The Olivet Discourse, part 9

Shalom, mishpachah.

And He spoke a parable to them, “But, learn the parable from the fig tree: Look at the fig tree, even all the trees; When already its branch is beginning [to be] green,  they shoot forth now and it puts forth the leaves, ye see for yourselves it is known that now summer is close. So when ye see all these things likewise come to pass ye know that the kingdom of God is close upon (the) threshhold. 

Now, Yeshua` spoke the only parable He gave within this prophecy: the parable of the fig tree (and all the trees).

It's a rather simple analogy. In mathematic terms, it might look like this:

branches begin to bud : summer is close :: all these things fulfilled : kingdom of God is close.

Notice that Luke points out that it has nothing to do with the KIND of tree being used for the analogy; therefore, there's nothing in the fact that the other two accounts only mention the "fig tree." Instead, the only thing about the fig tree that is noticeable is that it is one of the first trees to bud in the springtime in the Middle East. Other than that, there is nothing special about the fig tree because Luke adds, "even all the trees."

So, disregarding the fact that He first mentions the fig tree, look at the HEART of the analogy: the branches, which were previously dormant and for all practical purposes "dead" brown on the outside, still had a vibrant quick on the inside! So, in the same way, although things don't seem to have changed much throughout the last 2000 years on the outside, the promises of God are still ALIVE on the inside!  And, even though the branches are apparently lifeless and brown, they burst into new life in the spring which eventually gives way to summer. In the same way, even though the Kingdom of God looked like a hopeless impossibility down through the last two millennia, they promises of God have burst into the new life of Hope with wonderful portents to the King's soon arrival! Thus, I find it VERY encouraging that the very national anthem of the new state of Isra'el is "HaTikvah," "The Hope!"

What were the "all these things" that were supposed to "come to pass?" Quite simply, I believe that they were ALL the things of which Yeshua` was prophesying so far in these chapters, from the surrounding of Yerushalayim to the sun, moon, and stars events we just covered that will happen in our future. Thus, I believe that they covered ALL the events from the first Diaspora and the destruction of Yerushalayim and the Temple under the Romans to the gathering of the elect by the messengers. They are escalating, too, just as the branches in springtime escalate in their production of buds and leaves.

I confirm to you that this generation will not ever have passed until each one of these things be fulfilled [and] until the whole of these things be fulfilled. The sky and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away.

Here, Yeshua` said that His words wouldn't pass away ever, even should the sky and the earth pass away. In fact, the statement suggests that the sky and the earth SHALL pass away.

He also said, with a confirmation, "this generation will not ever have passed UNTIL each one of these things be fulfilled and until the whole of these things be fulfilled." Notice that Matthew and Luke said the phrase "until each one of these things be fulfilled" but Mark said "until the whole of these things be fulfilled." A different phrase is the difference between Matthew/Luke and Mark, producing enough of a difference that I felt in translation each phrase should be emphasized. Matthew and Luke use the word "heoos" translated "until" with addition of the contraction "an," short for "ana," but Mark uses the word "mechris" translated as "until" followed by the definite article "hou." "Heoos ana panta tauta" means "until severally all these things" or "until each one of all these things," but "mechris hou panta tauta" means "until the whole of these things."

Lastly, what is a "generation?" The Greek word used here is "genea." Strong's Concordance says that the word is "from a presumed derivative of NT:1085 (genos); a generation; by implication, an age (the period or the persons)" and was translated as "age," "generation," "nation," and "time" in the KJV.

"Genos" is said to be "from NT:1096 (ginomai); 'kin' (abstract or concrete, literal or figurative, individual or collective)" and was translated as "born," "country," "countryman," "diversity," "generation," "kind," "kindred," "nation," "offspring," and "stock" in the KJV.

And, "ginomai" simply means "to cause to be," and reflexively as "to become" or "to come into being."

The thought is that the word indicates a "group or a line of children," whether from father to son or from father to son, grandson, great grandson, etc. who have the SAME MENTALITY! Within the lineage of Yeshua` in Matthew 1, there are apparent "gaps" when compared to the records from Genesis through 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles in which names have been omitted in the lineage of Matthew 1. That is because the Jewish concept of a generation is different than our concept today.

