By Allan Cornford
Copyright © 2022 Allan Cornford. (Standard Copyright License.) All rights reserved. Independently Published through KDP. The images which are included for informative purposes only, are Screenshots, courtesy of Ewaranon’s YouTube documentary; ‘The Lost History of the Flat Earth’. All external links to images in the public domain, are courtesy from Wikimedia Commons and where possible, credits are given to each source. This I believe, comes under the term of Fair Use.
Daniel (Aramaic and Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל, romanized: Dānīyyēʾl, lit. ‘God is my Judge’;[a] Greek: Δανιήλ, romanized: Daniḗl; Arabic: دانيال, romanized: Dāniyāl) is the main character of the Book of Daniel. According to the Hebrew Bible, Daniel was a noble Jewish youth of Jerusalem taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, serving the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the Persian conqueror Cyrus, all the while remaining true to the God of Israel. While some conservative scholars hold that Daniel existed and his book was written in the 6th century BCE, most scholars agree that Daniel, as depicted in the Book of Daniel, was not a historical figure, wherein the character was probably based on a similar legendary Daniel from earlier traditions. It follows that much of the book is a cryptic allusion to the reign of the 2nd century BCE Hellenistic king Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
When Jesus told those in his presence that some of them would still be alive to witness the Son of man coming in the clouds, and that all things that are written would be fulfilled, He was referring to the prophecy written by Daniel, a little under 500 years earlier.
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Daniel 7:13
All schools of eschatological thought agree, that the seventy weeks of Daniel 9:24, are to be prophetically understood as being a day for a year.
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Hence the seventy years of weeks; or 70×7 equals 490 years.
In 538 BC, the same year the Babylonian Captivity of the Jewish people formally ended, Daniel was given a prophecy by the angel, Gabriel.
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel (/ˈɡeɪbriəl/ GAY-bree-uhl) is an archangel with the power to announce God’s will to mankind. He is the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Christian traditions – including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism – revere Gabriel as a saint.
These seventy weeks of years (490 years) have already run their course, and have been fulfilled without error, in 27 AD, when Jesus Christ began his public ministry.
Are we then to believe, that whilst Jesus claimed that all things which are written would be fulfilled, Daniel’s prophecy was only fulfilled in part?
Are we to believe that Jesus was not seen arriving in the clouds, as he had promised?
For this same Jesus, in his resurrected and glorified body, told John to record
”things which shall be hereafter”
which include his coming in the clouds.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him:
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7
Even Old Testament prophecy fortold that the very same people who nailed their own Messiah to the Tree, would see him again thereafter.
RELIGION: CHRISTIANITY: Cross or Tree? – Library of Rickandria
And wail and mourn over what they had done.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications:
and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Zechariah 12:10
So yes, in view of the previously quoted scriptures, where Jesus clearly taught that some of those in his presence would still be alive and witness his coming in the clouds (as the Son of man), the past fulfilment view of prophecy is not only very hard to dismiss, but it would also be quite illogical to do so.
In fact, although it may sound rather harsh, one would have to be in a state of denial.
If by addressing ”this generation” when he actually meant a distant future generation, it could even be said, that Jesus was guilty of misleading those present at the time.
An impossibility, as I’m sure all would agree.
But remember, it’s all too easy to only believe the parts of scripture that align with those things which we’ve previously been taught.
It’s called ”inherited theology.”
Christian preterists believe that the tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including their rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah.
It occurred entirely in the past, around 70 A.D. when the armed forces of the Roman Empire destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.
Which Jesus had foretold of course, nearly forty years earlier.
Again, because Jesus connected this coming judgment upon Jerusalem with his accession to the throne of the kingdom of God, a literal interpretation of the text would unarguably support the preterist view.
RELIGION: CHRISTIANITY: PRETERISM – Library of Rickandria
At Matthew 10:23, when Jesus said to his disciples:
”Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man become”
it is as good as certain to be a reference to Jesus’s coming in judgment against Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
In fact, it becomes very difficult to argue that Jesus was actually referring to folks who wouldn’t be born for yet another two thousand years to come.
So yes, if taken literally, a plain reading of Scripture would indeed indicate these prophecies have already been fulfilled.
And yes, I’m fully aware that the past fulfilment of prophecy is a bitter pill to swallow, and likely many will reject it.
