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Preterist Charts

Matthew 26:64 is NOT a "Preterist Time Indicator" Pointing to AD70 "In short, the usage of "Apo Arti" in Matthew 26:64 [Apo ("from" - Strongs 575) and Arti ("now on" - Strong's 737)] is highly suggestive of the themes that have been previously offered at this blog ; that is, a series of revelatory recognitions of the power and glory of Jesus Christ's dominance by friend and foe alike. Though the typically pret-friendly Weymouth translation would like to make Jesus say "later on, you will see.." this is not really honest. I would rather say that it was simply a mistake, but I find it impossible to believe that neither Richard Francis Weymouth ("If this belief ever obtains general acceptance the earlier date of the Apocalypse will also be regarded as fully established. For it will then be seen that the book describes beforehand events which took place in 70 A.D.") nor Earnest Hampden-Cook (co-editor and author of "The Christ Has Come") were aware of how important (ironically) a futurist spin on this passage is to uphold their Preterist assumptions. However, not only is there no sense of futurity in this very emphatic Greek phrase, but rather we see quite the opposite.

HYPERpreteristarchive.com - Matthew 26:64 is NOT a "Preterist Time Indicator" Pointing to AD70


7/12/8:

  • Free Online Books: Moses Stuart - A Commentary on the Apocalypse (1845) PDF OF VOLUME TWO "After all the investigation which I have been able to make, I feel compelled to believe that the writer refers to a literal and definite period, although not so exact that a single day, or even a few days, of variation from it would interfere with the object he has in view. It is certain that the invasion of the Romans lasted just about the length of the period named, until Jerusalem was taken. " (2:218)

  • President Bush backs Israeli plan for airstrike on Iran "Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an “amber light” to an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times. "

7/11/8:

7/10/8:

  • Herod's Temple: The Egyptian Temples of Judaism "It is not well known that there were two Jewish temples in ancient Egypt. They do not form part of our traditional history, which concentrates on the going down into Egypt and the coming out of it, as based on the Torah accounts, for which there is little or no contemporary corroboration. But the two temples, though well attested by contemporary sources, have received little attention from our tradition. One of these temples has been known about for nearly 2,000 years from Josephus Flavius and the Talmud, and its site was claimed to have been found just 100 years ago, but it has now been lost again. The other was never known of till just a hundred years ago and its site has only recently been discovered. "

  • Free Online Books: Google Books Bibliography of Judaism and Christianity

7/9/8:

  • Revelations:The Mystery of the Copper Scroll "It actually fits the glove perfectly for these people known as the Zealots, who were the priestly group, who were holding down the temple, who were keeping it from the Romans in the best way possible. Before they were massacred, they left things behind in caves here in Qumran," he said"

  • Revelations: More on the tablet writing of "Gabriel's Revelation" The tablet, called "Gabriel's Revelation," is broken and faded, making much of its content debatable. The words tell of a vision, supposedly given by the angel Gabriel, of the apocalypse.Lines 19 through 21 of the tablet contain words, which translated read: "In three days you will know that evil will be defeated by justice." | Stone's text in English (pdf)


 The stone tablet and its owner, David Jeselsohn

7/6/8:

  • Revelations: "Dead Sea Scroll on Stone" contains apocalyptic texts "A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days. Much of the text, a vision of the apocalypse transmitted by the angel Gabriel, draws on the Old Testament, especially the prophets Daniel, Zechariah and Haggai."

  • dEmEnTiA: Trumpet blasts to Jesus: 'We're awake' on Earth - Worldwide wave of horns, shouting planned in time zones across planet

6/21/8:

  • James Stuart Russell: The Parousia (1878) - Added Newly Formatted RTF File (Many thanks to Scott Mohr!) (Hyper Preterist Millennium "violent and unnatural") "Some interpreters indeed attempt to get over the difficulty by supposing that the thousand years, being a symbolic number, may represent a period of very short duration, and so bring the whole within the prescribed apocalyptic limits; but this method of interpretation appears to us so violent and unnatural that we cannot hesitate to reject it. " (p. 514)

6/14/8:

  • Critical: Preterist Problems - "One particular passage of Revelation, when I read the modern magnum opus of preterist commentaries, David Chilton's The Days of Vengeance, the proposed interpretation made me guffaw out loud (which is surely a redundancy, as "guffaw" implies a sudden burst of unexpected laughter.) And that was when I was a convinced preterist. I nevertheless could not believe what was seriously being suggested to me."

