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Why Historians Date the Revelation to the Reign of Domitian
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Note that the myriad details of Zechariah 14 weren't fulfilled at the (1st century AD) day of Pentecost in Acts 2, but will be fulfilled at Jesus' (never fulfilled) 2nd coming with all his saints (Zechariah 14:5b; 1 Thessalonians 3:13b), and during the subsequent millennium, when he will reign on the earth from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8-21, Micah 4:1-4). Zechariah 14:3 refers to the 2nd-coming battle of Revelation 19:19-21. And Zechariah 14:4 shows that at his 2nd coming, Jesus will physically land on the Mount of Olives, just as at the end of his 1st coming, he physically ascended from the Mount of Olives. Acts 1:11-12 says that Jesus will return in like manner as he left.
Before Jesus returns, at the very end of the future tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 the world's armies will gather together at a staging area at Armageddon (Revelation 16:14,16) (Har Megiddo, Mount Megiddo in northern Israel). They will then move south and pillage Jerusalem right before Jesus returns and defeats them (Zechariah 14:2-5, Revelation 19:19-21). Jesus will then remain on the earth as King (Zechariah 14:9), and the unsaved people left alive on the earth (Matthew 24:40) will be forced to come up to Jerusalem and worship him annually (Zechariah 14:16-19). Jesus and the bodily resurrected church will rule the unsaved survivors of the nations with a rod of iron during the millennium (Revelation 2:26-29, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 20:4-6).
Also, Zechariah 12:2-14 refers to the same future time as Zechariah 14.
Also, Zechariah 14:5a isn't referring (as is sometimes claimed) to the fleeing of people in the church into the mountains, the wilderness (as in Matthew 24:15-16 and Revelation 12:6,14), at the midpoint of the future tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24. Instead, Zechariah 14:5a is referring to only a post-tribulation, 2nd-coming fleeing of surviving unsaved elect Jews in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2-5), who will become believers and get saved when they see the returned Jesus in person (Zechariah 12:10-14, Romans 11:25-32).
They could have survived the Antichrist's preceding reign because they were either in hiding or under the protection of the 2 witnesses (Revelation 11:3,5).
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It's sometimes claimed that Zechariah 14 was fulfilled at Jesus' 1st coming. But Jesus' 1st coming wasn't the day of the Lord (Zechariah 14:1), for that won't begin until his 2nd coming (1 Corinthians 1:7-8; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). Also, Jesus' 1st coming didn't occur right after Jerusalem had been defeated by all nations gathered against it (Zechariah 14:2-5). Also, at his 1st coming, Jesus didn't fight the nations (Zechariah 14:3) and then land on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4). It will be at his 2nd coming that Jesus will fight the nations (Revelation 19:11-21) and then land on the Mount of Olives, just as he had ascended from the Mount of Olives at the end of his 1st coming (Acts 1:11-12).
Also, at his 1st coming, Jesus didn't split the Mount of Olives in two (Zechariah 14:4), creating a valley through which the Jews in Jerusalem could flee from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:5) as Jesus waged war against all the nations of the world which had just pillaged Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2-5). Also, at Jesus' 1st coming, he didn't come with all the saints (Zechariah 14:5b). That will happen only at his 2nd coming (1 Thessalonians 3:13b). Also, at Jesus' 1st coming, he didn't make it so that Jerusalem was light at night (Zechariah 14:6-7). And he didn't make water flow out from Jerusalem in summer and winter, half of the water flowing toward the Dead Sea and the other half toward the Mediterranean (Zechariah 14:8). And he didn't make himself King over the earth (Zechariah 14:9). And he didn't flatten the topography for miles around Jerusalem and raise its elevation (Zechariah 14:10). And he didn't make it so that Jerusalem wouldn't be destroyed (Zechariah 14:11). And he didn't send an amazingly rapid, flesh-eating plague against the armies which had just pillaged Jerusalem, so that their flesh consumed away while they stood on their feet (Zechariah 14:12).
Also, at his 1st coming, Jesus didn't cause the armies which had just pillaged Jerusalem to fight against each other (Zechariah 14:13). And he didn't make Judah fight at Jerusalem and win for itself the wealth of all the nations surrounding it (Zechariah 14:14). And he didn't make the transportation animals used by the armies which had just pillaged Jerusalem suffer the horrible flesh-eating plague (Zechariah 14:15,12). And unsaved survivors of all nations which had just pillaged Jerusalem didn't come to Jerusalem annually at the feast of tabernacles to worship Jesus (Zechariah 14:16). And he didn't send drought and plague against the nations which refused to come to Jerusalem to worship him (Zechariah 14:17-19).
