Introduction

† Critics of Full Preterism often present five objections they believe cannot be answered. They argue for a future bodily resurrection, a future visible return of Christ, the destruction of the physical universe, a late date for Revelation, and a future Antichrist.

† The question isn't which argument sounds convincing. The question is whether those arguments agree with the context, audience, time statements, and covenant language of Scripture.

† When every passage is read in its own context instead of through later theological traditions, the New Testament consistently points to first-century fulfillment within the generation Jesus addressed.

The Resurrection Was According To The Scriptures, Not Human Tradition

1 Corinthians 15:20-26

But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man death came, by a Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

† Paul never separated the resurrection from Christ's coming or from the end that his own generation expected. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Hebrews 10:37)

† The death defeated here is the Adamic death that separated mankind from God's covenant life, not biological death that still affects believers today. (Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-6)

† Christ's resurrection guaranteed the fulfillment of God's covenant promise to His people, bringing them into everlasting life through the New Covenant. (John 11:25-26; Revelation 20:4-6)

Philippians 3:20-21

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

† Paul was writing to living first-century believers who expected Christ's coming during their lifetime. (Philippians 4:5; Hebrews 10:25, 37)

† Scripture often uses the word body to describe a covenant people collectively, not merely individual flesh. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 2:15-16)

† Believers were transformed from the old Adamic order into the glorious body of Christ through the completion of the New Covenant. (2 Corinthians 3:7-18; Colossians 1:13)

Every Eye Shall See Him

Revelation 1:7

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. So it is to be. Amen.

† John specifically identifies those who pierced Christ, pointing directly to first-century Israel rather than people living thousands of years later. (Matthew 23:35-36; Acts 2:22-23)

† Coming with clouds was well-known Old Testament judgment language describing God's coming against nations, not His physical descent to earth. (Isaiah 19:1; Daniel 7:13-14)

† Every eye refers to those witnessing God's covenant judgment upon Jerusalem, fulfilling Jesus' own prophecy to that generation. (Matthew 24:30-34; Luke 21:20-22)

The Heavens And Earth That Passed Away

2 Peter 3:10-13

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 discovered.

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, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

† Peter was quoting Isaiah's promise of the New Heavens and New Earth, where people still lived, died, built houses, and planted vineyards, proving the language was covenantal rather than describing the destruction of the universe. (Isaiah 65:17-25)

† The Old Testament repeatedly used heaven and earth as symbols for covenant nations and governments. (Isaiah 1:1-2; Deuteronomy 32:1)

† Peter said his readers were waiting for this fulfillment, and he also said the end of all things was at hand. (1 Peter 4:7; Hebrews 8:13)

The Time Of Revelation

Revelation 1:1-3

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

† John says the events must shortly come to pass and that the time was at hand. Those statements have their normal meaning unless Scripture gives us a reason to redefine them. (Revelation 22:6-10)

† A late date forces the reader to ignore John's repeated time statements and instead replace them with thousands of years of delay.

† The strongest evidence for dating Revelation comes from Scripture itself before later historical opinions. Internal evidence always deserves priority when interpreting God's Word. (Matthew 24:34; Luke 21:22)

Matthew 24:34

Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

† Jesus could not have spoken any more plainly. The generation standing before Him would witness the fulfillment of everything He had just described. (Matthew 23:36; Luke 21:20-22)

† Every prophecy connected with His coming in the Olivet Discourse was limited by the time statement "this generation." Any interpretation that postpones those events for thousands of years ignores Jesus' own words. (Matthew 16:27-28; Mark 13:30)

† The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 fulfilled Christ's covenant judgment exactly as He promised, proving His words never failed. (Luke 21:32; John 13:19)

Hebrews 10:37

For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.

† The writer encouraged first-century believers by assuring them that Christ's coming was near, not thousands of years in the future. (Hebrews 10:25; James 5:8-9)

† The phrase very little while has its ordinary meaning unless Scripture clearly indicates otherwise, and nothing in the context suggests a delay of centuries. (Romans 13:11-12)

† This agrees perfectly with the repeated New Testament message that Christ's coming was approaching during the lifetime of the apostles. (1 Peter 4:7; Revelation 22:10)

Luke 21:22

because these are days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled.

