What is Realized Eschatology (AD 70 Doctrine?

The realized eschatology of Preterism (that which is past, bygone) believes “that all end-time prophecy was fulfilled in the first century.  This position holds that the second coming of Christ, the judgment, and the resurrection of the dead, all found fulfillment in the period of destruction of all Judea, by the Romans, in the 70s of the post-Christ period.”

This position is based on four supposed Bible truths.

• The years from the cross to the desolation of Jerusalem in the AD 70s were the “last days.”
• The “parousia” of Christ occurred before that contemporary generation passed away.
• The Old Covenant was still in place until the time of the “Parousia.”
• Redemption/salvation for all believers (alive or asleep) was still promised in the New Testament, and had not yet been realized. 

How can we come to a conclusion about the doctrine?

To come to a conclusion we must look at the “comings of Christ” (Parousia), “the day of the Lord”, “the last days”, “the last day”,  “the judgment”, “the resurrection”, “the time of the end”, “apocryphal language”, “the new heavens and new earth” “redemption” and the interaction of these things.   

What are the “comings” of Christ?  Are there more than one or two?  Are they literal or figurative?  

 When you read or hear any material, but especially new material, be critical; don’t accept it until you have thoroughly examined it.  A person may be very sincere, but deceived.  The best way, I know, to test a doctrine, is to ask questions.  Reserve judgment until you are satisfied.  Check it out with the Scriptures.  For example, when people speak or write about “the coming of the Lord”, don’t assume it is the second coming or that all “comings” refer to a single event.  Don’t assume that they are similar in nature.  There are two literal comings but several figurative comings. Similar language does not necessarily indicate a single event.

“Comings” of the Lord found in the Scriptures

• Birth of Christ.  This is a literal coming, called the incarnation because the Word became flesh.  The birth of Jesus is recorded in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.   John 1: 14, 15; 3: 31  
• Coming in the kingdom.  This figurative event occurred on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.  It is found in the second chapter of Acts.    Mark 9: 1; Matthew 16: 28; Luke 9: 27
• Coming in judgment of the Jews. This figurative event occurred approximately AD 70.  According to the proponents of Realized Eschatology this would certainly be one of the defining moments of history   Matthew 24: 29-31; James 5: 8
• Coming in judgment of the Romans and the victory of the church.  This figurative event occurred in the first centuries and is found in the book of Revelations.     Revelation 1: 1, 3, 7; 22: 6, 12, 20
• Second coming of Christ.  This is a literal event, which will occur at an unspecified time in the future, the last day.  The resurrection and final judgment of all mankind will be associated with this event.   Matthew 16: 27; 24: 42, 44; 25: 31; Acts 1: 10, 11; 1 Corinthians 15: 23; 1 Thessalonians 5: 23; 2 Peter 3: 10-12; 2 Timothy 4: 1
• Coming of conversion.  This is a spiritual event, real but not literal.  John 14: 18, 23
• Coming in individual judgment of particular churches.  This is also a spiritual event, real but not literal.    Revelation2: 5; 3: 20

What basic interpretation error must we avoid?

We must differentiate the “AD 70 coming” in Matthew 24: 1-35 from the “second coming” which is described in Matthew 24: 36 through Matthew 25:46? Remember, Jesus said that the great temple buildings would be completely torn down.  Then Jesus’ disciples asked, “Tell us when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age.”   We must guard against allowing our understanding being colored by the possible presuppositions of the disciples.

They believe that all end time events must be viewed as figurative.  They argue that since the kingdom of God is spiritual and not literal (which is true) therefore all the language about it must be taken figuratively.  But this conclusion is simply not true.  We have already noted that Christ came once literally and that the apostles saw Him literally ascend into heaven. (Acts 1: 9- 11)  They were told that He would come again (second coming) in just the same way as He departed; that is literally.  But in addition Hebrews 1: 1 tells us that God spoke to us in many portions and many way.  He speaks in His word both literally and figuratively; He speaks in parables; He speaks in hyperbole and even sarcasm; He speaks in the calm metaphor and the highly imaginative apocalyptic language of Revelation and the Prophets.

