Part 2: Were all the end time prophecies of Jesus fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

http://reachmorenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/end-is-near_maybe.jpg

Part 2: Were all the end time prophecies of Jesus fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

THE PRETERIST CONTENTION IN MATTHEW 16

 

I now turn to the Preterists misguided contention that Matthew 16:28 supports a past prophetic fulfillment.

Matthew 16:27,28
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Dr. Sproul and other Preterists teach that this passage contains another “time-text” indicator supporting their contention that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70 by the Romans fulfilled this prophecy in the past. Thus, coupled with a similar understand of other so-called “time-texts,” almost all of Bible prophecy-like Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation-have already been fulfilled.

The expression “shall not taste death” clearly refers to dying, so we may render the text to mean that some who were hearing Jesus’ words on this occasion would not die before witnessing some kind of coming of Jesus. . . .

If Jesus had in mind a time-frame of roughly forty years, it could also be said that during this time-frame some of his disciples would not taste death. If the Olivet Discourse refers primarily to events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem and if the word generation refers to a forty-year period, then it is possible, if not probable, that Jesus’ reference to his coming in Matthew 16:28 refers to the same events, not to the transfiguration or other close-at-hand events.

Preterists believe that Matthew 16:28 and parallel passages (Mk. 9:1; Lk. 9:27) are a prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem accomplished through the Roman army in A.D. 70. I believe that Matthew 16:28 was fulfilled by events that took place on the Mount of Transfiguration.

THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION FULFILLMENT

In setting up a proper interpretation of this passage we should begin by observing the comparisons and contrasts of the three parallel statements found in Matthew 16:27-28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:26-27. Since all three accounts are descriptive of the same event, it is interesting to note the vocabulary and contexts of each inspired writer.

Context


Matthew 16:27 is speaking of the future second coming, while verse 28 refers to the impending transfiguration. Why are these verses positioned in this way? Because earlier Christ reveals clearly His impending death to His disciples (see 16:21). Peter reacts to this suffering phase of Jesus’ career (16:22). Our Lord responded to Peter with His famous “Get behind Me, Satan!” statement (16:23). Then Jesus provides a lesson to His disciples on denial of self (16:24-26). Christ is teaching that the order for entrance into His kingdom, for both Himself and His followers, is the path of first the cross and then the crown. Suffering precedes glory! But the glory will one day come at Christ’s second advent, when each individual will be required to give an account of his actions during the time of suffering (16:27). In order to encourage His followers, who would have to suffer the bitter pill of the impending death of Jesus and their own suffering and eventual deaths for Christ’s sake, Christ provides a word of the promised future glory in 16:28 about some who will “see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” “After Jesus predicted His own death, Peter and the other disciples needed reassurance that Jesus would ultimately triumph. His prediction that some of them would see the kingdom of God present with power must have alleviated their fears.” Thus, “verse twenty-seven looks at the establishment of the kingdom in the future, while a promise of seeing the Messiah in His glory is the thought of verse twenty-eight. They are two separate predictions separated by the words ‘truly I say to you."”

Preterist Objections


Preterists and some other interpreters say that the phrase from Matthew 16:28, “there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death,” cannot be fulfilled by the immediately following transfiguration event. “But the transfiguration cannot be its fulfillment,” insists Gary DeMar, “since Jesus indicated that some who were standing with Him would still be alive when He came but most would be dead.” DeMar misses the point of the passage in his attempt to prove too much, as noted by commentator William Lane who counters such a view by noting:

. . . it is not said that death will exclude some of those present from seeing the announced event. All that is required by Jesus’ statement is that “some” will see a further irruption of the power and sovereignty of God before they experience the suffering foreseen in Ch. 8:34-35.

Some opposing the transfiguration interpretation say that a week is too short of a time frame to make proper sense of the statement. Ken Gentry says, “It was not powerfully to evidence itself immediately, for many of His disciples would die before it acted in power.” George N. H. Peters quotes a Dr. Kendrick who says that the disputed phrase “refer not to length of life, but to privilege; some shall have the privilege of beholding Him in His glory even before they die.” When we consider the force of the preceding context leading up to our Lord’s statement, our view makes the best sense. Randolph Yeager explains, “That Jesus should have suggested that some who had been standing there might die within the next week is in line with what He had been saying about taking up the cross, denying oneself, losing one’s life, etc.” 

A further problem with the preterist view is that our Lord said “some of those standing here. . . .” It is clear that the term “some” would have to include at least two or more individuals within the scope of its meaning, since “some” is plural and coupled with a plural verb, “to be”. The word “some” nicely fits the three disciples, Peter, James, and John (Mt. 17:1) who were the participants with our Lord at the transfiguration. On the other hand, Peters notes that “John only survived” among the 12 disciples till the destruction of Jerusalem.

Further Support


In all three instances of this parallel passage (Mt. 16:28; Mk. 9:1; Lk. 9:27) they are all immediately followed by the account of the transfiguration. This contextual relationship by itself is a strong reason to favor our interpretation and shifts the burden of proof on those opposing this view. In other words, Jesus made a prediction about a future event and in each instance, Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the fulfillment of that prediction in the passage that follows. The contextual fact is supported by the grammatical construction that connects these passages. Alva J. McClain notes that “the conjunction with which chapter 17 begins clearly establishes the unbroken continuity of thought between 16:28 and 17:1, as also in the accounts of Mark and Luke where no chapter division occurs.” 

All three accounts of the prophesied event speak of seeing and the kingdom. Matthew says they will see “the Son of Man coming in His kingdom,” emphasizing the person of the Son of Man coming. Mark says, “they see the kingdom of God” and he adds that it will come “with power.” Luke simply says that “they see the kingdom of God.” The transfiguration fits all aspects of the various emphases found in each of the three precise predictions.

Matthew’s stress upon the actual, physical presence of the Son of Man is clearly met in the transfiguration because Jesus was personally and visibly present. Matthew says, “He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (17:2). The preterist interpretation does not meet Matthew’s criteria, since Jesus was not personally present in the later destruction of Jerusalem.

Mark’s emphasis upon a display of the kingdom with “power” was certainly fulfilled by the transfiguration. No one could doubt that the transfiguration certainly fit the definition of a “power encounter” for the disciples. That Jesus appears dressed in the Shekinah glory of God upon the Mount (Mk. 9:3) is further evidence to the disciples that He was God and acted with His power.

Luke’s simple statement about some who will “see the kingdom of God” is vindicated also by his account (17:28-36). Twice Luke records our Lord describing the transfiguration with the term “glory” (17:31,32). “Why exclude the reference to Jerusalem’s destruction? Because Luke does not associate the kingdom’s power with this event. . . . Also, Jesus is not associated with Jerusalem’s destruction directly, so it is not in view.”

PETER’S SUPPORT

The transfiguration made such an impression upon John and Peter that both provided a description of the glorified Christ in later writings (Rev. 1:12-20; 2 Pet. 1:16-21). Both describe the risen and glorified Christ in relation to His second advent (Rev. 1:7; 2 Pet. 1:16). No one doubts that Peter has in mind the transfiguration in 2 Peter 1:16-18. I believe that Peter restates in his final epistle the same pattern established by our Lord in the passages we have been discussing above (Mt. 16:28; Mk. 9:1; Lk. 9:27). When encouraging believers to remain faithful to the faith (2 Pet. 1:12ff), Peter, like our Lord, reminds his readers of “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:16). Peter follows Jesus’ pattern of supporting the future Second Advent by citing the past transfiguration (2 Pet. 1:16-18). In this way, Peter’s second epistle supports the futurist understanding of Matthew 16:28, etc.

George Peters says that 2 Peter 1:16-18 “is unquestionably, then, linking it with the still future Advent as a striking exhibition of the glory that shall be revealed-which is confirmed by Peter introducing this allusion to prove that Christ would thus again come.” William Lane further explains that “Peter made known to his churches the power that was to be revealed at Jesus’ coming in terms of the glory which had been revealed in the transfiguration. This expresses precisely the relationship between Ch. 8:38 (parousia) and Ch. 9:1 (transfiguration). The transfiguration was a momentary, but real (and witnessed) manifestation of Jesus’ sovereign power which pointed beyond itself to the parousia, when he will come ‘with power and glory’ (Ch. 13:26)."”

