A Contentious Cast of Characters
Part 1
The Glorious Truth of Redemption in Three Words
The Cutting Off of the Antichrist’s Great Tribulation
Part 1
MAY-JUNE 2024
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL 2024
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FLASHPOINT GEOPROPHECY REPORT 3 11 16 22 6
Pathway to Peace?
David Rosenthal
Since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, there has been widespread speculation that Saudi Arabia and Israel might do the same. Such a development – and others concerning Israel’s neighbors – is significant in view of biblical prophecy.
INSIGHT FEATURE
A Contentious Cast of Characters
David Ettinger
In this 2-part series, we’ll look at some of the “supporting cast” that played a role in the four Gospels and how they impacted the perspective through which the Israelites viewed Jesus.
INSIGHT REPORT
The Glorious Truth of Redemption in Three Words
Marv Rosenthal
Redemption, in a religious context, is among the most important words in the Christian vocabulary because it speaks of the most potentially important transaction in all of life.
INSIGHT FEATURE
The Cutting Off of the Antichrist’s Great Tribulation
Dr. Alan Kurschner
The cutting short of the Great Tribulation could happen shortly after the midpoint, or it could happen toward the end of the second half of the 70th Week of Daniel – or anytime between. But, what exactly does “cut short” mean?
INSIGHT FEATURE
A Word From the Word
Dr. Dan Hayden
In the very first mention of God in the Bible – Genesis 1:1 –the word used is Elohim. Interestingly, this word is in the plural tense, but with a singular meaning. Why use such a complex word to describe the Creator of the Universe?
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Since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized relations between several Arab nations and Israel, there has been widespread speculation that Saudi Arabia and Israel might also do the same. Saudi Arabia is the de facto capital of the Sunni Islamic world, so a normalization agreement between the two would have a dramatic impact on the Middle East. In fact, both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made statements to this effect last year.
On September 20, 2023, MBS stated:
“Every day we get closer [to Saudi normalization with Israel]. It seems it’s for the first time real, serious. A pact [between the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Israel] would be the biggest historical deal since the Cold War.”
On September 22, 2023, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations. He began his speech by saying:
“When I last spoke at this podium five years ago, I warned about the tyrants of Tehran. They have been nothing but a curse. A curse to their own people, to our region, to the entire world ... The common threat of Iran has brought Israel and many Arab states closer than ever before in a friendship that I have not seen in my lifetime.”
He went on to say:
“There’s no question the Abraham Accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace. But I believe that we are at the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough, an historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East.”
On October 7th, less than two weeks later, the Iranian terror proxy, Hamas, attacked Israel – murdering more than 1,200 and taking hostage more than 250.
Based on this timeline, can there be any doubt these events are connected? The reality is that the massacre in southern Israel was likely triggered by Iran for the purpose of derailing the Arab-Israeli rapprochement and the landmark normalization deal that was in the works between the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Israel.
With few cards to play, and desperate to thwart an emerging agreement between the three parties, Iran likely decided to call on its terror proxy in Gaza to initiate the massacre. Iran understood that Israel’s longstanding policy of military retaliation in response to being attacked would result in another major conflict in Gaza. More importantly for Iran, it would serve to reignite the fire of Muslim animosity toward Israel over the unresolved Palestinian conflict.
As expected, Israel responded to the massacre by launching a full-scale retaliatory incursion into Gaza for the purpose of eliminating Hamas. Not surprisingly, as soon as reports of the war and images of Palestinian casualties began to emerge from Gaza and spread throughout the Arab world, negotiations between the Saudis and the Israelis stalled, with many in the media declaring the idea of normalized relations between the two essentially dead.
This was Iran’s objective all along: Reinvigorate Muslim support across the region for the Palestinians (which had been waning prior to the war in Gaza); foment intense hatred toward Israel, and thereby force the Saudi monarchy to abandon any thoughts of signing a landmark agreement with Israel and the U.S.
Yet, even as Netanyahu has methodically prosecuted the war with Hamas these past months in the face of intense international pressure to end the campaign before completing Israel’s national security
Why does the SAUDI CROWN PRINCE continue to sit at the negotiating table with ISRAEL and the UNITED STATES in the face of overwhelming pressure to abandon normalization talks? The answer is that he has much to gain from reaching a trilateral agreement.
objectives, the Abraham Accords have held, and the Saudi monarchy continues to negotiate toward an agreement with the U.S. and Israel.
But the question that must be asked is:
“Why does the Saudi Crown Prince continue to sit at the negotiating table with Israel and the United States in the face of overwhelming pressure to abandon normalization talks?”
The answer is that he has much to gain from reaching a trilateral agreement.
ALL THREE PARTIES HAVE MUCH TO GAIN
THE UNITED STATES
The U.S. is deeply concerned about an emerging axis of anti-American nations –namely Russia, Iran, and China. These three have been attempting to gain a greater foothold within the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has been looking toward China in recent days – not only to solicit more Chinese investment, but to purchase significant military assets from the communist regime. The U.S., however, wants to keep China at bay, maintain its longstanding financial relationship with the Saudis, and protect its dominant military role in the region.
SAUDI ARABIA
The Saudis are desperate to forge an agreement with the U.S. for the purchase of weapon systems and for guaranteed U.S. military protection. The Kingdom also seeks American technology and assistance for the establishment of a nuclear program and uranium enrichment. Saudi Arabia is extremely concerned with Iran’s ongoing development of nuclear weapons. In recent comments, the Saudi Crown Prince said that developing an atomic bomb is “a bad move,’’ but that his kingdom would “have to get one’’ if Iran were to successfully develop such capabilities.
ISRAEL
Israel is very desirous of forging an enduring peace agreement with her Arab neighbors. The recent success of the Abraham Accords – particularly in
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
conjunction with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – has demonstrated the enormous economic benefits that are possible with normalization between Israel and other Arab states. Normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would allow for lucrative overland trade and pipeline routes between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. Perhaps most importantly, a deal between the two would allow for open military coordination to thwart Iranian aggression in the region.
