Abomination and desolation explanation – Matthew 24

   In reading my last piece, there is a high possibility you disagreed.  I understand.  British and American scholarship from well over a century ago had a different interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27 and thus Matthew 24.  That interpretation had a huge influence on much Christian literature of the past three decades.  Having read scholarly commentaries from as early as the year 1900, I got the scoop!

Daniel 9:26 states: “After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.  The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary….” (NIV).

   A number of those sincere scholars advocated a gigantic gap of what would turn out to be over two thousand years between the events of these two sentences.  They acknowledged Christ’s crucifixion ended the sixty-nine “weeks,” (the seven “weeks” and the sixty-two “weeks,”) which was 483 years.  I agree.  But then they claimed that from that point on this prophecy was put on an indefinite hold.  They advocated the final seven years will not take place until the tribulation of the end times.  I disagree.  Jumping ahead more than two thousand years from the time of Christ to the end times is an erroneous departure from this text of Daniel in my opinion.

   Jesus taught the “abomination that causes desolation” marks the time of His prophecy of the destruction of the temple.  Thus an incorrect interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27 leads to terrible confusion on the teaching in Matthew 24:15.  Worse of all, it interferes with the correct interpretation of the rapture.  Let us instead strive for clarity.

   Dr. Charles R. Erdman was a special scholar and minister who taught at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1906 to 1936.  (He is not to be mistaken with the gentleman who founded Eerdmans Publishing Company in the early 1900s.)

   I appreciate that Dr. Erdman addressed this subject in a commentary published in 1920, and I note he made some good points.  But on this subject, his misinterpretation caused a mess.  Dr. Erdman claimed the teaching of Christ involves a double entendre.  Dr. Erdman stated: “…it is evident that our Lord is describing not one event, but two….” (1)

   A double entendre is asking for trouble from the start.

   Later on, he states: “This event is painted so vividly in colors borrowed from the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, that it is difficult to distinguish between the references to the two events.” (2)

   Jesus was not describing two events.

   Being on the wrong track, advancing into his commentary he furthers the confusion: “Even the generation then living was to witness the destruction of Jerusalem which was in itself to be a type and a sign of the greater event which lay in the more distant future.” (3)

   Yes, a “type” in biblical studies is an event which foreshadows a greater future event.  A delicate topic of study, these “types” were under the “Old Covenant” and they were leading to specific events within the “New Covenant.”  No, the mass murder of the Jewish people by the Roman Empire was not a “type.”  It was a tragic historic world event which Jesus foretold about and warned about.

   Jesus was answering the first question by the disciples!  The answer was a prophecy foretelling that Jerusalem would be ransacked by the Romans, a tragedy marked by a fulfilling of a prophecy of Daniel.  Jesus even stated, “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again” (Matthew 24:21).  Christ taught the fall of Jerusalem, and the resulting disastrous consequence of the Israelites losing their homeland, which I will address in my next piece, were more terrible than the disaster which will take place during the end times tribulation.

   Now there could be some parallelism between the tribulation which took place between 66/67 A.D. and 73/74 A.D., and the end times tribulation.  Yet if we want details about the end times tribulation which will follow the first stage of the glorious Second Coming of Christ, we need to look elsewhere in the Bible, such as the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah, or the book of Revelation after the start of the fourth chapter.  Though a delicate interpretation, since Revelation involves a vision, plus it is full of metaphors, Revelation does contain an end times prophecy.

   Even during the horrible event of Roman soldiers murdering over 1,100,00 Israelites around 70 A.D., God prevented the Roman Empire from extinguishing His covenant people.  God continued, as He still does, to give the Jewish people, whom He loves, opportunities to turn to Him.  God is the One who wants eternal life for us all.

Hunter Irvine

(1)  Charles R. Erdman, The Gospel of Matthew:

An Exposition (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,

1920), 190.

(2)  Ibid., 192.

(3)  Ibid., 195.

The abomination that causes desolation – Matthew 24

Matthew 24:15-16 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (NIV).

   For five hours this past Friday, I studied some commentaries at the wonderful, though shrinking, library at Denver Seminary.  I had a great day!

