by Brett Jacobsen

 This article is an excerpt from the author's book Heaven's Underground Blueprint which is available here - http://www.christisall.org/hub-book.

Quite recently, I have done a back-flip with my end-times theological stance. This eschatological repentance is no minor detail in God’s grand scheme of things, as it aligns with our prophetic future and dovetails the current reformation. The reason that this postmillennial/preterist doctrine is so important is that, unlike pre-millennialism with its pre, mid and post raptures, it aligns with the biblical timeline for history and provides real hope for the kingdom. This is in stark contrast to the pessimistic eschatology that many modern saints hold to. As I am only relatively new to the largely suppressed, yet wonderfully bible-based world of postmillennial/preterist eschatology, I will give just an appetiser in this book. I must add that I don’t agree with everything that postmillennialists teach, just as I would expect nobody to agree outright with all that I say.

In essence, preterist postmillennialism holds to the fact that the great tribulation actually happened in the first century AD, culminating in the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, which was well documented by Flavius Josephus. There is no shortage of scriptural backup for these claims which turn the situation around from a pessimistic expectation of doom and gloom for the end time church, to a hope-filled victorious finale. This teaching makes biblical sense in light of the fact that the scriptures speak of a victorious, triumphant church that really does prevail in the end.

I will briefly examine a few key scriptures which have been explained away to the detriment of truth. These are from the Olivet discourse found in Matthew 24, which is one of the foremost texts relating to eschatology. As David Chilton and other scholars have expounded this passage and others very clearly, I will just draw attention to a few key points:

This passage has been taught as ‘end times’ scripture, with claims that it’s about “the end of the world” -some futuristic “generation” (Matt 24:3, 34). This view borders on the verge of biblical illiteracy as the passage is, unambiguously, a direct response to a pointed question. The passage from verses four to fifty-one, when simply read in context, is Jesus’ rather lengthy response to the disciples’ question from verse three: 

Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world? (3)

Firstly, when shall what things be? “These things” were the things that they had just heard Jesus say in the previous verses:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem […] Behold, your house is left to you desolate. (Matt 23:37-38)
 
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, See you not all these things? Truly I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. (Matt 24:1-2)

It was directly after, and in response to these statements that the disciples asked “Tell us, when shall these things be”? He was speaking specifically of the fall of Jerusalem and apostate Israel.

Secondly, “These things” which they were referring to had nothing to do with the end of the world but rather “the end of the aion” – (age). This age (aion) is not to be confused with world (kosmos – the atmosphere of the world) or earth (ge – the physical land), but is speaking of the end of the Old Testament Jewish age (aion), and what an end it was. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem … your house is left to you desolate”. Historians such as Flavius Josephus have accurately documented the fall of Jerusalem; and the spiritual and natural desolation (eremos – wilderness waste) that befell the house of Israel is glaringly obvious.

Thirdly, “the sign of [Jesus] coming” has only been viewed as the second advent because of these other misinterpretations. Jesus’ coming did happen and still does happen throughout history. He came as “allos parakletos” on the day of Pentecost and He continues to come in like manner, enforcing and building His Kingdom as “King of kings” till this day and forever (John 14:16/ Rev 17:14).

Furthermore, there is another verse which has been ludicrously explained away to fit a preconceived notion that this chapter is about the ‘end of the world’:

Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. (34)

There are two main misinterpretations of this verse, which have no biblical basis, which have been used to promote Matthew 24 as ‘end times’. I don’t believe that either of them are a worthy enough case to warrant my direct refutation at this point. I will just look at the truth: The word “generation” (genea) is speaking specifically of a generational time frame (said to be forty years). When Jesus said “This generation” He meant nothing else than the very generation He was speaking to. Near the end of chapter 23, thus being in the same context, Jesus said “Verily I say to you, All these things shall come upon this generation [genea]” (Matt 23:36). In both instances He was referring to the generation (forty year period) in their immediate future, hence His wording “THIS generation”.

Once again, this makes it very clear that ‘the great tribulation’ has happened, and we should not be scanning the news for signs of it to be fulfilled in our time. We should, however, be searching the Bible, by the Spirit, for prophetic pictures of hope for the future church …the one that will see that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Is 11:9).

