Victorious Eschatology/Second Edition
Harold R. Eberle (Author), Martin Trench (Author), Paul Jones (Illustrator)
Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” Matthew 24:1-3, RSV.
Victorious Eschatology is a profound book which challenges the popular belief in Dispensational Theology, most typified in the Left Behind series of books: a great apostasy will take place in the Church, in Israel the Temple will be rebuilt, Israel will be granted a temporary peace by the Anti-Christ for 3.5 years, a Great Tribulation will follow for another 3.5 years, before which the believers will be “raptured” out of this world, and then Jesus will return at the end of this 7 year period to establish a millennial kingdom. This popular theology of the end times is informed primarily by the Dispensational interpretation of the book of Daniel and Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24 (and parallel passages in Mark and Luke).
Victorious Eschatology makes the case that Dispensationalism has misinterpreted these passages and gives a very credible alternate explanation of Daniel’s prophesy and of Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24. The authors argue that Dispensationalists have misunderstood the chronology of Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question in Matthew 24:3. They argue that Jesus’ prediction of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. is separate from his prediction of the final judgment, which begins in verse 35. Everything leading up to verse 35, including the references to the Great Tribulation, have to do with the judgment on Jerusalem which took place in “this generation,” or approximately 40 years after his crucifixion.
I believe the most profound and simple example of their reasoning is in response to the disciples’ question about “when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming…?” When the disciples asked this question, first of all, they did not believe Jesus was going to be crucified, nor did they believe he was going to be raised from the dead (Mark 9:31-32). They could not have been asking about his Second Coming, because they didn’t know anything about it. They believed, like all good Jews of that time, that the Messiah would be a king like David, who would come and rule in Jerusalem, and kick the Romans out of Israel. Instead, they were asking, “when are you going to come into your kingdom and rule in Jerusalem.”
Jesus’ response is that they should look for signs, especially that
when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; Matthew 24:15, 16, RSV.
“For wheresoever the corpse is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” Matthew 24:28, .
The authors point out that in Greek, the Holy Place is “topo,” which means “land” not “naos” which means temple. The parallel passage in Luke, writing for gentiles, reveals that the desolating sacrilege is not an anti-Christ sitting on the Holy Seat in the Temple, but the armies of Rome attacking Jerusalem:
when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it; Luke 21:20, 21, RSV.
It is interesting to note that the word for eagle and vulture is the same word in Greek. Atop every Roman standard was the Roman eagle. The “vultures” were indeed surrounding Jerusalem in 70 A.D. when this army gathered to destroy it.
Obviously, this “sign” was followed by the complete destruction of Jerusalem, with a great tribulation wherein the starvation was so rampant that the citizens resorted to cannibalism and over 1 million Jews either starved to death or were killed by the Roman army.
The final point the authors make is that none of the signs Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24: 1-34 need to take place in order for his Second Coming. From verse 35 on into the next chapter, Jesus emphasizes that his coming will be “in an hour you do not expect.” In the next section, they point out how perfectly Daniel’s prophesy of the 70 weeks of years is fulfilled in Jesus’ first coming and crucifixion. The prediction is so perfect that it seems to come in the exact year the Lord predicted through Daniel.
These first two sections make a very convincing argument and should be studied as a mandatory corrective to a Dispensational fear of the future. But my praise for the book ends at that point. There are three issues where I think the book becomes very questionable at best and illogical at worst.
The first issue is their theological view that everything is going to get better until Jesus comes to take over the world: that the expansion of his kingdom by the conversion of the nations is inevitable and that the history of Christian expansion is one long story of the advance of Jesus’ millennial reign. My problem with this theological retrospective is that they cherry-pick their history to show how things are improving. For some reason, this past century’s history is overlooked (when more were martyred than in all the history of Christendom combined, and when over 100 million were murdered by genocidal, atheist nations including 6 million Jews in the Holocaust), while the advance of women’s rights and the end of slavery is offered as proof that Christ is conquering the nations. This facile interpretation of history reminds me of the “Social Gospel” movement of the early 20th Century that found its end in WWI, where the continuing depravity of humankind was on full display in the mass destruction of the Great War. My point is that human nature has not changed and the advance of Christianity is by no means measurable in the transformation of world governments and society as a whole.
My second issue is their unconvincing interpretation of Revelation. While David Chilton, makes an excellent argument for Revelation being a Covenant lawsuit against Israel for its rejection of the Messiah in his book Days of Vengeance, many of the arguments the authors use in this section of the book are just weak. They make a few good points, and they point out that the 7 churches do not represent the 7 ages of the Church, but most of their arguments lack scholarly citations or scriptural backing.
Finally, they make a very weak argument about the Man of Lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians. The cumulative effects of the latter sections of the book leave me with a feeling of disappointment; that they tried to twist and fit everything into their predetermined understanding of a brighter tomorrow.
