Matthew Twenty-Four An Exposition by J. Marcellus Kik - Eschatology

[Peter]

I was recently handed a copy of "Matthew Twenty-Four An Exposition by J. Marcellus Kik" by a Christian brother. I read it, and while composing comments Googled it, and was amazed at the volume of sites that reference this booklet. Before going into the preterism and supersessionism (replacement theology) of the booklet I would first ask Kik's followers to consider:

Did it ever strike you as peculiar that the entirety of the 20th century church, including even "Christian" cults, universally follow eschatological doctrines that necessarily preclude even considering, that the false prophet Muhammad could be THE false prophet of the book of Revelation?
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/traditional_framework.htm#cults

This even as the two most popular 20th century views, of futurists and partial-preterists, must each believe the other to be virtually 100% in error regarding their understanding of Revelation after chapter 3, since there is a gulf of 1900 years that divides the two views.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=14.0

Yet 1.5 billion people - that is ¼ of mankind in the world today - follow the false prophet Muhammad specifically through the spirit of antichrist.

Sura 19:88 They say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten a son!" 89 Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous!

If a Muslim confesses that Jesus is the Son of God he has committed the most egregious, and only unpardonable sin, in the false prophet Muhammad's stand-alone 7th century cult.

1 John 2:22 ... He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father...

Surah 9.29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 30 The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!

Muslims outright reject and blaspheme the Son of God, within the most important fundamental of Muhammad's religion, while some Jews are still looking for the coming of their prophesied Son.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=611.0
Some Jews may still remain sovereignly blinded to the Gospel, and that Jesus Christ is their promised Son, unable to see past their Old Testament.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=1582.0

Muhammad's true followers today, doing everything in their power to do as Muhammad did, and instructed his followers to do.
http://www.petewaldo.com/banu_qurayza_massacre.htm

A 1400 year reign of terror against Yahweh's people, with over 17,000 deadly Islamic terror attacks around the world, just since 9-11.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

Muhammad himself, being one of the most consummate terrorists, in the history of mankind.

Sura 8:12 I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them

Even beheading innocent Jewish farm boys, their dads, and grandpas,

Tabari VIII:35/Ishaq:464 The Jews were made to come down, and Allah's Messenger imprisoned them. Then the Prophet went out into the marketplace of Medina (it is still its marketplace today), and he had trenches dug in it. He sent for the Jewish men and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were brought out to him in batches. They numbered 800 to 900 boys and men.

While raping and sexually enslaving their sisters, daughters, wives and mothers

Bukhari:V5B59N459 "I entered the Mosque, saw Abu, sat beside him and asked about sex. Abu Said said, 'We went out with Allah's Apostle and we received female slaves from among the captives. We desired women and we loved to do coitus interruptus.'"

Tabari VIII:38 "The Prophet selected for himself from among the Jewish women of the Qurayza, Rayhanah bt. Amr. She became his concubine. When he predeceased her, she was still in his possession. When the Messenger of Allah took her as a captive, she showed herself averse to Islam and insisted on Judaism."
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=2276.msg9348#msg9348


Even worse for Muhammad's followers

Surah 4:157 That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-

Thus all Muslims are required specifically to deny the blood that would save them, as a fundamental article of their "faith" in Muhammad. Satan through his prophet Muhammad filled his followers with complete resolve as to what to DISbelieve, while leaving a complete vacuum as to just who did die on the cross. In other words they are indoctrinated into specifically what to DENY.

Who does your church teach THE false prophet referenced in the book of Revelation is?

Some preterists proclaim the false prophet is apostate Israel, the Jews, etc. but the term does not allow metaphorical use, or being something other than an individual. A prophet is a prophet, no matter how desperately someone needs it to be otherwise, to fit their doctrine.

the false prophet
New Testament Greek Definition:
5578 pseudoprophetes {psyoo-dop-rof-ay'-tace}
from 5571 and 4396; TDNT - 6:781,952; n m
AV - false prophet 11; 11
1) one who, acting the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utters
falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies
2) a false prophet

Who does your church teach the "beast" of Revelation 13 is?

Why not consider a sound hermeneutic approach?
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/the_beast.htm
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=12.0

[Peter]

While I agree with Kik's metaphorical understanding of a few of the elements of Matthew 24, his exegesis of the whole passage, is dependent on there being only a single possible understanding of

Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

While he makes reference to the Koine Greek in other areas of his exegesis of Matthew 24, as I recall, he neglects it altogether in his exegesis of this verse. Yet the Koine Greek houtos {hoo'-tos} translated as "this" in Matt 24:34, is translated as "the same" on 28 other occasions in the KJV.

This
New Testament Greek Definition:
3778 houtos {hoo'-tos} including nominative masculine plural
houtoi {hoo'-toy}, nominative feminine singular haute {how'-tay}
and nominative feminine plural hautai {how'-tahee}
from the article 3588 and 846;; pron
AV - this 157, these 59, he 31, the same 28, this man 25, she 12,
they 10, misc 34; 356
1) this, these, etc.

