Preterism and Post-Millennialism, the Preterist and Post Millennial views; Are they scriptural?

The Preterist and Post Millennial doctrines must include the prophecies of the Bible that are relevant and related to those views, which must also include the timelines and historical facts.

As with all prophetic understanding, we can't leave anything out and must combine all related scripture to get the whole picture!

preterism definition

Click here for some very pointed questions to ask anyone who believes in Preterism or Post Milennialism


Watch my companion video on this document.



First of all, there are three related topics that are relevant to each other and this doctrine.

We're going to look at all of these topics.

To get started, let's look at the main premise of Preterist and Post Millennium views; The doctrine that General Titus of the Roman Empire fulfilled the prophecies from Jesus in Matthew 24 when he destroyed the Temple in 70AD. He wasn't the Emperor yet in 70AD, but became Emperor of Rome in 79AD. The doctrine is that he was the Antichrist of Revelation, and that he fulfilled the prophecies in Matthew 24 in 70AD.

There is a lot of diversity around these views, and many only subscribe to partial preterism, but this is the one place that subscribers to this doctrine all see the same.

What is the Abomination of Desolation - and did Titus fulfill this prophecy?

The Abomination of Desolation and the 3.5 year timeline

There are several scriptures that tell us about the Abomination of Desolation.

In Matthew 24, Jesus said the Abomination of Desolation would begin the Great Tribulation, and that He would return in the clouds with power and glory immediately after the Tribulation.

The event Jesus is referring to in Matthew 24:15 is Daniel 9:27 and Daniel 11:31. The Antichrist will confirm the covenant for seven years and will be an abomination to God and will make it (the holy place; the Temple) desolate in the middle of those final 7 years.

Take note of what the end of this prophecy brings:

Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Each "week" is a week of years, or a 7 year period. The prophecy will make an end of sins and will bring in everlasting righteousness and seal up the prophecy... this will only be accomplished when God abolishes sin and destroys the wicked and sets up His kingdom, which we see in Revelation 20 and 21.

In the midst of the final "week", the middle of the final 7 years, is when this abomination of desolation will happen...

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Daniel 11 also shows us this abomination of desolation as it gives us details about the time of the rule of the Antichrist.

Dan 11:31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

He will come to his end at the end of his rule...

Dan 11:45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Daniel 11 is continued into Daniel 12 and gives us the time frame of this event.

Dan 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.  10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.  11  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

So Daniel specifically tells us that this event will happen 3.5 years before "all these things shall be finished". (time (1 year), times (two years) and a half (half a year) = 3.5 years, and 1290 days = 3.53 years)

These things are what Daniel 11 and into Daniel 12 just said. It's the time of the Antichrist who will "come to his end", and "at that time", "there will be a time of trouble such as never was". This "time of trouble" is the same thing Jesus is referring to if we continue reading in Matthew 24:15 when He says "when we see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet", Mat 24:21 "then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."

So Daniel and Jesus together specifically say that the Abomination of Desolation will start the Great Tribulation and that it will last for 3.5 years. There is no question that this is so, when we just read these passages and simply believe what it says in black and white.

This shows us that it will be the event in the middle of the final 7 years, and that it will begin the tribulation, which will end at the return of Christ, which is when the Antichrist comes to his end (the end of these things).

This proves absolutely without a doubt, 100% surety, that we know for sure that this is all encapsulated in that final 3.5 years and will happen exactly as we are shown in the prophecies. It cannot be something that's already happened!

To see more documentation showing all the scriptures that show us this 3.5 year timeline, click here

But, if that's not enough, there's a LOT MORE scripture to prove it many times over!

Another place that gives us a hint as to what this Abomination of Desolation actually is, is found in 2 Thessalonians:

2 Thess 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

This event Paul is referring to in 2 Thessalonians is also the “abomination of desolation”. Three and one half years after the confirmation of the covenant, he (the man of sin, the Antichrist) will sit in the rebuilt temple of Jerusalem and claim to be God. Most believe that he will claim to be all god’s and all messiahs. He will probably claim to be the god of Islam, Buddhism, etc. When you see this happen, you will know without a doubt that he is the Antichrist. Then the second half of the final week, the final 3.5 years begins, where he rules the world.

And other scriptures that show us the same 3.5 years where the Antichrist will be in power:

So, did Titus fulfill this?

Titus burned the temple and destroyed it after looting some of the artifacts, but Titus didn't do anything more than Nebuchadnezzar and his son did back in the days of Daniel... Nor, was the time after Titus any more of a "tribulation" for the Jews than the time of Nebuchadnezzar, either. Claiming that Titus placed the abomination and began the tribulation isn't factual nor does it even make sense in the context of the scriptures explaining it and the timing we just read.

For one thing, this was all accomplished in one year, in 70AD. It didn't take 3.5 years for anything specifically relating to this destruction of the Temple and Titus at that time. -= NOTE =- Some preterists say that the 1290 days is actually 1290 years but take note that the scriptures give us that time frame in several ways; 1290 days, time times and an half, and 42 months. This diversity in the verbiage gives us the proof that it's actually 1290 days since the other scriptures show the same 3.5 year time frame.

And, notice that Daniel 7 (and Rev 13, Dan 11 and 12) show us that the Antichrist will "wear out" or "make war" with the saints. The saints of God are not the Jews, the saints of God are those who love Jesus. The vast majority of Christians in that day were Greeks and Romans. Titus did not make war with the saints and prevail against them as the Bible says the Antichrist will do! He sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, which has nothing to do with the saints.

Second, if you've read Revelation 16:12 you know that it's the Kings of the East that come over the Euphrates river for the Battle of Armageddon. Where is Rome in relation to Israel? It's due west!

