A Study Of Eschatology Attracts The Attention Of Many Believers

The destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 BC) and the subsequent

It was constructed in c. 82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

After their exile, around fifty-thousand Jews returned to Jerusalem which was now called Judaea. The leader of Judea, the Persian King Cyrus, allowed the Jews to return and to build another place of worship (Fisher 251). The second temple was built in 515 BCE and according to the text Living Religions, became “the central symbol to a scattered Jewish nation” (Fisher). The temple became a place where the Torah was formed and where the religion prospered. However, Jewish prosperity was not going to last. After four centuries of Roman rule, that was domineering and dreadful, a group of Jews decided to rebel against their oppressors. This led to Jews being slaughtered by the Romans and to the second Temple being destroyed. All that is left of the Temple are foundation stones which are referred to as the Western Wall. The temple has never been rebuilt and the Western Wall has become a place for prayer and remembrance for Jews all over the world. Jewish people look at the Western Wall as a representation of the hardships and oppression that their religion and people have endured. According to the article, Mystical Secret of the Western Wall:

Jesus in Mathew 23, spoke to the Pharisee about judgment, culminating in the seven “woe” statement. On leaving the temple in chapter 24, the disciples called his attention to the buildings on the temple mount. Jesus in verse 2, tells them forthrightly that “not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” A prophecy fulfilled in 70AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. The magnificent Temple was destroyed.

It was impossible to look upon the vast numbers of the slain without horror; everywhere lay fragments of humans bodies, and the very ground was covered with the blood of the slain. It was not alone the spectacle of headless bodies and mutilated limbs strewn in all directions that roused horror in all who looked upon them. Still more dreadful was it to gaze upon the victors themselves, dripping with blood from head to foot, an ominous sight which brought terror to all who mer them. It is reported that within the Temple enclosure alone about ten thousand

The purpose of this paper is to research and analyze the preterist and futurist views of interpreting the Book of Revelation and determine which view provides the most accurate Biblical interpretation. As Richard L. Mayhue states, the "word 'preterist' comes from the Latin term praeteritus which basically means 'past' in regard to time." A preterist interpretation of the Book of Revelation, therefore, asserts that incidents described therein have already come to pass. A futurist interpretation, on the other hand, suggests the opposite namely, that Revelation is a prophecy of things to come.

Eschatology is defined as a branch of theology that outlines the final events of the world and of mankind. It is also the study of the ultimate purpose of the world and God’s intentions. In Christianity, eschatology is often viewed as a forbidden subject in the study of theology. On the other hand, some regard eschatology as the most influential part of their religious life because they it determines the way in which they live their lives. These people live by a set of rules and ethics set by the Bible because they want to have the favorable experience after death that was outlined in the Christian Eschatology.

-the temple of jerusalem was the most famous building of the son of king David

1984 "[God] has put his 'words', his message, into the mouths of his servants, for them to proclaim earthwide." {SURV 109}

Before getting into the details of Jesus' cleansing of the temple as outlined in the book of Matthew, it will first be necessary to provide some context to the narrative. The cleansing of the temple can be found in Matthew 21:12-17, but the rest of the chapter includes important contextual information that allows one to better appreciate this passage both in its immediate historical context and its larger theological one. The cleansing of

     Concerning the actual Temple, one must be reminded that King David’s original intentions were to create a memorial against the Canaanite deities and paganism. However, when Solomon was given responsibility of the construction, he seemed to have forgotten this. Some of the symbolism on the alter was derived from Phoenicia, and can be traced back to older Canaanite symbols from Mesopotamia. A serious spiritual weakness was starting to materialize in the Temple during this time. “Its elaborate organization and its heavy indebtedness to Syro-Phoenician religious architecture and practice. The danger of syncretism became very great- so great that the following centuries were characterized by bitter intermittent conflict between religious assimilators and religious separatists”(Albright 150). In other

When it comes down to the eschatology expectations that were held, it is important to understand the context which happened to surround each of them as they all provided influence. Firstly would have to be that of the disciples of Christ who happened to live within the day of Christ. Thier expectations (as well as that of most people around them) came from what the prophets of old had foretold previously as seen in the Old Testament. Such examples would be that of the various books of the prophets (such as Isiah) which made eschatological predictions about what would occur during the end (Isa. 26:19, Common English Bible). Additionally, such expectations also can be seen in the New Testament in both the various teachings of Jesus as well as

“The grandeur of the ancient city is evident in the remains uncovered by archaeologists, including the ruins of the Artemision, the civic agora, the temple of Domitian, gymnasiums, public baths, a theater with seating for 24,000, a library, and the commercial agora, as well as several streets and private residences” (Holman, np). This was a big city, full of culture, and full of ungodly people and activities. Among the many religious groups in the city, there were many Jews there who were brought the gospel right after Pentecost (Orr, np). Because of the pluralism of religions in the city, new Christians didn’t know exactly what to believe or how to worship. On top of this, the city was constantly bombarded with false teachers trying to tell people that salvation came from works, not faith (MacArthur, np).

Hoekema is the author of the final chapter of this book. It is devoted to four specific topics that relate to amillennialism. First, he focused on interpreting the book of Revelation to show "the background for the amillennial view of the millennium." Then, Hoekema discussed his interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6 and also "two OT passages commonly viewed as predicting an earthly millennial kingdom." A brief sketch of amillennial eschatology followed. The "sketch cover[ed] two areas: first, what amillennial eschatology teaches with regard to [four topics relating to] inaugurated eschatology, and, second, what it teaches with reference to [seven subjects relating to] future eschatology." This chapter ends with four implications of amillennial eschatology for the theological understanding of Christians.

After the temple was completed, Zechariah gave several prophecies about Israel’s future. It vividly describes the first and second coming of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This book contains more about the person, work, and glory of Christ than any other minor prophets combined. Israel’s king would come, but his people would reject him. They would later repent and be restored to God. The king is going to come again for the Judgment, we pray that when he comes again that we have been faithful and he will find us pure in his sight. The building of the temple is important here. Our bodies are our temple and we must continue to work on them until Christ comes again to claim us, the Church the people of