When natural disasters happen in our country there is a certain group of people who think and possibly proclaim that these are just signs that we are in “the Last Days”, that it’s the beginning of the end of our existence on planet earth, the “End Times”.

This way of thinking comes from some biblical prophecies that include the book of Revelation that have been interpreted to mean there is an apocalyptic, catastrophic, horrible end in store for us. Coming soon.

This may come as a surprise to some who have grown up as a protestant, but not all protestants agree on what the “End Times” refers to and consists of. It certainly was a surprise to me. I grew up being taught that the End Times meant the end of the world as we know it at some point in our future, complete with a rapture, meaning the Christians would be taken away, and a tribulation, a time of persecution and general awfulness happening.

I was, in fact, quite shocked to learn that not all Christians believe that particular scenario, despite all the authors (think Left Behind) and speakers banging that particular drum over the last 60 years. 

Now I love evidence, so I went digging. I read literature that explained the different views and I went back to the source, the Bible, and looked at words in the original language and passages that informed the different views. That was an eye-opener. I encourage everyone to do the work. It’s a bit lazy to just believe what we’re told without asking questions when things don’t make sense.

You may wonder why it matters which version we believe. I find it makes a lot of difference in how you see the world and the future.  Many Christians see, and have for many, many years the demise of planet earth around every corner. The, ‘we’re on our way to hell in a handbasket’ theory. They tend to throw up their hands and give up, which I think is a horrible way to look at our future.

Where I’ve landed after studying the subject is on a view called Preterism or Partial Preterism. This view holds that most or all of the prophecies in the BIble that refer to the End Times or the End of the Age were fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.

Again, another mind blowing topic and something most modern Christians don’t know about. Prior to the early 1800’s the writings of Josephus were considered important insight into the first century AD. I’d encourage everyone to read Josephus’ account. He was a first century Jew, captured and enslaved by the Romans. He may have written the Romans in a more favorable light than he would have if he had been free, but he was considered a reliable historian.

So where do we even get the term, “End Times”? Words translated as End Times or something similar are mentioned throughout the Old and New Testaments. A couple I’d like to focus on are Matthew 24 and in the book of Daniel.

Let’s start in Matthew 24:3 which says, “As Jesus was sitting on the Mounting of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” (NIV). I would recommend reading this account in Mark 13 and Luke 21 as it adds context to this passage.

Notice in this version the phrase is translated as the “end of the age” not “end times” or “end of the world”. 

That distinction is very important. Author and speaker, Martin Trench does a great job in explaining how the Jewish calendar and their concept of “ages” influences the original audience’s understanding of the phrase. He states that the word “Age was connected to their calendar, (it was a specific period of time which they could calculate) and there are a whole series of “Ages” mentioned in the Bible” (https://www.martintrench.com/blog/the-ancient-biblical-teaching-of-the-ages-part-1).

I believe that, in this passage, the disciples are speaking of things that they believe are connected to each other. They are asking when the events Jesus was just speaking about would happen, the sign of his coming and the end of the age. Jesus had just declared that the temple would be destroyed and that ‘not one stone here will be left on another’. 

Later in Matthew 24 Jesus said that “this generation” would not pass away until all of the things he spoke about in that specific prophecy would be fulfilled. One argument for the belief that the “end of the age” referred to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD comes from this prophecy. This happened just 40 years after he spoke those words in Matthew 24 (which is a biblical generation). 

The word translated as age in the phrase “end of the age” is aion which Strong’s Lexicon defines as a cycle (of time), especially of the present age as contrasted with the future age, and of one of a series of ages stretching to infinity. It can mean ‘world’, but keeping the historical context in mind shows me that they mean age here, not world. 

Strong’s Lexicon says, “In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of “aión” was often associated with the cyclical nature of time and the ages of the world. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle discussed the idea of ages in terms of cosmic cycles. In Jewish thought, influenced by Hellenistic ideas, “aión” came to represent not just a period of time but also the spiritual and moral characteristics of that time.” As you can see, this word doesn’t necessarily mean the end of all time or the end of the world.

So if we follow this line of thinking we may ask ourselves, “what age ended when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD?” The Age of the Ram. Animal sacrifice had been a part of Jewish life since the law of Moses was laid down. Sometime during the Jewish War that started in 66 AD it was stopped and it has never restarted. Of course, Jesus made the sacrificial system obsolete with his own sacrifice (see Hebrews 8:13), but it didn’t stop until the temple was overrun and occupied during the Jewish Wars.

This is what I believe the whole prophecy is referring to. However it does leave us with some questions. Are the disciples asking about 1 event or 3 different events in verse 3?

The other thing that trips us up is the phrase, ‘the sign of your coming’. We struggle with this because that’s most often interpreted as Jesus’ Second Coming and since a physical appearance by Jesus hasn’t happened yet we can’t seem to think of it in any other light. However, there is more than one word translated into English as ‘coming’ in the Bible and it’s important to know the differences. This particular word is parousias. 

“In the Greco-Roman world, “parousia” was often used to describe the visit of a king or dignitary to a city, which was a significant event marked by celebration and preparation.” (Strong’s Lexicon) A visit is temporary by nature. As we understand Jesus’ Second Coming, we must ask, is it an event that is going to permanently set all things right or is it a temporary visit? Then you must ask is that temporary coming physical or something else and is there an event surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD that fits? I absolutely believe there is, but I’ll leave that for you to discover for yourself.

I know that’s a lot to digest. And maybe it’s the first time you’ve heard anyone question the view you’ve been taught your whole life. If you are still with me and want to learn more, I plan on looking at the book of Daniel in my next post on this subject.