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Time gaps in Scripture

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pilgrim:
The sending out of the twelve to preach the gospel of the kingdom is recorded in (Matt. 10:5 14; Mk. 6:7 13: Lk. 9:1 6). All demonstrations of His power to restore Israel’s kingdom were also given to the disciples to authenticate their message, vis., the offer of the kingdom of heaven. However, they were commanded:


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Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give (Matt. 10:5-8).
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In the above passages and many others, there is often misunderstanding because His words are misapplied as to the time period, and even to the people that He is speaking to. Unless the accounts are carefully dissected, confusion is inevitable. In Mark and Luke, the account of the sending of the twelve end with the disciples shaking of the dust off their feet as a testimony against those cities that refused their offer of the kingdom. However, in Matthew’s account there is a remarkable unbroken continuation of the narrative that ends with:


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But when they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes (Matt. 10:23).
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The sending out of the twelve in Matthew (vv. 5 23) has been a point of ridicule by many who reject the truth that God’s Word is without error. One of the more notable personalities of the twentieth century was so bold as to say the Lord was ignorant of what He was saying. That He was mistaken because He thought the kingdom would be established when in fact, it was not.

John the Baptist said that Christ would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). As always, if we are to have understanding, we must keep things in context. Between the coming of the Holy Spirit and the fire has been a time gap of almost two millennia. Many say the fire is speaking of the Holy Spirit and believers as in His coming in Acts 2 but that is not keeping thingds in context. John himself in context immediately identified the fire in the next verse as being when He will “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12). It is identical to the beginning of the Day of the Lord, when Paul said He would come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God” (2 Thess. 1:8).
 
To verify the above, there is also a time gap in Isaiah 61:2, where he said: “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the vengeance of our God.” But when the Lord quoted it (Lk. 4:19 20), He applied it to himself with an exception, He left off “and the vengeance of our God,” because He knew, as John did not, that the “baptism of fire,” which is the same as “the vengeance of our God,” would wait until the Lord’s Second Coming.

In Matt. 10: 23 He had said the disciples would not go through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man would come. The simple solution for those who believe the Scriptures is that there has to be a gap between when He sent His disciples then, and those who are preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom when He returns, which would be in the tribulation as in Matt. 24:14. The reason for the time gap is because as Paul said: his gospel, the present Dispensation of Grace and rapture were mysteries; unrevealed at the time the Lord was speaking.

The division and time gap, or cutoff, is in Matt. 10:14, where the Lord told them to shake off the dust from their feet where that city refused their offer. In Mk. 6.5 and Lk. 9:5, at that point in their account the instructions end. In Matthew, the continuation is after the cross. The evidence is, until that point there was no persecution mentioned. Afterwards, which would have to be after the cross, they are to suffer all kinds of persecution and even death.

One thing most have overlooked is when the Lord spoke of shaking off the dust of their feet as a testimony against those cities that refused their witness when offering the kingdom, is applying such to the present assembly of Christ. The Lord pronounced judgment and destruction of those cities because they refused the offer of the kingdom from heaven. The obvious truth is, He was speaking of those cities being admitted to an earthly kingdom or being destroyed because they refused the King’s right to rule over them.

Are cities destroyed in this dispensation that refuse the gospel message? If there is no future earthly kingdom as the Amillennialists claim, then all cities are going to be destroyed at the end of the world anyhow, in which case the Lord’s words have no meaning.

History has corroborated the time gap separating the sending out of the disciples of His day, and those preaching the kingdom message of the last days just preceding the Second Advent. The time gap is also confirmed by the fact that the disciples the Lord sent out in Matt. 10:6 were commanded to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Whereas, those who are sent in Matt. 28:19; Mk. 16:16; Lk. 24:47; Acts 1:8; 4:25-26 are to take the second offer of the kingdom to Israel and to the Gentiles worldwide. In Matt. 22:9 10, 24:14; Lk. 14:23, and Rev. 14:6, is the third and final offer preceding the establishment of the kingdom in the last days that the Lord spoke of in Matt. 24:14.


