For many decades, we have all seen red lettering in many Bibles that make the Words of Jesus stand out. Here are color codes again to help us navigate clearly through the various time Texts:
RED = PRESENT or PAST tense, what they ALREADY HAD BEFORE the Lord’s 70AD Return.
BLUE = FUTURE tense, what they WILL HAVE AFTER the Lord’s 70AD Return.
Matthew 25:14-25 ~ as told by Jesus a few days before the Cross & Ascension around 30AD.
14 "For the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. 19 AFTER A LONG TIME THE LORD of those servants CAME and SETTLED ACCOUNTS (JUDGED) with them.
20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you WERE faithful over a few things, I WILL make you ruler (reign) over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23 His lord said to him,'Well done, good and faithful servant; you HAVE BEEN faithful over a few things, I WILL make you ruler (reign) over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'
26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you OUGHT TO HAVE (PAST TENSE) deposited my money with the bankers, and AT MY COMING [70AD] I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 'For to everyone who HAS, more WILL be given, and he WILL have abundance; but from him who does not HAVE, even what he HAS WILL BE taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There WILL BE weeping and gnashing of teeth.' NKJV
Remember, JESUS WAS THE ONE WHO SAID THESE THINGS back around 30AD, a few days before going to the Cross; then the Ascension 40 days later.
OBSERVATIONS:
Notice how THE SERVANTS ARE NOT MADE RULERS OVER MANY THINGS UNTIL AFTER THEIR LORD RETURNS.
Now WHEN DOES PRETERISM SAY THAT THE LORD RETURNED? 70AD, NO?
So then, WHEN WERE CHRIST'S DISCIPLES MADE RULERS WITH CHRIST? NOT UNTIL AFTER THEIR LORD RETURNED IN 70AD.
LESSON:
You do not get a kingdom without a king, and you do not reign with Christ before Christ Returns with His Kingdom to reign: 70AD.
RED = PRESENT or PAST tense, what they ALREADY HAD BEFORE the Lord’s 70AD Return.
BLUE = FUTURE tense, what they WILL HAVE AT the Lord’s 70AD Return.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ~ written around 51AD.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who ARE ASLEEP (AT 51AD), that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we BELIEVE (PRESENT TO 51AD) that Jesus died and rose again, even so God WILL BRING WITH HIM (FUTURE TO 51AD) those who HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP (BEFORE 51AD) in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself WILL DESCEND (FUTURE TO 51AD) from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ WILL RISE FIRST (FUTURE TO 51AD). 17 THEN we who are alive and remain WILL BE (FUTURE TENSE) caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we WILL (FUTURE TO 51AD) always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. NASB
Remember, CHRIST’S APOSTLE PAUL WAS THE ONE WHO WROTE THESE THINGS back around 51AD.
Let us hold on to that mention of “the dead in Christ WILL RISE FIRST (FUTURE TO 51AD).”
Now let us see how this fits in with the 63AD account how Christ’s Apostle John foresaw the dead in Christ, the souls of those who had been slain for the Gospel, the souls of those who had refused to worship the Beast (Nero), refused to worship his image or refused to receive his mark. John foresaw the dead in Christ become enthroned and come to life and John declares that they WILL BE made to reign with Christ - all at the beginning of "The Thousand Years," (Revelation 20:4-6).
Here are the color codes again to help us navigate clearly through the various time Texts:
RED = PRESENT or PAST tense, what they ALREADY HAD BEFORE the Lord’s 70AD Return.
BLUE = FUTURE tense, what they WILL HAVE AT the Lord’s 70AD Return.
The dead in Christ.
