PROOF THAT GOD’S KINGDOM HAS NOT YET ARRIVED ON EARTH

—The Falsehood of Preterism —

A Study Outline

I. Why is it dangerous to believe that the Kingdom of God has been established on the earth already; i.e., Jesus Christ has already returned a second time?

A. This belief flies in the face of Bible prophecy.

B. Such a belief defies all logic and history.

1. As will be shown below, Satan is alive and well on earth, influencing nations, but this cannot be true if the Kingdom has arrived.

2. There is no record of history indicating there has been a time of peace, prosperity, and a return to Edenic conditions like Scripture says is indicative of the Kingdom of God on earth.

C. Thus, to believe the Kingdom has already arrived or is past, means one cannot trust the Bible record or its prophecies, or secular history. It is an assault on one’s faith in the Almighty and His plan for mankind, and an assault on the record of history as well.

[It is essential to understand that the “Kingdom of God” is not some ethereal idea set up in one’s heart or imagination, but is a real government of the Eternal that will be set up on the physical earth … but which will be ruled by spirit beings, Jesus Christ the first of the firstfruits of those rulers. Notice that the disciples asked Jesus when He would return to the earth as ruler, not come to dwell in the hearts of men (Matt. 24:3). Of course, Christ did say He and the Father would dwell in the hearts of those He called and chose, but that is a different issue. The time of that return would be in the future after many dramatic events, would occur that, are described in Matt. 24, Luke 21, and elsewhere. Notice also that the Israelites in Judea knew well of the prophecies concerning Christ’s return, and expected the Messiah’s return to a, physical earth at any time; thus, they had an annual event a few days before the Passover that pictured the coming of the Messiah into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-11). Jesus showed that He was this coming King pictured in this “rehearsal” by actually riding on a donkey into the city, and besides this, He cleansed the temple at the same event (Matt. 21:12-13) and healed the blind and lame (Matt. 21:14), all picturing His literal return to the rulership of the physical earth.

II. Evidence that Jesus Christ has not returned to claim the throne over all the earth.

A. He is destined to return to rule on the earth over all nations.

1. All people over all the earth will see Him and hear Him (Matt. 24:27-31). A great sound of a trumpet (verse 31: Strong 5456 = phono, “disclosure address, saying, or language”) will accompany His return.

2. His return will be physically manifested in Jerusalem (Zech. 14:1-4).

3. His return will involve great wars against the beast and false prophet (Rev. 19:11-21).

4. The Parable of the Husbandman proves that Christ was sent by the Father, was rejected of men and killed, but then will become the “head of the corner” of the vineyard [the earth and its nations] when the Kingdom is established (Luke 20:9-18).

B. Things have to get so bad on the earth that “except those days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved alive” (Matt. 24:21-22). This “Great Tribulation” was to bring the worst conditions on earth since the age began and will exceed even future tragedies in its severity. Titus and the Roman armies in 70 A.D. could never have fulfilled this prophecy, no matter how brutal they may have been.

C. Christ must be on the heavens until the “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:19-24) … the coming of Edenic conditions throughout all of the earth. THIS HAS NOT YET OCCURRED!

All that will not listen to Christ will be destroyed at this time, but in today’s world, many will not listen to Jesus Christ. The only deduction one can make is that we have not yet arrived at the point in history when Christ has indeed returned a second time.

D. The lions and bears will be at peace with cattle and lambs — predation will be gone — and all animals will be at peace with people, meaning even the fear of animals will be gone. Besides, the outcasts of Israel and Judah will return to Palestine, and the Gentiles will seek Christ (Isa. 11:1-12). THESE EVENTS HAVE NOT YET OCCURRED!

1. Predation continues.

2. Animals still fear man.

3. The outcasts of Israel and Judah have not reclaimed Israel; the “Jews” in Israel today are primarily Khazarians (70% of the total), and are not of the line of Judah at all, but are predominately Edomites.

4. The Gentiles worldwide are not seeking after Christ.

5. In Isa. 11:9 we read that there will be no one hurt on Zion … hardly today’s case.

E. At this time the deserts will disappear and blossom with vegetation, the lame and dumb and blind people will be healed, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. to Palestine (Isa. 35:1-10). THIS HAS NOT OCCURRED YET!

1. The “Araba” and other deserts are still dry, with limited, desertic vegetation.

2. The lame, deaf, dumb, and blind remain, in Palestine and everywhere in this world; Christ would heal them if He was here — which was a big part of His mission on earth, to show what He will do here on earth once again — but He is not here yet. When He is here again He will deal with only people that will listen to Him (Acts 3:23); the rest will have been destroyed. Most people on earth today will not listen to Him.

F. In the “last days” the government of God will be above all nations, God will be the true God of all the earth, people will go up to Jerusalem and Zion, Christ will judge strong nations afar off, people will no longer learn or wage war, agricultural production will be great, people will live in peace on their property, and the outcasts of Israel will return (Micah 4:1-7). NONE OF THESE THINGS HAVE YET OCCURRED!

1. God is not the ruler over all nations yet.

2. People do not go up to Jerusalem to learn of His ways and then walk in His pathways. Rather, Jerusalem is called “Sodom” and “Egypt” due to its sins (Rev. 11:8), and the present government there is hardly righteous.

3. People learn and wage war, at the behest of human governments, throughout the earth.

4. People hardly live in peace and prosperity today in most of the world.

5. People do not own their property: the State claims it, and taxes it as proof of that.

6. The various peoples of Israel have not returned to Palestine: 70% of those there now, who call themselves “Jews”, are Khazarians, and the Sephardic Jews — truly of Judah — are persecuted by the Khazarians!

