The Encourager
“Jesus is Coming Back”
Jesus is Coming Back!
by Jeff Curtis
The “battle of Armageddon”! The “rapture”! The “thousand-year reign of Christ on earth”! The “AD 70 doctrine”!
As many hear of the end of time, they hear about…
The Battle of Armageddon. The final battle depicted in Revelation is a spiritual one, not a physical conflict. The enemies of Christ have no power against Him. They cannot be victorious against Christ and His mighty angels (Rev. 19). The word “Armageddon” has become like the names “Waterloo” and “Pearl Harbor,” representing far more than a place. “Armageddon” is associated with the overthrow of a great evil; but in Revelation it represents the overthrow of the great persecutor of the church in the first century, the Roman Empire.
The Rapture. As for the rapture of the church, nothing in the Bible is like what premillennialism describes. In 1Thessalonians 4:14-16, Paul was giving encouragement to the Christians on Thessalonica who feared that their dead loved ones would miss the Lord’s return. These souls would not be forgotten, but would be raised with imperishable bodies to meet the Lord in the air.
The Thousand-year Reign. What about the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth? Notice what the passage from Revelation 20:4-6 doesn’t say. It doesn’t mention Christ’s reigning on earth, on the throne of David, or in Jerusalem; and it doesn’t tell when His reign was to begin or end. It is describing the reign of the martyrs who died in the Roman persecution of the church; “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4). Where was this taking place? In heaven (Rev. 20:1). The length of Christ’s reign is never mentioned; the text only talks about how long the martyrs’ reign with Him was to last.
The AD 70 Doctrine. Preterism (A.D. 70 Doctrine) holds that the nature of the kingdom is spiritual, that it was established in 70 A.D., and that Christ’s reign will be eternal. The second coming of Christ occurred in 70 A.D. and was for the purpose of destroying Jerusalem, bringing judgment upon the Jewish nation, and establishing the kingdom. The end of the world also occurred in 70 A.D., but was not a total destruction of the world; instead, it was a destruction of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. All prophecies of Scripture have been fulfilled.
The A.D. 70 doctrine brings together all "end time" prophecies and focuses them on the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. It also makes all prophecy in both Testaments fulfilled in the destruction of the city in A.D. 70. One of the ways to see what Max R King taught is to simply read some of the propositions in debate. King affirmed, "Jesus and the eternal kingdom came in power in A.D. 70 rather than A.D. 33." Joe Taylor denied the proposition. During the Nichols-King Debate two broad propositions were discussed. King affirmed for two nights that, "The Holy Scriptures teach that the second coming of Christ included the establishment of the eternal kingdom, the day of judgment, the end of the world, and the resurrection of the dead, occurred with the fall of Judaism in A.D. 70."
Any person who teaches such a heresy as the 70 A.D. doctrine, and any church that supports them will answer for their actions in the Day of Judgment. Paul said, "Note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them." (Romans 16:17)
The end of the world is coming, but “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matt.24:36). Christ will return “like a thief” (2Peter 3:10). When He returns in the clouds of heaven (He will never set foot on earth again), this world will be completely destroyed (2Peter 3:10-12). These events will happen one day. The important thing for us is to “keep watching and praying” (Matt. 26:41) and be ready for the Lord to come.
What does the Bible say about a physical battle of Armageddon, the rapture, the thousand-year reign, and AD 70 Doctrine? The answer is nothing! The Bible does mention a battle at Armageddon, but it nothing like the one described by would-be prophets (Rev. 16:16; 19:11-21). People will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the clouds of heaven- but this is not a rapturing of the church before some “great tribulation” (1Thess. 4:13-18). The idea of an earthly thousand-year reign by Christ is based on an incorrect interpretation of Revelation 20:4-6.
