Fast Fridays: 30 Minutes for God: Difference between revisions
→Friday, Nov 22: Good News? The Destruction of the Temple & the Tribulations
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Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.</blockquote>Here we get a couple clues as to what's going on. | Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.</blockquote>Here we get a couple clues as to what's going on. | ||
Mount Olivet is just outside the Temple, and at its base is the Garden of Gethsemane. It is the object of several important Old Testament references, including to be called "the Mount of Corruption" in | Mount Olivet is just outside the Temple, and at its base is the Garden of Gethsemane. It is the object of several important Old Testament references, including to be called "the Mount of Corruption" in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/11:7 1 Kgs 11:7-8], where,<blockquote>Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the L<small>ORD</small>, and he did not follow the L<small>ORD</small> unreservedly as David his father had done. Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, and to Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain opposite Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.</blockquote>Hmm, something about the wrong temple, perhaps, oh, say, maybe you guys are more Solomon than David?<ref>See [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11?31 Lk 11:31]: "and there is something greater than Solomon here"</ref> | ||
The Venerable Bede doesn't go that far, but he does suggest it's about the proximity to the temple that Jesus chooses this location. From [[Catena Aurea on Mark Chapter 13|Aquinas']] ''[https://www.ecatholic2000.com/catena/untitled-53.shtml Catena Aurea on Mark Chapter 13],''<blockquote>'''BEDE'''. ... The Lord sits upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, when He discourses upon the ruin and destruction of the temple, so that even His bodily position may be in accordance with the words which He speaks, pointing out mystically that, abiding in peace with the saints, He hates the madness of the proud. For the mount of Olives marks the fruitful sublimity of the Holy Church.</blockquote> | The Venerable Bede doesn't go that far, but he does suggest it's about the proximity to the temple that Jesus chooses this location. From [[Catena Aurea on Mark Chapter 13|Aquinas']] ''[https://www.ecatholic2000.com/catena/untitled-53.shtml Catena Aurea on Mark Chapter 13],''<blockquote>'''BEDE'''. ... The Lord sits upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, when He discourses upon the ruin and destruction of the temple, so that even His bodily position may be in accordance with the words which He speaks, pointing out mystically that, abiding in peace with the saints, He hates the madness of the proud. For the mount of Olives marks the fruitful sublimity of the Holy Church.</blockquote> | ||
The key to Bede's analysis is "He hates the madness of the proud," which is why | The key to Bede's analysis is the "He hates the madness of the proud," which is why Bede finds meaning in the Lord's "bodily position" -- in apposition to the pride of the Temple. In the "Woes of the Pharisees"<ref>In the NAB entitled: "Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23:1 Mt 23:1])</ref>, Jesus denounces the inner corruption of the Temple leadership, all of which come down to pride, with a touch of carnality on top, which is consistent with the carnality of the sacrifice. | ||
The destruction of the Temple is at the heart of much criticism of the authenticity of the New Testament, with critics pointing to it as a reverse-engineered prophesy: i.e., Jesus didn't actually predict it, his authors wrote that he did after Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in 70 AD. These critics miss entirely Jesus' point: '''''he''''' is the new temple, '''''he''''' is the sacrificial lamb, and '''''he''''' is the bridegroom of the new Church. Whether Jerusalem gets torn down or not doesn't matter to his point. But it does to him, and it makes him cry -- 40 years in advance. | The destruction of the Temple is at the heart of much criticism of the authenticity of the New Testament, with critics pointing to it as a reverse-engineered prophesy: i.e., Jesus didn't actually predict it, his authors wrote that he did after Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in 70 AD. These critics miss entirely Jesus' point: '''''he''''' is the new temple, '''''he''''' is the sacrificial lamb, and '''''he''''' is the bridegroom of the new Church. Whether Jerusalem gets torn down or not doesn't matter to his point. But it does to him, and it makes him cry -- 40 years in advance. | ||