We begin with sinful Israel:

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom with power. When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory:
 when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, even they which have pierced Him, and all the tribes of the land shall wail because of Him.

 
Did Jesus come with the angels and judge every man -- before all of His disciples died off? If He didn't, why did He say He would?

You don't believe what America's Founding Fathers believed, because you were denied the Bible-centered education that America's Founding Fathers received. But even the Founders might have had problems answering some of today's atheist critics. Consider this attack on the trustworthiness of the Bible by Atheist Bertrand Russell, in his book Why I Am Not A Christian, who discredits the inspiration of the New Testament based on the apparent failed prediction of Christ and the Apostles:

If Christ and the Apostles were teaching the imminent destruction of planet earth and the inauguration of the “eternal state” or some kind of "millennial kingdom" like the Jehovah's Witnesses talk about, then the authors of the Bible were clearly mistaken.

Russell the atheist (who probably studied the Bible more than many church-goers) is correct when he says that much of the New Testament was based on this belief: that the “coming of the Son of Man in His Kingdom” and the “end of the world” were “at hand.”

Russell is mistaken when he starts with the premise that Christ and the Apostles were predicting the end of the physical world. They were not.

“The End of the World”

• Matthew 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world age; and the reapers are the angels.
• Matthew 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world age.
• Matthew 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world age: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
• Matthew 24:3 And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world age?
• Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world age. Amen.
• 1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world age are come.
• Hebrews 9:26 For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world [Gk: kosmos]: but now once in the end of the world age [aion] hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
• Extra credit: Ephesians 3:21 (cf. Isa. 45:17)
  Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Lit., “to all the generations of the age of the ages”)

These verses signify the end of the Old Covenant, not the physical destruction of planet earth. A proper understanding of Christ’s “Olivet Discourse” (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) will aid our understanding of the “end of the age.” Christ predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, which happened 40 years later, in A.D. 70.

Matthew 23:29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 38 Behold! Your house is left to you desolate;

After making this prediction, His disciples asked for signs of this event, so they would know when it would happen.

Matthew 24:1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world  αιωνος [age] ?”

Jesus then proceeds to spell out the signs that would precede His coming and “the end of the world,” which, as we’ve seen, really means the end of the Old Testament age. Let’s read Luke’s account of Jesus spelling out the signs of His coming and the “end of the age,” as it brings out the immediacy of Christ’s coming in judgment against Jerusalem:

Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Verse 27 takes us back to one of the critical “any moment” verses we will examine below:

“The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. 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.” (Matthew 16:27-28; cf. Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27)

This is clearly an event that was about to happen to that generation, and did in fact happen: Jerusalem was laid waste. It was a time of tribulation greater than any Israel had ever experienced, and greater than any that Israel would ever experience again.

But there are some questions raised by the Preterist theory. The Preterist says Matthew 24 –– the entire chapter –– was fulfilled in the first century. The “Great Tribulation” was the chain of events that occurred prior to and during the siege of Jerusalem, culminating in its destruction in A.D. 70. But what about this verse:

But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and all of the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to another (Matthew 24:29-31).[1]

Jesus seems to be saying that the Second Coming will occur immediately after the Tribulation. But when did the stars fall from heaven? Did the Second Coming occur in A.D. 70? Have we missed it?

First, let us be clear about one thing at the outset: there is just no getting around that word immediately. It means immediately. Acknowledging that the tribulation took place during the then-living generation, we must also face the clear teaching of Scripture that whatever Jesus is talking about in these verses happened immediately afterward. In other words, these verses describe what is to take place at the end of the Tribulation — what forms its climax.

And let's remember the verses that atheists throw at us, like Matthew 16:27-28.