† Jesus identified the destruction of Jerusalem as the time when everything written concerning that covenant judgment would reach its fulfillment. (Matthew 24:15-21)

† The context leaves no room for postponing these prophecies thousands of years beyond the generation He addressed. (Luke 21:32)

† Scripture consistently points to AD 70 as the climax of the Old Covenant age and the fulfillment of Christ's prophetic warnings. (Hebrews 8:13; Daniel 9:26-27)

Revelation 22:10

And he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

† Unlike Daniel, who was told to seal his prophecy because its fulfillment was far away, John was commanded not to seal Revelation because its fulfillment was near. (Daniel 12:4)

† The expression the time is at hand confirms the opening statement that these events would shortly come to pass. Scripture interprets itself consistently. (Revelation 1:1-3)

† The book begins and ends by declaring its fulfillment was near for its original readers, making a delay of thousands of years impossible within the text itself. (Revelation 22:6-7)

The Lawless One Was A First-Century Enemy

2 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

† Paul said the mystery of lawlessness was already working while he was writing, placing its fulfillment in the first century. (1 John 2:18)

† The lawless one was connected with the temple still standing, not a temple rebuilt thousands of years later. (Matthew 24:1-2; Hebrews 8:13)

† Nero's personal death isn't the issue. Christ's coming in judgment brought an end to the entire persecuting power that opposed His church and culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem. (Luke 21:20-22; Revelation 17:14-18)

Historical References

† Josephus records the horrors of the Jewish War and the destruction of Jerusalem, confirming the fulfillment of Jesus' warnings concerning that generation.

† Tacitus records the Roman campaign against Judea and Jerusalem, confirming the historical setting of the events surrounding AD 70.

† Eusebius records that the Christians fled Jerusalem before its destruction, remembering and obeying the warning Jesus had given them.

† While Irenaeus is frequently cited in support of a late date for Revelation, his statement is debated because of its grammatical ambiguity and because internal biblical evidence consistently points to an imminent fulfillment.

How It Applies To Us Today

† Our confidence rests in Christ's fulfilled promises, not in constantly waiting for prophecies that Scripture declared were near.

† We live in the blessings of the completed New Covenant, enjoying direct access to God through Jesus Christ.

† The kingdom isn't postponed. Christ reigns now, and every believer already belongs to His everlasting kingdom. (Hebrews 12:22-28; Colossians 1:13)

Q & A Appendix

Q: Doesn't 1 Corinthians 15 require a future physical resurrection?

A: No. Paul explains the resurrection through the victory of Christ over Adamic death and the fulfillment of God's covenant promises. The context connects the resurrection with Christ's first-century coming and the end of the Old Covenant age. (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 50-57; Hebrews 10:37)

Q: Doesn't Revelation 1:7 say every eye will literally see Jesus?

A: No. John combines Daniel 7 and Zechariah 12, identifying those who pierced Christ and the tribes of the land mourning. The language describes covenant judgment upon first-century Israel. (Revelation 1:7; Zechariah 12:10-14; Matthew 24:30-34)

Q: Doesn't 2 Peter 3 teach the destruction of the physical universe?

A: No. Peter draws directly from Isaiah's covenant language concerning the New Heavens and New Earth. The context concerns the passing of the Old Covenant order and the arrival of the New Covenant creation. (2 Peter 3:10-13; Isaiah 65:17-25; Hebrews 8:13)

Q: Doesn't a late date for Revelation disprove Full Preterism?

A: No. The repeated statements that the prophecy would shortly come to pass and that the time was at hand provide the strongest evidence that Revelation concerned events about to occur for its original readers. (Revelation 1:1-3; Revelation 22:6-10)

Q: If Nero died before AD 70, how could he be connected with the Beast or the lawless one?

A: Scripture focuses on the destruction of the persecuting power and its covenant opposition to Christ, not merely the biological death of one ruler. The entire first-century system that opposed Christ came to its appointed end. (2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 17:11-18; Luke 21:20-22)

Q: If every eye saw Christ, why doesn't history record everyone literally seeing Him?

A: Revelation 1:7 uses the well-established Old Testament language of God coming with the clouds in judgment. The focus is God's visible covenant judgment against Jerusalem, not a physical appearance witnessed by every person on earth. (Isaiah 19:1; Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:30-34)

Q: Why should Scripture's internal evidence take priority over later opinions about the date of Revelation?

A: Because inspired Scripture is our highest authority. John repeatedly says the events would shortly come to pass and that the time was at hand. Those inspired statements carry greater weight than later historical traditions that remain debated. (Revelation 1:1-3; Revelation 22:6-10)

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† 1 Corinthians 15:20-26; Philippians 3:20-21; Revelation 1:1-3, 7; Matthew 24:34; Hebrews 10:37; Luke 21:22; Revelation 22:10; 2 Peter 3:10-13; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8

† Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book 6, Chapters 3-5; Tacitus, The Histories, Book 5, Chapters 11-13; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 3, Chapter 5; Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 30