A Refutation of Preterism (Part Two)

“Let those in Judea flee into the mountains…”

In Matthew 24:15-21 we read the following:

“Whenever, then, you may be perceiving the abomination of desolation, which is declared through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him who is reading apprehend!); then let those in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not descend to take away the things out of his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back behind him to pick up his cloak. Now woe to those who are pregnant and those suckling in those days! Now be praying that your flight may not be occurring in winter, nor yet on a sabbath, for then shall be great affliction, such as has not occurred from the beginning of the world till now; neither under any circumstances may be occurring.”

It’s common among preterists to claim that the scenarios referred to by Christ in this passage do not make sense outside of a first-century context. However, there’s no good reason to believe this. In modern-day Israel, many of the houses in the old city of Jerusalem have retained many of the features of first-century Israel (including a flat roof on which people can walk and perform other activities). It is just as possible today for people to navigate across the old city by walking on the housetops as it was in Christ’s day (however, it should be noted that Christ’s point is not that anyone will, in fact, be on their roof when the event referred to in v. 15 takes place; rather, he’s simply giving instructions on what to do if one happens to be on one’s roof, in order to emphasize the urgency of the situation).

Concerning Christ’s words about the difficulty with which pregnant and nursing mothers will have at this time, this would be just as true today as it would’ve been in antiquity. It would be no less challenging for a pregnant or nursing mother to quickly escape the city of Jerusalem and “flee into the mountains” today than it would’ve been 2,000 years ago. Similarly, escaping from the city and the surrounding area in the winter or on a Sabbath would only increase the difficulty of the escape because of the added restrictions that these times pose. The winter in Israel is the rainy season, which increases the hazards of navigating the Judean hills and mountainous terrain to which Christ exhorted people to flee (the creeks and rivers would provide an obstacle not present during other seasons).

As far as fleeing the city of Jerusalem on the Sabbath, it should be noted that there was never a written prohibition against travelling on the Sabbath (Christ traveled and did sacred work on the Sabbath and he, of course, kept the law of God completely). However, in present-day Jerusalem, normal business/communication is shutdown on this day, creating additional travel restrictions that would not be in force on the other six days of the week (and which would pose a real problem to the observant Jew). In addition to all public offices, banks, and most stores and businesses being closed, public transportation (i.e., trains and buses) do not operate on the Sabbath.[[1]]

“This generation”

But what about what Christ declared in Matt. 24:32-34? In these verses we read the following:

“Now from the fig tree learn a parable: Whenever its bough may already be becoming tender, and the leaves sprouting out, you know that summer is near. Thus you, also, whenever you may be perceiving all these things, know that He is near–at the doors. Verily, I am saying to you that by no means may this generation be passing by till all these things should be occurring.”

The point of Christ’s “fig tree” parable is simply this: just as one could know that summer was near when the bough of a fig tree became tender and the leaves began sprouting, so one can know that Christ’s return is near when one begins perceiving all the things of which Christ prophesied in the Olivet Discourse (understood in this way, the term “near” implies that the coming of Christ will be occurring within the lifetime of those who will be “perceiving all these things”). But what about verse 34? Wouldn’t a “futurist” interpretation of the Olivet Discourse make Christ mistaken for saying that “this generation” wouldn’t be “passing by till all these things should be occurring?”

When I was a preterist, I considered Matt. 24:34 to be a “knock-down argument” against the futurist interpretation. If “all these things” referred to by Christ didn’t occur before the generation to which his disciples belonged passed away, then Christ would’ve been mistaken (or so I thought). Since I didn’t believe Christ was mistaken, I concluded – like all consistent preterists – that everything concerning which Christ prophesied in the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in the first century. However, what I failed to consider at this time was the fact that the words “this generation” don’t necessarily refer to the generation that was alive on the earth when Christ was speaking to his disciples. Instead, the words “this generation” can simply be understood to mean, “the generation of which I’m speaking.”

According to this understanding, “this generation” simply refers to the generation that Christ believed would “be perceiving all these things” (v. 33). In other words, the generation that sees the commencement of the “beginning of pangs” (v. 8) – and which will later perceive “the abomination of desolation…standing in the holy place” (v. 15) – will be the same generation that sees the celestial signs referred to in v. 29, and the subsequent eon-concluding coming of Christ referred to in v. 30. Thus, the generation that Christ referred to as “this generation” in v. 34 is the generation that will be alive on the earth when “all” of the things of which he prophesied in this discourse “should be occurring.” And since all of the things of which Christ prophesied in this discourse have not yet occurred, it follows logically that the generation which will see “all these things” take place was not in existence when Christ spoke to his disciples on the Mount of Olives.

