I have a friend who used to have the same beliefs as I, but within the past few years has ended up being what he calls a Historical Realist, but to me he seems to be more of a Preterist. He believes ALL prophecies were fulfilled in 70AD.
I have been doing a lot of research to disprove his reasoning, but I want to make sure I have a strong impact. He believes Revelation was written before 70AD cause the temple was mentioned. I know it’s a temple of the future, not of the one of Biblical times. And Nero does have anti-Christ characteristics, but I don’t see where he fit full prophecy of the Antichrist & beast.
Do you have any strong scripture references to support against Jesus’ teaching at the Mt of Olives was not referring to 70AD? Also do you know where I can find solid proof Revelation was written in the mid 90s AD?
Thank you, your site is a blessing.
I had a discussion recently with a Preterist and came away just as frustrated as you are. To adopt a Preterist view, people have to take such a radical departure from the Bible’s literal intent that it’s almost impossible to conduct a legitimate conversation with them. It seems like everything is really something else. The person I was speaking with is also an educator and has a very intellectual view of scripture. It’s like he and his Preterist cronies have re-interpreted the book so the common folk can no longer understand it.
The main objections to the Preterist view lie in this re-interpretation. They say that the 2nd Coming happened on the Mt. of Transfiguration where only 3 disciples witnessed it, whereas the Bible says that every eye will behold it. They say that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan although the last eight chapters of Ezekiel clearly describe Israel on Earth during a time yet future to us. They say that the Abomination of Desolation was the attachment of the Roman shield to the Temple wall, but the Bible describes a man standing in the Holy Place proclaiming himself to be God and requiring worship. They say that Nero was the anti-Christ but the wars begun by the real anti-Christ involve the whole world and result in the deaths of 1/2 of its population.
I could go on, but you get the point. Like I said, having a real conversation with a Preterist is nearly impossible because of this re-interpretation. The best thing to do is pray that the Lord will deliver your friend from this delusion. The one saving grace of all this is that at least Preterists haven’t re-invented the meaning of Salvation, so if we fail to change their minds the Lord can explain the end times to them more clearly.
As far as I’ve been able to determine, Preterists are the only ones who date the Revelation in the 50-60 AD range. They have to do this to accommodate their view. Most competent scholars place it in the 90’s, but there’s no conclusive evidence that I know of.