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Now let us talk about what happens after the tribulation.
There seems to be a period of time, during and possibly after the "great tribulation," which transpires between verses 24 and 25 of Luke 21. This we will talk about in the Chapter on "The Times of the Gentiles."
For the time immediately after the "great tribulation," Jesus gave the following warning:
"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there: believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold I have told you [disciples] before. Wherefore if they say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: Behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east; and shineth even unto the west; so shall the coming [presence] of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Matthew 24:23-28, Mark 13:21-23.1
It is important to understand that these false Christs and false prophets arise after that "great tribulation." What implication does this have for those who hold the pre-tribulational rapture theory? If the elect are raptured to heaven as they believe, how can they be on earth to be deceived?
In the Olivet discourse, Jesus specifically warned His disciples to not believe these false Christs and false prophets. He was speaking of events that would occur in the years following A. D. 70.
History records numerous examples of false gods and false Christs. Justin, the martyr, wrote:
'One Samaritan, Simon, from a village called Gitthon, performed wonders of magic by the art of the demons who possessed him. He did this in your imperial city of Rome during the reign of Claudius Caesar. He was looked upon as a god, and like a god was honored among you by a statue placed on the Tiber River between the two bridges and bearing this Latin inscription: simoni deo sancto, which means, "to Simon the holy god."'2
According to Eusebius, Hegesippus, in a letter, wrote: "The church was still called a virgin, for it had not yet been corrupted by false tidings. But Thebouthis, because he had failed to become a bishop, was first to begin its corruption among the people by means of the seven heresies, to which he belonged. From these sects came Simon, whence arose the Simonians; Cleobius, from which came the Cleobians; Dositheus, whose followers were Dosithians; and Gorthaeus, founder of the Gorthenians and Masbothians. From these came the Menandrians, the Marcianists, the Carpocratians, the Valentinians, the Basilidians, and the Saturnilians. In their own way by different means, each proclaimed its own doctrine. From them came false Christs, false prophets, false apostles who, against God and His Christ, split the unity of the church with their words of destruction. . ."3
This type of deception continues to this day.
Elect Deceived
When Jesus warned His disciples about false Christs and false prophets to come after the tribulation, He said they would deceive, if possible, the very elect. He was not speaking of the unbelieving Jews as elect, because they were to be destroyed in His vengeance. It would indeed be shocking if Jesus brought vengeance upon the very elect of God!
The natural Jews were broken off (Romans 11:17-24) because of their unbelief, and a new covenant brought a new "elect," the church. This new covenant was established by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom most Jews rejected. Those who did receive Him and were the first Christians, and numerous ones thereafter, were numbered among the "elect," because they were grafted in again and became a part of His church, in which there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, bond and free, male and female. All are one in Christ Jesus (Colossians 3:11-12).
Those under the new covenant of salvation by grace through faith make up the "elect" spoken of by Jesus, and they are those whom He warned of the desolation to come. Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews: "you are not my sheep." John 10:26. He called them "this evil generation," Matthew 12:45, and told them: "The kingdom shall be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruit of it:" Matthew 21:43.
The clear meaning of Matthew 24:28 is not obvious: "For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Perhaps it refers to the prophecy of Jeremiah: "And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away." Jeremiah 7:33-34. The words "fowls of heaven" could refer to eagles or vultures.
The Roman eagles, which were the standards of the Roman army could be referred to here as they were gathered where the dead bodies of the Jews were.
"For as lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation." Luke 17:24-25.
Signs After
the Tribulation
The word "immediately," used in Matthew 24:29, has caused a lot of difficulty for those who believe that the great tribulation was fulfilled in A. D. 70. It is probably the main reason that many people believed that the great tribulation will be repeated. But we know that Scripture precludes that, so we must deal with the word "immediately." There is, what I believe to be, a plausible explanation for these signs in the sky which Jesus prophesied. Bear in mind that everything after Luke 21:24 occurs "after the great tribulation."