Consider the following argument:

1. Christ’s ”coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” is part of the “all things” that Christ believed would be occurring before the “passing by” of the generation that he had in view in Matt. 24:34.

2. The coming of Christ on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory has not yet occurred.

3. The generation of which Christ was speaking in Matt. 24:34 has not yet passed by.

Preterists, therefore, have it completely backwards when they attempt to use Matt. 24:34 to support their position. Rather than starting with the assumption that the generation that Christ had in view must’ve been the one to which his disciples belonged (and then concluding that the coming of Christ referred to in Matt. 24:30 must’ve already occurred), we ought to start with the premise that the coming of Christ referred to in Matt. 24:30 has not yet occurred, and then conclude that the generation which Christ had in view has not yet passed by (and, therefore, wasn’t the generation to which his disciples belonged).

Preterists sometimes point to Christ’s use of the pronoun “you” in verses 33-34 (and which also occurs throughout the Olivet Discourse) and claim that Christ must have believed that the disciples to whom he spoke would witness the occurrence of the events being foretold in this discourse. However, as noted earlier (in my remarks on Matt. 10:23), it was not uncommon for prophets to address their contemporaries as if they would be among those to witness the fulfillment of a prophecy being revealed to them, even when the actual fulfillment of the prophecy would not be occurring until thousands of years later (see, for example, Deut. 18:14-19 [cf. Acts 3:19-26; 7:37] and Deut. 30:1-6). Thus, as with the “this generation” argument, this argument also fails to provide evidence for a past fulfillment of the prophecies found in Christ’s Olivet Discourse.

“For days of vengeance are these”

Another common strategy used by preterists involves an appeal to Luke’s version of the Olivet Discourse. In Luke 21:20-24, we read:

“Now whenever you may be perceiving Jerusalem surrounded by encampments, then know that her desolation is near. Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains, and let those in her midst be coming out into the country, and let not those in the country be entering into her, for days of vengeance are these, to fulfill all that is written. Yet woe to those who are pregnant, and to those suckling in those days; for there will be great necessity in the land and indignation on this people. And they shall be falling by the edge of the sword and shall be led into captivity into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden by the nations, until the eras of the nations may be fulfilled.”

According to the preterist position, the same time period that Christ had in view in this passage is in view in Matthew 24:15-22 as well (for preterists believe that both passages are prophecies concerning the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70). Although some would disagree that the above passage refers to the same time period as that which we find prophesied in Matthew 24:15-22, I think it’s reasonable to believe that these passages are, in fact, parallel. In any case, let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that these passages are referring to the same general time period (which, again, is what preterists would agree with). If that’s the case, it follows that the preterist interpretation of Luke 21:20-24 runs into the same exact problem as their interpretation of Matt. 24:15-22. For, as already noted, the celestial signs preceding Christ’s coming “on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” will occur “immediately after the affliction of those days” (Matthew 24:29-30). Since the celestial signs that will be occurring at this time will be seen by those who will witness the coming of Christ referred to in Matthew 24:29-30 and Luke 21:25-27 – and since this event did not occur in 70 A.D. – we must conclude that the events being foretold by Christ in Luke 21:22-24 have not yet occurred.

Rather than being a prophecy concerning the events of 70 A.D., I believe that Luke 21:20-24 actually foretells a yet-future event that was first prophesied in the book of Zechariah. In Zech. 13:8-9 and 14:1-4, we read: 

“And it will come to be that in all the land, averring is Yahweh, two divisions in it shall be cut off and shall decease. Yet the third shall be left in it. And I will bring the third into the fire. And I will refine them as silver is refined. And I will test them as gold is tested. It shall call in My Name, and I shall answer it. I will say, ‘My people is it.’ And it will say, ‘Yahweh is my Elohim.’ Behold, a day is coming for Yahweh, and your loot will be apportioned among you. Yet I will gather all nations to Jerusalem for battle, and the city will be seized, and the houses rifled, and the women, they shall be ravished. And half the city will go forth into deportation. Yet the rest of my people, they shall not be cut off from the city. Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights in a day of attack. And His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, Which is adjoining Jerusalem on the east.” 