"First, the quotation cited by Chilton is referenced under Revelation 9:7–12 (p. 247) not 9:1–11. Second, Chilton is quoting from Josephus’ The Jewish War, iv. Ix. 10" - Gary DeMar

6/10/8:

  • Jordan archeologists uncover "world's first church" (East of Pella) "Archaeologists in Jordan have unearthed what they claim is the world's first church, dating back almost 2,000 years, The Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.  "We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said." |  Google News

5/23/8:

  • Going for Gold in Gamala Like many contemporary houses in hilly Israeli cities, the dwellings on the single built-up slope of Gamla were terraced apartments. Thus each roof was the floor of the home above, saving a lot of space and contributing to the success scored by the Jews in their first major battle against the Romans.  Following the outbreak of the Jewish revolt in 66 CE the Romans conquered Galilee and most of the Golan Heights. King Agrippa II, a Jew who collaborated with the Romans, besieged Gamla for seven months. His failure to subdue the city led to the Roman attack.

5/22/8:

  • John Hagee's endorsement rejected by McCain over "Promised Land" remarks "Republican John McCain rejected the months-old endorsement of an influential Texas televangelist after an audio recording surfaced in which the preacher said God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land. " (What would happen if the extent of Dispensationalist views regarding the Jews were publicly known like this?)

  • Kim Riddlebarger: What About the "Great" Tribulation? "A second reason why this question is important has to do with the rise of various forms of preterism (full-preterism, which is considered a heresy; and so-called “partial” preterism, which is not) which contend that Christ returned in A.D. 70 to execute judgment upon apostate Israel, the city of Jerusalem, and the Jewish temple and its sacrificial system.  Those who hold to the various forms of preterism believe that this great tribulation spoken of by Jesus (Matthew 24:21) has come and gone with the events associated with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Romans.  In light of the tendency to relegate a time of "great" tribulation to the distant past or imminent future, it is important to survey the biblical teaching in this regard.  As we will see, this time of “great tribulation” cannot be tied exclusively to the events of A.D. 70, or to the very end.  God’s people may face such tribulation throughout the entire time from Christ’s redemptive tribulation on the cross, until the end of the age."

5/16/8:

  • Robert Townley (First Full Preterist, First Ex-Full Preterist) Christianity in the Nineteenth Century A Sermon in the Universalist Church of Charlestown, Mass,. Sunday Morning, September 26  (1852) "We, on the contrary, fulfill every thing by that magic phrase, "the destruction of Jerusalem." But can we really and seriously refer these passages which I have quoted from Paul, to the destruction Jerusalem? Can we truly say that the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, let that mean what it may, exhausted all their meaning ---the meaning which was the thought in Paul’s mind when he wrote them? I must confess I cannot"  On leaving Preterist Universalism: "I fear that we are in a poor sickly way just now, by all I can read and hear. I fear we shall remain a sect without hope of ever being anything better. It does not look likely that the grub will ever come to be a butterfly."

  • Any UNH Users out there? --> Gregory Sharpe: The Rise And Fall Of The Holy City And Temple Of Jerusalem (1764) An Argument In Defence Of Christianity. Being The Substance Of A Discourse Preached At The Temple Church The 11th Of November - [8 vo. 248 p. (2.)] - Second Edition 1766

5/8/8:

  • Searchable Books: John Ben-Daniel, Gloria Ben-Daniel: The Apocalypse in the Light of the Temple: A New Approach to the Book of Revelation "The resulting interpretation differs from the one that is presented by the majority of modern scholars, and is called 'preterist.'  Whereas the 'preterist' interpretation is founded on the assumption that the greater part of the text is referring to the historical struggles of the Early Church, this interpretation proceeds from the hypothesis that the theme of the Temple is of such great importance in the Apocalypse, that it could be termed the "organizing principle" of the text as a whole."

  • Searchable Books: Andrea Berlin, J. Andrew Overman: The First Jewish Revolt: Archaeology, History, and Ideology "The First Jewish Revolt against Rome is arguably the most decisive event in the history of Judaism and Christianity. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE by the Roman General Titus forced a transformation in structure and form for both of these fraternal religions. Yet despite its importance, little has been written on the First Revolt, its causes, implications and the facts surrounding it, In this volume, Andrea M. Berlin and J. Andrew Overman have gathered the foremost scholars on the period to discuss and debate this pivotal historical event. The contributions explore both Roman and Jewish perspectives on the Revolt, looking at its history and archaeology, and finally examining the ideology and interpretation of the revolt in subsequent history and myth."

  • Searchable Books: Adela Yarbro Collins: Cosmology and Eschatology in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism - "This volume deals with Jewish and Christian apocalyptic texts and movements from the second century BCE through the fourth century CE. It focuses on two major themes, cosmology and eschatology; that is, views of structure of the universe including its religious function and interpretations of history and the future.The detailed historical and literary analysis of these themes are introduced by an essay on the cultural gap between the original contexts of these texts and those of readers today and how that gap may be bridged.The book deals with the interrelations between post-biblical Judaism and early Christianity. The relevant Jewish texts and history are discussed thoroughly in their own right. The Christian material is approached in a way which shows both its continuity with Jewish tradition and its distinctiveness."