Some other small but major points that I will address in this short space are from the book of ‘Revelation’:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show to his servants things which must shortly come to pass… (Rev 1:1).

It has been terribly overlooked by many that ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’ was written “to show His servants” – “the seven churches which are in Asia” (4) “things which must SHORTLY come to pass”. The word shortly in this verse comes from en tachos which explicitly means SHORTLY, or according to Strong’s, “a brief space (of time)”. He went on in verse three to declare “the time is at hand [eggus – near, ready]” (Rev 1:3). It is absurd to say that Revelation’s main discourse is in relation to the end of the world, some thousands of years after its penning. It is primarily speaking of the period leading up to, and including, the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Its principal focus was to encourage ‘spiritual Israel’, especially those in Asia Minor, with truth about their victory in Christ. This victory was through the transference of God’s covenant to them from natural Israel who had apostatised and was now their fiercest persecutor, albeit through the vehicle of the Roman beast.

John also ended the letter affirming his intention of imminent fulfilment: “These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show to his servants the things which must shortly [en tachos] be done” (Rev 22:6).

Further, the angel in chapter twenty two also backed up his “shortly be done” comment with “the time is at hand [eggus]” (Rev 22:10). John the apostle wrote Revelation as a letter to “the seven churches which are in Asia:” who were persecuted and oppressed from all sides and eagerly awaiting deliverance (Rev 1:4). What sort of mocker would he have been to send them a letter which spoke of things so far in the future that the information was but a mere consolation of distant eventual victory for the church, yet utterly useless to their own lives? J. Stuart Russell reveals biblical commonsense when he speaks of the contemporary nature of Revelation:

"Was a book sent by an apostle to the churches of Asia Minor, with a benediction on its readers, a mere unintelligible jargon, an inexplicable enigma, to them? That can hardly be. Yet if the book were meant to unveil the secrets of distant times, must it not of necessity have been unintelligible to its first readers – and not only unintelligible, but even irrelevant and useless? […]Especially when we consider the actual circumstances of those early Christians – many of them enduring cruel sufferings and grievous persecutions, and all of them eagerly looking for an approaching hour of deliverance which was now close at hand – what purpose could it have answered to send them a document which they were urged to read and ponder, which was yet mainly occupied with historical events so distant as to be beyond the range of their sympathies, and so obscure that even at this day the shrewdest critics are hardly agreed on any one point?” (1)

When ‘The Book of Revelation’ is read knowing the foundational truth of its then imminent fulfilment (for the most part) and realising also that it is a book of biblical symbolism, much insight into the plans of God can be gained. When it is viewed in the proper context of its historical fulfilment, we can draw encouragement and instruction for our personal journeys from its teachings which are implicit for general Christian life.

As I have already said, at this stage I will leave the more extensive eschatological hermeneutics to the experts. What I have seen of preterist/postmillennialism thus far is exciting because it doesn’t attempt to fit scripture into our preconceived doctrines, but rather interprets scripture with scripture and then lines it up with history. David Chilton’s brilliant exposition of the book of Revelation (The Days of Vengeance) views Revelation’s contents in an authentic context. It also transforms a daunting, expert-confined book into an instructive tool for common Christians that becomes “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).

There are some books I can recommend to those who wish to pursue their investigation into eschatology and its significance in God’s prophetic calendar. Two are authored by David Chilton: The Great Tribulation and The Days of Vengeance. I will again stress that I do not hold to every doctrine of Chilton’s, just the most part of what he teaches on eschatology. He seems to have a traditional congregational outlook with his views on corporate church and leadership; but I won’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

As well, there is Eschatology of Victory by J. Marcellus Kik. Kenneth L. Gentry Jr. also has some good books called Before Jerusalem Fell – Dating the book of Revelation and The Beast of Revelation. I’m sure that there are many other worthy contributions to the subject, but these I can vouch for. The Days of Vengeance by Chilton is possibly the largest and most scholarly exposition of ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 1:40 am and is filed under Brett Jacobsen's teachings, Eschatology (End Times), Living Christianity, Reformation/ Revival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.