An excerpt from the book

The Final Decade Before The End, by Edward E. Stevens

(from page 219)

Here is the sequence of events that we are suggesting:
AD 62 – book of Revelation warned the saints to “come out of her” (Rev 18:4)
AD 63 – book of Hebrews exhorted them to “go out to Him outside the camp” (Heb 13:13-14)
AD 63 – the “elect” saints fled to Pella BEFORE the Neronic persecution (AD 62-64)
AD 64 – Neronic persecution killed all the Christians who stayed in Judea (AD 64-65)
AD 66 – Neronic persecution was cut short by the Parousia (May 66)
AD 66 – the “elect” saints who fled to safety and remained alive were raptured (June 66)
AD 66 – the War broke out in Judea (Aug 66)
Notice again that they were warned to flee BEFORE the Neronic persecution, NOT AFTERWARDS as
suggested in the question above. Do you see how the proper sequencing of the warning solves the
problem of a belated flight to Pella after most of them had already died in the Neronic persecution? The
warning came BEFORE the Neronic persecution, and it warned them to get out of Judea before the
persecution, not just before the war and the siege of Jerusalem. That makes a big difference in how we
understand Matthew 24 and its statements about the great tribulation and their fleeing from Judea.

(page 220)

Apr 66 – Great Tribulation was “cut short” by the outbreak of war
The Zealot rebellion “cut short” the persecution upon the Church in Judea, since the Jews now had
to turn their attention to preparations for the war and their own survival against Rome (Matt. 24:22; Mk.
13:20). Conditions in Judea and Jerusalem now grew progressively worse by the day. Florus had
succeeded in provoking the Jews into open rebellion, so that his own perverse activity would appear
innocent to Nero.

It is therefore not surprising that some of the priesthood (under the leadership of Eleazar b.
Ananias) shortly afterwards made their break with Rome official by stopping the daily sacrifice (peace
offering) for the Roman Emperor (Nero), as well as the sacrifices of all Gentiles. The removal of 17
talents of imageless gold from the temple treasury had left them little choice. The temple could no
longer function normally. They would have to mint new coins, and that meant revolt against Rome.
When the Zealots made this decision to revolt, their minting of new coins most likely would have begun
soon afterwards. The Zealots intensified their efforts of gathering men, weapons, and finances for the
revolt. They urged all their sympathizers throughout Israel and the Diaspora to support and join the
Zealot cause (deceiving the nations to go to war – cf. the book of Revelation).

Wars & Rumors of Wars

Apr 66 – Josephus dates the unofficial beginning of the war from this incident with Florus. The
Zealots were provoked to go to war by his attempt to remove all the temple gold and force Nero’s
coinage to be used instead. The people despised Florus even more than the previous governors
(Felix, Festus, and Albinus). Florus urged Cestius Gallus to intervene at this time and crush the
rebellion before it gained more momentum, but instead Cestius merely sent an emissary
(Neapolitanus) to inspect the situation and determine how serious it really was. This only bought the
Zealots more time to fan the flames of revolt even more. Evidently Cestius did not trust Florus’
assessment of the situation, since the Jews had also sent a delegation to Cestius at the same time
Florus did. This provocation by Florus happened right around the time of Passover. Josephus says the
killing of the 3600 citizens and residents of Jerusalem occurred on the 16th day of Artemisius [Wars
2:315 (2.15.2)], just five days before the angelic armies were seen in the clouds (21st day of
Artemisius) [Wars 6.296 (6.5.3)].