5/1/8:

  • Wikinews: U.S. DOJ IP Blocked by Wikipedia after pro-Israeli vandalism "Founded in 1982, CAMERA is a pro-Israel media-monitoring and research non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. On April 21 the Electronic Intifada, a not-for-profit online publication which covers the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict from a Palestinian perspective, published an article describing efforts by CAMERA to secretly influence Wikipedia articles. According to the article, Electronic Intifada obtained a series of emails between CAMERA and members of Wikipedia, attempting to game the encyclopedia and influence articles on the site related to Israel."

  • Critical: Tony Warren ..Till All These Things Be Fulfilled (2000) "That Greek word that is translated nation is the exact same word [genea] that is translated generation in Matthew 24. It is illustrating the crooked and perverse "family" or generation of the devil. It's contrasted here with the sons of God, or the family of God who shine as lights among them.  These generations aren't periods of time spanning ones life, they last until all is fulfilled at Christ's return. One generation shall not escape the damnation of Hell, and the other is a special people who shall by Christ's blood escape the damnation of Hell. "

4/24/8:

  • Hyper: Jesus is Israel: Todd Dennis - Israel's History a Type - From Beginning to Telos "Sometimes, however, in an attempt to "confirm" a prophecy, a rush to judgment is made, whereby a mistake brings disrepute upon the supposed author. This happens often regarding supposed prophecies about "the end of the world." For almost 2,000 years, futurist Christians have predicted the end of the world in their near futures, only to have their expectations crushed when the earth did not blow up on cue. Repeated failures have brought an odium of shame to the Bible and the Lord, even though the fault was entirely with those who mistook the prophecies for something they were not. With Hyper Preterism, the miscues usually accrue in the other direction -- declaring something as completed when in fact it was not."

  • Hyper: Preterist Podcast with Warren and Edwards - Hyperpreterism is an over-reaction to Dispensationalism, not Church History

  • Israel claims secret pact with U.S. "the current Israeli prime minister, said this week that Bush's letter gave the Jewish state permission to expand the West Bank settlements that it hopes to retain in a final peace deal, even though Bush's peace plan officially calls for a freeze of Israeli settlements across Palestinian territories on the West Bank."

4/22/8:

  • Matthew 26:64 / Hyper: Matthew 26:64 is NOT a "Preterist Time Indicator" Pointing to AD70 "In short, the usage of "Apo Arti" in Matthew 26:64 [Apo ("from" - Strongs 575) and Arti ("now on" - Strong's 737)] is highly suggestive of the themes that have been previously offered at this blog ; that is, a series of revelatory recognitions of the power and glory of Jesus Christ's dominance by friend and foe alike. Though the typically pret-friendly Weymouth translation would like to make Jesus say "later on, you will see.." this is not really honest. I would rather say that it was simply a mistake, but I find it impossible to believe that neither Richard Francis Weymouth ("If this belief ever obtains general acceptance the earlier date of the Apocalypse will also be regarded as fully established. For it will then be seen that the book describes beforehand events which took place in 70 A.D.") nor Earnest Hampden-Cook (co-editor and author of "The Christ Has Come") were aware of the importance of this passage regarding their Preterist assumptions. However, not only is there no sense of futurity in this very emphatic Greek phrase, but rather we see quite the opposite. "

  • Tommy Ice: Ezekiel 38 & 39 "As I have thought more critically about literal interpretation and this passage while doing this series, I have come to disagree with a statement made by Mark Hitchcock and I where we said: "Ezekiel spoke in language that the people of his day could understand. If he had spoken of MIG-29s, laser-fired missiles, tanks, and assault rifles, this text would have been nonsensical to everyone until the twentieth century."[10] Instead, I have come to agree with DeMar who says: "A lot has to be read into the Bible in order to make Ezekiel 38 and 39 fit modern-day military realities that include jet planes, 'missiles,' and 'atomic and explosive' weaponry."[11] Even though I think DeMar is right on this one point, it does not mean that his conclusion is correct."

4/21/8:

  • Archeology: The Other Messiah "Bar Kokhba's letters show him warning his followers not to trust the "Galileans" -- a common name for the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. The Galileans, who already were being called Christians, were in the ascendancy. While the Romans were fighting the Jews, the Christians were gaining power and influence and converts in the heart of the Roman Empire.  This was not their war with the Romans, for the Christian messiah was the Prince of Peace, and they would win in the end, with history-changing results. And without the support of the Galileans, Simon bar Kokhba's revolt was doomed. "

4/20/8:

4/19/8:

  • Critical: James Ventilato : Christ's Soon Coming and the Words That Describe It (2004) "To all of this might be added another set of texts which, when viewed through Preterist lenses, actually provides a spread of upwards of 40 years prior to 70AD; i.e., those texts connected with the gospel of the kingdom which our Lord preached during His earthly ministry (as did His disciples, and as did His forerunner, John the Baptist), heralding, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand” (cf. Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 10:9,11). When this is viewed through Preterist lenses (for they reject the truth of a “kingdom offer” to Israel conveyed in this gospel of the kingdom), we have the preaching of the kingdom as “at hand” (or “near”) over 40 years prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, in which Preterists claim that the Son of Man came on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and established that very kingdom (in a mysticalized manner, of course)."

