This presentation discusses the different ways Bible prophecy may be interpreted and makes a case for the premillennial approach

1. The Parousia
An In-Depth Study on the Second Coming of Christ

2. The Parousia
How to Study Bible Prophecy

3. “Blessed is he who reads and
those who hear the words of
the prophecy, and heed the
things which are written in it;
for the time is near. ”
(Revelation 1:3)

4. Eschatology
The Study of the End Times

5. A Brief Overview of the Different Positions

6. Four Major Eschatological Positions
1. Preterist: means “the past”. A Preterist interpretation of
prophecy holds that most of the New Testament
prophecies of the book have already been fulfilled.
2. Historicist: believes prophecy (especially Revelation) is
a foretelling of all history from the time of the first coming
of Christ unto the end of the age. The Tribulation
is/has been occurring for hundreds of years
3. Idealist: doesn‟t look for specific fulfillment of the
prophecies of the book; rather, the Revelation is
perceived to contain spiritual lessons that may find
recurrent expression in history.
4. Futurist: prophecy describes events that are largely
future to all but those living just before the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ.

7. The Consequences of a Wrong View
David Koresh (whose real name was
Vernon Wayne Howell; he changed it
to David for Israel‟s king and „Koresh‟,
which is a transliteration of the
Hebrew name of Cyrus , but he later
told FBI agents it meant „death‟ to
him) held to a Historicist view of
Revelation – a likely holdover from the
group‟s Seventh Day Adventist
roots. He believed that he and his
followers were in the Tribulation and
that the first six seal judgments had
been poured out on the world. He
believed he was the Lamb of
Revelation 7:17 and he was ready to
open the seventh seal judgment of
Revelation.

8. Amillennialism (no millennium)
The amillennial view teaches that there is currently a spiritual
reign of Christ over the church and it will continue until He
returns for His saints. The thousand year period spoken of in
Revelation is symbolic and not literal. There is no tribulation, no
earthly millennium, and no eternity on a new earth; Christ simply
returns and eternity in Heaven begins. It is the view held by
Catholics and many Protestant denominations.
Jesus
The Church Age
Unknown Period of Time

9. Preterism
The term preterist is Latin for „past‟. Thus,
preterists believe that Bible prophecy was
fulfilled in the past. Therefore, they view the
major prophetic passages of Scripture, such
as the Olivet Discourse and the Book of
Revelation, as already fulfilled. There are 2
flavors of preterism:
1. Extreme (“realized eschatology”) –
believe all prophecy was fulfilled in the
past; no return of Christ to the earth
2. Moderate - believe in a future Second
Coming, but still insist on interpreting the
Olivet Discourse and the Book of
Revelation as basically already fulfilled in
the past.

10. Postmillennialism (after millennium)
The postmillennial view teaches the Church age will eventually
evolve into a golden age where the Church will rule over all the
world. This will be accomplished through the „Christianization‟
of the nations. Once the Church has carried out its mission of
redeeming the world, Christ then returns and eternity begins in
Heaven.
Jesus
The Church Age The Golden Age
Church Expanding Church Reigning

11. Premillennialism (before millennium)
The premillennial view teaches that the Church age will end with
the Rapture, after which starts the tribulation period. The
tribulation lasts seven years and climaxed by the second coming
of Christ, who establishes a reign upon the earth that lasts 1,000
years. After the 1,000 years, the last earthly rebellion is
crushed, God creates a new earth for His people, and eternity
begins.
Jesus
The Church Age The Tribulation The Millennium
Unknown Period of Time Seven Years 1,000 Years

12. Comparison of Three Views
Premillennial Amillennial Postmillennial
Literal Millennium Yes No No
Resurrection before Millennium One None None
Thousand Years in Revelation Future Present Present
Resurrections Two (at least) One One
Literal interpretation of Prophecy Yes No No
Unconditional Old Testament Yes No No
Covenants with Abraham
Distinctions between Israel and Yes No No
the Church
Messianic Kingdom Future Present Present
Rapture / Second Coming Separate Same Same
Binding of Satan Future Present Present
Moral Progress Decline Decline Improve
Major Judgments Two One One

