Foy Esco Wallace
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Ft. Worth, TX, Foy E. Wallace Publications
“The repeated reference to the period of the destruction of Jerusalem is indicative of the author’s inclination towards this view.”
Wallace on The eagles and the carcass – Matthew 24:27-28
“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” The coming here refers to the approach of the Roman armies. The Jewish nation was the carcass which the Roman eagles were sent to devour.
(On Matthew 24:14)
“The end of the Jewish world – verse 14: “Then shall the end come.” Here, at once, with one accord, the millennialist jumps to the conclusion that this “end” means the end of the world – “then shall the end come” – but the end of what? The end of Jerusalem; the destruction of the temple and the end of the Jewish state and the end of Judaism.” (The Book of Revelation, TX: Wallace, 1966, p. 351)
(On Matthew 24:16)
“It is a remarkable but historical fact that Cestius Gallus, the Roman general, for some unknown reason, retired when they first marched against the city, suspended the siege, ceased the attack and withdrew his armies for an interval of time after the Romans had occupied the temple, thus giving every believing Jew the opportunity to obey the Lord’s instruction to flee the city. Josephus the eyewitness, himself an unbeliever, chronicles this fact, and admitted his inability to account for the cessation of the fighting at this time, after a siege had begun. Can we account for it? We can. The Lord was fighting against Jerusalem Zechariah 14:2: ‘For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city: The Lord was besieging that city. God was bringing these things to pass against the Jewish state and nation. Therefore, the opportunity was offered for the disciples to escape the siege, as Jesus had forewarned, and the disciples took it. So said Daniel; so said Jesus; so said Luke, so said Josephus” (The Book of Revelation, p. 352).
(On Matthew 24:29)
“The signs in the heavens, the darkening sun and falling stars, refer to the falling of Jewish dignitaries, casting down of authorities and powers, long established, and signified the darkness that settled upon the Jewish state. The sun of Hebrew temple was darkened, the moon of the Jewish commonwealth was as blood, the stars of the Sanhedrin fell from their high seats of authority.” (The Book of Revelation, TX: Wallace, 1966, p. 354)
(On Matthew 24:30)
“The mention in Luke’s narrative of the distress upon the land of Judea, the mass massacre of the inhabitants by the sword, the carrying away of the captives into all the surrounding nations, the encompassing of the city by foreign armies, and the trodding down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles permanently – all of these things can be descriptive of only one event of history: that final crisis of the ages concerning Jerusalem, in which transition from the dispensation of Judaism, and the consequent expansion of the New Kingdom of Christ, are seen in these evidences to be the main subject of Matthew 24 – the conquest and establishment of Christianity in all the world” (p. 345).
“The teaching of both the Old and New Testaments concerning the kingdom of Christ is: that it contemplates the full length of time from his ascension to heaven after his resurrection to his descension from heaven at the end. ‘For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet’ – I Corinthians 15:25. The overthrow of Jerusalem and the temple was the final sign to the world that he was seated ‘on the right hand of power,’ as he had declared in Matthew 26:64 to the high priest of the Jews: and as further announced to this Jewish official that he and his fellow officials of the Sanhedrin should thereafter see it. Methinks they did – at the destruction of their capital city and their national temple” (Foy E. Wallace, Jr., pp. 346-347).
“As it is biblically certain that the God of heaven in times of old descended, in the Old Testament metaphor, on the clouds of heaven to execute judgment on ancient wicked nations and cities (Isaiah 13 and 19), so certainly did the Son of man come in the clouds with his angels of power to execute judgment on the once great city of Jerusalem, guilty of his blood and the blood of his saints and martyrs” (Foy E. Wallace, Jr., p. 461).
(On Matthew 26:64)
“The coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven is not a reference to the second coming of Christ but to he coming foretold by Jesus to Caiaphas in Matthew 26:64.. The reference to the Son of man coming “with power and great glory” and “sitting in the right hand of power” is emphasis on the magnitude of the things that occurred. The Son of man came in power in the transpiring events.” (The Book of Revelation, TX: Wallace Publications, 1966, p.354)
(On the Subject of Revelation)
“The repeated reference to the period of the destruction of Jerusalem is indicative of the author’s inclination towards this view.” (The Book of Revelation, Ft. Worth, TX, Foy E. Wallace Publications, 1966)
“John was no more entranced to write a history of the Latin church and the Dark Ages than he was inspired to prophesy the discovery of the North American continent, the organization of the United States, the formation of the Southern Confederacy or the existence of the United Nations! The historical events of far distant future whether the papacy, the pope, Martin Luther or Alexander Campbell are all outside the scope of Revelation. And we need not go outside the provincial governments of Judea and the Palestinian representatives of the Roman emperor to identify the second beast — the beast of the land — and find the fulfillment of the visions concerning him.” (The Book of Revelation, Ft. Worth, TX, Foy E. Wallace Publications, 1966), p. 295)
(On Revelation 1:7)
“The families of the Jews all over the Roman world are here mentioned. The Gentiles were never referred to as tribesi; the tribes belonged to the Jews were dispersed into every part of the earth. Yet the events foretold of what would happen to their city and their nation, in Jerusalem and Judea, would become known wherever they were scattered, and all the Jews in every part of the earth would wail over this calamity. They would all mourn over the ruin of their city Jerusalem, and for the overthrow of their theocracy in the demolition of their temple, and for the termination of their Jewish state – their national distinction and existence. And they would wail (or mourn) because of him, for it was in fulfillment of the fearful woes that he had pronounced against Jerusalem and which were figuratively ascribed to his coming.” (The Book of Revelation (Fort Worth, TX: Wallace Publications, 1966; p. 72)
(On Revelation 6:16)
“Since the quotation in 6:16 and Luke 23:30 are from the same prophecy of Hosea 10:8, it is the Lord’s own application of its fulfillment in those events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem, and it is therefore solid evidence which cannot be controverted that the seals of Revelation are not now future.” (The Book of Revelation, p. 156)
(On Revelation 17:10)
“The seven kings, five of which had fallen, followed the count from Julius Caesar, the first – then, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, the five which had fallen – and Nero, the sixth. He was referred to in the phrase and one is – that is, the reigining emperor. It is further stated that the other, or the seventh, is not yet.