Jesus Sends the Angels to Gather His Wheat

May 66 – Few Days After Passover – Angelic Armies seen in the Clouds (Artemisius 21 AD 66).
Josephus says: “Besides these, a few days after that feast [Passover, April AD 66], on the twenty-first
day of the month Artemisius [Iyar – Apr-May of AD 66], a certain prodigious and incredible
phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by
those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve
such signals; for, before sunsetting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running
about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities.” [Wars 6:296 (6.5.3)] Note that Josephus gives the
exact “day and hour” of this angelophany. It was just before sunset (the hour) on the 21st day (the
day) of Artemisius. Josephus is following the Macedonian (Greco-Roman) calendar, not the Jewish
Lunar calendar. He says there were many “eyewitnesses” to this event — which means that it was “at
the mouth of two or more credible first century eyewitnesses.” Josephus did not see this because
he had not returned from Rome yet when it happened. The fact that he gives very specific
historical documentation for it (places, dates and time of day) lends much credibility to it, and shows
that he had talked to several eyewitnesses, and maybe even had some written accounts of it. It is
noteworthy that Tacitus refers to this as an actual occurrence, and no other histories of the destruction
of Jerusalem reject it as untrue. Even more important is the “matter of fact” way he handles this
Angelophany. The idea of angels being seen in the clouds does not seem to be at odds with the way
Josephus views the God of Israel and the way He relates to and interacts with His creation through
Theophanies and Angelophanies (Jewish Biblical Cosmology).

The Sign of the Son of Man

This event appears to have been the sign that the Son of Man had come with his angels to begin
“gathering the tares to be burned” and “gathering his wheat into the barn” (Matt. 13:40-43 and 13:49-
50). This is not just coincidental. There is most definitely a connection between this carefully
documented Angelophany and the prophecies of Jesus. I believe this sighting of the angels in the
clouds above Israel was the sign of the coming of the Son of Man that Jesus told them to watch for
“immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29-31). Josephus gives the exact Day and Hour (“a few
days after Passover” on the twenty-first day of Artemisius, just before sunset). [Wars 6.296-298
(6.5.3)] This was evidently when Christ began his Parousia (presence) in AD 66 at the time when
Josephus says they saw the angelic armies in the clouds. His Parousia (presence to reward and
punish) was ongoing after that until the temple was burned — it was a visitation (extended visit) instead
of a one day event. That visitation began in April AD 66 when the commander of the hosts (Jesus, the
Son of Man) came with his legions of angels to start gathering up the tares, which would be burned
after his wheat was safely gathered into his barn, i.e., the rapture (see Matt 13:24-30). [Wars
6.296-299 (6.5.3)].

The Rapture?

June 66 – Pentecost – Priests in the Temple heard a multitude of voices in the unseen realm which
shouted in unison: “Let us depart from here.” Notice how Josephus describes this event:
Josephus: “Moreover at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into
the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said
that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a
sound as of a great multitude, saying, ‘Let us remove hence.’” [Wars 6.299 (6.5.3)]
Note that Josephus gives us the exact day and hour when this event occurred (on the day of
Pentecost at the hour of the evening sacrifices), where it occurred (in the Jerusalem Temple), and
who witnessed it (the officiating priests). The Jewish priests testified about what they felt and heard in
the Temple at night on Pentecost in the year AD 66, at the very time when the Zealot war with Rome
was about to begin.

Christians Disappeared at this Point (June 66)

