Discerning Futuristic Texts in the Scriptures

Three major future conflicts are addressed in the New Testament:

1. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD
2. The Roman persecution against the church
3. The final return of Christ

Each of these three events was spoken of by means of prophetic, apocalyptic language. God's judgment. Christ's appearing. The Day. An "end" of something. Now, I'm not saying that these three events were/are parallel in scope or severity, just that much of the language is the same. And because much of the language is the same, it's very easy to merge any combination of these events, or to misinterpret the specific application of a related text. For example:

1. Many wrongly apply the language of Matthew 24:4-35 to the final return of Christ even though the context and wording makes it abundantly clear that Jesus was speaking of the localized destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.
2. There is a lot of controversy over whether the New Testament writers were addressing the Jewish persecution or Roman persecution against the church in places such as Revelation.
3. Along the same lines as (2), the date of the writing of Revelation is the source of much debate. Was it written in the 60s regarding God's impending judgment against Israel? Or was it written in the 90s regarding God's impending judgment against the Roman empire?
4. The so-called "AD70 Doctrine," which has become more and more popular among brethren in recent years, wrongly interprets all such futuristic texts (including 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 2 Peter 3) as applying to AD70.

These are a few of the errors and misunderstandings that come to my mind at the moment. I'm sure there are many, many others.

The question of this article is this:

How do we discern the application of such texts? To be more specific, how can we know if a text applies to God's judgment against Israel in AD70, God's judgment against the Roman Empire, or God's judgment against the world (i.e. the final return of Christ)?

I freely confess that it has not always been easy for me to discern, especially when it comes to God's judgment against Israel and Rome respectively. For example, while I am a "late date" proponent of Revelation, I can see and understand the "early date" argumentation. However, I do believe that there are a few rules that, if followed, will guide us to the right conclusions on this matter.

Simply put, context is key. Consider these examples:

1. If the context points to a localized event, we cannot ignore the context and apply the text to a global event. Consider Matthew 24. Jesus says what He says in response to the disciples' question about the fate of the temple (vs. 1) and then tells those in Judea to "flee to the mountains" (vs. 16). Clearly, Jesus was foretelling a localized event. Therefore, those who apply this text to the final return of Christ are in error. 
2. Many want to apply the book of Revelation to the "end times." In fact, this is the prevailing few in most contemporary churches. However, a simple reading of Revelation 1 will show that John was writing to churches that existed in the first century (1:4), to comfort them in THEIR period of tribulation (1:9), and to assure them of God's judgment against THEIR enemies (6:10-11). This is the most important rule of all: again, context is key!
3. In 2 Peter 3, we can rest assured that Peter is speaking of the final return of Christ (whatever that entails) and NOT God's judgment against Israel or the Roman Empire, for the simple reason that the stated scope of the events are global, not local in nature. Peter compares the destruction of the world by fire to the former destruction of the world by water. Just as Noah's flood was global, so also is this event global.
4. Regarding the many texts that speak of God's judgment, the context will typically indicate whether the judgment is universal or specific. In Matthew 24:30, we're told that "the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." While this sounds universal in scope, the context tells us that God's judgment here (through Christ) was being meted out against those in Judea (vs. 16) during that generation (vs. 34). Sure, the language is very dramatic, but that is the nature of apocalyptic language (Ezek. 32:7-8; Isaiah 13:9-13)). By way of contrast, the judgment described in 2 Corinthians 5:10 takes place "before the judgment seat of Christ" and involves "all" men. And Christ's coming in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is followed by our entrance into eternity - so Paul cannot be speaking of AD70 or some other localized form of judgment...even if the language is similar.

Whenever you're studying such a text and pondering its application (to AD70, to God's judgment against Rome, or to the final return of Christ), you must consider the context.

1. Is the writer describing a local or global event?
2. Does the event precede eternity (if stipulated in the text)?
3. Is the target of God's judgment specified - Jews only, Rome only, the whole world?
4. Is the statement literal or figurative?
5. Are there specific clues within the text that pinpoint its application?

Lord willing, I will write a follow-up article on this tomorrow. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or questions on this, please feel free to comment below.