G. Christ returns with the saints and holy angels and burns up the beast and false prophet (Rev. 19:11-21). NO SUCH THING HAS YET HAPPENED!

1. No record exists of Christ coming like this. Such a return would be visible to all. (Matt. 24:29-31). All tribes of the earth shall see Christ coming.

2. There is a great sound of a trumpet, which all will hear.

3. The sun and moon will be darkened, stars will fall, and heaven’s powers will be shaken … none of which has happened yet.

H. Satan is bound for 1,000 years, and the saints rule for 1,000 years on earth (Rev. 20:1-6). THESE EVENTS HAVE NOT OCCURRED!

1. Satan is still causing great distress on earth amongst nations, individuals, and all of the environment. He has not been bound.

2. The saints are not yet ruling on the earth. Those dead are still “asleep”, and those now alive are not yet glorified.

3. 1,000 means 1,000! It is not an undefined period of more or less time. (See Strong 5507 = chiliol = “1,000”: this word is closely related to Strong 5506 [chilianchoa], the commander of 1,000 soldiers.)

I. Satan is released “for a little while” (v.3) and, with God and Magog, surrounds Jerusalem to destroy them, but he, himself is destroyed. The final “White Throne Judgement” also occurs (Rev. 20:7-15). NONE OF THESE EVENTS HAVE YET OCCURRED!

1. Satan’s surrounding Jerusalem with those of Gog and Magog has not occurred, as would have to be if preterists are correct.

2. Satan still is alive and active in human affairs, not destroyed.

3. No great white throne judgment has occurred. These events would be recorded if they had occurred, and would not be done in secret.

J. Rev. 8:6-13; 9:1-21: 11:14-19 — The seven trumpets sound with tremendous heavenly signs, the “locusts” torment men, the 200,000,000-man army arises, and the 7th trumpet sounds (the resurrection; Rev. 8:6-13; 9:1-21; 11:14-19). NONE OF THESE EVENTS HAVE OCCURRED!

— We would have a definite record of all of these, but we have no records of hail mingled with fire and blood, burning up one-third of the trees and all of the green grass, a great mountain cast into the sea making one-third of the sea as blood and killing a third of the sea creatures and destroying a third of the ships, a great star falling from heaven on one-third of the waters to kill many (“Wormwood”), a third of the sun, moon, and stars smitten, the bottomless pit opened to let out “locusts” that torment men for five months, an army of 200,000,000 assembled, and then the resurrection itself. None of these have occurred; if they had we would have a clear and unambiguous record of such incredible occurrences.

K. Rev. 16:1-21 — The seven vials are poured out (Rev. 16:1-21). WE HAVE NO RECORD OF THESE EVENTS HAVING OCCURRED!

— There has been no “grievous sore” on those having the mark of the beast, the sea has not become “blood”, no rivers and fountains have become “blood”, the sun has not scorched people, no darkness has rested on the seat of the beast, the Euphrates River has not dried up, no great earthquake has occurred, islands have not fled away, hail, of this type, has not fallen, and so forth. These items would have been recorded for us to read today had they truly occurred.

L. Babylon falls (Rev. 18:1-24). THIS EVIL SYSTEM HAS NOT YET FALLEN!

1. Trading in all commodities still is occurring.

2. The “great men” of the earth are its merchants.

3. All of the nations of the earth are still deceived.

M. In the “last days” God will pour out His spirit to all flesh (on Gentiles as well as on Israelites: Acts 2:17). IF THAT PERIOD WAS ONLY FROM THIS DATE (33 A.D.) TO 70A.D. WHEN TITUS TOOK JERUSALEM, THERE IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TIME TO BRING THIS MESSAGE OF GOD’S KINGDOM TO THE GENTILES!

III. Countering the arguments of preterists and Catholics … who are essentially preterists.

A. “Truly I say to you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled”. Generation (Strong 1074) = genea, “a generation, by implication an age (the period or the persons)”; translated “age, generation, nation, and time”. Preterists contend that Christ would therefore have had to return only a few years after 33 A.D., and 70 A.D. fits their timeline. Jesus Christ was meaning “age” in this case, for the age was by no means over at the time this was statement was made in 33 A.D. All of “these things” regarding the end of the age that Jesus was referring to here, in Matthew 24, would have had to occur already, and of course, they have not.

B. Jesus Christ Himself could not specify the time of His return (“But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father [only]”; Mark 13:32) because He did not know the date. Only the Father knew, and probably only He knows that date today, although Christ may know by now. Therefore, Christ could not indicate how soon His return would be when talking to the disciples, but during His ministry, there was an underlying message that we must be ready at any time for His return because of this uncertainty … and the fact that human nature, unless under the prod of the urgency to be an overcomer, will cause the person to degenerate. See the story of the prosperous farmer in Luke 12:14-21. Because of the uncertainty of the time of Christ’s return, it seems clear that Paul believed that Christ would return very soon, even during his day (2 Cor. 7:29).

C. Preterists and others will say that the Kingdom of God is within the person, not a literal government to be established on the earth … this despite the many prophesies to the contrary. Luke 17:21, which seems to state that the Kingdom is within a person, is better stated “The Kingdom of God is among you” (Strong 1737 = endidusko, “to invest [with a garment]”), and the word “among” is so stated in the King James Version marginal notes. Thus, Jesus Christ is the King of the coming Kingdom of God and represents it. As that representative, He was there directly amongst them.