The preterist contention that our Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 16:28 predicts the destruction of the Temple in the first century has been proven to be off base. Instead, we have found that Matthew 16:27 refers to a yet future second coming of Christ, while 16:28 was fulfilled only a week after the prophecy was uttered by our Lord through His transfiguration before Peter, James, and John. “The immediate sequel to Jesus’ solemn promise is the account of the transfiguration (Ch. 9:2-8),” explains Lane. “This indicates that Mark understood Jesus’ statement to refer to this moment of transcendent glory conceived as an enthronement and an anticipation of the glory which is to come. . . . The fulfillment of Jesus’ promise a short time later (Ch. 9:2) provided encouragement to the harassed Christians in Rome and elsewhere that their commitment to Jesus and the gospel was valid. The parousia is an absolute certainty. The transfiguration constituted a warning to all others that the ambiguity which permits the humiliation of Jesus and of those faithful to him will be resolved in the decisive intervention of God promised in Ch. 8:38).”

Part 2: Were all the end time prophecies of Jesus fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

Part 2: Were all the end time prophecies of Jesus fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

Part 3: Were all of Jesus endtime prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

http://reachmorenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/8abad-eschatology-kids.png

 THE PRETERIST CONTENTION IN MATTHEW 24


The most widely used verse in the Bible by Preterists in their attempts to establish their thesis concerning Bible prophecy is Matthew 24:34. The much debate passage says, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (see also Mk 13:30; Lk 21:32).

THE PRETERIST INTERPRETATION

R. C. Sproul says in his recent book, “I am convinced that the substance of the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in A.D. 70 . . .” Ken Gentry, in a recent book where he and I debate this issue, declares of Matthew 24:34: “This statement of Christ is indisputably clear-and absolutely demanding of a first-century fulfillment of the events in the preceding verses, including the Great Tribulation.” Gary DeMar believes “that all the events prior to Matthew 24:34 referred to events leading up to and including the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.” In fact, DeMar dogmatically declares: “An honest assessment of Scripture can lead to no other conclusion. The integrity of the Bible is at stake in the discussion of the biblical meaning of “this generation.” Why does DeMar make such a polarizing, though misguided overstatement? I think it can be understood by Dr. Sproul’s framing of the issue from the following explanation:

The cataclysmic course surrounding the parousia as predicted in the Olivet Discourse obviously did not occur “literally” in A.D. 70. . . . This problem of literal fulfillment leaves us with three basic solutions to interpreting the Olivet Discourse:

1. We can interpret the entire discourse literally. In this case we must conclude that some elements of Jesus’ prophecy failed to come to pass, as advocates of “consistent eschatology” maintain.

2. We can interpret the events surrounding the predicted parousia literally and interpret the time-frame references figuratively. This method is employed by those who do not restrict the phrase . . . to Jesus’ contemporaries.

3. We can interpret the time-frame references literally and the events surrounding the parousia figuratively. . . . All of Jesus’ prophecies in the Olivet Discourse were fulfilled during the period between the discourse itself and the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.

The third option is followed by Preterists.

Dr. Sproul’s framing of the possible interpretations of “this generation” distorts the first possibility with the perspective of liberalism. How so? Many interpreters, such as myself, interpret the entire discourse literally, but we dogmatically reject any notion “that some elements of Jesus’ prophecy failed to come to pass.” This does not mean that we have abandoned literal interpretation, nor does it “logically lead” to a failure in the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy.

A FUTURIST INTERPRETATION

Those of us taking a consistently literal interpretation of the entire Olivet Discourse take a different literal interpretation of “this generation” than supposed by Dr. Sproul’s suggestion. I believe that the timing of “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 is governed by the related phrase “all these things.” In other words, Christ is saying that the generation that sees “all these things” occur will not cease to exist until all the events of the future tribulation are literally fulfilled. Frankly, this is both a literal interpretation and one that was not fulfilled in the first century. Christ is not ultimately speaking to His contemporaries, but to the generation to whom the signs of Matthew 24 will become evident. Dr. Darrell Bock, in commenting on the parallel passage to Matthew 24 in Luke’s Gospel concurs:

What Jesus is saying is that the generation that sees the beginning of the end, also sees its end. When the signs come, they will proceed quickly; they will not drag on for many generations. It will happen within a generation. . . . The tradition reflected in Revelation shows that the consummation comes very quickly once it comes. . . . Nonetheless, in the discourse’s prophetic context, the remark comes after making comments about the nearness of the end to certain signs. As such it is the issue of the signs that controls the passage’s force, making this view likely. If this view is correct, Jesus says that when the signs of the beginning of the end come, then the end will come relatively quickly, within a generation.

In spite of the preterist chorus that “this generation” has to refer to the first century, an alternate literal interpretation relates it to the timing of the fulfillment of other events in context. While it is true that other uses of “this generation” refer to Christ’s contemporaries, that is because they are historical texts. The use of “this generation” in the Olivet Discourse in the fig tree passages are prophetic texts. In fact, when one compares the use of “this generation” at the beginning of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 23:36 (which is an undisputed reference to A.D. 70) with the prophetic use in Matthew 24:34, a contrast seems obvious. Jesus is contrasting the deliverance for Israel in Matthew 24:34 with the predicted judgment of Matthew 23:36.

ALL THESE THINGS

When challenged or threatened about the veracity of other interpretative details, Preterists almost always fall back to what Gary DeMar calls the “time texts.” Their understanding of “this generation” (Matthew 24:34) in the Olivet Discourse becomes, for them, the proof text that settles all arguments and justifies their fanciful interpretation of many other details referred to by Christ as “all these things” in verse 34. Dr. Gentry explains:

We find the key to locating the great tribulation in history in Matthew 24:34: . . . This statement of Christ is indisputably clear-and absolutely demanding of a first century fulfillment of the events in the preceding verses, including the great tribulation (v. 21)..

Yet “all these things” of Matthew 24:3-31 are allegorized to fit into their first century fulfillment scheme. Since “this generation” is controlled by the meaning of “all these things,” it is obvious that these things did not occur in and around the events of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70.

Contextual surroundings determine the nuance of a specific word or phrase. It is true that every other use of “this generation” in Matthew (11:16; 12:41,42,45; 23:36) refers to Christ’s contemporaries, but that is determined by observation from each of their contexts, not from the phrase by itself. Thus, if the contextual factors in Matthew 24 do not refer to A.D. 70 events, then the timing of the text would have to refer to the future. This is the futurist contention, that the events described in Matthew 24 did not occur in the first century. When were the Jews, who were under siege, rescued by the Lord in A.D. 70? They were not rescued, they were judged, as noted in Luke 21:20-24. But Matthew 24 speaks of a Divine rescue of those who are under siege (24:29-31). This could not have been fulfilled by the first century. In fact, the Jewish Christian community fled Jerusalem before the final siege. Matthew 24 speaks about the deliverance of Jews who are under siege. This did not happen under the first century Roman siege.

The statement just preceding Christ’s “this generation” statement says, “even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door” (Matthew 24:33) The point of Christ’s parable of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32-35) is that all the events noted earlier in Matthew 24:4-31 are signs that tell those under siege that help is coming in the Person of Christ at His return to rescue His people. In contradiction to this, Preterists teach that “all these things” refer to the non-bodily, non-personal, coming of Christ through the Roman army in the first century. They are forced to say that the whole passage speaks of a coming of Christ via the events leading up to what Christ actually says, will be His return. Yet, contra Preterism, Christ says in the fig tree parable that preceding events instruct the reader to “recognize that He is near, right at the door.” Had a first century reader tried to apply a preterist understanding to Matthew 24, it would have been too late for him to flee the city. Instead, they were told to flee the city when the siege first occurred, as noted in the first century warning of Luke 21: 20-24. Instead, the Jewish generation that sees “all these things” will be rescued as noted in Luke 21:27-28. Once again the question arises, “When was Israel rescued in A.D. 70?” They were not. Neither were “all these things” (Matthew 24:33, 34) fulfilled in the first century. These will all be fulfilled in the tribulation, which will take place in the future.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

I do not believe that Christ’s Olivet Discourse (Mt 24; Mk 13; Lk 21) contains a single sentence, phrase, or term that requires a first century fulfillment, except for Luke 21:20-24. Since the timing of “this generation” is not innate in the phrase itself but is governed by its immediate context, then I believe it refers to a future generation because the events depicted have yet to take place. This can be seen most clearly in Luke’s account of our Lord’s Discourse since he answers all three of the disciples questions. I believe that Matthew and Mark only deal with the future questions.

