Revelation: A Brief Case for Partial Preterism
Stephen Pribble
There are four major views concerning the interpretation of Revelation: historicist, futurist, idealist and preterist. This paper argues for the partial preterist view.1 The key questions revolve around two things: (1) the date the Revelation was written, and (2) whether the second temple was still standing when it was written.
1. When Was Revelation Written?
Many interpreters base their interpretations on the premise that the book was written between AD 90–96, during the reign of the emperor Domitian (AD 81–96).2 That would have been 20–26 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. Had that been the case, then the book would of necessity be speaking about events that took place after the first century—events that perhaps would not happen for hundreds (or thousands!) of years. On the other hand, if Revelation was written before the destruction of the city and the temple—events of great prophetic significance—then, it is natural to conclude that some of its prophecies had to do with these events. How should an interpreter decide between these views? Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 23–24 and the internal evidence within Revelation itself argue for an early date of composition. Let’s consider these.
2. Jesus’ Teaching in Matthew 23–24
Toward the close of his ministry Jesus prophesied the end of apostate Judaism. He exposed the scribes and Pharisees who rejected him as “hypocrites,” “serpents,” and a “brood of vipers,” sons of those who murdered the Lord’s prophets (Matt. 23:29–36). These Jewish leaders were enemies of God and of his Christ who would not escape the condemnation of hell (Matt. 23:33). Their3 house (the temple in Jerusalem) would be left “desolate” (Matt. 23:38). When would this happen? Jesus was very specific: “Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation” (Matt. 23:36). In the next chapter he repeats this prophecy: “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matt. 24:3). If Jesus was a true prophet, then these prophecies would surely be fulfilled.4
Jesus, being the Truth incarnate, did not have to swear to make his point, but he did in these two cases: the word “assuredly” is actually “amen.”5 Jesus was emphatic. In essence, he was calling upon his Father in heaven to bear witness to the truth of his prophecy. If he were not telling the truth, then he would be exposed as a false prophet, worthy of death. As the incarnate Son of God, such could never be!
The phrase “this generation” (Heb.
When Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, Jesus would be vindicated as a true prophet of God. Jesus’ declaration that the City and the Temple would be destroyed would vindicate him as the prophet greater than Moses (Deut. 18:15, 17–19).
3. The Internal Evidence within the Book of Revelation
Seven times (!) in Revelation (twice in the first chapter, five times in the last) it is declared that its prophecies would soon take place. The text of Revelation is bookended, as it were, with these time-indicators, placed right at the beginning, so readers wouldn’t miss them, and again at the end, for emphasis:
- “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place (γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει)” (Rev. 1:1).
- “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near (ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς)” (Rev. 1:3).
- “The Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place (γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει)” (Rev. 22:6).
- “Behold, I am coming quickly (ἰδού, ἔρχομαι ταχύ)!” (Rev. 22:7).
- “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand (ὁ καιρὸς ἐγγύς ἐστιν)” (Rev. 22:10).
- “And behold, I am coming quickly (Ἰδού, ἔρχομαι ταχύ)” (Rev. 22:12).
- “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly (Ναί, ἔρχομαι ταχύ)’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).
The cumulative force of these words is stunning: “things which must shortly take place . . . the time is near . . . things which must shortly take place . . . behold, I am coming quickly . . . the time is at hand . . . behold, I am coming quickly . . . surely I am coming quickly.” With these clear time indicators, how can anyone conclude that the events prophesied in Revelation would not happen till 2,000 or more years later? Here are short-term prophecies that powerfully demonstrate that the Lord Jesus is indeed the true prophet; his short-term prophecies were fulfilled to the letter; surely his long-term prophecies concerning the catching up of the church (1 Thess. 4:17), the Second Coming (John 14:3) and the final judgment (Matt. 25:32) will be fulfilled as well.
4. The Presence of the Temple in Revelation
It is a fact of history that the city of Jerusalem fell to the Romans in AD 70 (cf. Matt. 22:7, Luke 21:20). At that time the temple—the center of Old Covenant worship—was destroyed as well. The destruction of the temple signaled the definitive end of Old Covenant worship. No longer would God’s people have to make three-times-a-year pilgrimages to the city of Jerusalem to worship God. Now, God’s worship would be decentralized, and the Spirit of Christ would be with his church wherever it assembles (Matt. 18:20, John 16:7, Heb. 10:25). Valid New Covenant worship now takes place the world over, as Christ meets with his church to welcome his people into his presence, give them his blessing, speak his word to them through the authoritative preaching of his ordained ministers, receive his people’s worship, and send them forth with his blessing.
