The Return of Jesus Christ and the Fulfillment of Revelation

WANT A PRETERIST ANSWER TO A SPECIFIC END TIME PROPHECY?

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WHAT IS PRETERISM? Preterism, Preterist Theology and the Preterist view of eschatology is the Christian belief that all end time prophecies have been fulfilled.

NEW EVIDENCE ADDED TO EXISTING COMMENTARY AND ARTICLES ALMOST DAILY!

The following may seem unbelievable. However, all information is taken from unbiased historical records and is easily verifiable.

In Mark 14:61 and John 21:22-23 Jesus promised to return within His generation. Then in A.D. 66 Israel faced its most tragic war.

Revelation 19 depicts Jesus coming with an army of angels on the clouds.

First century historians record an army of angels in the clouds in A.D. 66. Was this the second coming?

Critics of preterism expose their ignorance of Roman history by their criticisms. These people claim that such and such a prophecy has not occurred–meanwhile Roman historical records say that it has!

If Jesus returned in His generation as He promised (MARK 14:61-62, JOHN 21:22-23 and MATTHEW 24), then our hope of heaven is secure. If not, then we as Christians “are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:19)

After mentioning this army in the clouds, Tacitus says, “LIGHTNING from the clouds lit up the Temple.” (Hist 5.13.) “As LIGHTNING from the east is seen in the west, so is the coming of the Son of Man.” (Mt 24:27)

Yosippon describes this army in the clouds as soldiers of FIRE: “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in BLAZING FIRE with his powerful angels.” (2 Thess 1:7)

A few weeks later a vast host of spiritual bodies were reported rising out of the earth AT THE SOUND OF A TRUMPET.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF PRETERISM: FULL PRETERISM AND PARTIAL PRETERISM

Full Preterism is the belief that all end time prophecies have been fulfilled.

Partial Preterism is the belief that some end time prophecies have been fulfilled. Most Biblical scholars are partial preterists to varying degrees. Though the following commentary will show that all end time prophecies have been fulfilled, this is not evidence against the partial preterist view. Perhaps the first century events that fulfilled all end time prophecies were types or shadows pointing to the ultimate fulfillment of these predictions again in the distant future?

WHY IS JESUS NOT RULING ON EARTH?

In A.D. 33 day became night, and in A.D. 66 night became day. These two miracles broke the covenant of Jeremiah 33:20-21. Thus the Messiah would not rule physically on an earthly throne. Instead, Christ rules the world at the right hand of God in heaven (Heb 8:1): “[T]he Most High does not live in houses made by men. . . . ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool (Acts 7:48-49).’” The Messianic kingdom is called the kingdom of heaven in the Gospels because it is centered in heaven. It is here that the saints also ultimately rule over heaven and earth with Christ on His heavenly throne (Rev 3:21) while experiencing a blissful, loving existence with Christ after death.

WHAT ABOUT THE NEW JERUSALEM?

The New Jerusalem is the church. Because it is present in both heaven and earth and because the church is destined for heaven, the church is described in the likeness of the Jerusalem that is in heaven mentioned in Hebrews 12:22 and Galatians 4:26. Testimony from near-death experiences suggests that it exists right now!

MOSTLY JUST APOCALYPTIC RHETORIC AND CRYPTIC SYMBOLISM?

OR

HAVE ALL BIBLE END TIME PROPHECIES INCLUDING REVELATION REALLY BEEN FULFILLED IN THE JEWISH WAR?

There is CERTAINLY no Christian View of Eschatology (End Time Prophecy) that has more Biblical and Historical Evidence than Preterism.

THE FOLLOWING ONLY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE OF THE CUMULATIVE EVIDENCE.

Preterist Background Info

In Revelation “earth” represents Israel and “sea,” the Gentile nations as defined in Rev. 17:15. This same meaning is also explicit all over the Bible (Dan 7; 9:26; 11:10, 40; Ps 65:7; 144:7; Is 8:7-8; 17:12; 60:5; Jer 46:7-8; 47:1-2; 51:55-56; Ez 26:3; Na 1:8).

Thus the beast out of the sea with its 7 heads represents Rome and its Caesars beginning with the 1st, Julius Caesar.

The beast (Rome) who rises out of the earth (Israel) are 2 generals who rose out of Israel to become emperors of Rome. (This shall be proven shortly)

Preterist View of the Beast With the Wounded Head

The Book of Revelation is Apocalyptic language. This literary style is ancient poetry that wraps-up real events in poetic symbolism to give these events meaning. For example, the fact that the beast is said to rise out of the sea (Rev. 13:1) and earth (Rev. 13:11) does not just denote where the beast (Rome) is situated. Throughout Revelation and much of the rest of the Bible sea and Abyss signify both foreign nations and the Abyss (the realm of the dead) at the same time (see In the Bible “Earth” Signifies the Specific Land Addressed While “Sea” Symbolizes Foreign Nations and The Poetic Biblical Link Between “Sea” and “Abyss”). Thus the beast seen rising out of the earth (soil) and Abyss (realm of the dead) is meant as a double entendre also pointing to the resurrection of the beast. But before addressing how the beast rises from the dead, let us first see how it was wounded.