Fulfillments of Prophecy
First, let us talk about prophecy. Fulfillments of prophecy were not always easy to recognize. When Jesus said that John the baptist was the fulfillment of the prophecy that Elijah would come, it was not at all clear to His disciples. John (the baptist), himself, had stated that he was not Elijah, yet Jesus said that he fulfilled the prophecy that Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. (Malachi 4:5). The explanation, which makes this fulfillment about Elijah come clear, is found in Luke 1:13-17. It tells of an angelic visitation to Zacharias, father of John (the baptist). As recorded in verse 17, the angel said: "And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias [Greek equivalent of Elijah], to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children...." This even quotes some of the words of Malachi 4:6.
We can see that there is sufficient Scripture to establish that John did fulfill the prophecy of Elijah.
In some instance, it took very little to fulfill a prophecy. In Luke 22:36, Jesus said, ". . . and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." That was to fulfill the Scripture that Jesus would be reckoned among criminals. It sounded as if every one of them would have to buy a sword, but in verse 38, they said, ". . . Lord, behold, here are two swords." And He said unto them, "It is enough." Not much was required to adequately fulfill the prophecy.
Perhaps we are looking for too spectacular a display in the heavens to fulfill the prophecy of Matthew 24:29.
The Jews did not recognize Jesus as their long awaited Messiah, in spite of the vast number of old testament prophecies which were fulfilled by His life. Could we be lacking in our understanding of Bible prophecy as well?
Five Parts to Heavenly Signs
In Luke 21:25-26, the Bible speaks of these signs which must occur to fulfill this prophecy:
1. Sun darkened
2. Moon would not give its light
3. Stars would fall from the sky
4. Roaring of the sea and billow
5. Over Roman-ruled part of the earth
Whatever the fulfillment, it must include all facets of these signs. It must also be in the right geographical location. It is generally supposed that these signs in the heavens were to occur over the whole world, but what does the Bible tell us about this?
"Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth [oikoumene: the inhabited earth, specifically the Roman Empire]." Luke 21:26.
So the signs are not for the whole world, but for what was then known as the habitable earth, dominated by the Roman Empire.4
What occurred immediately after the destruction of A. D. 70 that could possibly be the fulfillment of these signs?
The darkening of the sun and moon could easily be explained by the eruption of a volcano, if it was in that region, but how about the part about the stars falling from the sky? Did this mean actual stars?
Stars Falling
The farthest star is said to be billions of light-years away. Its light takes billions of years to reach the earth.
What would happen if a star really fell to earth? The smallest star is 5,200 miles in diameter, compared to the earth's diameter of 7,930 miles at the equator. If such a star fell upon the earth, it would take only one to destroy the entire earth. The earth's atmosphere would not be sufficient to cause it to burn up, because of its enormous size. Further, if such a phenomenon began to occur, there would be an indication of its movement long before its actual arrival, because its light would travel faster than the star itself. As it approached earth, it would be like another sun.
Since stars are nuclear fusion and radiate tremendous heat (millions of degrees) and ultra violet and X-rays, it would never reach the earth before all forms of life on this planet ceased to exist.
Stars, even when they die, do not fall from the sky. Aside from "proper motion," which is almost undetectable, they are stationary.
What we usually refer to as falling stars are actually meteors. When they fall into the earth's atmosphere, at about sixty-five miles up, the friction of the air causes them to heat up to about 4000 degrees and glow brightly, giving the appearance of a shooting or falling star. They must be in the earth's atmosphere to be visible. There have been meteor showers upon the earth from the earliest times. They occur so frequently that, to be a real indicator of prophetic fulfillment, it would necessitate a rather spectacular display to distinguish it from so many previous occurrences.