THE CLOCK IS TICKING
Until now, the U.S. has made clear that any agreement with Saudi Arabia for weapon systems and U.S. guarantees of protection must also include a normalization agreement with Israel. However, a major sticking point remains. The Saudis have not backed down on their demand that Israel agree to “a credible and irreversible” path to a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s political future in Israel is tenuous, and he risks fracturing his coalition should he capitulate to Saudi demands for a two-state solution. He has made clear that the establishment of a Palestinian state – particularly in light of the recent Hamas massacre in Israel –would be tantamount to rewarding terrorism. And yet, he is running out of time to announce a viable post-war plan for Gaza and the Palestinians.
This is an election year in the U.S., and the Biden administration is hoping for a major diplomatic “victory“ in the Middle East before Americans go to the polls in November. Solidifying a landmark agreement between the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia might give President Biden the Election Day boost he’s hoping for to retain the presidency.
The stakes for Israel and the U.S, are enormously high. Will a grand agreement be forged? Will it include a provision for the rebuilding of Gaza and an Arab presence to administer the enclave? Will it transform the Middle East? Most significantly, will it catapult the region toward the end-time events described in Scripture?
The clock is ticking, and only time will tell.
These developments are all the more significant when viewed in light of biblical prophecy:
In the Last Days, there will be wars, and rumors of wars:
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6; see also Mark 13:7).
“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (Revelation 6:3-4).
In the Last Days, Israel will confirm a covenant for peace with the nations surrounding her:
“And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it” (Isaiah 28:18; see also Isaiah 28:14-16 and Daniel 9:27).
In the Last Days, God will punish the nations for dividing His land: “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3:2).
In the Last Days, an attack will be launched by Iran against an entity identified biblically as Babylon: “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there” (Isaiah 13:17-20; see also Isaiah 21:2, 9 and Revelation 17:16-18:2) . u
The stakes for ISRAEL and the UNITED STATES are enormously high. … The clock is ticking, and only time will tell.
G EO P ROPHECY R EPOR T
Three words in the New Testament give a composite picture of the glorious doctrine of redemption. The imagery behind these words is that of a Roman slave market – a dreadful scene in New Testament times.
REDEMPTION
The Church in America is spiritually anemic. I dislike making such an observation. But, unfortunately, it is true. What makes it worse is that there are literally millions of people who call themselves Christians, but there is not a hint of
“salvation by grace through faith” found in either their testimony or their lives. Such people are professors of Christ, but not possessors of Christ. In large measure, this condition can be traced to this one reality: Many churches do not teach that to be a “Christian” one must experience redemption.
We often rightly use terms like “born again” or “saved” to speak of salvation. The word “redemption” provides a little more detail. If all those in America who call themselves Christians were Christians, America would be a dramatically different nation. And, by that, I mean a much greater nation. What follows is a brief discussion on the meaning of redemption.
Permit me to jump right in. It began for me many years ago – when it was still fashionable to give away green redemption stamps for almost anything purchased. With the right number of stamps, a large selection of desirable gifts were available for redemption. I can still vividly remember walking downtown in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when suddenly an outdoor church bulletin board caught my eye. I stopped for a moment and carefully read it. I reflected upon its significance. That message has stayed with me through all these many years. The bulletin board message simply proclaimed: “Redemption center: no stamps necessary.” I thought to myself, what a great message for a church to proclaim on its bulletin board.
Redemption, in a religious context, is among the most important words in the Christian vocabulary because it speaks of the most potentially important transaction in all of life.
Christians sometimes talk about redemption when speaking of someone’s salvation, sing about redemption when singing hymns like, “Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb,” and pray about redemption when interceding for someone to come to faith in Christ. But what is redemption? What is its meaning before God?
Remember the church sign read, “Redemption center: no stamps necessary.” The sign was technically right, because men who experience divine redemption do so freely, or literally “without a cause” (Romans 3:23-24). That is, men make no contribution toward their own redemption. Not only are stamps or payment unnecessary, in point of fact, attempt at payment of any kind to secure redemption would negate the transaction of redemption.
God’s grace is “unmerited favor.” Add an ounce of works (or payment of any kind) to
Redemption, in a religious context, is among the most important words in the Christian vocabulary because it speaks of the most potentially important transaction in all of life.
Written by Marvin J. Rosenthal 1935–2022
a billion tons of grace and grace is no longer grace. Please reflect carefully on the next three lines.
■ Where there is grace, there is no debt.
■ Where there is grace, there is no obligation.
■ Where there is grace, there is no merit.
Do you get it? – Do you get it? – Do you get it? It’s really critical truth!
There are not enough steps to climb, money to give, acts to perform, or laws to observe to acquire God’s grace. Redemption is by grace through faith apart from any human contribution, and yet, that is precisely what millions of well-intended
The entire glorious truth of redemption is summed up in the Bible by the use of three words. Each of the three words is translated “redemption,” but each word has a particular shade of emphasis or meaning.
RANSOM – Agorazo
Firstly, the Bible uses the word agorazo to speak of redemption. With the use of agorazo, the emphasis is on the ransom price to be paid. Listen carefully as the beloved Apostle John addresses this subject in the Book of Revelation. He wrote, “And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed [agorazo, meaning ‘to pay the ransom price’] us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people,
people who call themselves Christian attempt to do. All false religion attempts to circumvent God’s grace through some kind of works. That is precisely what the core of the Protestant Reformation was all about.
On the other hand, if someone reads the sign, “Redemption center: no stamps necessary,” and perceives redemption requires no payment of any kind, that would be equally erroneous. Redemption requires payment. And the price of redemption was paid in its entirety by the Son of God. Jesus came to pay a debt He did not owe because men owe a debt they cannot pay.
By definition, redemption is the act of deity in which Jesus Christ pays the whole demand of the law for a sinful man; God the Father then receives this redeemed man as a son and heir; and the Holy Spirit indwells that redeemed man, delivering him from the bondage of indwelling sin and into freedom in Christ.