Luke’s account includes the answer to the disciple’s question (Luke 21:20-24) about when there will come a time when “there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down” (verse 6). Multiple time references are necessary. This is evident in the wording of the question in verse 7.

The first part of the question-“when therefore will these things be?”-relates to the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. This explains the first century section in verses 20-24. Christ’s answer to their second question-“what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”-relates to “signs” preceding His Second Advent. This is a different event than that of their first question, and the event is still future to our day. The second question is answered in verses 25-28, which follows the long period of time described in the second half of verse 24-“Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Thus, verse 32, (“this generation will not pass away until all things take place”) will be fulfilled in the future, for the scope of “all these things” refers to verses 25-28, not verses 20-24. Arnold Fruchtenbaum explains:

Then Jesus stated that the generation that sees this event, the abomination of desolation, will still be around when the second coming of Christ occurs three-and-a-half years later. . . . Verse 34 is intended to be a word of comfort in light of the world-wide attempt at Jewish destruction. It must be kept in mind that the abomination of desolation signals Satan’s and the Antichrist’s final attempt to destroy and exterminate the Jews. The fact that the Jewish generation will still be here when the second coming of Christ occurs shows that Satan’s attempt towards Jewish destruction will fail, and the Jewish saints of the second half of the tribulation can receive comfort from these words.

As we leave behind key passages from Matthew’s Gospel, I will now shift gears and turn to the preterist interpretation of the Book of Revelation. It should come as no surprise to learn that Preterists believe that John’s Revelation from Jesus Christ has already been fulfilled. Why do they take such a strange view?

THE PRETERIST CONTENTION IN REVELATION

“The closer we get to the year 2000, the farther we get from the events of Revelation,” says preterist Ken Gentry. “‘Preterism’ holds that the bulk of John’s prophecies occurred in the first century, soon after his writing of them. Though the prophecies were in the future when John wrote and when his original audience read them, they are now in our past.” Dr. R. C. Sproul apparently agrees with Dr. Gentry’s basic understanding of Revelation as fulfilled prophecy. In his commentary on Revelation, the late David Chilton, a preterist, said,

The Book of Revelation is not about the Second Coming of Christ. It is about the destruction of Israel and Christ’s victory over His enemies in the establishment of the New Covenant Temple. In fact, as we shall see, the word coming as used in the Book of Revelation never refers to the Second Coming. Revelation prophesies the judgment of God on apostate Israel; and while it does briefly point to events beyond its immediate concerns, that is done merely as a “wrap-up,” to show that the ungodly will never prevail against Christ’s Kingdom. But the main focus of Revelation is upon events which were soon to take place.”

As with the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24; Mk. 14; Lk. 21), the preterist view does not view Bible prophecy as “things to come,” but rather as “things that came.” Why do they come to such an errant conclusion?

PRETERIST “TIMING” ARGUMENT

Preterists believe they are driven to a first century fulfillment of Revelation because, like the Olivet Discourse, they believe it says it will be fulfilled soon. What arguments do Preterists appeal to in an effort to support their understanding of Revelation?

Dr. Gentry begins his argument for a first century fulfillment of Revelation by noting its similarity to the Olivet Discourse.

It is an interesting fact noted by a number of commentators that John’s Gospel is the only Gospel that does not contain the Olivet Discourse, and that it would seem John’s Revelation served as His exposition of the Discourse.

If, as seems likely, Revelation is indeed John’s exposition of the Olivet Discourse, we must remember that in the delivery of the Discourse the Lord emphasized that it focused on Israel (Matt. 24:1,2, 15-16; cp. Matt. 23:32ff.) and was to occur in His generation (Matt. 24:34).

Thus, since Preterists believe that there is a parallel between what is taught in the Olivet Discourse and Revelation (I agree that both refer to the same events), they naturally would have to believe that Revelation was fulfilled in the first century (I disagree that either has been fulfilled).

“One of the most helpful interpretive clues in Revelation is . . . the contemporary expectation of the author regarding the fulfillment of the prophecies. John clearly expects the soon fulfillment of his prophecy,” says Dr. Gentry. Preterist Gary DeMar has collected what he calls the “time texts” in Revelation, which lead him to believe that the fulfillment of the Apocalypse had to occur during the first century. These are:

1) The events “must shortly (táchos) take place.” (1:1).

2) “For the time is near.” (eggús) (1:3).

3) “I am coming to you quickly (tachús).” (2:16).

4) “I am coming quickly (tachús).” (3:11).

5) “The third woe is coming quickly (tachús).” (11:14).

6) “The things which must shortly (táchos) take place.” (22:6).

7) “Behold, I am coming quickly (tachús).” (22:7).

8) “For the time is near.” (eggús) (22:10).

9) “Behold, I am coming quickly (tachús).” (22:12).

10) “Yes, I am coming quickly (tachús).” (22:20).

It appears presumptuous at the outset of the interpretative process that these verses are labeled “time texts” by DeMar. The timing of a passage is determined by taking into account all factors in a given passage. I hope to show that these terms are more properly interpreted as qualitative indicators (not chronological indicators) describing how Christ will return. How will He return? It will be “quickly” or “suddenly.”

Without a doubt, the exegetical survival of the preterist position revolves around the meaning of these passages. When they arrive at passages which do not appear to harmonize with their view, if taken plainly, they commonly revert to their “timing” passages and say, “Whatever this passage means, we have already established that it had to be fulfilled within the first century.” In accordance with this belief, they search first century “newspapers” for an event that comprises the closest fit to the passage and usually cite it as a fulfillment of the biblical text in discussion.

PRETERIST THEME OF REVELATION

Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.” This passage is often recognized as the theme verse of Revelation. Preterists believe that “Revelation’s main focus of attention (though not its only point) is this: God will soon judge the first-century Jews for rejecting and crucifying his Son, their Messiah,” notes Dr. Gentry. “John states his theme in his introduction at Revelation 1:7,” Dr. Gentry continues, “just after he declares the nearness of the events (1:1,3), a theme that is directly relevant to the first-century circumstances.” Not surprisingly, Dr. Gentry believes that “in its contextual setting verse 7 points to the destruction of Jerusalem and her temple in A.D. 70.” Preterists do not believe that this verse speaks of Christ Second Coming. Instead they see it as another reference to the A.D. 70 destruction. Thus, in usual fashion, Preterists turn the perspective of Revelation 1:7 from a global to a local perspective, from a Gentile to a Jewish outlook, and from a future to a past fulfillment. All these are reversals of its actual meaning.

As with the Olivet Discourse, when one sifts through the details of Revelation it is clear that Preterism fails to prove its claims when compared with the totality of Scripture. Preterists attempt to work their exegetical voodoo on the Book of Revelation as they have done with the Olivet Discourse.

REBUTTAL OF PRETERIST INTERPRETATION

Now I will turn to a dissection of the above stated preterist approach to Revelation. After that is completed, I will provide reasons why the Bible teaches that the events of Revelation, which include the tribulation, second coming, and millennium are yet future events. But first I will deal with their false understanding of Revelation 1:7.

