Introduction:

Many today are still waiting for the Second Coming of Christ, not realizing that the very scriptures they quote show it was a first-century event. As a Preterist, I believe the Second Coming already happened, just as Jesus and His apostles declared. This post will walk through the plain testimony of scripture.

1. Jesus Promised to Return in Their Generation

• Matthew 24:34 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place."
  
  

• Jesus said this after describing His coming in judgment (Matthew 24:29-31). He clearly tied it to that generation, not ours 2,000 years later.
  
  

• The context includes the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:2), which occurred in 70 AD, within that generation.
  
  

2. He Was Coming Soon, Not Centuries Later

• Revelation 22:12 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves."
  
  

• Revelation 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place."
  
  

• Hebrews 10:37 "For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay."
  
  

• The inspired writers were not confused. They consistently said the return of Christ was soon and at hand. To stretch these statements to cover 2,000 years destroys the urgency and integrity of their message.
  
  

3. His Coming Was in Judgment on Old Covenant Israel

• Matthew 23:36 "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."
  
  

• Matthew 24:30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory."
  
  

• This cloud-coming language is symbolic and used throughout the Old Testament to describe God's judgment (see Isaiah 19:1 and Psalm 18:7-10). Jesus came in judgment against Jerusalem in 70 AD, just as He said He would.
  
  

4. Some Would Not Die Before His Coming

• Matthew 16:27-28 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
  
  

• This statement is ignored or twisted by futurists, but the plain meaning is simple. Jesus was speaking to them, and some of them would live to see His coming.
  
  

5. The Kingdom Came Without Observation

• Luke 17:20-21 "Now He was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with signs that can be observed, nor will they say, "Look, here it is!" or, "There it is!" For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.'"
  
  

• The Second Coming was not about Jesus returning in a physical body to reign on earth. It was about Him being enthroned and judging covenantal Israel, ending the Old Covenant and establishing the New.
  
  

6. The Dead Were Raised and the Living Changed

• 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 "For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep... then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."
  
  

• This passage, when taken alongside Matthew 24, reveals a spiritual resurrection. The dead were raised from Sheol/Hades, and the living were spiritually transformed. It was not about bodies flying into the sky.
  
  

7. The End of the Age Was Then, Not Now

• 1 Corinthians 10:11 "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."
  
  

• Hebrews 9:26 "Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once at the consummation of the ages, He has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."
  
  

• The end of the age was in the first century. The Second Coming was part of that transition from the Old Covenant to the New.
  
  

Conclusion:

Jesus kept His word. He came again, just as He promised, within the lifetime of His disciples. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was the visible sign of His coming in judgment. We are now in the age where His kingdom reigns. There is no more waiting. There is no future tribulation or coming. The gospel is victorious. The promises are fulfilled.

Challenge:

Stop waiting for what has already come. Embrace the finished work of Christ. Share the truth boldly with those still clinging to false hope and tradition.