The Theophania, or Divine Manifestation of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea
(c. 265 - 340)
Translated and Edited from an ancient manuscript
recently discovered by Samuel Lee Lee's Preliminary
Disseration on the Theophania
"But the things which took place afterwards, did our Saviour,
from his foreknowledge as THE WORD or GOD, foretell should
come to pass, by means of those which are (now) before us.
For He named the whole Jewish people, the children of
the City; and the Temple, He styled their House. And thus
He testified, that they should, on their own wicked account,
bear the vengeance thus to be inflicted. And, it is right we
should wonder at the fulfilment of this prediction, since at
no time did this place undergo such an entire desolation
as this was. He pointed out moreover, the cause of their
desolation when He said, 'If thou hadst known, even in this
day, the things of thy peace:' intimating too His own coming,
which should be for the peace of the whole world. But, when
ye shall see it reduced by armies, know ye that which comes
upon it, to be a final and full desolation and destruction.
He designates the desolation of Jerusalem, by the destruction
of the Temple, and the laying aside of those services which
were, according to the law of Moses, formerly performed
within it. The manner moreover of the captivity, points out
the war, of which He spoke; 'For (said He) there shall be
(great) tribulation upon the land, and great wrath upon
this people: and they shall fall by the edge of the sword'.
We can learn too, from the writings of Flavius Josephus,
how these things took place in their localities, and how
those, which had been foretold by our Saviour, were, in
fact, fulfilled. On this account He said, 'Let those who are
in its borders not enter into it, since these are the days of
vengeance, that all may be fulfilled which has been written'.
Any one therefore, who desires it, may learn the results of
these things from the writings of Josephus." - Eusebius
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I will only add that we can note how he shows us how
Jesus tied the peace of the whole world, to the phrase,
"thy peace", which was tied to (from that same time
as the Lord said it) "this day".
It was about peace within us, not outside and around us.
They wanted a worldly kingdom. Jesus did not offer them
one and that is why they rejected Him and crucified Him.
He flat out denied a physical kingdom and told them that
it is within and could not be pointed to, nor seen with
the eye.
Luke 17:20-21
20) Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when
the kingdom of God would come, He answered them
and said, 'The kingdom of God does NOT come with
observation'.
21) Nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’.
For indeed, the kingdom of God is WITHIN you.
What Jesus preached regarding the "outside and around us",
was war and desolation for the Temple, Jerusalem and Judea,
so that "all may be fulfilled, which has been written".
Luke 21:20-22
20) But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
then know that its desolation is near.
21) Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,
let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not
those who are in the country enter her.
22) For THESE are the days of vengeance, that ALL things
which are written may be fulfilled.
And note that Eusebius tied this destruction to what Jesus
said about "His coming".
So while many quote Eusebius and others out of context,
thinking they have proved that he/they was/were Futurists,
this proves you shouldn't take that for granted. And while
many claim that there were no (I don't like using this name),
"church fathers" that believed that Christ had returned in
70 AD, that claim is patently false, as I have just proved
with a quote by the same man that the Futurists try to
claim believed that Christ's return was yet future to him,
in the 3rd/4th century.
I hope this information was a blessing to you all! :)
--
Pastor Dave
People are so afraid to reject doctrine, that they just
don't give a damn what the Bible actually says! Sad!
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