Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Friday March 13 2026
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Luke 18:8-I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Jesse (not his real name) had been in one of my preacher training classes for several months. He had been baptized a year prior, and the congregation where he assembled did not have many men who would preach. Hearing about the class that I was teaching, he drove an hour to and from his home twice a week for our meetings.
For some time, he assisted his church family as a preacher. But then, due to some changes at his secular place of employment, he was forced to relocate to another area several hours away. We lost touch, and then a year or so later he contacted me. After a few minutes, I asked him how things were going at church.
Jesse: Well brother Mark, to be honest, I don’t go to church very often these days.
Mark: I’m sorry to hear that bro. Is it due to complications with your work schedule?
Jesse: No….not so much that. It’s just….well I don’t want to offend you brother Mark. But there just isn’t any point in it.
Mark: Bro, you won’t offend me! But it’s okay, we need to talk about this. So be upfront with me. Why is there no point in being in church?
Jesse: Brother Mark….the Second Coming has already happened. It happened when the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. There is no Day of Judgment. There is no Heaven or Hell. And the Bible says it all right in Revelation 1:1-3!
(End Of Relevant Conversation)
Sadly, Jesse had been introduced to a teaching which is becoming more and more commonplace in churches of Christ, generally known as “full preterism,” “extreme preterism,” or “hyper preterism.” The doctrine has come about in the last one or two hundred years. Preterism (correctly) asserts that some of the prophecies of the Bible regarding judgment have already been fulfilled. But hyper preterism maintains that all prophecy has been fulfilled, specifically at the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D.
As one researcher has noted:
Preterism is the approach to biblical prophecy that assigns a past fulfillment, rather than a future one, to what is found predicted there. Thus, for example, Christians take a preterist approach to the prediction of the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem, in Micah 5:2. Futurism is the approach to biblical prophecy that assigns a future fulfillment, rather than one in the past, to the thing predicted. For example, virtually all Christians take a futurist approach to Paul’s prediction of the Resurrection and the Rapture of the Church, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Partial-Preterism is the belief that part of the body of prophecy in scripture has been fulfilled in history, and does not require a future fulfillment, while another part of the scriptural prophecies will be fulfilled in the future. Thus, one may believe that Jesus’ prediction about the fall of Jerusalem (e.g., Matthew 24:2) was fulfilled in A.D.70, but that predictions of His second coming to judge the world (e.g., Matthew 25:31ff) remain to be fulfilled at some future date. Full-Preterism is the belief that all biblical prophecies have been fulfilled in the past, and that no part remains to be fulfilled in the future. This means that the Second Coming, the Resurrection, the Rapture, the Final Judgment, and the New Creation, have all occurred in the past—namely, at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70. (Steve Gregg, Why Not Full-Preterism?: A Partial-Preterist Response to a Novel Theological Innovation, 6 (Kindle Edition): Maitland, FL: Xulon Press)
The Apostle John writes:
Revelation 1:1-3-The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 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.
Does the Book of Revelation here teach that the Second Coming occurred in the first century?
Let’s study.
The first thing to consider from this passage is that the “time” phrases here used are found throughout the Old Testament to refer to events that did not happen for years, decades, and even centuries later.
For example, notice some examples of how “shortly,” “near,” and “at hand” are used throughout the Old Testament to refer to events which did not find their complete fulfillment till much later.
Deuteronomy 9:3-Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you.
This was spoken of how the Lord would “quickly” destroy the Canaanites when the Jews occupied that land. Yet this was not completed for centuries after it was spoken (as the Books of Joshua and Judges document).
Isaiah 13:6-Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Isaiah 13:22-The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.”
These prophecies against Babylon were not fulfilled until 539 B.C., nearly two hundred years after Isaiah wrote these words. Yet notice the prophecies are said to be “at hand” and that Babylon’s destruction is “near to come.”
Again:
Ezekiel 30:3-Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.
This prophecy against Egypt was not fulfilled until decades later, and yet here the events are said to be “at hand.”
Obadiah 1:15-For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
Joel 1:15-Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
Zephaniah 1;7-Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.