  • Free Online Books: David Shotter - Nero (1997 PDF)

4/16/8:

4/15/8:

  • Free Online Books: Nigel Cawthorne - History's Greatest Battles: Masterstrokes of War (2005 PDF) Jerusalem, Defending the Temple - AD70 (p. 31-)  "By crushing Jewish resistance in Jerusalem, the Romans consolidated their eastern empire, driving Jews out of their homeland in a diaspora that has religious and political consequences to this day."


Visual Timeline of the Roman-Jewish War

4/14/8:

  • Free Online Books: Alan Nairne - Essays On The Book Of Revelation Providing A Key To Its Understanding With Commentary - A Preterist Interpretation "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.   Even so.  Amen. (v.7).  This verse has been recognised by many expositors as setting the theme of the Apocalypse.   It is the repeated warning or encouragement throughout both the letters to the churches, and the chapters that follow, of impending events that will affect the Churches and the apostate nation of Israel.   But futurist expositors would have difficulty in seeing this, for, in immediately relegating any passage coupling “Christ” with “coming” and “clouds” into the end times, they have had to interpret the Book speculatively of events far off in the future.   We ask our futurist friends, if the theme of the Book is the “end times”, why does the Author set out letters to seven existing churches, warning them of immediately pending persecution?    “Behold, I come quickly” is the repeated thought throughout the Book.   Do I believe, then, that the Second Coming took place in 70AD?     To set your minds at rest, be assured that I believe Christ’s Second Coming to final judgement and the resurrection and reward of His people will take place in the future “end times”.  I am a futurist to that extent! "

  • Dementia : Dispensationalism - emasculating the book of Revelation

  • Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism - "The disagreement arose when this hermeneutic of literalism began to interpret God’s promises to Israel. This, of course, resulted in Dispensationalism’s unique take on the distinction between Israel and the Church and their resulting eschatology, Dispensational Premillenialism. Realizing that this theological perspective was not in conformity with the Westminster Confession and Catechisms, prominent dispensationalists began to advocate a revision of the standards. (Believe it or not, Dallas employed almost an exclusively Presbyterian faculty in its early years; notably, Chafer and Walvoord were Presbyterians in the beginning. [p. 217-18]) " | Covenant Theology

4/4/8:

4/1/8:

  • Free Online Books: John Lightfoot: John Lightfoot's Works / Volume Three (PDF) Works now complete.  This is also the only complete volume three PDF available, so far as I have seen.   It was missing a key part (Parergon Concerning the Fall of Jerusalem), so I had to digitize the missing pages from my 1684 edition -- hence the difference page styles from 368-380.  Excerpt:

3/28/8:

3/27/8:

3/23/8:

  • Christian Zionist Leader Hagee in Unprecedented Appearance at Reform Temple  "When Rabbi Woznica asked the Reverend if he was a literalist, he said that he was and that he did believe that the world was really created in six days and that Noah’s ark was real. On the other hand, in response to a follow-up question from Rabbi Woznica, Reverend Hagee said that he does not believe a Sabbath-breaker ought to be stoned to death, referring to Biblical laws as ‘word pictures’ that indicate ‘principles.’'

3/19/8:

  • Pretblogging: Gary DeMar's Blog "What made the Schaeffers (Francis and Frank) )believe that civil disobedience would bring about change when they couldn’t get enough Christians to vote for change? To advocate civil disobedience was an admission that no constructive alternative to the humanistic system existed, and the Schaeffers didn’t have one to offer. Being a critic is the first step, to be sure, but it must be followed with reconstruction, beginning with the individual, and then extending to include the family, church, business, economics, journalism, civil government and every other area of life.  Because of Schaeffer’s pessimistic eschatology—he was a classic (non-dispensational premillennialist)—he could not envision a long-term strategy for change. Civil disobedience seemed to be the only logical and practical alternative. "

3/18/8:

3/16/8:

3/15/8:

3/13/8:

3/11/8:

  • Free Online Book Excerpts: Rebecca Gray Prophetic Figures in Late Second Temple Jewish Palestine: The Evidence from Josephus (1993) "Isolated passages from the writings of Josephus are routinely cited in general studies of early Jewish prophecy, but the present work is the first comprehensive examination of this material. Gray begins with a discussion of the significance of the belief--widely attested in Jewish sources from the late Second Temple period--that prophecy had ceased (by AD70 at latest). She proceeds to outline a general theory about the nature and status of prophecy in this period. Giving careful consideration to the prophetic claims that Josephus makes for himself, she argues that these claims are more substantial and more important for understanding Josephus than is usually thought. Gray goes on to examine Josephus' reports concerning prophecy among the Essenes and Pharisees, and his accounts of the activities of the "sign prophets" and other figures. In every instance, Gray interprets the evidence about prophecy in relation to Josephus' personal career and his thought and work as a whole. Drawing on a range of evidence, much of which has not played a significant role in other studies of early Jewish prophecy, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in Josephus, the history of prophecy in Israel, or the historical Jesus."