COSMOS: MATRIX: REALITY: The REAL Pill to Swallow – Library of Rickandria
After his resurrection, the last words spoken by Jesus to his disciples, are recorded in the Book of Acts.
When he had finished speaking, they witnessed Jesus ascending up to heaven in a cloud.
As they were gazing upwards in amazement, two angels dressed in white clothing appeared, and said,
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Acts 1:11
Clearly, they must have understood from these words, that just as they had seen Jesus ascend in a cloud, in time they would see him return in like manner.
I think it goes without saying, that these men to whom the angels appeared, would not have been able to stop talking about their recent experience.
In all likelihood, the incredible news that Jesus would be returning in the clouds, spread like a raging wildfire across the entire community.
Even to other nations, I dare say.
Certainly, the generation Jesus spoke to at the time thought he was coming soon, and they got quite anxious whilst waiting.
Which is why Peter records how a day to God is as a thousand years, so they wouldn’t give up hope.
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8
And why Paul reminds those who were worried that they might have missed the day of Christ, how that day will not come until after the revealing of the man of sin and after a great falling away.
Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
It would certainly seem that the apostle Paul was very optimistic when saying
”we which are alive”
at the coming of Jesus.
But he also offered words of comfort, and went on to explain that either way, alive or deceased, makes no difference.
For the resurrection of all those who had previously died in faith, is coincident with the translation (or rapture) of the living.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:15 -17
Whether this remarkable event occurred prior to, or at some point during the great tribulation, we are not told.
RELIGION: CHRISTIANITY: GREAT TRIBULATION – Library of Rickandria
Revelation Chapter 14 is set on the earth, prior to the first resurrection, and during the great tribulation, as it is brought to an end.
It describes the rebellion against God at Armageddon, the victory of Jesus Christ and the fall of Babylon (Jerusalem).
Revelation Chapter 19 is set in heaven, after the first resurrection and the bodily translation of believers, known as the rapture.
It describes the marriage supper of the Lamb, and how the armies of heaven (the resurrected saints) in their new glorified bodies, follow Jesus as he returns to earth in vengeance as the Word of God and with a name which is unknown to man.
John’s portrayal of the end time judgments and the return of Christ as the Word of God are unmistakable, but for obvious reasons no specific dates or times are given, apart from the one thousand years.
In view of His promise, that some would still be alive to witness his coming, it is now my understanding that the first resurrection and rapture of believers occurred on the day of Christ, aka the day of the Lord Jesus, when he returned in the clouds as the Son of Man.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Revelation 19:14
This was most likely toward the end of the great tribulation, and coincident with the fall of Jerusalem aka Babylon in 70 A.D.
In other words, the events by far the majority of Christians are anticipating today, actually took place over 2,000 years in the past.
Events so huge they could not just be dismissed and swept under the carpet but have been disguised in our history books as the Great Fire of Rome in 64 A.D, followed by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (which Jesus had foretold), and the decline of the Western Roman Empire, over the next few hundred years.
In reality, the approximate 6-year period between the destruction of these two major cities, may well have been the time of the Great Tribulation.
The most influential false Christ that Jesus had previously warned of, was undoubtedly Simon bar Kokhba, whose followers revolted against Roman authority, which directly led to the death of 580,000 Jews.
Simon bar Kokhba (Hebrew: שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Kōḵḇāʾ) or Simon bar Koseba (שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ), commonly referred to simply as Bar Kokhba, was a Jewish military leader in Judea. He lent his name to the Bar Kokhba revolt, which he initiated against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Though they were ultimately unsuccessful, Bar Kokhba and his rebels did manage to establish and maintain a Jewish state for about three years after beginning the rebellion. Bar Kokhba served as the state’s leader, crowning himself as nasi (lit. ‘prince’). Some of the rabbinic scholars in his time believed him to be the long-expected Messiah. In 135, Bar Kokhba was killed by Roman troops in the fortified town of Betar. The Judean rebels who remained after his death were all killed or enslaved within the next year, and their defeat was followed by a harsh crackdown on the Judean populace by the Roman emperor Hadrian.
The resulting disease and famine in desolated Judea killed far more.
The Man of Sin
Preterists claim that the
”time, times, and an half”
in Daniel’s prophecy, which relates to 3 1/2 years, 42 months or 1, 260 days, corresponds with the worst tribulation in Jewish history.
This began in 66 A.D. with three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire.
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (/ˈnɪəroʊ/ NEER-oh; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68.