   Perusing commentaries on such a challenging passage is interesting, because there are various views even among scholars with a high view of the sacredness and accuracy of the Bible.  Yet the study got intense as I realized my disagreement with many of those sincere biblical scholars from back in the early 1900’s.  The reason I felt so many were missing the correct interpretation regarding the “abomination” and the remainder of this passage, was due to their failure to stay rooted in the fact Jesus was answering two specific questions from His disciples.

   As I offer you this special piece, I say upfront that I was a bit surprised by the interpretation I think is correct.  Yet God’s faithfulness is revealed!!!

The disciples’ first question:

When will this happen?

   What is “this?”

   “This” is the destruction of the temple, as stated by Jesus as He was leaving the temple area, recorded in Matthew 24:2.

   And the answer by Jesus to “When will this happen?”: “…when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation…’” (Matthew 24:15).

   That event is also a striking point to signify when the terror would come to a point where fleeing was the hope for survival.

To understand this response by Jesus, we must address three more questions!

1.)  Which “abomination” from Daniel is Jesus referring to?

2.)  When did this “abomination” take place?

3.)  What was the “abomination?”

1.)  Which “abomination” from Daniel is Jesus referring to?

   Jesus is referring to the “abomination that causes desolation” recorded in Daniel 9:27.

   The “abominations” recorded in Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11 were prophecies which had already been fulfilled, involving the desecration of the temple by a Greek ruler. (1)

2.) When did this “abomination” take place?

   The angel Gabriel gave an epic message to Daniel, as recorded in the book of Daniel 9:24-27.  And that message included a timeline, though using a time metaphor we must interpret.  The NRSV translates the Hebrew as “Seventy weeks.”  The NIV translates the Hebrew as “Seventy ‘sevens.’”  This ancient Jewish metaphor of “week” designates one day as a year, thus a week as seven years.  So 70 “weeks” is 490 years.  Thus the period up to when the Anointed One is cut off is 483 years.

   When did this 490 years start?  Gabriel states: “From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem…” (Daniel 9:25).

   I refrain from getting into the details on this, considering that certain sincere scholars devoted themselves to a study of this subject in years past, with their calculations being recorded in commentaries, some of which still sit on the shelves of theological libraries.

   I will make two points: First, note the time starts not with the decree for rebuilding the temple, rather the decree for rebuilding Jerusalem.

   Second, the calculation has challenges.  For starters, the Israelites used a lunar calendar, not a solar calendar.  The wild thing: In-spite of the variables, if you delve into this, plausible calculations bring us to the time of Christ!

3.)  What was the “abomination?”

   The desecration had to do with Titus.  To put this all into context: The final “seven” took place from 66/67 A.D. to 73/74 A.D.  (Scholars are not sure on the exact dates.)  (Also, these dates include the period after the terrible fall of Jerusalem, which involved a small but a determined number of Jewish citizens who held out at Masada.)

   Now that final seven years is separated a bit from the first 483 years, which ended around 27 A.D.  (Our calendar is off by about six years, because it did not take into account leap years.)  But the text of Daniel keeps it in the realm of the same age, thus 66/67 A.D. to 73/74 A.D. fits.

   The prophet implies the “abomination” took place in the middle of the final seven years of this prophecy, which would have been the time the Roman military overtook the Israelite military.  That specific Roman military commander was Titus, who was the son of the Roman Emperor Vespasianus.  (Actually the father and son had the same name, so scholars call one by the last name and one by the first name.)

   In 79 A.D., Titus would become the emperor, which is probably why Gabriel calls him in this context “the ruler who will come” (Daniel 9:26).  Under the military lead of Titus the temple was destroyed, thus he put an end to “sacrifice and offering” at the temple.  And there on the temple mount, Titus put up a statue of himself. (2)

   A statue of Titus does not sound overly dramatic to me.  Yet the temple was a place where there had been the special presence of God.  For Titus to do so was claiming that he was God.

   However, there is still a major outstanding question for me.  Who did Titus make a covenant with?  I do not know.  History is a humbling field to me.  Yet it is important.

   Before moving forward, I must address the fact that since Jerusalem was being besieged by the Roman Empire for three plus years before the ransacking of Jerusalem, the wise time to flee would have been back in the early period of the Jewish Revolt.  In knowing history, we know that all of those who fled to Masada ended up dying.  People needed to flee early and flee far.

   The abomination apparently was not meant to be the starting point for fleeing.  The abomination was the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy, and Jesus was confirming that.  We know this since the disciple Luke also recorded Jesus giving this discourse, and Luke included, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near” (Luke 21:20).

