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Full Preterism

The Return of Christ and His Gathering of Saints
are Historical Events.

By Todd D. Dennis

Matthew 10:23 "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."

When was Christ to Return to Earth?
When Does the 'Gathering of the Saints' Take Place?

All of the great confusion surrounding Matthew 24, in regards to the gathering of the saints, and the coming of the Son of man, is based upon the apprehension of taking Jesus Christ at his Word. In Matthew 24:34, Christ emphatically declares that all which He previously explained in the chapter would come upon that generation. Many read this and think things such as "This didn't happen," or "that couldn't possibly have occurred," thereby allowing their intellect to negate the clear, emphatic words of Jesus Christ. Without fail, though, our lack of understanding in the face of such clear declarations is as a result of our Biblical ignorance. We demand that God conforms His Word to our level of understanding, instead of determining to raise our understanding in order to comprehend what is written. Knowing that there is world to realize in the Bible, we must be able to put aside our own prejudices in determining what the Word of God teaches, and allow It to say what It means, and mean exactly what It says. We cannot allow our preconceptions to influence how we interpret Scripture.

Possibly the most transgressed verse in this light is Matthew 24:34. After describing many 'end times' things, such as the great tribulation, the abomination of desolation, and the destruction of the temple, Christ declares emphatically that "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (V. 34). Also included within this scope is the incredible declaration of vv. 30-31, that:

"then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

The thought that Jesus Christ meant what He said here is mocked by many Christians, even though there is no Biblical justification for believing that He meant anything other than exactly what He said in verse 34. Popular doctrinal systems teach that all of these events are to see their primary fulfillment in the future, but at the consequence of declaring that Christ is either a liar or mistaken. Most simply disregard Matthew 24:34 as a "problem text" and do not deal with it at all. But, clearly, Christ knew what He was saying, and He knew that what He was saying was true. This being the case, we can begin to search the rest of the Word of God, as "no Scripture is of private interpretation."

I. Immanency vs. Immediacy

When confronted with declarations by Paul that teach a return of Christ within that generation, such as Romans 13:12, that, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand," (See also I Cor. 1:7-8; 15:51; Phil 1:6; 4:5; I Thess 4:15; II Thess. 2:1-2; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 1:1; 3; 22:6, 10; 22:20) or I Cor. 10:11, which declares that the Old Testament Scriptures were written for their examples, "and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come," preachers cover themselves by saying that Paul was teaching an "imminent" return of Christ, not an "immediate" return. In other words, that Paul was teaching that Christ could have returned at any time, yet not until He was specifically sent by the Father. Grant Jeffrey, in his book Apocalypse, again so wonderfully illustrates the errors and unlawfulness of the very teachings he is trying to promote, in this case by saying:

"The clear teaching of the apostles as found in the New Testament is that Christ could come at any moment, without warning, to translate his Church to heaven. The word "imminent" simply means that Christ could translate His Church to heaven without the necessity of the fulfillment of any intervening prophetic events. When Paul said "we shall be changed," he clearly hoped that the promised translation of the Christians would occur in his lifetime."

This being the clear stand of such people, that Christ could have come but didn't, must be seen in the light of our Scriptures. For the sake of brevity, we will only focus upon the New Testament to identify whether the "coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven" was imminent, which is to say at no fixed time, or immediate, which is to say, within that generation.

In attempting to determine whether the return of Christ was mandated for that generation, or intended for some future generation, we must weigh the testimony of the rest of Scripture. Christ plainly declares in Matthew 24:34, that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." This doesn't seem to allow for 'immanency,' yet many teach that the word "generation" is in reference to a 'type' of person, thereby removing any chronological value. Let's see which of these two trends is continued elsewhere. Using the same language to describe the events of Matthew 24:30-31, Christ declared, in Matt. 16:27, that "the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then shall he reward every man according to his works." In identifying when this would be, Christ declares emphatically in the next verse, "verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom." This clearly follows the trend of "that generation," does it not? Christ is not being flexible one whit! This declaration destroys any possibility of Christ's referring simply to a 'type' of person, as opposed to a chronological determination.

