Israel To Give Up Temple Mount?

First of all, where do you read “billions” will die?

Revelation 9:15:

15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

Revelation 9:17, 18:

17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

As of today, 2007, there are approximately six billion people on the earth. One third would be two billion.

Thirdly, regarding the “man of lawlessnes,” here’s what 2 Thess. says:“And now you know what IS holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time”

Here’s a quote from Chilton on that subject:

“According to Roman imperial theology, the Caesars were gods. Each emperor was called Augustus or Sebastos, meaning “One to be worshipped.” They also took the name divus (god). Nero commanded absolute obedience and erected a 120-ft image of himself. For this reason Paul called Caesar ‘the man of sin.’”

Meaningless. Jesus saved His fullest discussion of things to come until shortly before He died. This discussion, known as the Olivet Discourse, took place on the Tuesday evening between Palm Sunday and the day of the Crucifixion. The discourse arose out of a discussion earlier in the day, between Jesus and His disciples.

Matthew 24:1-3:

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, 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. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

The disciples had offered to show Jesus the magnificent buildings of the Temple (v. 1). Jesus had replied that not one stone would be left upon another (v. 2). Sometime later, as He sat on the Mount of Olives, perhaps gazing across the valley at the beautiful scene of the city spread out before Him, certain disciples—Mark informs us that it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew (Mark 13:3)—came to Him privately and sought further information (v. 3). They asked, when will these things (the destruction of the Temple) be, and what will be the sign of His coming and the end of the world (v. 3). They evidently thought that all these developments would be concurrent.

Jesus' answer is an ingenious mixture of fact and symbol. In the first section of the discourse (Matt. 24:4-31), He gives a straightforward, literal account of events during the time of the end. In the middle section (Matt. 24:37 to 25:30) He presents a series of parables dealing with events attending the rapture of believers during this period, and in the last section (Matt. 25:31-46) He returns to a narrative style, describing an event just after the close of the age: the Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats. In response to the disciples' original questions, He inserts a direct answer between the first and middle sections.

Matthew 24:32-36:

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Here, He says four things.

1. An event will be signaled as imminent by the budding of the fig tree (v. 32-33).

2. A generation shall not pass before all these things are fulfilled (v. 34).

3. We can be sure that Jesus will return, as He promised (v. 35).

4. But no one can know exactly when Jesus will return (v. 36).

To make sense of these answers, we must understand that the disciples had, no doubt unwittingly, presented Christ with two distinct questions. The first question was, "When shall these things be?" The disciples meant, "When will the Temple be destroyed?" Their second question was, "What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" "Coming" corresponds to the Greek word parousia ("presence"), a technical term referring to the glorious presence that Jesus will manifest at His coming. In Matthew 24:27, Jesus uses the term with reference to His coming at the end of the Tribulation. In Greek, "end of the world" is sunteleias tou aionos, which means simply "completion of the age." The disciples wanted to know when Jesus would come and set up His kingdom. The answers to both questions lie hidden in Jesus' riddling oracle, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. This generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled" (vv. 32-34). By "generation," He evidently meant the generation that starts with the leafing out of the fig tree.

With reference to the first question, the expression "these things" (v. 34) refers to the destruction of the Temple, an event that the disciples also called "these things" (v. 3), and the fig tree is the actual fig tree that Jesus found and cursed on Monday of Passion Week (Mark 11:11-14, 19-21). The disciples saw this tree putting forth leaves in A.D. 33, and the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, less than a generation later. Jesus' prediction that the Temple would be destroyed less than a generation after the disciples saw the budding of the fig tree was therefore fulfilled.

With reference to the second question of the disciples, "these things" (v. 34) are the events He has enumerated in the preceding verses (in vv. 4-31), and the fig tree must be understood figuratively.

The question of great moment, therefore, is what the fig tree represents. Many commentators throughout church history have agreed that it represents the nation of Israel. In this symbolism Jesus is alluding to a vision of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 24:1-10:

1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. 8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

The prophet saw the people of Israel as two groups of figs, one good, the other bad. The Lord told him that the good figs, representing the godly portion of the nation, would someday be planted like a fig tree, never to be rooted up.

The same imagery occurs more than once during Jesus' ministry. For example, He uttered the following parable about a year before His death.

Luke 13:6-9:

6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

The standard interpretation is that the owner is the Father, the keeper is Christ, and tree is Israel. If this interpretation is correct, the meaning of the parable is transparent. Jesus' ministry has gone on for three years without any fruit and the Father is ready to set Israel aside, but the Son pleads for the nation, asking that it be cultivated another year and given another chance.

But notice Jesus' view of the fig tree a year later, after the year of prolonged opportunity had passed by.

Mark 11: 11-21:

11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. 12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. 15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. 19 And when even was come, he went out of the city. 20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree—a mere tree whose only fault was that it had not yet borne fruit? The incident is obviously symbolic. The day before the cursing of the tree was Palm Sunday, the day of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, when He presented Himself to the people and their leaders as the Messiah, in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. The response of the nation was divided. Although some individuals accepted Him, the nation as a whole rejected Him. In particular, the elders of the people rejected and severely opposed Him (Matt. 21:15). Therefore, in His justice and holiness, God rejected the Jewish nation. Subsequently, less than forty years later, in A.D. 70, God judged the Jews by destroying their city and scattering them throughout the civilized world.