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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.
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There is a similar passage in Mk.9:1, and in Matt. 17:1 3 where after speaking of the coming of the Son of Man in glory with His angles (Matt. 16:27) He said in v. 28, “There are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” That was fulfilled in type (Matt. 17:1-5) when the Lord was transfigured on the mount before Peter, James, and John.

The Lord’s words in v. 28 were fulfilled in His transfiguration as the Lord said is confirmed by Peter. He later remembered the Lord’s words that day and understood that it was a preview of the Lord’s Second Coming. Peter said: “We made known to you the power and coming of or Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of His Majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16). The greater literal fulfillment waits for Lord’s Second Advent when every eye (Rev. 1:7) will see Him.

The same time period of the sowing and growing wheat and tares in Matt. 13 is seen in Matt. 21:33-41; Mk. 12:1-11 and Lk. 20:9-19 in the parable of the landowner and his vineyard, where both end with the Lord coming in judgment. The Lord plainly stated that the field was the world (Matt. 13:38), and the harvest (v. 39) would be when the Son of Man comes at the end of the age (Gentile world dominion) to establish the kingdom. The end of the age and Gentile dominion is the same as the end of “the times of the Gentiles” (Lk. 21:24).

It is simply amazing how the Lord's people have been so misled by the translators for so long. Hardly anyone even considers the fact that the Lord never spoke of the present church because of the mistranslation of Matt. 16:18 where He said He would build His "assembly" instead of His "church."

Because of that blunder almost the whole of the Lord's teaching is misplaced and said to be about His present church. Case in point, the parables of the "Wheat and tares," and "Sheep and goats," etc. of Matt. 13 and 25.

An example of the confusion is the Wheat and tares are said to be about the present church age. when in reality, the whole parable is about the 7 years of the tribulation. Remember, according to Paul this whole church age was unrevealed by the Lord; a mystery, yet we simply refuse to believe him.

In all three accounts of the Lord sending the twelve to preach the kingdom message, all end before the cross with their shaking the dust off their feet as a testimony against those cities. The very fact that until that point in His discourse there is no mention of persecution of any kind, indicates that all up until that time was before the cross.

Only Luke records the sending out of the seventy (Lk.10:1) whose ministry also ended before the cross (v. 17), and as with the twelve, they were given authority over all the power of the enemy and were told: “nothing shall by any means hurt you” (v. 9).

What we see in Matt. 10:5 23 is the same as throughout Scripture. The placing together of Scripture where at times in a mere sentence is a time gap of centuries. Shown here is only a few Scriptures from the many where there is no break shown for the present age: Gen. 49:10; Isa. 9:6 7; 61:2; Dan. 7:8 9, 12 14, 19 22; 9:26 27; Amos 9:9 11; Zech. 9:9 10; 13:7 9; Matt. 3:11; 10:5 23; Lk. 1:31 33; 21:24 25; Acts 2:17 21; Rev. 12:5 6.

Again, that the present church is not mentioned is explained by Paul who said his gospel, this whole Dispensation of Grace, and rapture were mysteries in past ages until revealed to him (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:1-9; Col. 1:25-27).

Where in Mk. 6:11 and Lk. 9:5 no persecution is mentioned, Matthew 22:4 and Lk. 21:12-24 tells of the second offer of the kingdom and persecution after the cross:


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But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them (Matt. 22: 6).
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It is particularly important to keep in mind the Lord’s words when He sent forth the disciples. It was to preach: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:7) and had nothing to do with the present church before or after the cross.

 In Lk. 9:2; 10:9 again the message was about the offer of the kingdom. The point being, their message after the cross was still the preaching of, and offering of the kingdom that Peter (Acts 3:19-24) and other disciples were offering (Acts 11:19) to the Jews only, because they were offering the re-establishment of David's kingdom.

After the cross between Pentecost and AD 70, to those Jews who preached the kingdom of God offer, there is continued persecution until the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the tribulation. When finally, our Lord said:


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They will look on me whom they have pierced; and will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a first born (Zech. 12:10).
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From the cross until AD 70 is recorded by Matt. 22:4 7, and Lk. 21:12 24. In Luke, where the Lord is speaking of the days before AD 70, He uses similar language to that which He used when He spoke about the last days in Mk. 13:5-26, and Lk. 21:8-11, 25-28. However, there are notable differences in Luke’s account (21:12-24).

