Preterism is an school of eschatology that embraces a contemporary-historical interpretation of Biblical prophecy. The term “Preterism” is derived from the Latin praeteritus, meaning that which has past. The term occurs in Matt. 24:34 in the Latin Vulgate to describe the time of Christ's second coming:  "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass ("non praeteribit haec generatio"), till all these things be fulfilled." Full Preterists view the Second Coming and related events as being fulfilled in the events culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

"The Time is Fulfilled"

The Old Testament was characterized by a patient waiting for the kingdom an reign of the Messiah.  The Jews of Jesus' day recognized that the time for fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets was near.  When John the Baptist appeared, "the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or no."  (Lk. 3:14)  Jesus began his ministry proclaiming the kingdom and reign of Christ, saying: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."  (Mk. 1:15)  The prophets made no distinction between the first and seconding coming of Christ, but treated them as a unity, interrupted only by a brief absence when the Messiah would be "cut off."   (Dan. 9:26)  However, the Messiah would return, and "destroy the city and the sanctuary."  Jesus taught that his return was so imminent that the apostles would not have opportunity to fully evangelize Palestine:  "When they persecute you in this city, flee ye unto another: for verily I say unto, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come." (Matt. 10:23)  Jesus spoke to this coming in his kingdom when he stated: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."  (Matt. 16:27,28)  Luke states that the kingdom and reign of Christ would come in the events marking the destruction of Jerusalem:  "So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.”  (Lk. 21:31,32; cf. II Tim. 4:1)   The return of the Messiah would be in that generation; some of the apostles would live to witness it.  Just before his ascension, John was expressly named among the disciples who would be alive at Christ's return: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow me."  (Jno. 21:22) 

The nearness of Christ's second coming is affirmed over and over.  Paul said, "But this I say, Brethren, the time is short."  (I Cor. 7:29)  James said, "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh...the judge standeth before the door."  (Jm. 5:8,9)  Peter stated, "the end of all things is at hand." (I Pet. 4:,7)  The Hebrew writer makes several unmistakable statements to this effect when he says, "For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry."  (Heb. 10:37)  The nearness of the day is seen in the fact that his readers would "see the day approaching."  (Heb. 10:25)

The apostle John indicated the nearness of the end when he stated they were in the "last time" (Grk. hora, "hour"):  "Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."  (I Jno. 2:18)  The nearness of Christ's return is repeated over and over throughout Revelation in unmistakable terms, saying, the "time is at hand"  (Rev. 1:4; 22:10), "Behold, I come quickly" (Rev. 2:5,16; 3:11; 22:12,20), "Behold, I come as a thief"  (Rev. 3:3; 16:15), and the things of the prophecy "must shortly come to pass." (Rev. 1:1; 22:6)

There is nothing difficult in any of this language; all who will may plainly see that Jesus and his apostles taught the first century church to be in earnest expectation of the Lord's return.  The difficulty arises not so much from the announced time of Christ's return, but understanding its manner.  Because men have been taught that Christ's return would mark the end of the universe, its continued existence beyond the specified time frame has forced them to explain away the express statements of time by resort to theories of delayed fulfillment or double fulfillment, and assertions that Christ and the apostles were simply wrong.  Preterism rejects all such theories, maintaining that the time elements cannot be disregarded or explained away consistent with the doctrine of verbal inspiration.  The very authority of the scriptures is at stake!

Biblical Hermeneutics

It is a basic principle of hermeneutics that obscure or difficult passages must be interpreted in light of those that are plain.  The great hurdle many face in understanding Biblical eschatology is the figurative nature of apocalyptic language. The language of the prophets by its very definition is veiled and obscure; it is marked by poetic imagery, license, and exaggeration, and is impressed with hyperbole, metaphors and symbols.  Hence, as between apocalyptic language describing the manner of Christ's return and the plain statements of time given by the Lord and his apostles concerning when it would occur, it is clear that the former must be interpreted in light of the latter and not vice versa.  Preterism maintains that the eschatological teaching of the Lord and his apostles was fulfilled when and as prophesied. However, Preterists insist that the manner of fulfillment was essentially spiritual, not physical, and that language which on its face appears to describe the dissolution of the chemical elements in a cataclysmic end of time and space must be given a figurative construction and interpretation.  This is required, not only because of the confines for fulfillment imposed by statements of time, but by the usus loquendi (manner of speech) of the prophets. The following language describing God's judgment upon Idumea and the nations of the world in the days of Assyria and Babylon will help make the point:

Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.  For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.  Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.  For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment...The streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.  It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.   Isa. 34:1-4,9-10; emphasis added.)

