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Preterism Vs. Prewrath: "This Generation Shall Not Pass"

One of the end-times views that has been on the rise lately is preterism. It is an old view that has gained recent visibility by high-profile apologists like R. C. Spoul and Hank Hanegraff converting to this position.

No end-times view holds together with perfect cohesion, not even prewrath. All views have their challenges. For this reason, I think it's important for prewrath believers to understand other views in order to maintain a measure of respect and grace. As I've written about before, it's so easy to slip into arrogance that "our view is the literal, common-sense view" and begin to look down on our brothers and sisters in Christ who hold different positions, especially when those positions are very different and unfamiliar from our own.

For this reason, I want to spend just a little time in the next few issues introducing some of the basic arguments of other views. To reiterate, this is not to "rock" the foundations of prewrathers, but as an encouragement and exhortation to grace and a hedge against arrogance that so easily ensnares all of us.

This month, I want to acknowledge the elephant in the room for all premillennialists—Matthew 24:28. This chapter opens with the disciples pointing out to Jesus the glory of the temple buildings, to which Jesus replied, "Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." Stunned, the disciples ask, "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

In response, Jesus gives a list of signs, including the rise of earthquakes, famines, and other natural disasters, followed by the revelation of the Antichrist and the ensuing great tribulation. This will be followed by His coming. After this terrifying description, Jesus stuns the disciples yet again by saying, "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened" (v. 34).

For prewrathers (and all premillennialists), this presents a difficulty. The visible, magnificent coming of Jesus Christ did not occur in the first century. Thus, prewrathers separate the destruction of the temple from the end of the age and read into this either Jesus' answer to the second part of the question only or a dual fulfillment, with a partial fulfillment in the first century, with the destruction of the temple, and a complete fulfillment at the end of the age with His visible return.

Prewrath thus explains "this generation," not as the generation to which Jesus was speaking, but the generation "that sees all of these things"—the signs Jesus gave. Since these signs have not yet occurred, according to the premillennial views, "this generation" has not yet passed. I, myself, took this position in Before God's Wrath. But is this an over-simplification?

Preterists, on the other hand, view the fulfillment of this entire passage as occurring in the first century. In the preterist understanding, "the end" does not refer to the second coming and a global judgment. Rather, preterists see this as a judgment coming of Christ, much as the judgment comings of God against Babylon and Egypt, against Israel and Jerusalem. As part of this judgment, God destroys the temple and the Levitical priesthood and puts an end to the Old Covenant and the entire Levitical system as prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31.

In Matthew 24:34 ("this generation"), Jesus used what is called the near demonstrative "this." If Jesus had meant a future generation, preterists argue, He would have used the far demonstrative "that."

They also point out, in every other use of this phrase in the Gospels, the word "generation" and the phrase "this generation" specifically refer to the generation to which Jesus was speaking:

Matthew 16:4
"A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah."

Matthew 12:41
"The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here."

Thus, the preterist argument continues, the combination of the near demonstrative with the fact that the use of this phrase elsewhere in the Gospels refers to the existing generation, a natural reading of the scriptures would demand that in this case, too, Jesus was speaking to the generation to whom He was speaking. Thus, in Matthew 24, when Jesus says "you," He means you—those to whom I am speaking and only those to whom I am speaking.

This would demand a first-century fulfillment of these prophecies in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple as God's judgment against Israel and ending of the Old Covenant system.

This is also consistent, preterists argue, with Jesus' warnings throughout Revelation that He is coming "quickly" and "soon" (Rev. 2:5, 16; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20).

They also see this as an explanation for Jesus' statement, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom" (Matt. 16:28). This "coming in the kingdom," they say, refers to His judgment coming against Jerusalem, not His second coming against the world.

The preterist argument is simple, straightforward, and is — frankly — a more natural and literal reading of the text. However, as with all views, it has its problems, too. It's just that, on this particular issue, I think preterism deserves its due.

Responses to Reader Questions

Q: I remember you talking about the so-called Jewish tradition that a man would go into the special room for a week or something like that. I forget. It's silly to ignore scripture for a tradition, but did you ever find out anything about it? Is there any merit to the tradition, or is that made up, too?

A: Sure, the tradition exists, but it's like other parables. It's meant to make a general point, not to have people draw all sorts of parallels to the details. I have a whole discussion about this in the appendix of Before God’s Wrath responding to Renald Showers. If you're going to take the "week" as a week of years, for example, then you have to take the 12 months before the wedding as weeks of years, too, which puts Jesus returning around the fifth century or something ridiculous. Likewise, the groom's father negotiates with the bride's father for her purchase, and since we are children of Satan before our "wedding" with Christ, this puts God negotiating with Satan for our marriage.

Once you start picking and choosing your details, you either end up in the realm of extraordinary subjectivity or in the realm of the ridiculous, if not blasphemous. The wedding parallel is just that - a parallel. It is not meant to be picked apart in the details.

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What Are Readers Reading?

This list reflects the books purchased through Strong Tower Publishing's Amazon Associates links. They are not books offered by Strong Tower Publishing (although some are), but through Amazon. By providing this list, we hope to give readers some great ideas for new reads by seeing what other readers are purchasing.

Last month's top seller: Spiritual Identity: Understanding Who You Are in Christ.

March Reader Selections

Before God's Wrath: The Bible's Answer to the Timing of the Rapture, Revised and Expanded Edition

Captives of a Concept (Anatomy of an Illusion)

Fight, Flight, or Faith: How to Survive the Great Tribulation

Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus Are Battling to Dominate

Living the 7 Habits: The Courage to Change

Ordinary Children, Extraordinary Teachers

Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is) - A Study Guide for Women

Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is): Sexual Purity in a Lust-Saturated World

Spiritual Identity: Understanding Who You Are in Christ

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness: Miniature Edition

The Feasts Of The Lord God's Prophetic Calendar From Calvary To The Kingdom

The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christlike Balance

The Hope of Christ's Second Coming

The Purity Principle: God's Safeguards for Life's Dangerous Trails

The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving

DVDs

The Marva Collins Story

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