on the Jews. It is in this next portion of the Olivet Discourse that we find the Great Tribulation mentioned. Most of us have grown up in a Christianity which has taught us that the Great Tribulation is something in the future. Yet the Olivet Discourse is going to show us that the Great Tribulation does not last seven years, nor is it something which we should expect in the future, rather it already took place in 70 AD. The Great Tribulation is none other than the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. In preparation for this great event, Jesus has some important words for the disciples living in Jerusalem -

6) INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS IN JERUSALEM WHEN THEY SEE THE APPROACH OF THE ROMAN ARMIES - Matthew 24:16-20; Mark 13:14-18; Luke 21:21-23 - The Lord has great love and compassion for His church. The church of the first century would not go through the Great Tribulation which would be inflicted upon the Jews. Instead, they would escape, for He had warned them in advance.

A) THE CHRISTIAN REACTION TO THE APPROACHING ROMAN ARMIES WAS TO BE IMMEDIATE - There was to be no hesitation regarding what they should do. A great self-confidence would pervade Jerusalem, for they had defeated the Romans once in battle. Religious zealots were rising up, proclaiming victory against the Romans. They also believed that God was on their side and would never allow the Holy City to fall. The Christians were to listen to none of this false security, but as soon as the armies approached, they were to flee.

B) THE IMMEDIACY IS EXPRESSED IN DIFFERENT WAYS - When the armies approached, they were not to go back to their homes to retrieve anything, nor were they to return from the fields and change their work clothes. Christ expresses compassion for the nursing or pregnant mother. Their escape would naturally be slower. They were not to use their pregnancy as a reason not to leave, for Rome had no mercy in the destruction. Remember how Jesus told the Daughters of Jerusalem not to weep for Him at His crucifixion, but for themselves? He was referring to the devastation which would come upon them in 70 AD (Luke 23:28-30). A winter's escape would be slow and a Sabbath escape would be difficult with all the Pharisaical laws against travelling. The thrust of Christ's message is that the Christians were not to delay in their escape. Yet, why were they to run? Matthew 24:21 gives us the reason - the Great Tribulation was coming! This shows us that this tribulation is not in the future, but did indeed take place when Jerusalem fell.

C) DID THE CHRISTIANS ACTUALLY ESCAPE THE GREAT TRIBULATION - THE FALL OF JERUSALEM? - The war between the Jews and Rome was waged between 67 and 70 AD. During that period, there were several opportunities for the Christians to leave. Vespasian would advance in 67 AD, then withdraw in order to become emperor. His son Titus would take over and finish the battle in 70 AD. In between there were a number of skirmishes and battles, Jerusalem being surrounded several times before its final overthrow. Though we do not have the exact time when the Christians left, the historians Eusebius and Ephiphanies record that the Christians did in fact escape. Not one Christian perished in Jerusalem's fall. They had heeded the instructions of Christ in this passage.

7) THE GREAT TRIBULATION - JERUSALEM TRAMPLED BY THE GENTILES - Matthew 24:21-29; Mark 13:19-23; Luke 21:23,24 - Each of these passages give us a description of the Great Tribulation, and it is here that we shall gain our understanding of this event.

A) WHAT IS THE GREAT TRIBULATION REFERRING TO? - Jesus has been telling the disciples to flee Jerusalem, to run to the mountains if they are in Judea. It is then that the Great Tribulation will fall. Obviously this is referring to Jerusalem's overthrow. Yet Luke's account leaves us without a doubt (Luke 21:23,24). He actually tells us that the Great Tribulation is indeed Jerusalem being "trampled by the Gentiles." If this is true, then the Great Tribulation is over.

B) THE GREAT TRIBULATION IS NOT A WORLDWIDE EVENT - Some commentators have suggested that the Great Tribulation is worldwide, involving an antichrist, and a one world government. Yet if the Great Tribulation were worldwide, why would Christ tell His disciples in Judea to flee to the mountains. What difference would it make to run, for wouldn't a worldwide tribulation be inescapable? Yet the reason they can escape is because it is a local tribulation. Luke tells us that it is a distress "in the land," in the land of the Jews.

