Pale Horse Rising
Return to Book IndexWeighing scripture
against
scripture and some historical facts will answer these questions.
When
talking about what Paul says to the church here I think I will put up
this
verse first.
Co 13:12 "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face
to
face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known."
Even Jesus didn't know when He would return, nor the angles in
heaven,
only the
Father knew. In the discourse the Lord was prophesying, He knew what He
was
given by the Father to know, but the Father had not revealed when
he/Jesus
would be returning.
The apostles knew what Jesus had laid out for them in the Olivet
Discourse
concerning what would happen before He returned and that Is what Paul
is
reminding the people of on this day. The order of events that were to
take
place before His return. But we have something that Paul didn't have
concerning
these things, we have hindsight. So really before these passages can be
understood then first a person must understand the Olivet discourse in
light of
that hindsight. We know that almost 2000 years has passed and the
discourse must
allow for that time. That is why I ask people to read my work on this
in order
and why I begin with the Olivet discourse, move on to Dan 9 and then
back to
the discourse before going on to Revelation.
So,
just as the Olivet discourse must allow for that 2000 year gap so must
this
scripture here in Thessalonians.
The
Olivet discourse begins with a few of the apostles taking to Jesus
about
Herod's temple. Jesus answers them by saying what would happen to
Herod's
temple. It will come to a complete destruction after an abomination
stands
where it ought naught, and this in accordance with what Daniel had
prophesied.
And He points out how important that is. Now in hindsight we know that
this
final destruction of Herod's Temple, that they were speaking to Him,
about took
place in 70 AD but to them and to Paul that was still future.
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2Th
2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for {it will not come} unless
the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed,
the son of destruction, |
When the apostasy
happens then the next event would be the man of sin entering the Temple
and
standing where he should not.
Apostasy means to
forsake that which was once adhered to, and in the case of the Jews it
was the
Law of God. To forsake the Law is to forsake God.
In Daniel it says that the
city and Temple will be destroyed when abominations reach the pinnacle
(wing)
or highest point.
This is the ever growing wickedness
of
the people
towards God by not following the Law. When their abominations, in
forsaking the
law, has reached its highest point, then will the man of sin come
into
the House of God and pollute it..
The abomination of
desolation means "that which will bring on the desolation"., When the
church sees this wicked man standing where he shouldn't then they are
to flee
the city because the city is about to be destroyed.
Know this;
When someone.... not ordained by God..... enters the Temple of God then
they
are putting themselves above God by putting themselves above all that
God calls
Holy.
Here is an account of
those days and the abomination that stood in the Holy Place; They took
place in
66-70 AD and preceded the full destruction of the temple and the
Holy
City until not one stone was let upon another.
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Flavius
Josephus, The Wars of
the Jews (ed. William Whiston, A.M.) (6)[147] Now the people were come to that degree of meanness and fear, and these robbers to that degree of madness, that these last took upon them to appoint high priests. 2 So when they had disannulled the succession, according to those families out of which the high priests used to be made, they ordained certain unknown and ignoble persons for that office, that they might have their assistance in their wicked undertakings; for such as obtained this highest of all honors, without any desert, were forced to comply with those that bestowed it on them. They also set the principal men at variance one with another, by several sorts of contrivances and tricks, and gained the opportunity of doing what they pleased, by the mutual quarrels of those who might have obstructed their measures; till at length, when they were satiated with the unjust actions they had done towards men, they transferred their contumelious behavior to God himself, and came into the sanctuary with polluted feet. (7)[151] ....... they undertook to dispose of the high priesthood by casting lots for it, whereas, as we have said already, it was to descend by succession in a family. The pretense they made for this strange attempt was an ancient practice, while they said that of old it was determined by lot; but in truth, it was no better than a dissolution of an undeniable law, and a cunning contrivance to seize upon the government, derived from those that presumed to appoint governors as they themselves pleased. (8)[155] Hereupon they sent for one of the pontifical tribes, which is called Eniachim, 3 and cast lots which of it should be the high priest. By fortune the lot so fell as to demonstrate their iniquity after the plainest manner, for it fell upon one whose name was Phannias, the son of Samuel, of the village Aphtha. He was a man not only unworthy of the high priesthood, but that did not well know what the high priesthood was, such a mere rustic was he ! yet did they hail this man, without his own consent, out of the country, as if they were acting a play upon the stage, and adorned him with a counterfeit thee; they also put upon him the sacred garments, and upon every occasion instructed him what he was to do. This horrid piece of wickedness was sport and pastime with them, but occasioned the other priests, who at a distance saw their law made a jest of, to shed tears, and sorely lament the dissolution of such a sacred dignity. (10)[162] And now, when the multitude were gotten together to an assembly, and every one was in indignation at these men's seizing upon the sanctuary, at their rapine and murders, but had not yet begun their attacks upon them, (the reason of which was this, that they imagined it to be a difficult thing to suppress these zealots, as indeed the case was,) Ananus stood in the midst of them, and casting his eyes frequently at the temple, and having a flood of tears in his eyes, he said, "Certainly it had been good for me to die before I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations, or these sacred places, that ought not to be trodden upon at random, filled with the feet of these blood-shedding villains;
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Because they did not
believe the truth they were given a delusion to believe instead. They actually believed that the
placing of a High Priest should be by casting lots! They had fallen
away from
the Law so much they could by fooled by false teachings, and in this the abomination was
soon came into the temple.