The five Caesars had passed before John wrote this apocalypse; and Nero, the sixth Caesar, was reigning at the time Revelation was written. The apocalypse belonged to the Neronic period.” (The Book of Revelation, p. 371-372)
“Omitting quite properly the subordinates, or mock rulers, Domitian was the seventh Caesar; and the text specifically stated that he had not come. It is difficult to account for a theory that fixes the chronology of Revelation in the latter part of the Domitian reign when he, the seventh, had not come. The rectification of the traditional chronological error attached to the Book of Revelation will automatically correct the “future prophecy” theories so full of misconcepts.” (ibid., p. 372)
(On the Mark of the Beast)
“There have been almost a legion of names in many different languages that have been deciphered in the efforts to find solution for Code 666, ranging from the merest conjecture to a frantic religious fanaticism that borders on lunacy.”
“This visional mark was an emblem of submission to emperor-worship. It was the stigmatic badge of the beast stamped in their right hand, or in their forehead, signifying a binding oath of loyalty. All who conformed to the imperial orders received the mark of the beast, personified in the Roman emperor — the Neronic antiChrist.” (The Book of Revelation, Fort Worth, TX: Wallace, 1966, pp. 298-300)
Matthew Twenty-four
and The Destruction of Jerusalem
Before going into the details of Matthew 24 to show that the signs of that chapter refer to the fall and destruction of Jerusalem, a look into some Old Testament passages leading up to it will lay a foundation upon which to stand and at the same time answer some questions which some will be sure to ask. Let us take a look at the background.
(1) In the Old Testament – Zech. 14.
We shall not here read the chapter, but rather refer to its contents verse by verse. Zechariah 14 is almost universally used as “a second coming of Christ chapter” but it is a “destruction of Jerusalem chapter” instead.
Verse 1: “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.”
The symbolic “day of the Lord” here is the same expression precisely that is used in Isa. 13:9 in reference to the destruction of Babylon. If the destruction of Babylon could be called “the day of the Lord,” why not the destruction of Jerusalem? That expression does not mean the second coming of Christ in either of these passages. Compare Isaiah 13 as a prophecy against Babylon, Isaiah 17 as a prophecy against Damascus, Isaiah as a prophecy against Ethiopia, Isaiah 19 as a prophecy against Egypt, with Zechariah 14 as a prophecy against Jerusalem, and it can be seen that the assertions of the Millennialists that Zechariah is prophesying the second coming of Christ and the millennium are wrong.
Verse 2: “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”
The historical accounts of the siege of Jerusalem by Josephus, Pliny, Horne and Clarke fulfill Zechariah’s descriptions.
Reference to “nations gathered for battle” is a description of besieged Jerusalem, the houses rifled and the women ravished. The same description is found in Isaiah 13, verses 15 and 16, concerning the fall and destruction of Babylon. The comparison is forceful.
Verse 3: “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.”
Factually, all the nations were represented in the Roman army, and God afterward fought against them by means of the Northern nations. Read Zech. (14-15: “And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones.” The visitations are figurative, of course, but nevertheless significant of the fact that all the nations referred to “against” whom the Lord “fought” were destroyed.
Verse 4: “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
The prophetic declaration that “his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem,” does not refer to the second coming of Christ but rather to the siege of Jerusalem. Jesus Christ stood with his feet on the mount of Olives when he uttered the doom of the city. The Roman general stood on the Mount of Olives when Jerusalem was besieged. The formations of the battle lines, entrenchments and redoubts, the circumvallations of the Romans, all enter into the graphic description and portrayal of the prophet that the mount should “cleave in the midst” and “toward the north” and “toward the south.”
Verses 5-7: “And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.”
Obviously, these verses are a metaphorical description of the mixture of divine mercy with justice. After the visitation there would be light – the diffusion of divine knowledge. This did follow the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish state.
Verses 8-9: “And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.”
The only consistent application of this language is a spiritual fulfillment in the gospel of Christ and the church. Who is ready to deny that the clause “in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one,” refers to the present dispensation? There is one Lord, his name is one, and the Lord is “king over all the earth.” It finds its fulfillment in the church of Christ where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but all one in Christ, and one Lord over all.