Now it should be perfectly clear why Jesus cursed the fig tree on the morning after His triumphal entry. The two incidents are linked together. The cursing of the tree was a picture of the judgment that would soon fall on Israel because Israel had rejected their Messiah.

Now it should also be perfectly clear what the parable of the fig tree in the Olivet Discourse means. As the disciples were walking into the city on Tuesday morning after Palm Sunday, they noticed that the tree which Jesus had cursed the day before had withered and dried up. Later, on Tuesday evening, when the memory of the withered fig tree was still fresh in their minds, Jesus spoke the parable in question. He said that when the church sees the fig tree leafing out again, it will know that "it is . . . at the doors." The Greek for "it is" can also be translated "he is." In prophecy, "door" is often a symbol for the passageway between heaven and earth (Rev. 4:1). What the parable means, therefore, is that when the nation of Israel revives after its coming disintegration and death in A.D. 70, the return of Christ will be imminent.

God's prophecy clock began ticking in 1948, the year Israel became a nation. Anything that happened before that time is meaningless - simple world history. The events of Christ's coming are yet to happen. As Christ said in Mark 13, verse 30:

0 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.;

the generation that lives to see Israel becoming a nation will not pass until all these things, the signs pointing to His return, come to pass. Israel became a nation in 1948, and sure enough, the World War II generation has not entirely passed without witnessing prophetic signs being fulfilled.

The Bible is written chronologically. Therefore, when Jesus says in Mark 13, verse 10:

10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

which had not been accomplished in 70 AD but has been done in the 21st century, then Christ commands in Mark 13:14:

4 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains.

He is clearly speaking of an event yet to occur. He is speaking of a future event that will happen after Israel becomes a nation.

And finally, we have the technology, in our day and age, for fulfilling Revelation 13:16:

6 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive F21 a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

I have yet to see anything written anywhere that details how the entire world was branded with the mark of the beast in the year 70 AD. I have yet to see the name of the Antichrist or the false prophet as they existed in the year 70 AD recorded anywhere.

And as for the semantic three card monte regarding what the Antichrist is called in various parts of Scriputre, here is a list of names for the Antichrist and where they can be found in the Bible. Trying to claim that the Antichrist is not a literal entity who will be the central figure in the Tribulation because the word "Antichrist" is not found in the book of Revelation is lame and will not fly.

Gary DeMar explained it much better than I can; so here’s a quote from him:

“It’s in Revelation 9:15 that the four angels “kill a third of mankind.”If this judgment takes place in the land of Israel, then the use of “mankind” (lit., men) is a reference to those living in Israel during the time of the siege. Josephus records that more than a million Jews were killed during the war. This number is probably more than a third of the population, but we know that there are judgments to come (Rev. 16) before the final Roman onslaught against the temple. Eventually the total number killed will come to two-thirds of the population (Zech. 13:8), the million mentioned by Josephus.”

And again DeMar:

“Notice something important about the so-called “Battle of Armageddon” (16:16). John writes that the “kings of the whole world” will gather “together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty” (16:14). Many see this as a world-wide conflagration because of the use of “whole world.” But it’s not. The Greek word for “world” is oikoumene (not kosmos), the same word used in Matthew 24:14 and Luke 2:1 that has reference to the Roman empire. The battle is waged by the world empire of the day—Rome—made up of many nations.”

Not to mention the historical record of earthquakes and famine during that time too.

The “mark of the beast” was not a physical mark. Look up “mark” in your concordance and see for yourself.
i.e.(Revelation 9:4) Those who do not have the seal of God in their forehead will be tormented. The Beast’s mark is contrasted to God’s mark.

As for “this generation,” Jesus did not say “that generation” that sees the fig tree put forth its leaves. He said “this generation” because it was the generation He was speaking to and He was speaking of the destruction of the Temple, the end of animal sacrifices to atone for sin because He was the Temple. The End of the Age was “near.”

And Jesus also said the following:

Matthew 16:27-28: “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

As for the rest of your argument, it’s important to differentiate the prophetic writing style of the Bible from what is to be taken literally. For example, J.L. Martin, a 19th Century preacher who took literally the prophetic writing of Revelation, said this about Rev. 9:17-19:

“John is pointing to the modern mode of fighting on horseback, with the rider leaning forward, which to his sight, would appear as the great mane of the lion. He would, in fighting with firearms, have to lean forward to discharge his piece, lest he might shoot down his own horse that he was riding. In John’s day the posture was very different...Now I want to ask my friendly hearers if it is not as literally fulfilled before our eyes as anything can be? Are not all nations engaged in this mode of warfare? Do they not kill men with fire and smoke and brimstone? Do you not know that this is just ignited gunpowder?”

During the Black Plague, where millions died, many Christians thought it was the “end” too. At the time of Naploean, many people thought he was the “AntiChrist” and the end of the world was near. Generation after generation the error continues due to the fact that people keep looking for “signs” of something that has already been fulfilled. They don’t know the Old Testament well, don’t know history, and therefore misinterpret Revelation.

Again, Daniel was told to seal up the prophecy because it concerned the “distant future.” John was told to NOT seal up the prophecy because the time was “near.” The words are clear.

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