   The warning which Jesus gives in following verses is a huge warning to signal to those willing to listen to leave at a prudent time.

   Jesus warned His followers, and anyone else who would listen!

Hunter Irvine

(1)  G.E.P. Cox, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew: Introduction and Commentary

(London: SCM Press Ltd., 1952), 145-146.

(2)  Ibid., 146.

Prophecy by the Christ – Matthew 24

Matthew 24: 1-14

   For years I was challenged as I tried to discern how Matthew 24:15-29 fits with Matthew 24:30-31.  When perplexed, it is all the more of an occasion to apply a key Biblical interpretation method: We need to take a verse in the context of the passage, and the passage in the context of the chapter, and the chapter in the context of the book, and the book within the context of all Scriptures.

   Thus what I needed to do was start from the beginning of the interaction.

   Understandably, I would jump into that extraordinary teaching by Jesus, trying to chronologically piece it together.  Yet in order to fully understand what He was teaching, I needed to go back to the questions which sparked this response! They are found in this passage of Matthew 24:1-14.

   A turning point for me was realizing the discourse of Jesus in this chapter fits the order of the two questions, thus those two questions establish context for Christ's big response.

The two questions:

1.)  When will this happen?

2.)  What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

   And remember that the questions were sparked by the prophecy from Jesus that the grand buildings of the temple complex would all be demolished.

   Jesus gives an opening, on the line of a preface, to His answers to the two questions.  This is not surprising for an ancient Jewish style of discourse.  The Ancient Near East involved an “oriental” style of discourse.  Different than a Greek style, the style often involved long statements, where you needed to focus in on key points.  A chronological manner was not an emphasis.

   Yet notice how direct Jesus was in this preface, more of a Greek style, which included letting His disciples know there would be horrible persecution, even personally for them.

   As I am eager to get into the following passages, since I am eager to discuss the rapture, I take a deep breath for a moment.  There are three important points which I must make here.

   First, Jesus was giving prophecies with intricate details, and He was doing so as the Christ.

   Jesus said: “For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ…’ (Matthew 24:5).

   Jesus stated “in my name!”  In that ANE style, Jesus is stating He is the Christ.  Thus we appropriately address Him as Jesus Christ.  He is Jesus the Messiah.  (Messiah is Hebrew and Christ is Greek, and both mean Anointed One.)

   Second, Jesus was willing to give terrible news along with the great news.

   Here he is talking with His disciples, bluntly telling them that they, as a body of believers, are going to be persecuted.

   This happened.

   In the year 2006 and 2007, I read most of Ecclesiastical History, written by Eusebius.  He was the first person to write a comprehensive church history, most of it written in the early 300’s apparently.  His writing style was utterly awkward!  And as a man with access to an excellent library in Caesarea, he sometimes refrained from citing his materials, compiling a history unlike any modern Western scholar.

   Yet his history is a crucial piece in Christian literature, because his well researched and recorded history showed the influence of Christianity in the first three centuries after the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.

   And that history involved horrible persecution against Christians.  Encouragement came for me simply by the fact that Christians continued to flourish through the terrible waves of sick persecution.  It was a miracle from God that Christianity was not extinguished.

   Third, Jesus concludes this opening statement by stating: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14 NIV).

   I think Jesus was telling this to encourage followers of Jesus when circumstances were so bad that it seemed like Christianity could be ended.

   I note that in American in the 20th century, sending out missionaries to foreign countries was supported by many evangelical Christians.  I have read Christian history material where this passage was the motivation for Christians to focus on missionary work to “unreached” areas of the world.  They felt like this was needed before Christ could return.  But again, I think the point of Jesus was to encourage, rather than set a mark for His return.

   And our motivation should simply be the love of Jesus.

   And now with the Internet, the Gospel has reached people even in countries which were previously difficult to access.  The computer revolution has been far and wide.  The number of people worldwide with access to a cell phone, which is in essence a pocket computer, is astronomical.

   In my early Christian days, I felt my calling was to be a “missionary” in the United States of America, a country where I realized the Gospel was being increasingly neglected.  (And tragically, this neglect has increased at a disastrous rate ever since.)

   I have only physically been in a foreign country once.  Yet years ago, I looked at the monthly statistics for Scripture Love Blog.  It was so encouraging for me to learn there are people in countries other than my own who read my writings about the Bible.  I never expected my writings to be worldwide, yet I am honored and thrilled that this blog is read by people in an array of countries.

