FORMER ADVENTISTS PHILIPPINES
"BIBLE PROPHECY
SEMINAR"
Every Saturday | 6:00 PM
Session
1:April 5, 2026
LESSON 1: OLIVET’S NARRATIVE CONTEXT
How Matthew’s Gospel Prepares Us for AD 70 and the Olivet
Discourse
|
SESSION INFO |
Duration:
45 Minutes Big Idea: Before we can understand Matthew 24, we
must understand what the whole of Matthew’s Gospel has been building toward:
God’s impending judgment upon first-century Israel. |
LESSON TIMING OVERVIEW
|
0–5 min |
OPENING & HOOK — The
Prophecy That Changed Everything |
|
5–15 min |
PART 1 — The Confusion
About the Olivet Discourse |
|
15–30 min |
PART 2 — Matthew’s Gospel
as a Sustained Argument for AD 70 |
|
30–40 min |
PART 3 — The Two
Interpretive Frameworks: Preterism vs. Futurism |
|
40–45 min |
CONCLUSION, BRIDGE TO NEXT
SESSION & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS |
OPENING & HOOK (0–5 MIN)
Welcome
& Prayer
Open with a short prayer.
Welcome attendees to Session 1 of the FAP Bible Prophecy Seminar.
Engage the
Audience (2 min)
Ask the group:
•
“Kung nandoon kayo noong AD
70 at binasa ninyo ang Matthew 24 ilang taon bago mangyari ang lahat ano ang
naiisip ninyo?”
Brief pause for responses, then
transition with:
•
“Tonight we are not
starting at Matthew 24 we are starting at Matthew 1. Because the only way to
understand the destination is to understand the entire road that led there.”
Key Text
for the Seminar Series
|
Matthew
24:34 (ESV) “Truly, I
say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place.” |
State clearly: This is the
anchor verse of our entire seminar. By the end of this series, you will
understand exactly who ‘this generation’ refers to and it is not us.
PART 1: THE CONFUSION ABOUT THE
OLIVET DISCOURSE (5–15 MIN)
A. Why the
Olivet Discourse Matters
•
Matthew 24–25 is the
longest of Jesus’ five major discourses in Matthew’s Gospel.
•
It covers 97 verses across
two chapters.
•
It has generated millions
of bestselling books many of which are, biblically speaking, wrong.
B. The
Popular (But Mistaken) Understanding
The majority evangelical
position holds four assumptions all of which are incorrect:
|
POPULAR (FUTURIST) VIEW |
BIBLICAL (PARTIAL PRETERIST) VIEW |
|
❌ Events are
in the distant future (our future today) |
✅ Events
occurred in the 1st century, in the lifetime of Jesus’ audience |
|
❌ Refers to a
future end-times temple |
✅ Refers to
the 1st-century temple destroyed in AD 70 |
|
❌ Judgments
befall non-Jews who persecute Jews |
✅ Judgments
overwhelm the Jews themselves for rejecting the Messiah |
|
❌ Judgments
are worldwide in scope |
✅ Judgments
are focused on Judea and the Land of Israel |
C. What Is
Partial Preterism?
The term comes from the Latin
preteritus, meaning “gone by” or “past.”
•
Partial Preterism holds
that many NT prophetic passages were fulfilled in the early centuries of
Christianity especially around the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem.
•
It is “partial” because it
still holds to a future Second Coming and final resurrection.
•
It is driven not by
speculation but by the text itself: words like “near,” “soon,” “this
generation,” and “some standing here.”
|
Matthew
3:2 (ESV) “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” |
|
Matthew
16:28 (ESV) “Truly, I
say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they
see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” |
PART 2: MATTHEW’S GOSPEL AS A
SUSTAINED ARGUMENT FOR AD 70 (15–30 MIN)
Teacher’s Note: Walk through
this as a brief ‘narrative tour’ of Matthew, showing the drumbeat of coming
judgment. Keep it brisk. Use the key texts as anchors.
A. MATTHEW 1–2: The Setting
of the Stage
•
Jesus is introduced as the
Son of David and Son of Abraham the true Israel.
•
Jerusalem is introduced as
the center of antagonism toward Jesus (Matt 2:3).
•
Jesus re-enacts the Exodus
story subtly portraying Israel as the new Egypt, the enemy of God.
|
Matthew
2:3 (ESV) “When
Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” |
B. MATTHEW 3–4: The Axe Is
Already at the Root
•
John the Baptist’s first
words are a call to repentance and a warning of imminent judgment.
•
“The axe is already laid at
the root of the trees” not pruning, but total removal.
•
Jesus’ own first words
repeat John’s exact message: “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand.”
|
Matthew
3:10 (ESV) “Even now
the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” |
|
Matthew
3:12 (ESV) “His
winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and
gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable
fire.” |
|
Matthew
4:17 (ESV) “From that
time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.’” |
C. MATTHEW 5–12: Growing
Evidence of Israel’s Rejection
•
The Sermon on the Mount
already anticipates persecution from within Israel (5:10–12).
