Well in John 2:19 it's true that he is talking about his body being crucified and raised in three days. But Matthew 24 isn't talking about the same time. In John he was talking to the pharisees that were trying to trap him, in Matt.24 and Mark 13 he is talking to his disciples who are asking him about future events.
It's true that a prophecy can be "fufilled" partially in an earlier time, kind of like a picture of the future. Like Randman said about the oxen that shouldn't be muzzled. Their are many examples like that. e.g Moses said that God would raise up a prophet like him(Deut.18:18). Moses was like an imperfect picture of Jesus, he lead the people out of the bondage of Egypt, but Jesus leads people out of the bondage of sin. Also the whole sacrificial system was just a imperfect picture of Christ, which is why John the Baptist said "behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." I believe their are also examples in history, although I can't confirm it with the bible.
my own thoughts (not necasarilly true): I think that guy during the French revolution,Robspierre or whatever his name was had some simularities with the anti-christ. He tryed to make himself a God, he was seen by many as a good person, he rose to power with a small group of people, he beheaded his enemies, also Hitler, and Antiochus who sacrificied a pig in the Jewish temple. Not that they fufilled every prophecy,but it lets people see a preveiw of what it will be like. Although to a lower degree.
This message has been edited by Rainman2, 04-03-2006 10:46 PM
™ Version 4.2