Hence Preterists label the man of sin as being either the Emperor Nero or General Titus of Rome.
Titus Caesar Vespasianus (/ˈtaɪtəs/ TY-təs; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed his biological father.
Famous for playing his fiddle whilst Rome was burning around him, there is no actual evidence for Emperor Nero being in Jerusalem.
Yet many early Christians believed that Nero’s persecution of Christians in 64–65 AD was the chaos preceding the advent of the messianic age.
On June 9, 68 AD, at the age of 30, he allegedly committed suicide, and Nero was no longer regarded as an historic figure but an eschatological one.
Hence the late first century pseudepigraphical Judeo-Christian text, the so-called ‘Testament of Hezekiah‘, contains the concept that at the end of the world, Belial, aka the Antichrist will manifest himself as the reincarnation of the dead Nero.
The text predicts that the great angel:
“will descend from his firmament in the form of a man, a king of iniquity.”
He will come with all power, and will say,
“I am the Lord, and before me there was no one.
And all men in the world will believe in him.” (IV.1-8)
Did Antichrist in the form of a man once sit in the temple of God and claim to be God?
The ultimate blasphemy which resulted in the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, which Jesus had foretold?
Others would disagree entirely, by applying much of the symbolism in Revelation to Rome, the Caesars, and their persecution of Christians, rather than to a Tribulation upon the Jews.
They argue how this understanding downplays the great and terrible day of the LORD by restricting that judgement event either to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. or during the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Nero, who they also identify as the Beast.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. Joel 2:31
In fact, multiple sources can be found on the Internet which would support the claim that Nero fulfilled the role of the man of sin.
If not the literal character, then a spiritual being impersonating him, as a fake resurrected or reincarnated Nero.
The image of the beast maybe?
The first mention of the word ”image” in the New Testament is used by Jesus when referring to the image and superscription on a coin.
And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? Matthew 22;20
A common preterist view of the Mark of the beast is the stamped image of the emperor’s head on every coin of the Roman Empire:
the stamp on the hand or in the mind of all, without which no one could buy or sell.
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:17
In September 2016, archaeologists discovered a gold coin in Jerusalem bearing the face of Nero, the Roman Emperor.
The coin was likely struck in 56-57 AD, researchers say.
This being around the time the Book of Revelation was most likely written.
Full or extreme Preterism denies the physical reality of Christ’s second coming, claiming instead that the coming of Christ was one of a spiritual, or invisible nature, as too is the thousand-year reign.
It is possible of course, that Jesus did indeed reign invisibly for one thousand years from the position of the Government in Heaven above.
Whilst the kings and priests of God reigned on the earth.
Yet this has to be balanced with the fact that prophecy about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament was fulfilled literally.
Jesus’:
- birth
- ministry
- death
and resurrection all occurred exactly as the Old Testament predicted.
The prophecies were literal. Incidentally, Post Millennialists also say that we’re already past the 1000-year reign of Christ.
Or at least, that we’re currently living in it.
Thus, as far as I can see, one’s own personal eschatological viewpoint is often based more upon inherited theology, rather than a literal understanding of the word of God.
As for myself, I’ve recently had to negotiate a complete U-turn and am now wondering if there has been far more fulfilment of prophecy than we would normally like to give credit to.
For the generation that would witness his coming as the Son of man in the clouds, were those in his presence at the time.
Not some remote generation of believers 2,000+ years in the future.
However, to establish a past, or even a present fulfillment of a given prophecy is not of itself proof that there is no more to come.
What length of time passes between Jesus coming as the Son of man and the start of the one thousand year reign, we are not told.
It could begin immediately, or within a few:
- days
- weeks
- months
or even several years.
One form of mild Preterism claims that the fulfilment of certain eschatological passages occurred during the first three centuries, culminating with the fall of Rome in the Fourth Century AD.
If this understanding is correct, and if the millennial reign began around the same time, then from a past fulfilment view of prophecy, the literal one thousand years came to an end during the Fourteenth Century.
This is all theoretical of course, I’m just throwing it out there as food for thought, so to speak.
Some might even say:
“Way too far out.”
CONTINUE
BOOK: EXCERPT: Tartarian Rule? Or Millennial Kingdom? – In That Day – Library of Rickandria
BOOK: Tartarian Rule? Or Millennial Kingdom? – Library of Rickandria
BOOK: EXCERPT: Tartarian Rule? Or Millennial Kingdom? – Son of Man