In Matthew 26:64, Christ tells the high priest that "ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." It appears that He is clearly saying that the high priest, who is ultimately responsible for His death, would see Him returning in the clouds. The Word of God confirms this in Rev. 1:7, when John declares, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him." This, again, is another confirmation of the same: Jesus Christ was to come in the clouds in that generation, just as He declared in Matthew 24. For a stunning confirmation of this fact, Christ, in Matthew 10:23, declares to the disciples, "ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, until the Son of man be come" (See also Mark 8:38; Matthew 3:7-12; 12:45; 23:36; 22:7, etc.).

II. The Day of the Lord

In many of these references, we see that the coming of the Son of man is certainly not a 'secret rapture' with only 'positive' effects. We are told that the coming of the Son of man is for judgment (which the Old Testament prophets foretold numerous times), as well as the gathering of the righteous. The parable of the wheat and the tares alone dispells any such possibility of a 'secret rapture.' In a verse identified as being 'the harvest' (v. 30), Christ tells his servants, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." This is in complete agreements with the famous account of the same event in I Thess. 4, clearly showing that it is not a 'secret rapture.' After describing the gathering of the saints, and the raising of the Old Testament dead, in precisely the same terms as Matthew 24, Paul proceeds to date when this would be. I Thess 5:1 reads, "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." That Paul declares the day of the Lord as coming such, shows the conformity with Christ's own like declarations regarding His return. After identifying that this 'coming' is actually the day of the Lord, Paul identifies what this means, "For when they (whom we will shortly identify) shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."

Therefore, we have the coming of the Son of man in the clouds (I Thess. 4:16-17; Matthew 24:30, Matt. 16:27-28, etc.) being not only the gathering of the Old Testament righteous (Matt. 24:31; I Thess 4:15, etc.), but also the destruction of the wicked (I Thess 5:2-3). This, of course, is confirmed numerous times in scripture (see Matthew 3:7-12). The aforementioned parable of the wheat and tares confirms this, as do most parables.

But, more convincingly, is Christ's explanation in Matthew 24, that "as the days of [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (We will see why shortly) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that [Noah] entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (V. 38-39). Before thinking of the wonderful picture of how Noah was "raptured" out of the world, we will stop to consider two points: first, that Noah and his family returned to the earth once the flood waters subsided (the significance will be seen shortly), and second, we must examine who, in fact, was 'taken away.' Just as they were crying "peace and safety" in I Thess 5:2 to their destruction, the same is true here. Luke 17's account of the same discourse is a bit more specific, as it declares that "the flood came and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed" (v. 27, 30). Therefore, we can end all doubt as to the nature of Christ's immediate return - not peace and safety, but sudden destruction of the wicked, as well as the gathering of the saints.

Before we specifically explain what did, indeed, happen to both the wicked and the saints in that generation, we must understand the Old Testament, and the consequences of the New Covenant.

III. That Which Waxed Old Vanished Away, But Not Without Some Fire!

The purpose for the relationship between God and the nation of Israel, as presented in the book of Romans, was that the nation of Israel (after the flesh - 1 Cor. 10:18) stood as a temporal shadow of the coming eternal realities of Jesus Christ, to whom all promises were made (Gal 3:16 - Gal. 3:8; Heb. 4:2 'the gospel'). Unto them 'were committed the oracles of God' (Rom. 3:2), until that for which they stood in shadow came. It was at the resurrection of Christ that He received all of the promises made to Him from the foundation of the world (Acts 2:29-31; Heb. 1:2; Matt. 21:38; Gal 3:16, etc.), thereby establishing the New Covenant (Heb. 9:16-17), and sealing the doom of the Old (Heb. 8:14; I Cor. 15:25; Heb. 12:26-28).

This ending of the Old Covenant contract in that generation, was the annulling of that which was built upon temporal promises. In the midst of the forty years between the crucifixion and the desolation, it was declared that that 'which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away" (Heb 8:13). This explains what Christ meant in Luke 21:22, declaring, relative to the judgment associated with His return, "these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written (under the Old Covenant) may be fulfilled," and again, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all (written) be fulfilled" (Luke 21:22, 32). Christ fulfilled the law and the prophets (Matt. 5:17-18) through the very destruction of Israel after the flesh in A.D 70 (Matt. 23:33-39), and the establishment of His kingdom (Dan 2:44, Matt 21:43, I Peter 2:9, etc.).