Verses 16-17: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem , shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, and Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.”
If these verses are not figurative, if they are to be taken literally, then all nations and families must literally go up to Jerusalem and literally offer animal sacrifices and keep the Passover, restore Judaism with all of its literal ceremonies, in order to fulfill the prophecy. That would be a complete reestablishment of old Judaism and everything that characterized it, all of which was taken away. But if these verse are not literal, then the application made of the whole chapter by the Millennialists loses its force. These last verses refer to the expansion of the blessing of the gospel dispensation after the destruction of Jerusalem. Upon all who received the gospel, its blessings descended as rain; but to the unbelievers who rejected the gospel “upon them shall be no rain” – all such are barred from its promises and privileges.
The simple truth of the matter is that as Isaiah 13 is a prophecy on the destruction f Babylon, Zechariah 14 is a prophecy on the destruction of Jerusalem. It does not teach millennialism in a sentence or a syllable.
(2) In the New Testament. – Matt. 24
Each sign listed on this chart has special application to the then impending destruction of Jerusalem.
When Matthew 24 is taken away from the Premillennial preachers their argument on the imminent return of the Lord based on “the signs of the times” is torn away from them, and their sources of speculative supply is cut off. A verse by verse study will do it:
1. False teachers – verse 5. “For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Jesus simply warned the disciples that false teachers would be numerous, more than ever before. Josephus, the historian, verifies the fact that near the time of Jerusalem’s fall, many false Messiahs appeared, claiming to be the Christ. He says these became more numerous before the sieges of Titus. Luke, the historian, records such pseudo-signs and false wonders as the magical deceptions of Simon Magus – Acts 8 – which were employed on the professional deceivers mentioned in the Lord’s predictions.
2. Wars and rumors of wars – verse 6: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.” Many smaller nations were at war with the Romans at that time, enemies at war with each other and rumors of war in abundance on every hand, and from every quarter as the destruction of Jerusalem drew near. Josephus verifies the fact that from every part of the empire wars followed in succession, and in waves of revolt, like the swells of the ocean, to the final dissolution of the empire.
3. Famine and pestilence – verse 7: “For nations shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” In the days of Claudius Caesar, before the destruction of Jerusalem, there was a unparalleled famine – the greatest famine the world ever knew occurred. The record of Matthew 24 is corroborated by the Spirit in Agabus, the prophet, as reported by Luke in Acts 11:28: “And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.”
Again Josephus testified that the famine actually occurred before the destruction of Jerusalem, and the fulfillment is a matter of historical record.
4. Earthquakes – verse 8: “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” That great earthquakes occurred during the reign of Nero is a historical fact, and the testimony of Jesus is added to that of Josephus of an unusual number of earthquakes occurring in various countries, before the destruction of Jerusalem. Many cities of Asia Minor were destroyed by earthquakes.
5. Delivered to death – verse 9: “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall ki8ll you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” Paul, Peter, and James, and James the Less were all put to death before the destruction of Jerusalem.
6. Apostasies – verse 10: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” This is the Lord’s warning of many apostasies, when the faith of the disciples would fail, as under pressure of persecution many should become offended. Such apostasies were everywhere in evidence prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the evidences of which are not only mentioned in the sacred text, but in parallel secular history. the most valuable of such historical evidence is the testimony of Josephus, who was an eye-witness to the destruction of Jerusalem.
7. The gospel to all the world – verse 14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come.” Within this period of gospel history the sound of the messengers’ feet had been heard all over the Roman world – Rom. 10:15 – and the gospel was, in fact, preached to the whole creation before the destruction of Jerusalem. Read Col. 1:23: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; for which I Paul am made a minister.” Hence, before the death of Paul this “sign” was actually fulfilled – literally enough, indeed, to satisfy the most exacting literalist. Eusebius says “The gospel was like the sun, enlightening the world at once.” It was universally published; the Gentile nations were illuminated with Christianity, providing the events to correspond with the prophecies, a fact so striking as to be convincing without disputation.
8. The end of the Jewish world – verse 14: “Then shall the end come.” Here, at once, with one accord, the Millennialist jumps to the conclusion that this “end” means the end of the world – “then shall the end come” – but the end of what? The end of Jerusalem; the destruction of the temple and the end of the Jewish state and the end of Judaism. Please turn the chart.
9. The abomination of desolation – verse 15: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand.” This description refers to the heathen symbols and Roman standards raised in the temple. When the Romans conquered the city, and entered it, the Roman soldiers marched into the temple, and raised instead the symbols and standards of paganism and Romanism. That is what was called the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. The “abomination of desolation” was fulfilled when those Roman standards and pagan symbols were seen in the holy place “where they ought not to be.”
