Here, we demonstrate with certainty that Scripture teaches that the Great Tribulation, coming with clouds and related events prophesied in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 1:7 and elsewhere are all past events that took place in the First Century AD during the lifetime of the contemporaries (generation) of Jesus Christ, culminating in the destruction of the Second Temple, the city of Jerusalem and the end of the world of the generation of Jesus Christ occasioned by the Roman Empire sometime around 66-70 AD.
We must work with the principles of Scripture interpretation described in 2 Peter 1:20-21, Proverbs 3:5 and elsewhere in Scripture as this is the only way to arrive at the correct conclusions. Essentially, we must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture and avoid the doctrines and traditions of men.
The key to correctly understanding the fulfillment of these events is to correctly identify Babylon the Great using Scripture.
By comparing Revelation 18:24 with Matthew 23:29-38, we unambiguously identify Babylon the Great as the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ and their world including their temple and their city of Jerusalem for of them was required the blood of all the righteous slain on the earth. Note that in Matthew 23:35-36 Jesus Christ directly identifies them as THIS GENERATION upon whom the pronounced destruction would come.
Revelation 18:24
And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.
Matthew 23:29-38
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.
33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38 See! Your house is left to you desolate.
So we can identify Babylon the Great (the Harlot and Mother of Harlots described in Revelation 17 and elsewhere) with certainty as THIS GENERATION mentioned in Matthew 23:36, Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30 and Luke 21:32, the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ whose world including the Second Temple and the city of Jerusalem was destroyed or came to an end during the events of the Fall of Jerusalem brought about by the Roman Empire sometime around 66-70 AD.
Now it is an incontrovertible fact that the destruction of the world of the contemporaries of Jesus Christ, that is, the destruction of Babylon the Great (the Harlot and Mother of Harlots described in Revelation 17 and elsewhere) was wrought in the First Century AD by the Roman Empire. Scripture teaches expressly in Revelation 17:16 that the Beast that rises up out of the sea as described in Revelation 13 and elsewhere is the entity that destroyed Babylon the Great. Consequently, we identify the Beast that rises up out of the sea (see Revelation 13 and related portions of Scripture) with certainty as the Roman Empire. This insight situates most of the events recorded in the book of Revelation and all the events of the Great Tribulation (refer to Matthew 23, Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 ) without ambiguity within the conflicts between the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ and the Roman Empire including the events surrounding the Fall of Jerusalem sometime around 66-70 AD.
Revelation 17:16
And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Scripture declares expressly in Matthew 24:29-31 and elsewhere that immediately after the Great Tribulation that befell the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the powers of the heavens will be shaken and the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and then the people will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he will send his angels to gather his elect. This coming on the clouds of heaven is the same coming with the clouds described in Revelation 1:7 as this coming in clouds must take place in the lifetime of the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ, namely, those who pierced him, who would mourn in recognition of the fact that the judgement of God had come upon them.
Matthew 24:29-31
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
STUMBLING BLOCKS
Having established with certainty on the basis of Scripture (and applying the principles of prophecy interpretation described in 2 Peter 1:20-21, Proverbs 3:5 and elsewhere in Scripture) that the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), coming with clouds (Revelation 1:7) and related events such as the emergence of the Beast that rises up out of the sea (Revelation 13 and elsewhere), the judgement of Babylon the Great (the harlot and mother of harlots described in Revelation 17 and elsewhere), and so on, all took place in the First Century AD during the lifetime of the contemporaries of Jesus Christ including during the Fall of Jerusalem and the end of the world of the First Century contemporaries of Jesus Christ caused by the Roman Empire sometime around 66-70 AD, we now examine the major stumbling blocks that prevent the churches of today from accepting the truth as revealed in Scripture.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come — Matthew 24:14.
Was the gospel of the kingdom preached in all the world in the First Century AD during the lifetime of the contemporaries of Jesus Christ?
Scripture declares with certainty that the gospel was indeed preached in all the world in the First Century AD when Scripture was completed and delivered.
This is clear from Colossians 1:23, Romans 16:25-26 and other relevant portions of Scripture.
Colossians 1:23
If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Romans 16:25-26
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began
26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith.
Those who find it difficult to accept the clear testimony of Scripture (Colossians 1:23, Romans 16:25-26 and elsewhere) that the gospel was indeed preached in all the world in the First Century AD during the lifetime of the contemporaries of Jesus Christ would do well to consider the context provided by the declaration in Luke 2:1-3 that Caeser Augustus conducted a census of the whole world.
Luke 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken — Matthew 24:29.
Here, we must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, leading us to conclude based on Scripture that this is language (not describing literal disturbances in heavenly bodies) for the judgment of God on the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ, the destruction of their temple and city of Jerusalem and the end of their world since this same language (not describing literal disturbances in heavenly bodies) is used elsewhere in Scripture (Isaiah 13:10, Ezekiel 32:7-8) to describe the judgment and destruction visited on people in the past.
Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Ezekiel 32:7-8
7 When I put out your light,
I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,”
Says the Lord God.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory — Matthew 24:30.
Historical records including the Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus mention the appearance of signs in the heavens and clouds during the Fall of Jerusalem around 66-70 AD and the acknowledgement by the people that they were being judged by God through the destruction of their world and bitter mourning of their great loss.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other — Matthew 24:31.
Again, we refer to Scripture where we learn that this refers to the harvest of the souls of the elect or saints into the kingdom. For those who die in the Lord henceforth are blessed and their works follow them (Revelation 14:12-16) just as the saints who died under the old covenant were gathered unto their people as recorded in Deuteronomy 32:48-50 and elsewhere.
Revelation 14:12-16
12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Deuteronomy 32:48-50
48 Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying:
49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession;
50 and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Historical records of the events of the Fall of Jerusalem sometime around 66-70 AD such as the works of Flavius Josephus in Wars of the Jews indicate that people observed fearful signs in the heavens and clouds and understood that they were under the judgment of God.
Additionally, historical records indicate that the Fall of Jerusalem was considered the worst calamity to have befallen any people since history began. Things are reported to have gotten so bad in Jerusalem that mothers cannibalized their own children. Large numbers of people were killed and enslaved.
The Roman soldiers were reported to have periodically entered the city of Jerusalem and selectively taken individuals outside the city to be slaughtered, leaving the others behind and fulfilling Matthew 24:40-41 and related Scripture passages.
Famines, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, persecutions of Christians, the appearance of false teachers and false messiahs in the First Century AD during the lifetime of the contemporaries of Jesus Christ are well documented in Scripture and the historical record of the period.
Matthew 24:21
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
As clearly indicated in Matthew 24:21, the Great Tribulation that befell the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ in the First Century AD was a one-time event that can never be repeated. Consequently, the destruction of the world of the First Century AD contemporaries of Jesus Christ by the Roman Empire sometime around 66-70 AD or thereabout was the one and only fulfillment of the prophecy of the Great Tribulation contained in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.
Historical records including those by Flavius Josephus do indeed attest to the fact that this was the greatest calamity or tribulation to have befallen any people in the history of the world.