While I cannot go into the full detail here, I believe the authors’ eschatology fails because it does not deal adequately with the simultaneous growth of both good and evil (wheat and the tares) until the time of the end. Yes, Jesus will conquer, but the overcoming of evil will be a cataclysmic event and not one of gradual progress.
Discover more from The Scholars Corner
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I just wanted to express my pleasure at seeing someone stating that the Battle of Gog and Magog takes place after the Millennium. My personal study in the bible has always led me to believe that. Not only does Revelation clearly place that battle after the 1000 years, Ezekiel speaks clearly about a nation of unwalled village that has been living undisturbed. Current day Israel is made up of unwalled villages, but it certainly is not living at peace and hasn’t been since before the time that the modern nation of Israel was formed.
Putting Ezekiel and Revelation together leaves no other choice than to put that battle after the 100 years. Interestingly the main adversaries of God’s people are the descendants of Japhet; the one son of Noah about whom the least is written in the Bible.
Thanks for the article.
John Devries
Thanks for your comment… The Book Days of Vengeance and other authors see this 1000 year period as a spiritual and symbolic reign of Christ through the Church prior to the End Time. But if one looks at it literally alone, it appears to be after the 1000 year reign as a literal occurrence. It often makes mincemeat of the rest of scripture to look at it so…
The Outside of the Scroll, Revelation 5:1, is what Jesus relayed to his disciples; Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Peter and John’s Revelation 6. Jesus told His disciples what was written on the Outside of the Scroll of Revelation that He Christ had read while it was in God the Father’s hand BEFORE Christ had come down to be born the Son of Man.
The Outside of the Scroll of Revelation IS… Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 and what is under the Seals in Revelation chapter 6… and almost all of that information has already taken place with the three and one half year destruction of Jerusalem which occurred between 66AD to 70AD.
After those DAYS, after those TIMES, after the AGE OF THE GENTILES… which all equal 2000 years… then the Sun Will Grow Dark and the Moon to Blood. This is the Day of the Lord when both, the destruction of the Whore of Babylon and God raise up His people to meet the Lord in the air occur.
I originally suggested in my book that Christ’s return would be somewhere between 2066 to 2070 AD, however, the 1000AD Roman Emperor skipped about 220 years to be labeled the 1000AD Emperor. So to date, 260 plus years until Christ’s return.
While Christ did NOT know the day and hour, only the Father, of His return when He quoted this… since then He has opened the Scroll of Revelation after being found worthy at the Cross receiving All Power, All Authority and All Knowledge… and since opening the Scroll of Revelation.. He knows the Day and the Hour of His return.
Thanks,
Robert B. Paton author,
The Book of Revelation Is So Simple
free ebook available at smashwords.com
Check out this link: https://www.scholarscorner.com/the-last-trumpet-why-there-is-no-pre-tribulation-or-mid-tribulation-rapture/
You’ll have to accept my apologies for not having read the book, but I was wondering if it could be possible that the sun was darkened already? … Indeed Jesus knows the hour He comes, but I think the year chosen is too far off. We just need a few more big events to get the unstoppable ball rolling to enforce the mark of the beast, and/or hear the sound, “Let’s get back to God”.
Consider
“A something strikingly awful shall forewarn that the world will come to an end, and that the last day is even at the door.” – Martin Luther.
In May 19, 1780, there was a remarkable fulfillment of the predicted darkening of the sun; and in reference to the facts and date, there can be no doubt; for, besides the historical accounts, which all agree, there were many aged persons, with whom men of the present generation have mingled and conversed, who witnessed it, and have testified to it.
“In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark day in New England, when ‘all faces seemed to gather blackness,’ and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee lived; ‘men’s hearts failing them for fear’ that the Judgment day was at hand, and the neighbors all flocked around the holy man; for his lamp was trimmed, and shining brighter than ever, amidst the unnatural darkness. Happy and joyful in God, he pointed them to their only refuge from the wrath to come, and spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude.” – Tract No. 379 of Am. Tract Society – Life of Edward Lee.
“The 19th day of May, 1780, was a remarkably dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The birds were silent, and disappeared. The fowls retired to roost. It was the general opinion that the day of Judgment was at hand. The legislature of Connecticut was in session, at Hartford, but being unable to transact business, adjourned.” – President Dwight, in (Ct.) Historical Collections.
“ANNIVERSARY OF THE DARK DAY. – The dark day, May 19, 1780, is thus described by Mr. Stone, in his history of Beverly: ‘The sun rose clear, but soon assumed a brassy hue. About 10 o’clock, A.M., it became unusually dark. The darkness continued to increase till about one o’clock, when it began to decrease. During this time, candles became necessary. The birds disappeared and were silent, the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew as at day break, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this unusual aspect of the heavens was great.’ ” – Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843.
