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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Sep. 15, 1997
Update	: Jun. 18, 2025
Parts	: 06

Synopsis:



Continuing our discussion from part three, in that part, I shared a list of events with you which were taken from the Gospels, and which precisely defined what the Lord meant by "all these things". I also remarked that based on that list, Futurist-leaning Christians are rather convinced that they have a water-tight case which supports and validates their beliefs. However, as we have already clearly seen, the first error they make is by either intentionally, or ignorantly, misinterpreting the phrase "this generation", and applying it to our current time, when they should not be doing that.

However, that is not the only hole in their argument. You see, what many of them don't realize -- either due to their lack of serious study of the Scriptures and secular history -- or perhaps due to some other reason -- is that the list of signs -- or "all these things" -- can equally be applied to the situation which existed in First Century Israel, and even more specifically to the dire situation in Jerusalem. How do I know this? Well, because just recently, I finished a major, new 25-part series entitled "Vespasian, Titus and the Fall of Jerusalem". I actually began it in 2011, but it was not until a few months ago that I made a serious effort to finally complete it.

So, over the past few months, that is exactly what I have been doing until I completed it as of three days ago at the time of this current series update. My friends, let me tell you; I learned so much from working on that series, and my personal understanding regarding the events surrounding the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem and the temple compound by Roman general Titus and his legions, as well as their local allies -- which included the army of King Herod Agrippa II -- was majorly enhanced.

As I point out in the series, the Scriptures themselves are rather limited with regard to the amount of really specific information they share concerning those First Century events. Furthermore, much of the information that we do find in the Bible is often shrouded in prophetic symbolism, so that it becomes rather difficult for the average Christian layman to really understand it properly. Thus, I turned to a number of extra-biblical sources so as to fill in the gaps, including "Antiquities of the Jews" and "The Wars of the Jews" by the Jewish general and historian Flavius Josephus; "Histories" by Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus; and several other ancient works as well.

It was a lot of work, which required many hours of reading -- months in fact -- on my part; but as I said, it was also totally rewarding, because I now have a much better, clearer understanding regarding those First Century events. But that is not all. By reading those various works, the Scriptures themselves were opened up so much more to me, so that I can now see how some of the things which Jesus and the Apostles had said and written, were actually fulfilled in real-world events.

This now brings us to the list of "all these things" which I shared with you earlier. As I said, those same signs which the Futurists apply to our current time, can also be equally applied to the events which transpired during the second half of the First Century, when Israel experienced the full wrath of the armies of Rome. While we have already discussed the Rapture and the Lord's Return, we have yet to fully address the Great Tribulation itself. While the verses I shared with you in part one prophesy the tribulation to come, having now read the aforementioned historical works, I know that simply sharing those verses isn't the same as actually reading about the specific events which occurred to the Jews during that extremely dark period, the bulk of which happened during the first half of that terrible seven-year war.

Now one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty, is that contrary to what is erroneously believed by the modern-day Futurists -- some of whom foolishly claim that we are already experiencing the Great Tribulation, and others who likewise insist that it will begin soon -- I am personally convinced that not only is the Great Tribulation NOT a future event in any way, shape or form, but that it really occurred during the seven-year First Jewish-Roman War -- which lasted from 66 AD to 73 AD -- during which event 600,000 to 1,100,000 Jews lost their lives.

As I have mentioned to you several times already, we need to remember that a major portion of Bible prophecy centers on the fate and destiny of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. They are God's prophetic timepiece. Yet, sadly, in typical, haughty American fashion, some American Christians want to insert themselves right in the middle of the Bible's prophecies, because surely, the United States of America is found somewhere in Bible prophecy, right? Absolutely WRONG! You folks who continue to believe that nonsense really need to wake up from your strong delusion.

The sad thing is, that because those deceived and misguided Christians have embraced this false interpretation of the Scriptures, they have also invented a fictitious scenario where America has now become Babylon the Great, as found in the pages of the Book of Revelation. As far as I am aware, this erroneous doctrine has been floating around since the 1970s. Sadly, in its latest iteration, it seems that those folks have really gone off the deep end. What exactly do I mean by this?

Well, in case you have not heard yet, according to some of those Christians, American President Donald J. Trump is the Beast, or the Antichrist. Never mind that for years before that, they were saying that Barack Obama was the Antichrist, and Obamacare was the Mark of the Beast. In fact, I finally wrote an article in which I exposed that nonsense. Anyway, I guess Mr. Obama somehow lost the AC anointing, and so now it is resting upon Donald Trump. Yes, I'm purposely being a bit sarcastic here. I apologize, but due to the absurdity of it all, I just can't help myself.

But their deception does not end there. As I point out in the article entitled "It Is Time to Wake Up!", based on the belief that the Orthodox Jews may soon get their new temple in East Jerusalem once Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finished his murderous "housecleaning", those same deceived Christians believe that President Trump will move to Israel, rule America from there, sit in the new temple, and in fact declare himself "God". To those misguided Christians, it all makes sense because the Orthodox Jews do in fact love Trump.

