I am having the probably one of the biggest faith shakers of the my walk with the Lord yet with this verse. I've read so many articles about the different views of this discourse but I am not convince by any of them. To Preterists, Jesus return was in 70 A.D. and that the Abomination of Desolation (AoD) was Antiochus Epiphanes, the warning to the Christians to flee to the mountains as an early warning sign to flee the judgement to come on Jerusalem and whatnot rather than Jesus' final coming in which no one will be able to flee. On the surface, it seems to make sense right? Nero/Antiochus, as the Anti-Christ and the AoD, the ability to avoid this catastrophe, the coming of phony Messiahs, and "no stone left atop another". But then I look at verse 29 where Jesus says that IMMEDIATELY after the tribulation, that He will be seen coming on the clouds and that the whole EARTH will mourn and He will gather all of His saints from the corners of the WORLD, not Judea. And then he says that this generation will not pass away until these things happen! First, I've heard the Preterist argument that verse 29-31 is figurative taken from Daniel 7, Isaiah 13, and Ezekiel but the fact that he says that he will gather his elect from all corners of the earth seems to be unarguably literal as I also have heard that meaning "to preach the gospel" to all corners of the earth which frankly, I want to buy but I don't. Even the following verses about no one knowing the day or hour except the Father and the FINAL judgement throws me in for a loop! Goodness gracious this is troubling me. I can't believe that this verse can mean that Jesus return was at 70 A.D. but I also can't believe that He hasn't already returned in 70 A.D.! Please, those of you who have wrestled with the verse but have been given understanding by God, shed your light on this! I've been praying that God would give me a sufficient answer but none have been shown to me yet.
There is a good message on Youtube by Dave Hunt. His message is on prophecy and the end times and is very informative. John MacArthur also gives messages on end time events and he puts things into perspective as well. Viewing these videos would answer most if not all your questions.
If you are expecting God to speak to you about it in a direct voice to your mind, don't hold your breath! He has already spoken through good Bible teachers and excellent commentaries.
Jesus didn't come in AD70. His prophecies in Matthew were to the unconverted Jews, warning them of the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. When the Roman armies were sighted in the distance, The Apostle John gathered all the Christian believers in Jerusalem and led them right away from the region, out of the reach of the approaching Roman armies. He was following the instruction of Jesus to flee to the mountains without delay.
But there were certain world events that needed to happen before the second coming of Christ. Firstly, the Jews would return Israel. This happened in 1948. Secondly, the gospel would have to be spread right throughout the world, which is still being completed today. There are many areas of the world that have not heard the gospel. Also, we are seeing world developments that are bringing economies, governments, and religions closer to a world-wide system. We are also seeing a vast increase of earthquakes, storms, diseases, etc., which were also prophesied would happen as the end approaches.
If you look carefully at the 1 and 2 Thessalonian verses, you will see that there will be a time when the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This is not the second coming of Christ.
The next step in the time-line will be the emergence of the Anti-Christ who will set up the one-world government, and then gather all the armies of the world to attack and destroy Israel. It is interesting that Islam believes that none of their number will be resurrected on the last day until every single Jew in the world is killed. So, to complete the purpose of the Anti-Christ, Israel has to be destroyed, and if it is, Satan has won, because Jesus will not be able to come again to an Israel that no longer exists.
It is interesting that when Jesus actually comes again in person, He will come with all His saints. These are the ones who rose and were caught up with Him in the air. While the Anti-Christ is doing his thing, there will be the judgment seat of Christ where believers will be rewarded, and then there will be the marriage supper of the lamb.
Then, the Anti-Christ and all the armies of the world will attack Israel, and then Jesus will come in person with His whole multitude of His saints, defeat the Anti-Christ and set up His kingdom in Israel. The remnant of faithful Jews will convert to Christ and join the rest of the saints.
Then at some stage, the earth and the heavens will be completely destroyed and replaced with new heavens and earth.
So it is important to put all the reference to end time events into their right order. The book of Revelation deals with past, present, and future at the same time, so it is misleading to try and put that book into chronological order.
So, the instruction to believers is to "occupy until I come". This means that we get on with doing what God has called us to do in our area of endeavour. The next event in the believers' timeline will be that we will either rise from the dead or if alive, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. What the world will experience will be millions of people going suddenly missing and empty graves right around the world. This will cause great fear and chaos, and the Anti-Christ will emerge and step in to restore stability and peace back into the world. This will be an extension of the prophecy, "peace, peace, when there is no peace." Then the people of the world will resume their normal lives, not knowing that Jesus will return in person when they will least expect it.
There will be those who will argue against what I have said, but view the messages by Dave Hunt and John MacArthur and make up your own mind about it.