13. The Second Coming Should be Approached…
•In a Futurist manner…
•Using literal biblical interpretation…
•With a Premillennial perspective…

14. Why Believe in a Futurist Approach?

15. Israel‟s Covenant was Unconditional and still Unfulfilled
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from
your relatives And from your father‟s house, To the land which I will
show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And
make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless
those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in
you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” ”
(Genesis 12:1–3)

16. “The Abrahamic covenant contributes to the eschatology
of Israel by detailing the broad program of God as it affects
Abraham‟s seed. . . . It is not too much to say that the
exegesis of the Abrahamic covenant and its resulting
interpretation is the foundation for the study of prophecy
as a whole, not only as relating to Israel, but also for the
Gentiles and the church. It is here that the true basis for
premillennial interpretation of the Scriptures are found.”
- John Walvoord, Israel in Prophecy

17. Israel‟s Covenant was Unconditional and still Unfulfilled
• It is unconditional – “I will bless you”
• It is national (make you a great nation)
• It is geographical (involving the Holy land)
• It is perpetual (to you and your offspring)
• It is international – all peoples blessed.
• Israel has never possessed the whole land
• They have been dispossessed of the land
• Even in the New Testament, the kingdom has not yet been restored to
Israel. Jesus and Paul both spoke of it as Future (Luke 19, Acts 1)
• Romans 11 states there is a national future for Israel.
• The specific promises of God to give the land to Abraham and his
descendants is repeated twenty times in Genesis alone (12:1–3, 7–9;
13:14–18;15:1–18; 17:1–27; 22:15–19; 26:2–6, 24–25; 27:28–29, 38–
40; 28:1–4, 10–22; 31:3, 11–13;32:22–32; 35:9–15; 48:3–4, 10–20;
49:1–28; 50:23–25).

18. Davidic Covenant is still Unfulfilled
“I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord
also declares to you that the Lord will make a
house for you. “When your days are complete
and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up
your descendant after you, who will come forth
from you, and I will establish his kingdom. “He
shall build a house for My name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. “I will
be a father to him and he will be a son to Me;
when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the
rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,
but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him,
as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from
before you. “Your house and your kingdom shall
endure before Me forever; your throne shall be
established forever.”
(2 Samuel 7:11–16)

19. Davidic Covenant is still Unfulfilled
• 2 Sam 7:11-16 says that Your house
and your kingdom will endure forever
before me; your throne will be
established forever.
• The crowd saw this when Jesus
appeared in Mar k11:10 and said
“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our
father David.”
• Isaiah 55:1-3. I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, my faithful love
promised to David.
• Psalm 89:20-37 – says that God would
establish David‟s line forever.

20. How did the Early Church View Christ‟s Coming?
The oldest non-biblical Christian document that exists is called The
Didache. The Didache is a simple distillation of Bible doctrine, which is
dated near the end of the first century, the earliest being A.D. 80 – after
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. It was used by the historian
Eusebius and others. A full copy was discovered in 1873 in
Constantinople. It proves that those who lived from the events of A.D.
70 regarded the Olivet Discourse as future and unfulfilled prophecy:
“For in the last days . . . The world-deceiver shall appear as a son of God;
and shall work signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his
hands; and he shall do unholy things, which have never been since the world
began. Then all created mankind shall come to the fire of testing, and
many shall be offended and perish. . . . And then shall the signs of the truth
appear . . . Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of
heaven.”
– Didache 16:3-8

21. How did the Early Church View Christ‟s Coming?
Justin Martyr was born in the first
century and likely knew many believers
who had lived through A.D. 70. In his
Dialogue with Trypho, he writes:
“Two advents of Christ have been
announced: the one, in which He is set
forth as suffering … and crucified; but the
other, in which He shall come from heaven
with glory, when the man of apostasy . . .
shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the
earth against us the Christians. . . . The
rest of the prophecy shall be fulfilled at
His second coming.”
– Chapter 110.

22. If the Preterists and others who hold to a non-Futurist view
are correct, then some of the most astute students of
Scripture and leaders in the early church utterly missed the
fulfillment of the very prophecy Jesus indicated no one in
the world would possibly be able to miss.