Also, at his 1st coming, Jesus didn't make Jerusalem so holy that even the bells on the horses in Jerusalem had the words "Holiness Unto The Lord" engraved on them (Zechariah 14:20). And he didn't make it so that the animal-sacrifice boiling pots in the temple in Jerusalem became as holy as the bowls before the altar (Zechariah 14:20). And didn't make it so that every pot in Jerusalem and Judah became holiness to the Lord (Zechariah 14:21). Instead, at his 1st coming, Jesus left unbelieving Jerusalem spiritually desolate (Luke 13:35). Also, at his 1st coming, Jesus didn't make it so that there would be no more Canaanites in the temple in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:21).
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Christ's Second Coming:
Christ and his apostles used the word "generation" on many occasions; but the first instance was to identify the time frame of the book of Matthew:
Therefore, we know from the first verse of the book of Matthew that it contained a record of events that occurred in the generation of Christ.
The first ministry in the New Testament was by John the Baptist, who was foretold by both Isaiah (40:3) and Malachi (3:1-3 and 4:5-6). John's target audience was his own generation:
The ministry of Christ targeted the same audience, which was also his generation:
The disciples also warned everyone about the evils of that generation:
Christ said his second coming would take place in his own generation:
Read that last sentence again, but this time from Matthew and Luke:
It is obvious the aforementioned things all occurred in the generation of Christ.
One more point: Peter wrote the following to his converts:
Was Peter's flock supposed to watch and pray from their graves for 2000 years or more, awaiting the second coming of Christ? Not in a million years.
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Christ and his apostles used the word "generation" on many occasions; but the first instance was to identify the time frame of the book of Matthew:
"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." -- Mt 1:1
Therefore, we know from the first verse of the book of Matthew that it contained a record of events that occurred in the generation of Christ.
The first ministry in the New Testament was by John the Baptist, who was foretold by both Isaiah (40:3) and Malachi (3:1-3 and 4:5-6). John's target audience was his own generation:
" Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." -- Mt 3:2
"… when [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" -- Mt 3:7
The ministry of Christ targeted the same audience, which was also his generation:
"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." -- Mt 12:34
"But [Jesus] answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." -- Mt 12:39-40
"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." -- Mt 23:33-36
"That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation." -- Lk 11:50-51
"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." -- Mk 8:38
"But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation." -- Lk 17:25
The disciples also warned everyone about the evils of that generation:
"And with many other words did [Peter] testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation." -- Acts 2:40
Christ said his second coming would take place in his own generation:
"And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done." -- Mk 13:26-30
Read that last sentence again, but this time from Matthew and Luke:
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." -- Mt 24:34
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." -- Lk 21:32
It is obvious the aforementioned things all occurred in the generation of Christ.
One more point: Peter wrote the following to his converts:
"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." -- 1Pet 4:7
Was Peter's flock supposed to watch and pray from their graves for 2000 years or more, awaiting the second coming of Christ? Not in a million years.
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Interplanner
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Just look at the timestamp in Mt24:29. That's where the "allowance" comes. The allowance is about how close the 2nd coming was after the DofJ. It was allowed to be way, way past; it is up to the Father. The parable of the attentive servants allows it to be very late.
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This is that verse from the King James Version:
"
and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts." -- Zech 14:21 King James Version
That term "Canaanite" is used symbolically to designate a merchant, trader or pedlar (Strong's). These are some of the versions that use that terminology:
"And there is no merchant any more in the house of Jehovah of Hosts in that day!" -- Zec 14:21 Young's Literal Translation
"And there shall no longer be traders in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day." -- Zec 14:21 New Revised Standard
"And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day." -- Zec 14:21 Revised Standard
"
and the merchant shall be no more in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day." -- Zec 14:21 Douay-Rheims 1899 American (Catholic)
"... in Yom HaHu there shall be no more Kenaani (Canaanite, merchant; see Mt 21:12-13;Mk 11:15-18]) in the Beis Hashem Tzvaos." -- Zec 14:21 Orthodox Jewish Bible
[Note that the Orthodox Jewish Bible references two passages where Jesus threw the merchants and moneychangers out of the temple.]
This is the permanent temple:
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" -- Acts 17:24
"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." -- 2Cor 6:16
"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." -- Eph 2:19-22
Since the permanent temple of God exists only within the body of Christ, and has existed since at least the days that Paul wrote Ephesians, the prophecy of Zechariah 14:21 has been fulfilled.