The Jewish people for the most part have been of the SAME MENTALITY for almost 2000 years, rejecting God's Choice - God's Messiah - for them as their King! Thus, they have ALL been of the same "genea."

It is too "Gentilish" to think this "generation" is 40 years or 50 years or even 80 or 90 years! Such a concept is foreign to both the mindset of Jews and Isra'elis and to the Greek language into which the Hebrew was translated.

In the Messiah's love,
Retrobyter

The Olivet Discourse, part 8

Shalom, mishpachah (family)!

It's the day before Thanksgiving (Yom Todah), and I just wanted to say thank you to anyone who is reading this blog.

Hopefully, I will be coming out with some e-books for Kindle soon on this subject matter, both in the non-fiction and fiction areas, but my goal is to bring Christians back to the first-century way of looking at the Bible, both in the Tanakh (the Old Testament), seeing its prophecies as very real, soon-to-be-realized promises to Isra'el regarding her absent King and His reign of peace and prosperity upon the throne of David, and in the B'rit Chadashah (the New Testament), seeing its prophecies as expansions on the Tanakh prophecies and very real, soon-to-be-realized promises to the Gentile nations as well as to Isra'el and THROUGH Isra'el, allowing the Goyim to have a place in God's Kingdom.

Okay, let's continue on with the Olivet Discourse:

Before I get too far ahead, I should have mentioned a little more on this part that follows from Luke's account:

For huge distress will be upon the Land and violent passion in this people. And they shall fall by the edge (mouth) of [the] sword and shall be led away captive into all the Gentile nations, and Jerusalem shall be trampled under by Gentile nations until the times of the Gentile nations be fulfilled.

We discussed the Jews being "led away captive into all the Gentile nations," but I neglected that last phrase: "Jerusalem shall be trampled under by Gentile nations until the times of the Gentile nations be fulfilled." This is important to focus upon for a moment, because not only were the Jews expelled from their Land by the Romans, but other non-Jewish nations took over control of the Land. The reason why so many call the Land "Palestine" is because of the Romans!

"Palestine" is the Latin/Greek rendering of the Aramaic name "P'lishtiyn," meaning "Philistines" and spelled "pei-lamed-shin-tav-yud-nun." ("Pei" can also be a "fei" or "phei" when the dagesh - a dot in the middle of a letter - is missing.) Neither Greek nor Latin had an "sh" sound; so, their closest approximation was the "sigma," an "s" sound, and their "I" approximated the "Y" sound of the "yud." No vowel letters exist in the Hebrew or the Aramaic alefbets; so, the Romans supplied their own and "P-L-S-T-I-N" became "PALESTINIUS," as they added the common, proper-noun ending after an "N," "-IUS." Later, the word was Anglicized to "Palestine." It was designed to humiliate the Jews by calling their Land the land of the Philistines!" I find it both ironic and interesting that the area given to the "Palestinians" today is the Gaza Strip, where ancient Philistia existed.

Isra'el became a nation again in 1948 and they succeeded in controlling Yerushalayim again in 1967, but as yet they do not have full control of the entire city. The Arab Muslims still have control over their mosques and the Dome of the Rock, the ancient site of the Jewish Temple. The Gentiles are still "trampling" the city; therefore, the times of the Gentile nations is not yet over.

Now, let's move on...

“However, in those days, immediately after the pressure of those days, there will be signs in [the] sun, moon and stars: the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not shine its light and the stars shall fall out of the sky (meteors) and the stars shall be fallen out of the sky (meteorites) and distress of Gentile nations in confusion, [the] roaring sea and waves upon the earth, and men’s hearts failing them from fear, [from] looking after those (things) which are coming on the habitable world; for even the powers which (are) in the skies shall be shaken.

Now, we getting close to the heart of the prophecy: the Second Coming. "Immediately after the pressure of those days" signifies that this passage is NOT included within that "pressure." That tells me that this part should NOT be considered part of the "Tribulation!" Do you understand that this means that the "sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not shine its light" are NOT a part of the "Tribulation?" Can you accept that Yeshua` was saying that the meteor shower, spoken about in detail by Yochanan in Revelation, is NOT a part of the "Tribulation?" What does THAT do to the various positions on the End Times to which people adhere today? Without defining the "pressure" as that placed upon the Jews, believers and unbelievers alike, this statement should make many Christians scratch their heads, especially when reading and comparing the book of Revelation to this passage.

