Is There A Parabolic Meaning In Jesus' Prophecy: The Sun Will Be Darkened Matthew 24: 29
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Discover hidden secrets and warnings to the Jews about the cessation of hte nation of Israel in His discourse about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Bible Texts: The Sun Will Be Darkened
Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
I tried several times to elicit this information from the historical records. However, Josephus did not record these kinds of events. Since there were no historical records of eclipses or shooting stars, Jesus' words had a parabolic meaning as well.
Context of the Matthew 24 : 29 prophecy
We're in the context of the Jesus's prophecy about the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The destruction took place in AD 70. On the Jewish calendar it was the year 6001, 9th or 10th of Av- month five.Earlier in the chapter, the Lord gave His disciples warnings about the revolt, and about the events around that time. However, He said you will know the destruction of the Temple is near armies surround Jerusalem and build a trench around it.
When those armies surround Jerusalem, the Lord said it would be a time of great tribulation that the nation would have never seen at any other time in their history.
To be absolutely clear, the period of great tribulation is the five month period that began with Titus' siege and that ended with the Temple's destruction. When we map the timeline we know that the time beginning with the revolt to the destruction of the temple is three years and five months:
- time - one year.
- times - two years and
- half a time - five months.
Differences in the texts of the writers
a. Luke said signs would be in the heavens
When the text of Matthew 24: 19 is cross referenced with Mark and Luke, we see instantly that there are differences in the rendering. For example, Luke said he said there'll be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars. These signs in the heavens were fulfilled:- For example the entire nation saw a vision of chariots hurtling around the sky
- They also saw a comet in the sky - the sword-shaped star. This is Haley's comet and it appeared longer than it usually would remain.
b. Matthew and Mark gave a rendering that seemed to suggest eclipses and shooting stars
However Matthew and Mark gave a rendering that suggested solar and lunar eclipses and shooting stars. They said that after the tribulation of those days (that is, the five months of siege and destruction of the Temple) that the:
- sun would be darkened
- the moon shall not give her light
- and the stars shall fall from heaven
Were there any eclipses and shooting stars after the tribulation (AD70 siege to destruction of the temple?
In other words, there is a parable in the prophecy that the sun would be darkened, the moon would not give light and the stars would fall from heaven.
The meaning of the parable is given in Joseph's prophetic dream - Genesis 37: 9-11.
The darkening of the sun, darkening of the moon and stars falling from heaven is a parable about the cessation of the nation of the Jews. The parabolic meaning lies in Joseph's prophetic dream found in Genesis 37 from verse 9.
Joseph dreamt that the sun the moon and the 11 stars bowed down to him. Jacob his father interpreted the dream correctly. He said this sun in the dream represented himself; the moon represented Joseph's mother while the stars represented his eleven brothers.
Thus we know that sun, moon and stars represent the family of Israel. In this instance, it is the nation of the Jews:
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”
11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
The stars falling in the book of Daniel
To understand the stars falling, also we need to cross reference to the Daniel 8 prophecy about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The little horn:
10 ... waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
The darkening of the sun and moon and stars falling is a parable about the cessation of the nation of the Jews.
With this parallel at hand, we understand that the darkening of the sun, moon and falling of stars represent the cessation of the nation of the Jews (Judah).
Here's how the prophecy was fulfiled:
- It means that the light of the nation was exterminated...
- The Jews ceased to offer the sacrifices and other acts of worship to God
- The beautiful temple was totally destroyed - not one stone was left.
- Jerusalem was razed to the ground
- 97000 Jews were carried off into activity
- Over 1 million Jews were killed during the siege
- The Gentile occupation began to this day...
Daniel 8 also prophesied about the cessation of the light becaue of the little horn (Roman Empire):
11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
God Removed The Jews' Candlestick in AD70
The light of the Jews was removed in AD70 because of their transgression against God. The Holy Ghost reminded me of a warning that Jesus sent to the church of Ephesus (Revelation 2) about the removal of their candlestick due to loss of their first love:
2 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
The Jews had long lost their first love for God. They had rejected their Messiah and God literally removed all traces of their temple and city.
This is a warning for churches right in our era. When we lose our first love, when we become cold and apathetic towards the Lord, He will put out the candlestick of the ministries. People can even lose their lives, like the Jews.
Note that the Jews were going through their religious routines prior to the revolt and siege. Those things did not save them.
The church of Ephesus also had good works, but those would not be enough to save them...because they had lost their first love.
Jesus is looking for people who love Him with all their heart, soul nad might and who give Him their allegiance...
He can destroy the ministry or even kill people if they lose their first love...
Let us examine ourselves and see if we have lost our love for the Lord.
Let us repent of all sins and cleanse our lives from all iniquity. lest He remove our candlestick from its place.