  • Josephus: Henry Leeming: Josephus' Jewish War and Its Slavonic Version: A Synoptic Comparison (2003) "This volume presents in English translation the Slavonic version of Josephus Flavius' "Jewish War, long inaccessible to Anglophone readers, according to N.A. Me?erskij's scholarly edition, together with his erudite and wide-ranging study of literary, historical and philological aspects of the work, a textological apparatus and commentary. The synoptic layout of the Slavonic and Greek versions in parallel columns enables the reader to compare their content in detail. It will be seen that the divergences are far more extensive than those indicated hitherto."

ALMOST A COMPLETE BOOK ON SLAVONIC JOSEPHUS

3/10/8:

3/9/8:

  • MP: Sir David Brewster Study Archive "I do not agree, however, with those who believe in the double sense of prophecy, as it is contrary to that simplicity which ought to be expected in the sacred writings, and would therefore explain the chapter in a different manner, as referring wholly to the destruction of Jerusalem."

  • DSS: A.M. Habermann (Unknown Year ; in Hebrew)

3/8/8:

  • HP: Anne Rice (Partial Preterist) Has released a new "Christ the Lord" book - Chapter One Available Online (From First Book in Series) "Before I leave this question of the Jewish War and the Fall of the Temple, let me make this suggestion.  When Jewish and Christian scholars begin to take this war seriously, when they begin to really study what happened during the terrible years of the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the revolts that continued in Palestine right up through Bar Kokhba, when they focus upon the persecution of the Christians in Palestine by the Jews; upon the civil war in Rome in the 60s which Kenneth L. Gentry so well describes in his work Before Jerusalem Fell; as well as the persecutions of the Jews in the Diasporia during this period -- in sum, when all of this dark era is brought into the light of examination -- Bible studies will change. Right now, scholars neglect or ignore the realities of this period. To some it seems a two-thousand-year-old embarrassment and I'm not sure I understand why."

3/7/8:

  • John McCain accepts endorsement of Hagee "John McCain is so anxious to get the support of the Theopublicans that he is jumping into bed with some pretty loony individuals. This short report on his endorsement from televangelist John Hagee is one example. Hagee is a proponent of the dulusional theory of "dispensationalism" which was invented in England by John Darby in the 1800s. Darby brought his theology to America where a large percentage of fundamentalists embraced it with enthusiasm. One result of dispensationalism is that American fundamentalists are more Zionist than the Zionists themselves -- as you will see here."

3/5/8:

  • WMV File: Todd Dennis - The (New) History of Full Preterism (Part Two) (2007) "This is the third presentation from last year in Carlsbad.  Big file.  Sorry about the gap at the end... that is the part where I recited the pledge of allegiance, sang the Star Spangled Banner, and had an altar call where the next Billy Graham got saved."

3/3/8:

  • Press: Theologian challenges "Left Behind" novels "the author of “The Rapture Exposed” contends that the novels feed a dangerous belief that the end of the world is imminent, inevitable and the validation of biblical prophecy. “You have a significant number of right-wing fundamentalists who think American foreign policy should reflect this countdown to Armageddon,” Rossing said in a telephone interview." (Eugene Register)

2/26/8:

2/22/8:

  • American Vision Advertising on Drudge Report - Click on Banner at top (might have to refresh a time or two) and View "The Book the ACLU Does Not Want You to Read! I Promise. I saw it happen!" -- Gary DeMar, President of American Vision / "I was debating an ACLU attorney at Christmas on an NPR station. I pulled out a Xerox copy of The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States and said to her: "Until you answer this book, the ACLU can't make a case against America's Christian founding." She was shocked when she saw it. She asked where I had gotten it. The only thing that gave her relief was the fact that the book was not in print. But now it is."  

  • Christian supporters of Israel getting nervous about Jerusalem - "Recent statements about negotiations with the Palestinians over the future status of the Old City are disturbing, to say the least."

  • Jerusalem Deconstructed - "The Third Wall, intended to protect the city's northern flank, was never completed, allowing Titus to breach the Temple in 70 CE. Today Rehov Hahoma Hashlishit, a tiny street tucked between Highway 60 and Mea She'arim, preserves the unfinished rampart's unlucky memory.  In 363 CE Julian the Apostate, Rome's last pagan emperor, visited Jerusalem on his way to battle Persia's Sassanid Empire. Touring the ruins of Herod's Temple, and in keeping with his efforts to foster religions other than Christianity, Julian ordered the Jewish shrine rebuilt."