23. Those who dismiss a futurist approach also fail to remember the
parable where Jesus indicated He would be gone “a long time” (Matt.
25:19). Peter also mentioned there would be those who would see the
delay and scoff at His coming: “Know this first of all, that in the last
days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own
lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since
the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of
creation.” ” (2 Peter 3:3–4)

24. Simple Refutation of Extreme Preterism
““Therefore write the things which you
have seen, and the things which are, and
the things which will take place after
these things. ”
(Revelation 1:19)
“After these things I looked, and behold,
a door standing open in heaven, and the
first voice which I had heard, like the
sound of a trumpet speaking with me,
said, “Come up here, and I will show you
what must take place after these things.”
(Revelation 4:1)
Literally “Hereafter”. The plain reading
of the text points to future events.

25. Other Considerations
• Revelation 1-18 are spoken of in connection to the second coming, final
resurrection, and coming kingdom. They are an inseparable unit.
• No literal fulfillment of many of the events in Matt 24-25 (stars falling,
Jesus returning, goat-sheep separation)
• Jesus Matthew 19:28 throne prediction has not happened.
• Plagues stated in Revelation never fulfilled
• The events in Revelation are universal and not just confined to local
Jerusalem
• The Matthew 24 tribulation “never to be equaled again” has not
happened ; plenty of events have exceeded AD 70
• 2 Tim 2:18, says that men who claim the resurrection have already taken
place have gone astray from the faith. It is a heretical view.
• No sign given for the rapture – but plenty for the other events of
tribulation
• The church is mentioned in Heaven during the tribulation and coming
down out of Heaven. Jesus comes WITH His Church not FOR His
Church

26. Why a Literal Interpretative View?

27. “You don‟t take the Bible literally do you…??!”
“Is Jesus really a door?” (John 10:9) “Does God have wings?” (Psalm 61:4)
„Reductio ad absurdum‟ argument

28. Literal Interpretation
Symbolism
Object Meaning
Miraculous Symbols
Sword at east of Eden (Gen. 3:24) Breach of God/man fellowship
Burning Bush (Ex. 3:2) God‟s holiness and presence
Visionary Symbols
Dry bones given flesh (Ezek. 37) Israel physically restored
Four beasts (Dan. 7) Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome
Seven stars (Rev. 1:12) Ministers of the seven churches
Material Symbols
Blood Life
Bread and wine Christ‟s body and blood

29. Literal Interpretation
Tips for Distinguishing between Literal and Figurative
• Use the figurative sense when the passage is stated to be figurative
(e.g. Zech. 126: - “like”)
• Use the figurative sense if the literal involves an impossibility (e.g.
Rev. 1:16)
• Use the figurative sense if the literal commands immoral action (e.g.
John 6:53 “drink blood”)
• Use the figurative sense if the expression fits into one of the figures
of speech (e.g. Zech 12:2 – a metaphor)
• Use the figurative sense if the literal involves a contradiction with a
parallel passage

30. Key Prophecies Concerning Christ‟s First Coming
• The Messiah would come before the end of Daniel‟s 483rd week (Dan. 9:27)
• The Messiah would be betrayed by a close friend (Ps. 41:9)
• The Messiah would be betrayed for 30 shekels of silver (Zech 11:13)
• The Messiah would be pierced (Ps. 22:16)
• The Messiah would have his clothes gambled for (Ps. 22:16)
• The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
• The Messiah would come through the line of Abraham and Judah (Genesis 12:2,
Genesis 49:10, 2 Samuel 7:12-16)
• The Messiah would come before Judah‟s scepter departed (Gen. 49:10)
• The Messiah would be preceded by a messenger (Malachi 3:1).
• The Messiah would come to his people mounted on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
• The Messiah would be virgin born (Isaiah 7:14)
• The Messiah would be of the line of David (Isa. 11:1-5)
• The Messiah would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6)
• The Messiah would remain silent/suffer at the hands of men (Isaiah 53)
• The Messiah would be disfigured at the hands of men (Isaiah 52)
• The Messiah would have no bone broken (Psalm 34:20)
• The Messiah would be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9)
• The Messiah would not decay in the grave (Ps. 16:10)
• The Messiah would ascend to Heaven (Psalm 68:18; Luke 24:50-53)

31. How were the prophecies on the previous
slide that referenced Christ‟s first coming
fulfilled … literally or spiritually/allegorically?