The poetic and figurative nature of the instant language is only too obvious; it describes a time of divine wrath upon the world by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Yet, none will contend that in the dissolution of Edom and the world the stars of heaven were literally dissolved, the heavens rolled together as a scroll, or the dust of the land was turned to brimstone. Edom ceased to exist as a separate people and nation millennia ago, yet none of the physical phenomena described attended its passing. Although language of a universal nature involving the whole fabric of the heavens and earth is employed to describe the judgments announced, its fulfillment is circumscribed in time and manner to the people and era set out. Occurrence of such language and imagery is common throughout the Old Testament in passages describing God's judgment upon various peoples and nations; it is the usus loquendi of the prophets; invariably it is poetic, never literal.

Understanding the figurative nature of apocalyptic language in the Old Testament is essential to the mastery of Biblical eschatology for at least two reasons: First, because identical language is employed by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament and we must know how to interpret it. Do we give it a construction and interpretation consistent with the historical usage of the prophets, or do we suddenly cast aside long established rules of interpretation in favor of a literalistic approach? In his great eschatological discourse on the mount of Olives, Jesus said: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken...Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matt. 24:29,34)

Was it the Lord's intention that we understand him to mean that the stars would literally fall from the sky in the events he described, and not rather that these were figures used to describe events of a political and spiritual nature? If we abandon the historical usage of the prophets and adopt a literal approach, upon what ground are we to base such departure? Are we not upon surer ground to adhere to established methods of hermeneutics? If the usus loquendi of the prophets does not require as much, surely the express statement of time for fulfillment does. Surely, we look in vain for fulfillment of the events described beyond the generation addressed. Within the life of many then living, the world would undergo cataclysmic judgments: from the British Isles to Rome and Italy, Greece, Asia, Egypt, and Palestine: all would suffer divine retribution for the murder of Christ, the rejection of his gospel, and the persecution of his church. Jerusalem would be destroyed and the monarchial "sun" darkened, the priestly "moon" would withdraw its light, the "stars" of the elders and Sanhedrin would be loosed from their orbit as the government and polity of the Jewish nation suffered final and irrevocable dissolution.

Second, understanding the figurative nature of apocalyptic language in the Old Testament is essential to the mastery of Biblical eschatology in the New Testament because of the relation of the parts to the whole. The New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Nowhere had the Old Testament ever prophesied the end of the cosmos in connection with the coming of the Messiah, or otherwise. Jesus and the apostles did not prophesy it now. Nothing should be introduced into New Testament eschatological teaching and doctrine that cannot be proved by resort to the Old Testament. Since the Old Testament nowhere teaches that the earth is to be destroyed in one final cataclysmic act associated with the reign of the Messiah, there is no basis for introducing such teaching into the New Testament. To do so severs the continuity between the Testaments as the unfolding of God's redemptive purpose for man. In the Old Testament man was told what to look to in the kingdom and reign of the Messiah; in the New Testament he is assured it is come. Far from prophesying the destruction of the cosmos, the coming of Christ was to mark an era of unprecedented peace on earth as the kingdom and reign of the Messiah extended to all nations. Christendom would serve to unite the nations of the world politically as in the church the nations were united spiritually. As fellow-members of the same spiritual kingdom, nation would not lift up sword against nation; neither would they learn war any more. (Isa. 2:4) The nations which were divided by language and region would be united in a common language in Christ, as with one mind and one mouth they returned thanks and praise to God their Saviour. However, first, all enemies had to be placed beneath Christ's feet. (Heb. 2:8) The destruction of Jerusalem and the civil wars and commotions among the Romans following the death of Nero Caesar represent the subjugation of Christ's enemies and his entrance upon his eternal reign and kingdom. Since the time statements are clear, the apocalyptic imagery of Christ and the apostles must be interpreted so as to conform to them, and not vice versa. The fulfillment of Jesus' second coming in that generation is a fact certain; no other interpretation can be placed upon this language consistent with the verbal inspiration of the scriptures and sound principles of hermeneutics.