   Now there are still certain governments of certain countries which restrict Internet access among the citizens of their specific country.  Some governments engage in religious censorship.  There are still people out there who do not have access to a Bible in print or online.  And there are always people out there who need to hear the Gospel!

   And in my opinion, there is nothing which can replace the interaction of a loving Christian in person.

   Over the centuries, there have been countless unrecorded saints who have preached the Gospel throughout the world.  And today there are sermons by small town American preachers posted online which are reaching people even thousands of miles away.

   This prophecy of Jesus is taking place in our own time.

Hunter Irvine

Rebecca St. James

   On a Monday night in October of 2002, Rebecca St. James had a concert scheduled at a large church in Arvada, Colorado.  Having taken our youth group to her concert in 1999, I knew what an excellent singer she was.  More so, I knew of her love for Jesus and her passion for Jesus.

   Unemployed and short on money that month, come that Monday, I realized I would be willing to spend my last ten dollars to attend.  Knowing there was a possibility the concert could be sold out, with much motivation I drove there in the afternoon with the hope of securing a ticket.  Then I planned to return home to eat dinner before the performance.

   Entering the large church, the first person I talked with was a woman who was in charge of overseeing the concert.  Within our conversation, I told her I had been the youth minister for over two years at a church nearby.  I also told her I was unemployed and yet doing volunteer youth ministry work at that same church.  The woman invited me to join the “altar-call” team for that evening since she was short staffed.  Telling her I would be blessed to be on that team, I then explained I was really hungry due to my light lunch, thus I needed to go home and have dinner.  The next thing I knew, I was in the gym where there were a few tables set up, and on one table was a buffet dinner.  The dinner was for band members and volunteer staff members.

   I note that after dinner, David Smallbone, Rebecca’s dad, gave a devotional talk.  He was passionate about our need to rely on Christ.

   What happened during the course of the rest of that evening was surreal for several reasons.  I will spare you the many details of my very full and overwhelming occasion.  Yet I do tell that a personal highlight was a brief talk with Rebecca St. James long after the concert.

   Yet the point I share today: That very night, Rebecca carried out her incredible ministry work of a caring evangelist, just as she has over the course of many years into the present time.

   Now Rebecca has been known for advocating many wonderful causes, such as her relentless encouragement to teenagers to wait to participate in sexual relations until marriage.  Yet she has carried out the work of an evangelist for years, a ministry basic which is always needed.

   Near the end of the concert, in her utterly genuine manner, Rebecca told of the need for a person to give her or his heart to Jesus.  After her talk, she gave an invitation for people to turn to Christ right then and there.  Then she invited anyone wishing to give her or his life to Christ to come forward for a prayer.  121 people went forward!  Many of those people were teenagers.

   After the prayer, she told the folks they could go back to their seats if they wanted, otherwise, she encouraged those folks to go out to a side area next to the sanctuary, telling them that team members would be there to answer any questions anyone had about following Jesus.  Many teenagers did go to that area, led by us folks on the altar-call team.  An organizer had everyone sit on the floor in small groups with at least one alter-call team member in each group.  My small group, consisting of all teenage young men, had a short but nice discussion.  We closed with a prayer, and then each person was given a free booklet written by Rebecca St. James.

   The entire altar-call procedure was extremely well planned and well implemented.  I was honored to be a part.

   And I still have the album Rebecca gave me as a gift for being on that team.  She signed it, and she wrote “Psalm 121.”

   Rebecca St. James has made an eternal difference with her ministry work, because at age eight she gave her heart to Jesus, and since that time she has carried out her mission as a disciple of Christ using her gift as an evangelist.

   Evangelist is a word which has often been spoiled with a negative connotation.  You longtime readers of Scripture Love Blog know that linguistics is not my gift at all.  Yet years ago I started thinking about the beauty of this word, which means “bringer of good news.”  Within the word is “angel.”  And the word angel denotes “messenger,” or “one who announces.”  Angels give messages from heaven.  Evangelists tell the Gospel, the “good news” of Jesus Christ.

   And being an evangelist is a spiritual gift, as stated in Ephesians 4:11.

