C. S. Lewis on Jesus’ False Prophecies
C. S. Lewis is one of Christianity’s most celebrated and loved authors. His work Mere Christianity is a classic of Christian apologetics and is easily one of the most influential books among modern evangelists besides the New Testament itself. This is because C.S. Lewis was not only a novelist but also a prolific lay theologian. However, not all of his opinions about the Christian faith have been celebrated by Christians and some have proved quite embarrassing. Those happen to be the views of his that Christians rarely if ever quote. So embarrassing are some of those opinions to the cause of Christianity, indeed to Jesus himself, that some Christians have opined of C. S. Lewis that he was a better writer than a theologian.
In his work The World’s Last Night C. S. Lewis expressed a frank if shocking to most Christians view that Jesus was very wrong. The “God-Man” (as Lewis called him) was clearly wrong when he prophesied about his own return. He was ignorant and has spoken presumptuously. Indeed, Jesus was the cause of the deception among his own disciples and knew no more than they did. Yet Jesus did prophecy, as the New Testament recorded for all to read, repeating the same failed prophecies across all of the four gospels.
Here is C. S. Lewis in his own words:
“It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, ‘this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.’ And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.
“It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible. Yet how teasing, also, that within fourteen words of it should come the statement “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side. … The evangelists have the first great characteristic of honest witnesses: they mention facts which are, at first sight, damaging to their main contention.
“… The answer of the theologians is that the God-Man was omniscient as God, and ignorant as Man. This, no doubt, is true, though it cannot be imagined. Nor indeed can the unconsciousness of Christ in sleep be imagined, not the twilight of reason in his infancy; still less his merely organic life in his mother’s womb.” – C. S. Lewis, in The World’s Last Night, pages 98-99
That C. S. Lewis went to his grave as a devout Christian and worshiper of the “God-Man”, while effectively acknowledging that Jesus prophesied falsely and deceived not only his few immediate listeners but billions of others, is a dramatic testimony of just how far from the Jewish moorings Christianity has drifted. It testifies not only of the blind(ed) devotion to Jesus even in the face of bare and even self-acknowledged facts, but spotlights and exposes how little a value Christians have historically placed on what they call “the Law”. Had they really valued the Word of G-d (of which New Testament is not) they would have recognized that in the Torah that G-d gifted to Israel G-d has warned the Jewish people in no uncertain terms about false prophets that were to arise in their midst and taught them how to recognize them, how test them and how deal with their treachery:
But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the L-RD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the L-RD does not take place or come true, that is a message the L-RD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
Daily Minyan 
You are completely misreading Lewis here Gene, and you know that you are. He says right in the quote you mined “he created that delusion.” Jesus also says no man knows the day or hour, not even the son but the father only. Why would you post something you know is such a stretch? You are capable of better articles than this. You can open Christians up to examining Judaism more fully, by giving the plain meaning of the Hebrew text. This kind of writing discredits you as an objective inquirer big time.
CR, you must live in some alternate universe where right is left and left is right, and nothing is what it appears to be. The fact of the matter is that Jesus, or his propagandists, pulled a fast one on their audience. Lewis acknowledged this much as his own words demonstrate. Of course, Lewis, being a devout Christian that he was, didn’t attribute evil intent to Jesus, but rather that his “Savior” was merely ignorant and presumptuous. A frailty of the human side of Jesus, no doubt.
The problem, however, is that Lewis didn’t apply the biblical/Torah standard of a Jewish prophet to his god. If he did, Lewis would have to conclude with the Jewish people that Jesus was not guilty of mere ignorance, but of outright falsehood. In other words, he was a false prophet. That you also find various excusing statements, such as the one you pointed out, where Jesus professes ignorance right after issuing false prophecies doesn’t mitigate the seriousness of the charge, but rather amplifies it, as Lewis himself noted, by saying, “The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side.”