  • A lead on the Ark of the Covenant  - "The ngoma, according to the Lemba, was near-divine, used to store ritual objects, and borne on poles inserted into rings. It was too holy to touch the ground or to be touched by non-priests, and it emitted a "Fire of God" that killed enemies and, occasionally, Lemba. A Lemba elder told Parfitt, "[It] came from the temple in Jerusalem. We carried it down here through Africa."

2/19/8:

2/18/8:

  • Free Online Books: David S. Clark - The Message From Patmos: A Postmillennial Commentary on the Book of Revelation (1921 PDF) "This early twentieth-century Postmillennial commentary on the Book of Revelation, written by the father of theologian Gordon Clark, offers an easy-to-read alternative to the popular Pre-millennial/Dispensational views of the best-selling Scofield Reference Bible and a multitude of other dissertations on end-time prophecy that litter the shelves of the average Christian bookstores. "

2/17/8:

  • Kim Riddlebarger - Interview with A-Team, Part Three "I do see the events of A. D. 70 as marking that time when Israel became desolate which led to Israel’s diaspora into the nations (Matthew 23:37-39).  As I understand it, all forms of preterism (whether that be the heretical hyper-preterists who deny the bodily resurrection and Christ’s second advent, or the orthodox partial-preterists who affirm the bodily resurrection and Christ’s second advent) tend to agree in terms of seeing the end of the age as occurring in 70 A.D., as well as believing that Jesus truly returned in the heavens at that time.  Many of these writers also reject the distinction between the two ages (as Reformed amillennarians would define it) along with the distinction between the already and the not yet."

2/15/8:

2/13/8:

2/12/8:

  • Free Online Books/Roman Empire/Nero/Early Date of Revelation: Bernard Henderson - The Life and Principate of Emperor Nero (1903 PDF) "But the historian cannot, like the theologian, leave the question undecided as to the probable date of a document which he is compelled to use, and must give his reasons even in so fierce and unpromising a controversy. I propose therefore to use the Apocalypse as a work of the end of the year 68 A.D. and as produced largely by the Neronian persecution, for the reasons as now explained."

  • Free Online Books/Roman Empire: The Statelie Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius, Rome's Greatest Tyrant (1607 PDF) Published some two years after Ben Jonson's famous Roman play Seianus His Fall, the anonymous Claudius Tiberius Nero (1607) covers the whole period of the notorious Tiberius' reign (14 - 37 A.D.). The anonymous dramatist, who is well seene in Antiquities, but most especially inward with Cornelius Tacitus, presents a chronicle play revelling in malicious designs, sombre plans and bloody outrages.  The play was licensed at Stationers' Hall on April 10th 1607.  No satisfactory attribution of authorship is forthcoming.  The reproduction from the original is pronounced to be "first rate, virtually faultless."  John S. Farmer, Editor.

  • Roman Military: Added RomanArmy.com "the online community of students and enthusiasts of the ancient Roman Army. We aim to provide an encyclopedia about the Roman military, a translation of Ritterling's classic article 'Legio', a travelogue section and a database of images of Roman military tombstones with the picture of the soldier on it." | Images of the Roman Army

  • Book Review: A Voice in the Wind "Have you ever read a book with a character that was nice, so noble, so heroic, that they really got on your nerves? I have. Maybe it’s just me—maybe I’m mean that way—but quite often the character who is supposed to inspire me just turns out to be insipid, annoying. Maybe I have trouble relating to such a character? Or maybe not. Whatever the case, the female main character in Francine River’s extraordinary novel, A Voice in the Wind, is not one of those aggravating goody-two-shoes. The tale of Hadassah, a young Jewish girl, begins with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. After enduring what could, humanly speaking, be truthfully called a Hades on earth, things quickly go from bad to worse. Her city decimated, her family killed, rejected by her fellow Jews because of Christian faith, Hadassah winds up on a slave ship, bound for Rome."

  • Epigraphy: Seal Controversy: From Temech to Shlomit "On January 16, 2008, excavator Eilat Mazar announced that a team she is leading south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem had uncovered an inscribed seal that dated to the time of Nehemiah. She read the name on the seal as “Temech” (tav, mem and het) and suggested that it belonged to the family of that name mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah. Soon after the announcement, however, European scholar Peter van der Veen suggested that Mazar had erred by reading the inscription straight on rather than backward, to account for the fact that a seal creates a mirror image when it used to inscribe a piece of clay. He and other critics suggested that the seal actually bears four letters (shin, lamed, mem and tav) and that the correct reading is “Shlomit,” which itself may be a name mentioned in the Bible. Mazar has now acknowledged that the seal should indeed be read as “Shlomit.” Her comments and those of two of her critics can be found here; we invite other experts to share their viewpoints with us."

