Jesus' Prophecy - End of the World or Israel

Intoduction

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we are given the account where Jesus prophesies to His disciples about the ‘End Times’, Matt 23, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Many in the church today teach that these prophesies concern the end times of the world at some time in our future.

How is this so? Jesus begins His discourse by saying that every one of the Temple’s stones will be thrown down - something we know happened in 70AD. His disciples asked when this would happen and what would be the signs of the end. Did He say that these events would happen far into the future, say 1900 years? No. At any time in the discourse, did He break and say that some of the events would be in their lifetimes, but others far in the future? No.

The three accounts are all in agreement with each other, with only minor differences. The purpose of this hub is to present historical events of the 1^st and 2^nd Centuries that fulfilled these prophesies, and thereby show that Jesus was talking about the end of Israel, not the end of the world.

Obviously many events have been lost in time. If we accept that outside of biblical revelation there is very little independent written evidence of the life and works of Jesus on the Earth, then it is also likely that many other significant world events have not been recorded.

The Prophecy

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

• 70AD August 4—Roman General and future Emperor Titus destroys the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem during the Siege of Jerusalem. Roman troops are stationed in Jerusalem and abolish the Jewish high priesthood and Sanhedrin.

The disciples asked Him when these things would happen, and what would be the sign that they were about to be fulfilled. Jesus answered that they will hear of wars and rumours of wars, nation would rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

• 34AD Roman intervention in Armenia. 
• The original inhabitants of Dacia revolt against the Sarmatian tribe of Iazyges who had enslaved them.
• 36AD Pontius Pilate is recalled to Rome after putting down a Samaritan uprising.
• Herod Antipas suffers major losses in a war with Aretas IV of Nabatea.
• 39AD Caligula's campaign into Germany is stopped by a conspiracy led by Cassius Chaerea. Even though he never even reaches Germany, Caligula proclaims himself victorious and orders a Triumph.
• 40AD Caligula embarks on a campaign to conquer Britain, and fails miserably. He declares himself victorious anyway.
• Noricum and Mauretania are incorporated into the Roman Empire.
• 41AD An attack across the Rhine by the Germans is stopped by the Romans.
• 42AD Romans take control of Ceuta.
• The territories of the current Algeria and Morocco become a Roman province.
• 43AD The long Roman conquest of Britain begins.
• Claudius annexes Lycia in Asia Minor, combining it with Pamphylia as a Roman province. The Romans now have complete control of the Mediterranean.
• 44AD The Isle of Rhodes returns to the Roman Empire. 
• 46AD Thracia becomes a Roman province.
• Dobruja is annexed into Roman Moesia.
• 47AD The Romans conquer the Chauci and fight against the Frisians.
• 50AD Governor Publius Ostorius Scapula begins his campaign against the Silures of South Wales. London (Londinium) is founded. 
• 56AD War between Rome and Parthia breaks out due to the invasion of Armenia. 
• 66AD The Jewish Revolt (66–70) commences against the Roman Empire: The Zealots take Jerusalem and the Sicarii capture the fortress of Masada.
• 67AD Battle of Jotapata and massacre of its 40,000 Jewish inhabitants.
• Fall of the Jewish fortress of Gamla in the Golan to the Romans and massacre of its inhabitants.
• 70AD Romans make a punitive expedition against the Garamantes – they are forced to have an official relationship with the Empire. 
• Annexation of the island of Samothrace by the Roman Empire. 
• 73AD The Romans capture Masada, the last outpost of the Jewish rebel forces following the end in 70AD of the First Jewish-Roman War.
• 73AD Vespasian begins conquest of territory east of the upper Rhine and south of the Main.
• 76AD Wales is annexed by Rome.
• 85AD Dacians under Decebalus engage in two wars against the Romans from this year to AD 88 or 89.
• 86AD The Roman General Trajan, begins a campaign to crush an uprising in Germany.
• 92AD Roman armies move into Mesopotamia.
• 105AD Trajan starts the second expedition against Dacia.
• The Romans conquer Kerak from the Nabateans.
• 114AD Trajan defeats the Parthians and overruns Armenia and northern Mesopotamia.
• 115AD Jews in Egypt and Cyrene ignite a revolt (Kitos War) against the rule of the Roman Empire, which spreads to Cyprus, Judea, and the Roman province of Mesopotamia.
• Alexandria in Egypt is destroyed during the Jewish-Greek civil wars.