It is precisely because Jesus paid the whole demand of the law for sinful man who was enslaved by that law, that the Apostle John proclaimed, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
and nation” (Revelation 5:9). The ransom price to redeem men from the curse of sin is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or consider Peter’s condemnation of false teachers in the Latter Days this way:
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, [the word translated ‘bought’ is agorazo, and once again it means ‘to pay the ransom’] and bring upon themselves swift destruction (2 Peter 2:1).
Peter is saying that in the latter days, false teachers will deny the power of Christ’s blood in purchasing men’s redemption. Tragically, it is a perfect description of millions of people who today call themselves Christians but deny the efficacy of Christ’s shed blood on Calvary for their salvation. The great Apostle Paul adds his testimony to that of Apostles John and Peter. He wrote to the church at Corinth,
For ye are bought [once again, ‘bought’ is the translation of agorazo meaning ‘to pay the ransom’] with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Paul’s logic is simple. Jesus, through His blood, has paid the price for our redemption. It is only logical, therefore, that we glorify God in our body and spirit, which legally belong to the One who has paid the price to redeem us.
REMOVAL – Exagorazo
Secondly, the Bible uses the word exagorazo to speak of redemption. With the use of the added prefix ex, agorazo becomes exagorazo and the emphasis is now on the
“removal” of the redeemed from the slave market of sin and the jurisdiction of the Mosaic law, which declared, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20).
Galatians is the Apostle Paul’s great epistle on Christian liberty. It has rightly been called the believer’s emancipation proclamation. It is the refutation, for all time, of those who would seek to put the child of God back under a law system, or to, illogically, develop a system of grace plus law or works.
Paul’s clarion call is
Christ hath redeemed [exagorazo, meaning ‘to pay the price and remove’] us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree (Galatians 3:13).
Paul’s point is that Christ, through His crucifixion, has “removed us from the curse of the law.”
To underscore the importance of our “removal” from the curse of the law, Paul ties it directly to the purpose of the incarnation of the Son of God. He wrote:
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem [exagorazo, to ‘pay the price and remove’] them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4:4-5).
For emphasis, permit me to reverse the order of Paul’s statement. To be adopted into the family of God, man had to be “removed from under the curse of the law” (which keeps man separated from God); and, for that to be accomplished, Jesus had to become a man.
RELEASE – Lutron
Thirdly, the Bible uses the word lutron to speak of redemption. With the word lutron, the emphasis is not only on paying
the price and removing, but also on “releasing” the one redeemed from all obligations so he may choose whom he will serve.
The tax collector-turned-disciple Matthew gives an excellent illustration of this word. The disciples were jockeying over their place of honor in the kingdom they thought the Lord was about to establish, and Matthew records the Lord’s response:
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom [ransom comes from lutron, meaning ‘to redeem and set free’] for many (Matthew 20:27-28).
The appeal by the Lord is to servitude. And the example He uses is that He willingly gave His life so many might be “redeemed and set free” from the bondage of the law. Now, out of gratitude and love, the recipient of the redemption has the potential to choose to serve the One who released him.
The most familiar use of this word comes from the inspired pen of the
The three words for redemption in the New Testament give a composite picture of the glorious doctrine of redemption.
Apostle Peter. He wrote,
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed [lutron, meaning ‘to redeem and set free’] with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18-19).
The price for our being set free was not the corruptible things of this world but the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The three words for redemption in the New Testament taken together give a composite picture of the glorious doctrine
husband had died. The deceased man had been a physician, and one day his widow went through her late husband’s ledger. To her surprise she found many of his patients had unpaid bills of long standing. She decided to hire a lawyer to collect the unpaid bills.
As the lawyer looked through the ledger, he found these words written under each unpaid bill: “Debt cancelled – could not pay.” The lawyer told his client she could not collect, that the debts had been cancelled by her husband because the patients could not pay.
Then the evangelist made this application. “That is what Jesus did for us in redemption,” he forcefully proclaimed. “He cancelled the debt because we could not pay it.” To such a statement everything within
God is so wondrously gracious. He pays the price of our redemption; He removes us from the enslavement of this godless world system headed by Satan; and He sets us free.
had no rights whatsoever. The word agorazo speaks of the “ransom price” that was paid to purchase the slave from the slave market. The word exagorazo speaks of the “removal” of the slave from the slave market once the ransom price has been paid. And finally, the word lutron speaks of “release” of the slave. He is now free.
God is so wondrously gracious. He pays the price of our redemption; He removes us from the enslavement of this godless world system headed by Satan; and He sets us free. If we serve Him, it is because we choose to, never because He forces us to serve.
Wisdom, gratitude, and love argue for willing servitude. And countless millions have through the centuries, with unanimous voice, proclaimed, “His yoke is easy, His burden is light.”
During my seminary student days, I remember going to listen to a well-known evangelist who had come to town. He spoke on the redemptive work of Christ. To illustrate a point, he told of a woman whose
it. Jesus paid it for you in full at the Place of the Skull. There He was pierced through, there He shed His blood, there He who knew no sin was made sin for us, there, once and for all, He met the full demand of the law. Again I say, the debt was not cancelled. “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”
Amazingly, the price was not too high to thwart the Father’s love or the Son’s obedience, and with an infinite sacrifice of eternal worth, He legally ransomed us from sin’s penalty; He experientially released us from sin’s power, and in the future He will deliver us from sin’s presence so we need never be enslaved again.
Jesus paid the price to redeem us from the curse of the law which declares, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). I asked, “How much do you love me, Lord!” He said, “This much,” and lifted up His arms and died. u
PART 1
contentious cast cte s cha a of
Pharisees, Sadducees, & the Forces Which Shaped Jewish Thought at the Time of Jesus
In this 2-part series, we’ll look at some of the “supporting cast” that played major and minor roles in the four Gospels: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Samaritans, and Essenes. With the exception of the Samaritans, we don’t read about these entities in the Old Testament, but they certainly impacted their culture, the Jewish nation, and the perspective through which the Israelites viewed Jesus.
To understand how these groups impacted their environment, we must first look at their origins, which were shaped by an empire, an individual, and a belief system that had a pivotal influence on Jewish thought during the time of Christ.