This is why, in Matthew 16:27-28, the coming of the Son of man is directly related to the establishment of His kingdom (which, by the way, was prophecied to occur in the days of the Roman Empire - Dan. 2:44 - that generation!).

IV. The Coming of the Son of man

At this point, many may think that the first century coming of the Son of man simply didn't happen. But, now that we have clearly established the "when" of the supposed coming of the Son of man, with the gathering of the saints, we can address the "what", and the "how" of the coming, to confirm if it did, indeed, occur.

We have seen that Jesus Christ declared in Matthew 24:30-31 that he would "come in the clouds of heaven" to accomplish that which we have addressed (destruction and gathering). This is precisely what the rest of Scripture confirms throughout the Old Testament and New. Matthew 24 is more specific is its description of how this "coming in the clouds" would be manifested. Matthew 24:26 is the account of Christ warning the disciples to not believe those who told them that Christ 'is in the desert or in the chamber' (in other words, "here or there"). The reason given why they are not to believe that Christ had returned to earth is found in the very next verse, which states, "For as the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (v. 27). What is characteristic of lightening that shines from the east to the west, as opposed to all other lightening? Clearly, it never touches the ground! And this is exactly why Christ, without fail, spoke of Himself coming in the clouds of heaven in one way or another... He would not come to earth, but simply be "revealed" (Luke 17:24,30) to do the destruction and gathering, as described above.

With this being written, one might think of how convenient it is to say that Christ would never touch the earth, thereby removing any possibility for proof or substantiation as to what the Bible says.. but this is simply not so. Again, our own ignorance has betrayed us into believing a lie! Did you know that a number of historians have substantiated the fact that Christ's coming in the clouds occurred in that generation? Josephus, a Jewish general present at the destruction of Jerusalem, wrote of the coming in the clouds as being a very real event (See Wars of the Jews Archive). He wrote:

Besides these [signs], a few days after that feast, on the one-and-twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armour were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, "Let us remove hence."

Tacitus, the Roman historian, relating the same events, wrote:

"In the sky appeared a vision of armies in conflict, of glittering armour. A sudden lightening flash from the clouds lit up the Temple. The doors of the holy place abruptly opened, a superhuman voice was heard to declare that the gods were leaving it, and in the same instant came the rushing tumult of their departure" (Histories, v. 13).

Eusebius, the bishop at Palestine (See Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History), wrote this in the fourth century:

"For before the setting of the sun chariots and armed troops were seen throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and encircling the cities.

This is very important, indeed; but these accounts, as seen from the eyes of man, are simply that which is clearly described in the New Testament book of Revelation, which was written specifically about "things which must shortly come to pass.. for the time [was] at hand" (Rev. 1:1,3). Revelation 14:14 gives the direct prophecy regarding the coming of the Son of man, bringing sudden destruction:

"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in they sickle, and reap; for the time is come from thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."

In confirmation of the judgment foretold in the rest of the New Testament, chapter 14 continues by describing the coming, saying "the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." Confirming that this was accomplished in the destruction of Palestine in that generation, verse 20 declares that "The winepress was trodden without the city" (See also Dan. 7:9-13; Jer. 51:1-10). Interestingly, the Roman siege of Jerusalem began in the midst of the Passover, one of the only three feasts of the year which demanded the attendance of all Jews in Jerusalem. Thus, the Jews were 'gathered', and were, soon after, burned with fire.

As to whether the 'second coming' of Christ was pre-tribulational or not, II Thess. concurs with other Scriptures that that day would not come, until the man of sin was revealed (Matt. 24:15,29,30). Also, the parable of the wheat and tares, commands the destruction of the wicked, and then the gathering of the righteous, which Christ identifies as "the harvest".

Having dealt with the "when", and the "what" of the coming of Son of man and gathering of the saints, we must answer the "why" for the gathering of the saints.

