The Great Tribulation

When Jesus taught His Olivet Discourse in April of 30 A.D. all of the events He foretold were still in the future. The question is, from our perspective in the year 2011 A.D., how much of what Jesus foretold is still in our future, and how much of it (if any) has already occurred in our past? The Great Tribulation spoken of by Jesus is frequently interpreted as warning of days of vengeance that will occur in our future in the years just before the Second Coming of Christ. But what if I told you that there are compelling reasons to believe that, while the Second Coming of Christ is still in our future, the Great Tribulation has already taken place in our past? 1,941 years in our past, to be exact. Why would anyone claim such a thing? Five very specific reasons: 1.) Jesus was answering a very specific question 2.)concerning a very specific event 3.) that was to come upon a very specific people 4.)in a very specific place 5.)at a very specific time. Jesus was answering the question "When will these things occur?" in response to His statement that not one stone of the Temple would be left upon another, a judgment which came upon the apostate Jews of Jesus' own day that was limited geographically to Jerusalem and the surrounding region of Judea which came upon the generation that was alive during Jesus' earthly ministry. To put it another way, the Great Tribulation took place when Jerusalem and her Temple were destroyed in 70 A.D. In this sermon, we see that Jesus is indeed the Prophet of prophets, as His every prediction came true with astonishing accuracy.