Paving the Way for the Pharisees and Sadducees
The Starting Point
In looking at the forces which shaped Jewish thought at the time of Jesus, we need to zero in on the Greek Empire, which, for the most part, entered into its greatest era of influence in 334 B.C. under the leadership of brilliant Alexander the Great.
However, this prominent age of the Greek Empire was brief and
. . . at age 33, Alexander the Great died and the rule of his empire was passed to his four generals.
They divided the vast Grecian Empire into four parts:
u Seleucus ruling Syria & Asia Minor
u Ptolemy ruling Egypt
u Lysimachus ruling Thrace & Turkey
u Cassander ruling Macedonia & Greece
The strongest proponent of the spread of Hellenism was the evil Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes, who reigned from 175 to 163 B.C.
lasted but a few years. In 323 B.C., at age 33, Alexander the Great died and the rule of his empire was passed to his four generals. They divided the vast Grecian Empire into four parts with Seleucus ruling Syria and Asia Minor; Ptolemy ruling Egypt; Lysimachus ruling Thrace and Western Asia Minor (Turkey); and Cassander ruling Macedonia and Greece.
The key figures here were the Seleucids (Syria) – north of Israel –and the Ptolemies (Egypt) – south of Israel. For several centuries the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties battled for control of the little land mass of Israel, which was constantly ruled over by the dynasty which was the stronger of the two at a particular time. The reason Israel was so important is that she served geographically as a military buffer between the two regional kingdoms.
The Crucial Role of Hellenism
Though Israel desired its independence, if she had to choose between the two, she opted for control by the Ptolemies (Egypt) because that dynasty sought only taxes and the military buffer it would receive from Israel. Otherwise, the Ptolemies allowed the Jews to live and worship as they pleased.
This was not the case with the Seleucids (Syria). That dynasty was a proponent of Hellenism, which was the adoption of the Greek language, culture, customs, and thought by conquered people. Greece believed that if those they conquered adopted the Greek way of life, they would be far easier to manage.
The strongest proponent of the spread of Hellenism was the evil Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes, who reigned from 175 to 163 B.C. Desperate to retain control over Israel, he saw Hellenism as the mortar which would unify his kingdom. In his zeal and ruthlessness, he desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem, rededicated it to Zeus, the supreme deity of the ancient Greeks, and demanded that all Jews sacrifice to this pagan deity.
He also declared circumcision and possessing portions of the Old Testament
Scriptures were capital offenses. Antiochus mandated that Jews eat pork – a heinous violation of the Jewish dietary laws –to prove their loyalty to him. Those who refused were immediately slaughtered.
The Factions
Circumstances were favorable for Antiochus to achieve his Hellenistic plan for Jerusalem, as at this time a small group of wealthy Jewish men – primarily from among the priests – wanted to transform Jerusalem into a Hellenistic city. They cared nothing for the true God of Israel and embraced the Greek culture. This wealthy priestly minority pledged allegiance to Antiochus and fell in line with his demands. They were worldly, godless, and, most importantly to Antiochus, influential.
On the other side of the ledger, and in the majority, were the faithful Jews who refused to capitulate to Antiochus’ blasphemous decrees. They became known as the Hasidim, the “pious ones.” These were those who resisted the tide of Hellenism and any other influence which would intrude upon the Jewish way of life and the worship of Yahweh.
So dedicated to the God of Israel – and so disdainful of Hellenism – were these Hasidim that they would often pay for their principles with their lives. Thousands of them perished.
After Antiochus
In 167 B.C., the family of the Maccabees led a Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Empire and the Hellenistic assault on Jewish life, and triumphed in 160 B.C. From then until 63 B.C. – when the Roman Empire took control of Israel – the nation had almost a century of near-independence under the Hasmoneans (the Maccabean family).
The Hasmoneans served as both priests and kings, but their reign was filled with religious and political corruption, immorality, violence, and intrigue.
A number of the Hasmonean priests were wealthy and influential, and were descended from those who originally supported Hellenism. Many from this group would later become the Sadducees. In contrast, those who had opposed religious corruption on all
fronts, the Hasidim (pious ones), would later become the Pharisees and the Essenes. By the time of Jesus, these various entities would claim to be the true “keepers” of the Mosaic Law, and would vehemently oppose the Messianic claims of Jesus Christ.
The Pharisees
Who They Were
extensively, developing an expansive commentary known as the “Oral Law.”
The Oral Law dealt with matters the Mosaic Law did not cover; hence the Oral Law was the edict of men, not God. Sadly, the Pharisees came to give as much credence –
By the time of Jesus, these various entities would claim to be the true “keepers” of the Mosaic Law, and would vehemently oppose the Messianic claims of Jesus Christ.
Written by David Ettinger
As explained previously, the Pharisees emerged from the Hasidim (“pious ones”), which arose during the time of Antiochus Ephiphanes (175-163 B.C.) and grew during the rule of the Hasmoneans (160-63 B.C.) in Israel. The Pharisees (which means “separated ones”) were not a group of clergy as many Bible students believe, but a coalition of devout Jewish laymen.
A number of the Pharisees came from the scribes, who were learned men whose business was to study the Mosaic Law, transcribe it, and write commentaries on it. The Pharisees were impassioned students of the Law who took the position as teachers of the Law.
At the time of Jesus there were about 6,000 Pharisees throughout Israel.
What They Believed
To the Pharisees, verses such as Deuteronomy 8:1 were of supreme importance: “All the commandments which I [God] command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.”
Besides this preoccupation with the letter of the Mosaic Law, the Pharisees also believed in apocalyptic teaching, angels, and the resurrection from the dead –beliefs rejected by the Sadducees.
The Pharisees also believed the Mosaic Law should be adapted to meet changing needs. As a result, they studied and debated
if not more – to the Oral Law as they did the Mosaic.
Once the Oral Law became as equally accepted as the Mosaic Law, the Pharisees strove to live up to the multitude of burdensome rules they – not God – had created. Furthermore, they expected the “ordinary” citizens of Israel to do the same, and were contemptuous of those “sinners” who did not abide by their strict codes.