A comparison of the AD 70 Coming and the Second Coming

Matthew 24: 1-35- AD 70 Coming

• Local- Judea and Jerusalem
• Signs- many signs are of His coming are given including wars and rumors of wars, false Christs, nation will rise against nation, famine earthquake, tribulation, many will fall away, false prophets, lawlessness, gospel preached in the whole world, and the abomination of desolation
• Escape- flee to mountains
• Parable of the fig tree
• He is near, right at the door
• Generation not pass until all these things take place
• Judgment of the Jews
• Physical death at the hands of the Romans

Matthew 24:36-25: 46 Second Coming

• General- all nations
• No sign- like the days of Noah, they will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, in other words they will be unsuspecting.
• No time for escape, one will be taken the other left.
• Parable of the thief, time unknown
• Parable of ten virgins, bridegroom delayed
• Parable of talents, man went on a journey, now after a long time 25: 19
• Time not known except the Father 24: 36, 42, 44; 25: 13
• Judgment of all the nations
• Eternal punishment or eternal life

The Coming in AD 70, Matthew 24: 1-35, is radically different from the Second Coming, Matthew 24: 36- 25: 45.  I do not deny that Jesus “came” in AD 70, I do deny that that was the only coming and that it was not what is commonly referred to as the “second coming.”

Which comings were said to be near?

• The Pentecost Coming, some living would not taste death until they saw the Lord coming in His kingdom.   Matthew 16: 27, 28; Acts 2: 16, 17

• The AD 70 Coming was said to be “at hand” and within the lifetime of that generation to whom it was given.   Matthew 10: 23; 24: 30, 34; 26: 64; Hebrews 10: 37;Philippians 4: 5; James 5: 7- 9
• The Revelation Coming was said to be “near”, take place shortly and that the Lord would come quickly.    Revelation 1: 1, 3; 22: 6, 12, 20; Romans 13: 11-12; 16: 20;

Is there a “coming” in which time is unknown or it is said to occur “after a long time”?

Yes, the time element of the Second Coming is unknown, unexpected, “like the days of Noah”, like a “thief in the night”, “after a long time.”   Matthew 24: 36, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44, 50; 25: 13, 19, 31, 32; 1 Thessalonians 3: 13; 4: 13- 18; 5: 2, 23; 1 Corinthians 1: 7, 8; 2 Peter 3: 3-12; 1 Timothy 6: 14; 1 Peter 1: 13; 1 John 2: 28

What do the Scriptures tell us about the Second Coming of Christ?

  Don’t be confused by the proponents of the AD 70 doctrine, who call the Coming in Judgment on the Jews in AD 70, the Second Coming.  It is not!

• Second is found in Hebrew 9: 28
• This coming is called the second because it is the second literal coming of the Lord.
• The Lord was lifted up and a cloud received Him.   Acts 1: 9, 10
• The Lord will come in the same way, literally, as you watched Him go into the heavens.   Acts 1: 11
• Come in His glory.  Matthew 25: 31
• No one except the Father alone knows the day and the hour.   Matthew 24: 36
• All His angels with Him   Matthew 25: 31
• He will sit on His glorious throne.   Matthew 25: 31
• All the nations (not just Jerusalem and Judea as in AD 70) will be gathered before Him.    Matthew 25: 32
• He will separate them from one another, putting the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.   Matthew 25: 32, 33
• Judgment will be pronounced.    Matthew 25: 34, 41, 46

Which coming was associated with the resurrection?

Please note the finality of these passages: the last day, the end, the last enemy, and the last trumpet.  There is no later time.  The resurrection occurs at the second coming of Christ.