C) THE GREAT TRIBULATION IS POURED OUT ONLY ON THE JEWS - Luke again confirms this in his rendition, telling us that the Great Tribulation is upon "this people" (the Jews), as they will fall by the sword, be led away captive, and that Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles. It is a judgment upon the Jews who had rejected Christ.

D) HOW LONG WILL THE GREAT TRIBULATION BE? - We reject the use of Daniel 9 to support a seven year tribulation. That seven year period is dealing with the ministry of Christ, not the tribulation. We are not told how long the Great Tribulation will take, but we are told that God will shorten its days, otherwise no flesh would be saved, including the Christians (Matthew 24:22; Mark 13:20). Christ had already said, "He who endures to the end will be saved," and those who made it to the destruction of Jerusalem would make it through Jerusalem's fall, as long as they escaped the city. Had the Roman armies not ended their rampage with Jerusalem's fall, then surely the Christians who had escaped would have been killed. Yet God held back the wrath of Rome to fulfill His own purposes and to save the elect from destruction.

E) HOW CAN WE EXPLAIN THAT SUCH A TRIBULATION HAS NEVER OCCURRED IN THE PAST NOR EVER WILL OCCUR AGAIN IN THE FUTURE? - Matthew 24:21; Mark 13:19 - As we have seen that the Great Tribulation is limited to the Jews only, so we must expect that the 70 AD tribulation is going to be a destruction which will surpass all other tribulations which the Jewish nation (not the entire world) has or will ever experience. Certainly down through history, the people of God have suffered great tribulation. Satan's forces have continually tried to wipe out the people of God from the beginning of time. The Jews in particular have experienced such threats (Pharaoh in Egypt, Haman during the reign of Esther, Herod killing the children of Bethlehem). Then, in God's judgments against the Jews in the Old Testament, both Assyrian and Babylonian armies are used by God to judge His people. Modern time reminds us of the horrible holocaust which the Jews experienced in Nazi Germany. How can we say that 70 AD was worse than any of these tribulations? As the historian Josephus was an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem (see his book "The Jewish Wars"), so we are able to see what exactly happened during Jerusalem's overthrow. There are three perspectives from which we might examine the Great Tribulation which fell upon the Jews at this time.

1. THE HORROR WHICH THE JEWS EXPERIENCED AT THE HANDS OF THE ROMANS - After a five month siege of Jerusalem, the Romans, who were full of hatred for the Jews, entered the city and ravaged the entire place. Over a million Jews would be killed in a horrible massacre. Over one hundred thousand would be led off into captivity. Those who tried to escape would be tortured and then crucified. Over five hundred crucifixions took place a day which resulted in the Romans running out of crosses. The invading army would completely destroy the city, setting fire to Jerusalem, tearing down its walls, pulling up the streets, and completely destroying the Temple. Much of the land would eventually become the property of the Roman emperor. Certainly Christ's prophecy had come true (Matthew 24:2).

2. THE HORROR WHICH THE JEWS EXPERIENCED AT THE HANDS OF ONE ANOTHER - Before the city actually fell to the Romans, the Jews had stirred up such a civil strife against one another in the city, that they were killing one another in their own battles. There was enough food to last for years in the city, but warring Jewish factions burned it up, leaving the city in a state of famine. Different Jewish groups fought for control of the city and prevented people from leaving. Even before the Romans entered Jerusalem, the city streets and Temple would be littered with dead bodies from the civil war. Famine set Jew against Jew and some of the worst atrocities occurred between the citizens of the city.

3. THE COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF BOTH THE CITY AND THE TEMPLE - As we have seen already, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD would result in the complete obliteration of the Temple. This would end the sacrificial system. It would overthrow the entire religious life of the Jews. The old dispensation had ended, the kingdom had been taken from the Jews, and their God had deserted them. No where in the history of the Jews had such a horrible devastation occurred. Even in the past devastations of Jerusalem and the Temple, there had always been the promise of rebuilding, but now it was over. These three perspectives are what make the tribulation of 70 AD the greatest tribulation ever to be experienced by the Jewish people. Let us pray that the Temple in Jerusalem, still laid waste today since its 70 AD destruction, would speak to the Jews of our own day and bring many to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!