“The Fashion of this World Passeth Away”

Following Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem several days before his crucifixion, he had a confrontation with the rulers of the Jews in which he denounced them for their hypocrisy and disbelief, saying that all the righteous blood shed upon the earth would be required of that generation, and that Jerusalem would be desolated:

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!  Behold your house is left unto you desolate.  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.  Matt. 23:34-39

Jesus’ concluding remark that the Jews would not see him till they said “blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” pointed to the fact that the Jews would belatedly acknowledge his divinity when he came in wrath upon the nation, fulfilling his prophecy of its destruction.  Jesus made this same claim before the Sanhedrin, saying, “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”  (Matt. 26:64; cf. Mk. 14:62)   He alluded to this coming when he told the disciples “when they persecute you in this city, flee ye unto another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel before the Son of man be come.”  (Matt. 10:23)  Naturally, Christ’s coming would not be tangible or visible, but spiritual and providential.  Paul made this plain when said:

Keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in his time he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting, Amen.  I Tim. 6:14-16; cf. 1:17

They would not see him with their physical eyes, but with the understanding and eye of the mind; he would show his divinity in the unfolding events of the eschaton.  Having made these remarks, Jesus departed from the temple and Jerusalem, and sat with his disciples upon the Mount of Olives.  It was in the context of his confrontation with the elders of the Jews that they then asked him about the “end of the world.”

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?   Matt. 24:1-3

It should be noted at the outset that the disciples connected the destruction of Jerusalem with Christ’s coming and the end of the age or world (Gk. aionon).  In response to their question “when shall these things be?” Jesus repeated what moments before he told the rulers of the Jews: “This generation shall not pass away till all these things take place.”  (Matt. 24:34)  The disciples’ question “what shall be the sign of thy coming,” Jesus answered by describing world events preceding the destruction of Jerusalem.  The increasing tension between Rome and the Jews would mount until it broke out in the war that would bring the end.  The disciples were therefore warned beforehand to be on guard against the event, for it would come suddenly, when least expected.  The destruction of the temple requires extra comment.

The temple ritual belonged to the time of man's estrangement from God, separated by the barrier of sin.  God was represented as being remote from man, sequestered in the Holy of Hollies; he could be approached only through his chosen intercessor and the sprinkling of blood.   The stranger that drew nigh was to be put to death.  (Num. 1:52)  The separation of man from God portrayed by the temple service was indicative of the universal reign of sin and death.  This was the age and world-system that was coming to an end.  Sin and death reigned from Adam to Moses (Rom. 5:14); the whole creation - both Jew and Gentile - groaned and travailed in pain together under the bondage of corruption (the law of sin and death), looking for the glorious liberty of the sons of God (redemption and salvation).  (Rom. 8:19-23)  The blood sacrifices of the temple could not take away sins (Heb. 10:4); the temple service was a mere object lesson, pointing to the redemptive work of Christ, who would reconcile man to his Maker.  At his death, the veil of the temple was rent in twain (Matt. 27:51); indicating that the way of restoration to the presence of God was through the cross of Christ.  Because it stood as an object lesson of man’s banishment from the divine presence and a “shadow of good things to come” (Heb. 10:1), under the reign of the risen Christ, the temple could have no place.  The Jews’ adherence to the temple service stood in direct denial of Jesus’ Sonship, substitutionary death, and atoning sacrifice, and, therefore, marked them as enemies of God. Together with the temple and city, the Jewish nation was thus consigned to destruction.  This desolation had been long before prophesied by Zechariah:  