Revelation 1:7


As noted above, Preterists believe that Revelation 1:7 speaks of only the land of Israel and was local. On the other hand, if it refers to Gentiles and is global, then their view is impossible and it has to be future. We can analyze the passage by dividing it into the following four interpretive elements: 1) Christ’s “coming,” 2) “with the clouds,” 3) “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him;” and 4) “all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.” Since I will be discussing later the meaning of Christ’s “coming with the clouds,” I will defer commenting on this first two elements until then. However, I, like almost all interpreters of Scripture before me, these believe it to be a clear reference to the bodily, personal return of Christ at a yet future time. This is supported by the final two items in the passage. Items number three and four include clear allusions to Zechariah 12:10-14.

3) “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him:” This element plays a key role in determining whether this passage has a global or local intent. The first part of this element (“every eye will see Him”) does not appear in the Old Testament reference. The other element, “even those who pierced Him,” is the part from Zechariah. It is clear that those who pierced Him in Zechariah are a reference to the Jewish people. This, both preterist and futurist would agree. The debate arises over whether “every eye” is a reference to just the Jewish nation (the preterist contention) or to the people of the whole earth (the futurist understanding). The way to resolve who is intended in the scope of the reference is to compare it to the subset “even those who pierced Him.” If the larger group of “every eye” refers to the Jewish nation, then it does not make sense that the smaller group “even those who pierced Him,” would be a reference to the same exact people, as Preterists contend. Their reading of the passage would be as follows: “every eye (Israel) will see Him, event those who pierced Him (Israel).” There would be no need of have a sub-group if both mean the same thing. If “every eye” refers to all the peoples of the world as the larger group, then the qualifying phrase “even those who pierced Him” would be emphasizing the Jewish element as the smaller sub-group. Thus, it is not surprising that virtually everyone, other than Preterists, take this element of this passage in a global sense. It appears that bias, not the clear meaning of the text, is the only reason the preterist takes this part of the passage in a restricted manner.

4) “all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him:” The Greek word for “earth” can refer to either the “earth,” as in “heavens and earth” (Gen. 1:1), or “land,” as in the “land of Israel” (1 Sam. 13:19). The problem with taking this to refer to the land of Israel is that every other usage of the exact phrase “all the tribes of the earth” in the original language always has a universal nuance (Gen. 12:3; 28:14; Ps. 72:17; Zech. 14:17). This supports our futurist interpretation.

Preterists have to restrict the meaning of clear universal language in the Bible in order to make their system appear to work. However, as we are demonstrating, they have to force the biblical text into such a meaning time after time. Revelation 1:7 is another example of a passage that speaks of the global scope of God’s future judgment upon mankind. I will continue dealing with these items.

CLOUD COMING IN REVELATION 1:7

I will now deal with the theme verse of Revelation which reads as follows: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen” (Rev. 1:7). Preterists believe that this passage supports an A.D. 70 fulfillment of Revelation.

“John states his theme in his introduction at Revelation 1:7,” claims Dr. Gentry, “just after he declares the nearness of the events (1:1,3), a theme that is directly relevant to the first-century circumstances.” Not surprisingly, Dr. Gentry believes that “in its contextual setting verse 7 points to the destruction of Jerusalem and her temple in A.D. 70.” Preterists do not believe that this verse speaks of Christ Second Coming as the church has historically understood this passage. Instead they see it as another reference to the A.D. 70 destruction. Thus, in usual fashion, Preterists turn the perspective of Revelation 1:7 from a global to a local perspective, from a Gentile to a Jewish outlook, and from a future to a past fulfillment. All these are reversals of its actual meaning.

I have now dealt with all of Revelation 1:7 except the part that deals with Christ coming on the clouds. Dr. Gentry attempts a most strained interpretation when he calls this “a providential coming of Christ in historical judgments upon men.” He provides the following forced explanation:

In the Old Testament, clouds are frequently employed as symbols of divine wrath and judgment. Often God is seen surrounded with foreboding clouds which express His unapproachable holiness and righteousness. Thus, God is poetically portrayed in certain judgment scenes as coming in the clouds to wreak historical vengeance upon His enemies.

Dr. Gentry cites the following passages as examples: 2 Sam. 22:8,10; Ps. 18:7-15; 68:4,33; 97:2-39; 104:3; Isa. 13:9; 19:1; 26:21; 30:27; Joel 2:1,2; Mic. 1:3; Nah. 1:2ff; Zeph. 1:14,15. He then concludes, “The New Testament picks up this apocalyptic judgment imagery when it speaks of Christ’s coming in clouds of judgmentduring history.”

REFUTATION OF DR. GENTRY’S VIEW

There are many problems with Dr. Gentry’s declaration that Revelation 1:7 is the same as the Old Testament passages he cites. First, he cites no reasons from the context of Revelation 1:7 why it should be understood as a parallel to these Old Testament passages. He just declares them to be similar. Dr. Robert Thomas has made the following insightful observation:

Gentry interprets a reference to clouds in Revelation 1:7 as a nonpersonal coming of Christ. Christ never returned to earth in A.D 70 personally, so explaining the fall of Jerusalem as his coming violates the principle of literal interpretation. All contextual indications point to a literal and personal-coming of Christ in that verse. Gentry calls this a “judgment-coming” of Christ, but the criteria of Revelation also connect a deliverance of the faithful with that coming. Preterism nowhere explains the promised deliverance from persecution that is associated with the coming, for example, in 3:10-11. Gentry’s interpretation of 1:7 simply does not fulfill the criteria of literal interpretation of the text. The fact is, the church did not escape persecution in A.D. 70, but continued to suffer for Christ’s sake long after that.

Second, some of those Old Testament passages most likely are speaking of Christ’s second coming. Dr. Gentry often assumes that because they are in the Old Testament they must have already been fulfilled. Such is often not the case. I believe that Isaiah 26:21; 30:27; Joel 2:1,2 and Zephaniah 1:14-15 are second coming contexts. This means that these passages also look for a yet future, not a past fulfillment. Nahum 1:2ff, although less clear, could also refer to an eschatological time.

Third, I do not think that a single one of the Old Testament passages cited by Dr. Gentry parallels Revelation 1:7. As you examine them, they describe the Lord as “riding” upon a cloud in judgment against the Lord’s enemies, much as Dr. Gentry has said. However, when compared to Revelation 1:7, there are too many differences. As Dr. Thomas notes above, Revelation 1:7 speaks of a coming to rescue someone, while those Old Testament references are all descriptive of judgment. Revelation 1:7 provides a different atmosphere than we see in the Old Testament passages. Christ’s coming in Revelation 1:7, and in its parallel passage Matthew 24:30, builds upon the Old Testament fact that the Lord established His identity in cloud comings. But, in these passages we have a description of the Lord returning to the earth. This is not found in the Old Testament citations noted by Dr. Gentry. There are too many differences between the two concepts as noted by Philip Edgcumbe Hughes:

The clouds intended here are not dark storm-clouds which presage divine judgment, . . . but the bright clouds of his transcendental glory. They stand for the Shekinahglory of God’s presence which caused the face of Moses to shine with supernatural brilliance . . . and they are to be identified with the ‘bright cloud’ of Christ’s divine glory witnessed by Peter, James, and John on the mount of transfiguration (Mt. 17:5), and with the cloud which received him out of the apostles’ sight at his ascension. . . .

Fourth, the preterist view of Revelation 1:7 confuses a global event for a local event. Dr. Thomas has noted in the following:

Another hermeneutical shortcoming of Preterism relates to the limiting of the promised coming of Christ in 1:7 to Judea. What does a localized judgment hundreds of miles away have to do with the seven churches in Asia? John uses two long chapters in addressing those churches regarding the implications of the coming of Christ for them. For instance, the promise to shield the Philadelphian church from judgment (3:10-11) is meaningless if that judgment occurs far beyond the borders of that city.

Fifth, even if there were the types of parallels between the cloud comings of the Old Testament and the text of Revelation 1:7, which I do not believe there are as Dr. Gentry has suggested, they would be meaningless because of what happened at Christ’s ascension as described in Acts 1:9-11. Notice what it says,

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; and they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

The whole focus of Christ’s cloud coming after this event is defined by the ascension. The next time Christ comes on the clouds, it is clearly said here to be bodily, personal, and coming with clouds. This is what Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:9 refer too. All of the New Testament, because of this event, looks to Christ’s return in this way. Thus, any future cloud coming from this point on would have to be seen in light of this glorious promise.