A Different “Purity”
The Pharisees scrupulously observed the Mosaic and Oral Law and distinguished themselves from the Sadducees by their views regarding purity. The Sadducees believed ritual works (animal sacrifices) were the only way to please God. The Pharisees, on the other hand, focused on ritual purity as the defining experience in Judaism in virtually every aspect of life.
The Pharisees adhered to a rigid application of the laws governing the Sabbath and ritual purity. Their debates over what was “pure” and “impure” led to the development of an elaborate cleansing system.
The Pharisees wanted above all else to avoid “uncleanness”; therefore they devoted themselves to keeping the miniscule details of every ritual and moral commandment. In the New Testament, the Pharisees challenged Jesus on matters involving the Law, including purity and Sabbath observance.
Hated Corruption
The Pharisees were not as extreme as the Essenes, who also arose out of the Hasidim. The Essenes turned their backs on
The Sadducees believed ritual works were the only way to please God. THE PHARISEES FOCUSED ON RITUAL PURITY AS THE DEFINING EXPERIENCE IN JUDAISM IN VIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE.
In the New Testament, the Pharisees challenged Jesus on matters involving the Law, including purity and Sabbath observance.
. . . the Pharisees were instrumental in establishing synagogues throughout Israel, knowing that the majority of Jews could not make the trip to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship on a consistent basis.
the Temple and withdrew from society as they were disgusted with the immoral and corrupt priests who controlled the Temple. The Pharisees shared with the Essenes their repugnance of this Temple and the priestly corruption of the Sadducees.
Important Achievement
Among their achievements during the Hasmonean reign of Israel, the Pharisees were instrumental in establishing synagogues (Jewish houses of worship) throughout Israel, knowing that the majority of Jews could not make the trip to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship on a consistent basis.
The synagogue was crucial to the Pharisees in that it gave them the opportunity to spread their own concepts and teaching to the general citizenry of Israel while at the same time decreasing the influence of the Sadducees. Due to their efforts, by 50 B.C., there was a synagogue in just about every village that had a significant Jewish population.
. . . we know of at least two Pharisees – Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea – who most likely came to faith in Jesus.
Jesus and the Pharisees
Jesus had many interactions with the Pharisees, most of which were confrontational and filled with discord. Yet, Jesus sought them out, desired to bring truth to them, and even socialized with them (Luke 7:36). In fact, we know of at least two Pharisees – Nicodemus (John 3) and Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:38-39) –who most likely came to faith in Jesus.
and excess” (Matthew 23:25).
The Legacy of the Pharisees
Simply put, the Pharisees should have known better. They certainly knew the Torah (the Old Testament Scriptures), and should have recognized the Jewish Messiah who was in their midst. However, hard hearts, observance of manmade laws and rituals, and exalted esteem of their own importance kept them from bowing the knee to the One who came to them offering salvation from their sins and everlasting life.
The Sadducees
Who They Were
The Sadducees, a sect of Judaism, took their name from Zadok, the first High Priest of ancient Israel to serve in the First (Solomon’s) Temple. Hence, their Hebrew name was Tzedoqim
The Sadducees consisted of the aristocratic upper crust of Jewish society. They were members of influential families, had political standing, and believed in working along with the ruling power of the day, either Greece or Rome. In this way, they were able to stay in power.
The Sadducees controlled the ritualistic sacrificial system of the Second (Herod’s) Temple, and collected the tithes for the upkeep of the Temple. They also wielded very real secular power. Under the Hasmonean dynasty (160-63 B.C.), the Sadducees gained control of the Sanhedrin (the supreme council and tribunal of the Jews) and had jurisdiction over religious and other domestic matters.
When power transferred to the Roman Empire in 63 B.C., the Sadducees were able to hold on to their control of the sacrificial system of the Temple as well as the Sanhedrin.
Cultural Beliefs
In the end, however, Jesus condemned the Pharisees (along with the teachers of the law) in some of the most powerful language found anywhere in Scripture.
In the end, however, Jesus condemned the Pharisees (along with the teachers of the law) in some of the most powerful language found anywhere in Scripture. He accused them of being hypocrites –those who claimed to be of virtuous character, principles, and moral and religious beliefs, “but within they are full of extortion
As mentioned earlier, the Sadducees are descended (culturally and ideologically) from the Jewish aristocracy which favored Hellenism as the major influence in Jerusalem a century earlier. However, though they carried on the more “liberal” thinking of those early Jewish Hellenists,
Nicodemus with Jesus
they were more constrained, never allowing their beliefs to intrude upon the Mosaic Law.
Because the vast majority of the Sadducees came from the wealthy elite of Jerusalem, they never found much sympathy among the masses. The “common” Israelite of the day had little in common with these aristocrats, and had no compulsion whatsoever to align with them.
Religious Beliefs
Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did not accept all of the Hebrew Scriptures, but only the first five books known as the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Ironically, in this way they were similar to the lowlyregarded Samaritans (of whom we’ll read in Part 2).
Furthermore, they did not believe in the concept of an afterlife, which at that time was gaining great popularity in Judaism, particularly among the Pharisees (and is clearly taught in the Book of Daniel). They also rejected the belief of angels, demons, resurrection from the dead, and apocalyptic predictions of the Last Days. They likewise did not accept the Oral Law as developed by the Pharisees.
What they did advocate were the animal sacrifices at the Temple and the role of the priesthood.
The Sadducees and Jesus
Perhaps the most famous confrontation between Jesus and the Sadducees concerned their questioning Him on an issue regarding marriage and, especially, the resurrection of the dead. This, of course, was disingenuous on the part of the Sadducees because they did not believe in the resurrection; their goal was to discredit Jesus, not to discover truth.
In Matthew Chapter 22, the Sadducees asked Jesus the following:
… Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left
Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did not accept all of the Hebrew Scriptures, but only the first five books known as the Pentateuch . . .
his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her (vv. 24-28).
The question is preposterous and Jesus exposes the duplicity of the Sadducees while at the same time shaming them most deservingly. The Lord replied:
Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (vv. 29-32).
One would think that after being taken so soundly to the theological woodshed the Sadducees would reflect, reconsider, and repent. However, as Jesus elucidated, the Sadducees did not know the Scriptures or power of God. They were ignorant on both counts, and had no desire to overcome their spiritual shortcomings.