Jesus didn’t predict his own death and resurrection. Jesus predicted the death and resurrection of “Son of Man “. Jews and Christians wrongly believe this son of man is Jesus himself. This wrong belief leads to all the wrong interpretation of words and deeds of Jesus. Son of man in the OT and NT are same one person and he is “Israel”. Jesus predicted the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem temple ie. the death of Israel and predicted the resurrection or second coming of Israel. And this is what happened in the history of Israel and hence Jesus has not made any false prophecy, the way we understood its meaning went wrong.
“the death of Israel”
Daniel, Israel didn’t die, Jesus did. Israel is not a land, it’s a people that became a nation decades before they set foot in the Promises Land. The Jewish people didn’t stop living – they went on living, contributing immeasurably to every nation where they made their home, a blessing to all. In fact, the greatest development of Jews, as a people and as faith, came in exile. Only for the religion of Christianity did Jews die and were replaced.
Your theory is blown away by NT’s usage of the term “son of man”, clearly applying it to Jesus and not Israel, e. g. :
John 9:35-37 states:
So you see, you are the one who interprets wrongly the clear meaning of the NT text.
But you got one part right – unlike the NT, Daniel’s “like a son of man” is indeed Israel, the Jewish people collectively, not Jesus or messiah of Christian interpretation. It’s very clear in the context. This makes Jesus a false prophet or, more likely, a product of false imagination of supersessionist New Testament writers.
I agree Jews were living, but their country remained dead for about 2000 years and it was resurrected in 1948. Can you deny this truth?
I answered you in my expanded comment above, including your NT’s son of man being wrongly interpreted theory. NT clearly doesn’t mean to say what you think it does. Since you got this part very wrong, no need to talk about Israel the country situated in the Land having been dead, etc. Christians correctly interpreted the NT texts they themselves wrote and canonized. It’s the Hebrew scriptures that they reinterpreted to suit their new deified man-centered religion.
You agreed that son of man in the OT represents Israel. And Jesus said about this son of man ” All the things that are written by the prophets concerning the son of man will be accomplished. for he will be delivered to the gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon and they will scourge him and put him to death and third day he will rise again “. The person who wrote the gospel showed honesty to say “But they did not understood none of these things; this was hidden from, and they did not know the things which were spoken.Then how can you say the Christians interpreted it in the right way? If the son of man in the OT is Israel is it not about the same son of man Jesus said ” All the things that are written by the prophets concerning the son of man will be fulfilled ? Is it not the truth that Jesus spoke those things in the language of a prophet but we failed to understand its real meaning ? Is it not the truth that the Jews who believed Jesus is their messiah gave their own interpretation for his words according to their mind and their belief?
Daniel, it was Jesus who failed, both as a prophet and a messiah, and as an interpreter of Hebrew scriptures. Again, I already showed you and can bring up many other examples from the NT which show that JC clearly referred to himself when speaking about the “son of man” and not to Israel. Jesus was wrong and Jews were right to reject him and all the other false prophets and would be messiahs.
Are you not aware NT is not written by Jesus. NT was written by Christians who believed Jesus is the messiah and they wrote it to make you believe Jesus clearly referred to himself when speaking about the son of man and not to Israel. After reading NT, if you believe Jesus thought himself is the messiah it is their victory and your failure and not the failure of Jesus as a prophet. Thus the prophecy of Ezekiel is fulfilled in Jesus which says “Go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them, for you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel , not to many people of unfamiliar speech and and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. surely, had i sent you them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard hearted.” Jesus claimed ” I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel ” and the Jews rejected him but the gentiles whose language was not known to Jesus accepted him even as son of God and God. Are you not astonished about? what have you to say about it ?
Daniel, think for a minute about what you are saying – NT was written by Christians and indeed everything we know about the supposed life and teachings of JC comes to us from Christians, the same ones you tell me not to believe because you say that for me to do so would grant them victory.