2/11/8:


 Ecob's Full Preterist Chart


Temple: Southwest Staircase
Jewish Weights and Measures

2/10/8:

2/7/8:

  • Critical: Donald E. Green - A Critique of (Modern) Preterism (2001 PDF)  "All would agree that the Olivet Discourse presents some interpretive many challenges no matter the eschatological position of the interpreter"

  • Watchdog: John R. Ecob D.D. - (Hyper) Preterism Weighed and Found Wanting (2006 PDF) "Had any of the Apostles lived beyond AD70, surely they would have written volumes about seeing the Lord come in glory and power, yet there is a total absence of testimony from anyone seeing Christ appear in the heavens in AD70.  Even John on the Isle of Patmos in AD70 would have seen the Lord, for according to Scripture the second advent of Christ will be seen universally; "every eye shall see him" (Rev. 1:7).  John should have witnessed it in AD70 even though he was on the Isle of Patmos."

2/6/8:

  • Free Online Books: Robert Travers - The effect of the fall of Jerusalem upon the character of the Pharisees (1917) "I mean that those who wrote the Apocalyptic books which have come down to us, held some such view of the function of Israel as I have suggested, and might be expected to take up arms rather than allow the sanctuary to be defiled. I do not know whether any actual Apocalyptic writer was amongst those who fought in the last struggle of Jerusalem. I only mean that those of the Pharisees who did so, being in sympathy with the war party, were of the same circle or group or way of thinking as that to which the Apocalyptists belonged." (PDF File HERE)

  • Free Online Books: Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna - Judaea Capta (1845) The Christian religion, in its purity, seems to have prevailed there just while the church of the circumcision, a small band of those who had escaped to Pella, found a refuge among the ruins of Zion, and clung to the mouldering stones of their beloved city and Temple. " (PDF File HERE)

  • Google Book Preview: Where the Eagles Are Gathered - The Deliverance of the Elect in Luke "Although many scholars consider Luke 17:22-37 to be "the most important eschatological passage in Luke-Acts," few agree on the precise meaning of the enigmatic proverb which forms its conclusion (Luke 17:37). Generally, Jesus' logion is taken to convey a macabre image of impending judgement. However, this study offers fresh literary, redactional, and historical evidence to suggest that Luke recast Jesus' saying in order to describe something much more glorious--the deliverance of the elect. Examination of the material elsewhere in Luke-Acts corroborates Luke's expectation of an ethereal reunion, and suggests that this hope constitutes the most characteristic feature of Lukan eschatology."

  • Google Book Preview: Jesus' Predictions of Vindication and Resurrection

2/5/8:

  • Apocalypse Commentaries: Thomas B. Slater Dating the Apocalypse to John (2003) "The present study re-examines the major arguments for dating the Apocalypse to John. It argues that internal evidence should be preferred over external witnesses and that the internal evidence suggests, based upon the ex eventu prophecy in Rev 17,9-11, that the book was written in 69, either late in Otho’s reign or early in Vitellius’ reign."

  • Apocalypse Commentaries: G. Rojas-Flores - The Book of Revelation and the First Years of Nero’s Reign (2004)  "In Revelation there is no reference to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. It would be inexplicable in terms of religious identity if the work had been written after the year 70, because John belonged to a mentality and a culture that was notably Hebrew."

  • Apocalypse Commentaries: G. Biguzzi - Is the Babylon of Revelation Rome or Jerusalem? (2006 PDF) "The first to see Jerusalem in Rev's Babylon were the French Jesuit J. Hardouin (1646-1729) and the French Calvinist F. Abauzit (1679-1767). According to the former the seven mesages of Rev 2-3 are addressed to the Jewish-Christians of Jerusalem, and according to the latter the Beast is the Jewish Sanhedrin, the seven mountains of Rev 17:9 are the seven hills on which Jerusalem stands, and the fall of Babylon is the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD"

  • Loren L. Johns - The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Apocalypse of John

2/4/8:


Jerusalem Maps: Hierosolyma Urbs Sancta Iudeae (1657)

2/3/8:

  • Free Online Books: John Lightfoot: John Lightfoot's Works - Volume 4 -  Harmony of the Four Evangelists, I/II ; Miscellanies  (1822 Edition PDF) "[C]hrist now hath three years and a half to live, and to be a publick Minister of the Gospel, as the angel Gabriel had told, Dan. 9.27. that in half of the last sevens of the years there named, he should confirm the Covenant:  R. Jochanan saith, Three years and an half the Divine Glory stood upon the Mount of Olives and cried, Seek the Lord while he may be found. Midr. Till. fol. 10. col. 4." ([1654] Works, 1st. Ed., Vol. 1; Harmony, p. 10)