Side note: The Roman Empire completely fulfils the prophecies in Daniel of the forth kingdom made of iron and clay in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and the forth beast in Daniel’s vision. Unlike other conquering empires, the Romans did not forcibly integrate the conquered nations, but instead ruled over a loose grouping of separate tribes and nations – hence the reference to clay and iron not being mixed, and the empire being partly strong and partly weak.

Jesus then goes on to say that there would be famines and earthquakes in various places.

• 37AD An earthquake destroys Antioch. 
• 62AD A great earthquake damages cities in Calabria, including Pompeii. 
• 63AD Pompeii the city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, is heavily damaged by a strong earthquake. Fearing an eruption of the volcano, many of the 20,000 inhabitants leave their homes in a panicked flight. 
• 79AD August 24 – Mount Vesuvius erupts, destroying Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Oplontis.
• 115AD An earthquake destroys Apamea and Antioch in Syria.

The disciples were warned that they would be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of Him they would stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. The world would hate them because of Him.

• 31 AD Stephen was martyred by stoning.
• 38AD Death of Andrew, apostle by crucifixion at Patras in Achaea.
• 44AD Saint James the Great martyred.
• 58AD The apostle Paul is arrested in Jerusalem, and is imprisoned in Caesarea. He then invokes his Roman citizenship and is sent to Rome to be judged.
• 61AD Mark is executed after having introduced Christianity in Egypt.
• 62AD James the Just, alleged brother of Jesus martyred.
• 64AD In Rome, persecution of early Christians begins under Roman Emperor Nero. Saint Peter is among those executed. 
• 65AD Probable martyrdom date of the apostle Thaddeus, also called Saint Jude in Armenia. 
• 65AD Probable martyrdom date of the apostle Simon the Canaanite in Armenia. 
• 67AD Paul of Tarsus, apostle executed.
• 72AD Thomas the Apostle died in India. He is said to have been taken to a mountain, where, after being allowed to pray, he was then stoned and stabbed to death with a lance wielded by an angry Brahmin.
• 93AD Domitian persecutes the Christians.
• 94AD John the Apostle imprisoned on Patmos.
• 125AD Thamel, Christian martyr in Roman Empire.
• 127AD Hadrian, acting on the advice of his proconsul of Asia, Minucius Fundanus, determines that Christians shall not be put to death without a trial.

The gospel would be preached to all nations.