We'll be studying this in more detail when we start going through the book of Revelation, but this should be enough to pique an interest in what is to come on this blog.

Most teachers on this prophecy comment on the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, but neglect to tell the full account: There will also be "distress of the Gentile nations" and "confusion." The sea will be "roaring," and the "waves" will wash "upon the earth" (tidal waves), and human beings' hearts will fail them from fear when panicking about what is happening to the world, for even the "powers which are in the skies" shall be shaken; i.e., even the weather patterns will be disturbed!

“And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the sky. And then all the families of the Land shall mourn and they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud - coming in [and] upon the clouds of the sky - with great power and great brightness. And then He shall send His messengers with a loud trumpeting sound, and they shall gather together His chosen (ones) out of the four winds from one extremity of [the] earth to an extremity of [the] sky to the other extremity.  But these things beginning to come to pass, look up and raise up your heads, for your redemption draws near.”

This is the climax of the Olivet Discourse. Yeshua` frequently called Himself the "Son of Man," which is a phrase meaning a "true human being." The first of these events is that the inhabitants of the earth will see the "sign of the Son of Man ... appear in the sky." The next event, is that "all the families of the Land shall mourn." This is a quote in reference to Zechariah 12:9-14:

Zech 12:9-14
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
KJV
This is truly interesting because I used to wonder about the four names given here: David, Nathan, Levi, and Shimei. Why were they singled out? They don't even appear to have anything to do with the twelve tribes of the children of Isra'el; so, what was their significance? THIS IS WONDERFUL!!! Only those who have studied the New Testament will be able to grasp the significance of these names! Therefore, this is still a mystery to the Jews who reject "Jesus Christ" because they don't give any credence to the B'rit Chadashah! And, Christians who use only certain verses from the "Old Testament" (the Tanakh) to support their theology will totally miss it because they will read over it and say, "That's nice," and never make the connection! Also, notice that the wording is slightly different on the last name. It's...
"The family of the house of David,"
"The family of the house of Nathan," and
"The family of the house of Levi," but it's...
"The family of Shimei."

I, too, would have missed this without using the Complete Jewish Bible! In the Complete Jewish Bible, translated by David H. Stern, the passage is ...

Zech. 12:9-14
9 “When that day comes, I will seek to destroy
all nations attacking Yerushalayim;
10 and I will pour out on the house of David
and on those living in Yerushalayim
a spirit of grace and prayer;
and they will look to me, whom they pierced.”

They will mourn for him
as one mourns for an only son;
they will be in bitterness on his behalf
like the bitterness for a firstborn son.
11 When that day comes, there will be
great mourning in Yerushalayim,
mourning like that for Hadad-Rimmon
in the Megiddo Valley.
12 Then the land will mourn,
each family by itself —
the family of the house of David by itself,
and their wives by themselves;
the family of the house of Natan by itself,
and their wives by themselves;
13 the family of the house of Levi by itself,
and their wives by themselves;
the family of the Shim‘i by itself,
and their wives by themselves;
14 all the remaining families, each by itself,
and their wives by themselves.
CJB
The Hebrew phrase is "l-vaad mishpachat ha-Shim`iy," which means "to a separation [the] family of the Famous." Then, I was reading the lineage of Yeshua` found in Luke's account of His life, and the names jumped out at me:

Luke 3:23-38
23 Yeshua was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. It was supposed that he was a son of Yosef who was of Eli,
24 of Mattat, of Levi, of Malki, of Yannai, of Yosef,
25 of Mattityahu, of Amotz, of Nachum, of Hesli, of Naggai,
26 of Machat, of Mattityahu, of Shim‘i, of Yosef, of Yodah,
27 of Yochanan, of Reisha, of Z’rubavel, of Sh’altiel, of Neri,
28 of Malki, of Addi, of Kosam, of Elmadan, of Er,
29 of Yeshua, of Eli‘ezer, of Yoram, of Mattat, of Levi,
30 of Shim‘on, of Y’hudah, of Yosef, of Yonam, of Elyakim,
31 of Mal’ah, of Manah, of Mattatah, of Natan, of David,
32 of Yishai, of ‘Oved, of Bo‘az, of Salmon, of Nachshon,
33 of Amminadav, of Admin, of Arni, of Hetzron, of Peretz, of Y’hudah,
34 of Ya‘akov, of Yitz’chak, of Avraham, of Terach, of Nachor,
35 of S’rug, of Re‘u, of Peleg, of ‘Ever, of Shelah,
36 of Keinan, of Arpakhshad, of Shem, of Noach, of Lemekh,
37 of Metushelach, of Hanokh, of Yered, of Mahalal’el, of Keinan,
38 of Enosh, of Shet, of Adam, of God.
CJB
They are the names found in Yeshua`s lineage through His mother! This is significant in two ways: First, it proves that Yeshua` was indeed a descendent of David, not just adopted as such by His step-father, Yosef (Joseph), and second, it tells me that Zechariah 12 must be fulfilled AFTER THE RESURRECTION OF THE JUSTIFIED, for they are all present together at the same time that the Messiah returns! Furthermore, it's NO WONDER that they would look upon the Messiah Yeshua` as "an only son" and a "firstborn son!" He WAS/IS their Grandchild, however many "greats" removed!

This, then, tells me that the RESURRECTION has to happen AS Yeshua` is returning! It is AFTER (or AS) they see Him "coming in a cloud and on the clouds of the sky" that "He sends out His messengers to gather them from the earth," wherever they may be!

Then, there is another thing about this portion of the Olivet Discourse: They (we) have already begun to fly, for they are gathered OUT of the four winds! and they collect them (us) from one extremity of the earth to an extremity of the sky and to its other extremity.  Some people think horizontally when they read "from one end of heaven to the other," but the sky is all around the earth! So where would the farthest east be? Where would the farthest west be? Only north and south are said to have termination at the poles. Don't think horizontally; think VERTICALLY! When we throw in Mark's comment about the extremity of the earth, one can see that Yeshua` was talking about the lowest point in the earth and the lowest point of the sky where humans might exist to the upper extreme of the sky where humans might be found!

I'll conclude today with His last statement: But [when] these things beginning to come to pass, look up and raise up your heads, for your redemption draws near.” Get ready! Get excited! You think Christmas is great? Just WAIT until the Messiah comes back! WOO-HOO!!! You ain't seen NUTHIN', yet!

In the Messiah's love,
Retrobyter

The Olivet Discourse, part 7

Shalom, friends and family.

Okay, last time I started to go on, but took a moment to back up and say a little about the term "Great Tribulation" or rather "huge pressure." Today, I'd like REALLY to go on with the investigation of the Olivet Discourse found in Matt. 24 (and 25), Mark 13, and Luke 21:

But pray so that your flight may not be in [the] rainy season (“winter”) nor on Shabbat (the Sabbath); for then those days shall be the huge pressure - no - nor has been its like since [the] beginning of Creation of [the] habitable world which God created until the present - no - nor ever shall be, and if [the] Master had not shortened those days, there would not have been any flesh rescued. But on account of the chosen [ones] whom He chose, He has shortened the days [and] those days shall be shortened.

Now, we have a "promise" given to us in Yeshua`s words, namely that the time of the "huge pressure" will be "shortened," so that at least someone would be rescued. What is He talking about? Some (in fact, almost all) have suggested that the actual period (usually of 7 years) will be shortened to something somewhat less, i.e. 6.5 years or 6.6 years or 6.7 years or ...(?)

Others have suggested that the days themselves are shortened from 24-hour days to something less, like a 23-hour day or a 22-hour day or ...(?)

After investigating it and comparing it to the rest of this discourse, I don't think that either of these is what He meant. I now believe that Yeshua` was saying that during the 2000 years of pressure that would be put on the Jews, believing or nonbelieving, that there would be periods of rest in between periods of pressure. It wouldn't be a constant pressure under which there'd be no escape. In other words, He shortened the number of days of pressure or distress WITHIN the time period it would take to get their attention, their submission, and their cry for His help. Yeshua` didn't say that the time period would be shortened, just the DAYS would be shortened.

