Like most evangelical Christians of the late 20th century, I was led to assume that the prophetic scenarios of the “End Times” as laid out by folks like Hal Lindsey, and more recently by Tim LaHay in his Left Behind book series, were the best and only way of understanding those prophetic passages of the Bible that looked beyond the New Testament events. Yet in studying the Bible myself I struggled with many passages for which this approach seemed to be highly problematic. Furthermore, as someone concerned to defend the reliability of Scripture, I was not totally comfortable with their proposed answers to the cynics and skeptics who concluded that Jesus and Paul were false teachers because some of the things they predicted apparently didn’t ever happen.

 

Eventually I became acquainted with a different understanding of these prophetic passages of Scripture, which took more seriously both the historical context of the New Testament writers and their original readers, and the use of Old Testament imagery by Jesus and the New Testament writers. This view, commonly called the “Preterist” (meaning “in the past”) perspective, contends that most of these prophetic passages, properly understood, describe and were actually fulfilled in the events of the 1st Century which culminated in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. I have found this to be so, and I believe the key to this understanding is found in the basic transition from the world of the Old Testament to the transformed world made possible by the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

There are many aspects to the study of the Bible’s prophecies about the future to be considered when exploring a possible Preterist perspective on those passages which look beyond the earthly life of Jesus.

 

Within the New Testament these include:

• The ‘Mount of Olives Discourse” of Jesus in Matt. 24-25 and parallels in Mark and Luke

• The book of Revelation

• Many passages using the terms "soon," "near," "last days," "about to," "this generation," and others clearly referring to events as being imminent then

 

Also important are:

• An appreciation of the events of the 1st century immediately after the history recounted in the book of Acts, and particularly the detailed account by Josephus of the Jewish revolt in 66 AD that led to the destruction of the Jewish Temple

• An understanding of the prophetic passages in the book of Daniel

• The evidence that elements of a Preterist perspective were taught in the early years of the church and throughout church history

 

For me, these studies have made many of these Biblical passages come alive with understanding and relevance for the 1st century audience, as well as for us today. I don’t claim to be a Biblical scholar, nor do I claim to fully understand all of the relevant Biblical passages. I am just glad to share with you some of the things I have learned. Enjoy!

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