In order to understand the meaning of Jesus’ expressions in this passage, we need to understand the Old Testament much more than most people do today. Jesus was speaking to an audience that was intimately familiar with the most obscure details of Old Testament literature. They had heard the Old Testament ("the Scriptures") read and expounded countless times throughout their lives, and had memorized lengthy passages. Biblical imagery and forms of expression had formed their culture, environment, and vocabulary from earliest infancy, and this had been true for generations. There was no Oprah, no Fox News, no ESPN, no Britney Spears. (Recall, for a modern parallel, the influence of the Puritan Pulpit in colonial America.[2])

The fact is that when Jesus spoke to His disciples about the fall of Jerusalem, He used prophetic (Biblical) vocabulary. There was a “language” of prophecy, instantly recognizable to those familiar with the Old Testament. As Jesus foretold the complete end of the Old Covenant system — which was, in a sense, the end of a whole world — He spoke of it as any of the prophets would have, in the stirring language of covenantal judgment. We will consider each element in the prophecy, seeing how its previous use in the Old Testament prophets determined its meaning in the context of Jesus’ discourse on the fall of Jerusalem. Remember that our ultimate standard of truth is the Bible, and the Bible alone. Not today's newspapers, and not the notes of the Scofield Bible.

The Sun, Moon, and Stars

At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus said, the universe will collapse: the light of the sun and the moon will be extinguished, the stars will fall, the powers of the heavens will be shaken. The basis for this symbolism is in Genesis 1:14-16, where the sun, moon, and stars (“the powers of the heavens”) are spoken of as “signs” which “govern” the world. Later in Scripture, these heavenly lights are used to speak of earthly authorities and governors; and when God threatens to come against them in judgment, the same collapsing-universe terminology is used to describe it. Prophesying the fall of Babylon to the Medes in 539 B.C., Isaiah wrote:

     Behold, the Day of the Lord is coming,

Cruel, with fury and burning anger,

To make the land a desolation;

And He will exterminate its sinners from it.

For the stars of heaven and their constellations

Will not flash forth with their light;

The sun will be dark when it rises,

And the moon will not shed its light. (Isaiah 13:9-10)

Significantly, Isaiah later prophesied the fall of Edom in these same terms of de-creation:

     And all the host of heaven will wear away,

And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll;

All their hosts will also wither away

As a leaf withers from the vine,

Or as one withers from the fig tree. (Isaiah 34:4)

Isaiah’s contemporary, the prophet Amos, foretold the doom of Samaria (722 B.C.) in much the same way:

     “And it will come about in that day,”

Declares the Lord God,

“That I shall make the sun go down at noon

And make the earth dark in broad daylight.” (Amos 8:9)

Another example is from the prophet Ezekiel, who predicted the destruction of Egypt. God said this through Ezekiel:

     “And when I extinguish you,

I will cover the heavens, and darken their stars;

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

And the moon shall not give its light.

All the shining lights in the heavens

I will darken over you

And will set darkness on your land,”

Declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 32:7-8)

It must be stressed that none of these astronomical events literally took place. God did not intend anyone to place a literalist construction on these statements. Poetically, however, all these things did happen: as far as these wicked nations were concerned, “the lights went out.” This is simply figurative language, which would not surprise us at all if we were more familiar with the Bible and appreciative of its literary character.

What Jesus is saying in Matthew 24, therefore, in prophetic terminology immediately recognizable by his disciples, is that the light of Israel is going to be extinguished; the covenant nation will cease to exist. When the Tribulation is over, old Israel––the old heavens and earth –– will be gone. 

   
There are two issues in this debate:

   (1) the timing of the Second Coming and
   (2) the nature of the Second Coming.

Put another way:

   (1) when would be the coming of Christ
   (2) what would it be like?

The timing verses are clear; conclusions about the nature of the Second Coming come from verses which are not as clear. We saw this in Matthew 24: is the language about "stars" falling from heaven a prediction about astronomy or politics? We should let the whole Bible answer the question about the nature of the coming.

Preterists interpret the nature verses in light of the timing verses, and not the other way around. The overwhelming testimony of the New Testament is that the Second Coming would occur in the first century A.D., that is, before the death of the generation in which Christ lived. You really can't make sense of the timing verses without taking them literally. Futurists will say "but nobody saw the stars fall out of heaven!" But you can apply a more Biblical hermeneutic (rules of interpretation) to the nature verses and make perfect sense of them.

(As we will see below, the nature of Christ's coming is connected to the nature of Christ's Kingdom, or government. Futurists get both wrong.)

Let’s look at some of the timing verses.