10. The disciples flee – verses 16-18: “Then let then which be in Judea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” The destruction of Jerusalem was regarded by all pious Jews as pestilence and desolation and was taken as a sign at the time for them to escape had come – to do what Jesus had warned them to do – to flee to the mountains. The disciples did as Jesus said – they heeded the warnings and fled. From the flat roots of their houses in the city or from their fields in the country, they saw the Roman army in full march, there was no time to go inside for goods or raiment. Life was more than personal property. When they saw the sign of the standards and symbols of the Romans in the temple, they remembered that Jesus had warned them of that very thing, and at the news of the Roman approach they fled to Pella, the northern boundary of Perea.
It is a remarkable but historical fact that Cestius Gallus, the Roman general, for some unknown reason, retired when they first marches against the city, suspended the siege, ceased the attack and withdrew his armies for an interval of time after the Romans had occupied the temple, thus giving every believing Jew the opportunity to obey the Lord’s instruction to flee the city. Josephus the eye-witness, himself an unbeliever, chronicles this fact, and admitted his inability to account for the cessation of the fighting at that time, after a siege had begun. Can we account for it? We can. The Lord was fighting against Jerusalem Zech. 14:2: “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” The Lord was besieging that city. God was bringing these things to pass against the Jewish state and nation. Therefore, the opportunity was offered for the disciples to escape the siege, as Jesus had forewarned, and the disciples took it. So said Daniel; so said Jesus; so said Luke; so said Josephus.
As so it was – it was left for Titus, the Roman general, to execute the siege, after the faithful disciples had fled. Verses 19-22: “And woe unto them that are with child, and them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” These verses deal with the hindrances to flight from the besieged city, the tribulation of the sieges, and the lifting of the sieges for the escape of the disciples.
11. Pseudo-signs – verses 23-26: “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Here was the Lord’s warning against deceivers, fake prophets, false alarms and fraudulent signs – the forewarnings to tenable the disciples to discriminate between the spurious and the genuine. “Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” These warning observed by the disciples of the Lord enabled them to escape the traps incident to the approaching siege.
12. The eagles and the carcass – verses 27-28: “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”
The coming here refers to the approach of the Roman armies. The Jewish nation was the carcass which the Roman eagles were sent to devour.
These verses describe the swiftness of the events and the suddenness of all the occurrences connected with the siege of Jerusalem. The illustration of the eagles gather where the carcass is found, is a figurative description of the Romans as the eagles swarming over Jerusalem and Judea as the carcass, to loot and spoil the city and all the land of Judea.
13. After the tribulation – verse 29: ‘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.” After the tribulation of these days – that is, after the things that occurred during the siege. The siege began August 10, A.D. 70, six hundred year after Nebuchadnezzar’s siege and destruction of first temple. All of the houses and underground chambers were filled with putrefied corpses. One million one hundred thousand people perished, and the remnants were scattered. Think of it – in only two months with only two armies fighting in the limited areas around Jerusalem, one million one hundred thousand people perished. Every building was filled with perishing bodied; famished people ate the putrefied flesh of human carcasses; mothers at the flesh of their own babies. And outside the besieged city the families of the expatriated race of Jews in many places throughout the empire were slaughtered. Josephus, the historian, verifies the fact that there was never anything like it before or since, nor ever shall be.
The signs in the heavens, the darkening sun and falling stars, refer to the falling of Jewish dignitaries, casting down of authorities and powers, long established, and signified the darkness that settled upon the Jewish state.
The sun of the Hebrew temple was darkened, the moon of the Jewish commonwealth was as blood, the stars of the Sanhedrin fell from their high seats of authority. Isaiah and Joel describe the ruin of both ancient Babylon and Jerusalem in similar description, in Isa. 13 and Joel 2.
14. The coming of the Son of Man – verse 30: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”
The sign of the Son of man in the heaven was a signal, the evidence of divine visitation and intervention in the downfall of the Jewish authorities and in all the transpiring events. The mourning of the tribes of the earth refers to the lamentations of the Jewish families all over the world because of the destruction of their city and their temple and their state. The coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven is not a reference to the second coming of Christ but to the coming foretold by Jesus to Caiaphas in Matt. 26:24: “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Jesus told Caiaphas that he could see, it, he would be a living witness to these events. The reference to the Son of man coming “with power and great glory” and “sitting on the right had of power” is emphasis on the magnitude of the things that occurred. The Son of man came in power in the transpiring events.
15. Sending forth his angels – verse 31: “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Here is the grand announcement of the world-wide success of the gospel, the universal expansion of the Christianity after the destruction of Jerusalem. The angels of this verse were messengers, emissaries of the gospel. The gathering of the elect from the four winds meant that these messengers would carry the gospel to every nook and corner of the inhabited world. This is the history of what occurre3d. With the downfall of Judaism the greatest foe of the church was removed, and path cleared of the chief obstacle, resulting in the universal sweep of Christianity. The knowledge of God covered the earth as waters cover the sea.
16. The signs that it was near – verse 32-33: “When the branch is yet tender…ye know that summer is nigh…so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” The signs of the approaching events would serve as portents to all faithful disciples that the things of which they were being warned would be near. The disciples would recognize these signs up to the time of the siege, and would know that it was “near, even at the doors.” It is here that Luke’s account says: “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” – Luke 21:28. The providential means for the escape of the faithful was divinely prearranged and when they should see these things “begin to come to pass” they were told to “look up” and “lift up” their heads in full confidence that their redemption, their deliverance, was at hand. This redemption extended beyond the mere escape from the siege – it was a greater deliverance from the persecutions of the Jewish authorities and the oppositions of Judaism, brought to an end by the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish state.
To say that the expression “it is near” refers to the end of the world, the end of time, or a “rapture” theory is contrary to the context of Matthew 24. When these signs appeared the Lord said, “Let them which are in Judea flee” – and they did. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof nigh” – and they did know it. I fit meant the end of the world, whey say “let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains”? and why say, “let them which are in the midst of Jerusalem depart out of it”? and why say, “let not them that are in the country enter thereinto” – into Jerusalem? These sayings show clearly that the whole thing is a description of the destruction of Jerusalem. Reverting in verses 41 and 42 to these surrounding the Lord said that where two would be “in the field,” or “grinding at the mill” – one would be taken and the other left – that is, the believing disciples would recognize the signs and take flight, while the unbelieving companion would remain and perish in the siege.
The statement that all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, as has been previously explained, is a reference to the Jewish families scattered all over the Roman empire – they would mourn the downfall of Jerusalem and the end of their Jewish commonwealth.
17. All these things fulfilled – verse 34: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” In Lk. 21:31-32, the Lord said: when YE see, and know Ye, and I say unto YOU – so here is the Lord’s won statement of the period to which “these things” belonged and during which they would all be fulfilled. All of the “signs” mentioned in Matt. 24 are mentioned above verse 24. After having mentioned these signs, Jesus then said, “this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Notice – “all these things” – not some of them – all of them would be fulfilled before that generation passed. But we are told that “this generation” meant that race – meaning only that the race of the Jews would not pass till all this was fulfilled. The Lord would not be guilty of such a truism – telling the Jews what would happen to their race, and then saying the the race will not pass away until everything that will happen to the race happens to it! A truism would not be the word for that. It is sheer nonsense to have Christ say that certain things would happen to the Jewish race, but the Jewish race w2ould not pass away until what would happen to the Jewish race happened to it! No, Jesus said “this generation” – the generation living \then – would not pass “till all these things be fulfilled.” The Lord’s use of the same language after pronouncing the woes on the Pharisees in the previous chapter of Matthew shows clearly the reference was to their own time. There are nine woes pronounced upon these Jewish officials in Matthew 23, which are followed by verse 36: “verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” Immediately following this statement is the pronouncement on Jerusalem in verse 37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” and the verdict of verse 38, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” there is but one conclusion, and it is clear – all the woes of Matthew 23 and all the signs of Matthew 24 referred to that generation of time and span of life, and were all fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem, and immediately thereafter.
The Seventy Weeks of Daniel
“At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation, and to make an end of sins, an to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be build again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: an the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall causes the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
This chapter, so often referred to as the “seventy weeks of Daniel,” is the sugar stick of Seventh Day Adventists, Millennial Dawnists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and about all shades and colors of millennialsists. None of them appears to be sure as to its meaning but they “figure” it into a millennial interpretation.
The “day a year” interpretation makes the seventy weeks a four hundred and ninety year period, they tell us. Then how do they know that the “tribulation”: is literally only seven years long? And how do they know that the thousand years which they call the millennium is literally only a thousand years? By their rule of interpretation of the seventy weeks (a day for a year) the “tribulation” would be 2555 years and the millennium would be 365,000 years. The millennial fellows figure just like they prophesy!
It is stated in the text that the seventy weeks began from the going forth of the command meant to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. Based on the accepted principle that the weeks are not of days but of years, each week would be seven years, and the most satisfactory and acceptable chronology bears out that the sixty-nine weeks brings the prophesy to the crucifixion of Christ; and the one week to complete the seventy, the seven years from the crucifixion to the conversion of Cornelius, when the covenant was confirmed “with many” – the reception of the Gentiles into he new covenant. Without mathematical calculation the sequel was the destruction of Jerusalem, shown by the quotation of verse 27 in Matthew 24:15. It settles the event which should follow the confirmation of the covenant- Dan. 9:27 – the desecration of the temple by the Romans at the destruction of Jerusalem.
A large group of commentators, historians, scholars and chronological authorities are in agreement with the viewpoint that the seventy weeks relate to the whole period between the proclamation of Cyrus and the end of the Jewish commonwealth. It cannot be chance that from the seventh year of Artaxerxes, when the commission was given to Ezra to restore Jerusalem, to the death of Christ, it was precisely the number of weeks of years; and that from the death of Christ to the command given to Peter to preach to Cornelius it was precisely one week of seven years; and that from Vespasian’s march into Judea to the taking of Jerusalem it was precisely a half septenary of years, corresponding with the event of abomination and desolation to take place in the midst of one week. So it is reckoned that from the time of the exile, mentioned in verse 2, there would be seventy years of desolation for Jerusalem, and hat Daniel’s seventy weeks is an extension of the biblical use of sevens, sometimes literal and sometimes figurative in reference to time; but always indicative of something other than a literal or mathematical application. The seventy weeks of Daniel are thus applied to the period between the decree for restoration of Jerusalem after the seventy years of exile and the coming of Christ, including the conversion of the Gentiles and followed by the desolation of the temple and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.
It is pointed out that the seventy weeks are heptades, a sum or a number of seven, or groups of seven, and do not necessarily follow in succession in order to carry out the prophetic purpose; but the heptades may be separated by other periods and events, and are not therefore subject to a continuous or successive mathematical calculation. In this view the first heptad would be the period of restoration under the decree of Cyrus; the second heptad would be the necessary intervening time between the restoration and the transition to the new age and kingdom of eternal righteousness; the third and final heptad would be the period of consummation of the prophecy between the cutting of the Messiah and the end of the Jewish state, not indicating an exact date nor a single event, but covering broadly the Neronean persecution and the destruction of Jerusalem, which connects Dan. 9:27 with the Lord’s quotation in Matthew 24:15. It was during this period that oblation and sacrifice ceased, and the temple destroyed with all the ceremonies and services of the sanctuary.
So the terminus a quo – the end or limit from which – to the terminus ad quem – the end or limit to which; or, the starting point and the terminating point, would be the entire period from the decreed of Cyrus to the final overthrow of the Jewish state by Nero, comprehended by periods of sevens but not necessarily joined, there’re being some historical events between, interrupting the succession of the heptades. Various efforts to establish the corresponding dates to fit exact mathematical calculation have confessedly presented discrepancies, and failed at certain points, the periods covering the things mentioned, allowing for intervening histor4cal developments, harmonizes with the purpose of the prophecies and all phases of fulfillment, and is consistent with the structure of apocalyptic vision. Several example of such application are available, among them the references tin Leviticus 26 to Israel being smitten “seven times,” which is, of course, not mathematical; and the use of the expression “seventy times seven” in Matthew 18:22.
When exact dates are meant, they are specified as in Isa. 7:5-9 when the time for Ephraim, the ten tribes, to be broken and to “be not a people” was set by the prophet at sixty-five years from the time named and was mathematically fulfilled. The period of Israel’s exile given in Jer. 25:12 – seventy years – affords another instance. But when periods are the basis of prophetic vision and apocalyptic description they are not subject to exact mathematics any more than such terms as “ten days” and “thousand years” in connection with prophecy and apocalypse.
The Sabbath of the Jews was the seventh day of the week, and the jubilee was based on seven times seven years. The term seven would indicate a complete time, while the use of the three and one-half weeks or months or days, as sometimes uses, being half of seven would be indicative of an incomplete period of time. In the description of the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes, the persecutor of the Maccabean period, use is made of “time, times and half a time” – time being one year, times two years and half time, half a year, or the dividing of time” in Dan. 7:25 – which fits exactly the count of Josephus, and other historians, of the period in which Antiochus changed the times and the laws, when he abolished the worship of the temple and stopped the offering of the daily sacrifices for three years and a half. This is according to Daniel’s statement of chapter 7, verse 25: “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Both the description and the period fit into the history of the persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes and his dealings with the pious Jews and the worship of the temple during the Antiochus oppression.
With these considerations on the various methods of considering the periodicity of the septenary numbers in Daniel’s visions, the seventy weeks of Daniel would come between the two boundary dates: the decrees of Cyrus and Artaxerxes for the restoration of Jerusalem as the terminus a quo – from which to reckon the beginning of all events belonging to the period, and the destruction of Jerusalem as the terminus ad quem, the end of it. The beginning boundary date is fixed by Daniel’s statement “from the going forth of the commandment” in Dan. 9:25, and the ending boundary date is fixed by the Lord’s quotation in Matthew 24:15 concerning the “abomination of desolation” which was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem under Nero and Vespasian, A.D. 70. With the general period determined, the events can be arranged and summed up according to the specifications of Dan. 9:23-27, and the new testament passages fulfilling them:
1. Seventy weeks from the commandment – Dan. 9:23-27.
2. Finish the transgression and make an end of sin – Heb. 10:12; Eph. 2:15.
3. Bring everlasting righteousness – Rom. 3:21-31.
4. Reconciliation for iniquity –Col. 1:20; Heb. 2:17.
5. Anoint the most Holy-Acts 4:26-27; Heb. 1:8-9.
6. The Messiah cut off – Isa. 53:8; Acts 8:32-33.
7. Destroy the city and sanctuary – Matt. 24:1-34.
8. Covenant confirmed with many – Acts 10:34; Rom. 9:30.
9. Seal up the vision- indicating the completed vision by its fulfillment in the events specified.
That the confirmation of the covenant in the prophecy refers to the inclusion of the Gentiles is show by the connection of Rom. 9:30-33 and I Pet. 2:1-10, both of which passages show that the covenant of Isa. 28:16 includes the Gentiles, and finds fulfillment in Peter’s statement in Acts 10:34 at the house of Cornelius: “of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”
The terminating point of the prophecy is shown to be the destruction of Jerusalem as foretold by the Lord in Matthew 24, and settled by his own quotation from Daniel’s prophecy, in verse 15 – and form this, to the believer in Christ, there can be no appeal. It should be observed that Daniel did not say that the Messiah would be cut off in the midst of the week – the passage says that “the Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself.” The expression “in the midst of the week” is connected with the causing of the sacrifices and oblations to cease after the covenant was confirmed with the Gentiles. The phrase “in the midst of the week” does not indicate the middle of the week, but during the week. The Messiah was cut off at the crucifixion of Christ, finishing the transgression, making an end of sin, making reconciliation for iniquity, and bringing in the covenant for everlasting righteousness – but among the Jews the sacrifices, oblations and all the services of the temple continued until the destruction of Jerusalem. It was that event that should “cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease,” and the reason given was “for the overspreading of abominations…even until the consummation.” And this event would be the sequel to the confirmation of the covenant with the Gentiles. Read the whole passage of Daniel 9, verse 27: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading \of the abominations he shall mike it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.” Thus the destruction of Jerusalem was the terminating point of all the event within the seventy weeks of Daniel, covering the conclusion of the exile, the ushering in the the gospel times, the consecration fo the Messiah to his redeeming office, and the end of all the temple services with the termination of the Jewish state.
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID
Kurt Simmons
“If there is a single individual that can be credited as the father of modern Preterism it is the Church of Christ preacher, evangelist, author and editor, Foy E. Wallace Jr. Wallace was a leading figure in the Churches of Christ coming out of the 1930s. A superb speaker, able debater, and writer, he quickly rose to national prominence in the Churches of Christ, holding numerous meetings across the U.S. each year. Wallace also served as editor of the Gospel Advocate (Nashville), a leading monthly publication within the Churches of Christ. In his role as editor, writer, and preacher, Wallace would help define the issues and establish the norms that would shape the church for the next fifty years.
One of Wallace’s contributions toward the modern Preterist movement was his attack upon Dispensationalism (Premillennialism). Premillennialism threatened to enter the Churches of Christ in the early twentieth century through Robert H. Boll, a prominent preacher, who also served as editor of the Gospel Advocate. Boll became enamored with the Premillennialism of Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and began writing Premillennialist articles for the Gospel Advocate (circa 1910). Boll was forced to resign, but continued to teach and disseminate Premillennialist doctrine within the church, gaining a following.
The Premillennial movement within the churches of Christ was destroyed primarily by Foy Wallace Jr. during his four year (1930-1934) tenure as editor of the Gospel Advocate and in two debates with Charles Neal. The first Wallace-Neal debate was held in Winchester, KY., Jan. 2-6, 1933, and was later published in book form. Neal affirmed “The Bible clearly teaches that after the second coming of Christ and before the final resurrection and judgment, there will be an age or dispensation of one thousand years during which Christ will reign on the earth.” Wallace also started a publication entitled the Bible Banner to refute Premillennnial doctrine and would publish God’s Prophetic Word (1946, revised 1960), a volume of several hundred pages, which today remains one of the most thorough treatments exposing Premillennial errors. Central to Wallace’s refutation of Premillennialism was proof of the restoration of the Davidic throne and kingdom in Christ beginning with his ascension.
The other side of Wallace’s contribution to the modern Preterist movement was his commentary on Revelation, published in 1966. Wallace devoted forty-five pages to defending the early date for composition of Revelation, and demonstrated throughout that Revelation’s major theme was the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Although Wallace’s commentary was merely partial Preterist, seeing in Revelation twenty’s millennia imagery extending beyond the first century and into the indefinite future, it remains a favorite in Preterist circles today.
Wallace’s efforts to establish the historical, first century context of Revelation and the fulfilled nature of the Davidic kingdom and throne in Christ’s church paved the way for later generations in the Church of Christ to arrive at the full Preterist position.” (The Road Back to Preterism)
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
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What do YOU think ?
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Date: 19 Jan 2004Time: 18:27:49
Comments
Wallace is spot on.
Date: 24 Jan 2004Time: 05:35:00
Comments
Wallace is obsessed with a view and then sets out to defend what he has already determined is true. Completely backwards of how we should study the Bible. Read Revelation in one sitting. It is obvious Jersualem is never under question. If it is, why the letter to the seven churches of Asia? It’s about Christian persecution, not Jewish, which is what A.D. 70 was all about.
Date: 15 Jun 2004Time: 08:36:06
Comments
his book on revelation is very insightful to the terms and language used. most of his theology, specifically revelation is dead on and he leaves very little to question
Date: 16 Jan 2005Time: 13:26:41
Comments
Foy Wallace was a great man of God, a faithful Christian and a dynamic gospel preacher for the churches of Christ who had hundreds of debates with the baptists and other religious groups.
Date: 05 Dec 2005
Time: 15:00:04
Comments:
Mr. Wallace was a great gospel preacher. He was the kind of preacher our Lord and Savior was wanting to spread his wonderful word and teach the world how to become a christian.
Date: 27 Dec 2005
Time: 13:01:13
Comments:
Wallace in his writings on Revelation is clear and consise in his explanations and his work is of great use, however taking into account his writings as a whole, beyond what is being listed here, it is clear that Wallace is no more a Preterist than is the Pope. In his life he never made mention of holding preterist convictions, either in his writings or preaching, so to label him as such is not a proper thing to do.