V. "Come, ye blessed of my Father"

In Matthew 21:43, Christ told the Jewish leaders, "the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." This was the foretelling of the gathering of the saints into the everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ. In fact, in the Old Testament prophets, it was foretold numerous times that the kingdom would be taken from the temporal nation, and given to the eternal nation (I Sam 15:28 in shadow; Dan 7:18-22). Daniel 7:22, in reference to the days of the Roman empire, declares that when the Son of man comes, "judgment was given to the saints of the most High (Holy Spirit, certainly); and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (See vv. 25-27). Daniel's prophecy, stated to be in the days of the Roman empire (Dan. 2:44), is in complete conformity with Christ's "this generation" declaration, as well as the account in Matthew 16:28 that some that were standing there would not taste death, until this was accomplished. The significance of the establishment of the kingdom, and its connection to the coming of the Son of man (Matt. 16:27,28) must not be overlooked, as this is the 'hope of the fathers' that was spoken of from the time of Moses (Acts 28:22). The destruction of the flesh, to the exalting of the eternal, is the entire focus of the Word of God! Therefore, when we see the emphatic declaration by Moses, the prophets, and Christ Himself, that the kingdom was to be established in that generation, we must accept it, trying to increase our Biblical understanding to know why.

The establishment of the kingdom is directly related to the 'gathering of the saints' in that generation, as seen in Matthew 16:27-29 and 24:30-31. In fact, the very next chapter has the explanation of the gathering and the kingdom in parabolic form. In the parable of the sheep and goats, Christ identifies that the righteous and the wicked would be gathered when He came later in that generation (v. 31; see Matt. 16:27-28). This, remember, is in complete conformity with what we have studied above (Matt. 13 - wheat and tares, net, etc). At the time of this gathering, Christ burns the wicked with fire, but says to the righteous, "Come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This is precisely the same gathering as seen in 1 Thess. 4:17:

"we which are alive and remain shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.. and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

As we saw, the identification of this event as being "the day of the Lord" (I Thess. 5:2; II Peter 3:10), clearly establishes that this is that spoken of in Matthew 25's parable of the sheep and goats- within that generation which saw "the days of vengeance, that all which are written may be fulfilled" (See Jer 51:1-10). Now, it is simply up to us to figure it all out. And we were given the precise clues to directly lead us to the answer.

VI. "Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world"

Luke 21:26 refers to "the powers of the heaven" being shaken in association with the events in that generation (v. 32). The significance is seen again, in light of Hebrews 8:14, which declares that "that which decayeth, and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." But, at that time, the Old Covenant had not vanished, and could not, until the completion of all terms therein (Deut 28:45-68, etc.), during those forty years of provocation (Heb 3,4). Notice that, in the book of Acts, hands were laid upon the heads of the believers, so that they could receive the Holy Spirit, just as in the Old Testament, and unlike today. Also, in Acts 21:26, we see that Paul was still making offerings. In other words, the Old Covenant was not vanished yet. The significance in this is seen in Luke 21, which declares, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, that when they "see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (in that generation, v. 32)" they were told to "lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh" (v. 28), which was directly related to their entrance into the kingdom of God (v. 31).

We can see this relationship between the ending of the Old Covenant through the 'shaking of the powers of heaven,' (Luke 21:26) and the 'time that the saints possessed the Kingdom' (Dan 7:22) elsewhere in Scripture. Consider Hebrews 12:25-29. After an exhortation not to refuse the Word of God, the author of Hebrews (Heb. 2:3) relates the shaking of the earth at Sinai (Ex. 19:18; Jud. 5:4; Ps. 68:8), with the shaking of 'the powers of heaven' through the establishment of the New Covenant. In fact, the very next verse is quoted from Haggai 2:6, where the shaking of the heavens and the earth is in relation to when 'the desire of nations shall come,' (v. 7) when 'the glory of [the] latter house shall be greater then of the former' (v. 9). To confirm that the establishment of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is inseparable with the ending of the Old covenant by the 'removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain,' (v. 27) the very next verse points out that its consequence is the 'receiving of a kingdom which cannot be moved' (v. 28).