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I dont' know what you mean. This is the verse you quoted:
"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:"
Where is the time stamp you are referring to?
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The only 2 uses of merchant are proverbs 31:24 and job 41:6. The usage in zech 14:21 is referring to the group of people known as Canaanites.
Though if you want to argue the usage of that meaning it was pulled from here (h3369)---
H3650-H3699 Hebrew Dictionary of the Old Testament Online Bible with Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon, Etymology, Translations Definitions Meanings & Key Word Studies - Lexiconcordance.com
Even If you want the word to mean a symbolic aspect - it still fits better as no different nationalities or races, but one people- the body of Christ. Backed by the rest of the zech 14 passage.
Using merchants/traders does not truly fit with the rest of the chapter.
Though if you want to argue the usage of that meaning it was pulled from here (h3369)---
H3650-H3699 Hebrew Dictionary of the Old Testament Online Bible with Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon, Etymology, Translations Definitions Meanings & Key Word Studies - Lexiconcordance.com
Even If you want the word to mean a symbolic aspect - it still fits better as no different nationalities or races, but one people- the body of Christ. Backed by the rest of the zech 14 passage.
Using merchants/traders does not truly fit with the rest of the chapter.
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Interplanner
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"Immediately after..."
Check everything before this and you will find the setting is about Judea. The 'world' is 'gea' which is the known world, but sometimes just Judea as in Mt 10.
After this unequalled disaster, the setting is worldwide/universal.
Therefore: NT is either near-future Judean OR distant-future worldwide. It does not mix. The worldwide things could have been right after the DofJ, but were allowed both expressly and by parable (the attentive servants in Mt 24) to be delayed. And were delayed.
Check everything before this and you will find the setting is about Judea. The 'world' is 'gea' which is the known world, but sometimes just Judea as in Mt 10.
After this unequalled disaster, the setting is worldwide/universal.
Therefore: NT is either near-future Judean OR distant-future worldwide. It does not mix. The worldwide things could have been right after the DofJ, but were allowed both expressly and by parable (the attentive servants in Mt 24) to be delayed. And were delayed.
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Note that Acts 17:24, like Acts 7:48-50, refers back to the principle of Isaiah 66:1-2a, which was true even at the time of Solomon's temple (2 Chronicles 2:6). It means that the Creator God YHWH is too big to dwell only in temples made with hands. For it's not contradicting that God did dwell in Solomon's temple in the earthly Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:11), and then God dwelt in the 2nd temple in the earthly Jerusalem (Matthew 23:21), in which 2nd temple the church continued to worship God, even after Jesus' sacrificial death for our sins and his physical resurrection (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17). And so nothing requires that God won't also dwell in the 3rd temple building which will be built in the earthly Jerusalem during the future tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 (Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). And God could also dwell in the 4th temple which will be built in the earthly Jerusalem during the future millennium (Zechariah 14:20-21, Zechariah 6:12-13), which millennium won't begin until after Jesus' (never fulfilled) 2nd coming (Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Zechariah 14:3-21).
While the church as a whole is indeed a figurative temple building (Ephesians 2:21), it isn't the only temple of God. For it coexisted with the literal, 2nd temple building which was in Jerusalem in the 1st century AD (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17), just as the church coexisted, and still coexists today, with the literal temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19), and with the temple of Jesus' individual human body (John 2:21), and with the temple of every Christian's individual human body (1 Corinthians 6:19). And if the church-as-a-whole temple can currently coexist with all these other temples of God, it will be able to coexist with the 4th temple which will be built in the earthly Jerusalem during the future millennium (Zechariah 14:20-21, Zechariah 6:12-13).
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Regarding "Judaea" (Matthew 24:16), note that this doesn't have to mean 1st-century-AD Judaea. For there are many churches in Judaea (southern Israel) still today. They contain mostly Gentile believers, not just Jewish believers. The church began and has always been in Judaea: "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea" (Acts 9:31); "the churches of Judaea" (Galatians 1:22); "the churches... in Judaea" (1 Thessalonians 2:14). Matthew 24:16 refers to those in the church, both Gentiles and Jews, who will be living in Judaea at the future point in time when the abomination of desolation (possibly a standing, android image of the Antichrist) is set up in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of a 3rd Jewish temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31).