We now call such periods of pressure by various names: persecutions, inquisitions, Crusades, pogroms, and the Holocaust under Adolf Hitler's domination in Europe. Lately, I believe that the terrorist attacks in Isra'el fall under this category, as well.

For huge distress will be upon the Land and violent passion in this people.  And they shall fall by the edge (mouth) of [the] sword and shall be led away captive into all the Gentile nations, and Jerusalem shall be trampled under by Gentile nations until the times of the Gentile nations be fulfilled.

Now, He zeroed in on the near future for His listeners again. This time, the "huge distress" is more of a "huge constraint," or "huge necessity" or "huge compulsion" or "huge duress." The Greek words are "anagkee megalee." I believe this is talking about the tyranny of the Roman Empire on the Jews, especially following the suppression of the Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132-136 A.D. when all of the Jews were ordered out of their Land. More can be read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Kokhba_revolt.

And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here's the Messiah!’  or ‘Here [He is]!’  or ‘Look, there!’  Don't (you) believe (it)! For lying Messiahs and lying prophets will arise and will produce great signs and miracles to the deception so as to mislead if possible even the chosen (ones). 

Do you see how close Matthew and Mark are within these words? All of the orange is spoken in both accounts; the little bit of red was recorded solely in Matthew and the little bit of gold was recorded solely in Mark. Again, one should be able to see that this is written primarily to the Jews; who else would be looking for the Messiah to come? Some non-Jewish believers might be looking for the Messiah - the Christ - to come, but not as diligently as the Jews, believers or nonbelievers, would be in the first and second centuries. This is why the Bar Kokhba Revolt, led by Simon bar Kokhba, happened!

He was just a man who came along that some claimed could do miracles, and one person called him the Messiah. But, he ended up making so much of the claim and belittling God in his prayers ("We pray Thee, do not give assistance to the enemy; us Thou needst not help!" This was found at http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2471-bar-kokba-and-bar-kokba-war.) He started to believe his own press, and thought he didn't need God's help.

However, people will generally only follow one leader at a time, and Yeshua`s words said there were "lying Messiahs and lying prophets" plural! So, the time He was implying was at least through 136 A.D. and probably more time than that!

But ye, watch out! Look, I have forewarned all (things) to you! Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look! [He’s] in the wilderness!’ don’t go out there! ‘Look! [He’s] in the chambers!’ Don’t you believe [it]!  For as the lightning flashes out from [the] east and shines as far as [the] west, so too the Revealing of the Son of Man shall be. For wherever the carcase may be, there the vultures will be gathered together.

Here, Yeshua` was emphasizing His warning to His listeners, and warned them not to believe people when they said that the Messiah was out in the wilderness or within a closet, and revealed that His coming - His return - His uncovering would be as apparent as seeing the lightning flash at night in the east and light up objects in the west! It would be VERY obvious when the Messiah actually did return!

He also gave an analogy that is a simple metaphor: "Wherever the carcase may be, there the vultures will be gathered together." It's not that difficult to understand: the Jews, believers or nonbelievers, were the carcase, and the Romans and Roman sympathizers or whoever were attempting to mislead the Jews with the promise of "Here's the Messiah" were the vultures.

That's enough for now.

In the Messiah's love,
Retrobyter

The Olivet Discourse, part 6

Shalom, friends, mishpachah (family)!

I hope all of you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving, a "Yom Todah," a "Day of Thanks."

Continuing on with the prophecy by Yeshua` delivered on Har haZeitiym (the Mount of Olives), I want to go back just a little and touch on a very important point to this prophecy:

But when ye therefore shall see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has drawn near - The Abomination of the Desolation – the [one which] was spoken about by Dani'el the prophet - standing in [the] holy place where it must not be (let the reader understand), then let those in Y'hudah (Judah) flee into the mountains. However, [let] the [one] upon the roof-top not come down into the house nor go inside to take anything out of his house. And [don’t] let the [one] in the field back into the [city]; he is not to return to take his clothes, and let those in [the] middle of it depart out and don’t let those in the countrysides enter into it. For these are the days of vengeance; all things which are written may be fulfilled. But <ooaahee!> to the [one] who is pregnant and to those [who] breast-feed in those days! But pray so that your flight may not be in [the] rainy season (“winter”) nor on Shabbat (the Sabbath); for then those days shall be the huge pressure - no - nor has been its like since [the] beginning of Creation of [the] habitable world which God created until the present - no - nor ever shall be, and if [the] Master had not shortened those days, there would not have been any flesh rescued. But on account of the chosen [ones] whom He chose, He has shortened the days [and] those days shall be shortened.