There's over 100 verses below. You'll get the flavor of the New Testament by actually taking the time to read these verses. You would do even better by getting your Bible out and reading the entire paragraph in which each of these verses are found. But by far the best way to understand these verses is to take an entire year out, read the Bible daily, like the Bereans, and think about this whole issue for an entire year. You won't win this wager if you are not willing to take time each day to engage your brain with the content of the Scriptures.

The idea of the imminent first-century return of Christ and great Day of Judgment thoroughly dominates the pages of the New Testament. But there is never a single hint that there would be another coming some two hundred centuries in the future.

(Not all of these verses are from the 1611 KJV. We've cherry-picked mainstream translations to buttress our point. Go ahead: challenge the Greek. You'll lose.)

101 "Any Moment" Verses

1. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)

2. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Matthew 3:7)

3. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees.” (Matthew 3:10)

4. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Matthew 3:12)

5. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

6. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7)

7. “You shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:23)

8. “....the age about to come.” (Matthew 12:32)

9. “The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.” (Matthew 16:27; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26)

10. “Verily I say unto 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.” (Matthew 16:28; cf. Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27)

11. “‘When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?’ ‘....He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.’ ‘....Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.’ ....When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.” (Matthew 21:40-41,43,45)

12. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:34)

13. “Hereafter, you [Caiaphas, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, the whole Sanhedrin] shall be seeing the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69)

14. “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:15)

15. “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. ....They [the chief priests, scribes and elders] understood that He spoke the parable against them.” (Mark 12:9,12)

16. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Mark 13:30)

17. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Luke 3:7)

18. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. “ (Luke 3:9)

19. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Luke 3:17)

20. “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Luke 10:9)

21. “The kingdom of God has come near.” (Luke 10:11)

22. “What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” The scribes and the chief priests understood that He spoke this parable against them.” (Luke 20:15-16,19)

23. “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. These are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:20-22)

24. “This generation will not pass away until all things take place.” (Luke 21:32)

25. “Daughters of Jerusalem , stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’” (Luke 23:28-30; Compare Revelation 6:14-17)

26. “We were hoping that He was the One who is about to redeem Israel .” (Luke 24:21)

27. “I will come to you. In that Day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.’ ‘Lord, what then has happened that You are about to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?’” (John 14:18,20,22)

28. “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” (John 21:22)

29. “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days’” (Acts 2:16 -17)

30. “He has fixed a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31 )

31. “There is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” (Acts 24:15)

32. “As he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment about to come” (Acts 24:25)

33. “Not for [Abraham’s] sake only was it written, that [faith] was reckoned to him [as righteousness], but for our sake also, to whom it is about to be reckoned.” ( Rom. 4:23-24)

34. “If you are living according to the flesh, you are about to die.” (Romans 8:13 )

35. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 )

36. “It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.” ( Romans 13:11-12)

37. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20 )

38. “The time has been shortened.” (1 Corinthians 7:29)

39. “The form of this world is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:31)

40. “Now these things were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11)

41. “We shall not all fall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

42. “Maranatha!” [The Lord comes!] (1 Corinthians 16:22)

43. “...not only in this age, but also in the one about to come.” (Ephesians 1:21)

44. “The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:5)

45. “The gospel was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” (Colossians 1:23; Compare Matthew 24:14; Romans 10:18 ; 16:26 ; Colossians 1:5-6; 2 Timothy 4:17 ; Rev. 14:6-7; cf. I Clement 5,7)

46. “things which are a shadow of what is about to come.” (Colossians 2:16-17)

47. “we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15,17; 5:4)

48. “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

49. “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

50. “Godliness holds promise for the present life and that which is about to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)

51. “I charge you that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Timothy 6:14)

52. “storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for that which is about to come, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (1 Timothy 6:19)

53. “In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self Avoid these men. For of these are those who enter into households and captivate weak women These also oppose the truth But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all” (2 Timothy 3:1-2,5-6,8-9)

54. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is about to judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1)

55. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” (Heb. 1:1-2)

56. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14 )

57. “He did not subject to angels the world about to come.” (Heb. 2:5)

58. “and have tasted the powers of the age about to come.” (Heb. 6:5)

59. “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near a curse, and it’s end is for burning.” (Heb. 6:7-8)

60. “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” (Heb. 8:13)