The Antichrist's persecution of the church could begin in Jerusalem and Judaea right after the abomination of desolation is set up, and the Antichrist himself sits in the temple (at least one time) and proclaims himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). So to avoid this persecution (cf. Matthew 10:23a), those in the church living in Judaea should flee immediately after they see the abomination of desolation set up (Matthew 24:15-16), which event could occur at the midpoint of the future tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, and which event could mark the start of the Antichrist's future, literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:4-18). Eventually, the Antichrist's persecution of the church will reach every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13), so that the basic principle of Matthew 24:16, of fleeing (the Antichrist's persecution), would apply to believers around the world.
Just as the woman in Revelation 12:6 represents many different people in the church around the world, so the protected wilderness place she flees to represents many different, protected wilderness places around the world. When those in the church living in Judaea see the abomination of desolation set up, they should flee into places in the wilderness east of Judaea, the mountains (Matthew 24:16) of Jordan. And those in the church who will be living in places in the world other than Judaea should flee into other wilderness places, mountainous places (Ezekiel 7:16), in the regions of the world where they live.
And they should have prepared beforehand hideouts in these wilderness/mountain places, hideouts already fully stocked with all of the emergency supplies of food, water, warm clothing, etc., that they and their families and fellow Christians will need to survive (1 Timothy 5:8, Matthew 24:45-46, cf. Genesis 41:48,36, Genesis 45:7) until Jesus returns, possibly on the 1,335th day after the abomination of desolation is set up (Daniel 12:11-12, Revelation 16:15). For they shouldn't carry any supplies with them when they flee (Matthew 24:17-18). They should flee as unhindered and quickly as possible, knowing that when the abomination of desolation is set up, that could signal the beginning of the Antichrist's future, literal 3.5-year Luciferian (Satanic) worldwide reign of terror (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9), when he will be given power to make war against all Biblical Christians that he can get his hands on, and to physically overcome them and kill them (by beheading) in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).
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Many great commentators disagree with you, including Charles Wright who used the two verses you quoted as supporting references (though Wright's proof-readers gave a non-existent ref for Job):
"The Canaanite has indeed been understood to signify a merchant. For the Phoenicians were remarkable as traders, and as such showed no respect to the religious principles of the Jews (Neh. xiii. 16, 20). Grotius, Hitzig, Maurer, etc., take this view, following Aquila and the Vulgate. Thus also the Targ., "and there will not be any longer one plying merchandize in the house of the sanctuary." The word has this signification in Job xl. 30; Prov. xxxi. 24; etc. The merchants referred to were those who sold pots for the use of the temple, and also the cattle required for the sacrifices. Such traders our Lord drove on two several occasions out of the temple (John ii. 14-16 ; Matt. xxi. 12, 13). [Charles H H Wright, "Zechariah and His Prophecies", Hodder & Stoughton, 1879, p.515] (Job ref should be Job xli. 6)
"And every pot? The meaning of this passage seems to be, that every thing in Judah and Jerusalem should be accounted so holy and acceptable to God, that the common utensils in their houses might be used for the purpose of sacrificing without offence; so that those who came to sacrifice might take and use them indiscriminately; which would effectually supersede that traffick, which was carried on in the temple for the supply of such things as were wanting on those occasions. Our Saviour speaks of the traffickers in the temple in his days, whom he drove out, and forbad to make his father's house a house of merchandise. Matt, xxi, 12. John ii. 14-16." [Benjamin Blayney, "Zechariah, a New Translation", Oxford, 1797, p.78] (See also Mark 11:15-17.)