• 37AD Peter founds the Syrian Orthodox Church (traditional date).
• Probable year of the conversion of the Saul of Tarsus to Christianity.
• 40AD Christianity comes to Egypt as a church is founded in Alexandria. Mark the Evangelist founds the Coptic Orthodox Church as the first pope. 
• An early Christian church is erected at Corinth (most probable date).
• 41AD The disciples of Jesus form communities after the Diaspora, especially in Damascus and Antioch. For the first time they are called Christians. 
• 43AD In Coptic Orthodox Christianity, Mark the Evangelist becomes the first Pope of Alexandria, thus establishing the Christian Church in Africa. 
• 45AD Paul begins his missionary travels, according to one traditional dating scheme.
• 48AD Probable date of the Apostolic Council. Paul begins his first mission. 
• 49AD New Testament book Paul's Epistle to the Galatians is probably written. 
• Christianity spreads into Europe, especially at Rome and at Philippi.
• 50AD Christianity is introduced throughout Nubia by a high official of Queen Judith.
• 51AD Paul begins his second mission (approximate date). 
• The New Testament book 1 Thessalonians is written (possible date). 
• 52AD Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, is believed to have landed in Kodungallur, India to preach the Gospel. The MarthomaChurch, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Indian Orthodox Church, and the AssyrianChurch of the East claim descent from him. 
• 54AD Paul begins his third mission.
• 55AD Paul writes his First Epistle to the Corinthians.
• 57AD Paul writes his Second Epistle to the Corinthians and his Epistle to the Romans (probable date).
• 60AD The First Epistle of Peter, if by Peter, is probably written between this year and c. 64. 
• Paul journeys to Rome, but is shipwrecked at Malta. He stays on Malta for three months and converts the Roman governor Publius. 
• 63AD According to legend, Joseph of Arimathea goes to Glastonbury on the first Christian mission to Britain. 
• 64AD The First Epistle of Peter is written. 
• 65AD The Gospel of Matthew is probably written between 60 and this year. 
• The first Christian community in Africa is founded by Mark, a disciple of Peter. Mark begins to write his gospel. 
• 66AD The First Epistle to Timothy is written (approximate date). 
• 68AD The Gospel of Mark is written (probable date). 
• 68AD The Essenes place the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves at Qumran. 
• 80AD The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles are written (approximate date). 
• 90AD Drafting of the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles.
• 95AD Latest date for the writing of the Book of Revelation.
• 100AD The Gospel of John is widely believed to have been written around this date.

Jesus tells the disciples that the abomination that causes desolation as spoken of by Daniel will be seen.

• 38AD Anti-Jewish riot breaks out in Alexandria during a visit by Agrippa I: the mob wants to place statues of Caligula in every synagogue. 
• 39AD Caligula orders that a statue of himself be placed in the temple in Jerusalem. The governor of Syria, Publius Petronius, who is responsible for erecting the statue, faces mass demonstrations by Jews of the region and manages to delay construction of the statue until the death of Caligula. 
• 135AD Hadrian erects an altar to Jupiter and a statue of himself on the site of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus prophesies that there would be both distress in Israel and wrath against the Jewish people.

• 38AD Apion heads a deputation to Caligula to complain about the Jews in Alexandria. 
• Philo leads a Jewish delegation to Rome to protest the anti-Jewish conditions in Alexandria. 
• 45AD The emperor Claudius expels the Jews from Rome. 
• 54AD Violence erupts in Caesarea regarding the a local ordinance restricting the civil rights of Jews, creating clashes between Jews and pagans. The Roman garrison, made up of Syrians, takes the side of the pagans. Emperor Nero, relegates the Jews to second-class citizens.
• 131AD Edict of Hadrian prohibiting the practice of circumcision. Additionally, Hadrian prohibits public reading of the Torah under penalty of death, as well as observance of festivals and the Sabbath, the teaching of Judaic Law and the ordination of rabbis.

Jesus warns that those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains; those in the city should get out, and those in the country should not enter the city. No one should go into their house to collect personal belongings.

• 132AD The messianic, charismatic Jewish leader Simon bar Kokhba starts a war of liberation for Judea (Bar Kokhba revolt) against the Romans.
• The legion X Fretensis is forced to evacuate Jerusalem, returning to Caesarea. The Jews enter the city and re-establish their system of sacrifices. They strike coins to celebrate their independence, which would last for only 30 months.
• 134AD The Romans retake Jerusalem. The largely destroyed city is renamed Aelia Capitolina.
• 136AD Hadrian chases the Jews from Galilee and receives a triumphal arch near Scythopolis.

He states that these times will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until then and never to be equaled again. 