• The resurrection refers to the resurrection of the body from the tomb.  John 5: 28, 29
• The resurrection will occur on the “last day” as does the judgment.   The coming at Pentecost, and at AD 70 and in judgment on the Romans occurred in the last days, but not the last day.  Time continued after those coming but time will not continue after the last day.   John 6: 39, 40, 44, 54; 11: 24; 12: 48; Acts 2: 17
• The bodily resurrection of Christ was attested to by many witnesses.   1 Corinthians 15: 1- 11
• The bodily resurrection of Christ is the basis of our faith.  If Christ is not risen then our faith is worthless and we are still in our sins.  1 Corinthians 15: 12-19
• Christ’s resurrection is the first-fruit of the general resurrection.  The first fruit offering was of the same kind as the later harvest.  The resurrection of Jesus was literally of the body; the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 is literally of the body.    1 Corinthians 15: 20-23
• The resurrection is associated with the end; the kingdom is delivered up to the Father.  1 Corinthians 15: 24
• Death is the last enemy to be conquered.    1 Corinthians 15: 26
• Paul argues, “why are you baptized for the dead if there is no resurrection?’  “Why do I put myself in danger”?  “If there is no resurrection, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”  1 Corinthians 15: 29-32
• Don’t you understand your immoral life is associated with your disbelief in the resurrection?  Stop sinning because there is a bodily resurrection and there is a day of judgment.  1 Corinthians 15: 33-34
• That which is sown will be that which is raised.  A body is placed in the earth; a body will come forth.  Don’t be amazed at this.  Look around you.  God is able to make different kinds of animals with their own flesh; God is able to create the sun, moon and stars, each with their own glory.  Surely He can raise the dead bodies.  1 Corinthians 15: 35-41
• In the resurrection there is continuity because that which is sown will be raised; but there is also discontinuity because that which is raised will be changed.  It is sown perishable but raised imperishable; sown a natural body but raised a spiritual body; sown in dishonor but raised in honor; sown in weakness but raised in power.  It has first born the image of the earthy but it will then bear the image of the heavenly.  1 Corinthians 15: 42-49
• Rest assured although all will not die, all will be changed.  You know flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.  In the twinkling of the eve we will be changed; the perishable will put on the imperishable; the mortal will put on the immortality.   1 Corinthians 15: 50-54  
• Death is swallowed up in victory.  1 Corinthians 15: 54-58
• The resurrection occurs at the last trumpet.  There is a trumpet sound at the AD 70 coming, but it is not the last trumpet.   I Corinthians 15: 52; Matthew 24: 31
• The resurrection will occur when Jesus descends from heaven, the shout of the archangel and the trumpet of God.  1 Thessalonians 4: 15, 16
• The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.  1 Thessalonians 5: 2
• The bodily resurrection of the dead is associated with His literal second coming.     1 Corinthians 15: 23

There was no resurrection (resurrection of those in the grave) at the AD 70 coming.   Therefore the AD 70 proponents invented one.  They admit there was no literal resurrection but they say there was a resurrection of a cause, the church was resurrected from the grave of Judaism.  Judge for yourself.  I can’t accept that explanation because when I read of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 and other places, it is the resurrection of the literal body that died and was buried.

Which coming is associated with the general judgment?

• The AD 70 Coming is a judgment of the Jews
• The Revelation Coming is a judgment of the Romans
• The Second Coming is associated with the general judgment of all men not just the judgment of the Jews in AD 70.   Matthew 25: 32

The Judgment of all Men

• God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world, not just the Jews or the Romans but the entire world.   Acts 17: 30, 31
• All the nations will be gathered before Him.   Matthew 25: 32
• Judgment will occur on the last day.  John 12: 48
• All in the tombs will be resurrected.    John 5: 27-29
• The judgment will occur when the Lord comes.  1 Corinthians 4: 5
• Felix became frightened at the judgment to come.  Why would Felix be frightened if Paul was speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans?   Acts 24: 25
• The judgment occurs at the harvest, at the end of the age.   Matthew 13: 30, 39-43  
• Vengeance is mine, I will repay.  Romans 12: 19
• Tried by fire.  1 Corinthians 3: 10-15
• The Queen of the South will rise up (resurrected) and condemn the men of this generation at the judgment.   Did that occur in AD 70?  Luke 11: 31
• Sodom and Gomorrah will appear in judgment.   Matthew 10: 14-15
• The men of Nineveh shall appear at judgment.  Did this happen at AD 70?  Luke 11: 32
• Angels are bound in darkness until the judgment of the great day.  Jude 6, 7;  2 Peter 2: 4
• All will all, good or evil, appear before the judgment seat of Christ.  2 Corinthians 5: 10
• After death judgment will come.  Hebrew 9: 27
• Each one of us will give account to God   Romans 14: 10-12

While I do not deny that a judgment was to occur in the first century, I do deny that that judgment was the great judgment in which all men both good and evil, including those of Tyre and Sidon, Nineveh, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Queen of the South and even the disobedient angels would appear.  Neither, I believe, was that the judgment that would be visited upon Rome.

• Wrath was to come and the axe is already laid at the root of the tree; meaning the time was eminent.  Matthew 3: 7- 10
• The time of recompense is near; the kingdom will come in the lifetime of those present.   Matthew 16: 27-28
• That generation to whom He was speaking would not pass away until that coming was completed.   Matthew 24: 30
• The coming of the Lord is at hand; the Judge is standing right at the door.   James 5: 8, 9
• The end of all things is at hand; it is time for judgment to begin.                 1 Peter 4: 5, 7, 17  

The Last Days

The proponents of the AD 70 doctrine make much of the last days.  They tell us that the “last days” or “the end of the age” were fulfilled at the parousia of Christ (Matthew13: 39).  This is true only if you are speaking of the Second Advent not the AD 70 coming. But then they say “we know from numerous other Scriptures, that the “day of the Lord” was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem, in the same generation (Luke 21: 20-22, 32).   In fact, the 40 years from the cross to “the day of the Lord” were perfectly and precisely foreshown in the 40 years of wilderness wandering, in preparation for Israel’s entrance into the land of rest.” (New Testament Realized Eschatology; Todd Dennis; Preterist Archives)

You be the judge.  There are several “days of the Lord” mentioned in the Scriptures.  To assign all end time events to the AD 70 “day of the Lord” is arbitrary and incorrect.