George Adam Smith uses the alternate word "pedlar", with a footnote explaining his actions:
"In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto Jehovah, And the very pots in the House of Jehovah shall be as the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to Jehovah of Hosts, and all who sacrifice shall come and take of them and cook in them. And there shall be no more any pedlar[2] in the House of Jehovah of Hosts in that day." [2] Heb. Canaanite. Cf. Christ's action in cleansing the Temple of all dealers (Matt xxi. 12-14)." [George Adam Smith, "The Expositors Bible Vol 30-38: Minor Prophets Vol II", edited by W Robertson Nicoll, A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1906, p.490]
Keil & Delitzsch interpret the word to represent ungodly Israelites:
"In the perfected kingdom of God there will be no more sinners, but only such as are righteous and holy. This is affirmed in the last clause: there will be no Canaanite any more in the house of Jehovah. The Canaanites are mentioned here, not as merchants, as in Zeph. i. 11, Hos. xii. 8 (as Jonathan, Aquila, and others suppose), but as a people laden with sin, and under the curse (Gen. ix. 25; Lev. xviii. 24 sqq.; Deut. vii. 2, ix. 4, etc.), which has been exterminated by the judgment. In this sense, as the expression [in Hebrew] implies, the term Canaanite is used to denote the godless members of the covenant nation, who came to the temple with sacrifices, in outward self-righteousness. As [the Hebrew] presupposes that there were Canaanites in the temple of Jehovah in the time of the prophet, the reference cannot be to actual Canaanites, because they were prohibited by the law from entering the temple, but only to Israelites, who were Canaanites in heart." [Keil & Delitzsch, "Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: the Twelve Minor Prophets Vol II", T & T Clark, 1878, p.415]
And Pusey gives us a mini-history of why the Canaanites, who no longer exist, have become symbolic of the unholy:
"The actual Canaanite had long since ceased to be; the Gibeonites, the last remnant of them, had been absorbed among the people of God. But all Israel were not of Israel. Isaiah had called its princes and people, "rulers of Sodom, people of Gomorrah." Ezekiel had said, "Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite". Hosea used at least the term of two-fold meaning, "Canaan, in whose hands are the balances of deceit;" and Zephaniah, "All the people of Canaan are destroyed." After the time of the Canon, Daniel is introduced saying, "O thou seed of Canaan and not of Judah." Ezekiel had spoken of ungodly priests, not only as uncircumcised in heart (according to the language of Deuteronomy), but uncircumcised in flesh also, altogether alien from the people of God." The prophet then speaks, as Isaiah, "It shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it," and Joel, "then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more." This shall have its full fulfillment in the time of the end. "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or a lie; and, without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters, and whatsoever loveth and maketh a lie."" [E B Pusey, "The Minor Prophets With a Commentary Vol II", Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892, p.458]
.Do you also take the first part of the verse literally? Do you believe every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah is holy? And what about boiling sacrifices in those "holy pots?" Did not the Lord warn against animal sacrifices?
"1. Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2. For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 3. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations." -- Isa 66:1-3
But, yet, Zechariah claims every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy. How can that be, when under the old temple sacrifices only a few were considered holy?
Well, in the church (the heavenly New Jerusalem), the pots belonging to every member of the body of Christ are holy, as are all their meals. There are no traditional temple sacrifices since all members of the church are a part of the holy temple.
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You have not proven your case. This is more from Strongs:
The patrial name comes from {3667} Kna`an, ken-ah'-an; from {3665}; humiliated; Kenaan, a son a Ham; also the country inhabited by him: — Canaan, merchant, traffick.
So, {3699} can also mean merchant or trader, depending on how it is used. And according to Wright, the usage in Zech 14:21 is similar to that in your aforementioned Proverbs and Job.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible also contradicts your interpretation, as do at least 13 translations that use the word trader, and at least 9 others that use the word merchant. The Wycliff Bible uses both:
"And every cauldron in Jerusalem and Judah shall be hallowed to the Lord of hosts. And all men shall come offering, and shall take of those, and shall seethe in those; and a merchant shall no more be in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day. (And every cauldron, or pot, in Jerusalem and Judah shall be dedicated to the Lord of hosts. And everyone shall come to make an offering, and shall take these pots, and shall boil the flesh in them; and from that day forth, no more shall there be any merchants, or any traders, in the House of the Lord of hosts.)" -- Zec 14:21 Wycliff
If the use of those words was contraindicated, it is doubtful so many translators and commentators would use them.
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Zechariah 14 refers to several events, including the day of Pentecost (v.8); the destruction of old Jerusalem (v.2); and the nations that are saved "flowing" to New Jerusalem (v.16-17,) as is also mentioned in Isaiah 2:2-3, and Rev 21:24, 22:2. I don't see any problem with informing the people that there are no "special" holy pots, since all pots used by members of the body of Christ are considered holy.
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It depends on how you interpret the rest of the chapter. The translators of the Amplified Bible seemed to think it fit rather nicely:
"Yes, every pot in all the houses of Jerusalem and in Judah shall be dedicated and holy to the Lord of hosts, and all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil their sacrifices in them [and traders in such wares will no longer be seen at the temple]. And in that day there shall be no more a Canaanite [that is, any godless or unclean person, whether Jew or Gentile] in the house of the Lord of hosts." -- Zec 14:21 Amplified Bible
Youngs Literal Translation also contradicts your interpretation:
"And every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judah, Have been holy to Jehovah of Hosts, And all those sacrificing have come in, And have taken of them, and boiled in them, And there is no merchant any more in the house of Jehovah of Hosts in that day." -- Zec 14:21 Young's Literal Translation
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I gave an incomplete footnote in my previous reply:
[W Robertson Nicoll, "The Expositors Bible Vol 30-38", A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1906, p.490]
The Expositor's Bible was edited by Nicoll, but had various authors. The author for the Minor Prophets Vol I and II was George Adam Smith. Therefore, Smith was the one who used the alternate word "pedlar".