The supernatural darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780, has been so universally understood that Noah Webster’s dictionary, in the edition for 1869, under the head of Explanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary of Noted Names, says, “The dark day, May 19, 1780; – so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day, extending over all New England. In some places, persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds sang their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; cattle sought the barn-yard; and candles were lighted in the houses. The obscuration began about ten o’clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with differences of degree and duration in different places. For several days previous, the wind had been variable, but chiefly from the south-west and the north-east. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known.”
“From Robert Sears’ Guide to Knowledge, published in New York, 1844, we extract the following: ‘On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place all over New England, and extended to Canada. It continued about fourteen hours, or from ten o’clock in the morning till midnight. The darkness was so great that people were unable to read common print, or tell the time of the day by their watches, or to dine, or transact their ordinary business, without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, and some were excessively frightened. The fowls went to roost. Objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance of gloom and night. Similar days have occasionally been known, though inferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the result of eclipses.”
Or for the moon:
“The moon shines with a borrowed light, and therefore if the sun from whom she borrows her light is turned into darkness, she must fail, of course, and become bankrupt.” – Matthew Henry.
“The night succeeding that day (May 19, 1780,) was of such pitchy darkness, that in some instances, horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired brilliancy,” – Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843, – Extract from Stone’s History of Beverly.
Mr. Tenny, of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage, to the Historical Society, speaking of the dark day and dark night of May 19, 1780, says: “The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet.
Dr. Adams, speaking of the dark night, says: At nine it was a darkness to be felt by more senses than one, as there was a strong smell of soot. Almost every one who happened to be out in the evening, got lost in going home. The darkness was as uncommon in the night as it was in the day, as the moon had fulled the day before.”
Or for the stars
We here give an extract from an article written by Henry Dana Ward, in regard to the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833: published in the Journal of Commerce, Nov. 15, 1833. “At the cry, look out of the window, I sprang from a deep sleep, and with wonder saw the east lighted up with the dawn and meteors. The zenith, the north, and the west also, showed the falling stars, in the very image of one thing, and only one, I ever heard of. I called to my wife to behold; and while robing, she exclaimed, ‘See how the stars fall!’ I replied, ‘That is the wonder!’ and we felt in our hearts that it was a sign of the last days. For, truly, ‘the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.’ Rev.6:13. This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday, it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by aster, in Greek, and stella, in Latin, the smaller lights of heaven. The refinement of modern astronomy has made the distinction between stars and heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore, the idea of the prophet, as it is expressed in the original Greek, was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday.
“And how did they fall? Neither myself, nor one of the family, heard any report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted.”
“The stars fell ‘even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.’ Here is the exactness of the prophet.
“The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but from one: those which appeared in the east, fell toward the east; those which appeared in the north, fell toward the north; those which appeared in the west, fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the park), fell toward the south. And they fell not as a ripe fruit falls. Far from it; but they flew, they were cast, like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when, under a violent pressure, it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force; but each one falls on its own side of the tree. Such was the appearance of the above phenomenon to the inmates of my house.”
Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College, says: “The extent of the shower of 1883 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth’s surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the east, to the Pacific on the West; and from the northern coast of South America, to undefined regions among the British possessions on the north, the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance. The meteors did not fly at random over all parts of the sky, but appeared to emanate from a point in the constellation Leo, near a star called Gamma Leonis, in the bend of the sickle. This is no longer to be regarded as a terrestrial, but as a celestial, phenomenon; and shooting stars are now to be no more viewed as casual productions of the upper regions of the atmosphere, but as visitants from other worlds, or from the planetary voids.”
The People’s Magazine, Boston, January, 1834, on the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833, says: “The Rockingham (Va.) Register calls it, A rain of fire, – thousands of stars being seen at once; some said it began with considerable noise.
The Journal of Commerce informs us that ‘three hundred miles this side of Liverpool the phenomenon was as splendid there as here; and that in St. Lawrence County there was a snowstorm during the phenomenon, in which the falling stars appeared like lightning; . . . that in Germantown, Pa., they seemed like showers of great hail.’
“The Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner says: ‘The air was filled with innumerable meteors or stars; . . . hundreds of thousands of brilliant bodies might be seen falling at every moment, . . . sloping their descent toward the earth, at an angle of about forty-five degrees, resembling flashes of fire.
This is important testimony as to the vast extent of the falling stars, and also as to their emanating from a single point in the heavens. It was the greatest display of celestial fire-works recorded on the pages of history. It was no atmospheric, or terrestrial phenomenon, common to the upper regions of the earth; but a display of the divine power, baffling the science of man.
Just some thoughts 🙂