These prophecies against Israel and other nations were not fulfilled for hundreds of years later. Indeed, many of them will find their fulfillment only in the Second Coming, and point us to that great Day!
The way that these Prophets declare judgments to be fulfilled so much later and yet describe them as being “at hand” and “soon” has not escaped the notice of other researchers.
For example:
“Despite DeMar’s charge of eisegesis, the historical manner of interpreting the time statements finds its origins in the Old Testament Prophets. The prophets warned of an impending judgment upon the wicked at the day of the Lord: “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!” (Isaiah 13: 6) “ . . . its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged” (Isaiah 13: 22) “For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near” (Ezekiel 30: 3) “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near” (Joel 1: 15) “the day of the Lord is coming; it is near” (Joel 2: 1; cf. Isaiah 9: 9; Malachi 4: 1) “For the day of the Lord is near in the decision” (Joel 3: 14) “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you” (Obadiah 1: 15) “For the day of the Lord is near” (Zephaniah 1: 7) “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast” (Zephaniah 1: 14) “ . . . in a little while” (Haggai 2: 6) Many of the prophecies concerning the day of the Lord refer to a localized judgment that was fulfilled in part during the centuries following its announcement, but as we will see in Chapter Six, these prophetic expectations will be entirely fulfilled at the day of the Lord when Christ returns. These prophecies convey the theme of a certain expectation of judgment for the original hearers and strongly suggests that the day of the Lord is nearer than their stubborn, unrepentant hearts realized. The idea is that the wicked live as if they will live forever and will not be required to give an account for their deeds on judgment day (cf. Job 27: 8, 17-22; Luke 12: 19-20). Preterist Keith Mathison admits that the Old Testament prophets “regularly used terms implying ‘nearness’ to describe events that did not occur for centuries.” 47 This concept of a distant “nearness” illustrates our point and undermines preterism. Mathison provides an overview of how the prophets utilized the time statements when referring to relatively distant historical events: Isaiah 13: 22 and Habakkuk 2: 3-4, for example, speak of the imminence of the judgment to come upon Babylon. It is interesting to note that Isaiah was writing between 740 and 701 B.C., while Habakkuk wrote sometime between 609 and 598. Yet both spoke of Babylon’s judgment using short-term time texts. Isaiah says it is “near.” Habakkuk tells the people that “it will not tarry.” Babylon fell to the Persians in 539. . . . Isaiah 56: 1 says that God’s salvation is “about to come.” Writing in the early sixth century B.C., Ezekiel says that “the fulfillment of every vision” is “at hand” (12: 23). Writing after the Exile, in approximately 520, Haggai proclaims the following word from God: “Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land . . . (2: 6-7). If this prophecy was fulfilled at the coming of Christ, as Hebrews 12: 26-28 seems to indicate, then “a little while” was more than 520 years. 48 Preterists are faced with a critical dilemma. They insist that the time indicators “near,” “soon,” and “at hand” in the Book of Revelation must refer to first-century events and not to events that will immediately precede the Lord’s return. Nevertheless, as Mathison explains, the apostle John borrowed these time statements from the day of the Lord passages found in the Old Testament Prophets, passages that prophesied events that did not take place for at least several centuries after the prophecies were written.” (Brock David Hollett, Brock Hollett, Debunking Preterism: How Over-Realized Eschatology Misses the “Not Yet” of Bible Prophecy, 22-24 (Kindle Edition): Kearney, NE: Morris Publishing)
Why do the Prophets use this language to describe events that will not take place until so much later? There are at least two possibilities, both of which have been noted by scholars and historians through the years.
First, the idea behind these words does not necessarily mean that they will all occur in a “fast” or “sudden” period of time: rather, they describe certainty. In other words, the fact of these judgements is being stressed, not so much when they will occur.
Second, the language of these passages shows us also that the writers are saying that they may soon “begin” to occur, although the completion and fulfillment of them may not be accomplished for a very long time.
The judgments referenced throughout the Prophets are foreshadowing the great Day of the Lord which will occur at the time of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Do not be deceived by the doctrine of hyper preterism my friends.
Father, help us to not cast away our hope and confidence. Please send Your Son back when You decide that the time is right. Even so, come Lord Jesus! Amen.