So the verse could be referring to "the same" generation that can look back and see ALL of the things on the laundry list as having been fulfilled. That could be ANY successive generation.

At the bottom of page 12 Kik even accuses, judges, and pronounces sentence "Woe be unto him that extends his limitation!", on those that might hold a view of Matt 24:34 outside of his construct that depends on Matthew 24:34 to refer strictly to the literal physical generation of Jews of Jesus' day.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/traditional_framework.htm

Kik becomes so caught up in his narrow view of this verse, that on page 66 he uses his conclusion to justify denying that Matthew  24:30 is a description of the Second Coming of Christ, because it doesn't fit his increasingly unsound construct.

Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Is Kik correct in denying that Matthew 24:30 is a reference to the Second Coming of Christ?

Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Let alone that the very next verse after Matt 24:30 is the gathering of the elect.

Matthew 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The last trump.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/great_tribulation.htm#pre_trib_rapture

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Yet Kik declares on page 66:

"The third and final clause of verse 30 reads: "And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." This clause has been thought to relate definitely to the second, visible, and personal coming of the Lord. But in light of well-defined Biblical language (i.e. Kik's/Alcazar's heresy), the reference is rather to a coming in the events of His providence in judgment against His enemies and in deliverance of His people."

On page 67 Kik tries to justify his denial with an unrelated passage

"This interpretation is borne out by the words of Christ Himself to the effect that He was coming before the generation then living would pass away. He stated in 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." There were people standing before Him who would not die until they saw the Son of man coming in His kingdom. This could not possibly refer to a personal visible coming."

This was a prophecy of post-crucifixion and Jesus going to the Father, receiving His glorified body, and returning to them in His kingdom. Born again believers today, just as those in the first century that He was addressing, are IN His kingdom TODAY!
I don't believe it's related, to His coming in the clouds, of His Second Coming.

[Peter]

In his parallel passage, before Luke mentions the parable of the fig tree, or that the same generation that sees that all of the prior things are fulfilled, and on his laundry list we find

Luke 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

So how were the "times of the Gentiles" in Jerusalem fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman gentiles came back to kill another 750,000 Jews only about 60 years later? When was Jerusalem not "trodden down of the Gentiles" up until 1967 when the Jews regained control?
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/abomination_of_desolation.htm

[Peter]

The author suggests the destruction of the temple and killing of the Jews in 70 AD was the "abomination of desolation" even as he suggested that the temple was declared desolate by Jesus Himself, long before. He also admits that only the Jews that Kik rails against, were killed in 70AD, but no Christians were. So what constituted an abomination? He seems to suggest that the insignia of eagles on flags of the Romans during the temple destruction were the abomination, without explaining how the destruction of a temple that he admits had been rendered desolate long before, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, could be an abomination.

On page 19, after previously discussing Jesus' castigation of the Pharisees, he later morphs that group into "the Jewish nation", as he begins to lift the veil and reveal his heart. He writes:

"In the concluding verse of Matthew Twenty-three Christ stated that the Jewish nation would be desolate until such a time as the Jews would say, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." The Jews who are not now the "chosen" race will some day be included amongst the chosen. When they accept the messengers of the Gospel, Christ will dwell with them again. "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." But until that time the Jewish nation will be desolate. God will not dwell with them. This has been altogether too evident unto this day."

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee [Abram] a great nation [Israel], and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:  3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Just as all families of the earth have been blessed, in spite of Kik's opposite view, inspired by his replacement theology.
Even though

Kik's rotted replacement theology inspiring him to personally pronounce judgment as to who God will or will not dwell with.

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Let alone his anti-semitism soaked declaration that it is "evident", casting aside the everlasting covenant Yahweh declared with His people, while Yahweh declared they would be a blessing on all families of the earth, which they certainly have been. While Jews compose just 2/10 of 1% of the global population they have been awarded 149 Nobel prizes including in literature, physics, economics, medicine and chemistry. This, as Muslims compose 25% of the world's population have only been awarded 5 Nobels, and 3 of those were for peace, including one of those to the consummate Islamist terrorist Yasar Arafat.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=494.0

On page 43 Kik even going so far as to declare "Jerusalem was nothing but a stinking carcass."

Here is more of the rotted fruit of replacement theology today, demonstrating how it bends minds, even to the point of aiding and abetting antichrist terrorists, to further defame and denegrate Jews:

Ronald H. Stone, John Witherspoon Professor of Christian Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, attracted negative media attention during the tour after being quoted as saying, "We treasure the precious words of Hezbollah and your expression of goodwill toward the American people. Also we praise your initiative for dialogue and mutual understanding. We cherish these statements that bring us closer to you. As an elder of our church, I'd like to say that according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders."
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=2465.0

Let alone the skinheads and Nazis that find comfort in replacement theology.