Finally, to take Dr. Gentry’s preterist interpretation of Revelation 1:7 creates many more problems with the rest of the Book of Revelation. This has been most clearly noted by Dr. Thomas.

This preterist view of 1:7 . . . creates several unsolvable interpretive dilemmas within the verse itself, not to mention elsewhere in the book: inconsistency regarding the identity of “those who pierced him,” “the tribes of the earth,” and “the land [or earth]."” Are they limited to Jews and their land, or do they include Romans and the rest of the world? A preterist must contradict himself on these issues to have a past fulfillment of 1:7. They cannot limit “those who pierced him” to Jews only and elsewhere include the Romans as objects of Christ’s “cloud coming.” They cannot limit “the tribes of the earth [or land]” to Israel only, because in this case Zechariah 12:10ff. would require the mourning to be one of repentance, not of despair (as their interpretation holds). Their acknowledged worldwide scope of Revelation as a whole rules out their limitation of “the land” to Palestine in this verse.

The preterist interpretation of Revelation 1:7 in relationship to Christ’s coming is necessary if Revelation was fulfilled in the first century. However, the torturous interpretation of otherwise plain and clear language must be distorted beyond clear recognition in order to attempt such a devious view. When Revelation 1:7 is combined with Revelation 19:11-21, it is more than clear that such a reference is of a global, future, bodily and literal return of Jesus the Messiah from heaven to planet earth. While the preterist notion that this passage had to be fulfilled in the first century is required of their view, they are not able to provide actual exegetical support for such a position. When examined in the light of letting Scripture interpret Scripture, it becomes most clear that these are yet future events.

Part 3: Were all of Jesus endtime prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

Part 3: Were all of Jesus endtime prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

Part 4: Were all of Jesus" end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

http://reachmorenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/41AbagoNfxL.jpg

Part 4:  Were all of Jesus’ end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.? by Thomas Ice

This will be the final part of the article by Thomas Ice that examines the belief called “pretrerism” that everything prophesied by Jesus was fulfilled by 70 A.D. Preterists believe that we are already living on the New Earth and that this is a time of peace and rest for God’s people. The major teacher of preterism is RC Sproul, and he and others who agree with him are growing in number today. Do you believe that the world is going through a great time of peace and rest? If not, what biblical answers could you give to those who believe it is? is Christ coming back for the Church or are we stranded on this utopia until we die? Is Satan bound or loosed? If he is bound why is there suffering? Ray will conclude the answers to these questions now. You are invited to join him.

 Satan: Bound or Loose?

The preterist view relating to the current work of Satan and the demons should reflect their theology on the subject. According to the preterist view, Satan is currently bound (Rev. 20:2-3) and crushed (Rom. 16:20). The enemy was not just defeated de jure (legally) at the cross, but has been crushed de facto (in fact). Therefore, the spiritual road blocks of the world and the devil have been removed and only the enemy of the flesh remains that would obstruct believers from reigning and ruling now in the New Heavens and New Earth.

On the other hand, if the binding and crushing of Satan and his company is still future, then the commands in the Epistles make sense in this present age. Commands such as “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7b). “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9). “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26-27). “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly place” (Ephesians 6:12). These are instructions which are the very tactics to be applied by the believer in this present age because we are not yet in the New Heavens and New Earth. If Satan is bound and crushed, as the preterist interpretation insists, then they are unfaithful to their understanding of Scripture to apply the above passages to the Christian life today, as they so often do. A crushed and bound enemy does not prowl, or wage war, etc. This becomes crystal clear when one realizes that Satan resumes his war with God only after he has been “released from his prison” (Revelation 20:7b).

Similar thinking could, even should, be applied from the implications of Preterism to many passages and subjects in the Christian life. Just think. No more suffering. If no suffering, then no need for endurance. No need for the sanctification process which involves suffering, endurance, faith and hope. No hope, because Christ returned in A.D. 70 and ushered in a new day. No apostasy of the church. No pain, suffering, or death. Therefore, since we are obviously not living under such conditions it means that Preterism is also wrong.

The Sufferings Of This Present Time

The New Heavens and New Earth is to be a time of peace and rest for God’s people. The era preceding this time will be one of suffering and struggle. Again, if the preterist interpretation is correct, then the instruction of the NT Epistles on the issue of suffering only directly applied to believers until A.D. 70, because we would now be in the time of peace, not “the sufferings of this present time” spoken of by Paul (Rom. 8:18).

Endurance of unjust suffering is a major theme in the Epistles. In fact, the NT paints it as one of the major ingredients which God brings into our life to produce Christ-like character in His children (Heb. 12:1-17). Peter notes, “For this [unjust suffering] finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. . . . But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God” (1 Pet. 2:19-20). Revelation promises a future reward of co-rulership with Christ to believers who have remained faithful and loyal to Christ during this present age of humiliation (Rev. 3:21; see also 2:25-28). Revelation 3:21 not only promises future rule with Christ after this current age of humiliation, but notice it also makes a distinction between Christ’s future kingdom and the Father’s current rule. “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”These passages do not make sense and certainly would not apply to today if we are in the New Heavens and New Earth of the Preterists.

Present and Future Apostasy?

“If Preterism is true,” says Gary North, “then most of the prophesied negative sanctions in history are over” I would say, if futurism is true, then great apostasy lies ahead. Does the current church age become increasingly apostate concluding with “the Great Apostasy” during the Tribulation, or were the scores of passages speaking about apostasy fulfilled in A.D. 70, as Preterism demands? “The ‘Great Apostasy’ happened in the first century. We therefore have no Biblical warrant to expect increasing apostasy as history progresses; instead, we should expect the increasing Christianization of the world,” declares preterist David Chilton.

This is another area where large sections of the NT, especially the Epistles and Revelation, would have to be adjusted away from the meaning Christians have historically seen in those passages. An example of this is seen in how the different approaches would handle Paul’s warning in 2 Timothy 3. Paul begins by saying that“in the last days difficult times will come” (3:1). The “last days” likely refers to the whole of the current Church age, or perhaps it is a general reference to the final portion of the current Church age. Either way, it is a reference to the period of time before the final phase of history which Preterists say we are not in. Paul goes on to describe how these times will be characterized by men who “will be lovers of self,” . . . (3:2) “rather than lovers of God” (3:4). The general course of “the last days” are described as a time when “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (3:12-13). Therefore, if “the last days” have already come and gone, we should expect that the persecution of the godly should be absent and “evil men and impostors” should not “proceed from bad to worse.” According to Preterism, this would directly apply to the events before A.D. 70, but not after that time.

Apostasy increases, not decreases, during the current church age. Because Preterism is errant, then they have to take a theoretical interpretation on this and most other NT doctrine that is so far out that even the inventive minds of Preterists cannot apply them in our current age. It is clear that the preterist interpretation of NT prophecy is so far removed from what the Bible teaches because it is impossible to practically apply their teaching in our current age.

WHY FUTURISM IS THE BIBLICAL POSITION

In answering the challenges of Preterism I want to give a brief defense of Futurism. Futurism is the view that understands prophetic events like the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming and the millennium as future to the time in which we are now living. In fact, D. H. Kromminga notes that “preterist and the futurist methods, or approaches stand at opposite extremes.” Indeed they do! I believe that it can be demonstrated that futurism is the approach intended by God when He gave us His Word.