In short, it was at that time when the afterlife abode of the Old Testament faithful (the 'bosom of Abraham' of Luke 16:22), was emptied and its inhabitants ushered into the kingdom which Christ went to prepare (Matt. 22:7-8; 25:31,34; John 14:2-3). They which were alive, and yet "seated in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 2:6) did not prevent them which were asleep, but were ushered in when they were 'changed' (I Cor. 15:50-51), in which the mortal put on immortality (v. 53), bringing to pass the saying "Death is swallowed up in victory" (v. 54 - cf. Isa. 25:7; Hos 13:14). Isaiah 25:7, and Hosea 13:14, from which this verse is quoted, proves that the significance of these events is the fulfillment of the promises to the fathers, that they would be raised incorruptible into the kingdom of God. This is why 'we which are alive and remain shall not prevent them which are asleep.' Jesus Christ was to return to fulfill the everlasting promises by declaring unto those of faith, 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world.'

As far as those that were alive and remained (unto the coming of the Lord to fulfill all which was written), this may seem to be teaching that all the Christians were 'raptured' to heaven in that generation with those that were asleep. But this is clearly not so (See The "rapture" is the Day of the Lord). The answer to what this gathering was for they which were alive and remained is found in the account of I Thess 4. Remember, in I Thessalonians 4:17-18, that the saints are gathered to meet Christ in the air. This, again, is identified as being the day of the Lord (I Thess 5:2). As to how this will be, Paul writes a very enlightening answer, saying in verse 17 that we are going to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with Him... but where do we go? Does the Bible teach that we will then head up to the 'third heaven?' No. In fact, the word 'meet' (apanteas) is only used three times in the Bible, each time signifying the sending of an advance party to meet a dignitary, and then escort him back to where they came from. In the case of Acts 28:15, the Christians in Rome went out to 'meet' Paul at the Appii forum, and then they escorted him back to their homes. The other usage of this word is found in the parable of the ten virgins, which is found in Matthew 25, as well. Remembering the declaration of Christ that the coming of the Son of man will be 'as it was in the days of [Noah],' we must pursue this further.

In the parable of the ten virgins, the kingdom of heaven "is likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom." The word used to 'meet' the bridegroom (who, of course, is Christ - Matt. 9:15) is 'apanteas', which means to meet to escort back, as is evidenced by the fact that they met the bridegroom, and then went in to the house from which they came (v. 10). In verse 13, Christ clarifies that this is what will occur in that generation when He comes. The significance of this is that when Christ came in the clouds, he literally, yet spiritually, gathered those that were alive to be caught up in the kingdom with Jesus Christ, and the Spirit (of Jesus Christ; Phil 1:19) returned with the believers to the earth, to ever be with them, as it is declared, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Rev. 21:3). This is the picture of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, as the promises of the father, regarding the emptying of the grave, and the loosing of the prisoners therein, accomplished the fulfillment of the plan of redemption, and the establishment of the new heaven and earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (II Peter. 3:13).

Having been propagandized about this event their whole lives, the contemporary Christian may have trouble conceiving that this is, in fact, a "spiritual" event, as opposed to a "bodily" event (i.e. fleshly bodies floating up, in the sight of all); however, we must remember that this "gathering" is simply the corporate resurrection of all people throughout the previous history of the world (John 5:28), including those that were "alive and remain(ed)" on the earth. This purpose of this gathering was the giving of the "everlasting presence of the Lord" corporately, just as believers receive today individually, upon their "calling upon the name of the Lord."

The active working related thereto is precisely the same: When born again, we perceive no physical difference within our material nature, from before to after. The same was true for those alive in that day. God "quickened" them, just as He quickens those alive on the earth today - spiritually in an undiscernable (according to the flesh) way. We are "gathered unto Christ" individually today, and never leave our bodies. This is "natural", as the "new creature" in Christ (II Cor 5:17) is a spiritual, not carnal, creation.

This may seem like a lot of explaining to do, and it is for such a short essay - Volumes have been written on this one subject alone. One things is clear, however: Jesus Christ came in the clouds in that generation, and gathered the saints (living and dead) unto Him. How do we know this? Because Jesus Christ said so in Matthew 24:34... it is that simple.

The Biblical descriptions of the day of the Lord, with the coming of Christ in His kingdom, clearly places the return of Jesus Christ in the clouds as being the same time as the gathering of those of faith under the Old Covenant, for fulfillment of the promises to those of faith. It is hereby clearly identified as being the second coming of Christ. Therefore,

The Day of the Lord, The Second Coming of Christ, And The
Gathering of the 'Blessed of the Father' in Christ's
Kingdom Occurred in the First Century.

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