[Peter]

Even as Kik rails against futurists for sticking a gap in between Daniel's 69th and 70th week, on page 43 Kik admits to a fatal flaw in his own understanding of Daniel's 70 weeks.

"The only valid objection against this general interpretation is that the destruction of Jerusalem did not occur within the seventieth week- within the period of seven years. The seventy weeks extended to about 33 A.D. The destruction of Jerusalem did not occur till the year 70 A.D."

Besides which after the 69th week the Messiah is "cut off", not after 69 and 1/2 weeks.

The booklet is larded with such statements as "If one can believe Luke, that the abomination of desolation is the Roman army....", as if when one rejects Kik's view one does not believe Luke. Just like his personal condemnation of those who do not buy into his singular "this generation" view as mentioned earlier in his transparent effort at indoctrination that permeates this wretched little booklet. As if to say, you better agree with me or else God will hate you just like he hates Jews! The way Muhammad scared his followers into buying into his malarkey by threatening them with hell's fire, about every 9th verse.

[Peter]

Perterists must also believe that in spite of all of the prophecy of the restoration of the Jews to their land, even with mathematical confirmation over 2500 years http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=77.0 , that somehow the fulfillment of all of that prophecy, and even in light of Israel becoming the geopolitical focus of the whole world, it must somehow be some sort of a big crazy accident.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=493.0

Kik searches the early church to find glimpses of his doctrine, however it should come as no surprise that those early writers would be so impressed, with the events of 70 A.D. having transpired in such recent history. Not unlike Reformers of the middle ages, trying to pencil in the pope as "The Antichrist" not being a surprise, with the smell of the burning flesh of Christians filling the air.

I have little doubt that the prophecy served as a warning to Christians in 70 A.D. The question is as to whether it served as THE warning, since Jerusalem has been compassed by armies on many occasions since, while 1600 years of Islamization thoroughly literally desolated Jerusalem physically and spiritually, by the early 19th century.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/
Since to die is gain, would it be preferable to instead live in dhimmitude, while your wife and daughters were pressed into sexual slavery in a Muslim's harem? There is no shortage of fates worse than death, from a Christian perspective.

By the early 19th century, after 1200 years of Islamization, Jerusalem had indeed become truly desolate.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/abomination_of_desolation.htm

Many preterists started out as futurists and unfortunately thought that it comes down to having to make a choice, between the two heresies of futurism and preterism, that were both designed as devices to fool the reformers. However the reformers didn't buy it. Unlike as we so often find with those that hold preterist replacement theology, at least today's futurists know how to love Jews.

Kik's heresy was invented by 17th century Roman Catholic Jesuit Luis De Alcazar.

"8 The futurist view, contrived by the Jesuit priest Ribera in 1591AD, was the
foundation for Lacunza's "tribulation" musings. Ribera theorized a future
antichrist, a rebuilt Babylon and a Jewish temple in Jerusalem at the end of this
age. The Praeterist view, conceived by the Jesuit priest Alcazar in 1614AD,
claimed just the opposite - that the book of Revelation was fulfilled by the fall of
Jerusalem in 70AD. Both views were in opposition to the linear historic view that
until then had been the generally accepted position of the true church.  Those two
innovative Jesuit positions succeeded in excluding fifteen centuries of unsavory
Roman Church history from the scrutiny the Bible prophecies that showed the
Roman Church hierarchy to be at least one face of Rev 17's "whore of Babylon."
For documentation, read Michael de Semlyen, All Roads Lead To Rome? (Gerrards
Cross, Bucks, UK, Dorchester House Publications, 1991) p. 202."
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=499.0

The reformers didn't buy Alcazar's preterist heresy. What's your excuse?
I believe Alcazar's heresy can be dangerous, to the point of being deadly, as evidenced by some of the fruit of this doctrine, such as those Presbyterian church "leaders" mentioned earlier.

Here's one continuous-historic view of the Olivet Discourse
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/matthew_24_olivet_discourse.htm

[Peter]

Anyone who has read J. Marcellus Kik's booklet and thought it was original, should be able to see that Kik simply parroted this 17th century Roman Catholic, anti-reformation invention, of Jesuit Luis De Alcasar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preterism

The elements are outlined here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preterism#Interpretation_of_the_Great_Tribulation

After all, it wasn't but about a half century earlier that another Roman church anti-reformation effort by Jesuit Ribera - futurism - failed to fool the reformers as well.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=499.0

Even worse we find it hand in hand with replacement theology, the fruit of which is pretty rotted, when Presbyterian church leaders met with leaders of the internationally recognized terrorist organization and murderer of Americans, Hezbollah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterian_Church_%28USA%29_Hezbollah_controversy

We find the same list of holders of replacement theology discussing divestiture of Israeli assets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinvestment_from_Israel#Churches