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.   Zech. 14:1-2

However, the end involved more than the destruction of the Jewish nation: the effects of the cross of Christ were so far reaching and his dominion so all encompassing that the fashion of the whole world was passing away.  (I Cor. 7:31) The pagan world would also come under Christ's dominion; all nations would serve and obey him; Christ would rule the nations with a rod of iron; like vessels of clay, the nations of them that opposed Christ’s gospel would be broken to shivers.  (Ps. 2:8-12; 110:5, 6; Rev. 2:27)  The world Christ spoke of in his Olivet Discourse was not the earth with its chemical elements, but the world-system that obtained from the time of man's fall; the socio-political, philosophical, and religious moorings of a world marked by the reign of sin and death; idolatry, vain philosophy, cruelty, slavery, and barbarism were on collision course with the risen Christ.  In Christ, all would be made new.  New, but not perfect: the reality of sin is a permanent part of this fallen world; only in heaven are we completely freed of sin’s affects.

The Last Days

What has been said about the usus loquendi of the prophets regarding apocalyptic language and the judgment of nations applies with equal validity to Biblical phrases such as the "last days" and the "day of the Lord."  These terms, popularly applied to the end of the world and its inhabitants at some indefinite time in the future, have a long usage among the prophets that must guide our interpretation.  Space does not permit us to make an exhaustive treatment of the phrase "last" or "latter" days here, but a couple examples will suffice to show that the term spoke to a time of world wrath and divine anger upon the nations for rejection of the gospel and persecution of the church; a time when the Jewish nation – marked out for an especial measure of divine retribution - would be destroyed at the beginning of the reign of the Messiah. 

Balaam's Prophecy

Among the earliest occurrences of the phrase “last days” is the prophecy of Balaam in the book of Numbers: 

And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days...there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel...out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.  Num. 24:14-19

The “Star” and “Scepter” are obvious allusions to Christ; he would have the dominion and return the kingdom to Israel, vanquishing all the enemies of the children of light.  “Him that remaineth of the city” probably refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.   This seems to be confirmed by what Balaam says in Num. 24:24:  “And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim...and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.”  (v. 24) “Chittim” is commonly understood to refer to the Romans.  This is evidenced by the Vulgate, translated from the Hebrew into Latin about A.D. 387 by  Jerome, which gives the rendering of Num. 24:24 thus:  “venient in trieribus de Italia” – “they will come in ships from Italy.” The same word occurs in Dan. 11:30 where it is rendered in similar terms:  “et venient super eum trieres et Romani” –“and there will come upon him ships and Romans.”  "Eber" is the root of the word "Hebrew," used of Abraham in Gen. 14:13, who was a descendant of Eber.  (Gen. 10:16,26)  Jerome’s rendering is validated by the Dead Sea scrolls of the Qumran community, whose Septuagint book of Daniel renders Chittim “Romans” at Dan. 11:30: "For the Romans shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do [his pleasure]: he shall even return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant."^[1]  As such, Balaam's prophecy of the latter days is the earliest and clearest reference to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state in A.D. 70 by the Romans.  However, no matter how we interpret his prophecy, it is certain that nothing Balaam says carries the least suggestion that the end of the earth is in view in use of the term “last days.”

The Book of Daniel

Another important prophecy, one which shows Christ’s coming and wrath upon the Romans, occurs in the book of Daniel.  In chapter two, king Nebuchadnezzar saw a dream depicting four world empires in the form of a man’s image, beginning with Babylon and ending with Rome.  The Roman Empire was portrayed by the images feet and toes – the ten toes answering the ten provinces of Rome:   Italy, Achaia, Asia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Germany.  The king then saw a Stone, cut out without hand of man, strike the image upon its feet, reducing the whole to rubble.  Daniel interpreted the dream, saying it foretold events of the “latter days” (Dan. 2:28), when God would establish a kingdom that would supplant all kingdoms, and last forever.  (Dan. 2:34-35)  This is the kingdom Jesus proclaimed was “at hand” when he began his earthly ministry.  (Mk. 1:15)  The destruction of the image represented the end of the age, accomplished in the world-wide devastations wrought in the natural disasters, the Roman civil wars, and the destruction of Jerusalem. 