•
Jesus warns of cities in
Israel whose judgment will be worse than Sodom and Gomorrah (11:20–24).
•
Israel is called “an evil
and adulterous generation” (12:39).
|
Matthew
5:10–12 (ESV) “Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute
you... for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” |
|
Matthew
11:20–21 (ESV) “Woe to
you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes.” |
|
Matthew
10:23 (ESV) “When they
persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you
will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man
comes.” |
D. MATTHEW 16: The Son of
Man Coming in His Kingdom
•
Jesus warns that Israel’s
chief priests will kill him (16:21).
•
He promises some standing
there will live to see him “coming in his kingdom” this is AD 70, not the
final Second Coming.
|
Matthew
16:21 (ESV) “From that
time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and
suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised.” |
E. MATTHEW 21–23: Prophetic
Theater and Final Denunciation
•
Jesus enters Jerusalem for
the first time in Matthew’s narrative to confront and judge.
•
The cleansing of the temple
is prophetic theater: he is symbolically acting out the temple’s coming
destruction.
•
The cursing of the fig tree
is a prophetic symbol of Israel’s fruitlessness and judgment.
•
The Parable of the Tenants
(21:33–45): God will take the kingdom from Israel and give it to a new holy
nation.
•
The Parable of the Wedding
Banquet (22:1–14): The king’s armies burn the city AD 70.
•
Seven Woes: Jesus
pronounces total condemnation of Israel’s religious leadership (ch. 23).
|
Matthew
21:43 (ESV) “Therefore
I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a
people producing its fruits.” |
|
Matthew
22:7 (ESV) “The king
was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned
their city.” |
|
Matthew
23:36 (ESV) “Truly, I
say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” |
F. MATTHEW 26–27: Israel’s
Final Act of Rejection
•
The chief priests, elders,
scribes, and the high priest all conspire to execute Jesus.
•
The people declare: “His
blood be on us and on our children!” a covenant self-imprecation fulfilled in
AD 70.
•
Jesus warns the high priest
himself will see the Son of Man coming in cloud-judgment (26:64).
|
Matthew
27:25 (ESV) “And all
the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’” |
|
Matthew
26:64 (ESV) “Jesus
said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the
Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of
heaven.’” |
PART 3: PRETERISM VS. FUTURISM THE INTERPRETIVE STAKES (30–40 MIN)
A. What
Drives Each View?
•
Futurism is driven by
theological tradition, not exegesis. It reads Matthew 24 as disconnected from
Matthew 1–23.
•
Partial Preterism is driven
by the text itself: imminency language, the narrative arc of Matthew, Old
Testament covenantal curses, and historical fulfillment in AD 70.
B. The
Covenantal Foundation
The judgment of Israel in AD 70
is not surprising when read against the Old Testament. God had warned Israel
through Moses:
|
Deuteronomy
28:49–50, 52 (ESV) “The LORD
will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth,
swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,
a hard-faced nation... It shall besiege you in all your towns, until your
high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your
land.” |
This is not anti-Semitism. This
is biblical covenantalism. God judged Israel as he said he would, in accordance
with the Mosaic covenant.
C. The New
Covenant Implication
•
AD 70 marks the permanent
transition from Old Covenant to New Covenant.
•
The destruction of the
temple ends the sacrificial system forever because the one perfect sacrifice
has already been made.
•
The church, as the new
“holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), inherits the role once held exclusively by ethnic
Israel.
|
1 Peter
2:9 (ESV) “But you
are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out
of darkness into his marvelous light.” |
|
Matthew
28:19 (ESV) “Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” |
CONCLUSION & BRIDGE TO SESSION
2 (40–45 MIN)
Summary of
Lesson 1
•
Matthew’s Gospel is not a
random biography it is a carefully structured theological argument building
toward one climax: Israel’s judgment.
•
From John the Baptist’s
warning in chapter 3 to the “His blood be on us” in chapter 27, Matthew shows
us a nation that rejected her Messiah and would face the covenantal
consequences.
•
Partial Preterism does not
read Matthew 24 in isolation. It reads Matthew 24 as the culmination of Matthew
1–23.
•
The Olivet Discourse is not
a 21st-century prophecy chart. It is a first-century judgment oracle.
Bridge to
Session 2
In our next session, we will
enter Matthew 24 itself and examine the immediate context that introduces the
Olivet Discourse the Seven Woes of Matthew 23 and Jesus’ departure from the
temple.