At the same time, you DO want me to believe SELECTIVELY (picking and choosing text) what these Christians wrote to accept Jesus as a prophet, again based on the writings of these same Christians who you said had an agenda to misrepresent JC as something he wasn’t. The fact is, YOU don’t know which words came from JC and which were put into his mouth. It’s a recepie for insanity to rely on such ‘evidence’ with your spiritual life, and ignore Biblical warning about false prophets which JC fits very well. Don’t mind if I decline to accept your challenge.
” Are you not astonished about? what have you to say about it ?”
I have to say that what you are saying is the same old Christian misuse of the Hebrew scriptures via mistranslation, misinterpretation and misapplication – wrong times, wrong target audience and wrong intent.
Gene Shlomovich ; Labelling Jesus a false prophet, a cheat the Jews erased all records of Jesus from their records. We should be thankful to the Christians who kept all his sayings and parables believing Jesus is the messiah.. It is a truth they wrote the gospels to make you believe Jesus is the messiah but If they had not written the gospels there would not have any record of Jesus available to us. The Message of Jesus is hidden in the gospels we have to bring it out and we can do it from the gospels and history of Jews. We must be thankful to Christians it was Christians who spread not only the Gospels but the Torah and Tanakh throughout the earth and thus made it known throughout the earth “the God of Israel – Yahweh “. I admit they did it with their own agenda but they did a great service to the entire human race. It is time to make an earnest attempt to study Jesus and his real message without any prejudice and with an open mind.
” Jews erased all records of Jesus from their records”
So, now you are into conspiracy theories about the evil Jews? They must have also conspired with the Romans and the Greeks to “erase Jesus” from their records too.
“I admit they [Christians] did it with their own agenda but they did a great service to the entire human race.”
You must be joking, Daniel! You call subverting a good chunk of the world into yet another idolatry of directing their worship unto a dead man a “great service”?
You want to selectively believe what the New Testament tells us about Jesus to be truth (while in no way knowing that with certainty), while ignoring huge swaths of it which demolish your theories. But that’s exactly what Christians had done with the “Old Testament” when they sought out the support for their demigod within its pages.
The fact is, if the NT is to be believed (and we have no other source), Jesus was indeed a false prophet, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. No true Jewish prophet ever became a demigod and object of idol worship, except for Jesus. Much blood has been shed as a result of his teachings.
Romans counted Jesus as one among thousands of Jews whom they crucified, why should they keep record of a poor Jew ?
“Romans counted Jesus as one among thousands of Jews whom they crucified, why should they keep record of a poor Jew ?”
That’s an excuse. NT claims that the whole of Jerusalem was in uproar about Jesus and the Jewish nation was in danger of destruction on account of him. Every Roman-appointed ruler in the region supposedly either knew of him or talked to him. Don’t tell me of a “poor Jew”. NT claims Jesus raised cemeteries of saints (Matthew 27:53)!
Interesting that while you just made a claim that Romans wouldn’t even bother keeping records of Jesus as too insignificant you made another claim to me that Jews “ERASED” all records of him!
Gene Shlomovich; Romans counted Jesus as too insignificant, they simply crucified Jesus just like any other insignificant Jew though some of the Jews believed that Jesus is their King messiah, the miracle maker.So they may not have felt any reason to keep his records and they neglected him and put him in the dustbin of history. The Jews who believed Jesus is their messiah became Christians and were cut off from Judaism.
But at the same time the Jews who believed Jesus is a false messiah and a cheat removed all record of Jesus and filled their Talmud with false stories and false accusation about Jesus to degrade Jesus to prevent more Jews from converting to Christianity. The Jews are continuing this exercise and Christians are trying to convince the world that Jesus is the real messiah. Both Jews and Christians are wrong, truth is in between the two extreme ends.
Truth is simple. Jesus was a Jew. He was sent by God to warn the Jews that their country and their temple is going to be destroyed and the Jews are going to be scattered all over the earth among the gentiles and while the Jews are among gentiles all the curses of the law will come upon the Jews. But the Jews must not be disappointed, they must not give up their faith in their God because after fulfilling the prophesies concerning the curses in the law those who will remain as Jews enduring all the persecutions will be brought back to their promised land and thus Israel will be resurrected or restored as promised by all the prophets.
