Remember, I am a partial preterist who believes Jesus came in judgment upon Israel in 66-70ad.
I am fully aware of that.
Therefore, I believe the physical temple destruction in 66-70 is intimately tied to the coming of the son of man in judgment on Israel at the end of the age. Based on the viewing the following accounts, the "signs that they are about to be fulfilled/take place" = "sign of the your coming and the end of the age".
Mark 13:4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?”
Matthew 24:3 While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
Lue 21:7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
I disagree. I believe Jesus answered two questions. The first had to do with when the temple would be destroyed and that did occur in 70 AD. I believe the question about His coming and the end of the age was a separate question and has a global scope rather than the local events that occurred in 66-70 AD..
There was no age that ended in 70 AD. This is where partial preterism falls apart, in my opinion. When Jesus spoke of the end of the age He was talking about the end of the temporal age when people get married and they die in contrast to the eternal new heavens and new earth age to come when people will no longer get married or die.
Luke 20:34 Jesus replied, “
The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But t
hose who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.
The end of the age has clearly not come yet as people are still marrying and dying.
If you try to say it has to do with the end of the old covenant age as most partial preterists do, that can't be true either because the old covenant ended when Jesus died on the cross. To deny that is heresy in my view. Just because the temple was not yet destroyed until 70 AD does not mean that the old covenant was still in effect until then. It absolutely was not. Christ's once for all sacrifice made animal sacrifices obsolete immediately.
Linking Paul's passages to the olivet discourse:
1.) the parousia and gathering:
2 thessalonians 2:1 Now concerning the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,
Matthew 24:30-31 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,
c and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. T
hey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.d 31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Right, I knew that partial preterists make this connection. And how did this happen around 70 AD exactly?
2.) This parousia and gathering, according to Paul would not occur until after the falling away and man of sin being revealed. I associate these signs with the destruction of the temple in 66-70ad, because Jesus does.
2 thessalonians 2:3 9-11 Let no one deceive you in any way.
For that day will not come, unless the falling away comes first, and
the man of lawlessnessb is revealed, the son of destruction. he coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Matthew 24:9-11 Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,
and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
3.) the man of sin would set himself in the temple, but would be destroyed at the parousia of Christ. According to the olivet discourse, the temple destruction occurs at the end of the age at the coming of the son of man.
2 thessalonians 2:4,8 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming
matthew 24:2-3 “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
There is just one glaring problem with this. What Jesus was talking about, as it relates to the time when the temple would be destroyed, were only of events that would happen in and near Jerusalem. So, why would Paul talk to the Thessalonians about events that were going to happen in Jerusalem as if those events would affect them directly? That does not make any sense.
The fact is that some of the events that happened around 70 AD are similar to what will happen when Christ returns except that the first event was a local event to Jerusalem while the second, still future event will be global.
4.) this would happen in the first century generation
Matthew 24:34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
I don't take that to be talking about a generation in terms of a 40 year generation or however many years you would consider to be a generation. The Greek word "genea" can refer to a 40 (or however many year) generation of people but also can refer to a certain type of people or can even refer to people in general.
Luke 11:29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
The word generation here is used to refer to the Jews as a people and not just the Jews living at that time. The Jews were being contrasted with the Ninevites here.
I believe the word should be understood similarly in Matthew 24:34. The Jewish people will not pass away until all the things He spoke about (not just the things relating to the destruction of the temple) take place. Look at what He said after verse 34:
35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 36 “
But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For
in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Many miss this, but Jesus said in relation to His coming that "heaven and earth will pass away" when He comes. The lines up with what Peter taught in 2 Peter 3:3-13. And then He indicated that no one knows the day or hour that will happen.
Right after that He compared the day He comes directly to the day the flood came and killed everyone on the earth except Noah and his family. Just as Peter did in 2 Peter 3:3-7. Just as everyone on earth (except believers) were killed in Noah's day, "That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man".
How does what Jesus said in Matt 24:35-39 fit with partial preterism? Was the day or hour of what happened in 66-70 AD unknown? No, it was not. If it was then why did Jesus say this (parallel to Matt 24:15-22):
Luke 21:20 “
When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Looks to me like they would have known the day or hour of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple because they would see it coming. They would've seen the Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem. That doesn't describe not knowing the day or hour of His coming. Not knowing the day or hour means exactly what it sounds like. No one will know until the day it happens except for the Father.
So then you believe this binding will one day end and satan will be able to destroy the church?
No. I believe Jesus when He said the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. I believe it will look like he is defeating the church because the church will be so weak but then God will say enough is enough and send His son to take vengeance on all of "those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ" (2 Thess 1:7-10).
No need to be sorry. I also struggle with the traditional amil belief, because it does not line up with the gospel and epistolic narrative. But such is the difficulty in interpreting symbolic and apocalyptic language.
I believe it clearly does line up with it, but what can we do? Just respectfully agree to disagree on that.
I would argue it always literally means "small", "few", "short". It never means "long".
You are misunderstanding me. I am not saying it means long. I'm saying it doesn't necessarily mean a small amount.
I've made this point twice already and I'm wondering if you missed it somehow. Once again, when Jesus said many are called, but
few (oligos) are chosen would you agree that the "few" chosen is actually a large number (millions, at least) even though it's less than those who are not chosen?
If so, doesn't this show that the number can refer to a large number in comparison to a larger number? This shows that the word can be used in a relative sense to refer to a limited, but not necessarily small, amount (of people in this case, but also time or whatever it might be).
Can you at least acknowledge it is used that way when Jesus said "many are called, but few (oligos) are chosen?
In the context of all of creation, our lives are literally like mist only lasting a little while and then vanishing. The literal definition of oligos never means long.
So then you believe "few" means the exact same as "many" in that passage?
I am amazed that you would ask that question. That is not at all what I was saying. I explained what I meant above. Hopefully, you understand now. If not, then just say so and I will try again to clarify my point regarding this.