61. “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way of the [heavenly] Holy Places has not yet been revealed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.” (Heb. 9:8-10; Compare Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 2:21-22; 3:17; 4:13)

62. “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things about to come” (Hebrews 9:11 )

63. “Now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin.” (Hebrews 9:26)

64. “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things about to come” (Hebrews 10:1)

65. “as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25)

66. “the fury of a fire which is about to consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:27)

67. “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” (Hebrews 10:37)

68. “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one that is about to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

69. “Speak and so act, as those who are about to be judged by the law of liberty.” (James 2:12)

70. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (James 5:1,3)

71. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” (James 5:7)

72. “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8)

73. “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5)

74. “He has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” (1 Peter 1:20)

75. “They shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:5)

76. “The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7)

77. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.” (1 Peter 4:17)

78. “as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is about to be revealed.” (1 Peter 5:1)

79. “We have the prophetic word which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)

80. “Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)

81. “In the last days mockers will come. For this they willingly are ignorant of” (2 Peter 3:3,5)

82. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (2 Peter 3:10-12)

83. “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” (1 John 2:8)

84. “The world is passing away, and its desires.” (1 John 2:17)

85. “It is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18)

86. “Even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18; Compare Matthew 24:23-34)

87. “This is that of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” (1 John 4:3; Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:7)

88. “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation. About these also Enoch prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly’” (Jude 1:4,14-15)

89. “But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ These are the ones who cause divisions” (Jude 1:17-19)

90. “to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place.” (Revelation 1:1)

91. “The time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

92. “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.” (Revelation 2:25)

93. “I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole land.” (Revelation 3:10; cf. Matthew 2:6,20,21)

94. “I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 3:11)

95. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” (Revelation 12:5)

96. “And in her [the Great City Babylon] was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Revelation 18:24; Compare Matthew 23:35-36; Luke 11:50-51)

97. “to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.” (Revelation 22:6)

98. “Behold, I am coming quickly. “ (Revelation 22:7)

99. “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” (Revelation 22:10; Compare Daniel 8:26)

100. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 22:12)

101. “Yes, I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 22:20)

All of these verses concerned those who witnessed the first coming of Christ and lived in the first century, not those who would live thousands of years later (though we can certainly learn some general principles from every verse of Scripture, even ones that weren't intended directly for us). The imminent destruction of the temple and judgment of those who rejected the Messiah is a dominant theme of the New Testament, and was a top priority in the minds of Christians in those days.

It is important to see the many verses above that are talking about the destruction of the temple. This was the subject of Jesus’ important “Olivet Discourse,” a major prophecy. Please read Matthew chapters 23-24 to review this subject. Note especially Matthew 23:34-36. Chapter 24 is an elaboration on this prophetic curse, which Jesus places on those anti-christs (cf. 1 John 2:22; Acts 2:36). The subject of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 is found in the three "synoptic" gospels (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) but not in John's Gospel. That's because the entire book of the Revelation to John is about the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. John didn't need to put that material in the Gospel he wrote.
 

Why Does it Matter?

Are debates about eschatology important?

Yes.

Gilbert Tenent was an evangelist who raised up young preachers in New Jersey by sitting them on a log and teaching them the Bible. People began speaking of "the Log College." Today it is known as "Princeton University." Read what the founder of Princeton University would think about Christians today.

America's Founding Fathers would be horrified at what has happened to the nation they founded. From Christian Republic to Atheistic Tyranny. The United States government is at war with Christian civilization and is the enemy of humanity. Christians have not been vigilant. They have been waiting for the Rapture.

As we suggested above, the nature of Christ's coming is connected to the nature of Christ's Kingdom, or government. Futurists get both wrong.

When you become a Preterist, you're going to gain new understanding of the "Kingdom" or government of God. You will become a radical opponent of humanistic government, which is always atheistic tyranny. Without taking up arms, muskets, or cannons like America's Founding Fathers, you will be inspired to take concrete steps to repeal the Constitution and abolish the United States government. And the government of North Korea. And Iran.

In fact, you will be persuaded to become an anarchist, and work with us to abolish all "governments" and all "kingdoms" -- except God's.

Or we will pay you $1,000.00

Sound crazy? Sound impossible?