I edited that part to reflect the correct author.
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[W Robertson Nicoll, "The Expositors Bible Vol 30-38", A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1906, p.490]
The Expositor's Bible was edited by Nicoll, but had various authors. The author for the Minor Prophets Vol I and II was George Adam Smith. Therefore, Smith was the one who used the alternate word "pedlar".
I edited that part to reflect the correct author.
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Interplanner
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Isn't this actually more of an intriguing reference to the cleansing? And therefore another reason to use Zech 12-14 in the usual NT way as being about the Gospel first?
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Zechariah 11-14 has distinct prophecies of the times from the betrayal by Judas to the day of Pentecost:
Chapter 11: Betrayal of Christ (11:12-13)
Chapter 12: Crucifixion of Christ (12:10)
Chapter 13: Scattering of Disciples (13:7)
Chapter 14: The day of Pentecost (14:8)
I believe Zech 14:21 is pointing to the permanent holy temple in new Jerusalem (the church of the firstborn), and these verses:
"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." -- Rev 21:22
"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." -- Rev 21:27
"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." -- Rev 22:14-15
This is the holy temple:
"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." -- Eph 2:19-22
Note the church is also built on the foundations of the apostles:
"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." -- Rev 21:14
The holy temple adds the prophets to the foundation. One day maybe I will learn what all that means.
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Interplanner
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I wonder how many readers notice the parallel on the foundations; that both kinds of passages say the foundations are the apostles.
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I have not read a lot about it, and what I have read is inconclusive. But I do have my own theories.
Theory 1: the foundations of the holy temple are the apostles and prophets (and Moses was a prophet). Therefore, those foundations are the books of the old and new covenants: the old and new testaments: our Holy Bible, written by the prophets and apostles.
Theory 2: the foundations of the holy city, new Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn, are the apostles, only. Therefore, those foundations are the books of the new covenant: the New Testament, written by the apostles.
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Bible2
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Regarding Revelation 21:14, Revelation 21:2,9,10 means that the physical structure of the literal city of New Jerusalem is a picture of the church. Something can be literal and at the same time symbolically picture something else, like how in Matthew 21:19 the fig tree was literal and at the same time its being without fruit symbolically pictured unbelieving, Old Covenant Israel being without fruit (Matthew 21:43).
Just as New Jerusalem's literal wall foundations have the names of the 12 apostles on them (Revelation 21:14), so the church's foundation is the apostles (Ephesians 2:20). And just as New Jerusalem's literal pearly gates have the names of Israel's 12 tribes on them (Revelation 21:12,21), so the church consists of Israel's 12 tribes. For all genetic Jews in the church remain members of whichever tribe of Israel they were born into (Romans 11:1, Acts 4:36). And all genetic Gentiles in the church have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29), and so have been grafted into its various tribes (cf. Ezekiel 47:21-23). So the entire church is the 12 tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10). This is necessary, for all those in the church are saved only by the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), which is made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 4:22b).
New Jerusalem is a literal city, 1,500 miles cubed (Revelation 21:16), with literal pearly gates and literal streets of gold (Revelation 21:21). It's God the Father's house in the 3rd heaven (Revelation 21:2-3, cf. 2 Corinthians 12:2b,4, Revelation 2:7b, Revelation 22:2,14), in which house Jesus left to prepare a place for the church (John 14:2). All those in the church, whether Jews or Gentiles, have figuratively come to New Jerusalem by coming under the New Covenant (Hebrews 12:22-24, Galatians 4:24-26), which is made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34), and which only the church comes under by believing in Jesus' New Covenant death on the Cross for our sins (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), the very heart of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
The church looks for Jesus' return from heaven (Philippians 3:20), and the setting up of his physical kingdom on the earth with the physically resurrected church for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). New Jerusalem won't descend from the 3rd heaven to the earth until after a new earth (a new surface of the earth) has been created (Revelation 21:1-4), sometime after the 1,000 years and subsequent events (Revelation 20:7-15). The church will physically live and reign in New Jerusalem with God the Father and Jesus on the new earth (Revelation 21:1 to 22:5). The Father and Jesus themselves will be the only temple in New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22).