We will pass over John’s personal narrative and just focus what he saw in this vision he had around 63AD. He employs past tense when recollecting the vision he had just seen, but that must not confuse our understanding of his use of past and future tenses: time Texts. Since this is a predictive vision that John saw around 63AD about “things that must shortly come to pass,” (Rev 1:1 and Rev 4:1), I have employed the use of the phrase, “I foresaw,” for the phrase, “I saw.” He foresaw all of the following that had not yet happened as of Revelation’s writing around 63AD. By Rev 20, John has just finished relating what he foresaw regarding the Nero-Beast-Tribulation followed by the Fall of Jerusalem-Babylon with Heaven’s celebrations when he relates the following:
Revelation 20:4-6 And I foresaw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I foresaw the souls of those who HAD BEEN BEHEADED because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who HAD NOT WORSHIPED the Beast or his image, and HAD NOT RECEIVED upon their forehead and upon their hand;and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection, ["The dead in Christ WILL RISE First," 1 Thes 4:16]. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection, ["The dead in Christ WILL RISE rise First" 1 Thes 4:16]; over these the second death has no power, but they WILL BE [future to 63AD] priests of God and of Christ and WILL REIGN WITH HIM [future to 63AD] for a thousand years.
We see above here in the vision Jesus gave to John that those who HAD BEEN beheaded for the Gospel's sake and HAD BEEN martyred because they HAD refused to worship the Beast (Nero) or his image, HAD refused to receive the Beast's (Nero's) mark upon their foreheads or hands, were foreseen to become enthroned, to come to life (John 6:54) and prophesied that they WILL BE made rulers (Matthew 25:19-23 and Luke 19:12-19) at Christ's 70AD Return upon arrival of the long anticipated "Last Day.” This was to be “the Resurrection the First,"(as the Greek puts it).
Christ's 70AD Return at “The Last Day” marks the Resurrection of those having eternal life, (being regular partakers of the Supper of the Lord), John 6:54, and the beginning of His reign with His faithful servants (Mat 25:19-23 and Luke 19:12-19). The last day of the week, the Lord’s Sabbath day, was a type and shadow of the long anticipated, “The Last Day" = “The Day of the Lord.” All fires were to go out on the last day of the week, the Sabbath: Moses stoned a man for gathering sticks. Upon arrival of “The Last Day,” all the fires of animal sacrifices, all the fires of the last physical Temple were once and for all put out. The last day of the Old Testament system at 70AD was the first day of the New Testament vindication & Judgment, the first day of Revelation 20:1-10’s sealing Satan bound & cast into the Bottomless Pit, the first day of the enthroning & Resurrection of the First (the Just), the first day of "The Thousand Years." Jesus raised up at the Last Day all those who already had eternal life, John 6:54, which occurred the moment He began His descent of Return, 1 Thess 4:16. This was the fulfillment of what John foresaw in the vision of Rev 20:4, that was still future according to Rev 1:1 and Rev 4:1. The Day of God, the Day of the Lord, the Day of Rest, the Last Day had finally arrived.
2 Peter 3:8-9 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that:
With the Lord one Day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one Day.
NASB
Notice how Christ's Apostle Peter does NOT write, “Well, with the Lord one day is as a 1000 years, or as an even 40, maybe a shag less than 14 years, or not: the Lord really cannot tell time.” No, with godly fear Peter doggedly sticks to the formula given to him by inspiration, saying it two times, both ways, really emphasizing that no matter which way you come at it, no matter which way readers try to slice it or dice it, it is clear: “With the Lord: '1 Day' = 1000 years, 1000 years = '1 Day.'” And He says it twice because the matter is certain, Gen 41:32.
Gen 41:32
The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
NIV
The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
NIV
RED = PRESENT or PAST tense, what they ALREADY HAD BEFORE the Lord’s 70AD Return.
BLUE = FUTURE tense, what they WILL HAVE AT the Lord’s 70AD Return.
The dead in Christ.
John 6:54 ~ Jesus, around 28AD
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, HATH [present tense] ETERNAL LIFE; and I WILL [future tense] RAISE HIM UP AT THE LAST DAY [70AD]. ~Jesus about 28AD
Notice again how unmistakebly clear Jesus promised “those who HATH (present tense) eternal life" that “they WILL BE (future tense) resurrected by the Lord at the Last Day,” [70AD]. When? Did He say they will be raised a week later? A year later? In 5 years? He said he personally would raise them up AT THE LAST DAY.
When does Preterism calculate “The Last Day” to have come? 70AD.
