Matthew 24:20; The Destruction of the Temple and the Sabbath

[lightbearer]

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:
(Mat 24:20 KJV)

Context brings us to 1290 years in the future; not to the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD my friends. But 1290 years from the point that the Messiah is cut off on Calvary.


Matthew 24:20 is being said in connection with verse 15.

The abomination of desolation happens many years in the future from the destruction of the Temple.

Here let's take a look.

Then when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (the one reading, let him understand),
(Mat 24:15 LITV-TSP)


And from the time the regular sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that desolates set up, a thousand, two hundred and ninety days shall occur .
(Dan 12:11 LITV-TSP)

And after sixty two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of a coming prince shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, and war shall be until the end. And he ( Messiah) shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week. And in the middle of the week he (Messiah) shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on a wing of the altar will be abominations that desolate, even until the end. And that which was decreed shall pour out on the desolator.
(Dan 9:26-27 LITV-TSP)

As we can see The Messiah shall be cut off. He shall cause the sacrifice to cease (the sacrifice shall be taken away). And from that point; 1290 days and then the abomination of desolates is set up. (the one reading, let him understand),

If we use the "day for a year" Prophetic standard put forth by the LORD in Ezekiel 4:6 that brings us to 1290 years from the point in which the Messiah offered up His sacrifice not to 70AD.

So one can easily see that Jesus is saying, "Pray that your flight not be in the winter or the Sabbath day" in context to 1290 years from the point of His work on Calvary, not the destruction of the Temple.

It is also note worthy that Jesus says in Matt 24:15, "whoso readeth, let him understand". ​This emphasizes the point that he is speaking to those in the future. The earliest date that I can see that is placed on Matthew is 40 AD. But the general consensus is 70 to 90 AD. Either way the circulation and transcribing difficulties of it at the time would had made it virtually unheard of. Especially considering the persecution the Christians were receiving from their Judean brethren. The Christian church was not welcome in Judea my friends; let alone Jerusalem.

Also when one considers the context of Matthew 24:20. The Apostles to whom He is speaking to have long since been dead.

Here take a look in Matt 24:9 "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake."

All the verses that follow are a continuation of the same prophesy. Well past verse 24 actually. This simple fact can be determined by the uses of the words like; and, but and then. So that means that the Prophesy is more for "whomsoever readeth" than the Apostles.

Jesus was prophesying to the Apostles. The ones who would proclaim the Gospel throughout the known world. A prophecy that would not occur in the near future, but 1290 years in the future. In other words He was expecting the Christians 1290 years in the future to still be keeping the Sabbath.

 

[Ahwatukee]

Hello Lightbearer,

So one can easily see that Jesus is saying, "Pray that your flight not be in the winter or the Sabbath day" in context to 1290 years from the point of His work on Calvary, not the destruction of the Temple.

First of all, if the 1290 days were to be interpreted as years, it would put the end of those 1290 years as culminating in the 1300's, which can't be because Jesus returns to the earth at the end of 1260 days, with the 30 and 45 extra days being judgments and other millennial business.

The 1260, 1290 and 1335 days which are given in Dan.12 and Rev.11, 12 & 13, are all actual days and not years covering both 3 1/2 year periods of that seven year period

According to Dan.9:24, a decree of seventy 'seven' year periods or 490 years, was decreed upon Israel and Jerusalem which is divided up into three parts:

7 sevens (49 years) = Restore and rebuild Jerusalem

62 sevens (434 years) = At the end of which Messiah was cut off (crucified)

Total = 69 sevens (483 years)

Dan.9:27 reveals that last seven years as follows:

"He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven. In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. ”

The "he" in the scripture above would have to refer back to the last person mentioned and since his identity is not given in Dan.9:27, it would have to refer to "the ruler" of the people mentioned in verse 26, the future antichrist.

The "he" performs three things in the verse:

1). Establishes a covenant with Israel
2). In the middle of the seven he causes the sacrifices and offerings to cease
3). In the middle of the seven he sets up the abomination

That said, Jesus cannot be the "he" of the verse and because if he was the one causing the sacrifice and offerings to cease, it would mean that he would also have to be the one who sets up the abomination, which is defined as a reeking stench that goes up before God.

The seventy 'sevens' begin with the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, which was accomplished through Nehemiah when king Artaxertes gave him letters (decrees) for passage through the region of the Trans-Euphrates and letters to cut trees down out of the kings forest for wood to restore the buildings in Jerusalem.

After the 7 'sevens' or 49 years, the scripture says that at the end of 62 sevens the Messiah would be cut off. So we add 62 sevens or 434 years to the end of the 7 sevens which gives us 69 seven year periods at the end of which the Messiah was cut off.

At the time that the Messiah was cut off the Lord put a hold on or paused that last seven and began to build the church, which is still in the process of being built. Once the church has been completed the Lord will descend and will gather the church taking them back to the Father's house as promised in John 14:1-3 and 1 Thes.4:13-18.

Once the church has been removed, the Lord will pick up right where he left off with Israel in fulfillment of that last seven years, complete with temple and sacrifices. This last seven years is also the time in which God will be pouring out his wrath upon a Christ rejecting world via the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments, with the Lord returning shortly after the 7th bowl has been poured out.

According to most Bible notations in the margin, the decreed to restore and rebuild Jerusalem took place in 445/446 BC. If we take that date and subtract if from the 69 sevens or 483 years it takes us to the following date:

446 BC - 483 yrs = 37 AD (Christ crucified)

37 AD is a rough number without taking into consideration the calendar changes. The point is that, it puts us right in the ball park of the Messiah being cut off within early 30 AD.

In other words He was expecting the Christians 1290 years in the future to still be keeping the Sabbath

The reference to the Sabbath and fleeing out into the wilderness of Judea, as well as the setting up of the abomination in the temple, are all referring to that generation of Israel who will be on the earth during that last future seven years. Remember, the seventy sevens were decreed upon Israel and Jerusalem, not the church.

As I pointed out earlier, God is going to pick up right where he left off with Israel and Jerusalem in fulfillment of that last seven years. The church has nothing to do with the fulfillment of that program as it is specific to Israel and their holy city.

Blessing to you!