Some have wondered where the Seven Churches of Asia were after AD 70. However, there is a bigger
story here than just the disappearance of the seven churches. We also need to ask what happened to
ALL the true Christians after AD 70! They were gone. We do not hear from any of them again. They wrote
no more books, did no more missionary activity, nor established any more churches after AD 70. Nothing
but deafening silence from those pre-70 Christians, at the very time when the heretics, Judaizers, and
Gnostics were flourishing! Where were those true Christians (the “elect”) who supposedly “lived and
remained until the Parousia?” If they were still around afterwards, why were they so silent about what
they had just seen, heard and experienced at the Parousia, especially in view of the heretics, Judaizers,
and Gnostics who were teaching a future Parousia? Why didn’t the true Christians speak up and set the
record straight if they were still alive on earth after the Parousia? There is something very strange and
incriminating about their silence, if indeed they were still around.
We need to remember that the group of Jewish Christians who moved to Pella and other areas before
the war included some Unitarian Judaizers. Futurists and Preterists both have greatly misunderstood the
character of these supposed Christians who were under the leadership of fleshly relatives of Jesus, and
were looking for a literal reign of Jesus on a physical throne in Jerusalem. They denied the virgin birth of
Jesus, and imposed circumcision on the Gentiles.
There were others still around after AD 70, in addition to those Unitarian Judaizers in Pella, who called
themselves “Christians” and were very active in writing and teaching. They are known to us today as the
Gnostics and heretics. Since there are no writings from the true Christians at this time, we are left with no
other option but to examine the documents that were produced by the false “Christians” at that time.
Those heretical, apocryphal, and pseudepigraphal writings are valuable source material for the historian.
They reveal the real history of the first generation right after AD 70, both in what they explicitly say, as
well as in what they do not say.
All interpreters of Bible prophecy, both preterists and futurists, need to examine this significant body of
literature that exploded into existence during that forty-year generation right after AD 70. It was not until a
generation later that some true Christians began to appear and take issue with those heretical writings.
But in the meantime, the heretical writers took full advantage of the void left by the disappearance of all
the true Christians. And the writings that these heretics left behind can be used to reconstruct the real
history of this otherwise “dark obscure period” (as it has been called by church historians).
Church historians are puzzled by the silence and inactivity of true Christians during the generation
right after AD 70. They moan and groan and complain about the lack of writings, and assume that there
must have been lots of writings produced, but for some reason they were never preserved for posterity.
And because history abhors a vacuum, historical scholars are forced to fill the void however they can.
Rather than admit the silence and confusion of this period, they late-date many of the NT writings and
assign them to the generation after AD 70. But they did not stop there. Because they had moved some of
the NT books into the post-70 period to fill that void, it forced them to push the Apostolic Father writings
even later into the second century where they obviously do not belong. John A. T. Robinson, in his
interesting book, Redating the New Testament, clearly pointed out the fallacy of that late-date theory. He
convincingly demonstrated that all the New Testament writings were written before AD 70, leaving the
post-70 generation devoid of any inspired writings, and allowing the Apostolic Fathers, heretics, Gnostics,
and Judaizer writings to be assigned to that period. The significance of this re-dating cannot be
overestimated, especially for canonical studies, ecclesiology, eschatology, and church history.
Written history does not tell us what happened to the seven churches of Asia, but the silence and
absence of all the true Christians after AD 70 does indicate that something very significant must have
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occurred in order to remove them from the earthly scene. They are not just silent – they are absent!
They are gone – nowhere to be found. Just like history abhors a vacuum and seeks to fill it immediately,
this silence and absence screams for an explanation.
The letters to the seven churches give us plenty of clues. Christ warned them about what would
happen to them if they did not repent. Their lampstands would be removed. Paul indicated in his very last
epistle that he wrote just before the Neronic persecution, that “all who are in Asia turned away from him”
(2 Tim 1:15). That definitely included the seven churches of Asia, and it spelled their doom. Instead of
repenting and being rescued out of that tribulation, they “turned away” from Christ and His apostles and
either went back into Judaism or paganism. After AD 70 those churches were nowhere to be found.
Evidently they were wiped out by the Neronic persecution and its associated apostasy. Their lampstands
were removed. Any true Christians (“elect”) who escaped that tribulation and apostasy would have been
raptured at the Parousia immediately afterwards. Thus, there were no more inspired Christians and
apostles left around to write anything and say anything. No wonder the heretics, Judaizers, and Gnostics
were able to spread their false teaching so easily during that generation after AD 70. There were no true
Christians left around to silence them, correct them, or set the record straight. With the true Christians
gone, the heretics were able to swoop right in to fill the void, unhindered and unchallenged.
However, without a rapture, there still would have been some pre-70 Christians left around on earth to
document the fulfillment of the Parousia, and to correct all the heresy and false teaching that was popping
up everywhere. But we do not see any of that. There is not a single pre-70 Christian left around anywhere
to be found. No one to silence the heretics, and claim the fulfillment of the Parousia.
We know that the pre-70 saints were not all killed in the Neronic persecution, and that not all of them
fell away in the great apostasy. Jesus clearly indicated in Matthew 24 that his “elect” (those true
Christians whom He had chosen) would live and remain until the Parousia, at which time He would send
forth His angels to gather them together from the four points of the compass (Matt. 24:31). So, unless
those elect ones were raptured out of there, they should have still been around after the Parousia to
correct the heretics and claim the fulfillment. Since they were not still around doing that after AD 70, it
implies that they had been gathered up by the angels, just as Jesus had promised.
But the Judaizers, Gnostics, and other heretics were still around, and very active in promoting their
heresy and producing written documents, some of which have survived, and the rest of which we know
about. We know what they were teaching. The second and third century church fathers quoted them and
refuted them. But the question remains, where were the true Christians right after AD 70 when these false
teachers began to spew out their nonsense? Why didn’t they rise up against the false teachers and set
the record straight? Why are the heretics the only ones who are saying anything about Christianity at this
time? Why is it that we do not see anyone begin to refute them until the early or middle decades of the
second century?
We have a lot of heretical writings from that very time period still in existence. Why don’t we have
some writings from the true Christians right after AD 70 refuting those heretics and claiming the fulfillment
of the Parousia? How can it be that the writings of the true Christians were not preserved, but the writings
of the heretics were preserved? And if there were some writings of the true Christians which were not
preserved, why don’t we at least know about their original existence, as we do for the heretical writings
that are no longer extant? No one expects all of them to still be in existence, but surely it is not expecting
too much to have as many of them still around as there are heretical writings still in existence, and to at
least know that the others which are no longer around were in existence in the late first century! But we
don’t even have that! Why is there such a disparity in representation between the heretical writings and
the orthodox writings? Surely, if there were any pre-70 Christians still around in the decades immediately
after AD 70, they would have been challenging the heretics and claiming the fulfillment. Even if their
writings did not survive, we would still know about their testimony from others who knew about it – just
like we know about the heretical writings (even though many of them were destroyed). But there is a
strange lack of writings here for the true Christians. Church historians have noticed this silence and have
labeled the generation right after AD 70 as “an obscure dark period” (Dr. Wayne McCown, lecture on
Sept. 16, 2004). The New Testament scholar Dr. Charles Hill noted that “an early Christian writer who is
even aware of a hyper-preterist eschatology in the church has yet to be found” (Keith Mathison, When
Shall These Things Be? p. 107).
The only way we can determine what was really happening with Christianity during the period right
after AD 70 is to look at the writings that have survived. The historical record is there for all to see. And it
tells us not only what was actually happening then, but also what was NOT happening, or what was
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happening so far below the radar that it was not significant enough to be noticed in the historical record.
The fact that none of the true Christians from the pre-70 generation show up after AD 70 to challenge the
heretics and claim the fulfillment, is extremely significant historically. Patristic scholars are baffled by that
anomaly, and futurist critics use that lack of documentation as evidence against the occurrence of the
Parousia. So, this is a documentation problem for the whole preterist movement, NOT just for the rapture
preterists. And the only preterists who have a reasonable explanation for that silence, are those who
believe in the first century rapture. The rapture solves this historical problem.