• The establishment of the kingdom came in the last days.  Isaiah 2: 2; Micah 4: 1
• The pouring out of the Spirit in the last days.  Acts 2: 17
• Difficult times will come in the last days.  2 Timothy 3: 1
• Jesus spoke in the last days.  Hebrews 1: 2
• People will store up money in the last days.   James 5: 3
• Mockers will come in the last days.   2 Peter 3: 3

With the exception of Genesis 49: 1 which does not seem to be speaking about the same events.  These are all the passages in the Scriptures that refer to the “last days.”  Does this sound like a period of time from the cross to the destruction of Jerusalem?   You be the judge.

What is the “last day”?

Well the “last day” is the “last day.”  There won’t be any more days after this day.  Has this “last day” happened?  I am convinced it has not.  

• The resurrection of the body is on the last day.  John 6: 39, 40, 44, 54; 11: 24
• The judgment day of all men will be on the last day.  John 12: 48  

With the exception of Nehemiah 8: 18 and John 7: 37, which do not seem to deal with end time events, the above are all of the Scriptures that refer to the “last day.”  Surely we can agree that the “last day” will be the end of all things including the “last days.”  But the “last day” is associated with resurrection of the dead ones and judgment of all men

What is the “day of the Lord”?

The “day of the Lord” refers to a significant event, when something of note occurred.

• Day of reckoning, judge the proud and lofty   Isaiah 2: 12
• Judgment of Babylon.  Isaiah 13: 6-9
• Judgment of Egypt- Jeremiah 46: 19
• Judgment of False prophets- Ezekiel 13: 5
• Judgment of Egypt- Ezekiel 30:3
• Call to repentance in view of the calamity to befall them but great blessing if they turn away.  Joel 2: 1, 11, 31; 3: 14
• Judgment of Jerusalem.  Zechariah 14: 1- 8
• Coming of Christ (incarnation, perhaps) Malachi 4: 5.  Judge for yourself
• Coming in His kingdom.    Acts 2: 20
• AD 70 Coming.    Proponents of AD 70 doctrine cite these verses.

1 Corinthians 5: 5.  Judge for yourself

AD 70 Coming   2 Corinthians 1: 14.  Judge for yourself.

Second Coming.  1 Thessalonians 5:2   This is a “thief in the night” event.

Second Coming   2 Peter 3: 10.   This is a “come like a thief” event.

Regardless of your opinion about several passages, over all we find that “the day of the Lord” is not a term reserved for the events of AD 70, but it is a term used over and over for any great and notable event.

The term “day of the Lord” found in 1 Thessalonians 5: 2 and 2 Peter 3: 10 is used in reference to a “thief in the night” event.  There are no signs given regarding time, therefore I conclude that they are not AD 70 events

The Ends

Is there more than one “end” in view in the Scriptures?  Judge for yourself.

AD 70 Coming

• The disciples asked, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age.”  Evidently they felt that the destruction of the great temple could only take place at the end of the age, when the Lord came again.  We should not believe that Jesus was bound by their presuppositions in His answer.   Matthew: 24:3
• Nevertheless an “end” was in view.  The question, “What ended”?          Matthew 24: 6
• Jesus explains that the love of most will grow cold, but he that endures to the end will be saved.   Matthew 24: 13
• The gospel must be preached to all the nations before the end would come.  Matthew 24: 14
• These things all occurred in the generation to which He spoke.       Matthew 24: 34

Second Coming of Christ

• The harvest is at the end of the age.  Matthew 13: 39
• The end will come when Christ delivers up the kingdom to God and the last enemy, death, is abolished.  Has death been abolished?  You be the judge.  The Scriptures say this will happen when our mortal bodies put on immortality.   1 Corinthians 15: 24- 28, 54
• This day of our Lord is at His second coming.  2 Corinthians 1: 14
• Our Lord will be revealed at His second coming.  1 Peter 1: 13
• The last day, certainly the end, is associated with the resurrection.      John 6: 39, 40, 44, 54; 11: 24
• The judgment of all men will also be on the last day.   John 12: 48