.
"Finally, the final authority is Jesus Christ Himself. It is His words that we cannot add to concerning the fulfillment of all these things." ~ JK
Again, WHEN DOES PRETERISM CALCULATE "THE LAST DAY" TO HAVE COME? 70AD, RIGHT?
Be honest with yourself, now.
Gen 41:32
The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
NIV
The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
NIV
Let us take a look at a second of Jesus' predictive parables, very similar to the first one at the top of this post.
RED = PRESENT or PAST tense, what they ALREADY HAD BEFORE the Lord’s 70AD Return.
BLUE = FUTURE tense, what they WILL HAVE AFTER the Lord’s 70AD Return.
Luke 19:11-28
11 And while they were listening to these things, He went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately, [Jesus tells this parable to correct their error = "they supposed the Kingdom of God was going to appear immediately"].
12 He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then RETURN. 13 "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back.' 14 "But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' 15 "And it came about that WHEN HE RETURNED, AFTER RECEIVING THE KINGDOM, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done, [JUDGEMENT]. 16 "And the first appeared, saying, 'Master, your mina has made ten minas more.' 17 "And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you HAVE BEEN [PAST TENSE] faithful in a very little thing, be in authority [REIGN] over ten cities.' 18 "And the second came, saying, 'Your mina, master, has made five minas.' 19 "And he said to him also, 'And you are to be [REIGN] over five cities.' 20 "And another came, saying, 'Master, behold your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 "He said to him, 'By your own words I WILL JUDGE YOU, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 'Then why DID [PAST TENSE] you not put the money in the bank, and HAVING COME [AFTERWARD], I would have collected it with interest?' 24 "And he said to the bystanders, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.' 25 "And they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas already.' 26 "I tell you, that to everyone who has [PRESENT TENSE] shall [FUTURE TENSE] more be given, but from the one who does not have [PRESENT TENSE], even what he does have SHALL BE [FUTURE TENSE] taken away. 27 "But these enemies of mine, who DID [PAST TENSE] not want me to reign over them,bring them here and slay them in my presence, [IN MY PAROUSIA]."
28 And after He had said these things, He was going on ahead, ascending to Jerusalem. NASB
Note: It should not go without mention that everything posted here has long been a studied, settled, and accepted by the broadest spectrum of global, historic Christianity. The ONLY novel or innovative concept here is the Preterist idea that places the arrival of "Tthe Last Day" at 70AD.
*Feel FREE to claim as your own anything I write - while I retain the right to do the same with it*
And this is love, that we walk after Christ's commandments~2 John 6
Comments
1000 yr.
The Day of the Lord was 1000-year span of human history
"are you saying that the time that those who "came to life " and reigned was one single day?"
No.
I am saying that the time that those who "came to life" and reigned (The Day of the Lord) was a 1000-year span of human history. (Compare 2 Peter 3:7-14 to Rev 20:1-6 paying close attention to use of terms "Day" and "1000 years").
This does not mean that they ceased to live & reign following those 1000 years. But the Bible text does go on to describe certain key events that began at the end of those first 1000 years of their living & reigning. (See Rev 20:5a and Rev 20:7-10).
From: 2 Peter 3:2-14 Day of Judgment = 1 Day with Lord = 1000 Years = Day of the Lord = Day of God
2 Peter 3:2-14 ~ (written around 63AD, about the same time as Revelation, when those first Christians wondered at its meaning)
You should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. 3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? ... the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for THE DAY OF JUDGMENT and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that WITH THE LORD ONE DAY IS AS A THOUSAND YEARS, AND A THOUSAND YEARS AS ONE DAY. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 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 burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of THE DAY OF GOD, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation;
NASB
DAY OF JUDGMENT = 1 DAY WITH THE LORD = 1000 YEARS = 1 DAY = DAY OF THE LORD = DAY OF GOD
Revelation 20:1-10
And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a THOUSAND YEARS, 3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the THOUSAND YEARS were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a THOUSAND YEARS. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a THOUSAND YEARS.
7 And when the THOUSAND YEARS are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
NASB