The word “apocalyptic” comes from the Greek word which gives us the name of the book “Revelation.” It means an “unveiling.” “Apocalyptic” language has commonly come to refer to language the reflects the imagery in the book of Revelation and eventually to refer to the language of catastrophe. I wrote the thesis for my MDiv at FHU on the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32 in Acts 2.
It is my studied conviction that this paragraph in Matthew 24 is apocalyptic language (not to be understood literally) for the destruction of Jerusalem: “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matt. 24:29–31).
In the same way, I am convinced that Peter’s use of Joel 2 in Acts 2 portrays, in apocalyptic language, the destruction of the nation of Israel: “And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. ‘The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come” (Acts 2:19–20), quoting Joel 2:30-31). The same point is made in Revelation 6:12-14, which I believe strongly refers in apocalyptic language to the destruction of the Roman Empire. In fact, Revelation 6:16-17 quotes Hosea 10:8 which is apocalyptic language applied by the prophet to the destruction of Samaria and Israel. It was not to be understood literally.
To support this position, please consider these texts and their contexts from the prophets…
In referring to the destruction of Babylon, Isaiah wrote: “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless” (Isa. 13:10–11). That’s apocalyptic language which is not intended to be understood literally.
Speaking of the enemies of Israel – the “world” – in Isaiah 24:23, the prophet wrote: “Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders.” Isaiah is using apocalyptic language which is not referring to literal events.
The nations that were persecuting Israel are the subject of apocalyptic language in Isaiah 34:4: “And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree.” This is not literal events.
Jeremiah uses the same language to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 4:23-25: “I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.”
Ezekiel (32:7-8) uses the same language to refer to the destruction of Egypt – which obviously was not fulfilled literally: “And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you and will set darkness on your land,” Declares the Lord God.”
To paraphrase the late Wayne Jackson, you might want to make notes in the margin of your Bibles, especially the relevant texts in Matthew 24, Acts 2, and Revelation 6, and refer to these passages from the prophets.
Paul Holland
