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c hu rc h in J er usalem-toward
which Christ ians look for truth and
for
leadershi~i s
in no posi tion to
render effective assistance to the
persecuted Christians of Rome.
It,
too, is caught in the midst of
upheaval, stemming from the Jew–
ish wars with Rome.
In A. D. 66, the oppressed J ews of
Palestine erupt into general revolt–
defying the mili tary might of the
Roman Empi re! Heeding J esus'
warning (Luke 21 :20-21 ), the Chris–
tians of Judea
Aee
to the hills.
Later, in the spring of A.D. 69,
the Roman general Titus finally
sweeps from east of J ordan into
Judea with his Jegions. T he Chris–
tians escape impending calamity in
the hills by journeying northeast to
the out-of-the-way city of Pella, in
the Gi lead mountains east of the
Jordan River.
lt is now A. D. 70. T itus con–
quers J e rusalem. He burns t he
Temple to the ground and tears
down its foundations. The city is
laid waste. Sorne 600,000 Jews are
slaughtered and multiple thousands
of others sold into slavery.
It
is a t ime of
unpara/leled
calamity!
Klngdom lmminent?
Amid all the upheaval in Rome,
J udea and elsewhere in the Empire,
what is the
mood
of the Christian
community? What thoughts course
through the minds of Christians at
this time?
Though many are suffer ing–
uprooted from homes, imprisoned,
tortured, bereaved of famil y and
friends - th e prevai ling spi rit
among Christians is one of
hope
and anticipation!
Christians are sus tained by the
knowledge that J esus a nd the
prophets of old had
foretold
these
tumul tuous events-and thei r
glo–
rious outcome!
As events swirl around them,
they watch with breathless ex pecta–
tion. They take hope in the great
picture laid out by J esus from t he
beginning of his earthly minist ry–
the return of J esus Christ and the
reestablishment of the kingdom of
God! As Mark records:
"Now after that John was put in
prison, Jesus carne into Galilee,
preaching the gospel [good news)
of the kingdom of God, and saying,
12
The time is fulfilled , and the king–
dom of God is at hand: repent ye,
and believe the gospel" (Mark
1:14-15).
Everywhere J es us went, he
focused on this major theme-the
good news of the coming kingdom
of God. The twelve disciples were
sent out to preach the same mes–
sage (Luke 9:1-2) . The apostle Paul
also preached the kingdom of God
(Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31 ).
Chri stians- in that first cen–
tury-are in no doubt as to what
that kingdom is.
lt
is a
literal king–
dom-a real government,
with a
King, and laws and subjects-des–
ti ned to rule over the earth. I t is the
government of God,
supplanting
the governments of man!
Christians rehearse and discuss
among themselves the many proph–
ecies about this coming govern–
ment. By now they know the pas–
sages by heart.
T he prophet Daniel, for example,
had written of a succession of world–
ruling governments through the ages
(Daniel 2)- four universal world–
empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia,
Greece and Rome. (Request your
free copy of
Who Is the Beast?
for
details.) After the demise of these
earthly kingdoms, Daniel recorded
that then "shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never
be destroyed ... but it shall break in
pieces and consume all these king–
doms, and it shall stand for ever"
(Dan. 2:44).
This kingdom wi ll rule over the
nations. It will "break in pieces and
consume" the Roma n Empire–
surely very soon, Christians feel !
Soon the swords and spears now
spi lling blood across the vast terri–
tories of the Empire would be beat–
en into plowshares and pruning–
hooks, as Isaiah had prophesied
(lsa. 2:4). Jesus would return and
" the government shall be upon his
shoulder" (Isa. 9:6).
For more than four millennia the
righteous ancients had looked for
the triumph of this kingdom. Now,
with Jerusalem the focus of wor ld
events in A.D. 60-70, surely it is
about to arrive!
The Waiting
Dur ing the days of J esus' earthly
mtmstry, sorne had thought he
would establish the kingdom of
God
then and there.
" Because they
thought that the kingdom of God
should immediately appear," J esus
had told his disciples the parable of
the nobleman who went on a jou r–
ney into a far country "to receive
for himself a kingdom, and to
return" (Luke 19:11-12) .
As Jesus later told Pilate, he was
born to be a king. But his kingdom
was
not of this world (age)
(John
18:36). He would return at a
later
time to establish his kingdom and
reward his servants. H is disciples
no more unders tood that than did
Pi late.
After his crucifixion and resur–
rection, J esus' disciples again asked
him, " Lord , wilt thou
at this time
res tore agai n the kingdom to
Israel?" (Acts 1:6) . J esus told
them that it was not for them to
know the times or the seasons
(verse 7). They found that hard to
comprehend. But J esus neverthe–
less commissioned them to ..be wit–
nesses unto me ... unto the utter–
most part of the earth" (verse 8).
For nearly four decades they had
preached the gospel throughout the
Roman world and beyond. Now,
tumultuous events signa! a change
in world affairs. Signs of the end of
the age- given by J esus in the
Olivet prophecy (Matthew 24)–
seem to become increasingly evi–
dent on the world scene.
Rome, with civil war in A.D. 69,
appears to be on a fast road to
destruction. Wars, moral decay, eco–
nomic crisis, politicat turmoil , social
upheaval, religious confusion, natu–
ral disasters-all these signs are
here. The very fabric of Roman
society is disintegrating.
It
is a rotten
and a degraded world. Surely Jesus
will soon cometo correct all that?
That the Roman Empire is the
fou r th " beast" of Daniel 's proph–
ecy (Daniel 7) is clear to Chris–
tians. With that fourth kingdom in
the throes of revolution,
God's
kingdom
surely will be next!
Amid horrendous persecutions,
martyrdoms and national upheav–
als, they wait for their change from
material to spiri t (1 Cor. 15:50-53)
and their reward of positions of
authority and rulership in God's
kingdom ( Luke 19:17-19).
" I will come again," said J esus
(J ohn 14:3). Christians pray, "Thy
kingdom come."
The PLAIN TRUTH