A Prayer
of JesusI thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
The Synoptic Apocalypse
Part I. The Synoptic Records in Parallel
(Each Record is partitioned to form five separate segments, A, B, C, D, and E.)
Matthew 24 .
Introduction
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1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
2 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."
3 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?"
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.Segment A .
4 And Jesus answered them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famine and earthquakes in various places:
8 all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.
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9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another.
11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
12 And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end will be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.
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.Segment B .
15 "So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;
17 let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house;
18 and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle.
19 And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days!
20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
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22 And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
.Segment C .
23 Then if any one says to you, 'Lo, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it.
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24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
25 Lo, I have told you beforehand.
26 So, if they say to you, 'Lo, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; if they say, 'Lo, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.
28 Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 "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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;
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.30 then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;
31 and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
.Segment D .
32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
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33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
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34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
.Segment E .
36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man.
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.Mark 13 .
Introduction
1 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!"
2 And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down."
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3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?"
.Segment A .
5 And Jesus began to say to them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray.
6 Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray.
7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is not yet.
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines; this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.
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9 "But take heed to yourselves; for they will deliver you up to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them.
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10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say; but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
12 And brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;
13 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
..Segment B .
14 "But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be
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(let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;
15 let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything away;
16 and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle.
17 And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days!
18 Pray that it may not happen in winter.
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19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.
20 And if the Lord had not shortened the days, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
.Segment C .
21 And then if any one says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it.
22 False Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
23 But take heed; I have told you all things beforehand.
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24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
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26 And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
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27 And then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
.Segment D .
28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
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29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
.Segment E .
32 "But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come.
34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.
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35 Watch therefore -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning--
36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
37 And what I say to you I say to all: Watch."
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.Luke 21 .
Introduction
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5 And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,
6 "As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."
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7 And they asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign when this is about to take place?"
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.Segment A .
8 And he said, "Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is at hand!' Do not go after them.
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9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once."
10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.
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13 This will be a time for you to bear testimony.
14 Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer;
15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death;
17 you will be hated by all for my name's sake.
18 But not a hair of your head will perish.
19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
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20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.
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21 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;
22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
23 Alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! For great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people;
24 they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
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.Segment C .
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25 "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
26 men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
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.Segment D .
29 And he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees;
30 as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.
31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
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32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
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34 "But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare;
35 for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth.
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36 But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man."
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Part 2. The Proper Order of the Segments Return to The Logos of God E-mail ed@voiceofjesus.org Return to Home Page
Explanation: We give our attention here to Matthew's rendition of the Apocalypse for the sake of brevity, knowing that what is said applies equally to each of the parallel accounts from Mark and Luke. You, our guest on this site, can readily affirm that this is so by examining them. We do not get involved here with the debate as to which of the Synoptics was first written -- it makes no difference in what follows.
It is supremely important to the correct interpretation of the Apocalypse to recognize that the disciples asked Jesus not one, but two questions, and that he proceeded to answer both of them. These are clearly indicated:
"Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" (Matthew 4:3)Jesus had just told them of the coming destruction of the temple complex, when "one stone would not be left on another." "Tell us, when will the be?" is the first of the two questions, and Jesus proceeded to answer it first. The disciples, being so powerfully impressed by the magnificence of the great buildings, thought within themselves that they must stand for so long as the world (this age) endures, and so they tacked on the second question without understanding that they were asking about two separate events, the destruction of the temple complex and the close of the age, which they supposed must be simultaneous. The two questions, therefore, are:1. When will the temple be destroyed? ("When will this be?" )As the record stands in the gospels, with five segments in the order shown above, the answers to the two questions have been mingled. The result is that when one comes to read Matthew 24:34,35:
2. What will be the sign of your coming and the close of the age?34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.the impression is that everything, including the end of the age, must take place within the generation of the disciples in the First Century. This one mistake has fueled myriad false prophecies of the Second Coming and the end of the age, and continues to do so. Jesus never foretold the time of his return or of the end of the age, nor the generation in which it would occur:
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.,"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matthew 24:36)He made it very clear that he simply didn't know, but he was able to foretell the nature of events which must transpire while the world endures, and that is what he supplied as the answer to their second question, together with "signs of his coming and the close of the age" specific to the question."No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32)
The existence of discrete segments that can be readily partitioned suggests very strongly that the first disciple to set down a written account of this Synoptic Apocalypse had as the source the remembered segments as shown above. But he or she also believed in the return of the resurrected Lord with the close of the age, within that generation, and so failed to note that there were in fact two questions, not one. This resulted in the rendering of the remembered segments in written form but in the incorrect order. All we need do to is to rearrange the segments to get the answers straight. The order, A, B, C, D, E, becomes, first, B,D, then A, C, E!
Again, the first question is:
When will the temple be destroyed? ("When will this be?" )The answer consists of segments B and D:Segment B . . . . . 15 "So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;
17 let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house;
18 and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle.
19 And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days!
20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
22 And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.Segment D 32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Then, the second question is:
What will be the sign of your coming and the close of the age?The answer consists of segments A, C, and E:Segment A 4 And Jesus answered them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famine and earthquakes in various places:
8 all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.
9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another.
11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
12 And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end will be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.Segment C 23 Then if any one says to you, 'Lo, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it.
24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
25 Lo, I have told you beforehand.
26 So, if they say to you, 'Lo, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; if they say, 'Lo, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.
28 Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 "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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;
30 then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;
31 and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.Segment E 36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man.
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.Part 3. Conclusions Everything taught by Jesus was conceived in the light of his Great Principle. When we interpret the Synoptic Apocalypse in the same light, we get confirmation of the above. Therefore, when his disciples see the signs of the coming of the Son of man and of the close of the age, they will greet those signs joyfully, without concern for their lives in this world. So, Jesus tells them what is their proper response:
Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28)We are anticipating a time of powerful, universe-shaking events in which "The Powers of the heavens will be shaken." But instead of being frightened and cringing in fear of their lives, the disciples are to "raise up their heads," because their redemption is drawing near.Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:44)
This is not the case at the time of the destruction of the temple complex. Then, the disciples are commanded:
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;The disciples are being commanded to flee for their lives! Why? Will not this cost them the life eternal according to the Great Principle?
17 let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house;
18 and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle.
19 And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days!
20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
22 And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:16-22)No, because Jesus accurately foresaw that the temple complex was to be destroyed within that generation, and he knew that his Holy Logos, the testimony of the Father that he had planted in the hearts of the disciples, would not yet have become securely rooted in the world. If they should be slain in the coming Roman onslaught on Jerusalem, the Logos of God would perish from the world and the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth may have been in vain. It was imperative that they survive the destruction of the Jewish state in Palestine. This event would instead serve the purpose of Jesus by insuring that the disciples would be scattered over the earth as they fled, and so the Holy Logos would spread with them -- provided only that they flee as he was commanding them. They fled, and the Logos is still with us! For the sake of the elect, those days were shortened. (Matthew 14:22).
Who, then, are the elect? They are not the early disciples who would flee the Romans, for they had nothing to fear. Death by Roman swords would only liberate them to rise to the Father in his heavenly Glory. No, it was not for their sake, but for the sake of those who were to listen to the Holy Logos in coming centuries and repent of the love of life according to the Great Principle. It was for your sake and for mine that the days were shortened, so that the early disciples, scattered across the earth, could prevail in securely planting the Holy Logos in the world.
My dear friend, are you listening to the voice of Jesus?
The prophecies of Jesus are perfectly consistent with history, which is a powerful reason for believing in him. There is more material on this subject in the book, Jesus, the Rock of Offense, elsewhere on this site, in Chapter XIII, "The Future."