The covenantal significance of the temple can hardly be overstated. If Revelation was written in AD 95, how could the apostle John not have mentioned that the temple was no longer standing? Yet Revelation mentions nothing concerning the destruction of the temple. Rather, the temple is spoken of as if still standing. The word temple (ναός naos) occurs sixteen times in the text of Revelation, most often referring to the heavenly temple of which the temple in Jerusalem was a copy; but the last reference, Revelation 21:22, which speaks of the consummation of all things, says, “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” This is very significant: in the eternal state there will be no temple, for God will be personally present with his people forevermore. But at the time of the writing of Revelation, the Jerusalem temple—the copy of the true, heavenly temple—was still standing.
In Revelation 6:9 John writes, “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.” The altar of which he spoke was the heavenly original of which the altar in the temple in Jerusalem was a copy. John speaks of martyrs: men and woman who bore witness to the truth and suffered death for the cause of Christ. Here were men and women who believed the gospel, the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. They believed it so strongly that they were willing to stake their eternal destiny on it. They bore bold testimony to the world that Christ was indeed the promised Messiah, and that they would under no circumstances deny him. They would rather die a martyr’s death, as did Stephen (Acts 22:20), than deny their Lord and Savior.
Chilton explains that the breaking of the fifth of seven seals “reveals a scene in heaven where the souls of those who had been slain are underneath, or around the base of, the altar. The image is taken from the Old Testament sacrifices, in which the blood of the slain victim would stream down the sides of the altar and form into a pool around its base. . . . [As it] fills the trench below the altar it cries out from the ground with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood upon those who dwell on the Land?”6
These martyrs who died for the faith were killed by the apostate church that refused to recognize the Messiah when he came. The martyrs’ blood was poured out on the altar of the temple at Jerusalem which had now become an altar to the false god of covenant-breakers who refused to honor the Son, and thereby did not honor the Father, but had become idolators—worshippers of a false god—a god of their own imagination—as Jesus plainly taught (“He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him,” John 5:23).
Even before the Great Tribulation of AD 70,7 the Jews were killing Christians. The priests had sent Saul of Tarsus to Damascus to round up the Christians there, and after his conversion he himself became their target. According to church history, almost all the apostles were martyred for their faith.
The presence of the temple in the book of Revelation, with no mention that the temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed, is compelling evidence that the temple was still standing, and argues for a pre-AD 70 date of the book’s composition.
5. Conclusion
The early date for the composition of Revelation is shown by Jesus’ teaching, by the internal evidence (repeated statements that the events of which it speaks were shortly to take place), and by the fact that the temple—the crown jewel of old covenant worship—was still standing.8 Getting the date right is critical for the correct interpretation of the book. If Revelation was written in the last decade of the first century of the Christian era, then obviously none of its prophecies have anything to do with the destruction of the city or the temple, which took place in AD 70. But if it was written before the destruction of the city and temple, then its prophecies of judgment (chapters 5–18) have to do with these significant events.
Partial preterism is the correct perspective for interpreting the book of Revelation.
1 Full preterism is heretical, as it denies a future Second Coming, final judgment and eternal state, which are confessed by the whole church: “. . . he shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end” (Nicene Creed).
2 See the discussion of Irenaeus’ (AD 120–202) oft-quoted statement that the prophecy appeared “toward the end of Domitian’s reign” in David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Dominion Press, 1987), 3–4.
3 Note the contrast: “your house” (ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν o oikos ymōn), as contrasted with “my house” (Ὁ οἶκός μου o oikos mou, Matt. 21:13). The Jerusalem temple formerly housed the pure worship of God revealed to Moses. But after the Jewish leaders rejected Christ, his Spirit left it, and it became desolate; the outward form of the Jewish religion remained for 40 more years, until the temple was destroyed by the Romans, never to be rebuilt. The Jewish faith today has no blood atonement, no priesthood, no temple, no salvation.
4 Some would object and say, “What about the ‘sign’ that was to appear in heaven (Matt. 24:30); when did that happen?” The KJV carefully follows the Greek word order: “then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” All the modern translations, influenced by dispensationalism, change it to something like “then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven” or (worse!) “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.” The Byzantine texts have “in the heaven” (using the definite article). What is the “sign”? Not a supernatural phenomenon appearing up above. Rather, the destruction of Jerusalem itself was the sign—proof positive that Christ had indeed ascended to the Father’s right hand and had brought about the destruction that he had prophesied.
5
Heb.
6 David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance, 193–194
7 Matt. 24:21; Rev. 2:22, 7:14.
8
It is also in keeping with the prophecy of Daniel 9:24: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (see the whole context, vv. 24–27). This prophecy is fulfilled in the person and work of Christ: within a space of seventy “sevens” (