“One of the heads of the beast had a fatal wound …” (Rev. 13:3)

“The 7 heads are . . . 7 kings. 5 HAVE FALLEN, 1 IS, the other has not yet come.” (Rev. 17:9-10) Nero was the 6th Caesar. Thus Nero ruled when Revelation was written. Nero’s name is spelled in the 666 cryptogram.

Nero’s evil was legendary and there was no end to his vices. The Sibylline Oracles label Nero a “great beast.” Lactantius calls him a “noxious wild beast.”

“I have seen many beasts of Arabia and India; but this beast, that is a Tyrant, I know not how many heads it has. . . . And of wild beasts you cannot say that they would eat their own mother, but Nero feasted on this diet.” (Apollonius of Tyana)

**As shown in the PRETERIST COMMENTARY ON REVELATION at the bottom of this page there appear to be NO BIBLE PROPHECIES YET TO BE FULFILLED.**

After setting Rome on fire, Nero blamed Christians and according to Tacitus, “Wrapped in animal hides, they were torn apart by dogs, or hung on crosses and set on fire.” (Annals 15:44)

In A.D. 68 Nero stabbed himself in the NECK triggering a civil war: “One of the HEADS of the beast had a FATAL WOUND …” (Rev. 13:3)

Many Romans believed Nero survived his injury and would return: “ . . . but the fatal wound had been healed.” (Rev. 13:3) After Nero’s death a man appeared resembling Nero IN EVERY WAY. Was the beast’s wound literally healed? This man (or men) is at least a sign that the beast (Rome) would recover.

Preterism and the Beast Whose Wound Had Been Healed

“ . . . but the fatal wound had been healed.” (Rev. 13:3)

Because of the civil war after Nero’s death it was believed that Rome would fall.

However, the war in Israel and Rome soon ended when Vespasian became emperor. The Flavian Dynasty (Vespasian, Titus and Domitian) is the beast whose wound had been healed.

Coin depicting Vespasian helping the goddess Roma back to her feet.

Preterism and the Beast Who Rises Out of the Earth

Vespasian and Titus are the 2 generals who led the Roman war on Israel (A.D.67 to A.D. 70). During this war Vespasian became emperor and his son and successor, Titus, was sent back to finish the war. Under Titus’ command Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed.

The beast (Rome and its emperor) who rises out of the earth (Israel) is the Flavian Dynasty (Titus and Vespasian) who rose out of Israel (the earth) to become emperors of Rome (and thus becoming the last heads of the sea beast).

The two horns of this beast are these 2 generals/Caesars (Titus and Vespasian) who led the Roman army in Israel and used this victory to legitimize their reign.

Preterism and the Beast Whose Wound Had Been Healed, the Beast out of the Earth, the False Prophet and the Lawless One

The “beast whose wound had been healed” (Rev 13:3); the “beast who rises out of the Abyss” (death) (Rev 11:7); the “beast who once was (alive), now is not (dead) and yet will come” (rise from the dead) (Rev 17:8); and “the beast who rises out of the earth” (Rev 13:11) (Resurrection is a “rising out of the earth”) ALL denote the RESURRECTION of the beast fulfilled in the restoration of the Roman Empire under the Flavian Dynasty:

Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio record Vespasian MIRACULOUSLY healing a blind man and a cripple just before 1st entering Rome as emperor: “The COMING of the lawless one will be in accordance with counterfeit MIRACLES, signs and wonders.” (2 Thess. 2:9)

Josephus, Suetonius and Tacitus tell us that Vespasian saw himself and was seen by others as the Jewish Messiah. The church historian Eusebius says that Vespasian even tried to wipe out King David’s bloodline.

Before destroying the Temple, Caesar Titus entered the Holy of Holies (Wars 6.4.7). Afterwards, images of Titus and Vespasian were worshiped in the Temple.

The Lawless One and the Beast out of the Earth

“He sets himself up in God’s temple displaying himself as a god.” (2 Thess. 2:4)

“It set up an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.” (Rev. 13:14)

“The 2^nd beast was given power to give breath to the image of the 1^st beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.” (Rev. 13:15)

“And now the Romans … brought their ENSIGNS to the TEMPLE and set them against its eastern gate. There they SACRIFICED TO THEM and made Titus IMPERATOR.” (Wars 6.6.1)

After the reign of Tiberius the title imperator was only granted to the emperor. Meaning Titus would have been treated as emperor at that time. Titus’ army came from Rome’s eastern provinces where THEY CUSTOMARILY WORSHIPED THE LIVING EMPEROR. Thus Titus could not have escaped being worshiped in the Temple in A.D. 70 beside his IMAGES on the ENSIGNS.