The Sadducee “Legacy”
– MATTHEW 22:31-32
Up Next:
A Contentious Cast of Characters: Part 2: The Scribes, Samaritans, and Essenes and the Forces Which Shaped Jewish Thought at the Time of Jesus
It is no wonder that absolutely NONE of the writings of the Sadducees have been preserved. All we know about them is what we read in the Bible and extra-biblical sources. They were theologically limited, have left nothing in writing for the generations to come, and denied both the messiahship and Deity of Jesus Christ. This is the lamentable legacy of a sect of men who lived at the same time of Christ, interacted with Him, witnessed the miracles He performed, but in the end denied Him. u . . . have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? GOD IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD, BUT OF THE LIVING.
Editors’Note:
The author uses the term “Antichrist’s Great Tribulation” as a means of distinguishing it from the term “Day of the Lord.” The key point is that the Great Tribulation refers to that which is initiated and carried out by the Antichrist, whereas the Day of the Lord is both initiated and carried out by the Lord Jesus. Therefore, whenever you read the phrase “the Great Tribulation” in this article, please remember it refers to the work of the Antichrist, not the Lord Jesus.
Amajor tenet of Prewrath theology is the understanding that the period of the Antichrist’s Great Tribulation against God’s elect will be “cut short.” Jesus states:
For then shall be great tribulation [that is, thlipsis megas], such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened [koloboō], there should no flesh be saved [that is, delivered]: but for the elect’s [eklektos’] sake those days shall be shortened [koloboō]” (Matthew 24:21-22; see also Mark 13:20).
Jesus continues to explain that this cutting short of the Great Tribulation will occur at an unknown day and hour with His return (Matthew 24:36). The same day on which the elect are rescued will be the day the wicked begin to be judged:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:29-31).
Prewrath eschatology (the study of the End Times) distinguishes the period of the Great Tribulation from the eschatological period known as the Day of the Lord’s Wrath. The object of the Antichrist’s wrath will be Christians, as well as Israel, who will eventually recognize their true Messiah at the end of the 70th Week of Daniel (the final seven years of this era of human
history). The object of the Lord’s wrath will be unbelievers. These two periods will not –and cannot by their purposes – overlap with each other. They will occur back-to-back. Jesus uses several illustrations on this point, for example, the separation that occurred “as the days of [Noah]” (Matthew 24:37-39; see also Luke 17:26-18:8); “one shall be taken, and the other left” (Matthew 24:4041); and the five wise virgins who were taken and the five who were left (Matthew 25:1-13). Prewrath teaches the Great Tribulation will be cut short sometime during the second half of the 70th Week of Daniel when Jesus returns on the clouds at an unknown day and hour.1
Many Pretribulation exponents have asserted a misrepresentation of the Prewrath view, stating Prewrath teaches the Great Tribulation will last “21 months” and that the Rapture occurs at the “threequarter” point during the 70th Week. For example, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum claims the Prewrath view should be called the “three-quarter tribulation” view.2 Fruchtenbaum’s misrepresentation of Prewrath is in direct contradiction to the actual Prewrath view. Immediately after mispresenting the Prewrath view, in the very next sentence, Fruchtenbaum states Marvin Rosenthal’s correct view: “According to Rosenthal, the rapture occurs somewhere between the middle and the end of the Tribulation …”3 Prewrath teaches, as stated by Rosenthal, that the Great Tribulation will be cut short sometime during the second half of the 70th Week of Daniel when Jesus returns in the clouds. The day when it is cut short will be the day God’s eschatological wrath begins. The cutting short of the Great Tribulation could happen shortly after the midpoint, or it could happen toward the end of the second half – or anytime between. We do not know the day or hour.4
In this first article, I will explain the meaning of “cut short” in the context of Matthew 24:22. In the next issue, I will comment on other relevant passages in Scripture that indicate the Great Tribulation will be cut short.
Written by Alan E. Kurschner
Prewrath eschatology (the study of the End Times] distinguishes the period of the Great Tribulation from the eschatological period known as the Day of the Lord’s Wrath.
These two periods will not – and cannot by their purposes – overlap with each other. They will occur back-to-back.
Our first issue with Matthew 24:22 is to examine:
(1) its context
(2) the Greek term koloboō
The Meaning of ‘Cut Short’ in Matthew 24:22
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened [koloboō], there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened [koloboō] (Matthew 24:21-22).
Our first issue with Matthew 24:22 is to examine: (1) its context, and (2) the Greek term koloboō (“cut short”) in Matthew 24:22.
The Context of Matthew 24:22
In Matthew 23, Jesus’s conflict with the Jewish leadership came to a climax in Jerusalem as He pronounced woes upon them. In the aftermath of witnessing their teacher condemn the religious leadership, the disciples attempt to salvage something such as their national pride by turning Jesus’s attention back upon the beautiful Temple (Matthew 24:1). Jesus would have none of this. Rather than admiring the Temple buildings, He admonished them by beginning His Olivet Discourse: “See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).
In their mind, the disciples associated this future destruction of the Temple with the return of Jesus and thus asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [parousia], and of the end of the [age]?” (Matthew 24:3).
with an exhortation for Christians to endure to the end, which will also fulfill the global proclamation of the Gospel:
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:13-14).
In summary, Jesus’s response to His disciples is a panoramic “shotgun” description of many events that will happen right up to the end of the age (vv. 4-14). In verse 15, Jesus shifts to highlight the awful time of persecution for believers that was described in verses 9-14.
In verse 15, the inferential Greek conjunction oun (“therefore” or “so”) indicates the beginning of this parenthetical section that will explain how this persecution will be brought about, the abomination of desolation: “When ye therefore [oun] shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:).” By drawing from Daniel the prophet, Jesus is referring to Daniel’s End Time antagonist (the Antichrist), who will come on the world scene to demand allegiance from the world and punish those who do not follow him (see Revelation Chapter 13).
