The Date

 

 

We talked about Jesus’ return

Though we didn’t know when

But we did know somethings would happen

Just before then.

 

John was clear in his letters

Concerning the things that would happen,

And Jesus as he spoke to his disciples

They felt quite threatened.

 

They were going to lose their temple

And their beloved Jerusalem,

These were two of the major things

That would happen to them.

 

As we gazed at the temple

We just could not believe

That this would happen to our place of worship,

We were quite grieved.

 

As a matter of fact, we quizzed the Master

Concerning the date

And we got the distinct impression

It would be sooner rather than late.

 

 

What really got through to us

Was when he gave us the time frame

That some of us would be alive…

And I thought, “Who could be so insane?”

 

This temple was our life

And it was our connection with God

And, the fact that the Master was leaving

Had already left us in awe.

 

Not long after that unsettling discourse

The Master was crucified

But he rose from triumphantly from the dead

As we ourselves testified.

 

Thereafter we watched him as he ascended

And we thought what he had said,

About the horrid events that were coming

When not all of us would be dead.

 

So that when we heard from John

About his experience on Patmos isle,

We were even more convinced that all these things

Would happen in a relatively short while.

 

We were under intense persecution

From many of our fellow Jews

And they became more and more incensed

As we preached the Good News.

 

The Master warned that they would hate us

Since they had hated him

And just as he had said, their view of him

Became more and more dim.

 

Revelation 17:3

 

The apostle John pointed to seven heads-

The first would have to be Julius Caesar,

Five of had fallen and one was,

Which led to Nero, the present Emperor.

 

Galba Caesar would follow Nero

But would remain only for a short while

And one only need to check Jewish history

In which this matter is filed.

The temple was destroyed in AD 70

And Jerusalem was laid waste,

This happened after Nero Caesar had died

And this can be easily traced.

 

Emperor Nero died in AD 68,

The sixth Caesar on the apostle John’s list

So, the temple would have to be standing;

That we ought not to have missed.

 

It would have to be the second temple

That John had written about,

The one that Herod had refurbished-

Of this there should be little doubt.

 

Revelation 11:1-2

 

He was told to measure the temple

Hence, there must have been one,

Tell me, what would have been the sense

To measure a temple that was gone?

 

The temple must have been standing

When John wrote the book,

Hence, this would have to be before AD 70

Just take another look.

 

Luke 21:24 and Revelation 11:2

 

Then they are the parallel passages

Found in Revelation 11 and Luke 21

In which both Jesus and the Apostle John

Pointed to when the temple would be gone.

 

Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles

Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

The echoing of this in Revelation 11:2

Suggests the temple was standing still.

 

The temple would cease to stand in AD 70

The culmination of a forty-two months attack,

Read Revelation chapter 11 and verse 2

To ascertain this fact.

 

John must have been referring to Jesus

As it pertains to this event,

The accuracy of apostle John’s reference

Could not be mere coincidence.

 

History shows from 67 AD to August AD 70

War was raged on the Holy City,

Therein would be our three and half years

As stated in John’s prophecy.

 

There in is fulfilment of the Gentile’s time

As spoken by both Jesus and John,

Now the spreading of the Gospel could take place

Since the Jewish temple is gone.

  

Matthew 24:13

 

And this gospel of the kingdom

shall be preached in all the world

for a witness unto all nations;

and then shall the end come.

 

The date must have been before AD 70

When the book of Revelation was written,

It must have been when we consider

The period when all these things happened.

 

All these things must happen, said Jesus,

Before the end is come,

The coming judgment on the Jews

And the setting up of the kingdom.

 

Matthew 24:32-33

 

So likewise ye,

when ye shall see all these things,

know that it is near, 

even at the doors.

 

Verily I say unto you,

This generation shall not pass,

till all these things be fulfilled.

 

Revelation 3:9

 

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan,

which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie;

behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet,

and to know that I have loved thee.

 

Romans 2:28-29

 

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly;

neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly;

and circumcision is that of the heart,

in the Spirit, and not in the letter;

whose praise is not of men, but of God.

  

John 8:39

 

They answered and said unto him,

Abraham is our father.

Jesus saith unto them, 

If ye were Abraham's children,

ye would do the works of Abraham.

 

Galatians 3:29

 

And if ye be Christ's,

then are ye Abraham's seed,

and heirs according to the promise.

 

Two dates are in contention

For the writing of the book of Revelation,

The more popular date has been AD 95

But AD 65 is gaining in consideration.

 

This earlier date is based on information

As shown in this conversation;

Most of which comes from the book itself-

That book being the book of Revelation.

 

John wrote to seven churches

That were experiencing great persecution

And he addressed the said churches

As “brother and companion in tribulation”. 

 

Matthew 16:28

 

Verily I say unto you,

There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death,

till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

 

That he was sharing in their tribulation

There is therefore no doubt

And the fact that he was still alive

Should bear this all out.

 

John is said to have died in AD 100

At the ripe old age of 93 or 94,

Hence, he was one of them still standing

As Jesus had spoken of before.

 

Stewart Russell © March 10, 2021

Of Bread and Crumbs

 

 

If it tastes as good as it smells

It’ll take just a crumb,

Just a crumb or two to prove

My assertion is not dumb.

 

The crumb tastes no different

From the entire bread

And if I couldn’t have the loaf

I’d have a crumb instead.

 

Or maybe two or three

As they fall from the table,

After all, bread is the staff of life

That means, it’s a staple.

 

And so, she approached Jesus

With her critical request,

She wanted healing for her daughter

That was not at her best.