Anarchist Bible Bet

Last year in America, over 10,000 people were murdered. We all agree this is a bad thing.

But during the 20th century, around the world, about that same number were murdered each and every single day. Even more astonishing, these murders were all "legal." In fact, they were all carried out by various governments around the world. This number does not include abortions, legal or otherwise. Last year around the world, there were about 135,000 abortions each and every single day.

Two hundred years ago, every government in Western Civilization claimed to be Christian in some way. Today, these same governments all claim to be "secular." The transition from Theocracy (Isaiah 33:22) to secular democracy (vox populi, vox dei, "The voice of the people is the voice of god") has meant a global blood-bath.

All these murders were avoidable. American Christians must share the bulk of the blame. There are about 200,000,000 Americans who call themselves Christians. These are, by and large, the most powerful people in the world. They have enough money to end poverty and illiteracy around the world simply by tithing 10% of their income to groups committed to Christian Reconstruction. But 200,000,000 Christians are not investing in the future of the planet because they believe "Jesus is coming soon." For them, there is no future.

(Except when Jesus comes back and repudiates everything He said by setting up a Roman-style police-state empire from a throne in Jerusalem.)

These murders are not necessary because the governments that perpetrated them are not necessary.

When Christians get the real message of the Bible, we will see amazing things.

They will repudiate "archism."
You will repudiate "archism."

Or we will pay you $1,000.00

Most Christians are as confused about the Second Coming of Christ as they are about the First Coming. Even Christ's disciples were confused. Jesus said His Kingdom was not like the kingdoms of this world. But the disciples took a while to learn that.

Consider what Matthew records happening in a city called Caesarea Philippi. The city was named after Caesar Augustus and Philip II, who was Tetrarch of the area before king Herod Agrippa II (before whom the Apostle Paul pled his case in Acts 25-26). Philip commemorated the naming of city by issuing a coin, which like others of the day, had idolatrous images on it. Jesus commented on such idolatrous coins when He said "Render unto Caesar."

So this city has politics written all over it.

The Jews (and Jesus' Jewish disciples) were hoping the Messiah (the Christ) would lead an army to overthrow the Roman occupation forces and make Israel free. Jesus did not intend to make Israel free by a clash of arms. Jesus did not intend to rule the way Caesar ruled.

And we read about this in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16:

       ¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
       ¹⁴ So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
       ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
       ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

To say that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the King, in "Caesar-ville," was politically subversive.

       ¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
       ²⁰ Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
       ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
       ²² Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

To say that the Messiah, the Christ, the King, must be tortured and  executed by Caesar, rather than triumph over His Roman enemies, was a concept Peter could not accept.

       ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
       ²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Jesus added insult to injury by telling Peter to "take up his cross," the symbol of execution by the Romans. That's like "Take up your firing squad."

 ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. ²⁸ “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

And then we have the line about the Second Coming and Day of Judgment taking place before all the disciples would die.

Here we have Preterism and Anarchism.

The Jews (and today's futurists) believed that the Messiah would come and set up an empire more powerful than Caesar's. It would essentially be a police state. But Jesus repudiated this political vision. He told His disciples that they would not be beating sinners with rods of iron in the coming Kingdom. They would not be "archists" like the kings of the gentiles. They would be servants instead. And that means Christians are "anarchists" in the eyes of Caesar.

Preterism is thus intensely political. Or, should we say, anti-political.

Futurists are wrong about the timing of Christ's Second coming and the nature of His Kingdom. They are wrong about what Christians should be doing today. Jesus said we should be working, not waiting.

The message of Christmas -- the first coming of Christ -- is a message of Global Christianity and "Peace on Earth." We've gone from 12 discouraged disciples to over two Billion people who identify as Christians. Three billion human beings on this planet live in peace and prosperity which the ancient world could not have imagined. And the increase of Christ's Kingdom has just begun. This "good news" began at the first Christmas. It does not wait around for a second incarnation of Christ.

Not only are we going to convince you to become a preterist, and affirm that the Second Coming of Christ happened in the first century, but we are going to persuade you to join a movement dedicated to repealing the Constitution and abolishing the United States. We're also working to abolish all other governments in the world. If we can't convince you to become a Bible-believing Christian anarchist,

We will pay you $1,000.00