In addition, from Daniel, we also know the abomination of desolation will take place in the middle of a 7-year period:
Jesus gives an ominous prophecy that believers will have to suffer the beginning of birth pangs (wars, famines, and earthquakes) which will be followed by the period of Great Tribulation for Christians, including persecution, martyrdom, hatred, deception, and lawlessness.
In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus challenges their Messianic Kingdom categories by telling them the kingdom was not coming anytime soon because they must suffer first. Jesus gives an ominous prophecy that believers will have to suffer the beginning of birth pangs (wars, famines, and earthquakes – Matthew 24:4-8), which will be followed by the period of Great Tribulation for Christians, including persecution, martyrdom, hatred, deception, and lawlessness (Matthew 24:9-14). Jesus concludes
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate (Daniel 9:27; see also Daniel 11:45; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).
While the Antichrist’s actions will have reverberations around the world, the epicenter will be in Jerusalem with the abomination of desolation. This is why Jesus gives specific directives for believers who are living in the vicinity of Jerusalem at this time:
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day (Matthew 24:16-20).
The abomination of desolation that will occur at the midpoint precipitates the notorious Great Tribulation: “For then shall be great tribulation [thlipsis megas], such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21, emphasis added; see also Daniel 12:1-2). We are next told the purpose for the cutting short is to rescue the elect from the Great Tribulation:
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh [the elect] be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Matthew 24:22).
The question remains, how will those days be cut short? Jesus explains they will be cut short with His return (His Parousia) to rescue the elect out from the Great Tribulation. Before Jesus describes this, He warns believers that the Great Tribulation will be characterized by acute deception contrasted with the genuine sign presaging His coming:
THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before [ahead of time]. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [parousia] of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together (Matthew 24:23-28; see also Luke 21:34-36).
The bright sign of the coming [parousia] of Christ therefore will signal to the elect their Savior is returning to rescue them for glory. The brightness will pierce through the cosmic darkness of the celestial disturbances when Christ cuts those days short for the rescue:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days [the Great Tribulation] shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:29-30, emphasis added; see also Joel 2:30-31).
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh [the elect] be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
– Matthew 24:22
The Pre-Wrath Rapture
The Antichrist’s Great Tribulation will be cut short by the return of Jesus Christ (His Parousia) when He rescues the elect by rapture. This will occur sometime in the last 3 ½ years of the 70th Week at the time of God’s choosing.
The Greek verb koloboō is used twice in Matthew 24:22 for “cut short.”
The only other instance of this term in the Bible is found in the parallel passage of the Olivet Discourse where it is used twice in Mark 13:20.
The narrative continues to describe the specific mode of His angels cutting short the Great Tribulation by gathering the elect:
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:31; see also 1 Corinthians 15:42; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).5
While Jesus tells His disciples they should discern the season when the Great Tribulation is cut short with His coming (Matthew 24:32-35), they will not know the exact day or hour the coming will cut it short:
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only (Matthew 24:36).
Jesus employs a host of parables and similitudes to illustrate Matthew 24:31 regarding the separation that will occur when the elect are taken to meet Jesus and the unrighteous are left behind for judgment (Matthew 24:37-25:30; see also Luke 17:22-37).
Here is what we know up to this point from our contextual examination:
1. The abomination of desolation begins at the midpoint of the 7-year period.
2. The abomination of desolation starts the Great Tribulation targeting believers.
3. The Great Tribulation is cut short for the purpose of rescuing believers out from within it.
The Greek Term Koloboō (“Cut Short”) in Matthew 24:22
The Greek verb koloboō is used twice in Matthew 24:22 for “cut short.” The only other instance of this term in the Bible is found in the parallel passage of the Olivet Discourse where it is used twice in Mark 13:20. The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Louw and Nida lists the glosses (interpretive aids) “to shorten,” “to decrease,” and “to reduce in number” and defines the term as “to cause something to be reduced in number or extent.”6
Louw and Nida comment on our instance in Matthew 24:22, stating, “There may be difficulties involved in a strictly literal rendering of ‘those days will be shortened,’ for it might appear that each day would become shorter rather than that the number of days would be decreased. Therefore, one must render this expression in Matthew 24:22 in a number of languages as ‘those days will be fewer.’” The GreekEnglish Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG) mentions the glosses “cut off,” “cut short,” “mutilate,” and “curtail” and defines the term as “to cause something not to be full length, to shorten” and “to reduce the duration of something, shorten.”7
What these two noted lexicons suggest is that the semantic range can include either the sense of something full length was shortened, or the sense of something intended to become longer was shortened before it reached its full length. Before we examine which sense our instance of koloboō in Matthew 24:22 captures, we need to broaden our scope to examine how this term is used in other instances from Greek literature outside of the New Testament during the Koine period.
While Jesus tells His disciples they should discern the season when the Great Tribulation is cut short with His coming (Matthew 24:32–35), they will not know the exact day or hour the coming will cut it short.
4. Jesus’s coming in Matthew 24:31 describes the righteous being taken to Jesus and the unrighteous being left behind for judgment.
5. We will know the season of Jesus’s return, but not the day or hour when it cuts short the Great Tribulation.
The term is found only once in the Greek version of the Old Testament: “And Dauid [David] commanded his lads, and they killed them and docked their hands and their feet and hung them at the well at Chebron, and the head of Memphibosthe they buried in the tomb of Abenner son of Ner” (2 Samuel 4:12 NETS – A New English Translation of the Septuagint).
A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint notes that the word means “to
mutilate, to cut off.”8 In this instance, it clearly represents the sense of something that had full length and was shortened. The term is also used once in the Greek Pseudepigrapha: “And at the transgression of the first Adam, it was near to Sammael when he took the serpent as a garment. And it did not hide itself but increased, and God was angry with it, and afflicted it, and shortened its days” (3 Baruch 9:7-8). Here it carries the other sense of something intending to become longer but is shortened. This instance is similar in meaning to Matthew 24:22 in that it represents days being shortened.9
While these examples help to establish the range of sense and nuances, it will be the immediate context of Matthew 24:22 that clarifies what Jesus means by those days of Great Tribulation being shortened. Matthew 24:15-21 teaches the great tribulation that began with the abomination of desolation will be directed toward believers. To begin with, this is explicitly confirmed with the statement, “but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22). The context indicates it will be God who will cut those days short, because it is God who sends His Son at that time to rescue the elect and gather them. It follows that the Great Tribulation is motivated by Satan.