I have been taught all my life that Yeshua` was talking about the "Great Tribulation" (the huge pressure) in these verses as though it was a future, seven-year period. I don't think so anymore. Allow me to explain:

First, verses 20 and 21 of Matthew 24 are to be seen together as a CONDITIONAL STATEMENT. This is to be found in this much of the above:

 But pray so that your flight may not be in [the] rainy season (“winter”) nor on Shabbat (the Sabbath); for then those days shall be the huge pressure - no - nor has been its like since [the] beginning of Creation of [the] habitable world which God created until the present - no - nor ever shall be,...

Now, it may not seem very clear in the English, but in the Greek, the second part following the semicolon is DEPENDENT UPON the first part. Therefore, Yeshua` was instructing His students to pray that their escape not have to be in the rainy season (when it was harder to run on the slippery, silty mud) or on the Shabbat (when they were not supposed to travel any farther from Yerushalayim than to where they were sitting on Har haZeitiym). If they did not pray, the result would be verse 21:
"for then those days shall be huge pressure."

When analyzing a passage of Scripture, it is important to realize that not everything in the Bible is a universal, all-encompassing thought. Some things are TIME-dependent, and one must check the event or period against the history of that event or period.

Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) was surrounded by the Roman army during the first century, culminating in the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Furthermore, the English word here is "ye," referring to His listeners in the plural. The same is true for the Greek word "humoon," the plural, genitive form of  the second-person pronoun, "su." The point is that Yeshua` was talking directly to His students who were standing/sitting on the Mount of Olives, listening to Him speak this prophecy. Therefore, they were DIRECTLY being instructed to pray to avoid such a huge pressure, and apparently they obeyed. History records that their escape did NOT fall under either condition. Therefore, the POSSIBLE "huge pressure" was avoided! THAT'S IT!

Once a prophecy is fulfilled and complete, that prophecy is finished. There is no "second fulfillment" by something else in the future! If there are any more than one fulfillment of a prophecy, then the prophecy is too nebulous and not of God, for God uses the fulfillment of prophecy as the test to determine a false prophet. Only if a prophet's prophecies come true 100% of the time is that prophet from God. If ANY of his prophecies does not come true, then that prophet is a false prophet or a lying prophet, and in ancient Isra'el, they were to be stoned to death.

Douglas Connelly, in his book Bible Prophecy for Blockheads (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002), said on page 33, "Techno-Speak: Double Reference: The term double reference is used to describe a Scripture passage in which part of the passage is fulfilled at one time while another part is fulfilled at a later time. Zechariah 9:9-10 is a clear example. Verse 9 was fulfilled during Jesus' earthly ministry; verse 10 will be fulfilled at Jesus' second coming."

He is talking about the Law of Double Reference which is NOT a "doubling" of the fulfillment of a prophecy but the "SPLITTING" of the fulfillment of a prophecy. That's okay and is found often in Scripture. Yeshua` Himself used that law when reading Isaiah 61:1-2a as recorded in Luke 4:18-19:

Luke 4:17-21
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias (Yesha`yahu or Isaiah). And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.KJV
The passage He read went on...

Isa 61:1-3
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.KJV

The highlighted portion above was not included in Yeshua`s reading. In effect, He was saying that the portion He read was fulfilled, but the rest wouldn't be fulfilled until later. So, clearly, Yeshua` gives us the pattern: a passage may be fulfilled in part while more will be fulfilled in the future, but at NO time is a prophecy fulfilled more than once!

SO, the bottom line in all of this is to say that the Olivet Discourse doesn't speak about a future "Great Tribulation." Yeshua` was speaking about a PAST, POSSIBLE "huge pressure" that was fortunately (or rather, Providentially) avoided.

In the Messiah's love,
Retrobyter