The End of the Law

• Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.  Oh yes the law existed after Christ but it was not effective as part of God’s plan.  The law was only a shadow of that which was to be realized in Christ.  Romans 10: 4; Hebrew 8: 5

The consummation of the ages

• So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many (at His first coming), shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.  Hebrew 9: 28

Judaism ended at the cross, when Jesus tasted death for every one.  It appeared, however to continue on undiminished.  But that was soon to change.  When Titus and his armies laid siege to Jerusalem, the temple, the center of the Jew’s religion and culture, was destroyed; the priesthood ended forever more and with it, the sacrificial offerings.  Judaism, as a recognizable religion established by God, ended.

Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law and the prophets. The smallest part of the Law and the prophets would not pass away until they were fulfilled.  When Jesus fulfilled the Law, however, it did pass away.               Matthew 5: 17, 18

• Jesus said all things written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled at Jerusalem.  Luke 18: 31-32
• At the cross all was fulfilled.   Acts 13: 29
• The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John the Baptist.  Luke 16: 16, 17
• All things written about Christ in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms were fulfilled.   Luke 24: 44-47
• Those things announce beforehand by the prophets Christ has fulfilled.  Acts 3: 18- 26

Generally speaking, Christ fulfilled the Law and the prophets, making them no longer applicable as their purpose had been accomplished.

When was the law abolished?

• Prior to the cross, the Gentiles “were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and stranger to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”  But now   you have been brought near by the blood of Christ (not AD 70) He made both Jews and Gentiles into one, by breaking down the dividing wall, the enmity, which is the Law of commandments, establishing peace.  Gentiles are reconciled to God by His death, not AD 70.    Ephesians 2: 11- 16
• The body of flesh was removed when the Colossians were baptized which is a type of circumcision.  When baptized they were made alive when they arose with Him having forgiven all you transgression. He cancelled out the certificate of death, consisting of decrees which were hostile to them, nailing it to the cross at His death, not Ad 70.  What were these decrees?  They pertained to food and drink, festivals, new moon and the Sabbath.  Clearly it was the old law.       Colossians 2: 13- 17
• Paul shows that if the Jew is “married” to both the law and Christ at the same time, they are spiritual adulterers.  This cannot be their situation however because they were released from the law, having died to that by which they were bound.  It is not possible that both the Law of Moses and the law of Christ served together from the cross to Ad 70.  Romans 7: 1-6
• The former commandment, the law of Moses, was set aside in order that Christ might serve as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.  Christ is of the tribe of Judah and could not have been a priest after Aaron.  Hebrew 7: 11- 19
• The law was added because of transgressions.  It was to preserve a people through which Christ could come.  When the seed, Christ, came the law had accomplished its purpose.  It was fulfilled, and past away as it had served its purpose.  It was the tutor to lead the Jews to Christ, that they might be justified by faith.  But when faith has come they are no longer under a tutor.  Galatians 3: 19-29

A change of covenants

• The way into the holy place was not disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing.  But Christ when He appeared as high priest entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, with His own blood.  He entered the holy place once for all.  He entered the holy place having obtained eternal redemption. This tells us several things.  First: the outer tabernacle must not be standing when Christ entered the holy place, heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God. Second: He obtained eternal redemption. The idea that Christians had to wait until AD 70 to obtain redemption is a fiction. Hebrew 9: 8-28
• Christ takes away the first covenant that He may establish the second. There was no overlapping of the covenants.  This is a fiction.  Hebrew 10:9
• Paul was a minister of the new covenant not the old.  This covenant came with both glory and power. “And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.  The sun being obscured and the veil of the temple was torn in two.” “And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.  And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  There was no need to wait until AD 70 for salvation.                     2 Corinthians 3: 6-18; Acts 1: 8; 2: 17-21; Luke 23: 44-45

No discussion of this subject, Realized Eschatology, can be complete without a discussion of Luke 21: 31.   This is one of the primary verses used by AD 70 theorists.  This is the verse that appears to plainly say what the proponents of this doctrine teach, or does it?   Let’s look at it.