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So, sometimes it is literal, and sometimes it is figurative, and sometimes it is both? LOL! With that trick you can make the scripture mean anything you want: you can prove anything--any agenda--in the scripture. Scofield used that trick in this manner: it was literal, until he said it was spiritual.
But, there is a problem. John was seeing visions. He never saw a real physical city, nor did he see a real seven-horned lamb, a real star falling from heaven, a real seven-horned beast rise up out of the sea, etc.. They are all symbolic imagery. In the world of visionary prophecy, fire is not fire, water is not water, mountains are not mountains, lambs are not lambs, beasts are not beasts, the sea is not the sea, etc.. Christ could not have been more clear when he (his angel) explained in the opening chapter that the stars John saw were, in fact, angels.
John made it equally clear when he saw a vision of the holy city that he was in the spirit. He also was clear by omission, that is, he never said the city descended to the earth: it only descended to a great and high mountain:
"And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." -- Rev 21:10
Paul wrote of the same spiritual city, on the same spiritual mountain, in this manner:
"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant . . ." -- Heb 12:22-24
Every Christian should know that the church is spiritual, and that our bodies are collectively the temple of the living God.
Your last clause is exactly right! The New Covenant is made only with Israel. But who is Israel? Isaiah explains:
"But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend." -- Isa 41:8
So, Israel is a seed of Abraham. And who are the seed of Abraham? Well, we know that being a seed of Abraham has nothing to do with your race, from the words of John and Jesus:
"Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." -- Lk 3:8
"They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." -- Jn 8:39
Paul expounds the matter in Romans 9, explaining that genetics is not the determining factor:
"Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." -- Rom 9:7-8
In Galatians, Paul clarifies, leaving no doubt who the children of Abraham are:
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." -- Gal 3:26-29
Therefore, according to Isaiah and Paul (and John and Jesus), Israel is the seed of Abraham by faith in Jesus Christ, that is, the Christians.
John used the large number "12,000 furlongs" to emphasize that the Church (new Jerusalem) was spread over the four quarters of the earth, or all the world, which was the Roman Empire in those days (Luke 2:1). And, by making it a cube, it extended up to heaven.
Peter said:
"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." -- 1Pet 4:7
Was Peter telling the early Christians to stay sober and pray from their graves for 2000 years? Or was Peter simply relaying to them that Christ had told him He would be returning during their own generation? (Matthew 24:34; 16:27-28; 10:23)
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Bible2
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Regarding the latter, parts of Revelation 5:6 are literal (God's throne in heaven, the 4 beasts, the 24 elders, Jesus having been slain, the 7 Spirits of God, the earth) and parts of Revelation 5:6 are symbolic (Jesus being a lamb, his having 7 horns, his having 7 eyes).
We know what is a metaphor and what is literal by comparing each part of a verse with other verses (Isaiah 28:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:13). For example, we know that Jesus isn't literally a lamb with 7 horns and 7 eyes (Revelation 5:6), because other verses show that he is literally a human (Luke 24:39; 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:24-26, Hebrews 2:17).
In Revelation 5:6, while the horns and eyes are symbolic, they can represent literal things, so that the number 7 can refer literally to 7 things. The 7 horns of the Jesus lamb in Revelation 5:6 could represent Jesus holding literally 7 positions of power at the same time (cf. Jesus wearing many crowns at the same time in Revelation 19:12). These 7 positions of power could be, for example, Jesus' power as the Son of God (Revelation 2:18), his power as the Word of God (Revelation 19:13), his power as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), his power as High Priest (Hebrews 3:1), his power as the King of Israel (John 12:13), his power as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), and his power as the firstborn (in the sense of importance, not chronology) of all creation (Colossians 1:15b).
And Revelation 5:6 tells us what the 7 eyes of the Jesus lamb represent: "the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth". These can literally be 7 Spirits of God, which could be the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2).
Revelation is almost entirely literal, for it is unsealed (Revelation 22:10), meaning that it shouldn't be difficult for saved people of any time to understand it if they simply read it as it is written: chronologically and almost-entirely literally. The few parts of it that are symbolic are almost always explained afterward (e.g. Revelation 1:20, Revelation 17:9-12). And Revelation's few symbols not explained afterward (e.g. Revelation 13:2) are usually explained elsewhere in the Bible (e.g. Daniel 7:4-7,17).
