Clement of Alexandria on Daniel's 70 Weeks

I would not say I am in complete agreement with Clement, yet I think his view is pertinent to recently espoused views.

Clement of Alexandria (AD162)

On the 70 weeks of Daniel finding fulfillment in AD 70

“From the captivity at Babylon, which took place in the time of Jeremiah the prophet, was fulfilled what was spoken by Daniel the prophet as follows: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to seal sins, and to wipe out and make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. Know therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the word commanding an answer to be given, and Jerusalem to be built, to Christ the Prince, are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; and the street shall be again built, and the wall; and the times shall be expended. And after the sixty-two weeks the anointing shall be overthrown, and judgment shall not be in him; and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary along with the coming Prince. And they shall be destroyed in a flood, and to the end of the war shall be cut off by: desolations. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the middle of the week the sacrifice and oblation shall be taken away; and in the holy place shall be the abomination of desolations, and until the consummation of time shall the consummation be assigned for desolation. And in the midst of the week shall he make the incense of sacrifice cease, and of the wing of destruction, even till the consummation, like the destruction of the oblation.” That the temple accordingly was built in seven weeks, is evident; for it is written in Esdras. And thus Christ became King of the Jews, reigning in Jerusalem in the fulfillment of the seven weeks. And in the sixty and two weeks the whole of Judaea was quiet, and without wars. And Christ our Lord, “the Holy of Holies,” having come and fulfilled the vision and the prophecy, was anointed in His flesh by the Holy Spirit of His Father. In those “sixty and two weeks,” as the prophet said, and “in the one week,” was He Lord. The half of the week Nero held sway, and in the holy city Jerusalem placed the abomination; and in the half of the week he was taken away, and Otho, and Galba, and Vitellius. And Vespasian rose to the supreme power, and destroyed Jerusalem, and desolated the holy place. And that such are the facts of the case, is clear to him that is able to understand, as the prophet said.” - (Stromata – Book I Chapter 21, The Jewish Institutions and Laws of Far Higher Antiquity Than the Philosophy of the Greeks)

Rev 20 Part IV

THE

Revelation

of Jesus Christ
Chapter 20
Part IV
(VS 11-15)

11Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. (NASB)

The arch Dragon is laid to waste and now the Great Throne of God , unabated, appears before His Creation. Heaven and Earth are said to retreat as a non-participant as the unbridled Devine Glory is revealed, yet they fled not. The universe of creation has no where to escape the Presence of God.
Moses Stuart writes……
“The fleeing away of the Heaven and Earth is a poetic portraiture of the effects of the divine presence. Even the natural creation shrinks back with awe and seeks to hide itself…..”

‘Throne’ is used some 37 times in John’s Revelation, mostly describing God the Father. Here it is used uniquely as it is called the Great White Throne. Christ is elsewhere depicted as riding on a white cloud, or a white horse.

31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. (Mat 25:31-33 NASB)

Paul writes Timothy and boldly declares the name of Him who sits on the Throne.

1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: (NASB)

Clearly then, this throne is occupied by the Messiah-King, triumphant over all.
Both of these texts not only show that it is Christ, but as well the events that He brings with His return- the final judgment.

12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.(NASB)

All those who have drawn a breath, great or small now stand before the Judge. The books are opened that tell the tale of each ones offences against God.
They are judged according to their deeds, giving the impression of various degrees of punishment. Mankind is not saved by works, yet he is damned by them. The Book of Life is opened to reveal the names that are not in it. The consummation of God’s sovereign and ultimate power culminates as He prepares to righteously judge mankind. All possible locations are exhausted our their dead, leaving no man out. Christ and His salvation of the elect is made complete as He brings judgment upon the wicked. The 2nd death, known only to those outside God’s Grace, is defeated and cast away forever.

The Apostle Paul writes…….
The last enemy that will be abolished is death. (I Cor 15:26 NASB)

The second resurrection-judgment is complete as God’s Kingdom moves to the immortal.


Comparison Summary of Revelation 20

After-millennium events:

1) Rebellion
2) Battle assembly
3) Enemy promptly destroyed
4) Resurrection
5) Judgment

Pre-millennialism:

All the above mentioned events occur post-tribulation and usher in the millennial reign of Christ. The thousand years is followed by yet another series of the same stated events.

Jay Adams writes……….
“……unique factors are repeated precisely at both the beginning and at the end of the thousand years. Do you not begin to wonder whether the millennium and the church age are distinct periods of time after all?”


Post-millennialism:

Progressive spread of the Gospel and subsequent growth of the church brings along the events described above. Most post-millennialists agree with the Amillenialist that the church age corresponds with the millennium. The actual beginning of the millennium may vary depending on the post-millennial subscriber. Still others have a literal thousand year reign as do the pre-millennialists following a cataclysmic clash of good and evil. The difference being of course Christ reigns from Heaven as His people successfully evangelize the world, thus bring about the events as stated above.

Amillennialism:

For this group, the millennium equals the Church era. They are one in the same. Satan being bound and the Gospel is freely preached and accepted throughout the world. No longer is God’s Grace limited to a tiny area of land, or a designated ethic group. The Kingdom of God is stretched to encompass the whole world as He calls for Himself a people from every tribe, nation and tongue. The promise to Abraham is initiated as all the families of the Earth are blessed through the faithfulness of his Seed. Following the church age, the events described above occur, the Lord returns to rapture those that remain on Earth while simultaneously resurrecting the dead (both those who died in Christ and those who did not), and all are judged before the Throne of the Christ.