   The music ministry of Rebecca St. James has blessed countless people.  Personally, she is my favorite musical artist of all time.  May we followers of Jesus be encouraged by Rebecca to carry on using our spiritual gifts with a loving passion.  An eternal difference will continue to be the result.

Hunter Irvine

Just as Jesus said

Matthew 28:5-6 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come and see the place where he lay.”

   After studying Matthew for years, I reflect on an import fact.  In the midst of His ministry work, within a short period of time, Jesus foretold of His death and resurrection three times!

   These occasions are recorded in:

Matthew 16:21

Matthew 17:9

Matthew 17:22-23

   Then soon before going to Jerusalem for His final Passover, Jesus foretold of His death and resurrection yet again.

   That occasion is recorded in Matthew 20:17-19.

   Here during this epic dawn, an angel rolled back the stone which covered the tomb.

   The appearance of that angel struck fear into the Roman guards, and they ended up fleeing their post.

   Then the women arrived.  Piecing together the details from the witnesses of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we learn there were at least five women.  Their encounters with the angels were quite overwhelming to them.  Yet though they were overwhelmed, and though Mary Magdalene remained out of it until her direct encounter with Jesus, even in the midst of their amazement they remembered that Jesus had foretold of His death, as is stated in Luke 24:8.  (Mary Magdalene probably being the exception.)

   They did continue to be overwhelmed.  The first angel who spoke to them said, “Do not be afraid…” (28:5).  Yet soon thereafter Matthew states: “So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples” (28:8).  (And note Mary Magdalene separated from the other women either before they started running or while they were running.)

   I understand that this divine miracle would be overwhelming.  Yet Jesus foretold of His resurrection!  Jesus is God the Son, and He knew what was going to happen.

   Why did Jesus not keep it a big surprise?

    Jesus wanted people to know that He was on a mission.  He wanted His followers to know that His atoning death and resurrection was His plan.

   But dying seems like a tragic plan.  Why was death His mission?  His purpose in dying: The atonement for sins so that we people can be forgiven of our sins.

   Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for the consequence of sins, which is spiritual death.  Then Jesus was resurrected.

   If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, then you will have eternal life.

   Jesus loves you!

Hunter

I add I am grateful for your appreciation of Scripture Love Blog!

In case you are interested, below is a link to the sermon I offered on April 7th as a guest preacher in McClave, Colorado, which they posted on YouTube.

The 30 minute sermon expands on the subject addressed in this piece.

Enjoy!!

Jesus fulfilled His mission! 

The Atonement

   Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jewish people celebrated the Passover Feast in their homes one particular evening.  The Hebrew day always started at sundown, thus the Passover took place at the start of a new day.  And the Passover was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  That first day of the Feast was commonly termed Preparation day.  All that was permitted to be done during the sunlight hours on this day according to the Mosaic Law was a “sacred assembly,” and the preparation of food, as is stated in Exodus 12:16.

   If a Jewish person went out on his or her roof after eating the lamb feast that special night, in order to think, or to pray, or to look out into the night sky, he or she would have seen the full moon.  Israelites had a lunar calendar, and the Passover was in the middle of the moon cycle when it was “full.”  (That is why the Passover is on a different day in different years.)  The moon had the appearance of any average full moon I suspect.

   Yet under that shinning moon, outside of the Jerusalem city wall to the east, at some point Jesus was praying.  Being in agony, fully knowing that He was about to experience suffering beyond description, there in the middle of the night He was sweating.

   Hours later, at the “third hour,” which would be 9:00 am modern western time, Jesus was crucified, pierced with nails.

   Matthew records: “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land” (27:45).

   Luke adds: “for the sun stopped shining…” (23:45).

   Shortly after the ninth hour, 3:00 pm modern western time, Jesus died, physically and spiritually.

   Three times, Joel foretold of events when the sun would be darkened, as I discussed in one piece during the intense study and pondering of the book of Joel here during Lent of 2024.  However, the sun being darkened when Jesus was dying on the cross apparently is not one of Joel’s prophecies.  Joel does not even give a prophecy regarding the atonement of Jesus.  Yet Joel did foretell of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  And that historic event was only possible because of the sacrificial atonement made by Jesus.

   And Joel does tell the result of the atonement made by Jesus: “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved…” (Joel 2:32).

   Salvation is available because of the sacrifice which Jesus made on the cross.