In the language of a prophet Jesus told the Jews “Everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again.” The Jews who could not understand the meaning of his words rejected Jesus and labelled him a false prophet, a failed messiah and a cheat. The Jews who believed Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection built their religion upon their belief. If you understood the message of Jesus in the wrong way why should blame Jesus and label him a false prophet? I wonder why you fail to understand Jesus didn’t say any thing new other than all other prophets foretold. Jesus said the same thing that Hosea said ” He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence”.
” In the language of a prophet Jesus told the Jews “Everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again.””
Daniel, I already showed you that you are wilfully ignorant of NT texts which clearly and unequivocally identify JC with the “son of man”. Since you wish to ignore such obvious facts along with my repeated pointing out of it, since you wish to pick and choose only those texts in NT which help your theories, I don’t think that you and I have much of substance to discuss.
I am not surprised or disappointed by your reply, I was expecting it. I know it is not easy to destroy the great wall of misunderstanding built up through 2000 years. I would like to have your reply for the following:
Jesus told the Jews “people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me”.Mt.5:10 ” All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities before the Son of Man comes.” Mt.10:22,23. Can you say this prophecy failed, it didn’t happened to the Jews ? Can you forget how much world hated Jews and persecuted Jews calling them “Christ killers”. Were not the Jews fleeing from cities to cites throughout the earth because of persecutions and killings before the arrival of “Son of Man -the Israel ” in 1948. ? can an ordinary Jew make such an amazing prophecy if he was not a prophet ?
Jesus told the Jews “”Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Was not it the situation of Jews before the creation of Israel? Did you Jews have your own country to lay your head before Israel was created?
Jesus told the Jews ” Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”. For about 1800 years you Jews were wandering among gentiles because you Jews didn’t have your own country. Afterwards Jews began to search their country.
And who created Israel? Was it not the Jews who went to Palestine searching their country without worrying what they shall wear, what they shall eat, where they shall reside who created “Israel the miracle”. If those Jews had not gone to the desert Palestine without worrying what shall we eat in the desert, what shall we wear , what shall we drink in the desert was it possible to create Israel ? You must not forget the truth you Jews were waiting for your messiah to come and to take you to your promised land and no messiah came as foretold by Jesus. As foretold by Jesus along with your state now you got, food, shelter, security, employment and every thing and more over above all those things Freedom and prestige. Can any ordinary Jew make such an amazing powerful prophecy if he was not a prophet from God?
“Can any ordinary Jew make such an amazing powerful prophecy if he was not a prophet from God?”
Daniel, NOTHING that Jesus supposedly “prophecied” of Israel and the Jewish people was new, amazing or powerful. (Although the false prophecies about himself were certainly quite “innovative”!). All the things you listed (hatred of nations, persecution, exile, and restoration) that Jesus supposedly “predicted” about the Jewish people were already ongoing even before Jesus was born (under Roman occupation) and more of the same was expected by Jews simply because this is what their prophets foretold, all of the prophets, repeatedly, over and over. Open your Bible! Do you think that Jesus said something new here that any literate Jew didn’t already know from reading the prophets?
Even the supposed prophecy of destruction of the Temple (not written down by JC himself, but put in Jesus’ mouth by non-eyewitness church scribes after the events took place) – all pious Jews themselves expected the Second Temple to be destroyed, simply because the prophets foretold a Third and far more glorious future Messianic-era Temple as described in great detail by Ezekiel. The true Jewish messiah was also expected to rebuild the Temple – something not possible if there was one already standing.
As I said elsewhere:
“What is true in Christianity is not new, and what is new [in it] is not true.”
The church scribes who wrote and edited the NT simply rehashed, plagiarized, remolded and twisted the Jewish scriptures. You yourself believe this much, that Christianity “cooked” its books. Do you expect me to believe a word of it?