• 136AD The Roman province of Iudaea (plus Galilee) becomes Syria Palaestina in an attempt to erase any memory of Judea or Ancient Israel.
• 580,000 Jews were killed, and 50 fortified towns and 985 villages razed.
• Hadrian attempts to root out Judaism, which he saw as the cause of continuous rebellions. He prohibited the Torah law and the Hebrew calendar, and executed Judaic scholars. The sacred scroll was ceremonially burned on the TempleMount.
• The massive destruction and loss of life occasioned by the Bar Kokhba revolt has led some scholars to date the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora from this date. They note that, unlike the aftermath of the First Jewish-Roman War chronicled by Josephus, the majority of the Jewish population of Judea was either killed, exiled, or sold into slavery after this revolt. Judea would not be a center of Jewish religious, cultural, or political life again until the modern era.

Jesus makes it clear that these days of distress will be unequalled again. That is, after these events the world would continue on regardless. We should bear this truth in mind when reading Revelation and not assume that some future ‘Great Tribulation’ will be a time of greater distress and hardship than those events of the 2^nd century.

Jesus said that these events had to be cut short otherwise no one would survive.

• 138AD On Hadrian's death, the Senate, which had been stripped of power during his reign, refuses to deify him. Some speak of declaring him a tyrant, cancelling his acts.
• Hadrian died on the tenth day of July, in his villa at Baiae at age 62. The cause of death is believed to have been heart failure.
• 155AD Rome states that while it will not be recognized as an official religion, Judaism must be tolerated. To restore peace between the Jews and Romans, Antoninus re-legalises circumcision.

Note that it was the death of Hadrian that brought these events to an end.

The apostles are warned that many false messiahs would appear, and that they should not follow after any of them.

• Origen said that the mid 1st century Dositheos the Samaritan claimed to be the Messiah.
• AD70 Flavius Josephus claimed that Emperor Vespasian was the Messiah in fulfilment of Numbers 24: 17-19.
• 132AD The Jewish sage Rabbi Akiva (alternatively Akiba) indulged the possibility that the chosen commander Simon Bar Kokhba could be the Jewish Messiah, according to the Star Prophecy verse from Numbers 24:17: "There shall come a star out of Jacob" ("Bar Kokhba" means "son of a star" in the Aramaic language).

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”

• 62AD A violent storm destroys 200 ships in the port of Portus.
• 66AD Halley's Comet is visible.
• AD71 There was a lunar eclipse on March 4, A.D. 71, visible from Rome, beginning just after sunset and lasting over 2 hours. A partial solar eclipse, visible from Rome and possibly Israel, followed on March 20.
• AD79 Pliny the Younger witnesses the eruption of Vesuvius. He said that the sun was blocked out by the eruption with the remaining daylight hours left in darkness, and that the sea was sucked away and forced back by an "earthquake".

Jesus finally states “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” The word for generation here is genea, Strong’s 1074. This is translated as ‘generation(s)’ 37 times, ‘age’ twice, ‘time(s)’ twice, and ‘nation’ once.

If Jesus meant "race" he would have used genos (race), Strongs 1085, not genea (generation).

Hence it is clear that Jesus was talking about the individual people who were living at that time, and not future generations of Israel.

Furthermore in Matt 23:34-36, Jesus tells the Pharisees that all the righteous blood shed upon the Earth from Abel to Zechariah would be upon them, their generation. This is also further evidence that these times of distress would not be equalled again.

Conclusion

It is clear therefore that all these prophesies describe those of the 1st and 2nd centuries and NOT some future ‘End Times’. They describe the end of Israel, not the end of the world as we know it.

So what about the part concerning Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven? C.S. Lewis called these the most embarrassing verses in the bible. Why? Probably because it looks like the gospel writers were mistaken in the light of the ingrained doctrine that the second coming occurs in our future.

However, if we were present in these times, seeing the events prophesied by Jesus unfolding, we would have considered the idea of His second coming being 1900 years in the future as laughable.

In another hub I intend to look at exactly what Jesus said with regards to His second coming, along with other related statements such as the "there are some standing here...", and the "Yes, I am coming soon.". Note to reader, 1900 years is not soon, it’s an awfully long time.