LITERAL INTERPRETATION

Consistent literal interpretation of the Bible leads any interpreter who applies this approach to the futurist understanding of prophecy. By “literal,” I mean a normal reading of the text that allows for figures of speech, the historical and contextual understanding of a passage. E. R. Craven explains:

The Literalist is not one who denies that figurative language, that symbols, are used in prophecy, nor does he deny that great spiritual truths are set forth therein; his position is, simply, that the prophecies are to be normally interpreted (i.e. according to the received laws of language) as any other utterances are interpreted-that which is manifestly literal being regarded as literal.
Preterists, on the other hand, while interpreting passages that appear to fit their scheme literally (i.e., Luke 21:20-24), overall tend to allegorize key texts (i.e., Matt. 24:29-31). Allegorization occurs when an interpreter brings into a text a meaning (based upon ideas) from outside the text. Thus, their interpretation cannot be supported from a normal reading of the words and phrases. A preterist example is seen when they make the word “coming” (i.e., Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7) to mean a non-physical, non-bodily event. This is done, not by demonstrating that “coming” must mean that from the context, but by importing foreign concepts from other sources into a given passage. This is not a valid form of interpretation. Further, E. W. Bullinger tells us in his book, which is the most extensive analysis of biblical figures of speech in English, that “Allegory is always stated in the past tense, and never in the future. Allegory is thus distinguished from prophecy. The allegory brings other teaching out of past events, while the prophecy tells us events that are yet to come, and means exactly what is said.”

A. J. Gordon, reporting on the views of a converted Jew named Joseph Rabinowitz wrote over 100 years ago the following:

Without a clear proclamation of the second advent, Christians have no common ground on which to meet the Jew; that to spiritualize this doctrine, as many do, is fatal, since the predictions are so clear of a glorious and conquering Messiah as well as a suffering Messiah. If you spiritualize the second advent, you must allow the Jew to spiritualize the first, as he is always ready to do, and you have no basis on which to reason with him.

Futurism is the natural outgrowth of the consistent literal interpretation of Scripture. This is the accepted approach to hermeneutics by all orthodox interpreters, except when some come to Bible prophecy. Thus, literal or natural interpretation is a support for futurism.

GOD’S PROPHETIC ROAD MAP

Deuteronomy provides a prophetic road map covering the whole of history before Israel started down the road about 3400 years ago. As the nation of Israel sat perched on the banks of the Jordan River, before she ever set one foot upon the Promised Land, the Lord gave an outline of her entire history through His mouthpiece Moses. Deuteronomy is this revelation and it is like a road map for where history is headed before the trip got underway. While different segments of the historical journey have been updated with more details being added along the way, not a single adjustment from the earlier course has ever been made.
In the process of Moses’ exhortation to the nation of Israel, he provides in Deuteronomy 4:25-31 an outline of what will happen to this elect nation once they cross over the Jordan River and settle the promised land. A summary of these events would be as follows:

1) Israel and her descendants would remain long in the land.
2) Israel would act corruptly and slip into idolatry.
3) Israel would be kicked out of the land.
4) The LORD will scatter them among the nations.
5) Israel would be given over to idolatry during their wanderings.
6) While dispersed among the nations, Israel would seek and find the LORD when they search for Him will all their heart.
7) There would come a time of tribulation, said to occur in the latter days, during which time they would turn to the LORD
8) “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them” (Deuteronomy 4:31).

If the first five events have happened to Israel-and no evangelical interpreter would deny that they have-then it is clear from the text that the final events will also occur to the same people in the same way as the earlier events. This is most clear from the context. The Bible does not “change horses in midstream” so that suddenly Israel, who has received the curses, is dropped out of the picture and the church takes over and receives the blessings. Despite various systems of the theology, the Bible nowhere teaches that God has forsaken Israel (cf. Rom. 11:1). Any reader of the text will have to admit that the same identity is referred to throughout the whole of the text under examination. If it is true that the same Israel is meant throughout the text, then the last three events have yet to be fulfilled for Israel in the same historical way in which the first five events are recognized by all to have taken place. Thus, a fulfillment of the final three events in the life of Israel will have to happen in the future. This passage in Deuteronomy 4 pictures a return to the Lord after Tribulation, not judgment. This means that a futurist view of prophecy is supported from this early passage and throughout the rest of Scripture.

As significant as Deuteronomy 4 is in establishing the prophetic history of God’s elect people, an expanded narrative of Israel’s future history is provided in Deuteronomy 28-32. “The last seven chapter of Deuteronomy (28-34),” says David Larsen, “are really the matrix out of which the great prophecies of the Old Testament regarding Israel emerge.” Dr. Larsen provides the following breakdown of Israel’s future history:

26:3-13; 28:1-14	The conditions of blessing to follow obedience
31:16-21	The coming apostasy
28:15-60	The affliction that God would bring upon Israel, while still in the land, because of her apostasy
28:32-39, 48-57	Israel will be taken captive
27; 32	The enemies of Israel will possess her land for a time
28:38-42; 29:23	The land itself will remain desolate
28:63-67; 32:26	Israel will be scattered among the nations
28:62	The time will come when Israel will be “few in number”
28:44-45	Though punished, Israel will not be destroyed if she repents
28:40-41; 30:1-2	Israel will repent in her tribulation
30:3-10	Israel will be gathered from the nations and brought back to her divinely given land

The final few events summarized above by Dr. Larsen certainly did not take place during the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem, nor at any time in history yet past. It appears to be shaping up that while the A.D. 70 incident was indeed a prophesied event, the remaining items in Israel’s prophetic roadmap have not yet been fulfilled. What is sad about the preterist interpretation is that it recognizes on the curses upon Israel, but not the future blessings that God has also promised. Preterism says that Israel gets the curses but the church gets Israel’s blessings. That’s not what the Bible says. And in order for the blessings for Israel to literally occur, just as the past and present curses have occurred literally, they must take place in the future. Dr. Harton concludes:

“Inasmuch as Deuteronomy 28-30 is merely a restatement and amplification of this same promise in Deuteronomy 4, it may be concluded that Deuteronomy 28:15-68 will have an eschatological fulfillment.”

DEUTERONOMY 28 AS PROPHECY

After having enumerated the relatively short list of blessings that God would bestow upon Israel in the land (Deut. 28:1-14), Moses commences to enumerate the much longer list of curses that God will inflict upon His people when they would inevitably disobey (vv. 28:15-68). The Lord would start inflicting the nation with mild curses at the inception of disobedience and gradually turn up the heat as insubordination persisted. The most severe chastisement the Lord would inflict upon His wayward people would be expulsion from their land mediated through the agency of a foreign invader (vv. 49-68). The Lord’s logic is something along the line that if Israel did not want to obediently serve Him in their own land then they could go and serve other gods outside the land (vv. 47-48).

Interestingly, verses 49-68 record two specific instances of removal from the Land. The first reference is clearly to the Babylonian captivity, which took place in the sixth century B.C. (vv. 49-57). For example, when verse 49 speaks of “a nation” that the Lord would bring against Israel in judgment. This is followed by a second statement of dispersion (v. 64) which says, “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth.” This was undoubtedly fulfilled by the Romans when they destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Luke 21:24, which speaks of the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem, says that the Jewish people “will be led captive into all the nations;” a statement which reflects the language of Deuteronomy 28:64. Thus, we see two different instances of the judgment of God’s covenantal curse being worked out in history. But neither of them means that predictions of all future prophecy have already been fulfilled.

We have seen thus far, from our prophetic road map, that Deuteronomy 28 has predicted two different instances when the ultimate covenant curse of expulsion from the land will be applied to national Israel. However, we have also noted that Deuteronomy 28-30 indicates that some future events will come after Israel has been regathered back into the land and Jerusalem; then God will bring to pass the tribulation. Thus, since the second covenantal dispersion in A.D. 70 by the Romans led to Israel’s scattering among the nations, then that could not have been the tribulation which is to take place after a regathering. This would make the tribulation and other prophesied events to still be future eschatological events.

FUTURISM IMPLICATIONS

If we could take the time to study the rest of the Old Testament we would find that it is an expansion, consistent with the early prophetic roadmap, of God’s prophetic plan. Dozens of passages predict a glorious future for Israel. If these texts are taken literally and historically then they have to have a future fulfillment. Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse and in the Revelation, in concert with the Old Testament, also expands upon, but is consistent with, that prophetic roadmap begun in Deuteronomy. Our Lord predicts a literal and thus future time of glory and blessing for Israel. Unless one just arbitrarily imports the theology of the church replacing Israel into many key texts, it is clear that hundreds of prophecies still speak of a literal and thus future fulfillment. I think it becomes clear that futurism is the only approach that makes sense of the Bible and its prophecies. While the Bible speaks of a wonderful past, we cannot hide the fact that the best is yet to come!

