Please tell me how we make a comparison...how we measure. I need something quantifiable otherwise there is no conversation to be had.
I think you are just looking for excuses not to see. I doubt there is anything I can say which will show you what I meand and what so many others see. Maybe it is because you have never been in a war, or been in training of any military value, So I will give you the benefit of the doubt based on ignorance.
But no matter what, I just pray, you see what is missed by so many people in jesus words.
Matt 24: 21 For then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And
unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for
the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
With a focus on the following items
1. It can;t be talking about Isreal. Israel was not even a land at the beginning of time, let alone a nation
2. It can’t be just Isreal. Because jesus did nto say no Jew would be saved, He said no life, or flesh, or liv ing creature would survive if he did not return, (This was not even possible in AD 70)
3. Those days are shortened for the elects sake. (If Christ did not return, there would be no life here on earth left)
And you see an OT passage which speaks of the same event, which the disciples would have immediatly thought of when Jesus said these things, and understood completely what he meant.
Jer 30:
7 Alas! For
that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it
is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘
That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And David their king,
Whom I will raise up for them.
10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold,
I will save you from afar,
And your seed from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 For I
am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you in justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’
12 “For thus says the Lord:
‘
Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
You have no healing medicines.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the chastisement of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased.
15 Why do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.
16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a prey.
17 For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’
18 “Thus says the Lord:
‘Behold,
I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own [d]mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
19 Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children also shall be as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their nobles shall be from among them,
And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who
is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
22 ‘
You shall be My people,
And I will be your God.’ ”
23 Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord
Goes forth with fury,
A [e]continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.
In the latter days you will consider it.
Then you will notice
1. God spoke of Isreal sin, and how he will scatter her all over the earth for their sin (fulfuilled in 70 AD)
2. In the latter days (vs 24) which also the disciples asked about the sign of the last days, same time period) God will remember
3. He will gather them together
4. He will punish those who afflicted them.
5. He will use this time of great tribulation, such as never has been seen, to bring about salvation, and cause Isreal to repent (but you shall be saved out of it) (see also rev 13. The woman is spared. Her children suffer severely)
6. Then he will set up his kingdom (see matt 24, when jesus returns, Splits th emount of olives and sets up his throne)
7. Isreal, after repenting, Will multiply greatly and live in peace.
Israel was destroyed in AD 70 as prophesied. You can not say this also was the time of her restoration. They are two different events.
Prophesy must taken as a whole. Not taken apart. And mutilated to the point it fits our belief, and no longer is unified.