Key passage to read before next
Saturday: Matthew 23:29–24:2 (ESV)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Facilitate these three
questions after the lesson. Encourage open sharing. Allow 5–10 minutes total if
time permits, or continue in a post-session group chat.
|
Discussion Question 1 Back when you were still in Adventism, how did you experience the teaching of Matthew 24? Was the focus mainly on “end-time events” that were still supposed to happen, or did anyone ever teach you that those things had already been fulfilled in the first century? Now that you’ve seen the bigger picture of Matthew’s Gospel, how has your understanding shifted? |
|
Discussion Question 2 The
chapter shows that John the Baptist, Jesus, and Matthew himself all point to
a coming judgment on first-century Israel. But many Christians today still
read Matthew 24 as a prophecy about events in our future. Bakit sa tingin mo
maraming tao pa rin ang hinahawakan ang futurist view, even when the text
itself keeps on saying ‘this generation’ and ‘near’? What do you think are
the main reasons theological, cultural, or personal why this is so
difficult to change? |
|
Discussion Question 3 Israel’s confidence in their temple, in being “Abraham’s descendants,” and in their religious system eventually led to their downfall. In what ways do you see a similar danger today, where some religious groups even some former Adventists might put their trust in institutions, systems, or identities instead of in Christ himself? How does New Covenant theology help protect us from falling into that same mistake? |
APPENDIX: ALL BIBLE TEXTS
REFERENCED IN THIS LESSON (ESV)
Listed in canonical order. All
quotations from the English Standard Version (ESV).
Deuteronomy
|
Deuteronomy
28:15, 49–50, 52, 63 (ESV) If you are
not careful to do all the words of this law... the LORD will bring a nation
against you from far away... It shall besiege you in all your towns... and
the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. |
Isaiah
|
Isaiah
9:1–2 (ESV) “But there
will be no gloom for her who was in anguish... The people who walked in
darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.” (Quoted in Matt 4:15–16) |
Micah
|
Micah
7:1–2 (ESV) “Woe is
me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered... The godly
has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind.” |
Zechariah
|
Zechariah
9:9 (ESV) “Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion!... behold, your king is coming to you; righteous
and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey.” (Fulfilled in
Matt 21:5) |
Malachi
|
Malachi
4:5 (ESV) “Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD
comes.” (Applied to John the Baptist in Matt 11:14; 17:10–13) |
Matthew
|
Matthew
2:3 (ESV) “When
Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” |
|
Matthew
3:2 (ESV) “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” |
|
Matthew
3:9 (ESV) “And do
not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell
you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” |
|
Matthew
3:10 (ESV) “Even now
the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” |
|
Matthew
3:12 (ESV) “His
winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and
gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable
fire.” |
|
Matthew
4:15–16 (ESV) “The land
of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles — the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great
light.” |
|
Matthew
4:17 (ESV) “From that
time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.’” |
|
Matthew
5:10–12 (ESV) “Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.” |
|
Matthew
8:11–12 (ESV) “I tell
you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will
be thrown into the outer darkness.” |
|
Matthew
10:5–6 (ESV) “These
twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles and
enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel.’” |
|
Matthew
10:23 (ESV) “When they
persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you
will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man
comes.” |
|
Matthew
11:14 (ESV) “And if
you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” |
|
Matthew
11:20–21 (ESV) “Woe to
you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes.” |
|
Matthew
12:39 (ESV) “An evil
and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it
except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” |
|
Matthew
16:21 (ESV) “From that
time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and
suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised.” |
|
Matthew
16:28 (ESV) “Truly, I
say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they
see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” |
|
Matthew
17:17 (ESV) “And Jesus
answered, ‘O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with
you?’” |
|
Matthew
19:28 (ESV) “Truly, I
say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious
throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.” |
|
Matthew
21:5 (ESV) “Say to
the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and
mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” |
|
Matthew
21:13 (ESV) “He said
to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but
you make it a den of robbers.’” |
|
Matthew
21:19 (ESV) “And
seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but
only leaves. And he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And
the fig tree withered at once.” |
|
Matthew
21:43 (ESV) “Therefore
I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a
people producing its fruits.” |
|
Matthew
22:7 (ESV) “The king
was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned
their city.” |
|
Matthew
23:36 (ESV) “Truly, I
say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” |
|
Matthew
23:37 (ESV) “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who
are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a
hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” |
|
Matthew
24:34 (ESV) “Truly, I
say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place.” |
|
Matthew
26:52 (ESV) “Then
Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the
sword will perish by the sword.’” |
|
Matthew
26:64 (ESV) “Jesus
said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the
Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of
heaven.’” |
|
Matthew
27:25 (ESV) “And all
the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’” |
|
Matthew
28:19 (ESV) “Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” |
1
Thessalonians
|
1
Thessalonians 2:14–16 (ESV) “For you,
brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in
Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did
from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us
out, and displease God and oppose all mankind...” |
1 Peter
|
1 Peter
2:9 (ESV) “But you
are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out
of darkness into his marvelous light.” |
END OF SESSION
1 — FORMER ADVENTISTS PHILIPPINES BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINAR
Next Session: April 12, 2026 | Lesson 2: The Temple Setting and Matthew 23
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