Chapter 7 – Historical Interpretations

Throughout history, Christians have struggled to understand the timing and nature of Christ’s return. Some of the earliest church fathers believed that at least a part of the Olivet Discourse and Revelation happened in the first century. Early church father Andreas of Caesarea, writing sometime between 563 – 637 AD, stated:

Our Lord foretold the future events to the apostles who were asking about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and about the end of time, as much as they were able to receive. These things already happened, in the siege of Vespasian and Titus, to the Judeans who killed Christ, just as Josephus the Hebrew narrates.¹

Early church father Eusebius Pamphili of Caesarea, in his series Church History, written around 325 AD, said that the prophecy of the Great Tribulation spoken by Jesus was fulfilled in the events of the war recorded by Josephus.

6.And then, as if speaking concerning the people, he says, For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And again: When you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

7.If any one compares the words of our Saviour with the other accounts of the historian [Josephus] concerning the whole war, how can one fail to wonder, and to admit that the foreknowledge and the prophecy of our Saviour were truly divine and marvellously strange.²

In the 1800s, several scholars in America said that most or all of Revelation happened in the first century. They believed the world was entering a new era of peace and prosperity.

The belief that the Great Tribulation is expected in our near future first became popular in the early 1900s, just before World War I. A few years before World War I, Cyrus I. Scofield published the Scofield Reference Bible. His book promoted a unique view of the end times which taught that Scofield’s generation was the last to live. It taught terrible things would happen to the world in fulfillment of Bible prophecy and Christ’s return. At first, readers mocked his view as unscholarly. Still, as the Great Depression, World War I, and World War II hit, his theory seemed completely vindicated and became the dominant view in the American church. Even Israel became a state in 1948. Christian writers Hal Lindsey (The Late Great Planet Earth), Edgar C. Whisenant (88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988), and Tim LaHaye (Left Behind) inspired most American churches that their generation was the last one.

Past Fulfillment

There is an alternate belief system that traces its roots back to the 1800s. It interprets the time statements of the Bible literally, and it argues that Jesus promised to return in his generation and actually did. This view teaches that the scripture means what it says: the Great Tribulation, the end times, and the general resurrection of the dead were promised to come in the first century and occurred on time. It does not expect a return of Christ in our future.

Today, Christians who adhere to the belief of a past fulfillment don’t all agree on which events of Revelation were fulfilled. Most agree that all except the final three chapters of Revelation happened in the first century.

Some, including myself, hold that every prophecy in Revelation was promised to occur soon (to the first century audience) or have eternal ongoing fulfillment and that all were fulfilled or established shortly after the book of Revelation was written, as promised. Those holding the fulfilled view believe modern day teachings from the Scofield Bible, for example, have misguided many Christians with assumptions based on a worldview of what the “new heavens and earth,” “resurrection of the dead,” “defeat of death,” and “end of the age” mean. Christians believing the fulfilled prophecy view dismiss twenty-first century teachings of Scofield, choosing instead to let the Bible interpret itself.

Many believers who are acquainted with the view of a past fulfillment but have not looked deeply into the matter find this interpretation of scripture to be offensive or even blasphemous (including myself, for a period of eight years).

If one can question preconceived notions taught to them, read the scriptures for what they actually say, and research the history of first century Israel, they will discover that the fulfilled view is not only plausible, but the most likely to be true. Except for their views of the end, these Christians generally hold the same beliefs as most Christians in their varied denominations.

“Can one still be a Christian and believe Christ already returned?” Yes! The vast majority of those holding the view of a past return trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, believe he died for sinners on the cross, rose again, and is God incarnate. They hold that the Bible is the infallible word of God and that it should be trusted above man’s opinion or doctrine. They believe the gospel message is very much for today, and that fear of future “end-times” can paralyze the church, making some Christians unproductive members of society.

While the notion of a past return of Christ is still unpopular, it can be shown that this perspective more naturally and sensibly interprets the texts of the Bible and explains many mysteries that continue to baffle scholars.

Footnotes