32. If all the prophecies concerning Christ‟s first
advent were fulfilled literally, then why believe
those that refer to His second advent will be
fulfilled spiritually or allegorically?

33. Why Believe in Premillennialism?

34. The One Thousand Year Reign of Christ
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a
great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is
the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into
the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the
nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he
must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and
judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those
who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on
their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for
a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand
years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one
who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power,
but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a
thousand years. ”
(Revelation 20:1–6)

35. A Few Reasons for Premillennialism
• 2 Thess. 2:8 says that the Antichrist will be destroyed by Christ‟s
coming. Has never happened
• Matt. 24:29-31 says the Son of Man is to come “immediately” after the
Tribulation; this never occurred
• 2 Tim. 3:13 says that evil people/deeds will grow worse, not better – that
the wheat and tares would grow together. We look for Christ, not the
Millennium without Him
• The Church is commanded to watch for Christ (Matt. 24:42) not for the
Antichrist, and is told that no one knows the day/hour – that it would be a
surprise. Yet Daniel‟s last week can be counted with near pinpoint
precision once Antichrist signs the covenant with Israel
• The leaders of the early Church were all premillennial. An example is
Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, a disciple of John, called the father of
Premillennialism.

36. What is the
primary Scriptural
objection that
those opposed to
a futurist, literal,
and premillennial
interpretation use?

37. “Truly I say to you, this generation
will not pass away until all these
things take place.”
(Matthew 24:34)

38. “He [Jesus] certainly
thought that His second
coming would occur in
clouds of glory before the
death of all the people who
were living at that time.”
- Bertrand Russell
“Why I am Not a
Christian”

39. “It [Matthew 24:34] is certainly
the most embarrassing verse in
the Bible. Yet how teasing,
also, that within fourteen words
of it should come the statement
"But of that day and that hour
knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the
Father." The one exhibition of
error and the one confession of
ignorance grow side by side.
-C. S. Lewis
“The World‟s Last Night”

40. Other New Testament References
““But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the
market places, who call out to the other children, ” (Matthew 11:16)
“Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a
sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ” (Mark
8:12)
““The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and
condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and
behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ” (Luke 11:32)
““But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. ”
(Luke 17:25)
In all the above references, “this generation” does appear to refer to the
generation of people living at the time when the words were spoken…

41. “all these things…”
“Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to
point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all
these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another,
which will not be torn down.” ” (Matthew 24:1–2)
““But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. ” (Matthew 24:8)
“so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the
door. ” (Matthew 24:33)
“all these things” refers to the catastrophic signs of the
tribulation period that Jesus has just finished describing in
the chapter
““Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place. ” (Matthew 24:34)

42. The Verse in Context
[Prediction of the Temple Destruction] – vv. 1-2
[The Disciples Questions re: Temple destruction and end of the age] – vs. 3
[The Signs of the End] – vv. 4-28
[The Sign of Christ‟s Coming] – vv. 29-31
““Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become
tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when
you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly I say
to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven
and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. “But of that day and
hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father
“Proleptic” (in advance) alone. ” (Matthew 24:32–36)
speech
“this generation” refers to the present generation who witnessed the destruction of
Jerusalem AND the generation that sees the signs described in vv. 4-28 – the
budding of the fig tree [end of the age]

43. A Similar Statement by Christ
““Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while
hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is
being fulfilled, which says, „You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep
on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their
ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with
their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would
heal them.‟ ”
(Matthew 13:13–15)
“He said, “Go, and tell this people: „Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking,
but do not understand.‟ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And
their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand
with their hearts, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He
answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate, ”
(Isaiah 6:9–11)
“This people” refers to the ones in Isaiah‟s day and Jesus‟ day. Commentaries agree that
the devastation spoken about in Isaiah refers to the Babylonian captivity, yet Jesus says
in Matthew it is still being fulfilled and will until Israel turns to its true Messiah in the end
times.

44. The Second Coming Should be Approached…
•In a Futurist manner…
•Using literal biblical interpretation…
•With a Premillennial perspective…

45. The Parousia
How to Study Bible Prophecy