CONCLUSION

Like many of the arguments presented by Preterists, they appear to have some initial merit when looked at by the Biblically uneducated, but upon closer examination prove to be without merit. Preterists falsely built upon the misguided assumption, that they attempt to “prove” from various proof texts, that Bible prophecy had to have its fulfillment within about 40 years of Christ’s first advent. There are many implications, both theological and practical, that would require a major adjustment to the Christian faith if they are right. Since their arguments are incorrect, so are the implications that flow from such thought. Because of the recent spread of Preterism, pastors and teachers need to be prepared to defend orthodox eschatology from this attack. Those who believe that Christ came in A.D. 70 will certainly not be found looking for our Lord’s any-moment return when He does rapture the church without any signs or warning before this blessed event. Are we looking back at the past or forward to the future? Maranatha!

Part 4: Were all of Jesus’ end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

Part 4: Were all of Jesus" end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

An American Minute – The Fall Of Rome by Bill Lederer

http://reachmorenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Ancient-Rome.jpg

 

An American Minute – The Fall of Rome by Bill Federer

An American Minute – The Fall of Rome  by Bill Lederer         THE FALL OF ROME was a culmination of several external and internal factors. GREAT WALL OF CHINA By 220AD, the Later Eastern Han Dynasty had extended sections of the Great Wall of China along its Mongolian border. This resulted in the Northern Huns attacking west instead of east. This caused a domino effect of tribes migrating west across Central Asia, and overrunning the Western Roman Empire. OPEN BORDERS Illegal immigrants poured across the Roman borders: Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Franks, Anglos, Saxons, Alemanni, Thuringians, Rugians, Jutes, Picts, Burgundians, Lombards, Alans, Vandals, as well as African Berbers and Arab raiders. Will and Ariel Durant wrote inThe Story of Civilization (Vol. 3-Caesar and Christ, Simon & Schuster, 1944, p. 366): “If Rome had not engulfed so many men of alien blood in so brief a time, if she had passed all these newcomers through her schools instead of her slums, if she had treated them as men with a hundred potential excellences, if she had occasionally closed her gates to let assimilation catch up with infiltration, she might have gained new racial and literary vitality from the infusion, and might have remained a Roman Rome, the voice and citadel of the West.” LOSS OF COMMON LANGUAGE At first immigrants assimilated and learned the Latin language. They worked as servants with many rising to leadership. But then they came so fast they did not learn Latin, but instead created a mix of Latin with their own Germanic, Frankish and Anglo tribal tongues. The unity of the Roman Empire began to dissolve. THE WELFARE STATE “Bread and the Circus!” Starting in 123 BC, the immensely powerful Roman politician, Gaius Gracchus began appeasing citizens with welfare, a monthly hand-out of a free dole (handout) of grain. Roman poet Juvenal (circa 100 AD) described how Roman emperors controlled the masses by keeping them ignorant and obsessed with self-indulgence, so that they would be distracted and not throw them out of office, which they might do if they realized the true condition of the Empire: “Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who ONCE UPON A TIME handed out military command, high civil office, legions – everything, NOW restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.” Juvenal continued: “Tyrants would distribute largess, a bushel of wheat, a gallon of wine, and a sesterce; and everyone would shamelessly cry, ‘Long live the King’… The fools did not realize that they were merely recovering a portion of their own property, and that their ruler could not have given them what they were receiving without having first taken it from them.” Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote: “The evil was not in bread and circuses, per se, but in the willingness of the people to sell their rights as free men for full bellies and the excitement of games which would serve to distract them from the other human hungers which bread and circuses can never appease.” The Durants wrote in The Lessons of History (p. 92): “The concentration of population and poverty in great cities may compel a government to choose between ENFEEBLING THE ECONOMY WITH A DOLE or running the risk of riot and revolution.” In The Great Ages of Man-Barbarian Europe (NY: Time-Life Books, 1968, p. 39), one Roman is recorded as stating: “Those who live at the expense of the public funds are more numerous than those who provide them.” VIOLENT ENTERTAINMENT The Circus Maximus and Coliseum were packed with crowds of Romans engrossed with violent entertainment, games, chariot races, and until 404 AD, gladiators fighting to the death. Gerald Simons wrote in Great Ages of Man-Barbarian Europe (NY: Time-Life Books, 1968, p. 20): “In the causal brutality of its public spectacles, in a rampant immorality that even Christianity could not check.” CHURCH LOST ITS ROLE AS CONSCIENCE Richard A. Todd wrote in “The Fall of the Roman Empire” ( Eerdmans’ Handbook to the History of Christianity, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Co., 1977, p. 184): “The church, while preaching against abuses, contributed to the decline by discouraging good Christians from holding public office.” PLANNED PARENTHOOD Roman families had fewer children. Some would sell unwanted children into slavery or, up until 374 AD, leave them outside exposed to the weather to die. The Durants wrote in The Story of Civilization, Vol. 3-Caesar and Christ (Simon & Schuster, 1944, p. 134): “Children were now luxuries which only the poor could afford.” IMMORALITY & INFIDELITY There was court favoritism, the patronage system, injustice in the legal system, infidelity, bathhouses rampant with homosexuality, sexual immorality, gluttony, and gymnasiums (“gym” being the Greek word for naked). 5th-Century historian Salvian wrote: “For all the lurid Roman tales of their atrocities…the barbarians displayed…a good deal more fidelity to their wives.” (Great Ages, p. 13.) Salvian continued: “O Roman people be ashamed; be ashamed of your lives. Almost no cities are free of evil dens, are altogether free of impurities, except the cities in which the barbarians have begun to live… Let nobody think otherwise, the vices of our bad lives have alone conquered us… The Goths lie, but are chaste, the Franks lie, but are generous, the Saxons are savage in cruelty…but are admirable in chastity… What hope can there be for the Romans when the barbarians are more pure than they? Samuel Adams wrote to John Scollay of Boston, April 30, 1776: “The diminution of public virtue is usually attended with that of public happiness, and the public liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals. ‘The Roman Empire,’ says the historian, ‘must have sunk, though the Goths had not invaded it. Why? Because the Roman virtue was sunk."” As Roman virtue declined, the number of laws increased. Cornelius Tacitus wrote: “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” CLASS WARFARE City centers were abandoned by the upper class, who bought up farms from rural landowners and transformed them into palatial estates. The Durants wrote in The Story of Civilization (Vol. 3-Caesar and Christ, Simon & Schuster, 1944, p.90): “The Roman landowner disappeared now that ownership was concentrated in a few families, and a proletariat without stake in the country filled the slums of Rome.” Inner cities were destabilized, being also plagued with lead poisoning, as water was brought in through lead pipes. (“plumb” or “plumbing” is the Latin word for “lead.”) The value of human life was low. Slavery and sex-trafficking abounded, especially of captured peoples from Eastern Europe. “Slavs,” which meant “glorious” came to have the inglorious meaning of a permanent servant or “slave.” ( Great Ages, p. 18). Get the 8 part DVD – CHANGE TO CHAINS-the 6,000 year quest for global control TAXES Welfare and government jobs exploded, especially with emperors wanting to honor themselves by leaving legacies of massive public building projects, such as bath houses, coliseums, parade grounds, etc. Taxes became unbearable, as “collectors became greedy functionaries in a bureaucracy so huge and corrupt.” Tax collectors were described by the historian Salvian as “more terrible than the enemy.” ( Great Ages, p. 20). Arther Ferrill wrote in The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation (New York: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1986): “The chief cause of the agricultural decline was high taxation on the marginal land, driving it out of cultivation.” There was a loss of patriotism, wealth began to flee the Empire, and with it, the spirit of liberty. President William Henry Harrison warned in his Inaugural Address, 1841: “It was the beautiful remark of a distinguished English writer that ‘in the Roman senate Octavius had a