 

At first, he ignored her,

At least, that’s how it appeared

But she was persistent

About her daughter’s welfare.

 

The disciples were annoyed

And wished she be sent away

And the answer Jesus gave to her

Said it was not her day.

 

He had come to Israel’s house

And she was of the Greeks,

Most would have gone away

But she continued to speak.

 

 

Ignored the first time

Abruptly brushed off the second,

This time she knelt and worshipped him

Hoping something would happen.

 

The answer Jesus gave her

To me seemed rather harsh

And I must confess if it were me

I’d surely have gasped.

 

Did he call her a dog?

Goodness gracious, but why?

Then again, that he needed rest,

None would dare deny.

 

After all, he was human then

And could crack under strain

And people just kept on coming

Again, and again.

 

This may have been so

For the disciples and all others

But in the case of Jesus

It was a different matter.

 

 

A lesson was truly unfolding

For them and for us,

It was what great faith looks like

As one responds to Jesus.

 

This woman was focused

And to me this is clear

As she demonstrated to all and sundry

A faith greater than her fear.

 

The bread was not for her

The disciples would have said,

And Jesus mirrored their feelings

As the woman pled.

 

You would recall that they said

To send her away

But what hope would she have had

When Jesus is the way?

 

If they learnt the lesson then

I really cannot tell

But Jesus commended the woman

And made her daughter well.

 

She had had a demon

But didn’t we all

Until we put faith in Jesus Christ

And were drawn to God.

 

One way to God the Father

And it’s through Jesus the Son,

For both Jew and Gentile

In one predetermined kingdom.

 

Herein is the lesson

Re the lost house of Israel,

In Abraham’s seed all will be blessed

Meaning all earth’s people.

 

Of Jews, Gentiles and Greeks

And of Syro-Phoenicia too,

Like this woman and her daughter

And like me and you.

 

Jesus commended her faith,

It was of the persistent type

But understand Jesus did the healing

Not some emotional hype.

 

While faith is important

It does not replace God,

God must always be faith’s object,

Beware of Satan the Fraud.

 

 

The bread was for the children

But not merely the Jews

And this miracle sent this signal

Though many Jews refused.

 

They that come to Christ

He will in no way refuse

And it matters not their ethnicity

Be they Germans or Jews.

 

Despise not the crumbs

They’re the same quality as the bread,

I believe not a crumb was wasted

When Jesus thousands fed?

 

Jesus is the living bread

That came to us from heaven

And they that live by his every word

Are eternally forgiven.

 

Stewart Russell © April 29, 2024

 

A People Out of Focus

 

It was at first the tabernacle

But that was only a tent,

Since the Jews were on the go

This made a lot of sense.

 

The centre of the assembly

But not the centre-spot,

The Jews clearly understood then

That Yahweh held that spot.

 

On occasions though,

When showing a tendency to forget,

They were forcefully reminded

And their focus was reset.

 

 

It was a temporal setup

On the promised land journey

But in the fulness of time

There would be a stationary utility.

 

I speak of the temple

Which was David’s idea

But was built in Solomon’s time;

God had the final say.

 

With the temple came the city

Jerusalem was its name,

And under the reign of Solomon

Its riches were acclaimed.

 

There was great peace too

The result of God’s wisdom

That he gave to King Solomon

To rule in that kingdom.

The temple, the centre-piece,

Soon became the centre-spot

And at times they hardly recognized

That Yahweh definitely was not.

 

There were many hard lessons

The Israelites had to learn

But the lessons were short lived

Since they were quite stubborn.

 

Fast forward to the future

Where we come to the Jews,

Just like in old Testament time

The temple was oft abused.

 

 

In the time of Eli

And even afterwards, Samuel,

For many of the people

It became like an idol.

 

They could live as they like

And all would be well,

Once they looked to the temple

Their troubles would be quelled.

 

Like the ark of the covenant

Back in King David’s time,

Once it was in their possession

All would be fine.

 

A misguided focus

Which they paid for greatly,

Such abeyance and worship

Is deserving of Yahweh only.

 

The Jews were proud of the temple

Which housed Almighty God,

It was made a splendid attraction

By King Herod before its fall.

 

 

Such was prophesied by Jesus

And within forty years occurred,

About the year AD 70

Is with what most scholars concur.

 

This was a hard knock to take

Certainly, for the Jews,

This in any time era

Would have been world news.

 

That was not its purpose

But the Jewish charm had gone

And with it the Old Covenant

Since the New was born.

 

They had seen the temple

But could not see the Christ,

Rather than worship the Creator

They worshipped a device.

 

Hence, it had to be removed

Their eyes were out of focus,

With the temple out of the way

They would now see Jesus.

 

And that’s what happened

Three thousand in one fell swoop

And shortly thereafter

Two thousand more in the loop.

 

 

To the Jews first, remember?

And then thereafter the Gentiles,

All like today both are coming in

As the Word reaches the defiled.

 

These are the times of the Gentiles,

And these are the times of the Jews,

Of every nation under heaven

They are receiving the wonderful news.

 

The wonderful news of salvation

That Jesus is come to save,

To deliver from kings and presidents

Down to the common slave.

 

No need to be out of focus

And be trapped in traditions of old,

But step out in the genuine liberty

That your eyes can now behold.

 

Don’t replace the ancient temple

With modern edifices today

But let the Holy Spirit be your life

And in your heart hold sway.

 

Pray not only for Jerusalem

But pray for all other cities too,

From the four corners the Father is calling

Just as he called to me and you.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020