  • Free Online Books: John Lightfoot: John Lightfoot's Works - Volume 5 - Harmony, Part III - Explanations of the Difficult Parts of Scripture  (1822 Edition PDF) "The Jews speaks of divers ominous things that occurred fourty years before the destruction of the City; As it is a tradition that fourty years before the Sanctuary was destroyed the Western Lamp went out, and the scarlet list kept its redness, and the Lords lot came up on the left hand.  And they locked up the Temple doors at even, yet when they rose in the morning they found them open.  Jerus. in Joma fol.43.col.3. And, Sanhedr. fol.18.col.1.  Fourty years before the Temple was destroyed, power of judging in capital matters was taken away from Israel: Now there are some that reckon but thirty eight years between the death of Christ and the destruction of the City; and if that be so, then these ominous presages occurred this year that we are upon.   It being just fourty years, by that account, from this Passover at which Christ healeth the diseased man at Bethesda, to the time of Titus his pitching him Camp and siege about Jerusalem, which was at Passover."  (Works, 1st. Ed., Vol. 1; Harmony, p. 21)

2/2/8:

  • FREE Online Books: T.M. Hopkins ; James R. Boyd - Second Adventism and Jewish History (1872 PDF) "We are confident, moreover, that it can be proved by the light of history, that the evils then foretold by our Lord came upon the Jewish nation during their wars with Hadrian, the Roman Emperor, between the year 130 and the year 140 of the Christian era; and that this desolating war was the Second Coming of Christ—an event for which the Second Adventist is now looking with anxious concern ! .. Universalism, on the other hand, had found an anodyne for an uneasy conscience, in the theory that all these predictions referred to the single event of the destruction of Jerusalem. The gathering of all nations before Jesus Christ, as related by Matt. 25 : 31, etc., the separation of the wicked from the righteous, is the assembling of all the tribes of Israel in Jerusalem, at the time of its destruction."

1/31/8:

  • Bookstores/Book Review: Martin Goodman - Rome & Jerusalem - Clash of Ancient Civilizations  "Was there anything intrinsic in Jewish and Roman society that made it impossible for Jerusalem and Rome to coexist? Were the tensions which had so dramatic an effect in August 70 already apparent in 30 when Jesus preached in Jerusalem and died there on the order of a Roman governor? And, as early Christians began to carry their faith out from Jerusalem to the wider Roman empire, what was the effect of the conflict between Jews and Romans on the relations between Jews and Christians in a Roman world?"

  • The Healing of History: A Key Element in Jewish and Christian Expectations regarding the Future "Jewish apocalypses often describe the course and consummation of history and the distribution of deserved outcomes to the righteous and to the wicked in a postmortem context. A surpassing palingenesis of heaven and earth is foreseen in 1 Enoch, Daniel, Jubilees, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, and Apocalypse of Abraham.   4 Ezra, Apocalypse of Abraham, and Ascension of Isaiah, works of Jewish origin, received substantial re-elaborations within a Christian context. These texts in final form, along with the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament, look forward to a healing of history according to Christian coordinates.  A vast array of other ancient texts composed by Jews or Christians, while not reports of revelations in the strict sense, preannounce the course of history. These texts also predict much more than a return to a glorious past: a transcendent future is imagined, whether or not reference is made to a new heaven and a new earth and to postmortem existence after resurrection. Jewish examples include Sibylline Oracles, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and Testament of Moses."

  • The Book of Jubilees (125 B.C.) "And I will send witnesses unto them, that I may witness against them, but they will not hear, and will slay the witnesses also, and they will persecute those who seek the law, and they will abrogate and change everything so as to work evil before My eyes. And I will hide My face from them, and I will deliver them into the hand of the Gentiles for captivity, and for a prey, and for devouring, and I will remove them from the midst of the land, and I will scatter them amongst the Gentiles."

  • FREE Online Books: R.H. Charles - The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (112 Mb PDF) And yet this most triumphant manifesto of legalism contained within its pages the element that was destined to dispute its supremacy and finally to reduce the law to the wholly secondary position that alone it could rightly claim. This element of course is apocalyptic, which was the source of the higher theology in Judaism, and subsequently was the parent of Christianity, wherein apocalyptic ceased to be pseudonymous and became one with prophecy.

  • Pseudepegraphia: Online Critical Pseudepigraphia "The mandate of the Online Critical Pseudepigrapha is to develop and publish electronic editions of the best critical texts of the "Old Testament" Pseudepigrapha and related literature."

1/30/8:

  • Bookstores: Robinson's Redating the New Testament - Now on sale at Wipf and Stock for $29.60 "On the basis that the fall of Jerusalem is never mentioned in the New Testament writings as a past fact, Dr. Robinson defends that the books of the New Testament were written before A.D. 70....contradicting, of course, the consensus of generations of Bible scholars."

  • Futurism: Megiddo I : The March to Armageddon (2:16:32 Google Video)

1/29/8:

1/28/8:

What time Ierusalem that Cittie faire, Was sieg'd and sackt by great Vespasians heire

"Thus Christs prophesie truely came to passe, Which Forty yeares before he had expressed"

1/27/8:

1/26/8: