God's Chosen Jews Not Forsaken

In order to properly handle God’s word and correctly understand the chosen Jews not being forsaken by God, two verses of Scripture should be considered: (1) “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me” (John 5:39 NASB). (2) “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11 NASB).

The word “Scriptures” in John 5:39 refers to the Old Testament Scriptures. Christ used the Scriptures when He spoke to the two men on the road to Emmaus: “…O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:25-27 NASB). The Scriptures furnish the world with true objective light.

The nobility of which Paul spoke in Acts 17:11 is not connected with the nobility of a person’s birth. The apostle spoke of a quality of mind. True nobility is an earnest inquiry after truth. It consists in a spirit that is above the power of prejudice. Prejudice is a common sin among religionists. They are affiliated with certain denominations and refuse to consider any truth contrary to the teaching of that particular religious group. Prejudice is not indicative of the Spirit of Christ. It is a great time saver because it enables one to form his opinion without investigating the facts. True nobility is a willingness to receive truth that one has not heard expounded.

With a completed record of God’s revealed will (Jude 3), the Christian is constantly reminded and solemnly charged in the presence of God to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15 NASB). There are seven main divisions in the objective record of God: (1) The foundation is in the Pentateuch. (2) Organization is in the historical books. (3) Aspiration is in the poetical books. (4) Expectation is in the prophetical books. (5) Manifestation is in the Gospels. (6) Realization is in the Acts and Epistles. (7) Culmination is in the Revelation.

The Jews were students of Scripture, but most of them used the Scriptures to substantiate their human opinions. Although many of them had a high regard for the Old Testament Scriptures, the Holy Spirit had never applied them to their hearts. They were content with a mere human knowledge of Scripture. Christ who knew their hearts said, “…you think that in them [the Scriptures] you have eternal life…” (John 5:39 NASB). They were like many who can quote the “Roman Road” but manifest no interest in spiritual things. The error our Lord condemned was imagining that having a natural understanding of Divine things is sufficient. The Devil knew the Scriptures (Matt. 4), and the demons believe in God and shudder (James 2:19). No one can form a true estimate of Biblical doctrine that changes the heart apart from the Spirit of regeneration. A Puritan said, “There are many who trust in their attachment to some form of doctrine, or to some renowned head of a party, who no more enter into the meaning of these doctrines, or into the views of the persons whose names they bear, than the Jews believed the words of Moses, or entered into his views of the prefigured and predicted Messiah.”—The Scott

The religious Jews could not possibly form a true estimate of Christ: (1) They were unwilling to come to Christ (John 5:40). (2) They did not have the love of God in them (John 5:42). (3) They would receive only him who would come in his own name (John 5:43). (4) They did not seek the glory that comes from the one and only God (John 5:44). (5) They would not believe the writings of the one (Moses) they claimed to trust (John 5:46, 47).

The practical side of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D. has been considered. Now, the event must be viewed in the light of Biblical prophecy. All three synoptic gospels record Christ’s prediction concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and His second advent to consummate the age. However, only Luke records the specific account of the judgment that was to come on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. One must be careful about trying to fit everything into a chronological scheme by studying only Matthew’s account of the Olivet discourse. All three synoptic writers must be considered because each makes a contribution (Matt. 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6, 20-24).

The Olivet discourse predicted two destructions of Jerusalem—the historical destruction (Luke 21:6, 20-24) and the future destruction predicted by such prophets as Jeremiah, Zechariah, Daniel, and Joel (Jer. 30:4-11; Dan. 9:26, 27; 11:36-45; Joel 2:1-11, 28-32; Zech. 14:1-4). Luke’s description of the fall of Jerusalem is not the same as Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts of the abomination spoken of by Daniel (Matt. 24:15-28; Mark 13:14-23).

The following are the basic differences between the accounts: (1) Luke spoke of desolations and tribulation as precursory to Jerusalem’s destruction, but he did not mention the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel. Both Matthew and Mark referred to the abomination of desolation because it belongs to the end of the age instead of the historical destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by Titus (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). (2) Luke alone refers to the interval of time between the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the completion of the age: “…Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24 NASB). (3) In Luke’s description of the destruction of Jerusalem, there is no reference to the immediate sign of the Son of Man in glory. Therefore, Titus' seize of Jerusalem is history. Conversely, Matthew’s description of the abomination of desolation is connected with the immediate appearing of the sign of the Son of Man in heaven (Matt. 24:30). (4) Luke’s description of Jerusalem’s destruction says nothing about “unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved…” (Matt. 24:22 NASB). (See Mark 13:20.) Daniel prophesied this: “And forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation” (Dan. 11:31 NASB). “NOW at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued” (Dan. 12:1 NASB). As the mount of transfiguration scene is a foretaste of the coming kingdom, the historical destruction of Jerusalem was a foretaste of a future greater destruction. (5) Luke says nothing about “…for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.” Both Matthew and Mark speak of the elect because they quote Daniel 11:31—“And forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation” (NASB). Luke says, “and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations…” (Luke 21:24 NASB).

The two destructions of Jerusalem—historical and future—must not be understood in the sense of what some exegetes call double fulfillment. By double fulfillment they mean the prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem was partially fulfilled in 70 A.D., but it will have its final fulfillment in the future. There is a difference between a double fulfillment of a single prediction and two separate predictions—one in 70 A.D. and the other in the end of the age. A diligent and unbiased study of three records of the Olivet discourse will show there were two separate predictions.

There are 41 predictive (future tense) verbs in Matthew 24. The conception that this many future tense verbs have been fulfilled is ludicrous. The context of the Olivet discourse proves that the predictions apply to Israel. “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew…” (Rom. 11:2 NASB). Paul also said in the same context, “In the same way [referring to a remnant God had kept for Himself in the days of Elijah] then, there has also come to be at the present time [subsequent to the Olivet discourse and Christ’s death and resurrection] a remnant according to God’s gracious choice” (Rom. 11:5 NASB). “What then? That which Israel is seeking for, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened” (Rom. 11:7 NASB).

The context of the Olivet discourse proves that the predictive verbs apply to Israel, not to the assembly Jesus Christ is continuing to build (Matt. 16:18). “I will build” is a progressive future active indicative of the verb oikodomeo. Such words as “end” (Matt. 24:3, 6, 13, 14), “you” (v. 15), “abomination of desolation” (v. 15), “Daniel the prophet” (v. 15), “holy place” (v. 15), “Judea” (v. 16), “Sabbath” (v. 20), “tribes” (v. 30), “fig tree” (v. 32), “generation” (v. 34), and “inherit the kingdom” (25:34) prove the discourse pertains to national Israel. This signifies that God is not through with Israel. (Study Rom. 9-11.)