The striking similarities between the above passages from Zechariah 14 and Luke 21 cannot be mere coincidence. Both passages describe Jerusalem as coming under siege and being occupied by the enemy forces coming against it. In Zechariah 14:2 those coming against Jerusalem are explicitly said to be “all the nations,” whereas in Luke 21:20 the involvement of all nations at this time can be inferred from the verses that follow. Both passages foretell that many of Jerusalem’s citizens will be forcefully removed from the city. Both passages also end with a description of events that will take place at the conclusion of the eon, when Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God on the earth. Given these shared prophetic facts, a reasonable conclusion to draw would be that both passages are referring to the same future time period.

Moreover, it’s clear from Zechariah’s prophecy that the event being described will take place during the future day of the Lord. In this passage the day of the Lord is referred to as “a day coming for Yahweh,” and is then repeatedly referred to in the remainder of the chapter as “that day” (significantly, this “day” includes events which will clearly take place during the eon to come; see Zech. 14:8-21). From this fact alone we can conclude that the events prophesied by Christ in Luke 21:20-24 (which we’re explicitly told by Christ will involve “indignation”) will take place during the earlier part of the day of the Lord – specifically, during the final 3½ years of Daniel’s 70^th week. It is the same period referred to by Christ as “the day in which the Son of Mankind is unveiled” (Luke 17:22-37).

But if (as I believe to be the case) Luke 21:20-24 is a prophecy that refers to the same future time as Matt. 24:15-22, why would Christ refer to the “abomination of desolation” in Matt. 24:15 (and Mark 13:14), and refer to “encampments” (or “armies”) surrounding Jerusalem in Luke 21:20? Answer: I believe Christ was simply providing his followers with another sign to look for that is distinct from, but related to, the setting up of the abomination of desolation in the holy place. Apparently, around the time that the abomination of desolation will come to be standing in the holy place, there will be military forces surrounding Jerusalem (perhaps in anticipation of what's about to occur in the temple, and the negative response it will inevitably provoke from the Jewish people). 

That Luke 21:20-24 (and thus Zech. 14:1-2) refers to the future 3½ years of “great affliction” is further confirmed by what Christ said concerning Jerusalem’s being “trodden down by the nations, until the eras of the nations may be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). The word translated “eras” in this verse is kairoi, which is the plural form of the word kairos’ (“seasons,” or “appointed times”). When we compare Christ’s words in v. 24 with what John wrote in Revelation 11:1-2, we find just how long the “eras” during which the nations will tread the city of Jerusalem will last: “And a reed like a rod was given me, and one said, “Rouse, measure the temple of God and the altar and those worshiping in it. And the court outside of the temple cast outside, and you should not be measuring it, for it was given to the nations, and the holy city will they be treading forty-two months.”

Here we discover that the “eras” or “seasons” during which Jerusalem will be trodden down by the nations will constitute a period of 3 ½ years. This same period of time is also in view in Rev. 12:6, where it’s said to be the number of days that the “woman” (i.e., the Jewish remnant) will be nourished in the wilderness after fleeing the city and surrounding area. In Rev. 12:14 this same period of time is referred to as “a season, and seasons, and half a season” (with the words translated “season” and “seasons” being kairos’ and kairoi, respectively), and likewise refers to a period of time lasting forty-two months, or 3 ½ years. We also know that this will be the exact period of time during which the “wild beast” will have authority to “do what it wills,” which will involve blaspheming God as well as violently persecuting and “conquering” the saints (Rev. 13:5-7).

Not only is the forty-two month time frame prophesied in Rev. 11:1-2 inconsistent with the “ongoing fulfillment” view that’s commonly applied to Luke 21:24 (according to which the “eras of the nations” have lasted nearly 2,000 years), but it’s contrary to the past fulfillment view of preterists as well. We know from history that Titus controlled Jerusalem completely after only six months of siege, from February to August of 70 A.D. (and, of course, no coming of Christ ”on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” occurred “immediately after” this period of time). 

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[1] See, for example, the information and advice provided on the following tourism webpage: https://www.touristisrael.com/shabbat-in-jerusalem/11023/. Another point to consider is that, if this is how things are now (when there is no temple) imagine how much stricter it will become after a third temple begins to be built in Jerusalem, and the sacrificial system is reinstituted. The zeal for Torah-keeping (both written and oral) among the Jews dwelling in Israel at this time will probably be more intense than it has ever been since the first century.