Third, what does the scriptures say happens immediately after the Tribulation? Did these happen in 70AD?

We have very specific events that we're shown will happen immediately after the Tribulation in Matthew 24 and Mark 13:

None of those things happened in 70AD! There is no way that Titus could have been the Antichrist and/or Abomination of Desolation!

And other events that scriptures show us will happen after the Tribulation:

None of those things happened in 70AD! Again, there is no way that 70AD was fulfillment of the prophecies of the Day of the Lord.

Fourth, if these things happened during the time of General Titus, when did Daniel 2's fifth empire come into being??? The prophecy states that during this final empire's rule, Jesus will return and fill the whole earth, putting down the governments of men and rule forever.

There is no way to reconcile the above prophecy with a belief that it's already happened. It's absolutely impossible!

Post Millennialists say that we're already past the 1000 year reign of Christ, as well. This would mean Jesus was on the earth reigning with a rod of iron for 1000 years at some point in the last 2000 years. Do I even need to say anything about that? Did that happen and nobody knows it happened? Revelation 1:7 says that Jesus will come in the clouds and every eye shall see Him. We'd have some kind of record of that if it had happened already.

According to Daniel, Jesus is not leaving once He returns... Where is He???

Another way some partial preterists try to explain away this problem is they say that the last 2000 years is the "tribulation", so none of the things that come after will have happened yet. All we need to do is look at those specific time frames given to us to know that it's a 3.5 year period, not 2000 years. And the idea that the tribulation is the last 2000 years does not make sense at all when we read what was said about it in Daniel, Matthew and Mark; "Such as never was nor ever shall be". The Babylonian destruction of Israel and scattering of the Jews 2500 years ago at the time of Daniel was equally bad for the Jews and Titus did not do anything more in 70AD than Nebuchadnezzar and his son did to make this meet that description. No, that does not explain away the problems posed by the preterist and post millennial views.

And, in Revelation 19:20 we're shown that the Antichrist and False Prophet are cast alive into the lake of fire. If Titus was the Antichrist, how could he be cast alive into the lake of fire after the Battle of Armageddon since he's been dead for almost 2000 years? This definitely did not happen, nor could it be some future event if it were Titus.

But, if that's still not enough, let's talk more about Titus and the time frames involved and other scriptures that show us more information...

Another problem with the preterist view is that John wrote about a future Antichrist while he was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. All documentation points to John being imprisoned there by the Emperor Domitian around 90AD. If this is true, it's literally impossible for Titus to have been this prophesied Antichrist 20 years before John was given the visions and wrote the book of Revelation.

The early church fathers never indicate that John wrote of events that had already happened in the book of Revelation. The preterist view was definitely not something adopted early on, and if it were true then the men that lived so close to that time period would have known!

The spiritual conditions of the churches described in Revelation chapters two and three more readily harmonize with the late date.

And, if you understand the prophecies of the Antichrist, you must be asking; Where and when did Titus implement the "Mark of the Beast"? The Bible clearly states that this man will implement a "passport" type system, much like the vaccine passport that they're attempting now, where you'll be tracked electronically. Titus did nothing of the sort! This will almost certainly be an RFID implementation with either a tattoo with RFID (they do this already in pets) or a chip under the skin.

Also, if Titus was the Antichrist, who was the False Prophet, and who were the Two Witnesses? There is no record of these men.

And if Titus was the Antichrist, when did he "confirm the covenant" (Dan 9:27)? This is widely accepted to be the covenant that God made with Abraham defining the nation of Israel and its borders. How and when did Titus confirm this? There's no recorded event that matches this prophecy being fulfilled.

Dan 12:7 the "scattering of the power of the holy people" is not the Jews scattered in 70AD; The vast majority of Christians in 70AD were among the Gentiles, not many Jews were believers and the Pharisees preached against Jesus.

2 Thes 2:3 - Paul records that there will be a falling away first and Antichrist will be revealed before the coming of the Lord and the gathering of the saints.

Revelation ends with prophecy of the New Jerusalem, and New Heavens and a New Earth where God Himself (Jesus Christ in human form) will dwell among us. This has most certainly not happened yet.

The signs of the coming of Jesus and the End of the World

The disciples asked Jesus, when shall be the sign of your coming and the end of the world?

Click here to see graphs and data showing that all these things are actually happening now!

Conclusion: The signs Jesus gave that would herald His return did not happen prior to 70AD.

The 2000 year gap from prophetic events until now

There are quite a few scriptures that leap from certain events to a point in time far in the future, sometimes from one verse to the next!

I've given you a lot of information to study and process, but if that's still not enough, here's a tad more...

Most people do not subscribe to preterism completely, but most prophecy teachers have partial preterism mixed in one way or another. Make sure you don't believe these doctrines unless they fit with every single part of prophecy. If even one little thing doesn't fit with the prophecy, then it can't be true!

Remember that Jesus laid it out in a timeline for us that is very specific, detailing what would happen, and then this will happen next, etc...

We know absolutely that there will be a 3.5 year period where these things happen:
- The saints will be hunted by the Antichrist
- A scattering of the power of the holy people (the saints)
- The sacrifice and oblation will be ceased
- The abomination in the temple
- Jerusalem will be tread under foot by Gentiles for 42 months
- The Antichrist will sit in the temple claiming to be god
- This period of time will be the tribulation/time of trouble
- The rule of the Antichrist and False Prophet
- The wrath of satan
- The time of the two witnesses

Some very pointed questions to ask anyone who believes in Preterism or Post Milennialism

For a much more detailed Timeline of Events, click here