Dear Brother in Christ,
Thank you for your thoughtful critique and for voicing your reservations about Partial Preterism. Dialogue like this, rooted in love for Scripture, helps us all grow deeper in our understanding of God’s Word. Let me humbly and pastorally engage your concerns—not as one seeking to “win an argument,” but as a fellow servant of Christ who longs to faithfully handle “the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
1. The Dating of Revelation: Before or After 70 A.D.?
You rightly raise the common view that Revelation was written in the reign of Domitian (c. 95–100 A.D.). Many hold this position. But does the majority view automatically settle the matter? Is truth determined by consensus, or by careful historical and textual analysis?
When John introduces his vision, he says: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants the things which must shortly (ἐν τάχει) come to pass” (Rev. 1:1). The adverb tachy and its parallel in Rev. 22:6 cannot mean “in thousands of years.” The historico-grammatical reading of this Greek phrase demands imminence, not indefinite delay. If Revelation was written after 70 A.D., how could events already past be called “shortly to come to pass”?¹
Consider also Revelation 11, which speaks of the temple as though it still stood: “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship there” (Rev. 11:1). Would John describe the temple in present terms decades after its destruction? Doesn’t this internal evidence suggest that Revelation may indeed have been written before 70 A.D.?²
2. The “Gap” Problem: Between Fulfillment and the Second Coming
You observe that if much of Revelation was fulfilled by 70 A.D., then there is a supposed “gap” between chapters 18 and 19. But may I ask: does a gap necessarily mean an error in interpretation, or could it reflect the prophetic perspective itself?
In the Old Testament, prophets often saw the peaks of prophecy without perceiving the valleys between them. For example, Isaiah 61:1–2 speaks of “the year of the Lord’s favor” and “the day of vengeance of our God” in one breath. Yet Jesus, in Luke 4:18-21, applies the first phrase to His first coming but stops short of the second, leaving a “gap” of two millennia!³ If prophetic literature elsewhere allows for this telescoping, why must Revelation be different?
Moreover, Revelation 19–22 focuses on the consummation, not on the historical judgments tied to Jerusalem. Could it be that Revelation shifts from near-term judgments (fulfilled in 70 A.D.) to ultimate realities (Christ’s final return, the new heavens, and new earth)? Doesn’t this preserve continuity while also respecting prophetic perspective?⁴
3. The Meaning of “This Generation” in Matthew 24:34
You point to the Greek word genea and suggest it can mean “nation” rather than “generation.” That is indeed one possible lexical meaning. But what does the historico-grammatical context demand?
In Matthew 23:36, Jesus laments over Jerusalem and says: “Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation (genea).” In the immediate context, He clearly refers to His contemporaries—the scribes, Pharisees, and leaders He directly rebukes. Should we suddenly shift the meaning in Matthew 24:34 away from the plain and consistent sense?⁵
When Jesus says, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matt. 24:34), the natural reading—historically and grammatically—is that He was speaking to His disciples about events that would occur within their lifetime. And indeed, within forty years, the temple was destroyed, Jerusalem was razed, and His words were fulfilled.⁶
Does this deny His future coming? Not at all! Partial Preterism distinguishes between the judgment-coming of Christ in 70 A.D. and the final, bodily, glorious return yet to come (Acts 1:11). Could it be that both near and far horizons are in view, just as in many Old Testament prophecies?
A Closing Pastoral Word
Brother, our unity in Christ is not in the precision of our eschatological charts but in the hope of His return, whenever it comes. Whether we read Revelation as largely past, present, or future, we all await the day when the cry will ring out: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man” (Rev. 21:3).
So let us wrestle together with these questions: Does imminence in the text require us to rethink our assumptions? Does prophetic telescoping explain the “gaps” we find? And does the natural sense of genea in Matthew 24 call us back to the audience Jesus was addressing?
In the end, eschatology is meant not to divide us but to make us long together for the blessed hope—the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).
Notes
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Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1989), 141–52.
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J.A.T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1976), 224–25.
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Geerhardus Vos, The Pauline Eschatology (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979), 39–41.
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R.C. Sproul, The Last Days According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998), 136–42.
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N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 345–47.
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D.A. Carson, Matthew, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 507–9.
Former Adventists Philippines
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