Where does any prophet said ” You will be hated in the name of Jesus , you will be killed in the name of Christ ” only Jesus said so. I agree all other prophets foretold the destruction of Israel but they didn’t say when it will happen. But the difference is that Jesus said it is going to happen and it happened within a short period after his death.
Had any prophet questioned the centuries old Jewish belief that a son of David will come as their messiah? Jesus questioned this belief. not only that Jesus told the Jews do not believe in any individual who may come claiming he is the messiah. And you Jews neglecting the warning of Jesus flocked around all Jews who came claiming he is the messiah and later found they were not messiah.
You were believing that gathering Jews in the promised land is the work of your messiah.And you were waiting for your messiah to recreate Israel and to take you back to your promised land, did any messiah came for that?
“Before God sends a new illness to the Jews, He has already provided the cure” goes a Jewish saying. God provided Moses the greatest of all prophets to liberate Jews from the servitude of Egypt.. We hear the voice of Amos and Hosea sixty years before the exile of the Jews in the kingdom of Israel.
So is it logical to think that God failed to provide a prophet before the destruction of the kingdom of Judea and scattering of the Jews all over the earth?
Here comes the importance of Jesus. Like Amos and Hosea, we hear the voice of Jesus some seventy years before the destruction of Judea, Jerusalem and the temple. Can’t you see the importance of Jesus and his message ? Think aloud is it logical to think that God didn’t provide a prophet before the destruction of the kingdom of Judea and scattering of the Jews all over the earth?
The chief rotten fruit of NT’s Jesus is idolatry, that is the focus on a creature and worship of a dead man. To a Jew this sort of fruit is the opposite of what a true prophet would cause to happen. This proves that JC was not a true prophet since he failed the biblical test in various ways. Now that is far more logical.
You were raised as a Christian and you are still very much one – Jesus is your obsession. You still operate as a classical Evangelical with your deep-seated attitude toward “you Jews” as blind chosen idiots waiting to acknowledge Jesus.
To get from your A to your B you resorted to ignoring huge swaths of both the NT not to mention the Jewish scripture. In construction of your fantasies and conspiracy theories you have created your own private version of Christianity, another one to add to the tens of thousands already fighting for the minds and souls of humanity. This Jew will not have any part in that.
Nowhere in the Torah it is stated how to identify a true prophet. But it says ” 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” You have examined what the Christians say but have not examined the prophecies of Jesus. Without properly examining prophecies of Jesus and its fulfillment how can you say Jesus was a false prophet?
Jeremiah says ” From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true.”. See like all other prophets Jesus also prophesied war and disaster, in the words of Jesus he came not to bring peace but a sword. That itself is a proof that Jesus was a prophet then how can you say Jesus was not a prophet?
You are wrongly accusing Jesus saying Jesus wanted the Jews to worship him as God, this is utter nonsense, Can you show any one statement of Jesus in which Jesus asked you worship him as God?
“See like all other prophets Jesus also prophesied war and disaster, in the words of Jesus he came not to bring peace but a sword. That itself is a proof that Jesus was a prophet then how can you say Jesus was not a prophet? ”
Daniel… is that a proof – forecasting of generic disasters? (To Jesus’ credit he had no control of what the church scribes would put in his mouth after the fact). You don’t get it! The whole point of Jeremiah is that any Joe Shmoe can prophecy disasters (“wars and rumors of wars”) – our human existence is nothing but a series of wars, natural disasters and plagues (Ebola anyone?). Dozens of Christian “prophets” have been prophesying disasters coming upon the earth and Judgement Day, giving them specific dates – their predictions never came to pass when they claimed they would – same as with Jesus. They are exposed as false prophets, just as Jesus was a false prophet – he failed in prophesying where it mattered most – his own “glorious” appearance.