Date: 13 Dec 2006
Time: 10:36:15
Comments:
I just completed re-reading Wallace’s book on Revelation, followed by a re-read of Gentry’s book re: the fall of Jerusalem…both books have been extremely helpful to me in the past, but taken together in one dosage they have been beyond extremely helpful with exposition of Matthew 24, Daniel, and Revelation.
Marshall Pierson
Date: 08 Jan 2007
Time: 18:39:29
Comments:
I knew Foy E. Wallace, Jr. well in his later years and named my youngest son (now approaching 30 years of age) Foy Wallace Whitelaw. His logic and Bible scholarship was a wonderful thing to behold for this young preacher back in those days. While I remember many of his private and public sayings quite well, I’ll never forget his saying: “I have no friends when I step behind the pulpit.” I’ve adopted that spirit. We bow to God, not man. His contributions to the cause of truth were rarely appreciated enough and too few knew this stalwart defender of the gospel of Christ for his tender and compassionate qualities. His son-in-law, my dear late friend Richard E. Black, once told me how he informed “Dad Wallace” that folks considered him to be a giant among his brethren. Richard said he turned to him with a sad look and said, “I feel more like a dwarf than a giant.”
His contributions to truth were vast but his incisive thinking and extensive work on dispensationalism was monumental. I rarely ever surf the internet and found this site by accident. I couldn’t resist the urge at the close of this long day to type these few lines. Foy E. Wallace, Jr’s influence still burns in my veins almost three decades after his death. He was controversial and I didn’t always agree with him but I will always hold his love and friendship, and now his memory, as something extremely precious. I remember writing almost 30 years ago something to the effect that heaven became a little more dearer for me when Foy E. Wallace, Jr. passed over Jordon.
Fred D. Whitelaw
Date: 13 Aug 2009
Time: 14:56:56
Your Comments:
Foy E. Wallace was a great preacher. I prefer Brother Arthur Ogden’s “The Avenging of the Apostles and Prophets” commentary on Revelation. It’s easier to understand than Bro. Wallace’s commentary. Great reference work though!
Date: 08 Jan 2010
Time: 08:37:46
Your Comments:
On Revelation 17:10
Why would you omit Vespasian and Titus? Why would you consider them mock rulers. Domitian was son and brother to these two. I can see why Galba, Otho, and Vitellius would be considered mock rulers but not Vespasian and Titus.
What about the ten horns/ten kings? Who are they? Maybe these are ten Caesars and the seven rulers are the Herodian Rulers. tammygene@aol.com
“Omitting quite properly the subordinates, or mock rulers, Domitian was the seventh Caesar; and the text specifically stated that he had not come.
Date: 11 Apr 2010
Time: 21:34:57
Your Comments:
When I left denominationalism and became a New Testament Christian, more than 50 years ago, brother Foy E. Wallace,Jr.; became my hero in the Lord’s church. I went to hear him in a meeting and took my books to have him autograph them. I asked him if he would preach a sermon that he had once preached in Port Arthur, Texas. He smiled and replied that he would preach it on Tuesday night. When he started to the pulpit he came to me and stated that he had not preached that sermon in 40 years. He made 3 changes in the lesson. The town where he was preaching in this meeting, the local preacher and the songleader. I followed in the book and he preached that sermon word for word. He was a powerful preacher and to the disadvantage of young Christians today, the likes of him will not be repeated. He stood for and defended truth always.
I know that my loss is Paradise gain.
Date: 21 May 2010
Time: 13:49:33
Your Comments:
I first met Foy E. Wallace, Jr. when I was a young boy in Houston, Texas, where he held his Music Hall meetings, at which my father, F.F. Conley, and minister of the Milby Street church, was in charge of the seating. I also met his father, Foy Wallace, Sr., there. I have been preaching for more than 55 years and he was the greatest preacher of the gospel I ever heard. I had the privilege of leading the singing in several of the meetings he held: in Marble Fall, Texas, Austin, Texas, and in 1967 at the Chestnut Drive congregation where I preached. I heard him in numerous meetings in Texas and Georgia. I have all of his books, many of them signed by him, and recommend them to all. He was a great soldier of the cross.
Darrell Conley
Date: 22 May 2010
Time: 19:53:38
Your Comments:
I can’t help but wonder what bro. Wallace’s reaction would be if he could see what has happened to the Lord’s church, and to his beloved country, as well. I would have never believed when I was growing up that I would live to see the day when the sign on a church bldg. said “Church of Christ,” but inside it was being taught that baptism is not necessary in order to be saved. I think that bro. Wallace would be stunned to see that this has actually taken place, not just in the Lord’s church in this country, but in churches of Christ in the “Bible belt.”
This is a question that I would appreciate anyone’s answer to: Sometime in 1980’s there was a series of about 6 cassette tapes, each with one of bro. Wallace’s sermons recorded on it. The tapes were in a nice, compact plastic case in my parents’ house but I don’t know what happened to them. Does anybody know if any of bro. Wallace’s sermons are available on audio cassette, or better yet, on CD?
I thank God profoundly for Foy E. Wallace, Jr., and that I got to hear him preach and read his books, too. How I wish I could hear that man’s voice again!