Quote (ChivasRegal @ Dec 18 2017 11:05pm)
according to who?
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/natural-disasters-signs-end-times/"So, here are the critical things you need to know about Matthew 24, and here’s why modern natural disasters are not “signs” of the end of the world:
1. Jesus isn’t predicting the end of the world, but is predicting what will happen immediately before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.In the first two verses of Matthew 24, it gives us the context for the entire discussion: it says that Jesus was walking away from the temple and told his disciples that this building– the focal point of the Jewish world– was going to be totally destroyed. Naturally, this was a shocking claim so his disciples asked two obvious follow up questions: (a) “When will this happen?” and (b) “What will be the signs that the end is near?”
Everything Jesus says in this passage is a direct answer to those two specific questions– they want to know the signs to watch for so that they’ll know when the end of the “age” is at hand.
2. Jesus claimed that natural disasters and war would be signs that the time for the destruction of the temple– not the end of the world– was close.Remember the two questions Jesus is answering: “What are the signs?” and “When?”
The prediction of war, famine, and earthquakes would be a pointless prediction if talking about the far-away future because there would be no way to know which ones would be *the* ones. There has always been famine, always been earthquakes, and always been wars and rumors of wars. Furthermore, the people Jesus was talking to weren’t concerned with the end of the world thousands of years later– they were concerned about their present lives.
Jesus told his audience to “stay alert” to these signs– there would be no point in telling his disciples to stay alert to events that weren’t scheduled to occur for another 2,000 plus years. However, these signs actually become both helpful and relevant if he is speaking about the immediate or near future. In verse 16 Jesus actually tells them why they should be alert to the signs he gave them: when they witnessed the signs they were supposed to flee into the mountains and wilderness in order to survive what was about to happen.
Looking back in history, we see that there were various significant earthquakes recorded in this region in the lead up to the destruction of the temple in AD 70 (one is even recorded in the book of Acts). In addition, we also know that when Rome destroyed Jerusalem it was a bloodbath with some estimates saying they may have crucified up to 500 people a day. This shows us that when Jesus said “here are the signs to look for” and “when you see them, flee to the mountains” he was giving some practical, life-saving advice to his immediate audience.
3. Jesus claimed all of the signs/events that he described would be witnessed and completed during the lifetime of those he was speaking to.After Jesus answered the first question of “What will be the signs this is about to happen?” he moves on and answers the question of “When?” this will happen.
The answer Jesus gives is clear and direct: in verse 34 Jesus says “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” While end-times preachers will jump through hoops to define “this generation” in some truly bizarre ways, the grammatical reality is that “this generation” always means the generation the speaker is talking to. In this case, Jesus is speaking to his followers, he is answering the two questions of what will be the signs of the coming destruction of the temple, and when it will happen.
When will it happen? “In your lifetime” Jesus said– and it did.
So, will there be a host of wars and natural disasters before the “end of the world”? Well, if the world does actually end one day, it’s likely those two things will be present– because they have always been present.
But are natural disasters “signs” that we’re in the end-times?
No, not at all– and a more careful reading of Matthew 24 shows us that."
This post was edited by NET on Dec 22 2017 02:26am