The Resurrection of the Dead

This transfer of a large multitude from one place to another in the unseen realm seems to have
been the resurrection of the dead and the change of the living saints, when they were caught up to be
with Christ. This event occurred at Pentecost, fifty days after Passover. Notice also that it occurred at
night, not during the daytime. That explains why no one noticed the snatching away of the living saints.
Anyone who noticed their absence the next day would have merely thought the Christians were
arrested in the night and taken away to be killed, or that they fled away during the night to get away
from the persecution.

It is worth remembering here that Pentecost was the time of wheat harvest, the time when the
heads of wheat were threshed and gathered into the barn. The harvest (resurrection of the dead and
the judgment) was at the end of the age. It fits the grain harvest typology, as well as the Parable of the
Tares, to see the resurrection and rapture as the event that occurred here at Pentecost.

Furthermore, Josephus puts this story in the mouths of his fellow priests who were in the Temple at
the very time these events occurred. He seldom gives this kind of strong eyewitness testimony to
confirm his account, especially to the point of giving a date and place, and naming his sources, as he
does here. The fact that he quotes these witnesses and identifies them, lends much credence to his
story. Out of all the possible eyewitnesses who could be deemed reliable in the first century, the
priests in the Temple would have been at the top of the list. Those priests were lawyers, judges,
scribes, and teachers of the Law. They understood the penalty for false testimony. Some of those
priests survived the destruction of Jerusalem, and could have easily discredited Josephus’ account.
Yet, as far as we know, this account was never challenged by them, but instead verified “at the mouth
of two or more” reliable first-century eyewitnesses (Deut 19:15) and accepted as true by contemporary
historians such as Tacitus.