So what happens next? According to some of those Christians -- it depends on whether they are Pre-Trib or Post-Trib -- the Rapture will occur, the Saints of God will take a fast bullet train to Heaven, and then the Great Tribulation will begin as "Antichrist Trump" begins to persecute and behead any Christian who refuses to worship him as "God". This act in itself ties into their erroneous belief that Trump will do this, because supposedly he is secretly a Jew, and he'll be compelled by the Noahide Laws -- look it up -- to kill anyone who worships Jesus, because that it blasphemy based on the tenets of Judaism. There is only one God, and to the Jews, it is not Jesus. Thus, to worship Jesus is blasphemy.

And, of course, false god Trump's instrument of death will most certainly be the thousands of guillotines which some of those deceived Christians claim to have seen in mysterious train boxcars all across America. This story has likewise been floating around for years now. You see, in their minds, all of these events fit nicely into their rather imaginative scenario, because in the Book of Revelation, we are indeed told that the Saints of God are beheaded for their faith by the Beast.

If your jaw is dropping after having read all of the above, I can't say that I blame you. It just goes to show exactly how deceived people can become when they reject the truth of the Scriptures, or at least seriously misinterpret them. So what is the truth regarding the great tribulation of which Jesus himself spoke? As I already said, the first point that we need to establish is that it is NOT a future event. It is in fact a past, already-fulfilled event. Second, we need to establish that it occurred during the First Jewish-Roman War and that it involved the Jews themselves, and NOT American Christians living today.

Exactly how do we know this? The answer is rather simple and can be easily verified just by going back to the Scriptures. As I amply explain in articles such as "Who is Babylon the Great?", "Abomination of Desolation: Explained!" and my very long series "Vespasian, Titus and the Fall of Jerusalem", if we look at what Jesus said right before mentioning the Great Tribulation, we will find a very clear answer. We will learn exactly what act preceded the Great Tribulation. In addition, if you read "Vespasian, Titus and the Fall of Jerusalem", you will come to understand the very acts which instigated the Great Tribulation in the first place. Consider the following group of Bible verses:

"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:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects sake those days shall be shortened."


"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be AFFLICTION, SUCH AS WAS NOT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, NO FLESH SHOULD BE SAVED: but for the elects sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."


"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that THE DESOLATION THEREOF IS NIGH. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the DAYS OF VENGEANCE, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be GREAT DISTRESS IN THE LAND, and WRATH UPON THIS PEOPLE. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."


By this point in our series, you should fully understand the importance of reading the Bible in context. So let's engage in a short question and answer session. When did Jesus give this sermon? During the First Century. Where did Jesus give this sermon? In Israel, specifically in Jerusalem. Who did Jesus share these things with? His Jewish followers. What are the signs which indicate that it is time to flee out of Jerusalem? Jerusalem is encompassed about by Roman armies, and the "abomination of desolation" is set up in the "holy place", meaning the temple compound. So what happened next? Following is a list based on Jesus' own words:

01. great tribulation

02. affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation

03. desolation

04. days of vengeance

05. great distress in the land

06. wrath upon this people

07. they shall fall by the edge of the sword

08. [they] shall be led away captive into all nations

09. Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles

10. Jerusalem and temple compound are destroyed

Regarding point number ten above, allow me to share with you the following group of verses where Jesus specifically mentions the destruction of the Jewish temple. This tragic event occurred at the peak of the war, and in the darkest hour of the war, in 70 AD:

"And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 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."


"And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."


"For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."


"And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."


"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 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."


"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."


My friends, who are all of these things happening to? The Jews of the First Century. Is there anything whatsoever in the previous verses regarding the twenty-first century, or America, or American Christians? Absolutely not! So what can we conclude from all of this? In case it is not already obvious to a few of you, the Great Tribulation isn't by any means a future event. Neither is it a modern, global event where Christians around the world are persecuted and killed by the Beast, or Antichrist. It was a First Century event, and a localized event which centered on the Jews of Israel, and particularly on the Jews of Jerusalem who suffered the very most. Furthermore, it was instigated by the stubborn, insolent Jewish insurrectionists themselves who knowingly brought such destruction upon themselves, their country, Jerusalem, and the temple compound. This becomes readily apparent, if you take the time to read my aforementioned series.

As I have mentioned several times now, the things which the Lord spoke about in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are all directly linked to the prophecies of Daniel, as well as to the Book of Revelation. Keeping in mind everything I just shared with you regarding the effects of the war, consider the following group of verses which are found in the Book of Daniel, and notice their similarity to what Jesus said in the Gospels:

"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come SHALL DESTROY THE CITY AND THE SANCTUARY; and the end thereof shall be with a flood [meaning an army of men], and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."