The most significant meteor shower on record was on November 13, 1833. This vast group of meteors is called the Leonid meteor shower, and the earth comes in contact with it each November. The November 13, l833 encounter was with the most dense portion of this group. Many who saw this meteor shower were convinced that it was the time of the second coming of Jesus. They were, unfortunately, misinformed.
Could it be that we have misunderstood what "stars falling" from the sky really indicates?
If we can call meteors "falling stars," then it is also possible that brightly glowing cinders from a volcano could represent stars as they fall from being spewed high into the sky. To someone totally unaccustomed to such a phenomenon, it would seem as if stars were falling. In this age, with knowledge increased, we would not think so, but in those days, it could have been.
Luke wrote: ". . . and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the nations [gentiles] until the seasons of the nations (and they shall be) are fulfilled. And signs shall be in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of sea and billow; men fainting for fear, and expectation of the things coming on the inhabited earth [Roman Empire]. Luke 21:24-26, NENT.
What could cause the seas to act in such a violent manner, and sufficiently fulfill this prophecy? Did such an event occur after A. D. 70?
Volcanic tremors in the ocean stir up waves, today called "tsunamis." They often reach tidal wave proportion. So a volcanic eruption of sufficient proportion could actually fulfill all five signs.
A volcanic eruption could also fulfill the Scripture in Acts which says: "and I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come." Acts 2:19-20, NASB. Notice that this is before the great and glorious day, not before the great and terrible day of the Lord. I believe the great and terrible day of the Lord was the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.
The obstruction of the atmosphere caused by smoke and ashes from a volcano can filter the light from the sun so that when the light reaches the moon, it appears very red. This was seen in recent years in the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington state.
An erupting volcano may also cause earthquakes. But was there such a volcanic eruption in that region at that time?
Let me tell you of a possible fulfillment of all these signs which occurred in A. D. 79, in the proper location, right from the pages of history, immediately after that tribulation of those days, and you decide if it could be the actual fulfillment of the prophecies of Jesus.
Mt. Vesuvius
It was not too distant from Rome, where many of the survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem had been taken.
There is an account in secular history, by Pliny, the younger, available in most libraries, which describes this eruption in detail. It appears to be exactly what Jesus foretold. The timing of its eruption is not coincidental.
The sun and moon were obliterated from sight, and it was the blackest of days and nights. Jesus said there would be signs in the heavens [sky] and distress upon the earth, but He did not say that the earth would be destroyed at that time. These signs occurred after the tribulation of A. D. 70.
According to Pliny's account, men's hearts failed for fear and the waves (tsunamis) of the sea were great and very destructive. He described the beginning of the eruption as looking like a tall pine tree. The cloud was filled with cinders which made it spotted with what would appear to be stars, falling in all directions. Compare that to this Scripture: "And the stars of heaven [the sky] fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind." Revelation 6:13.
The sea seemed to roll back upon itself, the shore was enlarged and several dead sea-animals were left on it.
The greater part of the people imagined that the last and eternal night was come, which was to destroy the [pagan] gods and the world together. Pliny stated in a letter: "I imagined that I was perishing with the world itself."
In a more recent eruption of Vesuvius, in 472, ashes and smoke were carried by winds as far as Constantinople (Istanbul), fifteen hundred miles distant. In 1631 there was another eruption in which streams of lava and boiling water fell on the villages beneath it, killing 18,000 people. It is reasonable to assume that the A.D. 79 eruption was at least as widespread as the 472 and 1631 eruptions, after such a long dormant period (400 years). The pressure that was necessary to blow the top off the mountain would have had tremendous force.5
I would not be so dogmatic as to say that the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was absolutely the only possible fulfillment of the heavenly disturbances, because Scripture does not specifically preclude the recurrence of such signs as it precludes the recurrence of the "great tribulation." And perhaps these signs could appear again, but it is quite likely that Jesus was announcing the exact events which I have enumerated, since all the other parts of the prophecy were of a local nature, and were for that generation.
Continue with: "Blinded-Hardened"
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