Gotta get this piece published before these last days, as ably described in this thread by otseng, come to it's logical conclusion - THE END of the AGE.
Lost in all these discussions is the role played by chronology in the outworking of God's purposes towards the earth - especially the timing of the appearance and reappearance of the Messiah which heralds, as we shall see later, the start of the last days.
Chronology - based on Daniel's prophecy of the 70 Weeks of Years (
Daniel 9:24-27) - pinpointed exactly the Messiah's first appearance in the 1st century - 29 A.D. to be exact. A very well-researched scholarly paper at Academia.edu, (needs a registration) entitled "Herod the Great and Jesus: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence", pp. 83 - 106, 2015 Edition by Gerard Gertoux, chronicles this historical event.
If the Bible timed Jesus' first appearance exactly, why not his second? That Jesus will return is, of course, universally acknowledged amongst Christians and Bible scholars. At
Hebrews 9:28 NIV , Paul said: "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and
he will appear a second time ..." not as a babe, but in kingly power, as alluded to in Jesus' illustration at
Luke 19:12 NIV: 'He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country
to have himself appointed king and then to return." ' - a claim Jesus even reiterated in answer to the high priest at
Mark 14: 61,62 NIV: 'Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? “I am;" said Jesus. "
And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ' An important thing to note from Jesus' answer is that his return is unseen by our literal eyes inasmuch as clouds - used here in a metaphorical sense - would obscure vision.
Recall the question the Apostles asked Jesus as recorded at
Matthew 24:3 NIV: "Tell us", they said, "when will this happen, and
what will be the sign of your coming (or, more correctly "presence", Greek,
pa·rou·siʹa) - and of the end (or conclusion, Greek,
syn·teʹlei·a)
of the age? ("world": KJV; "system of things": NWT)?" In effect what they were asking is when will Jesus return as a king? Note that in the Apostles' minds, Jesus' coming as a king and the last days seem inextricably linked. The sign they were asking encompasses both his return and the last days. And how right they were ...
In answer to the Apostles' query about the last days, Jesus stated at Matthew 24 that world conditions would deteriorate into war, food shortage, pestilence (deadly plague), and other causes of death. But note they are the same dire conditions depicted by the ride of three horsemen closely following the first riding on a white horse in the descriptive prophecy of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at Revelation 6:2-8. In this prophecy, the rider of the white horse, who was leading the gallop, was first given a crown indicating he was made a king (Rev 6:2). That this rider is, no other than, Jesus himself will be very obvious if we compare this verse with Rev 19:11-16 where a rider is seen on a "white horse" and which, on his robe and thigh, was written the name "KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS."
The first rider on a white horse (Jesus) who was given the crown precedes the three horsemen of destruction in much the same way as the signs of the last days (
syn·teʹlei·a) followed Jesus' coming or presence in kingdom power.
The end will not come, however, in one fell swoop - Why? Because there will be a concerted effort to save as many as possibly can through the preaching of the gospel (Matthew 24:14) about which the eminent scientist, Isaac Newton - recognizing that the end will not come in his day because he saw no preaching work being done - said:
"
For the Gospel must be preached in all nations before the great tribulation, and end of the world. The palm-bearing multitude, which come out of this great tribulation, cannot be innumerable out of all the nations, unless they be made so by the preaching of the Gospel before it comes." Dan. 12:4; Matt. 24:14; Rev 7:9, 10 - w2009 8/15 p. 14 par. 10 Everlasting Life on Earth-A Hope Rediscovered (
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2009603#h=14)
True, Jesus himself said he did not know the end (Matthew 24:36) but that was the "
te’los" - as in Matthew 24:14 "and then the end (Greek,
te’los) will come" - not "
syn·teʹlei·a" or last days which runs concurrently with his presence as king.
As for when Christ would return, consider the following: When Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE, God was moved to say: “Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was . . . A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin.
The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightly belongs shall come; to him I will give it.”(
Ezekiel 21:25-37 NIV) From that year on, Jerusalem was under the domination (or trampling) by Gentile powers - first by the Babylonians then the Medo-Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. No one will sit on David's throne "
until he to whom it rightly belongs shall come".
That one is, no other than, Christ Jesus, of whom the angel, announcing his future birth, said: “
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; and his kingdom will never end.” (
Luke 1:32, 33 NIV). When? Jesus reveals, rather cryptically, when he said -
“Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles (which started in 607 BCE),
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." -
Luke 21:24 NIV. The end of the Gentile Times and the start of the rule of the Son of Man necessarily occurs simultaneously as supported by the following observation:
Many see in Luke’s account a shift after Luke 21:24. Dr. Leon Morris notes: “
Jesus goes on to speak of the times of the Gentiles. . . . In the opinion of most scholars attention now moves to the coming of the Son of man." Professor R. Ginns writes: “
The Coming of the Son of Man—(Mt 24:29-31; Mk 13:24-27). The mention of the ‘times of the Gentiles’ provides an introduction to this theme;
[Luke’s] perspective is now carried beyond the ruin of Jerusalem into the future." - w1994 2/15 p. 13 "What Will Be The Sign of Your presence?" (
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1994122#h=35)
When would that grand event occur? Jesus had already shown Luke 21:24 that the Gentiles would rule for a fixed period of time. The account in Daniel chapter 4 holds the key to knowing how long that period would last. It relates a prophetic dream experienced by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He saw a tree of enormous height that was chopped down. Its stump could not grow because it was banded with iron and copper. An angel declared: “let him be given the mind of an animal (or beast), till seven times pass by for him.” (
Daniel 4:10-16 NIV). Interestingly, "beasts" is sometimes used in the Bible to symbolize Gentile powers.
In the Bible, trees are sometimes used to represent rulership. (Ezekiel 17:22-24;31:2-5) So the chopping down of the symbolic tree represents how God’s rulership, as expressed through the kings at Jerusalem, would be interrupted. However, the vision served notice that this ‘trampling of Jerusalem’ would be temporary—a period of “seven times.” How long a period is that?
Revelation 12:6, 14 indicates that three and a half times equal “1,260 days.” “Seven times” would therefore last twice as long, or 2,520 days. But the Gentile nations did not stop ‘trampling’ on God’s rulership a mere 2,520 days after Jerusalem’s fall. Evidently, then, this prophecy covers a much longer period of time. On the basis of Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, which speak of “a day for a year,” the “seven times” would cover 2,520 years.
The 2,520 years began in October 607 B.C.E., when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and the Davidic king was taken off his throne.
The period ended in October 1914. At that time, “the appointed times of the nations” ended, and Jesus Christ was installed as God’s heavenly King. —Psalm 2:1-6; Daniel 7:13, 14.
Just as Jesus predicted, his “presence” as heavenly King has been marked by dramatic world developments—war, famine, earthquakes, pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Luke 21:11) Such developments bear powerful testimony to the fact that
1914 indeed marked the birth of God’s heavenly Kingdom and the beginning of “the last days” of this present wicked system of things. — 2 Timothy 3:1-5
When the preaching is over (not when all the people are converted) then the end (
te’los) will come.