In the end it was the
Romans who took control of this situation by means of war and put an
end to
both temple and city.
So let's look at
what Paul was reminding the Thessalonians.
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2Th
2:1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, (:2 that you not be
quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit
or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of
the Lord has come. (3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for {it
will not come} unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of
lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (4 who opposes and
exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that
he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being
God. (5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was
telling you these things? (6 And you know what restrains him now, so
that in his time he will be revealed. (:7 For the mystery of
lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains {will do so}
until he is taken out of the way. |
This falling away from the
law was already
beginning to take place in 55 AD when Paul wrote this. However, the legitimate
High Priest was still in place, restraining the evil, and a false high
preist
could not come on the scene until the true High Preist was removed by a
lawless
people.
Jesus told them about
this apostasy that was coming.
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Mat
24:10 "At that time many will fall away (apostasy)
and will betray one another and hate one another. Mat
24:15 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:) |
Notice it is the same
order as in 2Thess. First the apostasy and then the lawless one (false
High
Priest) standing in the Holy Place. A man of sin, outside the Law.
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2Th
2:9 {that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of
Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 2Th 2:10 and
with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they
did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. They
will parish because of their own wickedness. |
Did Paul and the other
Apostles really understand that Jesus would not return during the time
of the
early Church?
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2Th
2:8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with
the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His
coming; |
Now we have to look at
the Olivet discourse to understand why Paul believed the return of the
Lord
would be in his generation.
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Mat
24:20 "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a
Sabbath. :21 "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as
has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever
will. Mat 24:22 "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would
have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut
short. Mat
24:29 "But
immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE
DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL
from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Mat 24:30
"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then
all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF
MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. |
At this early date of 55
AD it seems that the apostles believed that Jesus would return in their
time.
John and the other
Apostles also preached that the Lord was returning within their life
time.
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1Jon
2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that
antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from
this we know that it is the last hour. NASB 1Jon
2:18 Little
children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know
that it is the last time. KJV |
The Holy Spirit lead the Apostles in everything they wrote and said, but I also believe that God has allowed, for almost 2000 years, that every generation would believe that they were the last and that the Lord would return in their lifetime. As Jesus said, No one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, only the Father knows. Even Jesus didn't know at the time He said this.
In Luke's account
of the Olivet discourse we can see that the birth pangs/sorrows (Luke 21:8-11) would take place
after the destruction of the temple but before the return of the Lord. And
that the sorrows were the beginnings of the tribulations that Jesus was
speaking of in Matt 24:29.
Please see the Olivet Discourse to understand this.
But the Apostles had no
way of knowing that the birth pangs wouldn't take place right after the
destruction of the temple and the Jews were taken captive into the
nations. Jesus had said that this generation would not
pass away
before these things took place. But He was referring to the
abomination
of desolation and the destruction of the Temple, which would take place
in 70
AD, and not to the birth pangs which would take place at some point
between
that time and His return... in fact in our time.
If you have been reading
this website in order you have already understood that sun being
darkened and
moon not giving light, etc. spoken of in the Olivet discourse is the
same
events as the events that take place with the opening of the 6th seal
in
Revelation, but perhaps you don't realize that the Nations raising
against
nations and kingdom against kingdom, etc. is the same as the events of
the 4th
seal.
Replacing the High
Priest with an abomination
The Jews rejected
the Law of God and listened to satan's lie and allowed for the High
Priest to
be removed (taken out of the midst) along with the other priest and all
that
God called Holy.
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2Th
2:11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so
that they will believe what is false, (12 in order that they all may be
judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
And they were sourly judged and many parished. |
That judgment took place
in 70 AD.
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2Th
2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved
by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for
salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. |
Jesus became the High
Priest for all who follow Him.