Are you a Preterist or a Futurist???

This will be one of my most controversial pieces, because being a Preterist runs counter to the beliefs of most Christians, who are mainly Futurists. A Futurist, believes in, and is waiting for, the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, accompanied by the rapture of the saints prior to the tribulation. This view is the pillar of the eschatology of most Believers. However, a Preterist believes that Jesus already returned a 2nd time, in 70 A.D. The saints who were alive then, were raptured, the saints who had already died were resurrected, and all or most of the Biblical prophecies were completely fulfilled. I will outline in detail why I hold the Preterist view.

There are many key passages that lead me to this view. First, starting in Matt. 24:1, Jesus spoke about the future utter destruction of the temple, and then in response to His disciples questions in verse 3, Jesus then gave a detailed description of what would be the signs of His coming and of the end of the world (end of age). In verse 9, He further predicted the martyrdom of many of them, which is corroborated in the book of Acts. In verse 14, He spoke about how the gospel would be preached in all the world, and then the end would come. In verse 21, Jesus speaks about the great tribulation which was the 3 year siege of Jerusalem in which the temple was destroyed. This has been verified by Historians of that day. Verse 29 -33 tells what would happen immediately after the tribulation of those days, and verse 34 says, "Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS, till ALL these things be fulfilled." Not only did Jesus give much detail about what and when things would happen, but he also said that it would happen IN THE GENERATION of the disciples to whom He was speaking. In Matt. 16:28, Jesus further says, "Verily I say unto you, There be SOME STANDING HERE, which shall not taste of death (SHALL NOT DIE), till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Luke 9:27 also says the same thing. These are the infallible words of Jesus, and those who believe in a future rapture and 2nd coming, must do so by ignoring what Jesus said - I cannot and will not ignore what Jesus says! Paul also further added to what Jesus said, by pointing out in 1Cor. 15:23, that all the saints that have died, will be raised at Christ's 2nd coming, and in verse 44 he says these saints will be raised in their new spiritual bodies. In verses 51 - 52, Paul points out that NOT ALL OF THEM WILL HAVE DIED when Jesus returns, but all will be changed at the last trump. Again, in 1Thess. 4:15 (NLT), Paul repeats the fact that "WE WHO ARE STILL LIVING WHEN THE LORD RETURNS, will not rise to meet Him ahead of those who are in their graves." In verse 16-17, he says, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, WE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE AND REMAIN ON THE EARTH, will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever." It's clear that Jesus taught and Paul believed, that SOME OF THEM WOULD STILL BE LIVING when Jesus returned the 2nd time. In 1Thess 5, Paul uses the same language that Jesus did in Matt 24, to advise that the day of the Lord's return would arrive unexpectedly like a thief in the night....so be awake and watchful. In 1 Tim 6 (NLT), Paul advises Timothy in verse 14, "that You obey his (Paul's) commands, with all purity. Then no one can find fault with you UNTIL OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST RETURNS." In Hebrews 11:37(NLT), it again refers to Jesus coming back SOON -"For in JUST A LITTLE WHILE, the Coming One WILL COME and NOT delay."
Some believe that the book of Revelation was written sometime after 70 A.D. - as late as 95 A.D. But there is much evidence that it was written by John just before the events that Jesus predicted in Matt 24. The language in Rev.1:1-3 is very significant as to the immediacy of the events that must shortly happen, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY COME TO PAST; and He sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND." In Rev 22:6, John speaks about "the things which must be SHORTLY DONE, and in Rev 22:7, Jesus says, "behold I COME QUICKLY: blessed is he that keepth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. In Rev 22:10-12, "And he saith unto me, SEAL NOT the sayings of the prophecy of this book: FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I COME QUICKLY; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." And finally in verse 22, Jesus says, "Surely I COME QUICKLY."

Finally, one significant event in Matt 27:52-53, that no one who believes in a future rapture and 2nd coming has answered - what happened to the many saints who were resurrected and came out of their graves after Jesus was resurrected? We know that it is appointed to men, ONCE to die (Heb. 9:27), so we know that these resurrected saints could NOT die again. So they are either still wandering around on the earth 2,000 + years later - waiting for the 2nd coming and to be raptured, OR they must have been raptured along with those disciples who were still alive when Jesus returned in 70 A.D.

This is the reason why I believe that the rapture and the 2nd coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, must have already occurred in 70 A.D., and is NOT a future event. I can find no hint nor suggestion in scripture, that the 2nd coming of Jesus is a future event occuring 2,000+ years later. Jesus did prepare a place and returned for us as He promised, and the saints started going there when He returned in 70 A.D. Since then, as we die, we immediately get our new glorified, resurrection bodies, and go directly to the place that God has prepared for us, "and so shall we shall ever be with our Lord." (John 14:2,3)

I could be wrong in this view, and if someone thinks so, I would love to hear why I am wrong with sound scriptural evidences. I am open to being persuaded back to the Futurist view, which I used to subscribe to. Until then, I believe the Preterist view is the correct one, and it meets all the tests of sound scriptural hermeneutics.