Undoubtedly, we live in weird and perilous times. Many people are starting to ask important questions, such as, “Are we living in the end times?” The pandemic we are currently experiencing is causing them to wonder what Messiah Jesus might have meant when He spoke about “birth pangs” in Matthew 24. Is the crisis indeed “a sign of the times”? Is it one of the birth pangs?
In The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, Dr. Fruchtenbaum answers these and other questions, and we urge you to purchase a copy of the book if you don’t have one yet. Here is the link to Ariel Ministries online store where you can get the book as epub or mobi (for Kindle): https://www.ariel.org/books/The-footsteps-of-the-messiah-epub ; https://www.ariel.org/books/The-footsteps-of-the-messiah-mobi.
In Chapter 4 of Footsteps, Dr. Fruchtenbaum introduces a series of pretribulational events showing how they differ from the tribulation. Let’s jump right into his teaching.
The Sequence of Pretribulational Events
The tribulation is not imminent. The world stage has to be set in a certain way before the tribulation can actually begin. The Scriptures clearly mention a number of events that will precede the tribulation period. A few of these events are simply prophesied as occurring some time before the tribulation and are not related to any sequence of events. These will be discussed in the next two chapters. But this chapter is concerned with the chronological sequence of those events which can be traced and that lead up to the tribulation. The tribulation will not begin until this sequence of events is completely worked out. All together nine such events can be deduced from the Scriptures. On one hand, these events come before the tribulation; on the other hand, they consecutively lead up to the tribulation.
A. World Wars I and II
A question often raised in prophetic conferences is: “Are we living in the last days?” Invariably, the answer is: “Yes!” But when asked how one could be so certain, the answers tend to be rather general. They usually rest on crises of these present days. Often, the focus is on how the events affect the United States. However, two points speak against such a view: First, these crises change with the times. Second, the true determination of where history is moving prophetically is not how world events affect the United States, but how they impact Jewish history, since Israel is God’s timepiece (Deut. 32:8-9).
Many “newspaper exegetes” have had a field day in recent decades, seeing almost every major world event as a partial fulfillment of prophecy and as a proof that these are indeed the last days. However, it is very dangerous to force world events into areas of fulfilled prophecy. Prophecy must first be determined from the Scriptures and then applied to current events, rather than the other way around. Only after one’s eschatology has been developed exegetically from the Scriptures should current events be considered to see if they are fulfilling prophecy. Only if they fit the demands of Scripture perfectly are they to be identified as a fulfillment of prophecy. But to go to current events first and then, because of possible similarities, to begin identifying them as partial fulfillments or as indications of future fulfillments is to engage in “newspaper exegesis” rather than biblical exegesis.
Nevertheless, these are the last days because certain pretribulational events have been fulfilled, namely, World War I followed by World War II. The prophecy concerning these events is found in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24:1-8:[1]
1 And Yeshua went out from the temple, and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered and 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 on 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 your coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Yeshua answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Messiah; and shall lead many astray. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. 8 But all these things are the beginning of travail.
The background to the prophecy is found in verses 1-2: Following the denunciation of the Jewish religious leadership in Matthew 23, and as a follow-up of His statements in Matthew 23:37-39, Messiah pronounced doom on the temple. This prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70.
Yeshua’s statement regarding the destruction of the temple raised questions in the minds of the disciples, and they approached Him with three questions:
- When shall these things be?—When will the destruction of the temple spoken of in verses 1-2 occur?
- What shall be the sign of your coming?—What is the sign that the second coming is about to occur?
- What shall be the sign of the end of the world?
The first question is not answered in the Matthew account of the Olivet Discourse, but the answer is found in the parallel passage of Luke 21:20-24. The second question is answered in Matthew 24:29-31.
It is the third question that is of concern here: What shall be the sign of the end of the world? The Greek term translated here as “world” is aión. In keeping with Matthew’s Jewish mindset, the more accurate translation would be “age,” for this is a typical Jewish expression of the first century. The rabbis spoke of two ages: “this age” and “the age to come.” “This age” is the age in which we now live. “The age to come” is the Messianic age. Hence, the disciples asked: What is the sign that will indicate that the end of this age has indeed begun? What is the one single event that will determine that the last days have begun and that we are indeed living in these last days?
This question is answered by Yeshua in verses 4-8, first negatively and then positively. Negatively, He told His disciples what will not be the sign that the end of the age has begun. Then He responded positively by telling them what the sign will indeed be.
Verses 4-6 contain the negative answer. Yeshua simply described what will be characteristic of this age, and none of these things mean that the end of the age has begun. First, in verses 4-5, the age will be characterized by the rise of false messiahs. But the presence of false messiahs in no way proves that the end has begun. Furthermore, in verse 6, local wars in various parts of the world will also characterize this age. But this, too, does not mean that the end of the age has begun. So, neither the rise of false messiahs nor local wars in any part of the world indicate that the end of the age has begun. These are just general characteristics of this age: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet.
The positive side of the answer is found in verses 7-8, where Yeshua revealed the single event that will mark the beginning of the end of the age: nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. This rising of nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom is to be coupled with famines and earthquakes. It is clearly stated that these things are the beginning of travail. Throughout the prophetic portions of Scripture, the end days are pictured by the word “travail,” which means “birth pang.” Just as a woman goes through a series of birth pangs before giving birth to a child, even so, the closing days of this age will go through a series of birth pangs before giving birth to the new age of the kingdom. The use of the word “travail” will be noted several times as the prophetic Scriptures are studied in this work. The key factor, then, is to find out the meaning of the idiom “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Taken in the Jewish context of the day when it was spoken, the expression points to a total conflict of the area in view. It is found in two Old Testament passages: Isaiah 19:1-4 and II Chronicles 15:1-7.
Isaiah 19:1-4 states:
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rides upon a swift cloud, and comes unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2 And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. 4 And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
In this passage, the idiom points to a conflict all over the land of Egypt as the nation is engrossed in civil war.
Second Chronicles 15:1-7 states:
1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Obed: 2 and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah is with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: 4 but when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.
This passage focuses on the Middle East, and the idiom points to conflict all over the area. In the Olivet Discourse, it is the whole world that is in view, as is clear from Matthew 24:14, 21, 30, and 31. Hence, the idiom refers to a worldwide conflict, and this worldwide conflict is the first birth pang, signifying that the last days have begun.
The rabbinic writings confirm that the expression “nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom” was a Jewish idiom which already existed during Yeshua’s days and which described a world war preceding the coming of the Messiah. The Bereshit Rabbah, for example, states: “If you shall see kingdoms rising against each other in turn, then give heed and note the footsteps of the Messiah.”[2] The Zohar Chadash, a collection of manuscripts composed in the Middle Ages in Spain, also contains the expression: “At that time wars shall be stirred up in the world, Nation shall be against nation and city against city; much distress shall be renewed against the enemies of the Israelites.”[3]
The first time that such a worldwide conflict occurred was in the years 1914-1918 with World War I. Most historians agree that World War II was really a continuation of this conflict. Both had a decisive impact on Jewish history. The events of the First World War provided the impetus for the growth of the Zionist movement, while the Second World War set the stage for the establishment of the State of Israel. As previously mentioned, the worldwide conflict that signaled the beginning of the last days was to be coupled with famines and earthquakes. As far as famines are concerned, in the early 1920s, over 16 million people starved to death in Russia and in China. In the 1930s, famines in Russia, Soviet Ukraine, and Sichuan killed another 12 million people. This was followed by several large famines related to World War II which killed roughly 18 million Russians and Europeans. …
Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2004), p. 89-94.
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