The same succession of empires is portrayed in chapter seven in the form of four beasts that rose out of the earth.  Rome is portrayed by a beast have great iron teeth and ten horns, which answer to the ten toes of the image in the king’s dream.  Another little horn then arose, which blasphemed heaven, and made war against the saints for three and a half years.  The vision ends with the coming of Christ in his divinity as the Ancient of days: 

I beheld, and the same horn made war against the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Dan. 7: 21, 22

The little horn represents Nero Caesar whose three and a half year persecution of Christians (A.D. 64-68) evoked the pity of even the Romans, who were harden by the games to suffering and blood.  He is referred to by St. Paul as the “man of sin” and “son of perdition,” whom Christ would “consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”  (II Thess. 2:8)  John refers to Nero as the beast in Revelation with seven heads and ten horns, the number of whose name equals Nero Caesar in Hebrew. However, for present purposes it is sufficient merely to note that these end-time prophecies are set in the Roman Empire and depict Christ coming in power, putting all enemies beneath his feet, and bringing in the kingdom of God.  The idea that the latter days reaches to modern times is completely absent from the text. 

The New Heavens and Earth 

No discussion of this kind could be complete without addressing the promised new heavens and earth that would follow after the cataclysmic events of the eschaton.  There are many misconceptions about the new heavens and new earth mentioned in the Bible.  Some believe that the eternal state is alluded to; others that a future paradise on earth is in view; still others that the New Testament is symbolized.  However, none of these views enjoys support of the scriptures.  The following is a verse-by-verse exposition of the promised new heavens and earth.  We will conclude that the new heavens and earth were symbols for the prevailing conditions and changed fortunes of God’s people in the world under the reigning Christ following the tribulation of the last days; they look to New Testament times, but are not the New Testament itself. 

The promise of the new heavens and earth occurs in Isaiah, where the prophet uses it to describe the happy circumstance of God’s people after the time of tribulation and persecution is past, and their enemies are destroyed.  The prophecy moves alternately between the coming destruction of the rebellious among the Jews and the blessing of salvation upon those that obey.  The historical context may look in the first instance to the nation’s captivity under the Assyrians and Babylonians and the return of the captivity under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, but, unquestionably, the prophecy looks beyond these events unto the eschatological judgments and blessing of the Messiah.  First, the prophet describes the Jews’ obstinate rebellion and unwillingness to obey God’s word, and the resultant wrath they would suffer:  

I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.  I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts…Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom…I will measure their former work into their bosom.”  Isa. 65:1, 2, 6, 7

St. Paul applies these verses to the time of the Messiah, when the Jewish nation was resisting the gospel and persecuting the church, but the Gentiles were flowing into the kingdom like flocks of sheep.  (Rom. 10:20)  Those that had not formerly sought God had suddenly found him; but those whom God had eagerly sought after and entreated, refused his offer of grace.   The like scenario played out in the days of the Assyrians and Babylonians, in which the prophets warned and entreated only to be persecuted and slain, yet strangers from among the Gentiles, like Nebuchadnezzar, obeyed the living God.  The prophet next describes God’s salvation for the remnant of those that obey: 

Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not: for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.  And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.  Isa. 65: 8, 9

The prophet then alternates between the two in a series of verses (vv. 11-13), which conclude with the destruction of the wicked among the Jews, who leave their name (Israel) as it were a curse for God’s people (so hated were they among the nations), but God would call his faithful by a new name: Christian. 

Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.  And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name.  Isa. 65:14, 15

In the beginning of the gospel, the Roman world did not distinguish between Jews and Christians, for they seemed to be but sects of the same religion.  Thus, the confusion caused the Jews’ name to be applied with disadvantage to the Christians in hatred and reproach.  However, by the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, this was no longer true, and the world came to distinguish distinctly between the two.  The Lord would thus slay the Jews, but assign a new name to his people.  The term Christian is the divinely appointed name for God’s people.  It was given first at Antioch of Syria.  (Acts 11:26)  Peter says if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but to glorify God in this behalf.  (I Pet. 4:16)  Isaiah next describes the happy estate of his servants when the time of tribulation and persecution is past: 

The former troubles are past forgotten…they are hid from mine eyes.  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembers, nor come into mind.  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.  Isa. 65:16-19

The new heavens and earth describe the changed circumstances of God’s people, in which the former troubles were now forgotten.  Whereas they had been under oppression and persecution by their fellow countrymen who refused to heed God’s word, they would see happier times.  The time of national and personal sorrow under the Assyrians and Babylonians (in the first instance, but in the Messianic context, under the Jews and Romans,) would give way to a time when the faithful of God’s people would enjoy security and peace.  The Jerusalem that had suffered siege and famine would give way to a Jerusalem that enjoyed an abundance of peace.  The inhabitants of the new Jerusalem would “dwell every man under his vine and under his fig tree.”  (Isa. 65:21)  We should not mistake the poetic description of the new Jerusalem for the new heavens and earth.  The prophet’s language saying “the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock” refers only to “the holy mountain” of the Lord (Isa. 65:25), not the world at large.  Only in the church do the conditions described prevail.  Millennialists commonly make this very mistake by applying language intended only for the church to the whole world, supposing a time of universal peace is foretold. 

The preceding portion of the prophecy makes no direct reference to the coming of Christ; we are told the rebellious would be destroyed, but not how.  The prophecy continues in chapter sixty-six; this time, however, the prophet makes unmistakable reference to the destruction of the Jewish nation by the second coming of Christ.  First, the prophet describes God’s anger for the Jews’ idolatrous devotion to the temple: 

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest?  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.  Isa. 66: 1, 2

Stephen quoted this verse before the Sanhedrin when accused of saying that Christ would come and destroy the city and temple.  (Acts 6:14, 15; 7:48-50)  His point in quoting the prophet is to show that he was affirming nothing that had not been foretold centuries before.  However, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the Sanhedrin would not listen, and stoned Stephen.  The Jews’ obstinate refusal to accept the gospel even while clinging to the empty temple ritual was foreseen by Isaiah, who thus foretold the coming destruction in the prophecy here.  Hence, the prophet next describes God’s disdain for the temple cultus: 

He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol.  Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.  I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.  (Isa. 66:3, 4)

The offerings of the temple are likened to unclean and abominable things; they were no longer acceptable because Christ had carried his blood within the Holy of Holies.  The continuing temple ritual was an implicit denial of Christ’s sacrifice.  Next, Isaiah speaks to the persecution of Christians by unbelieving Jews and the promise of Christ’s coming: 

Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. Isa. 66: 5

The “appearance” of Christ is referred to by the writer of Hebrews, who says Christ as our High Priest would appear a second time to put his enemies beneath his feet.   (Heb. 9:27)  The apostle John seems to have this verse in mind when he exhorted his readers to persevere under persecution that they “be not ashamed before him at his coming.”  (I Jno. 2:28) The appearance of Christ would be providential, not physical or visible, and would mark the destruction of Jerusalem and the relief of the church.  This is clear from what Isaiah says next, describing Christ coming in wrath upon the nation:  

A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, as voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies…For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.  Isa. 66: 5, 15

Here is explicit reference to the coming of the Lord to destroy his enemies in the events culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, predictions repeated by Christ in his Olivet discourse.  (Matt. 24, 25; Mk. 13; Lk. 21)  We can know that the second coming is being described because the prophet portrays the new heavens and earth following the destruction of the city and temple. (Isa. 66:22-24; cf. II Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21, 22)  The prophet states that those who escaped the siege – Christians who obeyed Jesus’ warning to flee when they saw the city compassed about with armies (Lk. 21:20, 21) – would declare God’s glory (preach the gospel) among the Gentiles. (Isa. 66:19)  Isaiah states that these would become the spiritual “priests and Levites” (cf. I Pet. 2:5) of the New Testament in the new heavens and earth:   

“And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord.  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come and worship before me, saith the Lord.  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”  (Isa. 66:21-24)