"And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet THEY SHALL FALL BY THE SWORD, AND BY FLAME, BY CAPTIVITY, AND BY SPOIL, MANY DAYS. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And SOME OF THEM OF UNDERSTANDING SHALL FALL, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed."


"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and THERE SHALL BE A TIME OF TROUBLE, SUCH AS NEVER WAS SINCE THERE WAS A NATION EVEN TO THAT SAME TIME: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."


My friends, I can tell you firsthand after reading "The Wars of the Jews" and other historical works, that what you read above is exactly what happened, and much, much worse than it even sounds in those verses. Recall how Jesus said that the degree of suffering and affliction which those Jews would endure during that awful war would be the very worst since the world began. In fact, so much so, that if the Lord did not shorten the length of the war, absolutely nobody would survive. Notice how Daniel describes the "time of trouble" in the exact same way. In fact, Jesus was probably quoting from Daniel. Well, guess what? In "The Wars of the Jews", Jewish general and historian, Flavius Josephus, writes the very same thing. Consider this excerpt that we find in Book 6 Chapter 9:

----- Begin Quote -----

NOW THE NUMBER OF THOSE THAT WERE CARRIED CAPTIVE DURING THIS WHOLE WAR WAS COLLECTED TO BE NINETY-SEVEN THOUSAND; AS WAS THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO PERISHED DURING THE WHOLE SIEGE ELEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND [1,100,000], the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation, [with the citizens of Jerusalem,] but not belonging to the city itself: for they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread, and were on a sudden shut up by an army, which at the very first, occasioned so great a straitness among them, that there came a PESTILENTIAL DESTRUCTION upon them, and soon afterwards such a FAMINE, as destroyed them more suddenly.

Now this vast multitude is indeed collected out of remote places, but the entire nation was now shut up by fate, as in prison, and the Roman army encompassed the city when it was crowded with inhabitants. Accordingly THE MULTITUDE OF THOSE THAT THEREIN PERISHED, EXCEEDED ALL THE DESTRUCTIONS THAT EITHER MEN OR GOD EVER BROUGHT UPON THE WORLD; for, to speak only of what was publicly known, the Romans slew some of them, some they carried captives, and others they made a search for under ground, and when they found where they were, they broke up the ground and slew all they met with."

----- End Quote -----

That is what the Scriptures state, plain and simple. So to believe otherwise is to be in denial of what is plainly written in God's Word. It is to take the Bible out of its proper context. It's to create a deceptive, imaginary and false narrative which has no basis in the Scriptures. Yet that is EXACTLY what the Futurists have done. If you have been resisting these things, I hope that this information has opened your eyes to the truth, and helped you to fully reject once and for all the man-made, false doctrines that have been foolishly promoted and circulated for many years now. So let's return now to that list of "all these things" I mentioned earlier. To refresh your memory, let me share it with you again:

01. false christs and false prophets
02. widespread deception
03. betrayal and persecution of the Jews
04. wars and rumors of wars
05. earthquakes in diverse places
06. famines
07. pestilences (plagues and diseases)
08. love towards fellow man abating
09. widespread preaching of the Gospel
10. abomination of desolation
11. Jerusalem surrounded by armies
12. great tribulation and affliction
13. Jerusalem and temple destroyed

As I explained earlier, while the Futurists erroneously say that all of the signs which Jesus said would manifest prior to His return can be applied to our modern day, they fail to realize that the very same signs apply to First Century Israel and Jerusalem as well. In fact, not all of the signs even apply to our current time. Where is the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place? Where are the armies surrounding the city of Jerusalem? Where is the temple? I'm fully aware of the fact that for decades now, the Orthodox Jews have wanted to rebuild their temple, and in fact have made certain preparations for it since quite a few years ago. I discuss this issue in other articles. However, as of now, there is no temple, so the Futurists cannot say that this sign applies.

In contrast, every single one of the signs which Jesus gave was fulfilled to the letter prior to His return during the First Century. For example, Jewish false prophets abounded. Not only did Jesus and the Apostles warn about them, but we find a few examples of them in the Book of Acts, as we can easily determine by the following group of verses:

"But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done . . . And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me."


"And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand."


"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."


Regarding widespread deception, do I really need to even address this issue? From the time that Jesus walked the earth, the Jews practiced lying and deception. Perhaps you recall how they brought forth false witnesses during Jesus' trial. Furthermore, what was the very first thing they did after Jesus rose from the dead? Those deceivers tried to cover it up by bribing the soldiers, as we can see by the following group of verses:

"Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."


So clearly then, lying and deception was most certainly not uncommon within Jewish culture of the First Century. But I have yet to reveal to you the worst example of all. Keep on reading, and you will find out exactly what it was and when it occurred. Trust me; it ended in very tragic results.

Please go to part five for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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