Paul confirms this when he describes what the Antichrist will do at the midpoint with the abomination of desolation:
[He] opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God … Even him, whose coming is after the working [energeia] of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:4, 9).
Note here that Paul uses the term energeia (“working”), which suggests the “man of lawlessness” is satanically possessed. Satan has always desired and attempted to destroy God’s saints (both Gentile and Jewish) in the past and present, and he will
in the future (see Revelation 12:12-17). This supports the understanding in Matthew 24:22 that it is Satan’s motive to have the Great Tribulation last until his intended full effect: the extermination of all believers. In fact, this is exactly what the text tells us: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22, emphasis added).
The Greek term underlying “saved” (sōzō) can represent spiritual salvation or physical salvation. In our context, it clearly represents physical salvation (“rescue”). Some may point out that the text says “no one,” which would include the entire world and not just believers. This is not correct, because the context is addressing the fate of believers, not unbelievers. It is speaking of all believers at that time. The unbelieving world at large will love the Antichrist – he will be considered a savior to them. He will not be putting them to death, rather, it will be believers who will stand firm in their allegiance to Christ and thus against Antichrist.
This is why Jesus follows up with the warning to Christians: “Behold, I have told you before [ahead of time]” (Matthew 24:25; see also Matthew 24:9: “and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake”). To be sure, the other object of persecution for the Antichrist will be Israel, especially a remnant of the Jewish people who will not capitulate to his program. A remnant of Jews will be protected, but the nation of Israel will undergo its worst tribulation ever (Daniel 12:1-2; Jeremiah 30:7).
In summary, we learned the use of koloboō in the immediate context of Matthew 24:22 means the cutting short represents the rescue of believers during the Great Tribulation. Jesus teaches the Great Tribulation begins at the midpoint with the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15; see also Daniel 9:27) and will continue until it is cut short at the unknown day and hour the Father has determined when He sends His Son to gather His elect (Matthew 24:22, 29, 36). u
1Robert Van Kampen, The Sign, 2nd ed. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999), 282–83; Marvin Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), 108–13.
2Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, “Is There a Pre-Wrath Rapture?” in When the Trumpet Sounds, eds. Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1995), 381–411.
3Fruchtenbaum, “Pre-Wrath Rapture,” 382.
4I stress this point because I have personally corrected Pretribulation exponents on this, yet, they regrettably continue to perpetuate this misrepresentation of the Prewrath view.
5For an extensive treatment that explains why Matthew 24:31 describes the resurrection and the Rapture, see Alan Kurschner, Antichrist Before the Day of the Lord: What Every Christian Should Know about the Return of Christ (Pompton Lakes, NJ: Eschatos Publishing, 2013), 86–101.
6Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, eds., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 2nd ed. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1989).
7Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
8Johan Lust, Erik Eynikel, and Katrin Hauspie, A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, 3rd Corrected Edition (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2015).
9A few more examples in Koine Greek include a single instance in Epictetus where the term refers to one who loses his nose (Discourses, Book 2, 10:20) and three instances in the Shepherd of Hermas that carry the sense of imperfection by not reaching a desired standard (10:8; 14:4; 85:5).
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1:1
The Bible never tries to prove the existence of God – it merely assumes God. The first words in the Bible simply say, “In the beginning God .”
In Genesis 1:1 we read: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
(Genesis 1:1)
The Bible begins with God as the Creator of all things. It assumes the existence of God as though it were so obvious that only a fool could say “There is no God.”
The English word “God” is the Hebrew word Elohim. This is the name of God which stresses His majesty and omnipotence. Actually the “im” ending on the name Elohim is the Hebrew plural ending, so that Elohim can actually mean “gods.”
However, the name Elohim – when used as a name for God in the Bible – is always used with singular verbs, which indicates only ONE God. Thus, Elohim is a plural
name with a singular meaning – a uni-plural noun, thereby suggesting the uni-plurality of the Godhead. In other words, God is one – and yet more than one. The Bible presents Him as a tri-unity.
The concept of a triune God has always been difficult to understand. A single God –who is both a Father and a Son and a Holy Spirit – is unique among the religions of the world. And yet that is the way God presents Himself in the Bible. He is ONE GOD in THREE PERSONS. He is Elohim – the God who created the heavens and the earth.
Only a fool would deny such a truth! u
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Written by Dr. Dan Hayden
This book answers serious questions such as:
Why is evil beginning to triumph in America?
What are the signs of a collapsing culture?
How can we live righteously when the odds are against us?
Is the American church ready for what is obviously coming?
What does God want His people to do?
“Dr. Dan Hayden sounds the alarm for Christians to awaken and stand against the forces of evil with the biblical conviction, courage, and commitment necessary to emerge victorious. A must-read for our time!” –David Rosenthal, President, Zion’s Hope
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P.O. Box 783369
Winter Garden, FL 34778-3369
The ministry of Zion’s Hope continues to grow, and we’re looking for individuals who are uniquely gifted by God and have a heart to serve Him with passion, integrity, diligence, and faithfulness. The positions listed are currently available at our ministry headquarters in Central Florida. Interested individuals should submit their resume’ along with a brief, one-page personal testimonial.
https://www.zionshope.org/serve
Interested candidates should send their resumé and pertinent references to Dan Richardson: danrichardson@zionshope.org
Available Positions:
Audio-Visual Media Manager
Information Technology Administrator
Website Administrator
Social Media Content Editor
Bible Teacher/Writer/Editor
Our Purpose and Passion
Zion’s Hope is a Bible-based ministry whose purpose is to proclaim to Jewish and Gentile people throughout the world their need for personal salvation through Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. We’re also committed to helping Christians grow in their understanding of biblical prophecy and the importance of Israel in God’s plan for the Last Days. To that end, we teach Scripture in its historical, geographical, and cultural context to prepare God’s people for end-time events and the return of Jesus Christ.