 “All flesh” is equivalent to “every creature” and “all nations” of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15, 16).  “Worshipping before the Lord” points to the assimilation of the Gentiles into the kingdom (church).  Those whose carcasses were eaten of fire and worms refers to the bodies of the Jews who perished in the ravages of war, famine, and pestilence during the siege.  Josephus reports that eleven-hundred-thousand Jews (1.1 million) were slain in the siege of Jerusalem.^[2]  These were cast out of the city into the valley of Gehenna during the siege, where they lay swollen and putrefied, eaten of maggots and worms.^[3]   

This brief survey shows that the new heavens and earth spoke to the time when the church would emerge victorious after a time of persecution.  Whereas they had been scorned and rejected, put out of the synagogue, and even put to death, the Lord would vindicate his gospel and avenge his servants’ blood.  The Jews would be destroyed in the war with Rome, but the church would go on to inherit the world. 

Other Aspects of the New Heavens and Earth 

The above represents the new heavens and earth as portrayed by the prophet Isaiah.  John also treats of these in the book of Revelation.  He does not change what Isaiah wrote, but adds a few particulars of his own.   

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Rev. 21:1-3

With the defeat of the church’s enemies, John sees a new heaven and earth.  It is distinguished from the first heaven and earth only by the absence of the sea, and the presence of God dwelling amidst his people in the church (the new Jerusalem).  Under the old economy, God dwelt with man only in shadow and type.  The temple merely foreshowed “good things to come.”  (Heb. 10:1)  From the time of Adam’s fall to the cross, the barrier of sin - portrayed by the veil in the temple - separated man from God.  The veil was rent in twain in Christ’s cross (Matt. 27:51); showing man the way back into the presence of God was through Jesus’ blood.  John thus sees the consummation of God’s redemptive purpose, when face-to-face communion with his people is restored through Christ in the church.  (“And they shall see his face” Rev. 22:4; cf. Heb. 10:19, 20.)  The absence of the sea points to the fact that all men approach God on equal terms.  Seas are natural barriers, separating earth’s people.  In Revelation, the sea symbolized the Gentiles; the earth or land, the Jews.  Under the new economy, those distinctions are removed and all men have access to God equally.  The gates of the city (church) are always open in every direction of the compass, showing that men from all over the world are invited to enter and find salvation and communion with God.  (Rev. 21:13, 25)  Thus, Paul could say to the Gentiles: 

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ…Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.  Eph. 2:13, 19

Of course, the new heaven and earth are not the new covenant.  The city (the church) is the covenantal habitation of the saints.  Outside the city are the lost; those that have not obeyed the gospel: “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”  (Rev. 22:15)   One commentator describes it this way: 

The new heaven and earth, and troubled sea, having passed away and represented as being no more, indicated the changed conditions within the existing governments and society to make them favorable for the prosperity of the cause of Christ and his church throughout the empire…the vision represented the new conditions to surround the church in the changed world.^[4]

A close reading of Isaiah sixty-five and sixty-six will show that Wallace is correct.  

The former troubles are past forgotten…they are hid from mine eyes.  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.  Isa. 65:16-19

Although the prophet looks unto New Testament times, it is not the New Testament he is describing, but the happy estate of God’s people in the world where they are free from the yoke of their oppressors and the Messiah rules all nations with a rod of iron.

Conclusion

What is Preterism?  Preterism upholds the authority and integrity of the word of God against theories of purported postponement and double fulfillment.  Preterism is the affirmation that prophecy culminated and came to an end in Christ, and that Christ's prophetic utterances were fulfilled when and as he said they would.

 "Non praeteribit haec generatio donec omnia haec fiant."  (Matt. 24:34)

^[1]   Cf. Matthew Henry’s and Adam Clarke’s Commentaries in loc.

^[2]  Josephus, Wars of the Jews, VI, ix, 3.  This figure does not include that perished in foreign cities or died in battles throughout the rest of the Judah and Galilee.

^[3]  Josephus, Wars of the Jews, V, xii, 3, 4.

^[4] Foy E. Wallace, The Book of Revelation (1963, Wallace Publications, Ft. Worth), p., 426.