party and Antony a party, but the Commonwealth had none’… The spirit of liberty had fled, and, avoiding the abodes of civilized man, had sought protection in the wilds of Scythia or Scandinavia; and so under the operation of the same causes and influences it will fly from our Capitol and our forums.” More recently, John F. Kennedy observed, January 6, 1961: “Present tax laws may be stimulating in undue amounts the flow of American capital to industrial countries abroad.” OUTSOURCING Rome’s economy stagnated from a large trade deficit, as grain production was outsourced to North Africa. Gerald Simons wrote inGreat Ages of Man-Barbarian Europe (NY: Time-Life Books, 1968, p. 39): “As conquerors of North Africa, the Vandals cut off the Empire’s grain supply at will. This created critical food shortages, which in turn curtailed Roman counterattacks.” Get the book Change to Chains-the 6,000 year quest for global control EXPLODING DEBT & COINAGE DEBASEMENT Rome was crippled by huge government bureaucracies and enormous public debt. Rather than curb out-of-control government spending, Roman emperors decided to debase coins by mixing them with cheaper base metals. This devalued their monetary system and caused exponential inflation. The Durants wrote in The Lessons of History (p. 92): “Huge bureaucratic machinery was unable to govern the empire effectively with the enormous, out-of-control debt.” In Great Ages of Man-Barbarian Europe (NY: Time-Life Books, 1968, p. 20), Gerald Simons wrote: “The Western Roman economy, already undermined by falling production of the great Roman estates and an unfavorable balance of trade that siphoned off gold to the East, had now run out of money.” Rolf Nef of Global Research, wrote on January 15, 2007, Falling Empires and their Currencies(www.globalresearch.ca): “When empires fall, their currencies fall first. Even clearer is the rising debt of empires in decline, because in most cases their physical expansion is financed with debt… The common thing is that the currencies of each and every one of these falling empires lost dramatically in value… The Roman Empire existed from 400 B.C. to 400 A.D. Its history is the history of physical expansion, like the history of almost all empires. Its expansion was driven by a citizen soldier army, paid in silver coins, land and slaves from occupied territories. If there was not enough silver in the treasury to conduct a war, base metals were added to coin more money. That is to say, the authorities debased their currency which presaged the fall of the Empire. There was a limit to the expansion. The empire became over-stretched, running out of silver money, and eventually went under, overrun by barbarian hordes.” Richard W. Fisher, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, remarked before the Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco, California, May 28, 2008: “We know from centuries of evidence in countless economies, from ancient Rome to today’s Zimbabwe, that running the printing press to pay off today’s bills leads to much worse problems later on. The inflation that results from the flood of money into the economy turns out to be far worse than the fiscal pain those countries hoped to avoid.” SELF-PROMOTING, CORRUPT POLITICIANS The Roman emperor usurped so much power that the Roman Senate, instead of ruling Rome, only existed to carry out the emperor’s agenda. The Durants wrote in The Lessons of History (p. 92): “The educated and skilled pursued business and financial success to the neglect of their involvement in politics.” MILITARY CUTS Though militarily superior and marching on advanced road systems, the highly trained Roman Legions were over-extended and strained fighting continual conflicts from the Rhine River to the Sassanid Persian Empire. Roman borders were over-extended and the military defending them was cut back to dangerously low ranks. Emperors realized that if they kept citizens preoccupied with endless external wars, the citizens would be distracted from complaining about internal problems and political strife. Non-Roman citizens were enlisted in the Roman military, being offered citizenship in exchange for their military service. This led to a loss of patriotism and a diminished motivation to defend the Roman borders from invading Germanic tribes. The Durants wrote in The Story of Civilization (Vol. 3-Caesar and Christ, Simon & Schuster, 1944, p.90): “The new generation, having inherited world mastery, had no time or inclination to defend it; that readiness for war which had characterized the Roman landowner disappeared.” With the increase of invading hordes, Roman legions had to be recalled from the frontiers to protect Rome itself. It was at this time that young Patrick was kidnapped from Roman Britain and sold as a slave in Druid Ireland, which he later evangelized. TERRORIST ATTACKS In 452, Pope Leo rode out to meet Attila and persuaded him not to sack Rome. This delayed the inevitable for only a few more decades. Finally, in 476, barbarian Chieftain Odoacer attacked, and Rome is considered to have officially fallen on September 4, 476. LESSONS FROM FALL OF ROME John Stossel, host of “Stossel” on the Fox Business Network and author of “No They Can’t: Why Government Fails, but Individuals Succeed,” wrote in his article on the Fall of Rome (www.johnstossel.com): “Historian Carl Richard said that today’s America resembles Rome. The Roman Republic had a constitution, but Roman leaders often ignored it. ‘Marius was elected consul six years in a row, even though under the constitution (he) was term-limited to one year.’ We have presidents of both parties legislating by executive order, saying I’m not going to enforce certain laws because I don’t like them. – That open flouting of the law is dangerous because law ceases to have meaning. I see that today.- Congress passes huge laws they haven’t even read (as well as) overspending, overtaxing and devaluing the currency. The Romans were worse. I object to President Obama’s $100 million dollar trip, but Nero traveled with 1,000 carriages. Tiberius established an ‘office of imperial pleasures,’ which gathered ‘beautiful boys and girls from all corners of the world’ so, as Tacitus put it, the emperor ‘could defile them.’ Emperor Commodus held a show in the Colosseum at which he personally killed five hippos, two elephants, a rhinoceros and a giraffe…” John Stossel continued: “To pay for their excesses, emperors devalued the currency. (Doesn’t our Fed do that by buying $2 trillion of government debt?)” Nero reduced the silver content of coins to 95 percent. Then Trajan reduced it to 85 percent and so on. By the year 300, wheat that once cost eight Roman dollars cost 120,000 Roman dollars. The president the Foundation for Economic Education, Lawrence Reed, warned that Rome, like America, had an expanding welfare state. It started with ‘subsidized grain.’ The government gave it away at half price. But the problem was that they couldn’t stop there – a man named Claudius ran for Tribune on a platform of free wheat for the masses. And won. It was downhill from there… Soon, to appease angry voters, emperors gave away or subsidized olive oil, salt and pork. People lined up to get free stuff.” John Stossel added: “Rome’s government, much like ours, wasn’t good at making sure subsidies flowed only to the poor, said Reed: ‘Anybody could line up to get these goods, which contributed to the ultimate bankruptcy of the Roman state.’ As inflation increased, Rome, much like the U.S. under President Nixon, imposed wage and price controls. When people objected, Emperor Diocletian denounced their ‘greed,’ saying, ‘Shared humanity urges us to set a limit.’ Doesn’t that sound like today’s anti-capitalist politicians? Diocletian was worse than Nixon. Rome enforced controls with the death penalty – and forbid people to change professions. Emperor Constantine decreed that those who broke such rules ‘be bound with chains and reduced to servile condition.’ John Stossel concluded: “Eventually, Rome’s empire was so large – and people so resentful of centralized control – that generals in outlying regions began declaring independence from Rome. At FreedomFest, Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, also argued that America could soon collapse like Rome did. ‘The parallels are quite ominous – the debt, the expansionist foreign policy, the arrogance of executive power taking over our country,’ says Kibbe. ‘But I do think we have a chance to…alert people to the danger in imperial Washington and try to fight it…’ Empires do crumble. Rome’s lasted the longest. The Ottoman Empire lasted 623 years. China’s Song, Qing and Ming dynasties each lasted about 300 years. We’ve lasted just 237 years so far… We’ve accomplished amazing things, but we shouldn’t take our continued success for granted. Freedom and prosperity are not natural. In human history, they’re rare.” Watch past FAITH IN HISTORY episodes for FREE Get the book Change to Chains-the 6,000 year quest for global control Bill Federer www.AmericanMinute.com wjfederer@gmail.com  314-502-8924  American Minute is a registered trademark. Permission is granted to forward, reprint or duplicate with acknowledgement

 

An American Minute – The Fall Of Rome by Bill Lederer