The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24; Luke 21; etc.) answers two basic questions which were asked by the disciples: “When shall these things be?” (Matthew 24:3). This refers to the destruction of Jerusalem mentioned in Matthew 23:38 and Matthew 24:2. “What shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). [Note that the Granville-Sharp rule groups together Christ’s coming with the end of the age. The Greek article appears before “coming” but not before “end of the age” (though in some manuscripts this is not the case). The Granville-Sharp rule means that the coming referred to in this question is a coming associated with the end of the age].We should thus expect the Olivet Discourse to discuss two things: 1) The destruction of Jerusalem; 2) The Lord’s coming at the end of the age.Antiochus Epiphanes brought about abominable desolations of the Jewish temple, even sacrificing a pig therein (Dan. 8:9, etc.), and this foreshadowed a future desecration of the temple that will take place during the time of the Antichrist at the end of the age, specifically in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week.Likewise the siege of Jerusalem and the terrible time of trouble in 70 A.D. foreshadowed a future siege of Jerusalem at the end of the age. It is not uncommon for the Lord to use a historical event to foreshadow a future event which shares with it certain similarities.Years ago, J.C.Ryle, who was certainly not a dispensationalist, made the following observation (Expository Thoughts in the Gospels, in his comments under Matthew 24): “But we must not suppose that this part of our Lord’s prophecy is exhausted by the first taking of Jerusalem. It is more than probable that our Lord’s words have a further and deeper application still. It is more than probable that they apply to a second siege of Jerusalem, which is yet to take place, when Israel has returned to their own land, and to a second tribulation on the inhabitants thereof, which shall only be stopped by the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such a view of this passage may sound startling to some. But those who doubt its correctness would do well to study the last chapter of the prophet Zechariah and the last chapter of Daniel.”
read more at the full original article here: Comparing the Olivet Discourse in Matthew and Luke
I commented:
Many biblical prophecies have multiple fulfillments; many prophetic visions are confusing because the prophet describes a mix of events that were all in his future, but portions of which are now ancient history to us. Antiochus did fulfill prophecy around 168 B.C. but the Antichrist will fulfill it more completely very soon. Events in 70 A.D. did fulfill some details of prophecy but most of the Olivet Discourse will be fulfilled in the near future. I’ve been writing about these things a lot in recent years; if interested consider:
Antichrist 2016-2019: Mystery Babylon, Barack Obama & the Islamic Caliphate
or
The Two Witnesses of Revelation: Will Elijah and Moses Return in 2016?
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