   Consider the fact that the entire righteous wrath of God, wrath for the terribly hurtful consequences of the sins of all people, including the wrath discussed in the book of Joel, was taken by Jesus in His heart on the cross.  Jesus was the substitute for the sins of people.  The result was that He physically and spiritually died.

   And then Jesus was resurrected.

   Jesus took that punishment for the sins of everyone of all time, because Jesus loves everyone.

   Because of the atonement made by Jesus, if you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be saved from spiritual death, and you will have eternal life!

   I invite you this day to give your heart to Jesus, the One who loves you.

Hunter Irvine

Joel 3:16-21 God is faithful

   The definition of a Mosaic covenant prophet is a person who spoke for God.  In order to do so, he or she had to listen to God.  Joel did.

   And Joel the writer was quite descriptive, with vivid imagery.  We were shown God’s righteous judgment through his creative metaphors.

   God is just.

   God is merciful.

   The last passage of this book displays the beautiful restoration carried out by God.  Joel’s keen writing gives descriptive phrases which create an emotional picture of prosperity:

“…hills will flow with milk;

all the ravines of Judah will run with water” (3:18).

   How interesting that the description by Joel of that restoration includes these two staples of life.  Water and milk were scarce after the locust invasion.  For the original readers of this book, the Hebrew people in the midst of a famine, this promise of an abundance of water and milk would have made a big impression.

   This restoration is a result of God’s faithfulness.

   At the base of Mount Sinai, in the 1400’s B.C., a covenant was established between God and the Hebrew people, with Moses as the mediator.  That covenant was grounded in God’s promise that if the Israelites obeyed His commandments, they would have a long life and prosperity in the land He was going to give them.

   In the history of the Israelites which followed, the Hebrew people often failed to obey the commandments of God, which was their duty under the covenant.  Disaster always resulted.  Such was the case in the time of Joel.  And such will be the case in the ‘end times.’  Yet judgment is not the end of the story for Israel.

   When shifting to talking about restoration after the disastrous locust invasion, Joel stated God is “abounding in love” (2:13).  And in love, God stated at the start of this chapter: “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem…” (Joel 3:1).

   God is going to rescue the Jewish people from the attack of wicked warriors from all nations.  And God is going to secure the land of Judah and Jerusalem for the Hebrews forever more.

   “…never again will foreigners invade her” (Joel 3:17).

   Tragedies and triumphs have both been a part of the Israelite’s history, yet because of God’s faithfulness, the end result will be final restoration for Israel.

   This special book by Joel ends with the subject of a pardon being given to the Jewish people.

   Here at the conclusion of this intense study, I will refrain from carefully examining the nature of the word “pardon.”  I will say the term “pardon” often has the definition of being an act of releasing someone from the punishment which was due to them, without any redeeming payment.

   Throughout the centuries, the Hebrew people have encountered tragic suffering.  Though being in a blessed position as people who were a part of the Mosaic covenant with God, the Hebrew people have also been a people who were in an extremely vulnerable position by being in the Mosaic covenant.  Thus this seems to be a unique pardon by our God at the close of the history of Israel in the fallen world in the ‘end times.’

   Yet personal redemption is still needed by every individual before our just God.  After the epic rescue on the Mount of Olives, Jesus will give the Israelites a grand opportunity to turn to Himself, the true Messiah.

   Even though Joel ends his book on the restoration of Israel, the ultimate “day of the LORD” will be after this.  ‘Judgment Day’ will involve permanent judgment and permanent mercy from our Holy God.

   Salvation was the pinnacle message of the book of Joel in 2:28-32.  And though Joel did not elaborate on the “day of the LORD” which will be the final judgment as revealed in the book of Revelation, Joel did give the key point: “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved…” (2:32).

This salvation is possible because of all that Jesus did, which includes:

Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant.

Jesus died as the substitute for all human beings, taking upon Himself the judgment and punishment we deserved, when He died on the cross at Golgotha.

And now:

Jesus offers the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus offers the Jewish people a New Covenant.

Jesus offers anyone the New Covenant.

   Over 800 years later, an apostle of Jesus named Paul wrote:

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God, for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).

   Jesus made atonement for all sins on the cross.

   Any person who believes in Jesus has eternal life.

To truly believe in Jesus is to receive Jesus into your heart.

   God has been faithful to the Hebrew people all along.  And our loving God offers forgiveness to us all.

Hunter Irvine