Jesus didn’t made any prophecy about his own “glorious ” appearance. All those things are Christian versions. You don’t know what Jesus and his disciples did. Jesus selected 12 apostles , do you know what was the work entrusted to them ? He sent them not to saw the seeds of the kingdom of god but to reap a harvest. Jesus told them a parable about the peculiar harvest. You pretend you know meaning of all his teachings well, then tell me what was the work entrusted to his apostles and how they accomplished it.
Daniel, I am sorry, I can’t take you seriously, with your picking and choosing what in the NT you want to believe as true or to reject as made up, whatever fits your theories or doesn’t. You are quite confused.
Who am I for you to take me seriously ? But don’t belittle truth hidden in the gospels.
In the absence of Moses, his assistant given by God made a golden calf and asked teh Jews to worship it as their God. In the absence of Jesus , his assistant Peter made Jesus son of God and God and asked the Jews to worship Jesus as God. Those Jews who went to worship Jesus as God were cut off from Judaism and in the first day their number was 3000 the same number of people who were cut off in the case of Golden calf . Are you not astonished about it?
Do you know what peter did?
All the Prophets told the Jews do no go and worship any other God other than Yahweh. All the prophets told the Jews to hold fst to Yahweh and love and serve him with all the soul and heart. As foretold by Moses in Deut.13 Peter and his companions came to test the Jews to know whether Jews will remain loyal to Yahweh or go to worship a son of God.The Jews who went to accept Jesus as son of God were cut off from Judaism and became Christians. Do you think Peter did a great wrong thing to Jews and Judaism ? Jesus was aware this testing is going to take place, and Jesus asked the Jews to pray ” not to lead us into a test “. Jesus sent his apostle not to sow the seed of the kingdom of God but to reap the harvest. And Jesus told them “Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”. But the harvest was a peculiar one. Jesus said “At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” I wonder why do you fail to understand the apostles collected weeds and bundled them in Christian religion and now the wheat – Jews who remained loyal to Yahweh – are collected to the Barn – Israel. Is it not what happened in the history of Jews?
Do you still think I am talking nonsense ?
” Are you not astonished about it?”
No, because I don’t believe a word of it.
Jesus warned the Jews “Mt.7:6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”. But it fell into deaf ears, the Jews who believed Jesus is the messiah handed over the pearls – Torah and Tanak – to the gentiles. Don’t you know what the Christians who received it did to Jews and Judaism? Only if you can understand these things you will be astonished.
Daniel, it’s precisely BECAUSE I understand that I reject JC and everything associated with him as irrelevant not only to me, not only to Jews, but to everyone.
so the “like a man” in Daniel (7:13 I assume) is Israel?
Can you show me a commentator (before the modern era) who agrees with you?
Leonard, before we get into this or that commentary, can you tell me what was the plain interpretation of the vision (of the four beasts and the like the son of man), as given to Daniel by the angel?
I will help you by copying the text here:
And also the follow up interpretation by the angel, lest there was some doubt as to the true meaning of the vision:
Hi Leonard. First I would like to state the obvious. Jesus never came on the clouds (at least not yet). Furthermore, are they 4 literal beast, we have to take them literally if the man is literal. but no, it is a vision. Furthermore, the only time Jesus came was on a donkey (or 2 according to Matthew, Hiya! I could imagine Jesus riding on two donkeys like a western cowboy). According to the Tanakh, the king arriving on a donkey is a warrior with his soldiers:
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord—[a]
2 and on Hamath too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.
5 Ashkelon will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.
8 But I will encamp at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
So it does not fit Jesus and also, it is not that hard to fulfil. Thousand arrived on donkeys everyday in Jerusalem…
And wanted to add, if you take it literally, the Ancient of Days has a body. This would contradict the Tanakh and non-testament. But if everything is a vision, the beast are kingdoms and the “son of man” is Israel. If you take it literally, god the father has a body in heaven and he gives dominion to god the son or the son of man, this is not in consistence with the rest of scriptures…
I know this is a old blog, but would like to shed some light on the misunderstand of this passage:
The generation that will not pass away until all these things are fulfilled is the generation that sees the fig tree bud. (Either 1948 or 1967)