The ENSIGNS were the primary GODS of the legions. 1 of which was an image of Caesar called the Imago (left). There were also coin-shaped images of the emperor and his favorites on other ensigns (depicted above). Titus was granted the title “Caesar” at Vespasian’s coronation in A.D. 69 (Roman History 66.1). These IMAGES of Vespasian and Titus on the ensigns worshiped in the Temple are the “IMAGE of the beast” and how Titus “set himself up in god’s Temple displaying himself as a GOD.”

“Giving breath to the image of the beast” (Rev 13:15) refers to the resurrection of the beast (Rev 11:7; 13:3; 17:8) after the “fatal wound” it received at the death of Nero in Rev 13:3. Titus’ living presence in the Temple beside the metal idol of himself on the ensigns (pictured to the right) would appear to a religious devote as an idol come to life. This poetic juxtaposition signifies the resurrection of the beast (Rome) at the fall of Jerusalem. It was then that the Flavians saved the empire from collapse as Jerusalem was the last pocket of resistance during the civil war at Nero’s death.

As the living “god” whose “image” was depicted on the ensigns, Caesar Titus could thus “speak” on his image’s behalf. And he did when after the worship of the ensigns, Titus ordered his soldiers to “henceforth spare no one.” (Wars 6.6.3): “The 2nd beast was given power to give breath to the IMAGE of the 1st beast, so that it could SPEAK and cause ALL who refused to worship the image to be KILLED.” (Rev. 13:15)

REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY AND THE BEAST OUT OF THE EARTH CONTINUED . . .

“And it performed great signs, even CAUSING FIRE TO COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN to the earth in view of men.” (Rev. 13:13)

In 1 Kings 18 Elijah calls down fire from heaven before ordering all who would not worship YHWH to be killed. Like the prophet Elijah, Titus (the false prophet of Revelation 19:20) also calls down fire from heaven before ordering all who would not worship Caesar to be killed (Wars 6.6.3.) This act qualifies Titus as a false prophet per Dt. 13:1-5. Well illustrating the poetic depth of Rev, this “fire from heaven” symbolizes Rome in at least 3 complimentary ways.

During the siege of Jerusalem, Titus launched firebrands into Jerusalem as was done before to Jotapata (Wars 3.7.9). This is “fire from heaven:” “And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven.” (Rev. 13:13)

This fire from heaven also signifies Legio XII Fulminata (12th Lightning Bolt Legion) who under Titus’ command helped set Jerusalem and its Temple on fire in A.D. 70.

The symbol of Rome and the main ensign carried by Titus’ army was the Aquila, an eagle that carried Zeus’ lightning bolt. Thus the fire from heaven of Revelation 13:13 is also THE SYMBOL OF ROME ITSELF!

PRETERIST VIEW OF THE MARK OF THE BEAST?

**(It’s not JUST a spiritual mark)**

The numerical values of the letters of the names of the TRINITY of the beast; Caesar NERO (A.D. 54-68) VESPASIAN (A.D. 69-79) and TITUS (A.D. 79-81); each add up to 666.

“ It FORCED all to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead, SO THAT THEY COULD NOT BUY OR SELL UNLESS THEY HAD THE MARK, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.” (Rev. 13:16-18)

The mark of the beast is a spiritual mark placed on those guilty of Israel’s ultimate sin (1 Timothy 6:10). This sin has an obvious physical symbol. Thus the mark is both spiritual and physical. All money and deeds of purchase were marked with Caesar’s name and/or image hence no one could buy or sell without the physical mark of the beast.

Graven images like the implicitly defied face of Caesar on Roman coins violates Ex 20:4-6. Sympathetic to Jewish Law, Rome allowed Israel to mint its own money without graven images of Caesar.

After the fall of Jerusalem, Titus and Vespasian “forced” the entire empire to use Roman money marked with his image and name with no one exempt–not even Israel! Thus “no one could buy or sell without the mark of the beast.” (Rev 13:17) The coin above minted in A.D. 72 reads, “IMP CAES VESP AVG P M COS IIII.” The numerical sum of these letters transliterated into Hebrew characters totals 666.

The Return of Jesus Christ and the Fulfillment of Revelation

Did Jesus Christ Fulfill “Everything Written About Him in The Law & The Prophets Within the Current Generation” That He Was Speaking to During His Lifetime?

PRETERIST BIBLE COMMENTARY