Nothing is said as there as in Matthew and Mark about the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel as well as the Lord’s words (Matt. 24:15) about the time being so terrible, that except the Lord would shorten those days, no flesh would be saved (v. 22). That would have to be speaking of worldwide events in the last days preceding the Second Advent rather than the destruction of the single city of Jerusalem.

There is also a very distinct and irreconcilable difference in Matt. 22:7 where the Lord “sent His armies,” and in Matt. 21:40 when “the owner of the vineyard comes.” In AD 70, He sent His armies (the Romans, Matt. 22:7). In Matt. 21:40; Mk. 12:9; Lk. 19:15, He himself comes, which is the beginning of the “Day of The Lord,” or the “Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10).

Besides the above, there is in Luke’s account an unmistakable and definite statement of the time of which the Lord spoke. When the Lord was speaking of end time events starting in Lk. 21:8 He (v. 12) said: “But before all these things.” Here He clearly shows that the things in v.12 through v.24 was before the end time things, and the same as in Matthew 24. The parentheses in Lk. 21:12-24 ends when the Jews would be led captive into all nations “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

Again, the Church was not mentioned then because it was yet a mystery. That going into captivity began in AD 70  and the “times of the Gentiles” is yet to come to an end, but will as recorded in Ps. 2:1 12; Isa. 63:1 6; Lk.21:24; Rev. 11:15; 19:11-21.

If the church was not a mystery and began on the Day of Pentedost then with two millennia of the church age it is inconceivable that the Lord would not have mentioned it after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

Neither did the end-time earthquakes, and other disturbance take place in Lk. 21:12-24 and Rev. 6:12-17, or as recorded in all the prophets when describing the last days just preceding the “day of the Lord,” in the tribulation.

If the above needs more corroboration, consider the Lord’s words in Rev. 1:7 “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all tribes of the earth shall wail because of him.” Also, before His coming, remember the Lord’s words in Matt. 17:11: “...Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.” Has every eye seen Him, or has anyone seen Elijah?

In all three synoptic gospels the disciples had asked the Lord “when shall these things be?” and He gives a graphic description of events beginning at the start of Daniel’s seventieth week. When the Lord tells of end-time signs of disturbances in the physical heavens accompanied by earthquakes and such, most Dispensationalists mistakenly place at least part of those signs in the latter part of the present church age. In Matthew’s account, the Lord said of the tribulation:


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Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginnings of sorrow (Matt. 24:4 8).
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The Lord made it plain that what He was speaking of was the beginning of sorrows, i.e., the beginning of Israel’s birth pains in the tribulation (Daniel’s 70th week).
 
All Jews were familiar with that time the prophets spoke of as a time of sorrows and pain just preceding the coming of the Messiah. A time likened to that of childbirth, Isaiah cried:


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Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth (Isa. 13:6 8).
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It is the same time as the sowing and growing of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13: 36-43), and when the ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom (Matt. 25:1), but He was delayed (v. 5). The delay is the seven years from when the kingdom message is first preached at the beginning of the tribulation, and when the Lord comes. The Lord clearly spoke of that time as not in the latter part of the church age but “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:8) or birth pangs for Israel that are synonymous with the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week.

That beginning of the last week of years is the hearing of wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom is when the beast on the white horse of the apocalypse “went out, conquering and to conquer” (Rev. 6:2). The beginning of his rise to world power reaches its pinnacle in Dan. 9:27; Rev. 13 when he claims for himself deity (Matt. 24:15; Mk. 13:14; 2 Thess. 2:3-4).

When it is said in Matt. 24:8, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Luke makes the same distinction and division in 21:12. In answer to the disciples about His coming (Matt. 24:3) the Lord had just begun explaining to the disciples the end-time events of the tribulation. Then He pauses and says: “But before all these things.” He then explains (Lk. 21: 12-24) events up until AD 70, because that was when the second offer of the kingdom expired (Matt. 22:7).

May the Lord bless

pilgrim

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