Just as Jesus' 2nd coming in Revelation 19:7 to 20:3 will be fulfilled almost entirely literally, so the events of the preceding tribulation in Revelation chapters 6 to 18 will be fulfilled almost entirely literally. Also, the millennium in Revelation 20 will be literal, and will begin after Jesus' 2nd coming (Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Zechariah 14:3-21), when he will physically reign on the earth with the physically resurrected church for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29, Psalms 66:3-4, Psalms 72:8-11). After that, the events of Revelation 20:7 to 22:5 will occur literally.
We seem to be agreed that all those in the church, whether Jews or Gentiles, are spiritually Abraham's seed (Galatians 3:29). And Abraham's seed is Israel (Isaiah 41:8, Romans 11:1; 2 Chronicles 20:7). So the entire church is Israel (Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10). Not just the Jews in the church (e.g. Romans 11:1b), but also the Gentiles in the church, are spiritually Abraham's seed of promise (Romans 9:7,8,24), as Isaac was (Galatians 4:28), and as Jesus is (Galatians 3:16,29). And so Gentiles in the church, along with Jews in the church, are heirs of all the promises made by God to Israel (Ephesians 3:6, Ephesians 2:12,19, Romans 15:27, Galatians 3:29b, Romans 11:17,24).
But none of this contradicts that some unbelievers are the genetic descendants of Abraham (John 8:37, Acts 13:26, Romans 11:1, Acts 7:2, Acts 3:25). And some of these unbelievers are elect, and are beloved in part because of their genetic descent (Romans 11:28-29). Also the gospel of salvation goes to genetic Jews first (Romans 1:16, Matthew 10:5-6, Matthews 15:24, Acts 3:26), and salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22b), because salvation is of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), which is made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Gentile believers are grafted into Israel so they can partake of the salvation offered to Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29, John 10:16). And all believers, no matter whether they are genetic Jews (Acts 22:3) or genetic Gentiles (Romans 16:4b), have become spiritually-circumcised Jews, if they have undergone the spiritual circumcision of water-immersion (burial) baptism into Jesus (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13).
Amen.
All genetic Jews are part of genetic Israel (Romans 9:3-5). But being part of the true, spiritual Israel, the true, spiritual seed of Abraham, the promised seed, isn't based on genetics (Romans 9:6-24), but on God's election (Romans 9:11), which includes both some Jews and some Gentiles (Romans 9:24).
In Romans 9:8, by "the children of the flesh", Paul means genetic Jews, who are the genetic children of Abraham (Romans 11:1, Acts 13:26, John 8:37). And by "the children of God"/"the children of the promise", Paul means the elect, both some Jews and some Gentiles (Romans 9:24, Galatians 4:28). Romans 9:6-8 means that not all Jews are elect (John 8:37-47, John 10:26), and that some Gentiles are elect (Romans 9:24, John 10:16, John 11:52). Only a remnant of genetic Israel is elect (Romans 9:27), just as only a remnant of humanity in general is elect (chosen) (Matthew 22:14, Matthew 7:14).
Romans 9:8 isn't contradicting that some Jews are elect (Acts 22:3, Romans 11:1,25-32), or that elect Jews remain members of Israel (Romans 11:1,25-32), or that Gentile believers are grafted into Israel so they can partake of the salvation offered to Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29, John 10:16) through the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), which is made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Because the end of all things has never happened, the "at hand" in 1 Peter 4:7 can be understood from the viewpoint of God, for whom a thousand years is like a day (2 Peter 3:8-9).
The end of all things (1 Peter 4:7) won't occur until about 3,000 A.D., when, after the future millennium and subsequent events (Revelation 20:7-10), heaven (the 1st heaven, the sky/atmosphere) and the earth (its surface) will be literally burned up (2 Peter 3:10) before the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and the subsequent creation of a new heaven (atmosphere) and earth (surface) (Revelation 21:1-8).
1 Peter 4:7 means that Christians living at any time before this happens should live godly lives (2 Peter 3:11-18).
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If I understand you correctly, you are claiming that those who do not interpret the book of the Revelation the way you do are not Christians, which would include most people on this forum, myself included.
That sounds like something arrogant lunatics like John Nelson Darby or Cyrus I. Scofield might write. After all, like Scofield and Darby, you are implying that brilliant theologians throughout history were not saved because they declared the Revelation to be both difficult, and in many areas impossible, to understand.
The raging lunatic, John Nelson Darby, ran people out of his church, labeling them heretics, if they did not believe all the crazy stuff he invented. One can only imagine the peril those "heretics" might have faced if Darby had held the power of the State. Scofield, the convicted felon and consummate con-man, not to mention being a family/child deserter, was equally arrogant and dangerous (and still is).
I recommend you climb down off your pedestal before you fall.
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