. Even so you, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.   Luke 21: 31

First let me say I agree:

• That the kingdom was at hand.  The kingdom came at the first Pentecost after the resurrection of our Lord.  Peter said that in regard to the “oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne” David, being a prophet, looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, who was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.  God raised Jesus from the dead, exalted Him to the right hand of God having received the promise (seat a descendant on the throne of David) of the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus ascended to heaven God said, “Sit at My right hand, until I make thine enemies a foot stool for thy feet.  Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ.  Jesus is reigning until He puts all the enemies under his feet.  At that time He will deliver up the kingdom to God, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26; Acts 2: 29-36
• This verse and its context refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Second:

• This verse cannot refer to the establishment of the kingdom, because the kingdom was established nearly 40 years prior to AD 70.
• The disciples were in the kingdom prior to Ad 70.  Colossians 1: 13; Revelation 1: 6

Third:

 “The kingdom of God is near” means that the dominion and sovereignty and royal power of God was near to being displayed in the judgment and destruction of Jerusalem.  With the destruction of Jerusalem, Judaism would no longer have a temple, priesthood or sacrificial system authorized by God.  Christianity, long considered to be a sect of Judaism, now like the small mustard seed in the parable grew to become a tree   Judaism ended at the cross of Jesus for it was to serve only until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made.  The outer forms remained, however, until destroyed by the Romans   Matthew 13: 31, 32; Galatians 3:15-29

If the AD 70 theory were true Christ reigned approximately 40 years.

Jesus’ coronation occurred at His ascension.

He was to reign until the last enemy, death, was abolished.

Death was abolished at the resurrection.

But the resurrection (according to AD 70 doctrine) was in AD 70.

Therefore Jesus reigned approximately 40 years.

Redemption

Those who hold this doctrine hold that the redemption we have in Christ was not completed until AD 70.  They assume that every use of the word is the same, referring to the redemption of Christ, the forgiveness of sins.  This is not the case.

What is the primary use of the word?

Primarily “redemption” refers to the purchase from sin through the blood of Jesus Christ poured out in His death.

• The penalty for sin is death.  Romans 6: 23
• God has graciously accepted the death of Jesus, who was sinless, as payment for our sins.  Jesus is our “Passover Lamb.”  1 Corinthians 5: 7
• Jesus laid down His life, voluntarily, on the Passover.
• Three day later He arose from the dead.
• He appeared to His disciples for 40 days, confirming His resurrection and speaking of the things of the kingdom of heaven.  Acts 1: 3
• He ascended to the Father into the holy place once for all and secured eternal redemption for all.  Hebrews 9: 12
• Ten days later, on Pentecost the kingdom came with power and glory and this eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, was first proclaimed as an accomplished fact    Acts 2: 38

When will the redemption be complete?

The redemption will be complete when the physical body is redeemed.  This will occur when the Lord gives life to our mortal bodies and the perishable body is changed to an imperishable body.  This will occur on the “last day” not AD 70.   Romans 8: 11, 23; 1 Corinthians 15: 52, 53

But doesn’t Luke 21: 28 say that the redemption is drawing near?

Yes it does.  However I question that the reference is to the redemption from sin by the blood of Christ because Christ had already obtained that redemption when He presented His sacrifice to the Father at His ascension.     Hebrews 9: 12

What then is the meaning?

I believe the meaning is that the Jews will no longer have power and the ability to persecute the church.  The kingdom will increase from that time forward.

Was the redemption from sin complete prior to Ad 70?

Yes it was.  Note the following prior to AD 70.

• Sin would not have master over them because they were not under law (Old Covenant) but under grace (New Covenant).  Romans 6: 14
• They were dead to the law.   Romans 7: 4, 6
• There is now (before AD 70) no condemnation to those in Christ.  Romans 8:1
• They were freed from the law of sin and death.   Romans 8: 2
• They were free from the curse of the law.   Galatians 3: 9-14
• They were free from the fear of death.   Hebrew 2: 15
• The blood of Christ continually cleanses those in Christ from all sin.  1 John 1: 7
• God gave them eternal life.   1 John 5: 11

What was lacking?  Nothing!  They had all the blessing of God prior to AD 70.

Questions I would like to ask the proponents of the AD 70 doctrine.

Do you really believe death was abolished at the supposed resurrection in  AD 70?

Do you observe the Lord’s Supper?  1 Corinthians 11: 26

Are you married?    Matthew 22: 30

What is your motivation, since you have received all you will receive?

Brethren and friends, please be extremely careful when dealing with the AD 70 Doctrine.  It is very dangerous.  The Apostle Paul said that Hymenaeus and Philetus had gone astray from the truth, saying that the resurrection had already taken place.  The AD 70 doctrine maintains that the resurrection occurred in the first century.   2 Timothy 2: 17, 18

God bless.

Arland Pafford